Top 10 Moments of 2009 According to Brad

In no particular order...

1. Burning the Christmas tree in the backyard. In July. The old saying was proven true, "went up like a Christmas tree." Maybe that's just Andrew's phrase. Anyway I felt bad afterwards that he wasn't around to see it. Missy wasn't around to see it either because she ran scared into the house.

2. Visiting Great Grandma Budde on Halloween. She couldn't have been happier, or tried harder to keep us. Bribes of dinner, drinks and snacks were relentless and considerably appreciated. It was great to see her. Louis continued to speak about the trip days later.

3. Dancing with Missy at Danny and Meghan's wedding. We both had plenty of drinks and even more fun. The live band played amazing music; Missy was really into their cover of Pink. When the DJ started we both tried dancing to music the young kids are playing, like MGMT. Try it, it's not easy, you'll laugh.

4. Catching a 5lb bass while fishing with Mike Seppelt. We fish Bass Lake in Plymouth once every summer. Every summer it ends up being a highlight. It seems the recipe of light beer in cans, a good fishing hole and 3 hours with a good friend is reliable fun.

5. Louis spells his name in chalk. We were chillin' in the basement and Lou was playing with chalk. Suddenly he writes his name: LOUIS. We didn't even know he could write, much less spell his name. So we erased it and he did it again. How does a kid know how to write his name yet refuse pee anywhere but his diaper?

6. Playing craps in the morning. We went to Vegas this fall with friends. Missy and I are conditioned by our children to wake early, so we finished an early breakfast and explored the Bellagio. A friendly game of craps looked inviting, neither of us have ever played on a table in Vegas, and we very quickly were being given a tutorial by a friendly stranger. In a matter of a few minutes he explained the game and recited all of the odds. Maybe craps is more fun when you've been drinking, but since we could remember this it stands out as one of the unique moments we've had together.

7. Swimming lesson progress. How is it that our children start their first swimming lesson scared and fully clutched to one of us; two months later their favorite part of the week is Saturday swimming lessons?

8. Christmas tree setup. Lou and I bought a Christmas tree on a Saturday morning. The next day we decorated the house and tree. The lower half of the tree was decorated in a single horizontal line, right in Lou's line of sight. In some cases he put 6 bulbs on a single branch. The next few days Lou would lay on the couch and stare at the tree. He'd have to get dressed by the tree. I've never seen anyone love a tree like that. I'm feeling the magic of Christmas.

9. Adam Mikkelson choking on hot sauce in the backyard. He opened one of those hot sauces with the warning label and ate it like Ketchup. The next 15 minutes he spent gagging on the heat. My favorate antidote was spoonfuls of ice cream that he let slide off his tongue as they melted. His daughter started crying too because she was so concerned for her Daddy. We shouldn't have laughed at him, but he was too disoriented to laugh along with us.

10. Finishing Crime and Punishment. It took 3 years. Now I can finally say that I've read Dostoevsky. I guess crazy people make good stories whether they're in classic literature or on Real Housewives.

Snow Day!

Welcome to winter. This week, due to the snow storm, daycare was closed. So the kids got to experience their first ever snow day. Louis seemed confused at first and was worried that his friends were going to be at school and he wasn’t; but he quickly realized that wearing his pajamas all day must mean it is a special day.


Overall, I think the kids were bored with me. I am not nearly as clever with activities like daycare is, nor am I as silly as their friends! But we definitely had our moments of fun. Louis and Mabel played well together. They read books, they hid under blankets, colored and wrestled…yes, they started wrestling each other. I would normally be concerned about this, but they just tickle each other and fall over each other and laugh. It is really sweet.

This past weekend we put up our tree and lights. Louis was excited that he got to help Brad pick out the tree and put up the lights outside (Mabel got to come with Mom to help remember a very dear, very loved friend). Louis was insistent that we buy a star and that he would get to put up the star “like Curious George did”. Both children love the lights and the tree. Our tree is in our “blue room” and Louis now likes to spend all his time in there. He will just get a pillow and a blanket and watch the tree. See that and hearing Mabel say “wow” every time the lights go on – it again makes me feel so lucky that I get to be a parent to these two sweet children.

This last picture is of Mabel’s lump on her forehead. She took a spill down a couple of stairs and ended up with her first black-n-blue mark and a nice bump. Her papa gave her lots of kisses and after a few minutes, she completely forgot about it.

So much to be thankful for

Thanksgiving was very wonderful this year. We celebrated with both sides of my extended family and enjoyed some delicious food and wonderful company.

The day after Thanksgiving we boarded a plane to D.C. to celebrate Nolan Budde’s baptism. Louis was so excited to be in the airport and on the airplane. He loved having his own seat and kept asking “are we flying yet papa?”. It is so great as a parent to see your child with wide eyes and excitement. Every moment of the airport and flight was thrilling for him…that alone made the trip worth it.
The baptism weekend was great. Brad’s entire family made the trip to D.C. for the baptism! We had a great time catching up with Matt and Kristin. Mabel and her cousin Mollie had a lot of fun with crawling races and following each other around the house. While there, we realized what a little toddler Mabel has become. She has been talking more and more adding the words please, cheese, Happy, baby and many more. She has been signing more and more – but only for words she can say (please, more, all done, thank you, etc). She also has finally started saying "mommy" - yeah! In D.C. we realize that little Mabel also is quite the extrovert. She can be dead tired, but if other people are having fun…she needs to as well. She is quite the “party girl” much to her father’s chagrin.
We were all plenty tired as naps were missed, and sleeping in a hotel room with two children can be difficult. The first night, Louis fell asleep on a tiny little bency…I guess the pull-out bed was too big! I don’t think Brad and I have gone to bed at 8:30pm in a long time. Both kids need dark and quiet to fall asleep, so we spent our time texting each other and reading the internet on our phones!
On Sunday the entire family went to Nolan’s baptism. The church that Matt and Kristin belong to has such a diverse congregation and does an excellent job celebrating the baptism event. Louis was able to join the other children up at the baptismal fountain for an up-close view of the baptism. It was very nice ceremony and all of us were very proud to be there. Nolan is a beautiful baby who is very loved.
It was such a great weekend to be with family. We enjoyed lots of great moments together; whether swimming in a pool, enjoying great food, seeing Mabel choose Adam has her new favorite uncle or watching a deer run through the window (and subsequently run throughout) the townhome next door everyone was glad we made the trip!

Can this part last forever?

Right now Louis and Mabel have so much fun together. Don’t get me wrong, they are starting to also fight with each other, but mostly they are just enjoying each other's company. They both love waking the other one up in the morning and enjoy seeing each other first thing.

As part of Mabel’s physical therapy, we have her play in a Rubbermaid to practice standing. Well it didn’t take long for Louis to want the same thing. After I dug one out for him, I sat back and watched. They had a great time playing peek-a-boo with each other!

Louis loves building forts with his Papa right now. It is a pretty standard weekly activity. Lately though, Mabel likes to play in it as well. She doesn’t usually sit in there too long, but rather prefers to go in and crawl out the “back door”

Quick updates: Mabel finally has both front teeth, which now brings her to five. Her second front tooth took forever to cut and must have been so painful for her! Louis can now write his name, but needs a lot of space to do it, so the chalkboard in the basement is getting used a lot. He is already started picking out all the toys he wants from Santa. I am surprised at how into Christmas he is!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

1 hour back/ 1 month behind

I feel like October came and went in a blink! We had such a wonderful month, constantly busy and running around. It was fun but exhausting! Brad and I went on a quick trip to Vegas with some friends. We had a lot of fun and I was able to get some much need relaxation. It was hard being away from the children for so those three nights. I kept waking up early every morning listening for their voices!

Swimming lessons have ended and both children did so well! Once Louis turns three he can go into the next level. By the last class, Mabel loved the water! She giggled and laughed and like to lay back on relax. It is amazing to see them progress so quickly!

Louis continues to absorb everything. The first Monday after we changed the clocks back, I surprised that he noticed right away that it was now dark after daycare. He kept asking “why is it dark mommy?” and no matter what I said, he responded with “why?”. So I finally got the globe, had him pretend to be the sun and showed him that when Minnesota faces away from the sun – it is dark. He didn’t understand – but he stopped with the “why?”. I love the curiosity, but sometimes it is very exhausting trying to answer him.

Mabel is just goofy! She is talking all the time. Her favorite words are water (waya), eat, shirt, shoe, vroom vroom, thank you (day do) and of course “Papa”. She crawls around the house calling Papa all the time. It is very sweet. Her confidence in standing is growing. She now pulls herself up into standing position all the time, she is starting to cruise furniture and if we hold onto her hands she will take steps. Slowly but surely she will get there. She is so fun to be around right now. She talks like she is telling us a story, loves to do things just to get a reaction and has become so independent. I completely forgot about this stage, I love it!!

Lastly it was Halloween! We had a wedding on Halloween but we were able to get the kids out the week before and they got to do a little trick-or-treating in Avon with grandma. Louis was a dragon and Mabel was a little pig. They were both so cute, I just want them to always wear their outfits!

We have been enjoying the wonderful November weather and are looking forward to Thanksgiving and meeting Nolan Budde for the first time. I can’t believe next week is Thanksgiving already! At some point I am going to need to start Christmas shopping. Tis the season!

Where did September go?

Wow, September was a crazy month. We started swimming lessons, had two weddings, Mabel’s birthday and her birthday party, and Mabel’s one year pictures. Our weekends have been packed full and unfortunately, October is looking the same. We had Mabel’s one year pictures at Minnehaha Falls. A colleague from work just started a side photography business. I highly recommend her! Here is a link to her blog (Mabel is Miss M). http://blog.tentinytoesphoto.com/. Those are just a sampling of 5 pictures, I can’t wait to see the rest!!

We held a wonderful birthday party for Mabel. Again, she loved her cupcake - this time a gigantic one! I am amazed at how quickly she got the hang of opening presents! We had all the local family down for the party. It was a quick 2 hour party, busy but fun! You are one, Mabel!! Way to go!

I mentioned we started swimming lessons. Louis is in the Turtle class and Mabel is in the Tadpole class. Both Brad and I are in the water with the kids and it is at the same time with the same teacher (hmm). Louis has come along so far in swimming. He takes instruction so well! We likes jumping off the diving board, but doesn’t yet like dunking his head. Mabel gets better and better each week. The water is pretty cold, so she likes to curl up as high on my shoulder as possible. But this week she lounged back and enjoyed the water. She even let me hold her back away from my body!

Lastly, at Mabel’s one year appt, her pediatrician was concerned that Mabel is not yet pulling herself up on furniture or cruising. (She did finally start truly crawling the day of her Dr. appt.) To be honest, I was a little concerned as well, but I just thought she would be a slow walker like Louis. Well, at her appt we did end up doing some x-rays to be sure her hips we aligned okay…and they were. But it was pretty emotional for both mom and baby! Now we are seeing a physical therapist. We are told she is definitely fine, she just has low muscle tone and super mobile joints. So, she truly doesn’t yet feel safe standing. The PT is pretty confident that we will have her walking in six months if we work on the various exercises…Mabel now has a workout routine! Overall I am not overly anxious, I just want to be sure we are doing what we can to help her out. She is such a sweet girl, and right now loves to cuddle more than anything – so I have to learn to put her down and work for it!

Even Jesus needs to sleep Louis

A few weeks ago we put Louis to bed at his typical 8:00pm bedtime. Lately he has been turning his light on and playing for awhile, but b/t Brad and I, we usually catch it pretty early and he then goes to sleep without incident. However on this particular night, both Brad and I forgot to run upstairs to be sure the lights were off. Around 9:30pm, I decided to get ready for bed. As I got to the top of the stairs, I saw that Louis’ light was on. I couldn’t believe that he was still up! I was hoping that maybe he played for a little bit and had now fallen asleep with the light on.

I opened the door very quietly but quickly. There was Louis sitting at the foot of his bed reading a book. His eyes were super big – knowing he had been caught. In my not-so-happy voice, I asked him “Louis, what are you doing?”. He quickly lifted his book in the air and said, “Reading my Jesus book mommy”. He had been reading his children’s bible!

I then heard Brad come up the stairs and open the door further. He also asked Louis in his not-so-happy voice, “Dude, what are you doing”. Louis then proceeded to point to his two books he had been reading: his children’s bible and a book on the 50 greatest sports endings in history.

Brad and I were both speechless. What do you say to a 2 year old who is reading and on top of that, reading a bible and a sports book? How do you tell him that what he is doing is wrong? Well, after we got done smiling at our very sweet son and staring at each other with “now what?” eyes, we told Louis that it was very good that he was reading, but now it was late and he needed to go to sleep. He could read this bible and sports book a different day. He more than happily obliged by crawling under the covers and going to sleep. We turned off the lights and they stayed off until the next morning.

Happy Birthday Mabel!

Mabel turned one on Friday night! We are hosting a party for her next week, but I wanted to be sure her actual birthday went well too! It was more about making Louis excited for her birthday than Mabel since she doesn’t have a clue. She got her favorite foods for her birthday (waffles, pears, yogurt) and from what you can see below she loved her cupcake!!

She got the hang of opening presents pretty quickly…but not fast enough for Lou. However, every time he tried to help, she made it clear very quickly that he was not welcome to her presents. It was like she turned 13 rather than 1!!
She is just a blast right now. We turned her car seat around and she is now so happy in the car! She isn’t walking yet, or standing for that matter – she has zero interest in it. She does the army crawl and started crawling a little bit tonight. But like her brother – what she lacks in gross motor skills, she makes up in the fine motor skills and talking. She loves to use a spoon and feed herself. It is messy, but she actually gets quite a bit of food in her mouth. She is talking a lot, and loves saying “up, come, hi-lo, all done”. She really does feel like she is conversing with you. Tonight Louis was playing with a fire truck and making fire truck noises. Pretty soon Mabel was mimicking him and doing her own fire truck sounds. I am amazed at how quickly she picks that stuff up! She also loves dancing. The minute she hears a tune, she starts head bobbing and rocking back and forth. Like her father – she loves rock music!
Happy Birthday Baby Mabey! You have brought a lot of smiles and love into our home! You are such a joy to wake up to each morning and are so cuddly when we put you down to sleep each night. You love action and you don’t miss a thing. We all love you very much.

Last days of Summer

August was a fun month in the Budde household. In early August we had the Budde family campout. On the way there we needed to stop and get passports for both the children. Louis was super excited to get it and take his picture. It has since arrived and he is very proud of his “pass-i-port”.

The Budde family campout was a good time. Nearly all the Budde aunts, uncles and cousins were there. We were lucky this year in that the “campout” was held at Brad’s dad’s place. That meant that we got to sleep in the house, in beds and had running water. My idea of camping.

In mid-August we had a bunch of my college girlfriends down for an afternoon while the guys went golfing. There were a lot of little kids there and while it was quick different than our get togethers of years past, it was fun for all the girl’s and the kids to hang out and catch up.

Lastly we made a family outing to a Twins game…one last one in the metrodome. Louis was super excited to go to the game. He marched into the dome chanting “base…ball…game, base…ball…game”. Once we got there he did get bored pretty quickly. Both kids got pretty tired after about six innings and we needed to leave.

The summer ended with a great labor day weekend at the cabin. We only went up for one night but it was a busy two days. Louis fell in love with raspberry pie and Mabel further proved her love for sweets as well. We left the cabin at 6:00pm Sunday night…and both kids were sleeping by 6:10 and slept until 7:30 the next morning. They were truly wiped out.

Summer Fun

Summer continues to be a blast. Both kids love being outside. Whether we are splashing in the water, playing in the sandbox , finger painting or going for walks - we are having a great time. Louis loves hanging out with his papa. They have great conversations with each other and love to have lego or block building contests. Brad truly has just as much fun as Louis does. At night now he loves to hear "stories". He is quite creative in what he wants to hear about, but many times it includes stories about papa, mama, basketball, or airplanes.
Mabel is moving everywhere. Although she is not officially crawling, she scoots, rolls over and inches to everything. She pulls down books, toys - it seems that suddenly everything is within her reach. I forgot about this part of early toddlerhood. She continues to babble and talk. Like her brother she loves books. There are a lot of smiles around our house right now and that is great.

Independence day, overly Dependent kids

Overall we had a wonderful 4th of July weekend. We went to the Budde Cabin and enjoyed a nice long weekend there. Unfortunately, both kids had a fever for at least a day, so there was lots of neediness and whining occurring throughout the weekend. Both Thursday night and Friday night included lots of getting up and comforting both kids. By Saturday night the kids either felt better or were so tired from getting up the previous nights and hardly napping that both slept amazingly well. Both kids got to play in the kiddie pool, Mabel especially thought it was very enjoyable! She loves splashing in the water. Mabel also got her first oreo cookie. As you can tell from the pictures – she loved every minute of it!

On Friday morning, Louis and Mabel got into their first verbal argument. All four of us were hanging out in bed (as it was only 6:20am). Mabel tried to grab a book from Louis. He responded with a “No”. Mabel in turn responded with a “ya”. Louis then repeated his “No” and Mabel her “ya”. It went on like this back and forth about 5 times, much to the amusement of Brad and myself. Finally, Louis ended it with a “No, Mabel” and turned away. Poor Louis, he doesn’t know what he is in for. Suddenly his “baby sista” from 10 months ago that just laid there sleeping, is now a talking, grabbing, pulling 10-month-old who is starting to invade his space. He has found ways to get back at her however. He knows that if he roars loud like a lion, dinosaur, tiger, shark (they all make the same noise), that Mabel will cry – he is enjoying his power. Overall though they get along great and we can always count on Louis to sing songs to Mabel to make her stop crying or play peek-a-boo to make her laugh.

Early Summer Catch-Up

Wow, it has been a long time since my last update. A lot has happened in the last six weeks, both good and bad, and I am finally feeling like I can get the chance to sit down and write.

So looking back over the last six weeks: I had a great mother's day weekend, we have spent some great time with friends and family, and had a wonderful memorial weekend at the cabin. The children love to be outside. Louis had a great time in the sand and is super excited to be going back soon. Nearly all the Budde aunts and uncles and cousins were there, so there was lots of food, drink and fun. Here is Louis wearing uncle Jordan's sweatshirt.

Unfortunately that was followed by a couple of funerals. It gave us all of us time to be together and take care of each other. It really reminded all of us about the importance of family, friends and loving what you have. There was a great weekend trip to Chicago for Brad and me. We missed the children, but it was nice to catch up with friends and get some time for just the two of us. The next thing I really remember was Father’s Day weekend. We had a great time hanging out as a family, going on picnics, having fun with our neighbors and also celebrating the day with extended family.

Last weekend we made the trip to Melrose for some a family celebration and took in the parade. Louis had a ton of fun collecting candy and seeing the police cars. He has a hard time differentiating between the words parade and prayed. So every time we prepped him for the parade he would fold his hands like he was praying or try to make the sign of the cross. I guess Mommy and Papa need to learn to enunciate better!

About the children:
Louis is as charming and as challenging as ever. He is an independent player and is very good at making up his own games to play. He has been going into “time out” a little bit more lately and it is very amusing to seem his discipline his toys (LegoMan and his friends) and put them into time out as well. He seems to really enjoy playing with Barbies right now, dressing them and coming their hair. Somewhere along the way he has learned the word "boobies". We are doing are best to ignore it and hope it ends before he says it in front of the wrong person.

Mabel continues to grow and learn every day. She is rolling around and can move so quickly across the floor. We are waiting for her her to officially start crawling and to start pulling herself up. She has started clapping, waving and talking, "Papa", "Mama", "Hi", "Uh oh" and "cracker" (I know it is hard to believe, but even her pediatrician heard it!). Mabel is also preparing us for adolesence with her mood swings. She goes from being a mommy's girl one second to wanting to be on the floor by herself, doing her own thing. But she has the sweetest smile and loves to give kisses, so it is hard to resist her.

The children take their baths together now. It is a lot of fun to see them take turns splashing. Getting water in your eyes is okay if it is from splashing vs. getting your hair washed. It has gone very well and they both seem to be enjoying it. Every now and then Louis likes to cause trouble and pour water on Mabel or squirt her with a water toy. It is only a matter of time before Mabel fights back!Again, sorry for the lengthy absence. I hope to get back on track with a new post every two to three weeks.

You're hurting my elbow

I am prepared to child services to come to my house. Two weeks ago, Mabel suffered a dislocated elbow. Sound familiar? Well the same thing happened to Louis back in February. Seems my children inherited their mother’s weak elbows (who knew there was such a thing?). Anyway, while putting on Mabel’s pajamas, her elbow dislocated. Given our experience with Louis, I was pretty sure it was Nurse Maid’s elbow. We ended up at urgent care and needed an x-ray before the doc would try to put it back. Mabel was in great spirits as long as you didn’t move her arm. Well, when it came time for x-rays, it was brutal. Mabel cried, and even worse stared at me while she cried, like she was waiting for me to help her. When the x-rays were finished immediately picked her up and held her to soothe her. After she calmed down we went back into the room waiting for the doc, and I noticed that she was moving her arm…a lot! The doc walked in right then and said she must have popped it back in herself while fighting the x-ray. I was so relieved and it was done. And there was my little Mabel, waving her arms around like a maniac and smiling.

Special People

We found out about a week ago that one of Louis’ teachers was promoted and will be moving to a new location. We are very excited for Miss Nicole, but of course, sad that she won’t be there every day for Louis.
Louis adapted very well to his new sister back in September, and I do believe that is because Louis had Miss Nicole at school. He has talked about her daily since her second week there. There were many nights that Louis was angry about going to bed and instead of calling out for Papa or Mommy he would call out for Miss Nicole. Louis loves both his teachers, but he formed a great bond with Miss Nicole on the “babyside” during those months when his house with crazy with his new sister.
There are many days that I have felt guilty that I choose to continue with my career rather staying home with the children, but when I see how much Louis loves his teachers and his friends at school and how much he (and Mabel) learn each day, it makes me feel at peace with the decision. I know that Louis and mommy will both miss having Miss Nicole at school each day but I know Louis will adapt. In fact it is great that he will miss her; it means that we are very lucky to have such great teachers who are taking care of our children each day, teachers who love my children, and that whom my children love in return. If I am not the one with them every day, this is how I want it to be.

But we like it busy...right?

It has been awhile since my last post. Things have been very busy in the Budde household and I haven’t had much time to stop and collect my thoughts. This post will be more about getting caught up! The last four weekends have been filled with family activities from professional basketball games (3 of them), trips to the zoo, trips to library, get togethers with friends, Easter, confirmations, etc. These activities usually leave both kids like this…

Louis seems to be adding 10 words to his vocabulary a day. He is still learning sentence structure, so it can cause confusion when he says, “No want milk” or “no it’s yellow” actually means “I don’t want milk” and “It’s not yellow”. He also likes to make choices, but then isn’t always happy with the choice he made, needless to say both Louis, mommy and papa are learning each day. Brad does a great job keeping Louis engaged in various activities and making them fun, such as the library and the grocery store, and now with it finally getting nice out, I am sure they will be outdoors all the time. Lately, it seems like Play-do is the favorite activity for both of them.

Mabel is just a wonderfully sweet baby right now. She is babbling all the time and starting to use her consonants. The “ba, ba, ba” comes out a lot and she still loves to sing. She started sitting around the middle of March (of course, a week after her 6 month pictures) and is spending more and more time on her tummy, but mostly because she forgot how to roll over. It amazes how they get so excited about learning something new, that they can forget the old things. She has been eating baby food for awhile and made the official move from the bouncy seat to the high chair. She is very fond of arrowroot cookies and fruit! I love every stage of baby-hood, but it like something really comes alive around the 6-7 month mark. She has really started interacting with Louis a lot and vice versa. Hopefully this is only a sign of good things to come!

Little Moments

So a couple of nights ago Mabel wasn’t right. She was in a great mood when she went to bed, and fell asleep easily in her crib. But after 2 hours of sleeping, she woke up…and wasn’t happy. She proceeded to scream for the next hour and a half. I tried all the standard cures: nursing, walking, ssshhhhh-ing, gas drops, etc. Nothing seemed to work. After an hour, I decided to give up and turned on the tv. We sat on the couch in the dark with just the tv on; mama with her eyes closed, baby with her eyes open. I was frustrated, exhausted from a tough day at work, and feeling helpless. Then I feel these little fingers brushing my jaw line…trying to grab something. I open my eyes and look down. In the dark I could see Mabel’s big eyes looking up at me. We stared at each other for what felt like a long time and slowly the corners of her mouth curled up into a slight smile. She then gave a big sigh as if she was relieved as I was that the crying spell was over. She slowly closed her eyes and went to sleep. Such a little moment that would not have occurred had she slept through the night.

Happy Birthday Louis! I can’t believe you are two already!
What a birthday week it has been! It started out tough with a dislocated elbow and later
an ear infection. But you had fun with Papa, Mommy and Mabel on your birthday and then had a great birthday party with your aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Here is what matters to you at age two:
1. Routine and schedule: eg breakfast with papa every morning, and Horton the Elephant book before bed.
2. Swimming lessons on Saturdays
3. Finding Obama on tv
4. Looking at our globe and learning about USA, Mexico, Canada and where in the world is Papa.
5. Kissing your sister and making her smile
6. Singing happy birthday to everyone, but mostly to Owen, Katlyn and uncle Pat
7. Playing your guitar while papa plays his.
8. Reciting the names of your Grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, friends and teachers – nearly every night
9. Playing basketball. “Louis dunk it”
10. Singing the ABC’s, counting everything, reading and coloring
11. Knowing the difference between, “What sound does a happy dinosaur make?” “What sound does a scary dinosaur make”
12. Learning your full name, "Louis Dean Budde"

13. Being silly.

As papa would say, “It’s the little things”. These little things make you who you are. You are becoming your own little person more and more. I know that you will become easier and challenging as each day goes on. It has been a very fun two years. We love you Louis.

(and for good measure we will throw in a picture of Mabel since she is changing daily!)

A Big Boy and A Baby

My favorite question to ask right now is “Louis, what are you?”. The response I get, “Big Boy”. I am not really sure where it started but the first time he answered that way, both Brad and I took a step back. He does in fact seem like a big boy. Last night I put him to bed and I could hear him singing, “Happy Birthday” in his room. When I went up to tell him to go to sleep, he had his socks on his hands, “gwoves on hands”. We spent the first half of winter trying to keep anything on his hands and now he constantly wants to put his socks on them. He is becoming more and more independent daily. Part of me loves it – it makes my life easier, but a huge part of me is fighting it (especially when he decides to runaway right before we leave for daycare). It was amusing to watch him climb into bed last night, to stretch his legs to climb in. I laughed as he buried his head into the bed for leverage. I never knew of a kid who liked the process of getting ready for bed so much…except for Mabel. He also does this Elvis thing right now. He raises his lip on one side and nods his head when he is telling me something affirmative, “Happy’s Bed”, “Sister’s Pacifier”. It cracks me up because he is so serious!

Little Baby Maybe. It is safe to say that she is simply adored by everyone in the family. I remember feeling this way with Louis, but I was always so excited for him to achieve the next thing. But now, because I can see how quickly Louis moved out of that phase, I just want to watch her every minute and have it go slowly. She loves to laugh and watch her brother. She is very curious right now and is always looking around for something new. I could just watch her all day long!

Last week I was sick, which makes it so difficult to be a mom. There were many days I left work that I didn’t even know how to get the energy to drive home, much less entertain, feed, bathe and put to bed to babies under 2! I would tell myself, “it is only two hours – you can get through it”. But then every night I would get them home and sit down, look at them and think, “it is only two hours , it is not enough”. My children have this amazing ability to energize me and exhaust me all at the same time…and it is just beginning!

Little Milestones

Both children seem to be changing everyday! Each has been checking off items on the milestone list, which of course is always bittersweet.



Louis officially calls his sister "Mabel". No more, "Manel". He tried so hard over the last two weeks to get it right. Everytime he started saying "Manel" he would stop and try harder to say "Ma-Bel". Right now he loves rubbing her head and saying, "Hello Sweetie". He is such a great big brother and we are lucky that he loves her like he does. On the other side, Louis is quickly entering the terrible twos; meltdowns at the drop of hat and stubborness that he inherited from both his mommy and daddy. Oh and by the wayLouis, when you are old enough to read this, you owe your papa an apology for your behavior the morning of 1/22/08 (you can't wear a dinosaur shirt everyday!).



Mabel is rolling over and reaching for toys. She has found her voice, and her cries are no longer soft and sweet, but rather she lets you know (and anyone in the vicinity) that she is not happy. She is such a joy in the morning. She wakes up cooing and smiles at you the minute you open the door. If only all of the Budde family members had her cheery morning outlook!



I had my first visit to the pediatrician with both kids this past week. I know lots of moms do this all the time, but I was very anxious and kept picturing all things that could go wrong. Thankfully, our pediatrician made sure she saw both children at the same time and we had plenty of treats. It went as smooth as an appt with shots, three ear infections, severe diaper rash and naptime interrupting can be!!

Blessings and Family Abound

What a busy weekend we had! We celebrated Auntie Kate's Birthday, Cousin Owen's SuperHero birthday and Mabel's baptism. To celebrate all of these events, all of the Kemper families and Budde families were in town (which means lots of laughs, good conversation and little sleep...and maybe a few bandaids).

For us, it was a buildup to Sunday, Mabel's baptism. The entire family gathered for Mass. Louis' eyes got wider and wider as he recognized each family member and called them by name. As he saw each grandma he would say, "another one", "another one". It was very sweet. At one point during mass I looked down the pew and over my shoulder and realized both literal and figurative brilliance of the moment. There we were the four of us and right there beside us and behind us was our family; sharing in our pride, supporting us and celebrating with us.

Mabel did great, lots of smiles, some crying. Afterwards, all 30 of us came back to the house for food, conversation and games. It was a circus, but it felt great. Thank you to our families who made the trip (Connecticut Kempers, DC Buddes, Milwaukee Buddes, Jordan Buddes, Edina Kempers, all the Grandparents, Jordan, Mindy and Kate)

Kemper Cousins

Mabel's Godparents: Matt Budde & Kristin Kemper

Looks like a fun time was had by all!