The pitter patter of another set of feet...

This...

 ...is Maggie.

She's a pretty cool little munchkin.  Precocious.  Strong willed.  Independent.  Snuggly. 

And she has that sweet little baby voice.  Today, we were practicing how to say "Good gracious!  Sakes alive!"  But she still just won't say "Go Braves!" for me.  I'm going to keep working on her.

This little girl...

...is the pitter patter of another set of feet around our house three days a week.  She's the daughter of a good teacher friend of mine and his wife, who has also become a good friend.  They were in a pickle a few months ago when Maggie's mommy's work schedule changed and they were in a need of a new babysitting arrangement.  Well, as it turns out, my work schedule had changed as well about that time.  So I up and volunteered to have little Maggie Moo come chill at our house, just us girls for a few hours a week.  And it has worked out pretty well, actually.  She comes over for the afternoon on days that we don't have any commitments, and a good chunk of her time with us is rest time for all.  Right now, I have a 10-month old snoring away in her room, a 3-year old doing something quiet (perhaps napping today?) in  her room, and a 20-month old snoozing up a storm in her quiet place.  Every time I get all three where they're supposed to be for resting on time and calmly, I feel like a small bit of applause is justly warranted.  So I usually eat chocolate while I fritter away my time in various pursuits, often meaningless and mind numbing.

Genetically, Maggie is stuck with a dad who loves the Cubs and Bears.  But with those rockin' pigtails and big brown eyes, genetics can take a back seat.  I just break out my Braves and Colts t-shirts to counteract the bad juju of her Bears water bottle.  And lest I forget, her mama brings us some sa-weet cupcakes once in a while.  Not a bad deal all the way around, right?