Big Night for our Big Girl...

Well, last week sometime, Lauren finally figured out how to climb out of her crib. Todd heard a funny noise in her room, and when he went to check on her, she was standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Fortunately, her bed converts to a toddler bed. Our hope is that this is the first transition step to a real "big girl bed" in time for her sibling to arrive. Then perhaps she won't think of the crib as her bed still...fingers and toes are all crossed on that front!

So....last night we converted the bed. She was ok with it until it was time to go bed, and our child that fears change was suddenly very upset. BUT, after a break from the drama watching the Muppets Christmas special in Mommy and Daddy's bed, we brought her back to her room and after just moments (literally) of crying and one futile attempt to get out, she slept all night in her new bed. In fact, this morning we heard her talking to herself, and found her sitting right in the middle of the bed, not even trying to climb down.

Happy Holidays from the Marschke Family!

We plan to begin our Christmas celebrating this weekend with Todd's family, then hit the road for the North Pole (i.e Wisconsin) sometime on Sunday, arriving at our final destination on Tuesday. I am not sure how much posting I'll get to do over the next week or so, but promise for lots of pictures, and maybe even some video when we return. In the meantime, here are our family portraits for 2008 to keep you sated until then...

Safe and Happy Holidays to everyone from our family to yours!

The Big Announcement: Coming in June to a Blog Near You!

So...not a surprise to many of you blog stalkers, but I am happy to confirm officially that our family will be expanding this Summer to include a new brother or sister for Lauren.

I am officially in the 2nd trimester this week, and we are happy to share this grainy, not so clear photo of our precious Baby #2.

To help the ultronsonically challenged (your blogger included!), the far left is the head, with arms and hands near the mouth (he/she was trying to suck the thumb). The profile is eerily like Lauren's...kinda neat to see if they really do look alike! The thigh, leg, and feet are on the far right side of the picture. This poor little one appears to also have the curse of big feet (sorry in advance, kiddo!).

Heartbeat was a strong 154, and I heard an audible sigh of relief from Daddy when he heard it coming through the ultrasound machine. The baby was moving a ton (apparently grapefruit juice and rice krispies were a hit). All looks great. We should be able to find out the gender in about 5 weeks or so.

Playing Catch Up (Mea Culpa Part II)

Here is just a random sampling of fall pics from November...

Georgia/Florida Game


Lauren and Kate hanging out in the kitchen before the game. You can't tell by this pic, but she was so miserable with two eye teeth coming in at once. She tried so hard to be a good sport.



Haylie, Lauren, and Kate prepping food for half-time.

Lauren cautiously shares her toys with Haylie, her "pretend" cousin. I think she was worried that Haylie might "run" off with her singing doggie (a favorite).

Playing Outside with Nana & Poppa

Lauren shows off her Georgia Bulldog, UGA.


Here she kicks around the Little Mermaid ball that Nana & Poppa found for her at Target earlier in the day.

The First Cold Day in Georgia

Lauren was so excited to wear her wool coat ("It's Pink!") and her mitten and hat that she got last Christmas from Nana. Thank goodness it still fit her this year. I wasn't sure with how much she's grown. She loves the hat especially...so much so that she often won't take off the hat when she gets home from school for the day. Thank you Nana for a GREAT gift!

Thanksgiving

I didn't really take many pictures this year, but I thought this one was just too sweet. After a delicious meal at a beautifully dressed table, everyone settled in to watch "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". I loved how entranced the girls look in this shot...because 2 minutes later they were totally bored with it.

We managed to get one more wear out of the Turkey dresses that Mimi made last year. They looked very 60's in their 'minis' this year...we decided next year they'd be cute with pants (think tunic top), in hopes to squeeze yet one more year.

Love their babies sitting on their laps, too. These two girls are such blessings to us!

Kaitlyn's 2nd Birthday Party

Lauren's sweet cousin Kaitlyn had her 2nd birthday in early November. She had a very fun, girly party of butterflies and flowers. It was really cute to watch the 4 little girls at the party all play together, all the hairbows, and the giggles.

Aunt Lisa, Kaitlyn, and Uncle Scott blow out the candles on the beautiful M&M Butterfly cake.

Lauren enjoy her cake and even wore her party hat (shocker!)

All the little girls gather around to watch Kaitlyn open presents!

These two have so much fun playing together. Here they sit in side-by-side chairs and have some "Cawfee Tawk Time".

After everyone goes home, Lauren plays around with Uncle Scott.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY DEAR KAITLYN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....

Halloween 2008 (aka Mea Culpa)

Alright, alright, People! I fully realize that it is DECEMBER and I am just now posting my Halloween pics. As I have been reminded by several of you, "Blogs Don't Update Themselves". Your voices have been heard and you are going to get multiple postings in the next few days, so hang onto your hats, folks..... Let the blogging begin!
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Halloween was very fun this year, and Nana and Poppa Umpy came to visit from Wisconsin (or Woodondin, as Lauren pronounces it. And, Aunt Sarah flew in from Brooklyn to make our family visit extra special. In the week leading up to Halloween, they sprinkled magic pumpkin dust in the yard at Lauren's school.

Magically, the next day there was a whole pumpkin patch of toddler-sized pumpkins for the kids to take home and enjoy. Lauren loved her so much she carried it EVERYWHERE with her. I swear she would have slept with it, had it been allowed. Todd finally cut the handle off on it, for fear she was going to poke someone's eye out!

Halloween Parade at Primrose School

Lauren's school had a parade, so we brought her over there so she wouldn't miss out on the fun. She ended up melting down and being too tired for trick or treating, so probably best that we got her in the costume for some photos in the morning! It was interesting to see her in her element at school...she's very laid back and really just observes everyone around her. I think my parents and sister really liked seeing where she spends her days.

My sweet bunny! As I mentioned in an earlier post (can you remember back that far? No? Well SCROLL DOWN and read about!), this was MY blue bunny with the pink ears costume that Nana found in the attic and cleaned up for Lauren. All it needed was a new bow (an in retrospect, more wires in the ears! Just call her lop-eared!).

Lauren and Aunt Sarah taking a break from all the Halloween fuss to check out the PBS.org website. Did ya know that Elmo is on there? AND he talks?! Lauren was amazed. They also checked out video of Lauren on You Tube. She was pretty tickled by that.

Our Friendly, Neighborhood Pumpkin Patch


Lauren checks out a concaved one that makes a perfect seat for a 21 month old!

Always rooting for the underdog, Aunt Sarah extolls the virtues of said pumpkin to her niece, hoping that Lauren will take the bait and pick this sad, lopsided pumpkin to take home with her. No such luck (though Sarah did end up convincing Nana and Poppa that they ought to buy the one that looks like the freak from Goonies-- Sloth, I think?!). So a freakish pumpkin did find refuge at the Marschke's, after all!

Lauren enjoys the haybale with her Poppa Umpy and Nana. After MANY tries, we couldn't get her to look at the camera so I picked the one where the grandparents looked the best to post. You can thank me with a nice full stocking at Christmas, folks!

Pumpkin Carving 101


Poppa Umpy takes charge with Lauren on getting the pumpkin going. Lauren quickly catches on and dives right in! No mess is too much for this tom boy! In fact, when they gutted a pumpkin at school earlier in the week they said all the girls were squeamish....except our Lauren. She dug right in with the boy! You go Girl!

Todd designed the scary face and handled that part of the carving process. Here is the finished product. Are ya skeered???

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween....6 weeks ago. Ahem!

A Halloween Preview and Postview from the Archives

Here is Todd as a bunny with Lisa as a beauty quean.


Kate as BLUE BUNNY WITH PINK EARS (my directions to my mother when making said costume were very specific, even at age 3!). My brother Paul as a leopard.

And now, this year Lauren is going to wear my old costume, thanks to her Nana!

oh she looks so sad and lonely from the back.

Her ears won't stand up. We'll have to fix that when Nana gets here on Wednesday night. I think it corresponds with her solemn expression!

Those blue eyes get me EVERY time. Love you, Bunny!

What Is Up With That???

So...last night Lauren was quite insistent on wearing not her whole jacket, but just the hood on her way home from school. This continued all the way through dinner. She called it her hat. We really didn't "get" it, but she was just eating away, so we decided it was not our place to question such a harmless (and wacky) request.

Whatever floats her boat, I guess... I am thinking this is not the only time her stubborn independent streak will appear. :)

Have I mentioned she REFUSES her much debated booster seat and will only sit in a chair like Mama and Daddy??

Picking My Battles in Atlanta,
Your Blogger Kate

Crazy Girls Weekend

Todd went camping with his childhood friends Brad, Jeff, and Jamie this past weekend, so Lauren and I had a Girls Weekend at home. Friday I took her to get some Halloween photos taken (something for all my blog stalkers to look forward to!) and then we hung out at home. Here is a shot of Lauren wandering around the living room in Mommy's shoes. Bless her heart! She's already got big ol' feet for a 20 month old....and this is what she's got in her future....

She was very good for me, though there was one Time Out incident that involved 10 rolls of toilet paper and our guest bathroom, a quivering lip, and a solemn SAWWWY MAMA.

Saturday we went to Kindermusik and then planned to join Stephanie and baby Haylie for a jaunt up to Gold Rush Days in Dahlonega, GA, followed by a trip to Burt's Pumpkin Farm on our way home.

We were about 15 minutes away from our destination when Lauren vomited cheese (of all things!) all over herself, her carseat, and her ONLY outfit...her Halloween one no less *what else would she wear to the pumpkin farm?!? We quickly pulled over to the nearest gas station so I could get her out of her smelly, disgusting clothes, and cleaned up. She, naturally, was full of vim and vigor following said puking incident, so I had my hands full trying to keep her playing in the front seat, versus wandering around the gas station barefoot (Britney Spears, anyone??).

As I finally got everything cleaned up, and stopped gagging fom the stench, I was debating with Steph as to whether or not I should just find a cheap Walmart outfit to make it through our plans when I suddenly got STUNG BY A WASP ON MY ADAM'S APPLE of all places!!! Thank goodness I am not allergic, though it hurt and the swelling did not help the gagging sensations already happening in my world. Needless to say, we headed back down toward Atlanta, and stopped at the first pharmacy we saw so I could get something for my sting.

Lauren and Haylie slept the whole way home. Poor little Ladybug is naked except for her Halloween hairbows. She slept another 2.5 hours when we got home and woke up happy as can be!

A Star Wars Birthday

Last weekend our nephew Jonathan had a Star Wars themed 5th birthday party. It was so fun, and Aunt Lisa went all out!

As the future Jedi arrived, they changed into their training tunics. Check out the princiess Leia buns/ponies on our little Jedi!

They ran some relays and played some games before trying on masks of characters from the movie. Here is our very own Yoda.

Then came time for light saber practice. Lauren LOVED this part.

Finally, they wrapped with Pizza the Hutt, and some cake. Todd and I had to go to an event for his school district, so Mimi and Papa Fish watched Lauren until the party was over, and then Aunt Lisa and Uncle Scott took over.

Lauren and Kaitlyn had TOO MUCH fun playing together, especially after the party. We could tell Lauren had fun by how dead to the world asleep she was in the car.

Happy 5th Birthday Jonathan!

Early Preschool Portraits

My Dear Blog Stalkers,

I know I've been lax about postings. The truth is that I have some photos from our visit to see Sesame Street Live with Elmo, but I can't seem to get them to transfer from Todd's camera to the PC correctly. So...I decided that since you got a video post most recently the "live action shots" would have to tide you over.

The good news for you is that Lauren's school pictures from her new classroom came in earlier this week. Hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

I love her expressions in these two shots. It's like she's amused by the antics of the photographer. I can just picture her saying, "You're quite silly, Mister".

There's her smile!!

This one is my favorite. She looks like such a BIG GIRL in this picture!

And, last but not least, her new class as of this Fall. Notice that she is the absolute youngest in the class by at least 2-3 months, and she is just as big as the 3 year olds in the back row that are getting ready to transition to the Preschool (aka "3 year old room") after the first of the year. She is doing so well in her new classroom...just flourishing!

First Day at Early PreSchool

Lauren moved up to the 2 year old class at school this week. She did so well! Notice the juice all over her tshirt? She refused help with her Big Girl cup. As you can tell from this video clip she was still jazzed after supper from her exciting day...

Story Time at Primrose

When I picked up Lauren last night, this picture was attached to her daily record of activities. I just thought it was too sweet not to share! I love how much my ladybug loves her books...even when I have to read the same one OVER and OVER and OVER again...especially because at one point she seemed so disinterested. May she always find adventure, escapes, and daydreams in the words of another.

Happy 3rd Birthday Michael!

Saturday Lauren celebrated her buddy Michael's 3rd Birthday with lots of jumping at The Little Jumping Bean. The kids all had a blast, and all the mommy's loved how tired they were post-party from all the exercise (read: EXTRA LONG NAPS!!!).

Lauren and Robbie (bday boy's brother) tentatively try the maze...hands and knees are a little safer than running. No worries....soon enough they were running, falling, and LAUGHING.

Sweet Robbie...His mommy Jill and I foresee LOTS of (relatively harmless) trouble with Lauren, Michael, and Robbie when they are older!

Ever notice how many shots I get of the back of head?!

I promise you that she loved going down this slide....despite the look of pure fear I captured on her face here! She actually took the initiative to climb the steps and slip down the slide several times on her own, but let me know when she was done, "All Done, Mommy".

Happy Birthday Michael!