I'm Walking on Sunshine

Baby girl has been 'taking steps' for well over a month now but her cautious little soul only allowed a step or two until she gracefully would sit herself down. This afternoon she WALKED...and we got it on video! For some reason it downloaded at the bottom of this post. Some people think I'm crazy for the amount of pictures I take of our sweet baby cheeks but her life is passing us by at the speed of light and I ain't gonna miss one millisecond of it. I'm sure that when our children are school aged and their brains aren't making new neuron connections like every 1.5 seconds and they aren't growing into people right before our very eyes (well, maybe they'll be growing into people, that I've hopefully influenced to love themselves, at a slower rate) then my picture taking *might* slow down. But until then...we'll carry on:)

This is her...*I just woke up, my hair's a mess and I need a cup of coffee* look

And well, this is her *See...I can still sing opera despite the fact that I have no lips* look

They cuddle and snuggle and steal each others toys

Her favorite thing to do these days is to give Bode big bear hugs...he doesn't look thrilled about her grasping his fur with her left hand, but he's coming around to it:)

Walking!!!

Southeast Wildlife Exposition

We love going to the SEWE, which is usually the second weekend in February...Valentine's day this year. We used to bring Bayley with us every year...he loved to people watch and adored all the children who would run over to him for a hug. Bode has always had some big paws to fill and did us proud at the SEWE. Children flocked to him and he would sit so proud with his chest out and his head high...he LOVES children. At one point, there were 8 kids surrounding him and he just sat there with a big smile on his face.

We have this exact picture from 4 years ago with our Bayley...minus the cute baby, of course:)

Auntie Heidi met us downtown and tried to rip our daughters arms out of her sockets:)

...but Maryn didn't mind one bit! Who needs an arm socket when you can fly through the air like this???

Bode Wins the GOLD!

Congrats to Bode Miller, our Bode's namesake, for winning his first gold in the men's Super Combined! Our Bode is quite similar to the Olympian Bode...both are considered the 'bad boys' in their sport, are two really cute blondes, and are now both 'GOLD'en champions! Bode Miller was quoted after his win saying that "I've got one leg that's injured and another leg that's on my boat already"...just like our boy...living life like he's always on vacation!

GO U.S.A!!!!!

Do you see the resemblance??

We always knew there was something 'golden' about this Bode

We're so proud of our Bode's!!!

Maryn is 10 months old!

"Little" Maryn is two months shy of a year old! What in the world...how did this happen? She just had her 9 month doctor's visit last week and she weighed in:

19 lb 4 oz just under 50th percentile

26 1/2 in. 10th percentile!!!

head circumference 43 1/2 in. 25th percentile

They measured her length twice because she has seemed to drop her percentile significantly since her 6 month visit. Check and double check....we gotta shorty!

Our junior m.a.c. brings such joy into our lives...belly laughing, side stitching, cheeks hurting sort of joy. She's cruising across the furniture, along the window sills, around and over Bode and loves being chased...she starts crawling really really fast, so much so that her arms can't keep up with her legs and she face plants. She giggles and thinks we are just the greatest! Every morning she's standing in her crib and hates the fact that the first thing we have to do is change her diaper. She's developed quite the attitude, as I've mentioned before...I like to think she's just strong willed:) She's eating mostly table food now, along with 4 nursing sessions, and LOVES it! Despite not having any teeth, she tears into baked chicken & turkey, sausage, scrambled eggs, tofu, avocado, cottage cheese, yogurt, cooked veggies, whole wheat bread with hummus, pasta, and her favorite...sliced b.a.n.a.n.a.s! She continues to add to her vocabulary...when she hears a dog bark outside she looks at us, her eyes get big and she yells DOG! I could have sworn that she tried to say 'I love you' the other day. I practice with her and say it really slow and she repeats me with the same sound and syllables...sort of like this "i yuv yu". And that I do...I love you Maryn Amelia, you are my heart, my breath, my motivation to be a better person...I do it all for you.

10 months...Top 10 reasons why I love this little schnookie

10. Rose petal lips

9. Her crooked pinkies (just like her mama and poppop :) )

8. The way she scrunches up her nose and sniffs like a dog...it's adorable!

7. She fake sneezes just to hear you say 'bless you'

6. And sneezes EVERY SINGLE time she goes out into the sun.

5. She rubs her 'lovey' on her face when she's tired

4. Squeals with excitement when I get the Cheerios box out of the pantry

3. And can down a box of graham crackers like nobody's business

2. She twirls my hair in her fingers while she's nursing...I'm gonna miss that

1. She's got her daddy's crystal blue eyes...so clear and blue that I can see through into everything that IS her daddy, all the reasons why I fell in love with him

Dressed in a pretty red outfit from grandma Cummings, in honor of Valentine's day

Hey fellas

Check out my bubble hem

'M' is for Maryn

I adore baby girl lashes

I still can't believe that I MADE her....I MADE her!!!

Big girls need big girl car seats, or a big box to play in

Testing out the new ride

You rock my world, Mare Bear!

All we need is love, love...

...love is all we need.

Mac and I headed out to dinner and a movie for our Valentine's date night...but not before we squeezed and kissed our baby girl good night.

Hugs for mama

I love love love this gummy smile. I am so gonna miss it when her pearly whites come in.

horseplay and self photos

daddy got his girls flowers and candy:)

reading her Valentine from daddy...telling her how special every inch of her tiny little self is

Maryn made her grandparents and daddy a platter with her hand and foot prints on it, in the shape of a crab and a lobster. We made it at Kiln Time, a local pottery shop....I highly recommend it. I think we'll be heading back for her birthday to make a plate for her nursery wall.

Best friends

(please excuse the slobbery window...it's Bode's hangout spot)

These two are...um...pretty dang proud

My love for you is immeasurable

Seriously, best friends. She was hitting him here and yelling at him! I wonder where she learned that from?

He just puts up with it and 'winks'.