Flirting Ryn and Swim Ready

The little flirt today at lunch ... Mike has gotten in the habit of picking up our favorite local Indian food for lunch one day a week. We used to go to enjoy the lunch buffet often. Since she was born it's been a little tricky coordinating her nap time with his afternoon meetings. I don't know why we didn't try take out earlier? It's much easier to schedule and ends up being more affordable too. Yum-o!

Here's a weekend shot. Miss sleepy eyes ready to leave for swim class early Saturday morning. That cover-up hoodie is too cute!

Home PlayPlace

We don't really have grass in our backyard. It's small with a wood deck and brick patio, so, not super kid friendly unless you're riding a tricycle. Our screened-in-porch provides a nice place for the girl to climb around when we can't get to the park. I set it up on Thursday, and she is making the most of it.

Trying to Tell Me Something?

I can take a hint

Do you two want to go outside?

Owen Shout-Out!

Another family member has mastered the 2-wheeler at age 3! Congratulations Owen!

Kirk will be so proud to hear that you've followed in his footsteps.

Check out the video on my sister's blog, Fink House ... the link is on the right

Playroom Highlights & Low Lights

Toy rotation is our primary strategy for keeping the playroom manageable. We've been lucky in the toy department. Most have come into our home as gifts or hand-me-downs from friends and relatives. Honestly, I think we've probably bought less than 5 toys since she was born. That being said, we do have a lot and it can be difficult to keep the toy clutter under control. So, we began to rotate, and it appears to be working really well. Fewer toys out at a time doesn't seem to hinder her play, in fact, she seems more into the same old toys when they're suddenly reintroduced after an absence. The only downside to toy rotation is storage space. So far so good, but this will present a challenge in the future.

Maryn's hair is always in a state of color transition. When she was born her hair was about as dark as mine in color and shade. As she's grown it's gotten progressively lighter. She's even gone through some soft shades of auburn here and there. Now the color trend seems to be toward blond. If you look closely, particularly at the first picture you'll see what I mean. She has some baby low lights! Blond roots probably indicate big changes ahead.

Sweet One

What a nice weekend. Today started early, as most days with Maryn do (usually about 6:00). Actually, this morning it was more like 6:35 ... what a nice treat! She had some yogurt to tide her over while Mike and I enjoyed a bit of coffee. Then we loaded up the bike rack and were off to the arboretum. Early morning auto free biking at the park doesn't start until next weekend, but so few cars were there it felt like it had already begun. We biked, took in the gorgeous spring scenery & smells, enjoyed each other's company and then headed to the visitor's center for a hot breakfast.

Back home M took a nice long nap while we finally got around to cleaning out the garage. We still had various boxes, fixtures and furniture stored there since the remodel. It's sooooo nice to be able to fit both cars again.

Did I mention we have a claw foot tub in our garage? ...one of those leftover fixtures I alluded to earlier. It's original to the house, but just wasn't practical if we wanted to have showers in both bathrooms. I considered putting it in the backyard full of plants and/or flowers, but for now it will stay in the garage. Perhaps when Maryn is a bit older it will become a kids reading nook complete with pillows and a plush throw on our screened-in porch. Yes, that sounds cozy.

Once Maryn was up it was time for lunch. Shortly after, she and Mike headed to the city leaving me behind to get some work done. I took a break and joined our pup Maddie in the back yard for some fetch. The smell of newly fired-up grills was in the air. When M&M returned several hours later they had dinner --delicious french sandwiches from Pastoral, a friend's recommendation. During dinner M kept smiling in my direction, leaning over and touching my arm. It was so cute... like she had missed me during the afternoon. Sweet girl.

And if the day wasn't sweet enough, later we snuck in a quick walk downtown to the ice cream parlor before heading back to get the girl ready for bed.

Favorite Playroom

She loves to "help" in the kitchen. I've put some wooden spoons etc. in one of the low drawers. We have the soft close feature so it's more difficult to slam her fingers, but I've added additional digit protection if she leans/pushes too hard. In this case it's an upright stack of paper plates that prevent the drawer from fully closing. She also enjoys taking our veggie steamer and collection of colanders out of the island and banging them on the floor. This kitchen work entertains her much longer than I thought possible. What was I thinking when I tried putting her in her playroom while we were making dinner? She'd yell and didn't seem to want to play on her own. She just wanted to play near us .. duh! Sometimes I miss the most logical things! So, yes, right now the kitchen is her favorite playroom.

Fire Truck

Bedtime Story

Snuggling with Dada, anticipating story time in front of a warm fire as the evening winds down

Best Buddies?

... well, perhaps in Maryn's eyes anyway. Maddie enjoys hangin' with her to an extent, but their playtime usually ends a bit earlier than Ryn would like. I imagine sometime in the not too distant future, when the little girl decides to run after her, Maddie won't have as much choice in the matter.

Park Hoppers

We have about 6 parks within walking distance from our home, but the closest one is currently under construction. So, we've begun a sort of park shuffle. It's been fun. She's unsteady on her feet, but loves crawling all over the equipment. She can handle climbing ramps (looks like a baby rock wall) and small slides on her own, well, almost-she still needs some help getting situated at the top of the slide. The park we were at this particular day didn't have a small slide so her dad accompanied her. You can't tell by the picture, but she was laughing the entire way down.