Blessed!

We are so blessed to have these three!!! Thank you God! Words can not describe how grateful we are to be sharing in their lives! They bring such joy!

Apple Orchard - 2009

Last weekend we made our annual trip to the apple orchard. It was a quick trip this year, but the girls still had a blast. Makenna nicely reminded us to twist the apples from the tree and not pull them! I was very impressed that she remembered! The highlight this year was probably the goats. They liked "talking" back and forth with Daddy and the girls thought it was hilarious!

Pics from the apple orchard (don't mind my outfit... it was pre-workout)

Random Fun Pics

"Mommy, I think I've outgrown my bouncey seat!"


Maya and Daddy taking a spin on the plasma car!


Maya loves the plasma car!


One of Makenna and Maryn's favorite traditions... making pancakes with Daddy on Saturday morning!!!


Seriously, I can not believe hot big she is getting! 7 months old in this pic!!!


Maryn really misses Makenna when she's at school. She shadows her when she's at home. I found them on the couch one night like this and they didn't even look up after I took their picture!


There's just something about a sleeping baby...


Happy 31st Birthday Daddy! Makenna and Maryn giving Daddy his traditional birthday cheesecake! I made him a peanut butter chocolate chip cheesecake this year and boy was it good!!! Yum!


The girls reading the paper on Sunday morning just like Mommy and Daddy!

Makenna's Fall

Last week I got a phone call that every parent dreads... it was the school nurse telling me that Makenna had fallen from the playground equipment, on to her head, and that she was complaining about a sore neck. They tried to tell me that she was fine, she didn't cry, and they sent her back to class with an ice pack. I asked about a concussion and possible head injury (since the place they were telling me she fell from was 12 feet up) but they thought she was fine. I called Josh and he immediately rushed to the school to check her for himself (we thought it was weird that she didn't cry... that's so not like her). He thought she seemed "with it", just a little scratched up, so he left her at school for the rest of the day. She was pretty scratched on the side of her face and mouth. Later that night, not understanding how she wasn't more hurt from the fall, we took her over to the school playground to have her show us exactly what happened and where (thinking I needed to be taking her in for a more thorough examination by a doc if it really was a fall from 12 feet up on to her head). Luckily she only fell from 6 feet up and she fell feet first and turned to her side in the process. Not great, but much better than we initially thought. I tried so hard to keep myself composed but started crying as soon as I saw her after school. As I was hugging her she kept telling me over and over "I'm really okay Mommy. I promise." Oh what a sweetheart. I had a hard time hearing about what happened, especially when she told me she ended up with wood chips in her mouth :( Once again, our guardian angels were working over time that day. Thank you God for keeping our little one safe.


Makenna after her fall (note that some of the greenish/pinkish tint under her nose is actually marker that we couldn't scrub off due to all the ouchies)

Trip To Chicago

Over Labor Day weekend we took a quick trip in to Chicago to visit Jeanne, JT and Eden. We had a lot of fun hanging out at their house, swimming in the hotel pool, going to the park, and having dinner at my Aunt Beth's house. Any road trip over one hour in length is trying with our kids, but we managed. We set up a makeshift bathroom in the back of our minivan for Maryn and it actually came in handy on more than one occasion :) Makenna was mortified that we would do this, but it was better than peeing on the side of the road! Plus Maryn loved that she could sit there and potty and still see the DVD players! The girls were SO good the entire trip. They got a little owly the last hour or two of the drive home but Josh and I were feeling the same way.

Playing catch at Aunt Nene's...


More catch...


Maryn's birthday crown!! Aunt Nene had cupcakes so we could celebrate Maryn's birthday with them while we were there! And of course Poppy and Peepie provided the beautiful crowns for all the girls!


Trying to teach Eden how to play catch!


Maya smiling :)


Eden and her big blue eyes!




Makenna and Maryn sleeping together at the hotel. They did so well sleeping while we were there... Maya did not (teething).


Playing dress-up with my cousin Sophie. She has some of the best dress-up outfits. The girls had a blast with her!

Deep Thoughts From Makenna

As much as Maryn is our feisty, full-of-it, charming child, Makenna is our deep, sensitive, intellectual child. She always asks questions and makes observations that amaze me and Josh. Here are a few examples from recently...

I was getting Maya ready for bed one evening and Makenna was keeping us company in Maya's room. We were just talking through our day and everything that had happened. Out of the blue she asked "Mommy what if we don't get everything done today that God wants us to get done and then God decides that there's no tomorrow?" Have you thought about that lately?? We all should be, but I'm amazed that my kindergartener was.

Then just last week Makenna was sitting at the breakfast bar coloring before school. I was standing there doing something as well when she tells me "Mommy I'm coloring this person's skin darker because some people have darker skin." I agreed with her and told her it was a good idea and then she replied with "Yeah Mommy even if someone has a different color of skin than me I'm still their friend." She gets it and she's five. Amazing. I wish she could pass on the memo and get it to sink in to those ignorant adults who don't seem to get it. I love you darling. You have such a wonderful soul and I just know you're going to make a difference in this world!

Maya Loves Her Baths!

Maya is in love with taking baths! She has recently learned how to splash. And I mean really splash!! The bathroom and whoever is bathing her is usually drenched by the end of the fun-filled event! She learned the cause and effect of flailing her arms and legs, seeing the water go everywhere and the high-pitched noise mommy makes right afterwards :) She splashes non-stop to the point that it makes it almost hard to actually wash her! I love watching her! It's so fun to see the joy in her eyes!

Cutie pie in her bathtub!


Action shot of the splashing!


Stinker! "Look Mommy I'm all warm and dry in my towel and you're sopping wet!!"

Maryn's 3rd Birthday

Maryn had a wonderful 3rd birthday yesterday! She had a Dora birthday party with the best Dora birthday cake!!! The highlight present was from mommy and daddy - a plasma car! She was as good as gold for her party and thoroughly enjoyed it. She was gracious for all of her presents and seemed to get excited about everything!


This is Maryn's favorite movie "Dora and the Three Little Pigs." It was Makenna's idea to get this for her and she was so excited about it!


Opening presents - action shot!


Check out my new plasma car! She was SO excited!


Giving it a test drive in the kitchen! I can't tell you how many times this thing has done the loop in our kitchen/dining room already.


New Dora sunglasses!


The AWESOME Dora cake!


Her official "I'm Three!" picture on the stairs!


Blowing out candles on the cake!


Little Budke cousins (L to R, Josie, Hannah, Makenna). These three adore each other :)


Maryn and her new life size Dora! She loved all of her gifts!


Maryn devouring her cake and enjoying every last drop of it! Especially the frosting!

Ooooh Maryn...

If you know Maryn, you know that she provides for plenty of hilarious moments at our house. Too many times where I should be wearing my stern parent face but instead have to try and hide my laughter. Man I love that kid!!

Like a lot of kids, Maryn went through a stage this summer where she realized she could just clean out her nose using her finger. Gross, I know. Well we worked real hard to nip that one in the bud early on and I'm happy to report that phase passed quickly. During that whole process Maryn informed me one day that she had a booger in her nose. I told her that I would go get her a kleenex and in all seriousness she replied, "No I'll just use my finger instead."

I had the girls with me at the grocery store one time this summer. Maryn has finally gotten old enough that she is able to walk next to me rather then always have to ride in the cart. But with that said, she does still like to grab stuff off the shelves. Well on this particular day she decided that a plum in the produce section looked yummy and by the time I caught her she had a good chunk out of it already. Well of course I paid for it and she asked in the parking lot if she could have the rest. She was already a mess so I figured why not. I gave it to her in her car seat and proceeded to buckle everyone up. Before I knew it she says "All done!" I turn around and the plum is gone... plum pit included. I searched everywhere. She ate the pit. I was frantic worried about it, but after some searching on the internet and a call to my doctor they told me that it would just come out in her stools. We're just thanking God that she didn't choke on it when she ate it.

A few weeks ago on a trip home from Huxley, Maryn of course had to use the potty when there were no rest stops in sight. Josh decided it was fine to just pull over and let her pee on the side of the road. I warned him this wasn't a good idea, but he didn't listen at the time. Well then another 45 minutes down the road she had to pee again. Same story... no rest stop so she peed on the side of the road. Fast forward to the next day. I'm feeding Maya, Josh is making dinner, it's mass chaos around our house. Maryn runs outside and comes back in a few minutes later telling me "I go potty Mommy." Thinking she has to use the potty I start to rush her towards the bathroom. She stops me and proudly says "No mommy I pee in the grass." Josh and I immediately bust out laughing. I couldn't help myself. But of course then I had to pull out an "I told you so" with Josh later.

Kindergarten Follow-Up

Makenna is loving kindergarten! She is thriving in her new environment and is already impressing us with the amount she has learned. Her favorite part of the day is recess (isn't it for every kid?!) and she has made lots of new friends and tends to play with a different group of kids every day. She enjoys eating hot lunch and prefers to eat that probably 4 out of 5 days of the week. She is also very proud of her behavior charts... she has gotten a good behavior sticker every day so far! Kindergarten has made her very tired though and one day she even asked if she could stay home and play with me all day. It was very hard to make her go to school that day, but she'll get used to the new schedule soon. They have already divided the kids up into reading groups and Makenna is reading books from the 1st grade level with ease. I was lucky enough to be able to help in Makenna's classroom once already. I helped with apple tasting and it was so great to see her in her new environment. She does so well in school and reminds me of myself at that age. She continues to be a pleaser and tries so very hard to do everything just the way the teacher wants her to.


Running up the sidewalk towards mom after the first day of school. She seriously sprinted the entire way (you can even see the bus in the background still letting the other kids off). I was crying... I was so excited to see her!


Very first day of school done, LOTS more to go!!


Enjoying her after school snack of cupcakes that Maryn and I made for her on her first day of kindergarten.

Sitting Up!

Some time last week Maya started sitting up on her own for longer periods of time! She has had moments of being able to do this for quite awhile now, but now she can actually sit in one spot and play with toys for up to 10 minutes or more at a time. She is also moving quite a bit. She gets up on all fours and tries to propel herself forward. She does a worm-type movement and tries to scoot around. She also pivots on her tummy to turn herself in a complete circle. With all these movements, she is now basically mobile! Ahhh! I need to baby proof my house again!

"Look at me Mom!"


She even knows to put her arms out to her sides to balance herself. Balance is a necessity in our house with two bigger sisters constantly whizzing by and getting in her face!

Maryn - 3 Years Old

All About Maryn at 3 years old....



Nicknames: MarBear, Leigh Lou
Weight & Height: ??? , 33 lbs
Hair: Golden light brown hair that tends to curl at the bottom. It's still very fine and thin, but she finally looks like she has some hair. We wear her bangs pulled back in a barrette or ponytail almost everyday otherwise they hang in her face.
Favorite foods: Pizza, Chicken Nuggets, Cheeseburgers, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Frosting (on anything!), Watermelon, Nectarines, Peaches, Applesauce, Hot Dogs, Steak
Favorite toys: Puzzles, puzzles and more puzzles. She has been known to do the same 24 piece puzzle more than 10 times in one day. She loves to master a puzzle and she practices until she gets there. She also loves riding her bike and playing outside with Makenna. Actually anything that Makenna is playing is a huge hit!
Favorite stuffed animal: Puppy
Bedtime: We start getting ready for bed at 7:30 and she's in bed by 8:00. She falls asleep a little later if she took a nap that day.
Wake-up time: Approximately 7:30 - 8:00.
Naps: She takes a few naps a week, but I make her rest in her room every day. She definitely still needs a nap though and you can tell in her behavior in the evening if she hasn't napped that day.
Favorite person: Makenna and Maya... her sisters make her light up. Maryn has such a feisty personality but she has always been 100% loving and sweet towards Maya. They have a special bond :)
Latest Accomplishment: This summer she's accomplished a lot... sleeping in a big kid bed, and riding a bike (really well I must add!). She also can count to 15 (many times much well into the 20s), enumerate and do the big person computer all by herself!!
Likes: checking the garden for tomatoes with Daddy, going to the movie store, taking Makenna to school and getting her from the bus stop (mostly so she can see the buses)
Dislikes: wearing shoes, anything scary looking
What gets said about Maryn most often: comments about her sweet dimple
Best known for: Being full of it :)
Fears: the shadows on the ceiling from her nightlight, any scary looking creature. She uses the phrase "I cared" quite often to get attention.
Favorite shows: anything Dora
Health: Maryn has eczema and a sunscreen sensitivity, but both are well-controlled right now. Her ear tubes continue to stay in place and she hasn't had a problem with her ears since her surgery. She has been very healthy this summer. Unfortunately right now we are dealing with voiding dysfunction which has back-tracked her in the potty training department for a little while.
How she's like Daddy: gets frustrated very easily, she's super athletic and coordinated
How she's like Mommy: perfectionist... practices, practices and practices some more until she gets it down just right. Doesn't matter what it is.

Maryn with big sister "Nenny"


Maryn with one of her many puzzles