mama & maren

jan '10

2011-01-29T11:13:00.001-06:00

string cheese, sesame street game and Sigma

edinborough park where she burned off all her energy after 3 hours

perdy gal

merry christmas '10

2010-12-29T05:48:00.000-06:00

Christmas with Gramps = Score!

2010-12-17T05:36:00.000-06:00

a day in the life of an elf

2010-12-01T06:02:00.002-06:00

Singing trees
auntie amanda

maren & mama

tried to get her to sit & pose - no go, too freaked out ;)

thru M's eyes

2010-11-23T20:35:00.003-06:00

end of october

2010-11-03T09:34:00.001-05:00

polka dot dance

2010-10-21T17:53:00.001-05:00

story/apple day

2010-10-20T21:24:00.000-05:00

more swimming

2010-10-19T06:34:00.002-05:00

she's always done a great back float :)

(the teacher is barely touching her head)

monkey cheeks & big splashy kicks!

she loves it & she is so good!!

pumpkin carving

2010-10-18T18:58:00.000-05:00

yes....she has a glove on....

swimming lessons

2010-09-20T20:44:00.000-05:00

Skol Vikings!?!

2010-09-20T06:28:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to Uncle Jeff!!

2010-09-20T06:20:00.002-05:00

Otsego Festival 2010

2010-09-20T06:12:00.002-05:00

Pretty sure she got every last kernel :)
Making her Crabby face in the squad car

Pony Ride!

sunday pool day

2010-08-23T17:22:00.002-05:00

girlfriend loves veggies

2010-08-19T05:58:00.000-05:00

august!!

2010-08-18T19:38:00.002-05:00

tip-toeing after a chicken at the zoo after she was told not to chase it :)

feeding the goats - this guy was pushy!

static head on the trampoline!

Riley lake

2010-07-02T20:02:00.002-05:00

OK, these came up backward, but you get it - we went to the lake today! Good times!!

getting buried!

2010-06-29T07:10:00.000-05:00

my girlie

2010-06-16T05:30:00.003-05:00

This gal loves the water!!

At Eden Prairie's Schooner days:

Lil tired:

Maren had her 3-year check-up last week (few months late) - she's still in the 90th% for weight (37 pounds) and the 92& for height (39 3/4")! My beautiful blondie :)

what a nice weekend!

2010-05-24T19:16:00.002-05:00

we saw this turtle laying eggs & we chased a snake away from the area

Maren drew the sun!

is she checking out the cows or are they checking out the girl...?

mama's little helper :)

May!

2010-05-17T19:38:00.002-05:00

Pretty! Maren is putting lip gloss on with a make-up brush!
a lovely day for sidewalk chalk on the patio! (with the nieghbor's dog, Sigma)

tuckered out after a bike ride to get her arm & face painted :)

wearing mom's rain boots - they're about as tall as her whole leg....

mother's day 2010

Maren's very own home-made pizza!!

singing to me on the drive home from school

"I have to exercise"

birthday par-tay!!

2010-04-20T20:04:00.002-05:00

I'm really not a fan of blogger these days. My pics look normal until I upload them here :(

easter 2010

2010-04-05T19:15:00.002-05:00

We had a nice Easter/Birthday weekend! Maren was pretty sure she saw the easter bunny out her window and sure enough, he left a gift for her :)

She spent Sunday with her dad celebrating easter and her birthday and playing!

OK yeah, I am a dork who has no idea how to rotate my pics in blogger...

march

2010-04-01T06:02:00.001-05:00

listening to grandma tell a bedtime story!

nekked.

with a map.

snuggling with auntie amanda :)

wisenheimer

2010-03-11T17:54:00.003-06:00

Lately M has been "telling stories" between her dad & I. The whole time I have her it's: "my dad said...." I need to drink pop, I can't have lunch, I can jump on the car, I don't have to take a bath, etc. And apparently I say loads of bull when she's with her dad. She is pretty creative sometimes!

I also learned from M where milk comes from: The cow drinks the milk & it goes down, down & it comes out his belly. Good to know! ;)

I have given up trying to potty train this kid. I am officially letting her do it on her own, she's too stubborn for anything else ;) She has randomly been asking to use the potty now that I don't mention it, even at school. Wish us luck!!

okaaay...!

2010-03-09T05:03:00.001-06:00

I picked M up from school the other day looking like this: apparently she had no more spare pants, so they put her in this lovely dress-up skirt & her boots are on the wrong feet...but she was happy!!

pants on your head

2010-03-09T05:02:00.002-06:00

Lookin' like a fool with your pants on your head!

dentist

2010-03-01T19:57:00.002-06:00

Maren visited the dentist for the first time today. She watched me get a cleaning, then took a ride in the chair, opened wide & got a princess toothbrush! She was awesome. When we were leaving, she was disappointed that the doctor didn't scrape her teeth. Can't wait to make her actual appointment! By the way - the dentist said she has more crowding at this age than most kids, probably takes after mom in that department :(

Jan. 2010

2010-01-25T19:07:00.002-06:00

Play-doh on a Saturday night!
Poor sick girl puked all over my couch & then on the kitchen floor. When I asked her if she wanted crackers or anything, she said "I want medicine" Thank goodness it only lasted 1 day!

Aside from my getting a new Corolla, we've just been hunkered down in this winter cold!

christmas season 2009

2010-01-02T08:51:00.001-06:00

woo! we're back!

2009-12-08T05:27:00.001-06:00

I somehow wasn't able to figure out how to upload pics from my camera for about a month there... :(

Halloween 09

2009-11-02T18:00:00.003-06:00

My lil butterfly had so much fun with Halloween! She did very well saying "Trick-or-Treat" ("candy please") and "Thank You!"

Nickelodeon Universe

2009-10-12T21:28:00.003-05:00

What a fun day! Maren & I went to the MOA and went on loads of rides! (a few of then twice) She cracks me up, she loved the stuff that I thought would make her nervous :) Thanfully, I could go on rides with her for free as her chaperone, didn't know about that neat little feature!

We shared pizza for lunch & M picked out some ice cream before we left.

Then it was off to buy snow pants & boots!!

hey!

2009-10-10T17:11:00.002-05:00

Haven't been posting much....sorry!

I got Maren a fish, she calls him Smushy :0 She likes watching him & feeding him.

M has been doing well on the potty at school, I'm so proud of her. She did crack her teacher up the other day when she poo'd in her diaper. She told the teacher, "it's gonna be gross, you should get some gloves." goof

I was trying to explain the clouds to her the other day as well, she was asking, "what happened to the sky? it broke?"

She wanted a band-aid on her ankle, so I gave her a Barbie one, she said to me "Don't take my band-aid off, mama" I said "Oh, I won't" and she said "Don't you dream it"

101 Market

2009-10-10T17:05:00.002-05:00

Last weekend we visited the 101 Market!!

chocolate pudding!

2009-09-18T21:14:00.001-05:00

She's so dang cute, she was saying "It's my Happy Birthday!"

i think i peed a little

2009-09-10T21:38:00.004-05:00

Tonite I left Maren in the bathroom while I ran to the kitchen to get my ringing phone. When I came back, she had the door closed. I opened it to see her sitting on the stool with a big ole splotch on her hair and wet-looking hands. She looked so mischievous that I laughed and asked her what is on her hair. "Soap!" She had squirted a bunch of my face soap onto her hands and rubbed it into her hair. It was about 7:50p, no time for a bath, so I had her lean over the tub & I washed her hair quick...laughing the entire time. She was quite proud to pose for these pics :)

sleepy head in my bed

Labor Day Wknd 09

2009-09-08T08:46:00.001-05:00

M chasing the ball and Roscoe (friend's pup) ~ wore both of them out!!

Alex & Maren playing in the camper :)

Mom & M

aug. stuff

2009-08-30T21:16:00.001-05:00

How can she tell me she doesn't like her bed?! It looks too comfy, if anything ;)

Birthday gang at my place!!

baby bumble bee

2009-08-25T06:23:00.002-05:00

goggles

2009-08-11T21:13:00.001-05:00

Tonite Dawn & Alex came over to swim with us! Maren sort of abducted Alex's spare goggles and loves them as if they are her own.

big girl bed!

2009-08-09T16:28:00.002-05:00

Woah, sorry ~ busy busy!! We moved to Eden Prairie on August 1 and Maren got a new bed! She loves it, but getting her to go to sleep is more of a challenge. Her dad & I just discussed the possibility that naps are coming to an end, maybe that will help with bedtime.... Oh, and the nook? It broke on Friday nite, so she threw it in the garbage. Not the best news, but she's such a good big girl.

yeesh

2009-07-11T20:11:00.003-05:00

Went to mom's cabin last weekend & Alex discovered a snake eating a frog alive! Nasty!On the Bright Side ~ Jack Bakken is 3 and we got to celebrate with him at Lake Elmo today!! :)

what a day!

2009-06-21T16:59:00.008-05:00

Saturday McKenzie came to visit and look thru Maren's baby girl things for her little one who will arrive in August!

Then M & I went to my mom's. Played in the sandbox & in the pool & monkeyed around in their camper with Alex!
a butterfly landed on her tushie :)
After dinner we went for a bike ride to Lake Calhoun with the Morelli gang and played with Nico!

2009-06-13T08:56:00.002-05:00

Friday M & I went to grandma's for the day - it was SOOO beautiful out! We played outside all day, had lunch at Culver's (M loves a good onion ring!) and went to a park in Albertville. Bummer that the rides for Friendly City Days weren't up & running when we were in the area :(

The above pic is in here to show off M's first scraped up knee - she loves to run, even when people are yelling "stop!"

Happy Birthday to Auntie Dawn

2009-06-12T05:31:00.003-05:00

Thursday we hung out around Minneapolis for Dawn's birthday ~ girls day (+ 1 little 4-year old boy!) Good times!

bestest cousins

2009-06-07T17:22:00.002-05:00

Maren & Alex play sooo well together these days! She loves her cousin!

Congrats Amanda & Will :)

2 year check-up

2009-06-03T05:47:00.003-05:00

OK, we were 2 months late on the 2 year check-up, but here it is:

Maren is 32.5 pounds (94%) and 36.5 inches tall (93%). So if the legend is accurate, she will be a 6 foot 1 inch adult! Holy moly! That's 10 inches taller than me!
The doctor was very impressed with her cooperation and language/communication and how much Maren knows. Dr. said Maren is an "exemplary 2 year old" :) She was a sweet little chatter box and did a very good job. No shots - yay!

lovely weekend!

2009-05-27T20:42:00.003-05:00

Park!

This was just before she took a nap on a great bike ride Sunday!

it's a hard-knock life

2009-05-17T21:28:00.003-05:00

sidewalk chalk, playing in dirt & rocks, & Blue's Clues....sounds kind of nice to us!

mother's day

2009-05-14T14:27:00.003-05:00

She's the reason I get to celebrate :)

Maren & I had brunch with the fam at my mom's for Mother's Day. It was just nice enought o play outside some! Maren drove her fav cousin Alex around in the red car some, and we also celebrated Grandma & Grandpa's birthdays!!

Wasp?! uhhh, no thank you!

2009-05-14T14:23:00.002-05:00

I discovered this little guy making a home on the bottom side of my deck railing....

dirt!

2009-05-05T19:45:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty sure my downstairs neighbor isn't crazy about me, but we have some good times up here :)

Maren discovered some potted plants on the deck, so I let her have a bowl with dirt & a spoon & cup. I'd say for a 2-year-old, we kept a good amount contained (50% is good, right?)

granny's 80th birthday party

2009-05-03T19:34:00.001-05:00

Sadly I could NOT find my camera during the cake part, when everyone was gathered around my grandma :( But it was a B-U-T-ful day and we had a great time seeing the fam!!

perhaps not a vike's fan?

2009-05-02T08:50:00.002-05:00

The fam came over to swim the other day & Uncle Joe brought his little football!

Seriously, Maren is such a good little fishie! She is doing very well at kicking her legs to get around in the water and gets super excited about it! Now to just keep the mouth closed...

Easter egg hunting!

2009-04-13T19:42:00.003-05:00

Birthday Fun!!

2009-04-06T10:50:00.005-05:00

Maren & Alex had thier birthday party Sunday & we had a blast! The kids saw the fam & got lots of great presents :) Thank you so much everyone!!

flashback:

2009-04-04T05:32:00.002-05:00

Happy 2nd Birthday Maren!! Love You!!

We're having a party with Alex tomorrow, but here she is at her 1st birthday - she has changed so much!

random singing

2009-03-24T04:53:00.002-05:00

she's looking at my mom who was trying to sing along....

piggies!

2009-03-23T20:25:00.001-05:00

Grandma was over today & put pigtails in Maren's hair!!

future's so bright

2009-03-22T20:01:00.000-05:00

Napping with friends:

cutie cutie

2009-03-22T13:15:00.002-05:00

Oh man...in 2 weeks I will have a 2-year-old!!

I can't even begin to regurgitate all the things Maren is saying & doing. People talk about 3-yr-olds who don't stop talking, I have to wonder - how much more could she have to say? ;)
Thursday we went to Dawn & Joe's for dinner with the Knight's, Dad & Auntie Manda! Maren found these goggles/glasses on a toy dog there:

woo-hoo 50 degrees!!

2009-03-15T16:41:00.003-05:00

Today we hung out with G&G in Elk River.
Maren & Alex watched the Beatles on YouTube:

Maren did some drawrings:

And we played outside!!

Azia

2009-03-12T20:11:00.002-05:00

Went out for dinner, drinks & some chatting with Cristina & Pamm!!

23 months...and counting!

2009-03-04T19:40:00.004-06:00

Trying on Grandma's jewelry:

Being a goof ball!Maren was spelling her name for me yesterday! "M-A-R-N, Maren!!" Pretty dang close!

good morning!

2009-02-20T19:44:00.002-06:00

Maren sharing breakfast with her pals:And brushing her teeth:

sunday

2009-02-15T20:06:00.002-06:00

Where are Alex & Maren?!
(those are temporary heart tattoos on M's feet)

Grandma wouldn't teach the kids to draw on their clothes....

...would she?!! Kitties for everyone, even grandma!
(notice M's new kitty rain boots from Auntie Dawn!)

Random, but this is what Maren wanted to wear Saturday:

1 year ago...

2009-02-15T20:01:00.001-06:00

Just for funsies, here are some pics from February 2008:

bath sillies

2009-02-13T06:22:00.002-06:00

the drink....

the spray:

the giggles!

M is 22 months old!

2009-02-04T19:44:00.003-06:00

Oh boy, I don't even know what to think. She will be 2 before I know it!!

Here is Maren doing a puzzle with Uncle Ryan this weekend:

Maren got a new jacket from Auntie Dawn! She was enamoured with it this morning, didn't want to take it off when we got to school.

And eating grapes :)

i bought a new camera!!

2009-01-31T13:30:00.004-06:00

maaaan, that was a rough few weeks. i feel like i missed a lot of cutie photo ops with Maren :(

so here she was this morning, eating yogurt with a spoon and a fork!

seriously, girlfriend is amazing me with all the sentences & things she says.

driving in the car, M says :I see a bear. me: you do? where? Maren: in the tree!

she's using the potty some and making decisions - even put her pants on all by herself today - it's adorable!

Smarty Pants

2009-01-23T05:21:00.002-06:00

Here's are a few of the things M is surprising me with:
She started singing her ABC's just before Christmas (including the little song at the end!)
She sings Baa Baa Black Sheep, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle, Ring Around the Rosie, Happy Birthday, among others....
And she is constantly telling me what things are: This is a car, This is a cup, This is a tree, This is a book, This is a light....
As well as using lots of sentences: I pick out a book, Read my book, I see a bear (??), I want yogurt, I want yellow cheese....
There is so much new and exciting stuff lately, I have to laugh a lot of the time at what she knows!!

German Festival on Sunday

2009-01-20T20:38:00.004-06:00

Heading in with cousin Alex!

Big round of applause for the dancing!

The Crew, minus Dawn (the photographer):

M peeking down the balcony at some German singing:

A little Polka with Alex!

Thanks AGAIN for the pics Dawn!!

21 months

2009-01-09T20:38:00.004-06:00

It's a lot harder to blog without a functioning camera!

Here's my big girl with a pony!

She was freaking me out this week, calling me Lisa, Lisa. Then when I'd say "whaaat?" all puzzled, she'd say "mommy!" goofball....

M sings her ABC's and is using sentences, "I want yogurt" and definitely know what she wants or doesn't want.
Carefully peeling the paper off some crayons. No one can say this girl doesn't have concentration. There was not distracting her from this very important task.

2008-12-31T20:26:00.002-06:00

K~ this first pic is from Christmas Eve, Maren enjoying a family tradition: the pickle roll-up. She loved it, that's my girl! Christmas Round 3 was this past Sunday at Dawn & Joe's with Grandpa M. Maren scored - Play-Doh, puzzles, markers, clothes..... Thanks for all the great gifts Dad! (PS~ the vaccuum Rocks!)

ghost of christmas past

2008-12-29T19:38:00.001-06:00

Maren at Christmas 2007:

X-mas dos....!

2008-12-25T12:39:00.002-06:00

A couple pics of Maren last nite at the big Lindenfelser get-together. Lots of kids to play with, lots of fun!

ps~ my camera is officially deceased. there will not be a memorial, but this means there will also be fewer posts until I figure something out. eek!

Christmas at G&G Carron's

2008-12-23T20:51:00.002-06:00

Singin' with the snowmen:

Uncle Ryan was Santa & Maren watched him put on the red suit, so she was OK with that! woo!

feeding the baby juice with Ryan:

My camera is pretty much deceased :( Dawn saved Christmas by being rather handy with hers ~ THANKS!!

is OCD hereditary?

2008-12-19T05:52:00.003-06:00

;) She put a lego in each spot until there were none left & wasn't all too happy when she had spaces left, so we improvised with the little red bench & see-saw... ta-da (whew!)

oh seriously...

2008-12-15T19:50:00.001-06:00

nuki nuki nuki nuki

a trend?

2008-12-10T20:52:00.002-06:00

Maren peed on the potty again tonite!! Like last time, she brought her potty chair into her bedroom and sat on it in there. I gave her a little privacy by peering around the corner. She went thru this book and sang a song and then stood up & examined her work. This time there was a lot too - I was so excited! Something to work on: she thinks she should get to drink out of the bowl before and after I wash it out.....

photo op

2008-12-06T20:28:00.003-06:00

Call me disgusting if you have to, and it was likely a fluke, but I am SO PROUD! Maren was saying "potty" and she went & got her potty chair & brought it into her bedroom where we were doing a puzzle & she sat her tushie down and peed!! Pretty sure I freaked her out cuz of how excited I got. She kept looking in there at the pee until I washed it out. After some pics, of course (I'll spare you).

happy t-day

2008-11-28T19:02:00.003-06:00

When we got up, we ate breakfast...she already looks stuffed & ready to kick back!

And then...OH! guess where Maren played!

Maren got to try on Alex's Bat Man face. She was nervous of it at first, and poked him in the eye later......

Sadly, this is about the only pic from my camera of us together on Thanksgiving. I just didn't take many, oops.

We had lunch at Dawn's with Grandpa Bruce, and dinner at my Mom's! A full, fun day!

"odds"-N-ends

2008-11-26T20:20:00.004-06:00

These first few are from Sunday. Alex had slept at Grandma's & when we got there, Maren joined right in the movie fun.

And later she was initiated.

Tonite I could NOT get her out of her wagon for over an hour. We walked up & down the halls, talked on the phone, had snack, just chilled out... When I took her clothes of to get ready for bed, she threw her arms up & yelled "Naked!" I keep it pretty warm in here for that very reason. She did insist on using her princess blanket and then the tu-tu while she did her bedtime "routine" (use that term loosely!)

2008-11-24T06:05:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple pics from Maren's music class Saturday morning (before the hair cut). We go for a half hour on Saturday mornings.

hair cut!

2008-11-22T13:10:00.004-06:00

We went to Kid's Hair today after music class for Maren's first all-over hair cut. My aunt Sue had trimmed Maren's bangs in September, but today she also got the back evened up. She did really well, no fussing or anything. Didn't really care much for the blow dryer, but I can't say I blame her

2008-11-17T08:15:00.003-06:00

Have we talked about Maren's "boyfriend", Connor lately? OMG, those 2 are such a hoot! This is the boy who was in infants with Maren also and they had to be separated at naptime cuz they would laugh and chatter and share pacifiers. They have been moving up in classes at about the same rate (Maren goes a couple weeks ahead). One day I went to pick her up and the kids were playing outside & I didn't see her - she & Connor were playing and laughing together over by themselves. Last week I picked her up and she & Connor were twirling and falling on eachother and laughing their tushies off. I should try to get a pic of them together. He is a little baldie tank about her height and he is always happy. SO CUTE!

monkey

2008-11-13T20:38:00.002-06:00

I've been hearing "monkey" all nite. Lots of "no monkey", actually. If I try to kiss her, open a door, move a toy..."no monkey"

1 year ago

2008-11-09T19:12:00.002-06:00

Just thought it would be fun to see what Bam Bam was like a year ago - cute!

(she was 7 months old in these)

sunday nite

2008-11-05T19:00:00.002-06:00

mom, amanda & jeff came over for dinner sunday. afterward, we dressed maren up as a little girly girl with a tu-tu and a tiara. she loved it & loved looking at herself in the mirror!

Later, mom said "oh, I brought a snack for Maren" And I said, "I hope it isn't something sugary, it's late." It wasn't sugary - it was very carrot-y!

Trick-or-Treat!!

2008-10-31T19:59:00.003-05:00

OK, so she didn't say it, but she went and she liked it! At first she wanted Dad to hold her when someone came to the door, by the end she was helping herself to the candy, thank you very much! She did manage to say "bye!" to most people. We only went to maybe 6 houses, cute cute!!

holy leaves batman!

2008-10-30T19:42:00.004-05:00

Today after dinner Maren & I grabbed uncle Jeff & went over to a park...?? well, oddly enough, the entire playgound area (which looks sweet) is fenced in at the beach area and we couldn't play there. (Traci, you know that beach off Shady Oak Raod, right?) But we walked a bit and watched 2 dogs play ball in the water & found this gi-normous pile of leaves!!

byerly's

2008-10-28T20:45:00.003-05:00

tonite we went to Byerly's Boo-something-or-other with cousin Alex! Holy Frijole, TONS of kids & costumes and music and trick-or-treating....

Maren is a chicken for Halloween this year (thanks Dawn!)

Alex even got Spider Man face paint!

The kids got the beads by jumping around with the DJ...

oh no

2008-10-25T20:24:00.001-05:00

I was in my room getting dressed & I knew Maren was in the bathroom, so I asked her to "come here please". and she did...

random pics

2008-10-19T09:43:00.003-05:00

so tired, getting up to go to daycare/"school"

trying on her new boots! (and yes, eating a plum! "apple")

cheese!

look how she puts her feet up, just like mama & auntie:

awwww....so comfy, let's just snuggle! (what's up with her left hand?! I think the blanket is covering some of it!)

apple

2008-10-16T21:13:00.003-05:00

apple apple apple apple apple apple APPLE APPLE APPLE APPLE

not with exclamation points because she isn't rude about it. just persistent. and consistent.

it doesn't even have to be an apple, it's often times a plum or sometimes a pear. even our pumpkin.... but "apple" it is. and now that I've typed it so many times it doesn't look like a real word!

18-month check-up

2008-10-13T20:00:00.002-05:00

Bam Bam had her 18-month check-up this afternoon! She got glowing reviews from her doctor who kept commenting on how friendly, calm and good she is. (duh) She said this is usually a hard age to examine the kids cuz they squirm, freak, and/or try to flee. Maren just sat there and sometimes chatted. She weighs 28 pounds, 10 ounces - 93%. She is 35 inches tall - 99%. So no problemo maintaining her size with the food allergies! Poor thing got 4 shots!! :( 2 in each leg! Could've been 3, but she got her flu shot today versus going back...

2008-10-13T13:05:00.003-05:00

today we joined Alex at Maple Maze! We'd never been, but it was fun - I'm sure we'll be back!!

sunday, 101 market

2008-10-13T12:54:00.003-05:00

Maren wasn't sure waht to think of being dumped into a pile of corn at first, but started to enjoy herself after a minute. And no, she didn't eat any.

this one is kind of random. it's actually before we left in the morning, she was nekked (big surprise, I know) and I kept talking about going, so she brought me her shoes and jacket. so that's all she has on here.