Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. Especially Kathleen for being such an awesome mother and wife. JKM and I couldn't do it without you!!

Look Who's Walking!!!

Here she is, taking a time out. Life as a baby is grueling at times. Everyone watching...waiting for your next developmental step. Sometimes you just need something to hang onto.

And she's off! Those first few steps are critical. They can be the beginning of something great or the beginning of the end. Getting a little "topsy likewise" (insert British accent) never hurt anyone, just straighten up and keep on cruisin!

The key to real success is focus... and a funny facial expressions.

And it's all going great until Mom and her camera get in the way. Watch out world - here comes Jackie!!

Big Guys, Big Toys

This is a classic Jackie look. Quizzical, Intense, Focused.

Here's another one. A bit of a half smile like she knows a joke but won't tell the rest of us.

She's constantly studying the world around her. Lately, her favorite thing to do is point at a tree, a dog, a toy and say "Dat!" It's Jackie's code. She knows it and no one else does.

Ella, God bless her, has become second fiddle in the Manning home. She's now resorted to getting attention from Jackie. They are big fans of one another.

Now, for the reason I posted that strange title...

Believe it or not, Matt is riding the smallest animal over there on the left. When I took this, they were having a deep political discussion.

Hush, Hush - Look Who's Kissing...

OK - the title to this post actually does make some sense. I'm sort of combining two separate posts here, so bear with me. :-)

My husband pulled off an awesome surprise for his mom this past weekend. All she wanted for her 65th birthday was so be with her boys, but realized that was pipe dream given that they are scattered around the country (Houston, Tulsa, DC). Unbelievably, all of Martha's sons were able to come to Tulsa this past weekend to celebrate. She was floored. It's not often they are all together, so we had to capture the moment.

Jackie had a great weekend spending time with her uncles. Her Uncle Canon was sending baby reports to his lovely wife Anne, by the minute.

OK - So Look Who's Getting a Little Loose with the Lips!!

OK - so I've been bragging about Jackie's new understanding of the word kiss and that fact that she doles them out when asked. Last night, she took this kissing thing to a new level. She actually grabbed the back of my head to pull me in for the kill!

Do I need to be worried here? Is my girl giving away kisses too easily? Is this a preview of teenage years gone wrong?

I think I'll just enjoy it while I can get it. :-)

Whatever makes them happy right?

Welcoming New Life!

With the bustley Easter Season upon us, there were many things to do: Make sure Jackie had a cute Easter dress for Mass, prepare food for multiple family and friend gatherings, create a picture perfect Easter basket for my daughter to chew on the plastic eggs and see when she's grown up looking through photos.

Until Jackie, Colin and I went to Mass, finally sat down for 1 hour and listened to Father O'Brien's homily, did I realize what this season is all about...

We welcome new life in our minds, in nature, and in our heart's. This is especially true for our family this year. We've welcomed this amazing little girl to the point that we could never imagine life without her. We've also said goodbye to life that we never thought we could live without...

But the Easter Season teaches us that an old life becomes new. Happy Easter Grandma - it was tough not having you here this year. We love you and miss you!

The Outdoorsy Baby

Colin's folks have a really great jungle gym right across the street from their house. When I was pregnant and visiting their new home for the first time, I had visions of our little one swinging, sliding, jumping, running and building sand castles. It's pretty fun to see some of that come true, now that Jackie can use the baby swing and pull up on a few of the big toys. She really enjoyed seeing the bigger kids play.



She also enjoyed swimming in Gramma and Pop's swimming pool!!

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

Jackie's grandparents have this massive mirror in the front entry way of their house in AZ. We were completely entertained by Jackie's reaction to it. I kept wondering what was going through her mind: Is this another kid? Looks a lot like me! When I touch this person, she feels really flat. Quit looking at me like that! Say, you are pretty good lookin... Wanna chew on my hand?

As I've said before, she is our little yoga baby. She's teaching her new found friend some sweet skills.

Possibly a peace offering?

Let me in there!!