Aunt Jenn Comes to Visit!

On Saturday (Dec. 20th), Aunt Jenn came to visit Maggie and me. Jenn and I went to college together and even lived together for two years. We haven't seen each other in over a year so it was great to see her and to be able to catch up. We hung around the house and chatted for most of the day then headed to lunch at Adam's Bistro. Jenn was a natural when it came to holding Maggie...see the picture above...Maggie is sound asleep in Jenn's arms! Jenn has never changed a diaper so maybe next time we'll let her tackle changing Maggie's diaper :-) (j/k Jenn!)....maybe ;-).

Maggie Gets Her First Ornament!

Maggie received her first Christmas ornament from our dear friend, Kara. Kara and I have known each other since we were Maggie's age. Our parents went to college together and so we literally have known each other our entire lives. Anyways, in the rush of Christmas excitement, we overlooked buying Maggie a Christmas ornament. I'm so very thankful for such amazing friends and family like Kara. I've truly been blessed.

Maggie Goes to Disney: Day Two

Well Maggie's second day at Disney was just as busy as the first! We woke up and headed to Epcot. At Epcot, Maggie was able to meet several of the Disney characters including; Goofy, Pluto, Donald, Minnie, and of course Mickey! Epcot offers a "Character Spot" where several of the characters hang out for pictures and autographs. So Aunt Amy and I jumped in line. Maggie loved meeting the characters and she even gave Pluto a kiss on his nose :-) We then went to the ride "Finding Nemo" and enjoyed "Turtle Talk with Crush". Even though Maggie wasn't quite sure of what was going on she seemed to really enjoy watching the animation. For lunch, we went to the restaurant inside of Mexico which was quite delicious. Poor Maggie was so worn out from all the excitement earlier in the day she slept through the whole lunch! Last but not least that evening we had tickets to see Disney's Candlelight Processional at 6:45pm. Maggie did extremely well and enjoyed the music and lights. After the show was over, GrandPop, Mimi, Maggie and I all headed back to the room so Maggie could go to sleep. Overall, we had a wonderful trip and we can't wait to take Maggie back this Summer! Here are some pictures from our trip...

Maggie Goes to Disney: Day 1

Well, Maggie had her first trip to Disney World this past weekend! The entire family was able to make it so we had a wonderful Wolff mini-vacation. I was worried that all the new sights and sounds might frighten Maggie but she did fantastic...she's quite the excellent little traveler! On Friday, we arrived at our resort, Old Key West, then headed off to the Magic Kingdom. Our first order of vacation was, of course, to have our picture taken in front of the castle. We then headed off to "It's a Small World" where Maggie rode her first ever park ride. She sat with GrandPop and Mimi so I could take her picture.

We then headed off to buy Maggie her first pair of ears! We found the perfect pair at a store in the Magic Kingdom and had her name embroidered on them. She looks so cute in them! Next we headed back to the hotel to eat dinner at Olivia's, the hotel restaurant. Everyone was pretty worn out from traveling so we called it an early night and headed to bed.

Stay tuned for our adventures on Day two! :-)

Sweet Swap

Maggie and I went to our very first Sweet Swap on Saturday! We searched and searched for delicious, festive yet easy cookies to bake. Well, we accomplished two out of three of those :-) I made Giada's Peppermint Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. While there weren't that many ingredients (definitely one thing I look for in any recipe) there were several steps. And it was quite difficult balancing baking the cookies and Maggie's schedule. The cookies turned out beautifully and were quite delicious. However, next year I will be making cookies a little less time consuming. Thankfully, Mimi and GrandPop were there to lend a helping hand if Maggie got fussy. Bobbi from Supper Club hosted the party and it was fun to see everyone's delicious creations. Of course the best part was tasting all of them! Maggie was able to see her friends Aubrey and Emery. Maggie and I will be hosting Supper Club in December and we're still looking for suggestions on the menu...

PS- I also found an easy recipe for Peppermint Bark, just visit http://www.foodnetwork.com/ and type in Peppermint Bark, Paula Deen.
Countdown to Disney: 2 days!!

Maggie's First Thanksgiving

Maggie had her first Thanksgiving and we had tons of fun! Can't you tell from the picture? (Maggie is rolling with laughter at her cousin Kenny.) GrandPop, Mimi, GiGi (great-granny), Maggie, and Mommy all headed to Atlanta to Aunt Brenda and Uncle Doug's house for Thanksgiving. She got to meet most of her cousins including her new cousin Vivienne who is almost exactly two months younger than Maggie. There was tons of food and tons of fun. Maggie took a long nap with GrandPop by the downstairs Christmas tree then she played with Vivienne on the floor. It was fun to be with the Carrier side of the family as we don't get to see them very often. The only thing that would have made it better is if Amy, Mike, Andrew and Katie could have been there. We missed y'all! I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Maggie Goes to the Mountains

On Saturday, we took a family outing to the mountains at Table Rock. It was an absolutely beautiful day, the trees were beautiful and it was a perfect day to drive through the mountains. We made our first stop at the new Victoria Valley Vineyards. The local vineyard has some delicious wine and I have to recommend the Pulse. We ran into a long-time family friend at the Vineyard, Melanie. Melanie use to babysit my siblings and I and it was fun for Maggie to meet her! We then traveled a little bit down the mountain to Aunt Sue's Shops and Restaurant. As always the food was delicious. We learned an interesting fact from Melanie while at the Vineyard. When we got there, the place was covered with ladybugs. Seriously, thousands upon thousands! Melanie told us the twice a year Clemson releases the ladybugs as they're a natural pesticide and will help clean out agricultural areas, so they help sustain the vineyard. Very neat! If you're ever in need of a good day trip the Vineyard and Aunt Sue's is a wonderful place!!

Surprise!..Aunt Amy Comes to Visit!

We had a special surprise for Mimi on Thursday...Amy came into town! We never thought that we would be able to pull it off but we did. I went and picked Amy up from the airport on Thursday evening and Mimi was certainly shocked when she walked into the door at dinner-time. We had a lovely girls weekend and I was thrilled that Amy got to see Maggie. She hasn't seen her since she was born and Maggie has changed so much. Also, in other family news Uncle Andrew is finally home from Greenwood and he and Aunt Katie were able to come over for Sunday dinner. It was nice to have everyone together (minus Uncle Mike--we missed you!) even if it was just for a weekend. Maggie had a wonderful time with her Aunt Amy and especially liked it when Aunt Amy rocked her to sleep.

COUNTDOWN TO DISNEY:36 DAYS!!!

On a Lighter Note..Maggie visits Bella Lucce!

On Wednesday I took Maggie to visit my old workplace, Bella Lucce (this is where I had that dream job and got to travel to fancy places)! It brought back so many memories. I got to meet the new crew and it was wonderful to see the place going strong. After a brief visit at the office, Lela, Maggie and I went out to lunch at Miyo's. It was so much fun getting to catch up with her...we reminisced about old times and caught up on some happenings. I was super-nervous about taking Maggie down there by myself but she did perfect! She barely fussed at all...you can see in the picture she's really tired but she didn't want to go to sleep because she might miss something exciting. Bella Lucce has many delicious body products and Maggie is a fan of the Vanilla Coconut Whipped Shea which she puts on after her bath almost every night. Thank you Lela for a wonderful visit...hopefully next time we can see Chloe and Celie!

Random Babblings

My goodness...I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted! Maggie and I have been quite busy lately with working in the church nursery and managing the eBay store. She's growing so fast I can hardly believe it. I pulled out a newborn diaper last week and it's hard to believe she ever fit in them. She's been such a blessing to me and I'm excited to watch her grow. However, the recent turn of events in the country make me wish she would stay this little forever so she would never know how cold or mean the world can be. My heart aches as I wonder what her future will be like. More than ever I'm trying to have faith and trust that God will take care of us, like He has done so many times before. Yesterday on my way to work I heard on the radio the verse that reminds us God's ways are not our ways, and then Tiffany, my boss, later that morning said the exact same verse.

I'm doing a Bible study on Wednesday evening with other young mothers that has truly been a blessing and I look forward to it every time we meet. I find that I am not alone in my fears for my child but I find comfort in talking with these other mothers and their assurance that God is watching over us. I hope someday to be so steadfast in my faith. We're studying the book of Ruth and it truly is an example of how God's ways are not our ways and that His plans are to further us not to harm us. Naomi begged Ruth to return to her home and not follow her but God has other plans as He moved Ruth to join Naomi. These two women were almost outcasts in society both without husbands and children. They would never the CNN ticker these days, they simply would have passed on without any noticed. But God provided for them and gave us their story to learn how to trust Him. God tells us not even to worry about the sparrows because He will take care of them. So I'm trying not to worry and have faith.

So there are my random babblings, read them or don't read them. But I do ask that you pray for our future as I so want my daughter to have the blessing and opportunities that we had growing up.

Laughter is the best medicine...

Maggie laughed!! On Friday (9.26.08), Maggie and I were playing and suddenly she laughed! It certainly melted my heart! I was home alone with her and was anxious for GrandPop and Mimi to come home to hear her laugh. While she didn't laugh again for them Friday evening. Sunday, Mimi got to hear her laugh and GrandPop heard her laugh on Monday. What a thrill! I have done lots of fun things but watching Maggie discover everything is the best enjoyment ever.

Maggie Gets Her Shots

On Friday (August 12th) GrandPop and I took Maggie to get her shots. Her appointment was at 10:30am and we didn't see the doctor until almost noon! We saw a new pediatrician named Dr. Drew who was very nice and kept complimenting how beautiful Maggie was. He was very kind and even prayed with us before Maggie got her shots...I think he could tell I needed a little prayer because I had already been crying. Maggie received three shots and one oral vaccination. It's a lot for a little two month old but she handled them like a trooper. I had a bottle ready for her and as soon as she was finished, she was quite ready for the bottle. She, luckily, has had no reactions to the vaccinations and even went to church on Sunday. Thankfully, we won't have to go back for another two months!

Meet Charlie

Meet my beloved Charlie! He is the handsome chocolate lab lounging in the pool and standing beside him is his girlfriend Harper. I adopted Charlie almost exactly one year ago from Pets, Inc.; a wonderful rescue shelter in Columbia. Charlie was found wondering down the road one day and taken to the shelter where soon after I adopted him. He is such a wonderful dog! He loves to play fetch, take long walks, napping and following my dad around the yard on the weekends. He's still a little unsure around Maggie and wonders why this human makes such strange noises and doesn't pet me. Although, I'm sure they'll be best friends one day...most likely when Maggie can pet him and throw the ball. Maggie has started going on daily walks with Charlie and he does extremely well walking right beside her. There are rumors of the city opening a dog park just down the road from us. I hope they do so Charlie could makes lots of new friends!

Mommy's Night Out

Once a month a fun diverse group of young women get together to chat and eat dinner...it's my Supper Club! I was invited by my dear friend Kara to join the "club" after I moved back to Greenville in May and have really enjoyed it. These wonderful women threw me a surprise baby shower at the June Supper Club and I only had met all of them once before! I went solo last night while Mimi and GrandPop watched little Maggie (they did a swell job). While it was nice to get out of the house for a bit, I was anxious to get back home and see my little darlin'. Melissa hosted the dinner last night and made a delicious Mexican feast! She's a phenomenal cook as she made fresh guacamole, salsa and cheese dip and fixed delicious chicken and vegetables on the grill. When I got home Maggie's birth announcements had come in the mail that day so keep an eye out as you should be receiving one via mail very soon!

I will be hosting the November Supper Club so any dinner ideas are welcome!!

It's the Little Things in Life...

Maggie has had quite the busy week. Early in the week she began responding to sounds and faces. We had quite the rousing game of Peek-a-Boo this afternoon! Also, this afternoon I set up Maggie's Rainforest inspired floor gym for a little "tummy time". Before I knew it she had rolled over on her back!! It's the little things in life that bring joy and I was quite proud of my little munchkin marking some developmental milestones this week. We then met GrandPop at Saturn of Greenville to make sure Maggie's car seat was in correct and a local Fox News cameraman and reporter showed up and filmed the Safety Team inspecting my car and also took some footage of Maggie. So keep your eye son the local Fox News because you might see us! More big news for Maggie...she will be making her first trip to Disney in December at the distinguished age of five months thanks to GrandPop and Mimi!

Meet Maggie

Well, here she is! This is my darling Maggie. (Feel free to ooh and aah :-) She was born on July 11, 2008 at 11:35pm. After a 10 day stay in the NICU I was thrilled to have her at home. We now fill our days with napping, playing with Charlie (the dog), singing, playing peek-a-boo, and meeting friends and family.

My First Blog..Yay!!

Hello All! Welcome to my blog...After seeing how much fun my sister-in-law was having blogging, I decided to jump on the bandwagon. I also want to use my blog as sort of an online baby book of my daily adventures with my daughter Maggie. Another inspiration for starting Adventures in Mommyhood was the blog of Storked!, a funny yet honest look into the life of a single mother. (The paper version of storked can be found in Glamour Magazine) As I journey into the world of single mommy-hood I look forward to adventures ahead and welcome you all to join me! Hope you enjoy the ride!