Dear Marie

Mother's Day is soon and it got me thinking...you have taught me so many things these past 2 years and I wanted to share them with you:

Dirty dishes and a dirty floor can always wait, but playing with you cannot
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Get up and play 'ring around the rosie' whenever you can, even if you are way too tired to stand
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The sound of your laugh makes me smile more than anything else EVER has
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Ketchup and ranch make just about everything taste better
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Sometimes LOVE means setting limits and using that time-out spot...it also means letting you discover your own way and allowing you to be your own person
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NEVER take a full night sleep for granted
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Being a mom is the most challenging job in the world when you are doing it right
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Sometimes a rock found on the road can be the most precious gem - take time to see the magic in all things
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Cookies are meant to be dunked in milk
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The early morning drive to school is always better with a little dancing in the car
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It's GOOD to be silly and not take everything so seriously
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You are the best thing that has ever happened us.
We continue to be amazed by you every day.

Thank you for teaching me so many things.

Love, Mommy

Our Big Girl

It's happening...Marie is getting older.

We have purchased a potty chair, a bike, a toddler bed, and now we have officially gotten rid of the pacifier.
We needed a little help with that last item as
Marie was VERY attached to it.
(and so were mommy & daddy)

So, we decided to have Hudson give us a hand. Marie helped me package up the pacifiers so we could give them to Hudson because he is a baby and she is a big girl now. In return, Hudson gave Marie a nice new cuddly puppy named Kirby. So far it hasn't been as bad as Andy & I thought. She is making the transition nicely and we are very glad that we have pulled the plug out!
We also got to spend a great day with Eddie, Jess, & Hudson on Saturday. Marie continues to be in love with that little boy. She is always wanting her turn to hold him and give him big kisses and hugs.

We tried to get a few shots of the moms with our kiddos...but someone's daughter wasn't being as cooperative as she could have:

Thanks for visiting Dickes family! We had a great time!

P.S. Our good friends, Bryant & Molly Van Meeteren, are the proud parents of a baby girl!

Piper Quinn
5/1/2011

Congratulations Bryant and Molly!
Marie is excited to have another friend to cuddle!

Earth Day

Although the weather has been less than desirable lately, we have been doing some planting outdoors. We decided to move some plants around the side of the house, replace a few that didn't make it through the winter, and we also added a tree.

Papa Joe let us know that Lowe's was giving away free trees to celebrate Earth Day. What a great way to teach Marie about the importance of caring for our home and environment. She loved getting her hands dirty and digging in the dirt with Daddy.

The tree is very small now, but it will grow quickly.

Marie also received a small vegetable garden in her Easter Basket from Papa and Grandma Mueting. It will be fun to watch the progress and hopefully we can enjoy some home grown veggies this summer!

After all that work, it was time to relax and enjoy a good book.

BIG Easter weekend

We entered Easter weekend with not much planned as we didn't travel to family because of Andy's rotation schedule being unpredictable at times.
However, we managed to have a very busy and happy Easter on our own!

On Saturday morning we braved the cold & windy weather with hats and gloves for Marie's 1st official Easter Egg Hunt. She is suffering from another cold, so she was not that into it at first. Once she realized there was candy in the eggs, her interest grew. She was very excited to meet the Easter Bunny, too.On Sunday morning Marie actually slept in a little! This gave the Easter Bunny a chance to leave his jellybean trail to another Easter Basket filled with goodies. After Daddy replaced a few that Charlie ate, Marie got to follow the trail.

Marie enjoying a chocolate bunny for breakfast from Grandma Nel!

The weather cooperated for some outdoor fun on Sunday. After church, a photo shoot, and a much needed nap for all, we headed to the park to play and eat ice cream!Happy Easter!

winter hats on again....

I can't believe that last week Sunday we were bumping 90 degrees and this week we are shivering with our big coats, hats, and gloves on!

Even though she did not want to wear her winter gear, Marie finally gave in because her new, 2nd early birthday present just looked too inviting....

We were visited this weekend by Papa and Grandma Mueting. They decided it was a great time to visit Des Moines, help Andy with some odd jobs around the house, and give Marie her birthday present just a little early.

Marie is in love!

She can climb the steps all by herself and go down the 2 slides.
We are so excited to have our own little playground in our yard!

Summer Preview

We were in a heat wave this weekend reaching 80+ degrees! So, we spent almost all day Saturday outside doing yard work, playing, riding bike, swinging, and grilling burgers for supper - yum!

We were all very dirty after our windy & warm day outside....especially Charlie who decided to get muddy on his walk.
Here is some video of Marie helping with Charlie's bath:




Being outside with Marie lately has made us realize she is not as amused by the little things as she was last summer.
Last year, we would play with bubbles, rocks, and mulch (yes, mulch) for hours.

Now, Marie is requesting swings, slides, bikes, walks, and her stroller (even though a walk in the stroller with her consists of us bribing her to stay seated.)
So, we purchased a big girl bike yesterday for an early birthday present. It is the perfect bike with a detachable handle/steering wheel for the parent to push from behind. This is going to save our back from many aches and pains.
The bike is a hit!
We have already been on several adventures with it.

We also went to the park Sunday morning before it got way too hot or windy. Marie was having so much fun but she was getting sleepy in the swing so we had to head back home for naps.

All this play time has been a great preview to summer!

Bad luck

I don't know what it is about Marie and visitors, but our track record isn't good.
We have had at least 5 times of this bad luck.

Visitors = Marie getting sick.

(Grandma & Marie reading books in the tent)

Grandma Nel came to stay with us for a long weekend following my surgery (not a big deal, outpatient surgery, no pain at all.) Plus, Uncle Nate came to see us too. We played outside with bubbles, helped dad with the yard, read books in the tent with Grandma, went shopping, and watched a little too much "Elmo."
Everything was going great until Saturday night when we had to make a trip to the ER.

Marie woke up with a cough and inhalation strider (noisy breathing). We did a nebulizer treatment for her asthma but it didn't calm it down enough, so we decided to take her in. This was our first ER trip with Marie so I was a little nervous, but she did great. She handled it all very well and we were in and out in about an hour and a half.
She was diagnosed with croup, given a steroid, and we are to wait it out for 3 days to see if it clears. If not, we will have to go back in for more treatment.

It seems like our poor little girly gets sick so often. It is hard for us to watch her struggle and we can't do much to help - a very helpless feeling.

But, we are so grateful that her asthma seems to be improving as she gets older. We have had a few colds that have NOT gone into her lungs which is a HUGE success.