17 months

I was trying to post this before we went on vacation, but I ran out of time. So I'm pretending I did it right on the day, like a good mother would, if she weren't on a beach in the caribbean.

Marlo is 26 1/2 pounds and almost 33 inches tall...that's as of her last appt. two weeks ago. She's talking more every day. In that past week with her grandma, she's begun saying "yellow" and "blue".

She loves music and dancing. She's working on singing the ABCs, as well as "ring around the roses". Well, she really just turns around in a circle by herself and says "ree-ree, ro-ro" but it's still the cutest thing ever.

It's our 4th anniversary.

These are from our honeymoon in Moorea and Bora Bora. I'm pretty much convinced that nothing will ever top that trip. It is the most beautiful place. Ever.

But we're still going to try...tomorrow we leave for St. Maarten. It's our first real big vacation since the family reunion cruise in 2005. We go places on the weekends, or maybe for three or four days, but not enough time to relax. And that's really what we need.

Grandma (Mark's mom) will be here to care for Marlo, and those two are going to have a ball, I'm sure of that. I'm just a little sad thinking of missing my girl...I'll make it, I think!

But I'm sooo looking forward to spending hours on end with my sweet husband, who deserves a vacation more than anyone. His hard work makes all this possible...I'm living my dream of being a wife and mother, able to stay home with our little girl.

I love you more than ever, Mark. Thank you for everything!

i LOVE this

They're watching a baby einstein video. I can't wait for them to see this when they're older.

I highly recommend

Simone in motion

She is so darling. Her little mouth...I can't get over it. Even when she cries (which is just about never) it's so cute!
Poor thing has to take that tough love from her cousin and her big sis.

Dancing Queen

Marlo wouldn't stay off the dance floor at Matt & Amy's wedding. Every time I tried to get her to go back to our table, she'd squirm away and run right back out there.

Matt & Amy's Reception

It was really really beautiful. The tables and flowers were so pretty and Amy looked amazing. The bottom photo is from so far away but I wanted to show her dress...I loved it.

That's Amy with her mom Jackie in the second photo. Jackie and my mother in law have been friends forever and it's so cute to see them together because they just crack each other up.

And their little guy Noah is such a little cutie pie...look at that sweet face!

More of my fam

Dana, Sabrina, Mike and Luke.

Mom and the girl, probably watching einstein.

Sabrina looks sooo much like my sis Amy in this photo...and so does Marlo.

John took a job at Browns Valley Market in the cheese department. We had some gourmet tasting while I was home. He's really learned a lot and is on his way to being a real connoisseur. And yes, he cuts the cheese.

Gramma Helen's Place

My grandma is so sweet. I had a really nice lunch with her, my dad and aunt Dianne.
Gramma kind of lives out in the boonies (I can't believe I just typed that word) on a good chunk of property. When I was little I loved going out there and playing in the creek, eating wild strawberries and looking for snakes and lizards. You never knew what you'd find.
But now that I'm a parent all those things freak me out!

Little man Luke...

He looks like a little football coach. He is so smiley and cute.

It's been confirmed...

Marlo's brilliant. Yesterday she had her 16 month checkup and her Dr. asked how many words she knows. I guessed about a dozen. He said that was very advanced...five or six is normal.

So last night I made a list of her words and I came up with 32! That doesn't count the words she "knows"... i.e. when I ask her to point to a giraffe or she follows a command. I'm tempted to post the list, because this is how I keep a record, but I won't torture you.

I just have them written down on a sheet a paper...it will be fun to look at years down the road.

As for the appointment, Marlo was a champ and didn't fuss or squirm until the very end when she got her three shots. She's in the 85th percentile for height and weight, with a head circumference in the 90th. (To make room for that big brain.)

Luke & his daddy

My brother and his new son...what could be cuter?

So sophisticated

with her spoon...

Things I'm looking forward to

• Going up north next week for Matt & Amy's reception and getting to see friends and family
• Christmas (less than four months away!) Marlo's going to love it!
• Fall: cooler weather, less tourists...but with it comes football. (there's always a catch)
• Mark having Monday off for Labor day
• Going to Utah in Oct for our niece Simone's blessing
• Going to St. Martin with Mark in three weeks