Sex Poll

Last time we asked our friends what the sex of our baby would be there was no doubt. Over 90% somehow knew Magnolia was a girl, and 1 or 2 of the 3 votes for boy were just couples hedging their bets.

We are dying to know this time if Maggie is getting a sister or a brother. Two weeks until our ultrasound appointment but we don't wanna wait that long. That's why we're asking our friends and family, whom we now know to be collectively psychic.

So clear your mind, align your chakras, scatter your chicken bones or whatever you need to do to tell us the sex of our baby!

The poll's on the side but we'd love it if you left a comment too!

Look Alike Poll Results

In case you voted early and didn't see the results and to save them permanently before we put up our next poll.

Who does Magnolia look more like?

The results:
10 month old Brian: 15
9 month old Shannon: 24

This surpised both of us, because while we think she looks like Shannon a lot of the time, we both think she looks more like Brian in the photo.

Happy 11 Month Birthiversary!

Well, this is Magnolia's last Birthiversary Post. It's so hard to believe it has almost been a year.

This was a fun month. Munchkin may just be at the peak of her cuteness.

Walking!

She loves to explore and climb and is surprisingly agile. All this movement may have led to our recent development of SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! She is now going 12 hours regularly without any interaction with us. Hallelujah!

Magnolia's Office

Maggie's eating habits haven't changed much, other than being a little more opinionated. She is starting to enjoy some of the same foods we are eating: pasta and tomato sauce, pancakes, bagels. I love sharing breakfast with my girl! Also of note, the tips of tooth #9 -- her first molar -- have just broken the surface.

Click through to flickr for more fun pictures

Magnolia, like her Mama and Papa, now loves books! She will sit still for book after book as we read together, sometimes turning the pages correctly on her own.

Her new found love of "reading" has made its way into her independent play time too. Magnolia's favorite "reading" spot is IN one of her two book boxes. She will often sit for long periods of time turning pages and pointing at pictures while babbling her own language.
Most of her words are still indistingishable, though she seems to go through phases of practicing a sound for a day or two. Tonight the sound was ssssss or thsis, but has been "pwuh" (softly) and "bwuh" a lot lately. Sometimes it seems like she has a word for book and a word for dog, but it is unclear. Maggie still signs every once in a while when her pointing and vocalizations don't get her what she wants but it's pretty rare.

"No Touch" is losing its effectiveness as Maggie tests our reactions. Her intense interest in the fridge magnets, which are a little too small for her to play with unsupervised, has turned into an obsession that spells heart break any time they're denied. These moments are brief now but give us a taste of what is next on our parenting adventure: discipline.

Who me?

Tupperware Spelunking

This happens quite a lot...

I thought I had removed all the plastic cutlery, but I guess not.

14 1/2 Steps!

While making dinner tonight I looked across the breakfast bar into the living room to see a little head bobbing along at Magnolia height.

"Brian, is she walking?!"

"Yeah, like 14 1/2 steps!"

Yay Magnolia!

Magnolia wash Trudy?

Last night, when Trudy came to check on bath time, Magnolia was standing at the tub edge, wash cloth in hand.

"Magnolia wash Trudy?"

Trudy backed away as Magnolia seemed to consider the possibility. Then Splat! The washcloth just missed Trudy's head and landed on the floor.

It was probably just a coincidence, but it made me laugh either way.

Our Year In Unpublished Pictures

We're back! Blogging got put on the back burner as we dealt with craziness this month: school closure due to flooding, Brian's January session in California, and final exams. I've been working on this post for weeks! I wanted to finish it before I went on to another post, but kept running into road blocks.

Some friends'--the Amundsons--posted their favorite picture from each month of the previous year that didn't make it to their blog. Here is my attempt at the same...

January ~ Well, I can't find any of our January pictures (roadblock). Our friends threw us a great shower, we went up to Mt. Baker for a weekend, and I know we have baby bump and nursery painting pictures somewhere, but I can't find them. This one was taken later, but it can stand in.


February ~ A month of waiting...This picture is from one of many walks on the beach trying to get my labor started.

March ~ Our Family! Our friend Meg Nelson, took this picture (and the one I used in January) as a part of a practice photo shoot.

April ~ I just think this one is funny. "I pity da foo who dudn't like my mohawk!"

May ~ Our friend, Josh took one of my all time favorite pictures of Magnolia.

June ~ It's amazing how quickly she gets over things!

July ~ The girls went to Priest Lake and Everett for some fun with the Gracey family.

Meanwhile, Brian was in California studying...wait a minute, that doesn't look like studying. His "mod" was the cool hang out 'cause he and his roommate held regular Dance! Dance! Revolution and Karaoke parties.

August ~ Magnolia and I spent a lot of time "hiking" with the dogs in the off leash area around Lake Padden.

September ~ We drove to Seattle to meet up with some special college friends that are now all around the world. Jen and Magnolia became good friends.

We also went to LaConner for lunch to celebrate my Grandma Gracey's birthday. "Hmm, do you have any green pea and tofu dishes??"

October ~ The big event in October was Dad Rush's birthday and retirement. We celebrated by getting the entire family to dress like Dad -- Plaid short-sleeved button ups, pens and spiral notepads in shirt pocket, slacks or shorts with belt, and dress socks and leather shoes. He's a trend setter.

Our niece Ella also had the brilliant idea to put red marks on our hands since his hands are always cut from working in his shop. Unfortunately, it was one of the only times Dad Rush didn't wear a short sleeved plaid shirt, but you can see some of the other Clive trademarks below.

November ~ We ended our fall cheering on Brian's volleyball team. Magnolia loved to scream (kinda sounded like a garbage disposal that someone forgot to turn off) along with the crowd while sporting her Raider colors.

The orange liquor box continued to be a favorite toy.

December ~ Bear suit clad (her third suit! Brian swears this is the only outfit she needs)Magnolia in the forest of Christmas trees!

Battle of the Genes

Who does Magnolia look more like? 10-month-old Brian or 9-month-old Shannon? Vote in the poll on the sidebar.

How Scary Are Your Branches?

Rushcapades Year in Review, 2008

You may have to humor us here. We realize not everyone is going to click through the gazillion links we've posted but Shannon and I enjoyed looking back on 2008 and wanted to compile some highlights. For your enjoyment--or just ours--some stats and favorites:

Blog Entries Posted in 2008: 155

Continents on which Rushcapades was Viewed: 5. Come on South America, what's your deal?! Actually we don't look at our stats very often. Have any of you visited South America and checked our blog?

Most Page Views in a Day: 500+ on the day Shannon went into labor with Maggie!

The Post that Received the Most Comments: This is with a total of 35 comments!

Our Favorite Inidividual Comment: The two by Mom G in response to Beards over Babies

Our Favorite Sequence of Comments: Nicknames for Magnolia

Shannon's Favorite Post of Her Own: Postpartum, shhh...writing this one was very therapeutic.

Shannon's Favorite Post of Brian's: The Birth Story in all its parts...my favorite post of the bunch is this one.

Brian's Favorite Post of His Own: The birth story was a labor of love but since Shannon already chose it I'll say Conversations from the School Bus. I'll also mention the prequel to the birth story--Introducing...--in which we actually thought we were having Magnolia early!

Brian's Favorite Post of Shannon's: Naked Time. Disgusting and hilarious.

The Post We Had the Most Fun Writing Together: Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow

Some Other Favorites: Debeardification Process, Nana's Time with her Special Little Someone, Five Generations of First Born Daughters, Bath Time Belly Bulges, Rest in Peace, RIP Puppy, Shannon's Dream, Proud Parents of, You're Twelve and You're Buying Shoes, and Hello Again.

Some Recurring Themes: Babies, Birthiversaries, Pregnancy, Beards, and Poop

If you have your own blog, what are your favorite posts? Post links in the comments.

Or if you have favorites from other blogs post those too!