Spring Break

Ahhh spring...it is finally here!
I am a winter-loving girl, but it is time to ditch big coats, hats, and gloves and welcome blooming flowers and warmer temps so we can play outside.

I was able to have 3 days off last week for spring break and we were lucky enough to have beautiful weather to enjoy. Although I had spring cleaning projects planned, I threw away the to-do list and played with Marie. She is growing up way too fast and it felt great to have a few days to just focus on her.

We filled our days with trips to places we don't usually get to see during the week. We went to the library and read books, ate lunch with Andy at the hospital, fed the ducks at the duck pond, played at an indoor playground, and played in our own yard as much as possible. We also made a trip to Sheldon to visit family and friends.



It was a busy week and we are exhausted from all the playtime!

Where to begin...

This past week was somewhat of a whirlwind for us. Besides the usual business, I had several meetings at work, Marie was home sick for 2 days, Katie flew in to Des Moines to visit, and Grandpa & Grandma visited for a day.

And during all of this, Marie continued to make us smile.

Exhibit A: Mickey Mouse on the potty chairWe have introduced the potty chair to Marie as she is beginning to notice toilets, toilet paper, and she is starting to make the connection between privacy and going to the bathroom. So far it consists of her sitting on the potty fully clothed, messing with the toilet paper, or making her toys go potty.
We have had her toy puppy on the potty, her baby, and Mickey Mouse.

Exhibit B: Baby in time-out

On Saturday night, Marie was feeling better and began playing more independently again after being sick. She was busy reading to her doll and suddenly she said "time out!" She stood up quickly, marched the doll over to the official time-out spot, and said "one minute!" We could not believe how similar this situation was to hear as she imitated me perfectly. After about a minute or so, Marie went back to the doll and asked her, "are you done?"

If you ever want to hear what you really sound like, listen to your daughter I guess!

Exhibit C: Relaxing with CharMarie had a fever for a few days so it wiped her out. She spent most of Thursday and Friday sleeping or cuddling with us on the couch. On Thursday afternoon, she was laying on the couch and apparently Charlie knew she wasn't feeling well so he offered her some love.

p.s. Thank you for visiting Aunt Katie! Sorry I was sick...

Smile Makers

Things that have made us smile this week:

Sneaking up and seeing Marie's joy in the zip-lock bag drawer

Warm spring teaser afternoons filled with bubbles and no bulky winter coats
Family play-doh hour where we uncovered Dad's hidden talent of molding various animals
Sharing the joy of baptism of Hudson Andrew with Eddie & Jess. Watching Marie & Hudson's friendship grow.

Happy Birthday Papa

(click on picture to enlarge)

Happy Birthday to my Papa!

He is always there when I need a giggle, nap, or an adventure.
Here's to more and more and more with you, Papa.

Love, Marie

Counting with Play-Doh

A few weeks ago I mentioned many of Marie's new "things." She is talking so much more, giving a little more attitude as she creeps closer to age 2, and now she is counting. Some days are better than others, but this video captures her counting in action as she plays with Play-Doh.

Life has been busy for us lately. Andy is in a surgery rotation in Des Moines. He is getting to be a part of some very interesting situations during this rotation which provides for some great stories when he comes home at night. He also had the opportunity to speak about his Family Medicine Rural Program during a function at DMU with Governor Branstad in attendance. His girls were very proud of him.

Studying with Daddy

Marie - 5 months old

Ever since Marie was born, she has spent countless hours studying with Andy. She started out sleeping on his shoulder while he read, moved to laying on the table while Andy read to her, then she would sit on his lap and try to eat his paper, next she would steal his pens and highlighters to play with, soon she was trying to write and pounding on his computer, and now she sits quietly next to him while she draws pictures and tells stories. Marie will always know that even though her Daddy was very busy with school, they still got to spend quality time together. And Daddy knows why all his pens are disappearing, his papers have scribbles on them, and some files on his computer are now named "alkdsfj;lkj."

Marie - 20 months old

"tent please"

Hey, is there room for one more?

Marie loves her tent.
Grandpa & Grandma Mueting found this pop-up tent for Marie this past Christmas and it is a hit. Marie asks for it over and over again. The problem is, she wants us all in the tent with her. Not only does it fill up fast, it also gets extremely hot in there! She likes to read books in the tent, play hide and seek, and name all the princesses on the side...she is surprisingly good at pronouncing Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella, and Belle.

So here is more of Marie enjoying her tent:



And this picture of Charlie sums up our weekend:
We played hard and slept hard, too.We took Charlie to the dog park on Saturday. Although it was a muddy mess, Marie loved seeing all the dogs. One particular feisty Husky was going after Marie's gloves. I was ready intervene but Marie handled herself so well...she said "no girl" and kept moving away. She also told the dog to sit. We were so proud of her for not getting upset about it and handling it by herself.
No worries, Charlie quickly came over as well to tell that Husky who was boss.