Wednesday, December 23, 2009

'Jolly' old St. Nicholas-updated

I almost forgot to post this picture! How could I ever leave this out of my photo documentation of Maryn's life....the scariest Santa Claus of ALL time!!! We took Bode to Petsmart so he could get his picture taken with Santa and they said we could throw Maryn in the shot too. Bad idea when the Santa is 'under the influence'. Check out this guys eyes...he was certainly enjoying the holiday cheer :) But the kids look cute!




We are still enjoying our holiday season with family and wish you all the very best in the new year. It's amazing how much your life can change in one short year. You all know I took a ton of pictures on Christmas so I will work on that :) And I've gotten several comments on how well behaved and happy Maryn looks on Santa's lap...this is a blog folks...it's human nature and mother's instinct to brag about her offspring but I don't want to lead you astray or worse, have you questioning why your child wouldn't sit politely on Santa's lap...that you run to Barne's and Noble and pick up the first child rearing book you find. Maryn is human...and perfect in my eyes;)



waiting anxiously in line to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas
hmmm..."the gift that keeps on giving...a year membership in the monthly butternut squash club or pink ballet slippers??"
straight chillin'...
...turned into curiosity...
...turned into pouty face.
See...she really IS human!
Merry Christmas to all!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Rockin' around the Christmas tree...

have a happy holiday!
This Christmas season has been more magical than ever having Maryn in our lives. She brighten's each and every one of my mornings at approximately 7:15 a.m. and continues to amaze me with every passing hour. I used to babysit a lot when I was younger and there were times when the day seemed to go on forever and I used to wonder if it would feel like that when I had my own children. There aren't enough hours in the day!! She is learning so much so quickly that it amazes me she can ever fall asleep with her brain racing like that. I get so excited for her when she figures out how to do something new. She is really starting to pull herself up on the furniture and when she does she turns to us with this HUGE smile and starts dancing in excitement. It's so cool!
We had to remove the coffee table and replace it with an ottoman I had in our bedroom to avoid stiches to her forehead. And yes, I know...I shouldn't let her play with cords.
Standing!
This is the Hallmark Snoopy that plays music, her great grandma Loeper got it for her when we visited. She loves this thing and dances so hard to it sometimes that she falls over!
She put on a concert with Snoopy....that white ball is a rattle...she kept the beat while Snoopy played the piano
She shakes it by her ear to hear the jingle while I sing 'shake shake shake...shake shake shake...shake your bootie'!
I was so that kid who would find my Christmas gifts hidden in my parents closet or the basement...I would unwrap them to see what I was getting and then rewrap them. Sorry mom and dad..the truth comes out! Sooooooo, I couldn't stand it any longer...I had to give Maryn a sneak peek of one of her gifts!! It plays music...of course!
We styled her hair just like daddy's! She's got daddy's eyes, daddy's hair, daddy's ears, daddy's nose, daddy's lips and daddy's blood type....a true Junior M.A.C.!
And daddy's little smirk
I got a taste of what having two small children would be like the other morning. I babysat sweet Ashton while my friend Laura rushed around town to get her errands done for the holidays! You need good time management skills for this!
"Mom!!! Look what Santa brought me....my very own baby doll!"
And some how or other...Maryn's bow ended up on Bode :) He puts up with our crap.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Maryn is 8 months old!

Can you tell that the hustle and bustle of the holidays is upon us? We have been missing in action but busy none the less...baby showers, birthday parties, baking cookies, shopping, wrapping, addressing Christmas cards, shopping, trying new foods, cutting down our Christmas tree, hanging our stockings, putting up the lights, shopping and the list goes on!! (jk on the chopping down of the tree...went to our local Whole Foods and threw that pre-wrapped sucker on the top of the Yukon and we were good to go...$49.99 for an 8 ft tree...best price in town and the farm where it came from plants two new trees for every tree they cut down)
And as life seemed to be flying by, I realized that sweet baby Maryn turned 8 months old today...to the big white chair we went. She's been teething lately (still no pearly whites) and can be quite the grumpy grump grumpster! What! MY Maryn, grumpy! Yes, and that's one of the nice words I have been calling her:) So...pictures today were a bit of a challenge but she can't help but smile at her crazy mom that lives behind the lens of a Nikon D80.
She is soooo close to crawling but she is definitely a cautious soul. She still loves to stand and walk and looks for our hands to hold onto. She actually stood on her own for 8 seconds today...this child might skip crawling altogether. A tiny old lady in the grocery store stopped me today and asked how old Maryn was...when she noticed that Maryn's smile was all gums she turned to me and said "that child has no teeth!" (as if Maryn was totally disfigured), to which I replied, "um...she's a baby". Then she proceeded to touch her! Doesn't she know it's flu season?


Look what's back!!!!
BOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Her blonde fuzz is actually coming in pretty thick.

Despite the throbbing in her gums...she squeezed a smile out for me


And then she remembered the pain! And tried to JUMP out of the chair!

These photo shoots are getting harder...8 month olds like to MOVE!
(no babies were harmed in the shooting of these photos...momma's got a quick hand!)

And they like to GRAB everything!!

Maryn's first ornament on the tree, from great grandma Loeper.

This disaster is part of the reason I haven't been blogging...



Not sure if you can tell from this out of focus shot, but she's starting to lose her baby fat cheeks!


I had to work Thanksgiving so I made turkey dinner on that Saturday and Maryn joined us in her pj's.


Maryn has been busy...learning to read...

...attending baby showers...

Bobby and Bri are having a baby boy in January!!

crazy auntie Heidi!




...busy practicing 'soooo BIG'....

...and she waves 'bye bye'!..


...celebrating nanny's birthday...





...playing in boxes...

...practicing my pose...


...singing Christmas carols...

...stacking toys...

...standing...

...messing up mommy's hair...


...giving snuggles...


...playing Simon Says...
Simon says...lift your right leg


Simon Says...look at the person/dog who is responsible for leaving their toys in the middle of the room...

...Simon Says...kiss!



Someone's teething.







She literally bent over about 15 times to bite my foot while she was playing!
...mastering the sippy cup...

...browsing the catalogs and writing a wish list to Santa...
...enjoying the cooler weather...
...belly laughing...
...helping daddy with his sit ups...
...warming up for a run...
...celebrating uncle Nick's birthday...

And I'm not convinced that things are going to slow down anytime soon!