Family Pictures

The day after Thanksgiving we got all dolled up and took family pictures with the Budkes. I attempted to take a few of my own pictures of the girls. I got two good ones.... out of probably 50.





And now we're getting tired of pictures...


This look is priceless! Classic Maryn "not-getting-my-way" look!

First Snow Of The Season

Sorry for being so behind in my posts. I guess that's what happens during the holidays!!

A few weeks back we had the first snow of the season. There wasn't much to it (just an inch or so) but the girls were outside in full snow gear! Maya was loving getting all dressed up, but then had enough after just about 20 minutes of sledding outside. The older ones could've stayed outside all day :) Especially Makenna! She is such an outdoors girl... I think she'd sleep outside at night if we let her!

The older girls trying to not act annoyed that mom pulled them away from their playing to take pictures :)


Maya getting ready to go outside


All ready to go... complete with Makenna's silver dress shoes!


My darling little snow princesses!

Maya - 21 Months Old

All about Maya Grace at 21 months old...


One of her favorite hats



Nicknames: Gracie, Grace, My My, Maya Baya, Boo
Weight & Height: She weighs right around 25 lbs. She was 33 inches tall at her 18 month check-up so I'm assuming she's at least a 1/2 inch taller than that by now. Off the charts tall, just like Makenna.
Hair: Yep, still no hair!
Favorite foods: Cheese sandwiches (with dairy free cheese that is), pizza (with altered crust and cheese), organic dairy-free chicken nuggets, brown and wild rice, pasta and Italian food of any kind, pumpkin bread, salsa and chips, pretzel sticks, fresh pineapple, oranges, strawberries, and any kind of sugary candy (thank you very much Halloween!)
Favorite Drink: I'm pretty sure she's addicted to her rice milk! She loves it! She walks around asking for "mo milk" constantly. She also gets water with a little bit of apple juice in it.

A little bit of crazy hair with the hat... what little of it there is that is.


Favorite toys: balls, dolls, anything her sisters are playing with, anything little that she can arrange
Favorite books: As Maya calls them "Puppy books!" She loves any books with puppies in them, specifically Clifford puppy books.
Favorite stuffed animal: Teddy!
Favorite Person: She's on a big Maryn kick lately. And she just mastered saying her name. She will continuously ask for "Maryn, Maryn!" when she's at preschool.
Bedtime: Start getting ready for bed at 7:30, in bed by 8:00
Wake-up time: Almost always right around 7:00 - 7:15
Naps: One nap in the afternoon. Typically goes down around 1:00 and sleeps anywhere from 2 - 3 hours.
What she's saying: She's a talker. She will repeat anything you say and her accuracy is pretty impressive for her age. She continues to build sentences and put more and more words together. She is catching on to cute catch phrases.... one of my favorites is when she excitedly yells "Awesome!" after something she likes.
Latest Accomplishment: Going on the potty!!! Maya is pretty much potty training herself. One day she kept pointing at her diaper and uncomfortably saying "poopy". There was nothing in her diaper so I didn't get what she was talking about. Finally it clicked! She wanted to go on the big potty!!! I put her on the potty and sure enough - the girl pooped! She's been using the potty (at her asking) at least 3 - 4 times each day for a few weeks now. I'm going to make the big jump to big girl undies soon! She's getting closer every day!
Likes: cotton balls (yes, still), Elmo, taking baths, wearing other people's shoes, singing songs before bedtime, being outside (she doesn't understand why we can't play outside now that it's cold), her blankie, listening to music with Daddy, wrestling with Daddy and her sisters, and anything that has to do with playing in water

An example of wearing someone else's shoes!




Maya having fun at a dance party with Daddy and her sisters





Dislikes: having a wet or dirty diaper, eating, wearing her winter coat
Best known for: Her smile. I hear about how smiley she is at least a few times every week.
Health: Maya has a mild cold right now, but other than that she has been healthy. We seem to have a good grasp on her dairy allergy and that is now under control. The doctor was not worried about her iron levels at her 18 month check-up and isn't going to test them again until she is two.

Maryn - 4 Year Pics

Maryn's absolutely adorable 4 year pictures!!! She just had to wear her pink tutu and cowboy boots... fitting since that's what you'll find her in most days :)

Wedding Follow-Up

This is a follow-up to the previous post...

Today I watched our wedding video with Maryn. She was more interested than I thought she would be. About halfway through the ceremony this interesting conversation takes place...

Maryn: "We're home alone. I think we're scared."

Mommy (thinking she's referring to the current day): "You're not home alone silly. Mommy's here. You don't need to be scared."

Keep watching the video.

Maryn: "But we have to be home alone. You and daddy are there. That would be scary."

Mommy (I just kind of look at her funny not understanding what she's getting at)

Maryn (choking up): "We are so scared to be home alone"

Mommy (finally getting it): "Maryn you aren't home alone! This video is before you were born! So you and your sisters aren't home alone."

Maryn: "So I'm in your tummy?"

Mommy: "No, this was before you or any of your sisters were in my tummy. It was just me and Daddy then."

Maryn starts sobbing.

Maryn: "But we are! Where am I?"

Mass chaos ensued and there were lots of tears. She was totally frustrated and confused. She does NOT get the concept that Josh and I would be together and not have the girls. She just can not wrap her little head around it and it was scaring her. She kept seeing all the people in her life - grandparents, aunts, uncles, mommy and daddy - and she thought we had left all the girls at home alone and she was worried they were scared! Poor baby. I finally got her to calm down by telling her that in a way, she was in my tummy (scientifically debatable, but she's a 4 year old so it had to do). Wow. I'm hoping the wedding talk subsides for awhile now. That was exhausting!

Our Wedding Guest List

It was brought to my attention yesterday that we apparently made a huge oversight when making our wedding guest list nine years ago. Here's the conversation that lead me to believe this...

Maryn: "Mommy I think we should go to your wedding"

Me: "My wedding? I already had my wedding."

Maryn (in complete shock): "You did?!"

Me: "Yeah. Mommy married Daddy a long time ago. That was my wedding."

Maryn (in complete seriousness and with a tinge of hurt in her voice): "Why didn't you invite me?! I wanted to go!"

I then tried to explain to Maryn that Mommy and Daddy got married long before she was born and I even got out some pictures to show her. It didn't make her feel any better though. She was still hurt that she was left out. She really wanted to come to my wedding! Since she couldn't be at our actual wedding, I told her that maybe sometime she could watch our wedding video. She was so excited and asked numerous times yesterday for me to get it out. Guess what I get to do today?!

Makenna Soccer 2010

Makenna just finished up her first season playing AYSO soccer. She was lucky enough to be placed on a fantastic team... the girls were great, their families are wonderful and the coaches even better. We are so excited that we get to play with the same team again in the spring! Makenna was the youngest kiddo on her team this year and it showed. She learned SO much. She had never played soccer with an actual game plan before. She picked up all the new rules and strategy fairly quickly. She struggled with trying to keep up with her teammates (most of whom were 1-2 years older than her) and as a result seemed to be following the play more often than being a part of it. We worked on changing speeds, but as of right now she's stuck in first gear :) She scored one goal this year, compared to her 4-8 per game last year. I'm sure it will all come with age and maturity. I'm glad her inability to be the top scorer on the team didn't deter her from enjoying the sport. For right now she's just having fun and enjoying the snacks at the end of the game... which is of course her favorite part of soccer :)

One of my favorite plays of the season... Makenna was actually playing defender but was able to break away with the ball and dribble it down the field. She passed it to Emma (the red head running next to her) who scored the goal!


Reaction to the goal she assisted with!






I had to include this picture to show that she actually did run at the games. She always seemed to be so far behind... this picture proves that she can run!


Makenna on the right


I had to include this picture because it's Makenna with her best friend Ana (Makenna's in the middle)


Maya and Maryn were so patient with soccer this season. They sat through a LOT of practices and games. Maya being a precious gem at one of Makenna's games.


Maryn was such a great soccer cheerleader! She even learned the rest of the girls' names on our team and started cheering for them as well! This is on a very windy, sunny day and she wasn't too thrilled about being out there.


Bored playing defense...


I don't remember what she was reacting to, but I love the look on her face!






Throw in!




Go Flames!

Halloween 2010

This year we had a nice, cool fall night for trick or treating. Makenna was a pink fairy, Maryn was Cinderella and Maya was a purple flower fairy (I tried to convince her to use our hand-me-down chicken costume but she threw a fit if she even looked at it... so I settled for something girly out of the costume box). Two fairies and a princess :) Could we be any girlier at our house?! Makenna and Maryn were the perfect ages for trick or treating this year! They ran from house to house giggling while Maya sat contentedly in the wagon :) The girls got more candy than anyone could possibly dream of so we are actually shipping some of it off to the troops overseas! I'm so glad they were excited to do this!


Cinderella all ready for her ball!


What a BEAUTIFUL princess!


My pink fairy!


Our ADORABLE pink fairy!


And our flower fairy! She wasn't cooperating the best for pictures :)


Makenna, Maryn and Maya on Halloween 2010. Also featuring the jack o'lantern that Makenna drew and helped Daddy carve.


And the traditional "I'm done" with pictures shot!


Off they go!!


Trick or treat!


My little flower fairy only made it halfway through the night before Daddy had to bring her home. Her hands and nose were too cold (as you can tell by her little red nose!). She sat on the couch watching Elmo while I handed out candy!


Maryn checking out her candy!


Makenna obviously excited about what she is finding in her pile of candy!






Just trying to be even girlier than she already is... trying on Cinderella's jewelry and crown!