Camping with Dad

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Friday night Francie went on her first camping trip with her Dad! Heff has been planning this camping overnight for a few weeks, he was going to go with another dad/daughter and Uncle Rich too. We were watching the news a few night before (with the doors and windows open it was so nice out!) and laughed at the weatherman saying a storm was coming in. But boy was he right! It RAINED most of the day Friday and everyone else decided not to brave the elements but Heff was determined to camp so he and Francie went by themselves! It took us all about 2 hours to get them all packed up. Heff planned out a fun dinner they could cook on the fire and had to go back to the store twice for all the S'mores fixins. Francie was so excited to "sleep in a tent" and told me "bye-bye mom. Go inside" when I walked them out to the car. Maisie and I stayed home and had some girlfriends over for a girls night... and weren't all that surprised when Heff called at 10:30pm to say they were on their way home! Dispite the rain, they had a blast- built a fire, cooked dinner, made s'mores and snuggled in the tent only to find it was leaking a LOT of water and Francie wasn't having that. She said "TOO WET DADDY! GO HOME!" and insisted Heff hold her as he threw all their camp stuff in the truck (as it poured and was pitch black) to head home. It was an adventure... maybe she's a "glamper" like her mom? ;)

Quick change for her big camping trip...
in a matter of minutes she goes from all-girl to tom-boy ;)

Packing up the cooler with the necessities (beers and Hersheys!)

and packing up her suitcase (of course I sent 12 outfits for their 18 hour trip :)

"See ya Mom."

Saying good-bye (or "haha you don't get to go"? :) to her little sister who she has been calling "Mais-et" lately!

Truck parked in their campsite, fire going (Heff said Francie followed him around saying "Good job Daddy!" as he built the fire:), rain jacket on and tent put up

Bundled up, not minding the cold rain just yet!

AND... packed up in the carseat to head home to a warm bed :)

Weekend Lunch Dates

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Jannie came over to keep us entertained on Friday. If Jannie is holding Maisie Francie cozies on up to her and says "Hold TWO babies Jannie!" My mom said I told her the same thing when she brought my brother (who is also 18 months younger) home from the hospital. Oldest girls think alike ;) We had a busy weekend with lots of pictures to post! Here are a few highlights from our weekend lunch dates...

Friday afternoon Francie, Maisie and I went out for lunch with Jannie and our friends Joy and Kelly. We went back to our new favorite spot, Calafia at Town & Country. We hadn't seen them in a while and we caught up on all the gossip over a long lunch :)

All dressed up hanging out with her Jannie

Maisie Moo in her carseat at lunch

Francie is looking like such a big girl

My little hood-rat

Getting some sleep in before her lunch date Saturday with Mom and her friends...

AND her first date with with a cute 4 month old! He liked her "Juicy" ;)

We left the Little Doo home with Daddy- I put her in her crib for a "crib time out" (the ones that mean business :) and she fell asleep and pulled these blankets over herself! Oh well, early nap but it screwed up dad's lunch date with Francie plans! I think they still made it to Jeffrey's for an early afternoon hotdog and milkshake :)

Adventures at Peninsula School

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Thursday Emmy came up for the day so of course we took the girls out for a little photo shoot! We walked over to Peninsula School and Emmy got some great shots of the bossy big sister strutting her stuff in her special cowgirl-up boots from Devon, a lunch box Kaky gave her before she was born and new red headband from ABA (oh and her "Francie" pants too!) Maisie got in a few shots when Francie allowed her in ;) We had fun running around after Francie and Emmy took some amazing pictures, as usual. Thanks Em!

swing!

Emmy and her god-daughter back home

BIG baby feet on this girl

Em also made this beautiful blanket for Maisie!

Hanging Out at Home

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We've been taking advantage of the "newborn baby" stage and hanging out at home a lot (oh, and avoiding the Swine Flu) We've had lots of friends drop by to visit and are very appreciative of all the great meals people have brought over for us- we've been eating very well. Dad has been taking Francie on some of her own special outings (just wait for the next post!) and Maisie has been an easy baby so far happy to just hang out and watch what's going on around her. Some nights she has slept 5-6 hours straight only waking up once but some night she likes to grunt and make herself known about once an hour between the 1-5am range... Dad takes on both girls in the morning on those nights so I can catch up on sleep ;) Thanks Heff! But we are loving life with two baby girls.

Maisie says "Waking up is hard to do" (just like her mom and her sister :)


Francie's friend Rose and her mom Lena brought lunch over one day...

These girly-girls played with "purses" and read Fancy Nancy

and Francie showed Rose how to feed her chickens (sorry Rose:)

Maisie just hanging with the big girls

Francie coming in for kisses

Cozy little bear

Jannie came over in the afternoon with a new puzzle for Francie and to hang out with her girls

Little sis watching from a distance

Big sis looking for trouble

Silly Sister Sansie

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Francie continues to love her little sis. She is always very concerned about where Maisie is and making sure she is ok. She doesn't like anyone else to hold her but mom- sometimes she even tells dad "NO! Mommy's baby!" when he is holding her. She says "no more baby in the tummy!" about my belly and about her's too ;) She likes to give Maisie lots of kisses (sometimes a little too aggressively affectionate- wonder where she got that huh ABA?) and just can't get over what Maisie eats... as you can see in these video clips from this morning! (As requested Linda ;)

Another Big Name for a Little Girl!

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Are we crazy? Yes, probably :) We decided on another long name for our second little girl to carry on the family tradition. The history of all the "Marys" in our family is in
this post on Francie's name and MaryMarjorie adds to the list!

MaryMarjorie Sheehy Heffernan is named after my Great Aunt Marge, Marjorie Sheehy. She was my grandmother Mary Virginia Sheehy's only sister (they lost their little brother Gerald Sheehy when he was very young) We LOVE Aunt Marge and with all four of my grandparents gone she is the closest thing I have to a grandparent and she sure is a great substitute! Aunt Marge lives in Hollister and is full of energy... she walks every morning at 6am with the same group of ladies and made every "Big Game" (Stanford/Cal football) for almost 60 years! We love her and are so happy Maisie gets to be the namesake to a very special person.

(Francie was named after Brian's grandmother's sister too- Frances Borchard.)

Maisie in print (thanks for the pretty frame Katsy!)

Aunt Marge made the trip all the way up to Red Bluff in January 06 for our surprise "proposal party!" She stayed at my parents house the night before and I was clueless about what was going to happen the very next day- I guess Aunt Marge was nervous she might accidentally spill the beans that Heff was going to pop the question the very next day but everybody kept his secret :)

and speaking of seeing her name in print... how cute is this cookie bouquet that was delivered to our front porch yesterday from my mom's needlepoint group?! THANKS ladies, Maisie can't wait to come for tea and cookies soon!

MaryMarjorie Sheehy...

Hopefully she'll grow into the name! (the smallest size onesie is still swimming on her :)

Tuesday Playgroup

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Tuesday afternoon we "Toddled-On-Over" to our Tuesday playgroup. We're trying to keep up with Francie's busy social calendar so she doesn't feel like her little sister changed her life all that much ;) Our Tuesday playgroup is a great group of mom's I meet in the baby groups when Francie was tiny. They have all been SO sweet to drop off meals since Maisie was born! We rotate houses or parks every week and it's fun to see the kids all getting so big and a few getting new little brothers or sisters like Francie! This week it was at one of the mom's who lives 3 blocks away so I loaded up the Chariot stroller and headed over.

Wagon rides

and the always popular car-cars (no fighting to be seen in this photo!)

Francie swarming around Amy and Asher for orange slices

She's still pretty jealous Alessandra had a PINK car-car ;)

Maisie's First Bath

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Francie helped me give Maisie her first real bath on Tuesday morning! Her little umbilical cord fell off Monday night (found it on the couch, gross :) so we got to give her a real bath in the same froggy tub we used to give Francie her baths. Maisie loved the warm water and was especially attentive to her sister. Love that clean baby smell!

Clean those stinky toes!

Loving this "giving someone else a bath" thing...

... and losing interest ;)

Is that a 'side-grin' like Daddy Maisie?!

(similarities? This was FRANCIE at 10 days old for her first bath!)

My cute, clean girl

Maisie's First Pizza Party

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Sunday night we had dinner over at my parent's house- the first outdoor pizza oven party of the season! James and Em came down from the city and my Uncle John, Kim and their kids came over to meet Maisie too. Jannie and Grampa cooked up some delicious pizza's and we sat outside while the kids played- Francie is such a big girl all off the sudden she was off on the swing set and running around with the cousins all night! I don't even think we remembered to feed her dinner! :)

Maisie all bundled up and ready to go over to her Jannie and Grampa's house for her first official Sunday Night Dinner! Jannie made her the cute cable knit hat...

"Are you gonna stop taking pictures of me and get me out of this carseat mom?"

Francie sure had fun with James, Ella and Lukey

"Weee-Haw!" on a goose? At least she's using her imagination :)

Uncle John meets Maisie (he finally got over the fact she wasn't born on his birthday)

This seasons sure-to-be-favorite-pizza (and good thing we have producing chickens!) potato and egg, yum.

Francie holding court

her new favorite thing... the pink Croc's dad bought her on a special trip to REI

Little Maisie-Moo in the "family" bassinet everyone has used since my brother James... Jannie worked hard on a new set of PINK bumpers and bassinet sheets for Maisie (it was all blue for my thought-you-were-a-boy-Francie :)

It's so cute pinked-up! Thanks Jannie!! (Maisie is wearing the same outfit we took Francie home from the hospital in, from Auntie Em! I love pulling out all the old favorite outfits of Francie's again... so does Heff;)

Sharing teddy bears with her sister (THAT is real love :)

Time to wheel these girls on home to bed

Maisie's First Weekend Home

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Saturday Heff was busy with National Rebuilding Day for the organization he sits on the board for, Rebuilding Together Peninsula. Every year on the third Saturday in April Rebuilding Together pulls together thousands of volunteers to revamp houses and community centers for families who own their own homes but can't afford to keep them up. It's really amazing to see how much they accomplish in a days work. This year they worked on 79 projects in the area! Heff's favorite role is "Construction Captain" of a house but this year he visited 15+ of the project sites to see how things were going. We didn't get to go with him this year... paint, mold and power tools don't mix with week old babies so well :) But he picked up Francie to go to the celebration BBQ at the end of the day!

Waking up is hard to do

Maisie-Moo on a lazy Saturday with mom and big sister

It's a good thing I could never bring myself to take down this "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" banner my mom put up when we brought Francie home from the hospital 19 months ago!! My Dad's secretary in 1978 made it for his office when I was born. I love having girls!

Francie spent the weekend helping Mom organize...

Maisie spent the weekend relaxing...

Sunday we had a family work day around the house. Dad and Francie put in our vegetable/tomato garden out back.

Francie had her first "own" Hacienda burrito... yummm.

and washed it down with some milk riding her dog "cowgurl up!"

Maisie soaked up some sun while we worked

and Francie cooled off in her fountain Dad bought her

She is a DADDY'S GIRL lately!

The girls wore themselves out and both took three hour naps from 1-4! Keep it up please :)

I got to sort clothes and set up the craigslist changing table I found for Maisie's "room" (or portion thereof ;)

and Heff finished planting (dispite Francie having knocked the entire flat of plants on the ground an hour earlier)

and finished the "west wing" on my chicken coop!

all in a hard weekends work Maisie!

The Right Choice

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Emmy wrote this beautiful post on her blog "Grieving Gracefully." We sure know we made the right decision choosing a godmother for Maisie! Emmy, we love you- this is beautiful. Maisie is a very lucky little girl. (Em is wearing her mom and her great-grandmother's wedding rings)

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"I am touched. honored. joyous. blessed- and as my mother always said, “over the moon excited” that I was chosen to be Maisie’s godmother. Chosen to help guide her through life. Chosen to always be there for her. Chosen to teach her. Chosen to be a special person and a part of her life. I have to believe that my mother had a role in Maisie- for she came into my life at a time when my world was just turned upside down. Maisie brought me the gift of joy. Its Maisie that was a gift from my mother to me- A godmother I now am- how beautiful. I will give to Maisie what my mother gave to me- constant love forever and always. The day she was born, when I held her for the first time, I felt such a connection. A special bond. I felt my mother. Maisie looked at me with greater understanding- as if she knew what I was going through. Perhaps she will have a piece of my mother in her. My heart melts every time I hold her, every time I whisper in her ear “I love you”, and every time I look into those little eyes. She is so very special my beautiful darling. No one ever said life was ever easy- but it is definitely worth it. There are times that are so unbearably hard and I feel that I am never going to make it through- but it is the joy, the beauty,the constant love that is all around and will never fade that keeps me going-and I think to myself… What a wonderful world."

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Em also took some cute photos of Francie sporting her favorite Big Sister outfit with a pink tutu to complete the look :)


Maisie says "I love you Emmy!"

The Newest Cousins

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Brian's brother Mark, Sarah and Baby Clara came over for dinner Thursday night. We cooked up the meatballs Heff's good friend Johnny brought over for us just like he did when Francie was born... except this time he has his own 2 week old baby at home! We are so excited for Chrissie and Johnny and their new little girl, Maria Margurette (kind of like the italian version of MaryMarjorie huh!?) Johnny's homemade meatballs and pasta were delicious. Clara and Maisie had fun hanging out together for the first time and Sarah and I are excited to take them to baby classes and groups together soon :)

Clara and Maisie

Halloween in April!?

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Holy smokes! Halloween came early to Jannie and Grampa's house this year!! Francie was a little confused in her spring dress to arrive at Jannie's and see pumpkins and spiders galore. (Pottery Barn Kids were shooting their Halloween catalogue at the Johnet's house all week) The set people let us play for awhile before they brought out the little models in the 2009 costumes... check them out next season, they've got some good ones this year!

Francie and Maisie helped test the lighting equipment- they're not as high maintenance as the "professionals" :)

It's crazy to see how much goes into these shoots

"Look at all this candy Maisie!"

Francie's explaining to Jannie and to her little sister that she'll have to wait six months to go trick-or-treating for real :)

Big Sis at Gymnastics

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Big sister Francie is taking her new role on like a rock star ;) She sported her fancy-sparkled Big Sis outfit her friend Rose gave her to gymnastics on Thursday and Emmy came with us to watch Francie in her glory. She loves "nastas" and was a show off on the rings for Emmy. She really loves her "litta sista" and is always giving her kisses and saying "Maisie- cute!" I'm glad she decided Maisie can live with us- if Francie is happy everybody is happy :)

Mom and her girls!

"Weeeeeee!" Now are THOSE Francie-pants or what!?

I'm the BIG SISTER!

Adorable Little Landry comes to gymnastics now too!

Swinging high

She finally got the hang of "holding tight" to the hula-hoop while we pull her around the slick gym floor on a carpet mat!

Singing 'wheels on the bus' under the parachute on moms lap (Maisie was on there somewhere too:)

Look at that form finishing a sommersault with "Teacha Robbie"

and on the rings! Future gymnast? Highly unlikley Francie-pants...

Thanks for coming with us to nastas EMMY!!!

She's outta here...

Maisie Picks Her Godparents

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Maisie picked her godparents and she sure picked well! (ok, maybe we helped :) Uncle Jerry, my younger brother is the godfather (or as Sansie says God-sha-der) and Cousin Emmy is the very special godmother. Emmy's mom Kaky was my god-mother and we know Kaky is watching down on Maisie and Emmy from her new place in heaven, they already have a very special connection.

Godmother Emmy! Emmy came over to Jannie's Thursday night for a slumba-party and we asked her that night to be the godmother. She was surprised and very touched. We know she is going to be the best god-mother around!!! Maisie is SO comfortable with her and sleeps peacefully in her arms for hours. We are confident Emmy will take the lead on the spiritual guidance to make up for whatever Uncle Jerry leaves out (see below;)

Godfather Uncle Jerry! Jerry (Gerald Sheehy) stopped by after work Thursday so we could ask him to be the god-father. He was very excited and emailed us later that night to say "glad I can be godfather to another Sheehy! Thanks for the honor, tell Masie I'll try not to be drunk at all her important life events..." Oh Jerry ;)

Big sister approves of the god-parent choices (her's are Uncle James and Aunt Kat)

Emmy is soo much fun when she comes over! She jumped right in to help when I suggested I might want to "make a room" for Maisie. Within an hour we had furniture moved around and a new space for little Maisie!

Maisie's new "room" start~ I realized I needed another diaper changing table (got a great one on Craigslist yesterday!) AND a place to keep all Maisie's clothes organized so Dad doesn't put Francie in "last-season-little-too-small" outfits again...

See what I mean? just look at those JORTS ;)

We all love you MaryMarjorie!