Class of 1997

Last weekend Josh and I attended our 10 year high school class reunion. We weren't sure what to expect or how we would feel about it, but it was SO fun! They had a great turnout and we had the opportunity to catch up with a lot old friends and all of Josh's old girlfriends :) Ha Ha Ha!

The girls are keeping us on our toes. Maryn just continues to get bigger and do more each day. Today I was getting her ready for her bath and put her in her crib quick and right as I was watching her she effortlessly pulled herself to a standing position! She was so proud of herself! She was beaming ear-to-ear (and so was mommy for that matter!). I was able to run and grab the camera to get a picture of her proud moment! :)



Maryn also got her 3rd tooth this past Monday! Now she has a big white toothy on top too!

Makenna continues to copy everything we say... the other day she patted me on the back and told me that I was being a good girl and recently she also likes to tell us that she's proud of us! All of these are of course comments that we direct towards her on a regular basis.

Pictures from Maryn's 1st Wagon Ride - She Loved It!

Turn It Up

Makenna has been more than full of it lately...

As most kids do, Makenna has a typical bedtime routine or things she likes to do at bedtime. One of those things is having me tickle her back and sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while she is trying to go to sleep. Well one night recently while I was singing to her she very hastily says to me "Mommy turn it up!" Apparently she thinks mommy is just like the radio :)

Makenna kept trying to play in some of the sand/gravel laid down for our new driveway despite the fact that Josh was continuously telling her not too. Josh finally had enough and was reprimanding her for not listening to which she stormed off in a huff and yells at him "You're a naughty boy!" Josh and I seriously had to turn our backs to her so she wouldn't see us smiling and laughing.

Maryn was in bed one evening and I had the baby monitor sitting on the counter. For some reason on this particular night, Maryn was having difficulty falling asleep and we could hear her squawking over the monitor. Makenna walks by the monitor, picks it up and yells into it "Go to sleep Maryn Leigh!"

Josh and I were lucky enough to be able to go out for dinner on the night of our anniversary. My parents came to town to baby-sit and we were trying to explain to Makenna why we were leaving and that we were going on a date. She obviously doesn't know what a date is so I was trying to explain it to her. I then told her that she couldn't go on a date until she was 16. Almost immediately both my dad and Josh chimed in in unison with "18!" Little Makenna was sitting there all quiet acting like she didn't know what we were talking about and then responded with "How about 15!?" Looks like we might have our hands full!

On a typical morning at our house, Maryn will go back down for her morning nap before Makenna ever even gets out of bed. So one morning, Maryn was laying in her crib talking very loudly to herself instead of going right to sleep. All of a sudden from behind the closed door to her room we hear Makenna shout "Stop It!" Apparently Maryn was disturbing her beauty sleep :)

Makenna has also come up with a bunch of new sayings lately...

"Sweet!"

"Awesome"

"You can say that again!"

"I don't want any, but thank you for asking."

"Here we go again"

Maryn is in a crawling craze! She is going everywhere and getting into everything. It seems to have happened over night. She could make 3 - 6 crawling movements for the first few days and then she overnight made a jump to crawling clear across the room without having to stop! And of course the main attraction in our house is the stairs. She almost immediately heads for them anytime I put her down. And I forgot how little kids can be like a little vacuum cleaner... she is finding every little speck of dirt, lint or whatever I didn't see on the ground. This has also brought us to a new stage regarding Makenna and Maryn's sibling relationship - Maryn is now getting into all of Makenna's stuff. Makenna liked sharing before when she could control it, but now that Maryn moves and can start taking stuff on her own Makenna isn't so sure about sharing stuff with her. Looks like we have some practicing to do.

Maryn is also getting much better at eating foods by herself. She can pick up little Cheerios or Puffs and put them in her mouth by herself and can even pick up a sippy cup and drink it by herself. We upped the amount of solid food she is eating and she seems to be doing very well with it. Poor little child has to eat those pureed meats with her vegetables at dinner.



Sister Hug!



Is Makenna hugging too tight?



Makenna's way of helping out... standing behind Maryn to catch her when she falls!



Nice catch Makenna!

Father's Day '07

We had a great Father's Day with Josh! Hopefully he enjoyed his day as well. We all went to the splashpad together (see pictures below) and let Josh pick what he wanted for dinner (BBQ chicken). It was actually a relaxing day (okay, as relaxing as it can be with a baby and a 2 year old). I have a ton of stories to write about the girls (Makenna was full of it this weekend!) but I just wanted to post some pictures of our day first. We love you Daddy!

Makenna enjoying the splashpad!


Maryn hoping that no one comes near her with water. She screamed anytime we even took her close to the water. Guess it wasn't as warm as her bath water :)


Makenna pushing MarBear on the swings.


Makenna posing for the camera.


Maryn loving the swings.

Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

IF YOU DON'T LIKE SAPPY, MUSHY STUFF... YOU MAY WANT TO PASS BY THIS BLOG ENTRY!

Happy 5 Year Anniversary Joshua! Where has the time gone? Five years ago today we pledged our lives to one another. I guess you could say that's when we made it official, because my heart was yours long before our wedding day ever arrived. We were two of the lucky ones... we met and fell in love when I was 17 and you were 18. Some would say we were young and foolish, but we know otherwise. We were blessed... not too many people get to spend that much of their life with their best friend. And now looking back we know why - God planned it that way for a reason. We needed each other at that point in our lives and being together during those times gave us a bond that is inseparable and a devotion to each other that is unshakable. You are the best husband, best father, best friend, best everything. You really and truly are my soul mate. We complete each other's sentences and know what the other person is going to say before they even open their mouth. Some days I think that we know each other better than we even know ourselves. God has blessed us abundantly and I thank Him for that. Thank you for all that you have given to me. Besides giving yourself to me, you have given me two of the greatest gifts I could have ever asked for - our two precious little girls. They have completed our family in a way that I can't even explain. They both bring an abundant amount of joy into this world and into our lives. Thank you for being such a great father and loving those girls so much.

So 5 years into our marriage and almost 11 years into our journey together, this is where God has brought us....



I couldn't have dreamed of anything better. Thank you sweetheart and Happy Anniversary! I love you with all of my heart!

Maryn - 9 Months Old

All About Maryn at 9 months old....

Nicknames: Marbear, Sissy, Moosa, Moosa Roo, Moo Roo (the last three are all compliments of Josh)
Weight & Length: 17 lbs 5 oz (55%) and 28 1/4 inches long (25%)
Hair: She's still a fuzzhead, but has more fuzz now! Her hair seems to be getting darker every day...
Favorite food: Anything besides peas (she'll only eat them if I mix them with carrots). But she did try ice cream for the first time today when we took Daddy to lunch and boy did she think that was great stuff! Josh was definitely her favorite after feeding her that :)
Favorite toys: Leap Frog play table, any empty water bottle, foil wrappers, Laugh and Learn home, Elmo Christmas book, Touch and Feel Home book, balls
Favorite stuffed animal: Makenna's duckie.... but we're trying to push puppy on her :)
Bedtime: 6:30 - 7:00 pm
Wake-up time: 6:00 - 7:00 am
Naps: 1 - 1 1/2 hours in the morning, 1 - 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon
Favorite person: big sister Makenna
Latest Accomplishment: drinking out of a sippy cup, using her pincher grasp to pick up food and put it in her mouth, pulling herself up to a sitting position, standing up holding on to stuff, getting up on all fours, and as of this morning - CRAWLING!
Likes: swinging at the park or on the swing set, baths, having mommy mimic her when she is flailing her arms and legs, stroller rides, morning naps, going to the store, listening to music with Daddy (or eating all the CD covers), chasing Makenna around the house (with the help of mom or dad)
Dislikes: bright flash from a camera, sitting in her bouncy seat (she tries to climb out), getting her diaper changed (she can't sit still for that long)
What gets said about Maryn most often: what a good baby she is, how much she smiles, that she has a band-aid on her ankle (actually it's a birthmark that looks like a band-aid)
Best known for: sucking on her hands, her face turning beat red when she fills her diapers, being a great eater, having a wonderful sleep schedule, famous snort/laugh face (same one her mommy had when she was little), and being a laid back, easy baby

Maryn continues to contend for the title of the world's easiest, happiest baby. She is such a joy to be around. She even wakes up smiling every morning (and that's pretty amazing since both of her parents are definitely NOT morning people)! Maryn has just exploded lately in all of her physical abilities... it's like she was storing them all up and then decided to show them all off in a span of two weeks! We are having a lot of fun with her and enjoying every second of this baby stage. Because before long she will be all grown up and it will be hard for me to even remember this stage :( We love you Maryn! We are so blessed that God made you a part of our family!

"I Don't Think So..."

We had a nice weekend! The girls were able to play outside a TON, I went to a baby shower on Saturday and on Sunday Josh and I were able to cross off a lot of tedious items on our to-do list.

A few new things in regards to the girls... Maryn just started drinking out of a sippy cup this morning. She kind of looked at me funny when I put it in front of her but then got the idea very quickly. Makenna is constantly making friends with everyone... unfriendly neighbors, random people at the grocery store, construction workers, you name it. She will yell at the person until they acknowledge her! Her new favorite saying is "I don't think so, I think." :)

Here are some fun pictures of the girls playing outside this weekend -

Hanging out with Daddy



"Hard to say no to me, isn't it?!"



"I think TrueNorth owes me some money for all this free advertising."



A brawl for duckie



Makenna won!



"I think my daddy needs some velcro shoes like mine!"



Trying to pose the girls for a picture together



No other picture has ever captured Makenna's personality quite so perfectly

Tooth #2

Maryn's 2nd tooth finally made it's grand debut on Tuesday! She was very clingy and kind of fussy all day so I wondered if something was going on. Sure enough, by early afternoon you could see it and feel it in her mouth!

Maryn will be 9 months next Tuesday - I absolutely LOVE this age! 9 - 12 months is one of my all time favorite stages with babies. They change so quickly and start doing so many new things in a short period of time. It seems like there is something new every day! And Maryn is falling right in line... just in the past few days she has figured out how to get to a sitting up position from lying on the floor. She's actually pretty clever about it. She'll be laying on her belly, then get up on all fours, slide off to one side on her hip, prop herself up with her arm and then just sit up! It's so cute! Everyday she gets more and more mobile. If I put her on the wood floors on her belly she will scoot (backwards) all the way across the floors! She is just constantly moving! She is also attempting to pull herself to a standing position on her own. She still requires some help, but she is practicing hard and has pulled it off on her own a few times!



Makenna is very into Josh's work right now. She recognizes the TrueNorth logo and will always point it out (on hats, t-shirts, pens, MarBear's bib, etc). She always asks Josh what he has to do at work and asks if he has meetings :) She loves his account manager Dana and always talks about her. The other day I had Makenna call Josh's voicemail at work and she left a message that said "Hi Daddy, can I please have some health (sounds like healf) insurance?"

A while back, I had to run to the UPS store to drop something off. I opened up Makenna's door to get her unbuckled and she points to the Taco Bell across the street and yells "Look Mommy! Chicken Bell!" I have no idea where this came from! I think she has maybe eaten there once in her life and I would be surprised if we told her the name of it (but apparently we must have), but she must think Chicken Bell sounds better :)

One day as I was trying to get the girls all rounded up to leave, Makenna was giving me a hard time and wasn't cooperating very well. I was getting frustrated with her because she wasn't listening and I was at my wit's end with her. All the while, little MarBear just sat there peacefully in her car seat watching us and not making a peep the entire time I was trying to chase down Makenna. I finally got Makenna ready to go and as she walked past Maryn's car seat towards the door she says "Thanks for being so patient MarBear!" I couldn't have said it better myself!

A few nights ago I was snuggling with Makenna on the couch and loving every minute of it (she is my non-snugly kid typically). She all of a sudden looked up at me and said "Mommy you're so cool!" My heart just melted. And then I asked her "Will you still think that when you're 16?" She told me yes but we'll have to see!

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people tell me I have black hair (I do NOT have black hair - it is dark brown!!!). I don't ever recall talking about this in front of Makenna and I know I didn't have a conversation with her about it, but the other day we're driving to the store and from the backseat she randomly says "Mommy you have black hair!" I swore Josh had put her up to it, but he claims he had nothing to do with it.

Makenna just woke up a few minutes ago as I was finishing posting this blog entry. She asked me what I was doing on the computer and I told her that I was writing about my three favorite people - her, Maryn and Daddy. She looked at me kind of concerned and said "But you forgot someone." I asked her "who?" to which she replied "Duckie!" Of course, my bad! How could I forget duckie!


Maryn's newest face anytime she sees a camera! She doesn't like the flash I guess!


Pretty baby!

Computer Savvy 2 Year Old

We're not quite sure how it happened, but Makenna has become quite computer savvy over the last month or two. We decided that in today's computer-centered world that it would be a good idea for her to get used to the computer and start having fun on it (on a limited basis). So I started playing learning games with her on the PBS Kids website every once in awhile and she LOVES it! It started off that she would sit in my lap and point to whatever she would want me to do and I would use the mouse for her. Well of course that didn't last long because she wanted to try the mouse. After a very short time she was using the mouse and navigating the kid's website fairly easily. Now we have come to the realization that she can navigate the computer like a pro all on her own! The other day she asked if she could play the computer so I was going to help her get on and she said "No Mommy I do it." So I backed off to see what she would do... the screen was blank with nothing on it. She clicked on the Internet Explorer icon, clicked on the Favorites icon, scrolled down to PBS Kids and clicked yet again! She got all the way into the website on her own! I was standing there in disbelief as she's yelling at me "Mommy I did it!"

Another computer related story... Makenna was asking Josh for some water in her sippy cup one night and Josh told her to go get her cup and he would fill it up for her. She responded with "No daddy you get my sippy. I gotta go check my email."

Maryn is getting SO big and at the fun stage where it seems like she is doing something new every day. She is trying to wave more now, but most of the time does a backwards wave and ends up waving at herself instead :) Exactly how Makenna waved at first as well! Maryn is also starting to "talk" more. She is making sounds that sound more like actual words - mama, dada, baba, nana. Of course she has no clue what she is saying yet, but it is still fun to hear her "talking"! She is so close to crawling... she gets up on all fours, rocks back and forth for awhile and will try with an arm or a leg to move forward and then will fall flat on her belly. For now she's sticking with her daddy's favorite wrestling move, gut wrench defense, and scooting backwards to get around :)

Makenna is trying out the concept of giving people compliments lately and it is absolutely hilarious. Some of the funnier examples... As I'm pushing her on the swings "Mommy, you're a great pusher!" As we're eating our picnic lunch up in her playhouse "Mommy you're a great luncher!" And the best yet... as I'm helping her wipe after she went to the bathroom "Mommy you're the best wiper in the whole world!" I'm so proud to hold that title! ;) Of course whenever Josh is pushing her on the swings or helping her wipe, the title gets transferred to him.

The other night after Josh had put Makenna to bed, she came out and yelled for Josh from the top of the stairs. She had the book in her hand that Josh had just read to her for bedtime and was pointing to a page... "Daddy you forgot a page!" Josh just thought it was just another last ditch effort to get out of going to bed, but when he walked her to her room and looked at the book he had missed a page! Apparently the pages had stuck together and then later when she was looking through the book on her own she recognized that he hadn't read one of the pages! Very perceptive!

Can't get enough of this smile!


Makenna playing with her Thomas trains!