interesting reading material

Andy has so many medical books lying around the house and Marie always finds them to be interesting.
She pages through and looks for her name.
(this means she looks for the letter "m")

Whether it is the newest Osteopathic Journal or medicine dosage pocket guide, she finds it fascinating. I can't even tell you how many times we will find her sitting down with a book in her hand making up stories and pretending to read the med jargon.
Meanwhile, all her books filled with beautiful pictures and silly story lines are ignored for the moment.
Who knows, maybe she will want to be a doctor someday...

home sweet home

This past weekend we got to go spend some time in Sheldon with my family. I don't know what it is about fall but I always get a touch homesick and I love going back home to spend time with my family during the crisp, cool weather. This weekend was just about perfect:
Comfort food, cool weather, bakery doughnuts, and pumpkin picking.
Marie loved playing with her cousins and their new puppy, Maggie. I couldn't believe how loud 3 little could be...shrieking, running, yelling, and eventually exhausted from all the playing.

Although not the best picture I have ever taken, I love this one. The girls were trying to pose with their kitten, Blackie, when Charlie came running through the shot. I guess he wanted to be involved in it all...very typical of Char. Charlie has been spending some time with Papa & Grammy this past month but he is home now. Papa was whipping him into shape as hunting season is right around the corner. It's great to have him back - the couch, Marie, Andy, & I were all getting lonely.

God Bless Tylenol

At 2:00 Saturday morning we were greeted by a sad little one with a fever of 102 degrees. Medicine was taken and Daddy proceeded to sleep in awkward positions on the Lay-Z-Boy with Marie. Fortunately we have our own doctor here who can look in ears and throats, listen to lungs, and reassure the nervous mom.

Saturday was full of drinking Gatorade, trying to bribe so Marie would take her meds, watching movies and cartoons over and over again, taking and retaking temps, and lying on the couch with a sick one...not how we anticipated on spending our Saturday.

Luckily, Marie finally took a good dose of meds at 7:00 p.m. and was eating mac 'n cheese and singing songs by 7:45...amazing what 1 tsp. of grape flavored meds can do!



Daddy was happy Marie was feeling well enough to watch the Huskers play. We've heard of an armchair quarterback, but here is our laundry basket quarterback.

Thankfully she is back to her old self again and ready for another busy week.

Fall is near...

and this past weekend we got to enjoy the beautiful fall-teaser weather with some fun activities. Not only did we get to enjoy some tailgating fun with Papa & Grammy, but we also got to go play at the park, get ice cream, and walk around the zoo. While we were tailgating, Marie had a mishap with a car door and got a nice little cut on her forehead. Thankfully we have enough Dora band-aids to get her through.

At the zoo, Marie got up close & personal with some Emus at the Australia Adventure exhibit, and got to feed a giraffe!
It was a great weekend to spend together as Andy is very busy with a rotation this month.
Marie & I are busy too...we are helping coach an 8th grade volleyball team. Marie is a big help at our practices. She shags the balls, puts them in the basket, and even helps lead stretches. It has been a fun way to spend some mommy-daughter time together and I think she is really enjoying it.

Studio Shoot

Here are some pictures from our recent studio shoot with our friend, Christia Palizzi.

If you are in the Des Moines area, give her a call!

Marie was being a typical 2 year old and did not want to participate in many shots. Thankfully Christia's little boy was willing to entertain so we could get some smiles from Marie.

(click on photos to enlarge)

Hudson Boy

We had one last summer fun weekend with the Dickes clan.

Eddie, Jess, & Hudson came to Des Moines to join us for another trip to the Iowa State Fair. It was hot and a little miserable at first, but once we all enjoyed some good fried food we were doing fine. On Sunday we enjoyed a picnic lunch at the park.

Hudson had his first adventure with a slide and swing, too! We had a blast with this kiddo...he is getting so big! Marie loves playing with him and she does a great job entertaining him.

A switch has been flipped...

We have all been here right?

The place where you are still trying to hold onto your little one and make decisions for her even though she thinks she knows what is best?
Well, that is where we are.
Marie is insisting on ONLY wearing her Dora pajamas to bed at night, she doesn't like her legs to be showing at night so she puts on any random pajama pants she can find and then asks for socks so she can put them OVER her pants to keep her pant legs from crawling up.
IF they crawl up...all heck will break loose and we will hear about it.

She has also been wearing a necklace and/or silly band bracelets to bed along with the hair tie of her choosing.
Are we giving in?
Yes, it's a battle we are not fighting.
As our parents have reminded us - choose your battles.
I think it shows great creativity and yes, independence, but it does drive us a little insane.

This little girl of ours is on the toddler roller coaster.
You know, the one where one minute she is the happiest, sweetest, funniest little thing and then 1.5 seconds later a tantrum full of screaming, kicking, and jerking around on the floor is occurring and you don't know how it started or why it is happening but you hope it will end just as quickly as it started.

So, that is why we are choosing our battles wisely and not fighting the whole Dora pajama fiasco at night.
Instead, we are asking, "what color socks tonight, Marie?"