Marie Turns Two!

What a fun-filled birthday weekend we had! We couldn't have ordered nicer weather and Marie sure had fun with all of her visitors. To begin on Friday, we took a trip to a local apple orchard, complete with picnic lunch, tricycle course (though her legs were too short), wagon ride, and apple picking.

By Friday night, more visitors had arrived! James, Jaclyn, JJ, and Jess got here just in time to (hopefully) get a little bit of rest before the next big day. Grandpa and Grandma Shibata were here by lunchtime and got the indoor and outdoor tour. We stopped for a bit to enjoy the swings and slide and the sunshine.



After lunch, there was more time for playing and opening presents, of course!

We enjoyed some burgers, hot dogs, and the usual summer fare before bringing out the birthday cake. Bob and Larry!!!

All too soon, it was time to say good bye to the Shibata's. We came to find out that Marie and JJ have the same set of PJs.

We took a short evening stroll and had time for a story or two before we were too exhausted.

The next morning, Marie wasn't even out of her pajamas before she had convinced Grandpa to watch a "Bob & Larry" with her.

All in all, it was an AWESOME weekend, made so much better by being able to be surrounded by family. We are truly blessed! Thanks everyone!

Today Marie had her 2-year checkup. She did very well and is doing great according to Dr. Anderberg. She is 1/2 inch shy of being a 3 footer and weighed in at 27 lbs. We think she'll be tall. :)

Also, thanks to all of you that remembered Marie's birthday and sent cards. One of her favorite "jobs" is going out to get the mail. She opened them all herself and read each one!

House Pics

Finally got around to taking some shots of the new house today. Thought those of you that haven't seen it might like a taste....

Here's the new info:

6573 Lexington Dr.
Whitmore Lake, MI 48189

Settled In...Somewhat

Well, we've been in the new house for almost four weeks now. Marie definitely considers this to be "home" and loves all the space. We have most of the essentials unpacked and the list of "To Do" items is at least getting shorter. It will be sometime before we have everything just the way we want it, but overall we are very happy to be here.


Thankfully, we have gotten very little rain so Jon hasn't had to spend all weekend mowing the yard and making applesauce of all the apples that have fallen from our unidentified apple trees. The deer don't seem to mind.

He has spent tireless hours getting the pool chemicals just right and it is now a clear blue rather than an algae green color. We have learned that Marie likes to swim. It actually consists of Mom walking around pool, holding Marie's upper body while Marie kicks her legs. She thinks it's so fun to splash and get herself wet.




Peg has gotten rid (we think) of all of the poison ivy, but not before Marie had her first case. She was quite the trooper and actually listened a couple of times when we told her not to scratch. She is learning more words all the time and just tonight was consistently saying "Paw Paw" (Grandpa) and "Maw Maw" (Grandma) without too much prompting. She even learned Uncle Matt's name...after we repeatedly scolded her at dinner for putting her hands under the place mat and disrupting her food.





Marie is very into books and Bob and Larry right now. She can point out almost all of the Sesame street characters and we can hardly have a computer on without a "Bob, Larry, one" request. (Translation: She would like to watch one...or more...Veggie Tale shorts.) She also likes to run and dance and ride her tricycle, though she hasn't quite figured out the pedals or the steering. Good thing Mom and Dad can help with that.






She is also quite the artist. Her marker drawings and paintings are quite impressive...at least to Mom. Here are a couple from today.

Stay tuned for more later!