New Foods

Maryn is growing up so fast! It seems like it's something new everyday! Lately she is very into trying new foods... anything that we are eating or anything that she can feed herself. She likes the typical baby foods - bananas, crackers, puffs, dry cereal, crackers, frozen waffles and bread. And then some not so typical - mushed up black beans, cold meat, macaroni and cheese, and bites of cinnamon toast crunch from daddy's cereal bowl :) But her latest favorite is watermelon! She just devours it and starts squealing when you pull it out of the refrigerator! It's so cute! Plus now she has learned the fun of squeezing the pieces of watermelon to make juice ;)

Maryn enjoying her first taste of watermelon!




Physically Maryn is moving right along. As of last week, she can walk behind her push toy! She pulls herself up all by herself and takes off all the way across the room without help! Yesterday she also stood unassisted all by herself. She was sitting on the floor by me, used my leg to help her stand up and then just stood there, steady as can be on her own for probably a good 10 seconds. Josh, Makenna and I were all trying to coax her to take a few steps but she just stood there with her arms out to her sides grinning and squealing at us! She was so proud of herself! So of course she had to practice that new trick a few more times last night!

Last week (I believe on Friday) Maryn also had two new teeth pop through. Another upper middle tooth and the left side incisor.

As I've said before, our two girls may look alike but their personalities are like night and day. This has become clear to us in another way recently. We have just started in the past few months to take Maryn to the nursery at church. We have never had any problems with Makenna going anywhere without us... typically she'll just run towards the toys and other kids and not even give us a second thought. But Maryn is a little more tentative and is anxious to go with strangers (typically she will cling to my shoulder). She will still do it (especially now that she can just get down on the floor and play with the other kids most of the time), but she definitely doesn't like that moment when Mommy leaves her. She's shed a few tears a time or two, but yesterday we made progress and she didn't even notice that I was leaving. No tears! Much easier on mommy and Maryn that way!

I'm Feeling Political Today

Today there is an election in Linn County, but you'd never know if you went to the polling places. I showed up to place my vote at 11:30 this morning and only 25 people had voted in front of me. Sad. This is especially sad for the citizens of the city of Marion if they don't get their voices heard on this issue. In a nutshell, Linn County is rearranging it's Board of Supervisors and today was the election to decide where they would come from and who would elect them. Much to my astonishment, numerous people are in support of giving every single Supervisor spot to Cedar Rapids thus completing ignoring Marion and all of rural Linn County (Plan #2). The plan I am in support of would allow Marion (and the other not as populated areas of the county) to vote in their own supervisor (Plan #3), thus making each Supervisor accountable to the residents that elected him/her into position. Doesn't that just make sense??? I don't even get how this can be a debate or an issue that is taken to election?? Why would I want a Cedar Rapids resident (who most likely could care less about Marion) controlling everything that happens in my town and with my tax money? Doesn't it just make sense that someone that actually lives in that district and is ELECTED by the voters in that district would be more accountable to its' own constituents?? That would be like Iowa voting to give all of our power and money to Minnesota to control our state just because they happen to have a larger metropolitan area than we do. That's asinine! We would never do it, so I don't know why the citizens of Linn County are even considering this option. It comes to down to basic checks and balances that I learned about in 9th grade government class and Plan #2 obviously wants to do away with that. Watch your local news channel and keep your fingers crossed that Plan 3 wins. If you can't tell, I love politics. National politics are boring me lately so it was fun to get into local politics for awhile :) I just love voting - it makes me feel so patriotic!

Guess Which Budke Girl?

Check out these pictures -








Josh found an old memory card for our digital camera tonight so I thought I'd check out what was on it. As I'm flipping through the pictures I realize that it is Makenna at the EXACT same age that Maryn is now! I could hardly tell them apart! Every single picture above is Makenna! Even Josh (who claims he can always tell ALL of their pictures apart) was fooled! In most of the pictures the only difference I can see is Makenna has slightly longer hair than Maryn does now, but other than that they have the same expressions, smile, face, eyes, mouth, you name it. They both even have the same skinny little arms and fuzzy hair! I thought my girls' pictures looked alike at 3 months, but this is uncanny!

Doctor Appointments

Today Makenna had her 3 year well check for preschool. I can't believe I'm a mom that has to take in the forms to be filled out for school... it makes me feel old. My little girl is going to school. I'm so happy for her but it's a weird feeling to me. On to the doctor's appointment - Makenna is healthy, healthy, healthy! Thank you God! She is 3 foot 5 inches tall (once again, so tall that they couldn't even give me a percentage because she's so far off the charts) and her weight has shot up to 37 1/2 pounds which is in the 75% (higher than typical for her). Dr. Sterling and I had a discussion at length about Makenna's skin problems. She thinks that the horrible rashes that she breaks out in are a combination of her eczema and a chemical reaction between the sun and some of the sunscreens we have been trying on her. Since we seem to have things under control right now (found a sunscreen that works for her and figured out how often to apply Aquaphor to prevent breakouts) she's going to leave things as they are. She said that if this occurs next summer again then we will look into allergy testing and the possibility of putting her on an antihistamine at all times to help prevent breakouts. Makenna was so good the entire time (she LOVES going to the doctor)! Dr. Sterling was asking her all the typical well check questions and then asked her what her favorite food is to which Makenna responded "broccoli." Dr. Sterling just gave me this look "like you've got to be kidding me" and I told her "You probably think I paid her to say that, don't you?!" It is one of her favorite vegetables, but I'm surprised she mentioned it as her favorite food.

While we were at the office we had Maryn double checked for a few things. Earlier in the week I took Maryn in for a weird looking rash on the birthmark on her leg. Dr. Sterling said almost immediately that she was sure it was ringworm, gave us some meds and it cleared up with the very first application. So she double checked that today and all is well. We also weighed Maryn again because we were worried that she was losing weight instead of gaining weight (and she hasn't been eating well lately). So I weighed her this morning at the office and she was well over 18 lbs (where she needs to be in accordance to how she is growing) which is much better than the low 17 lb. range she was weighing in at earlier this week. That was a little worrisome since it would've meant that she had lost a considerable amount of weight. So once again, thank you God that she is doing so well!

With all that said, both girls are healthy and doing well. Maryn seems to be in better spirits (teeth must not be bugging her as much) and ate well last night and this morning and Makenna is her typical chipper self. After our doctor's appointment we were able to go out to lunch with daddy which is always a treat. Makenna ate an entire adult size turkey sub, a huge thing of chocolate milk and a cookie. We're talking she woofed it down before I could even blink! And that's right after she had two pancakes, strawberries and blueberries for breakfast! Growing kid I guess!

Once again, I am thankful for the way our doctor practices medicine... she wants to be precautious but not to the point that we would put Makenna through the painful process of allergy testing unless we absolutely have to. I just absolutely love our doctor and her entire office - how often do you find a practice where you not only like your own doctor, but every other doctor in the practice? I trust them completely. With all the little things and the big things. They've put my mind at ease with the little things and told me when something is not a big deal and I've seen them swing into action and get serious when they are overly concerned about something (ie. Maryn's lump on her breast when she was 8 weeks old). We know we have found a one in a million practice. They are absolutely amazing and we are blessed to have doctors that we trust so much.

Makenna's 3rd Birthday

Makenna had a great 3rd birthday. The day was pretty typical but we ate dinner at Chuck E Cheese (per Makenna's request) and then had cake and ice cream in the backyard with some of the neighbors. She had a lot of fun and enjoyed all of the attention :)

On our way home from Chuck E Cheese....



Eating cake and getting covered with chocolate ice cream!



Makenna opening some birthday gifts...



Birthday Cake #2 - this was the bottom tier from the mega cake we had on Saturday. I think I did a pretty good job of doctoring it up to hide where the 2nd tier was sitting on top :)



Makenna has been talking about turning three for probably the last six months. All of a sudden the day before her birthday she got so upset because she didn't want to be three. Her little pouty lip puckered out and she got a sad look in her eye and told me "Mommy I don't want to be three. I be 2 1/2 instead." Luckily she got over that by the next day :) But she did tell me that next year on her birthday she wants to be 2 1/2 again! Must have been a good age for her :)

Sunday morning I was telling Makenna how beautiful she looked in her church clothes. I said "Do you know how beautiful you are?" To which she responded "Actually, I do!" Josh and I got a good chuckle out of that one. No self esteem issues at our house :)

We were at the store returning some items the other day and we had to take the elevator up to the 2nd floor because I had Maryn in the stroller. Makenna kept hilariously calling the elevator the alligator. Even after I corrected her a few times she continued talking about riding on the alligator :)

The other day I was trying to convince Makenna that her food was too hot to eat, but she just wasn't believing me. So she stuffed a french fry in her mouth and says "It's not too hot. Mommy, you gotta listen to me!"

Maryn has hit a rough patch lately. She is currently getting three new teeth. Yes, three. The poor little peanut. She will go from being happy and laughing to screaming in pain the very next minute. It's kind of scary to watch her like this since she is never like this, but I think I would be the same way it if was me.

We have been seeing a new side of Maryn's personality emerging recently - a temper. Our laidback little baby isn't quite as laidback anymore (we knew it couldn't last given her two parents!) Maybe it's tied in with the teeth, but I have a feeling that it's more than just that. If she doesn't get her way or get something right when she wants it, she now has a new irate scream along with flailing her arms.

Iowa has had a stretch of bad weather over the last few days. Lots of thunderstorms and rain. On Monday night we had a particularly bad storm and our power went off for awhile at about 9:30. The storm was so loud that I went upstairs to check on the girls and make sure they were okay. Makenna was out like a light and slept through the whole thing. Then I went to check on Maryn and there she was standing up in her crib just looking at me :) I knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep with all the noise outside (plus her fan we use to buffer noise wasn't working without electricity), so I brought her downstairs to hang out in the candlelight with me and Josh. We were listening to the radio (due to the weather) and one of Avril Lavigne's new songs came on (I don't know the title, something about a boyfriend) and Maryn just started jamming! So here we are in our kitchen, power out, candles for light, me, Josh and Maryn jamming to Avril Lavigne! We had a good time! We gave little pumpkin a snack after our dance party and then she went back to bed. I love making memories with my girls ;)

Best Birthday Cake Ever

Makenna had her 3rd birthday party yesterday and she had a blast! The theme was Care Bears, which she picked out about six months ago and has been talking about ever since :) It was a great day and we were able to share it with most of our family. Makenna had fun playing with all of her cousins, got lots of great gifts and we all shared a meal together. But the best part (at least according to Makenna!) was her birthday cake. This thing was unbelievable! Even I was excited (actually Josh said that I was acting like a kid on Christmas morning when we got home!)! Words wouldn't do this cake justice...



The coolest cake I've ever seen, that's for sure! Makenna was just enamored with this cake. She just stared at it all afternoon until her party started and now that the party is over she keeps talking about it. Good thing we have pictures! :)

Makenna and her cake!



All 8 Budke cousins (L to R, Makenna, Brooks, Josie, Adalynn, Blake, Jakson, Maryn (my mom holding her), Hannah)



Maryn having fun at the birthday party!



Makenna checking out her presents



Makenna opening gifts...



MarBear getting in on some of the gift action



Makenna modeling her new Care Bears apron

Maryn's 1st Word

A little over a week ago Maryn said her first word. If you would consider it a word that is. I was sitting with her on the couch and accidentally dropped her bottle on the ground and she looked up and me and very clearly said "Uh-Oh!" Josh was sitting there and heard it too! So I guess I have to write "uh-oh" down in her baby book as her first word. Not quite as fun as mama or dada but those are coming along now too! Makenna kept telling me a few days before that that Maryn was talking and saying "uh-oh" but I never heard it so I didn't know if I believed her. Goes to show I should listen to my two-year-old a little more :)

Maryn is cruising all over the place. If I had to make a guess I am thinking she will be walking before 11 months (she was 10 months yesterday). She can walk from one end of the couch to the other (obviously holding on), she can pick up objects from the ground while standing, tries to let go of the couch or a toy and stand on her own, and is now trying to move from one toy to another by reaching far and taking steps over to it. She walks very well with help and enjoys practicing that out in the yard (I think she likes the feel of the grass on her feet... so different from when Makenna was the age and hated grass).

Makenna continues to make us laugh by everything she says. The other night while I was tucking her in bed we were talking about what we were going to do the next day and I told her that we were going to the grocery store. She got really excited because she loves the grocery store and started listing off all the things she wanted to get. She started listing off all kinds of fruit snacks and I told her that I think we'll have to pass on those and she responded with "No mommy it's okay. Those aren't expensive!" I believe it was the same night that she was grasping for anything to keep me in her room. I could tell she was searching for a reason in her head and she blurts out "I'm scared of the blinds!" That definitely has to be a first.

Makenna is very good at imagination play. She will pretend play with imaginary friends all the time. They go to the beach, have tea parties, play trains, you name it. Well the other day she was pretending to put her stuffed animals down for a nap and I started overhearing her conversation and was interested in who she was "playing" with. So I asked and she told me that she was playing with Jesus :)

They always say the best toys aren't necessarily toys!



Sister bonding time!



Catching Makenna in a serious moment...



Maryn and her obsession with our stairs

Triathlon #2 - CornMan

Josh successfully completed his second triathlon of the summer this morning. It was HOT, windy, hilly and not very fun (at least according to Josh!). He wasn't happy about how he performed, but he still beat his training partner/friend so that makes the day a little bit better :) He didn't get punched/kicked as much in the water this time, but had an equipment malfunction with his goggles (they fogged up and got water in them causing him to have to stop swimming twice). Now it's on to training for the big one 6 weeks away.... it's over 3 times as long as the one he did today. Insane, oh yes, I know! And he knows too, but he still insists on doing it!


Just out of the water and transitioning into the bike. I think the look on his face explains exactly how he felt about the swim :)


Getting ready for the bike


Coming back in from the bike. He looked good and his time was great at this point in time (little did we know how bad the run would be ;) He's trying to get his shoes unstrapped as he rides into the transition area.


Running out of the transition area and getting ready to tackle all those hills on foot :) Isn't the background here beautiful? If it wouldn't have been so hot we probably would've enjoyed it a little more!


Off on the run...


Heading to the finish line!

Summer Fun

So what's been going on with us? A whole lot of playing outside (Makenna), house projects and working out (me and Josh), and getting into everything (Maryn). Life just seems to be in fast forward for us right now. I can't believe that it's already the 4th of July... where has the summer gone? That always used to be my marker when I was a kid that summer was halfway over. I just don't know where the time goes. I seem to spend most of my days hovering over Maryn and her every move and trying to corral Makenna to either stay in our yard or convince her that it's more fun to play inside with me during Maryn's nap time rather than play outside with the neighbor kids. This has been our main issue lately - the neighbor kids. I always wanted to live in suburbia and have a million little kids running around playing, but now I live smack dab in the middle of it all and I think I'm changing my mind. I try to tell myself that we just got a bad draw with some of our neighbors, but I'm not so sure. Makenna has an EXTREME desire to be outside with kids (any kid, doesn't matter who) anytime she hears someone playing outside. Since we have 15 kids that live in the houses just immediately around us, this is pretty much a constant thing. She gets upset when I'm cooking dinner and she can't go outside or if MarBear's in bed and we have to stay in our yard with the monitor. The biggest problem we have is that none of the other kids have ANY parental supervision (even the 16 month old neighbor roams the neighborhood aimlessly for hours... no I'm not kidding, just ask anyone that has visited my house lately and see the little blond-haired boy in my yard) and they don't seem to have any rules (ie. no bedtimes, they can run wild all over the neighborhood, etc). Since Makenna is still so young, she doesn't understand why she has all these rules and the other kids don't. Trying to explain this to her doesn't go over very well, but it is getting much better and I'm proud of the progress she is making. Plus since Josh and I do believe in parental supervision, that makes us the official neighborhood baby-sitters. Fun, huh?! Now if it would only rain for a few days to give us some peace and quiet...

Maryn has been living up to the 9-10 month developmental boom that I love so much and has been trying all kinds of new things lately. Yesterday she started climbing the stairs (much to my dismay) and already this morning she was able to climb 2/3 of the way up our huge flight of stairs without even staggering once (yes, I was right behind her!). She loves to walk around with someone holding her hands and I think she might be even walking along the furniture when I'm not looking but I haven't caught her yet :) She has been sleeping a ton lately (as did Makenna whenever she was growing or developing a new skill) and is almost always in good spirits!

Unfortunately Maryn decided that she was done breastfeeding last week. I had a hard time letting it go, but I know that it is better to follow the baby's cues than to hang on to it. She was fighting me horribly towards the end (back arching, pushing me away, crying) so I knew it was time. She was a very sweet baby though and gave me my one last moment to cherish the other day and now we're done. I can pack up the breastpump and all the nursing bras for now! Whoo Hooo! As sad as I am to not have that special bonding time with my baby girl, it is also pretty liberating to be done. I haven't been able to have a caffeinated or alcoholic beverage for what seems like forever! I could care less about the alcohol (since I think I figured out last night that I've had only one alcoholic drink in the past 4 years!), but the caffeine is not fun for me to give up. Last night Josh made us some strawberry daiquiris and we enjoyed the beautiful evening on our deck after the girls went to sleep.

Makenna has been on a kick lately talking about wanting a baby brother or sister. Nobody get excited because she can talk all she wants and that's not going to be happening anytime soon! The other day while we were coloring she was talking about wanting a baby brother and I asked her what she wants to name her baby brother. She immediately replied "Derek" which is hilarious because we don't know any Dereks. But then it got even better... she stopped and said "No not Derek, how about Jesus!" I just got the biggest smile on my face and tried not to laugh! I asked her that same question at lunch in front of Josh that day and when she said "Jesus" Josh seriously almost spit his food out. Don't worry... Josh and I are pretty specific when it comes to naming kids and Jesus is not on our list :)

Maryn's 9 Month Pics

I know I am a biased mother, but I seriously think we have one of the most beautiful babies in the world... :)












To our family members... I have a book over 225 pictures that were taken at this photo shoot. You can look at the book and tell me exactly what you want me to order for you when we see you at Makenna's birthday party in a few weeks :)