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!