Mommy Knows Everything!

The following is a discussion we had in the car on the way to school one morning recently -

Maryn: "I'm in charge!"
Me: "No, I'm the mommy so I'm in charge. Someday when you're a mommy then you will be in charge."
Makenna: "I can't wait to be a mommy! Then I can be in charge and I'll know EVERYTHING!" :)

Now I must follow this up by admitting that I've somehow got my 5 year old completely fooled into believing that I know everything... all with a little help from her teacher! Mrs. Agnew emails us every day and tells us what the kids did in school that day. Thus I always have all kinds of good info and things to talk to her about. So many times she'll just look at me funny and ask "How'd you know that?!" And I always shrug my shoulders, smile and say "Moms know everything!" Guess I really have her convinced ;)

We started up our 3rd session of music class last week. Maryn and Maya thoroughly enjoy it and I love that it is an activity that we can all participate in together. It was a lot of the same moms and kids that we've been seeing all year but Miss Paula was trying to figure out all of the new kiddo's names. She would ask their names and write them out on a name tag, with most of the kids being shy and not wanting to talk. Then teasing Maryn, Miss Paula looks at her (of course Maryn is perched right next to her as always ;) and asks "Now who are you again?! I think I forgot your name?" Without missing a beat Maryn says "M-A-R-Y-N! Maryn!" Had to make sure she spelled it right on her name tag! Then she even spelled Maya's name for her :)

And Miss Maya has found a new love... kittens! Specifically the kitty from the movie "Barbie and the Three Musketeers". We rented that movie for Makenna and Maryn last weekend and Maya would squeal with delight or shriek "itty!!!" any time she would happen to see the cat on the TV screen! Too cute!

And the story of bathtub revenge :) Maryn has been peeing in the bathtub lately. She did it a few times with Makenna and absolutely grossed her older sister out (thus why Makenna now takes a shower by herself). Even after Josh and I talked to her about it on several occasions, she did it a few more times bathing with Maya. I think we finally put the kibosh on it, but then one night a few weeks ago in the middle of bath time all of the sudden there are two long strands of poop floating in the tub! Maya had pooped in the tub and Maryn was in there with her!!! I just had to chuckle after all the times Maryn had peed on everyone else. Maya didn't even seem to have a clue as to what she had done. I'm just amazed that in three children this is the first kid to poop in the tub! Never a dull moment at our house!

Makenna's School Musical

Yesterday was Makenna's school musical "How Does Your Garden Grow?" Makenna was chosen to be Flower #1 and she had the second most lines in the entire play! The lines (along with 5 songs) all had to be memorized. I was a little overwhelmed about how a kindergartner would do this, but she took her script up to her room and came back 5 minutes later with all of her lines memorized! I think she might have a hidden talent here! She thoroughly loved practicing her lines and singing the songs and doing all the actions for us.

Josh and I were a nervous wreck the few days leading up to her big performance, but she didn't even flinch. She was too excited to even think about being nervous! She came home the day of their school performance (they did it for the entire student body) and all she said was "You should have seen how big the audience was?!" Oh and that Mr. Ludwig (the principal) messed up a few of his lines ;) The night of the big show Makenna did wonderfully. She was the first student to speak in the play and she set the bar high. She spoke clearly and articulated well enough that you could hear and understand her! She did so well! Maryn sat in the front row with me and Josh totally enamored by her big sister and all that she was doing! After one of Makenna's scenes, Maryn very quietly under her breath (not intending for anyone to hear) says "Makenna's so cool!" I had tears in my eyes. The whole moment was just too precious for this mommy!

After the play as I was driving home with Makenna she tells me "I want to do that again! That was fun!" Then proceeds to tell me how she wants to learn a new play now and perform that one for everyone and was wondering if she would get a speaking part in the 1st grade play! Oh I think we might have a little actress on our hands!

Josh and I are so proud of Makenna! Not because she aced all of her lines and had wonderful stage presence (we would have thought she was awesome even if she would have forgotten a line!), but because she did it with such passion and enthusiasm. She practiced so hard and is able to put joy in everything she does. She is a very mature, fun little girl and I just love being around her! We love you Makenna! Congratulations on a wonderful performance!


Being a flower in this play meant that mommy had to get creative and make a flower costume! To say the least, I was overwhelmed. I am not artistic at all. I don't even like to do crafts. After a lot of contemplating and hours of hard work, we came up with a costume that our little flower loved! As long as she liked it, that's all I cared about!


I think I just might have a little bit of my dad's artistic side after all :) But just a little!


Makenna onstage right before the first song began!


Makenna and Caroline doing some of their lines! I was terrified of taking pictures of her when she was up at the microphone out of fear I might mess her up from my flash. Therefore I don't have very many pictures of her up on stage. I really wanted one when she was up there the first time with no one behind her, but mama's nerves were a little too iffy to be taking pictures at that moment!


Makenna and the other flowers!


Makenna with her good friend Caroline (the scarecrow)


Trying to blend in with our flowers in the front yard.


Maryn was so proud of Makenna! Gotta love this shot!

Ooooooo Ooooooo Ooooooo

I have talked about Maya's famous "ooooooo ooooooo ooooooo" on this blog many times. By pure luck alone, I was able to capture this on camera!!! Gotta love it! I was actually getting the camera out to take a picture of her because she was such a mess and just happened to catch a "ooooooo oooooooo ooooooo" moment!



Our smiley, messy girl! This is what she looks like after any type of Italian food. It is her absolute favorite. Notice that her plate is clean but she managed to smear a good portion of it on herself!

Spring Has Sprung

One of the things our family enjoys most about spring is anticipating the arrival of our tulips! Makenna helped Josh plant them a few years ago and thus has taken great interest in them. The girls are constantly checking on their progress and there is great joy in our house when the flowers finally bloom! I'm happy to say the tulips are in full bloom right now! Beautiful!

Let's Talk About Maya

I look at these darling pictures and can hardly believe how big my baby is getting! Wow how time flies! She is turning into a toddler right before my very eyes! It's such a blessing and exactly what I want for her, but it's so hard for this mama to let go of the baby stage :( Here is a little catch-up about what our little Maya is up to at this very active age!

Maya continues to be a smiley kid :) We get comments on her "smileyness" all the time! She loves going to music class with Maryn and me and typically will smile her whole way through it! She also has turned into quite the outdoors kid (just like her Daddy!). She will stand at the back door and do her famous and intense "Oooooo oooooo ooooooo oooooooo" until one of us takes her out back to swing!

Maya has a few new favorite foods this past week. She finally decided that she LOVES black beans (perfect example of if you feed a kid a certain food enough times they will eventually cave and try it!). She also has a renewed interest in bananas. If she can see up to our fruit bowl from the floor or from her highchair, she will point and do the her "oooooo oooooo ooooooo" (which ironically sounds a lot like a monkey!) until we give her a banana. In the past she tolerated bananas. She'd eat a little and mash the rest on the seat of her highchair or throw it on the ground. Now she inhales them before I even have a chance to turn and look! And of course thanks to Easter and all of it's lovely candy, she has become a huge fan of M&M minis! I made the horrible mistake of giving her just one and now she wants them any time she sees any candy. Oh boy. But I have to admit the colorful M&M drool while she's eating them is awfully cute.

And another part of her eating that has changed... I weaned her from nursing at 13 months and 1 week. Maya is my first child that did not stop breastfeeding on her own. Both Makenna and Maryn weaned themselves between 9 and 10 months old. Maya loved nursing and it was our special time together. My goal was to get her through cold and flu season and I accomplished that goal so I am happy with that. She has adjusted extremely well and never really even bawked at being offered milk instead of nursing. As sad as I am to see this stage of my baby's life pass, I am thrilled to finally have my body back to myself!

Walking and talking... The walking is coming along slowly. Some would probably consider her a walker, but at our house we've never considered our kids "walkers" until they were using walking as their preferred method of transportation. She stands unassisted for long periods of time and is even able to stand from a sitting position without holding on to anything. She takes anywhere from 3-8 steps in a row more times than I can count on a daily basis. But with that said, she just won't take off. It will happen, it's just a confidence thing at this point.

But her talking is another matter. She is growing by leaps and bounds in this area. She frequently repeats words and with clarity that is shocking for Josh and me. She says things at the most random times. One night we were having pizza for dinner and Josh yelled "pizza" to which he got the most perfect echo of "pizza" from Maya. Then when we were taking pictures for Easter she followed our instructions and belted out a perfect "cheese"! And yet one of the most amazing parts of her talking, she is already singing parts of the ABC song and can mimic the sounds of counting "1-2-3...". I don't think I would have believed the ABCs if Josh and Makenna wouldn't have heard it as well... and then she repeated it continuously for all of us for the following 5 minutes! So fun!

At Maya's 12 month check-up she weighed in at 21 lbs (42%) and was 31+ inches long (96%). Josh and I continue to be baffled by these extremely tall girls we are raising!! And so much for her being our "big" kid... that onetime 9 lb 3 oz newborn continues to drop in the weight percentages and is getting skinnier by the day (despite eating more than an adult at some meals!). The doctor isn't concerned about her drop in percentages (yet) since it has been a very gradual decline. We'll see where she's at at her 15 month check-up. I'm convinced she's going to be built just like Makenna (tall and lean). The other thing we found out at her appointment is that she is anemic. I actually brought up to the doctor that I was concerned about her iron levels because I didn't feel she was eating enough foods with iron in them (I offer them, she just won't eat them). The doctor did a finger prick on her (which I guess is now standard at a 12 month check??) and sure enough, her iron was low. The doctor gave me the option of a prescription for iron (which she said is horrible and most kids don't take it well) or trying it via diet for a month and then re-check it. Since I tend to always go the most natural way possible, we opted for working on her diet for a month. So far things are going very well and we're figuring out some new items that she likes that are high in iron. I'm going to take her back in about a week to re-check her levels. The only other note of interest from her appointment is that I talked to the doctor about being concerned that Maya hasn't clapped yet. Very weird... this is something that is almost always done by this age. The doctor asked a variety of questions about other things kids do with their hands (ie. pick up cheerios, move toys from hand to hand, etc) all of which Maya can do with ease and has done for a long time. I've tried teaching her to clap and encourage her to regularly, but still no luck. The doctor wasn't overly concerned at the time, but told me she wants to keep an eye on it. I'm guessing it's just a personality thing and she sees no reason for it yet :)

I am enjoying seeing her personality develop right before my eyes. She is such a happy, sweet little girl who is just as strong-willed as her big sister Maryn (if not more so... oh help me!!). She is also my snuggler who will still fall asleep snuggling in my arms in the rocking chair. Oh I could take a million of those moments. She is my first little one to do that beyond a few months old so I take all the snuggles I can get :)


Enjoying a snack of Cheerios


"Yes, it's okay, you can think I'm the cutest thing around! My mom and dad do too!"


Chilling on the deck with Daddy after work!

Food Revolution

I am in love with the new television show "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution". It sparked my interest immediately since it deals with the important issue of nutrition and obesity. Being a former health educator and a parent, the segment on the nutritional value of school lunches especially intrigued me considering Makenna just started kindergarten this past fall. In less than a year since she has started school, I have already found numerous causes for concern in the area of nutrition in our school system. Just ask most of my friends... most of them have probably heard me vent about this at length on more than one occasion. Thanks to Jamie Oliver's new Food Revolution in America, I'm hoping this jump starts communities to get involved with the food our children are eating at school every day.

Let me start by saying, that overall I am actually surprised and somewhat pleased by our local school district and their lunch menu. Fresh fruit and vegetables are served nearly every day and typically are even paired with another selection of a frozen or canned fruit or vegetable option (so kids can have two servings or just pick the one they like). It is common to even see fresh fruit choices such as various melons, pineapple, kiwi and strawberries on the menu in addition to the common choices of apples, bananas and oranges. They also make an effort to include whole grains in their menu. Whole grain pastas, whole grain pizza crust and a variety of beans are commonplace on the menu. They also limit the menu to only have two desserts per week. All of this serves as a source of hope for me.

Now the downside... processed foods are everywhere on the menu, especially for the main course. Kids have an alternate choice for the main dish everyday, with the alternative typically being an even worse option than the main course. What kid wouldn't pick a chicken patty or cheeseburger over whole grain pasta with marinara sauce??? And then there is the issue of flavored milk which was also mentioned on "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution". Without even realizing this is an issue in schools, Makenna and I had the discussion prior to the start of kindergarten that she would have skim milk all days of the week except Wednesday. Wednesday she has the choice to pick either strawberry or chocolate milk if she would like. But you want to hear the horrible thing about this... Makenna told me after just a few weeks at school that she is the ONLY kid in her entire class that takes white milk. The ONLY one. I was appalled when I saw firsthand that she wasn't exaggerating. All of those kids are consuming all of that extra sugar everyday in their milk!!!

My concern with our specific situation has not actually been the school lunches, but snack time and the constant treats that are given as rewards at school. Snack time at our school is the responsibility of the parents and it is left to their discretion to bring what they want. This is one area that needs to be changed and could be changed immediately. Just like in the preschool setting, snack guidelines should be given to parents. But with that said, I expect better decision making skills from the parents than what I'm currently getting. Every day I ask Makenna what she had for snack when she comes home from school... I typically hear Little Debbie treats, chocolate chip granola bars, cookies, cupcakes, peanut butter crackers, and fruit snacks. One day she even got a frosted cookie and a cupcake. All in one sitting! I was appalled! I, of course, send in healthier options... cheesesticks, little boxes of raisins, grapes, kiwi, whole grain goldfish crackers, etc. All of which, Makenna informs me, is turned down by a majority of her classmates. I have no problems with a treat every once in awhile... everything in moderation! Anyone that knows me knows that I love a good dessert so I'm not being hypocritical here. Let's save the cookies and cupcakes for kids' birthdays and special celebrations and stick to the healthier snacks every other day of the week. That sounds feasible, doesn't it?

Then there is the constant candy... Makenna gets rewarded on almost a daily basis by her teachers (she has 8-10 various teachers that she sees in a given week) for good behavior or for various achievements. Ridiculous. Since when do we have to constantly reward our kids for good behavior... shouldn't that just be expected??? And why do they always have to be rewarded with food? This is just setting up our kids for a lifetime of problems. Again, this is a situation where moderation is everything. If she wasn't being handed candy on an almost daily basis then I don't think I would have an issue with this.

Josh and I have both had the opportunity to eat lunch with Makenna at school. What we saw was appalling. Forget the school lunches, some of the cold lunches the kids brought from home were worse than anything the school could have served up. The girl sitting across from me had a kool-aid juice box, 2 pop-tarts, fruit snacks and some other sugary treat. That was her lunch and Makenna informed me that's what she eats everyday. Her teeth have to be rotting away, not to mention what she's doing to her body. I think her mom and/or dad need an intervention.

We are the adults in this situation. We are the parents and the educators, we need to give kids healthy options to pick from! It is our responsibility to teach these kids how to eat healthy and how to take care of their bodies. Kids need to be taught to enjoy these healthier options. It doesn't just happen automatically. They WON'T like them if they aren't presented with these options on a CONSISTENT basis. This is especially true for the older kids who are already used to the over-processed, sugary foods... it's going to take time and patience for them to learn to like something new and healthier.

After spewing off all of my opinions here, I want to clarify that I am not a perfect eater and do not classify myself as a health nut. Sounds funny, huh? I actually would love to be able to say that about myself, but I just don't have the discipline to do it. Our family is by no means perfect or anywhere close to it when it comes to our eating and nobody has to be. That's not the goal here. We just try really hard to have a healthy eating environment in our house so our kids can develop a healthy relationship with food and grow up making healthy decisions. We have numerous areas for growth and improvement... We don't eat organic, even though I see the benefits of it and admire the people that do. You will definitely find some processed or sugary foods if you open our pantry door. Josh and I consume a diet pop on almost a daily basis despite the artificial sweeteners that we know aren't good for us. And then of course there are some of the unhealthy foods that we like to indulge in (pizza being at the top of the list) on an occasional basis. But with that said, I can say that everything is done in moderation (the word for the day!) in combination with a healthy, balanced diet. We introduce our kids to a wide variety of foods and expect them to eat what we are eating. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean meats can be eaten by everyone and this is what should make up a majority of the food for your family! Kids are capable of eating more than just mac n cheese and chicken nuggets! We need to give our kids more credit and start taking the food we feed our kids more seriously. This is a long process and a difficult one at that, but it is our responsibility as parents and educators to teach our kids how to make healthy decisions.

Given all that I have written about, it is not surprising that our nation is facing a severe childhood obesity epidemic. We seem to have lost sight of the fact that our children need to be given the opportunities to make healthy decisions (ie. healthy food choices at school AND at home, encouragement for physical activity, etc) and teachers and, more importantly, parents need to model and encourage those healthy decisions. I would encourage anyone reading this blog to join in the Food Revolution with me. Click on Jamie Oliver's website and start by educating yourself and then signing the petition to encourage our federal government to change the current nutrition guidelines for our schools.

Maryn's Hair Cut

Maryn hates having her hair done or having anything in her hair. Every day (typically numerous times each day) I put some kind of ponytail or barrette in her hair which, much to my dismay, she ALWAYS pulls out. Thus leaving her hair a frazzled mess most days. It has taken a long time to grow Maryn's hair out since it grows so slowly, but I was just sick of it looking so messy. This all finally lead to the big hair cut. Maryn has had her hair trimmed before, but like I said, her hair grows at a snail's pace so I've never had to cut much off before. This time we took off probably 2 inches or more. I had a hard time doing it but I am thrilled with the end result. It is absolutely ADORABLE and totally fits her personality! Plus it does exactly what I wanted and stays nice all day long. Thank goodness! Josh has always said it and I guess he's right - "I think Maryn's our short-haired child!" And a cute one at that! :)



This is the night she got her hair cut. It was kind of flat from being wet, but you get the idea!

Easter 2010

We spent Easter up in Cedar Falls this year and were able to spend time with both families! The girls had an absolute blast... there is nothing better for them than to spend the weekend with their grandparents and cousins! Plus they got presents and birthday cake to top it off :) Makenna and Maryn both had fun hunting eggs this year. Maya didn't really get it, but she actually found the first egg from the Easter bunny on Easter morning :)


My new favorite picture of our girls! Easter morning with the Budke girls!


Makenna with her Easter basket!


Maryn with her Easter basket!


The Budke girls with their Easter baskets!


Makenna counting her eggs at Papa and Nana's Easter egg hunt. Oops! She got 15 more than the big kid limit!


Maryn enjoying her 1st Easter egg hunt out at Papa and Nana's!


Our family at Easter 2010 (love how I'm 3 inches taller than Josh in heels!)


The attempt at a "dressed up" Easter picture with the girls. Maya was not cooperating. She was mad and thirsty!


Maya trying to enjoy some of her Easter goodies from Peepie and Poppy!


Once again, Maya's thirsty :) But at least they're all adorable!


Maryn trying out the new flower headband


That stinkin red sippy cup. Trust me, I tried to take it away and it only resulted in tears. Oh well. At least the pictures are true to life :)


Playing at Poppy and Peepie's on Easter morning!


Maya trying to get into more goodies (Note: she doesn't eat candy yet so she got biter biscuits, dried fruit and goldfish crackers... all of which she was excited about!)


Makenna digging through her basket from Poppy and Peepie... this kid got up at 6:30 in the morning and I found her downstairs and she had already found both of her baskets. Stinker!


Maya's new favorite thing to do... push the buttons on the TV and DVD player. Had to check it out at Poppy and Peepie's as well ;)