Maren is 2!

Loads of Christmas pics to download...here is the first of the second birthday pictures, courtesy of Uncle Jay's phone. Maren has had quite a week of presents, it's almost too much to comprehend. She was all over the cake and LOVED the frosting. Here I am, looking like a cod fish as she gets down to business on her cake.

The Bob

After months of debate...we got Maren's hair cut short. Even though I love the Christmas pics, it was growing in uneven and...we were close to "baby mullet" territory. And, she won't keep barrettes or ribbons or anything in to keep the hair out of her eyes.

Here is another camera phone pic of her haircut from a few nights ago.

Christmas Silliness

Here we are, Maren being silly at home and me in the office. Both pictures taken by a camera phone - not bad quality!

West Michigan in a Nutshell

This was given to John at work and too good not to post. It perfectly summarizes the pervading culture in West Michigan. And, it makes me laugh every time I read it. If you want to know anything about our neighbors...this describes them.

You Might Be a Dutch Calvinist If...

You finish the food on your plate in a restaurant even if it is burnt or otherwise unsuitable for human consumption.

You reuse plastic margarine containers long before anyone had heard of the environmental movement.

You have a two volume address book. Volume I: A-U & Volume II: V-Z

You’ve never skipped church to watch the Super Bowl.

Your main contribution in increased gender equality was the switch from King to Wilhemina brand peppermints.

Your range of restaurant choices is restricted by the contents of a “Buy One, Get One Free” coupon book that you purchased to support missionaries in Sierra Leone.

You wipe the last of the butter out of the container with your bun.

Your mother’s hairdo is the same at your wedding as it was at hers.

Your closet is divided into work clothes and Sunday clothes.

Your church attendance record is not disrupted by childbirth.

Your Sunday routine resembles: church, coffee, roast beef, jello salad, snooze, church

You have a front room but never sit in it.

All your cookies taste like almonds.

You make the bed in your motel room.

The last tip you left at a restaurant was “Don’t wear so much make-up” and “A little quicker with the coffee.”

You have always been to church on New Year’s Eve.

You can sing “eere zij God” even if you can’t speak Dutch.

You think that being progressive means discarding the hymnal in favor of songs on the overhead.

Seeing raised hands during worship causes you to look around for a stick-up man.

You are still trying to justify owning a dishwasher.

At your wedding everyone is swaying, but no one is dancing.

You attended worship services at a campground amphitheater.

You know what an afghan is.

You have lace on your windows, but not on your underwear.

Your two permanent Saturday jobs are to wash the car and make sure you have enough single bills for the offerings.

All of your recipes are adapted to fit a 9x13 pan.

You can’t imagine a funeral reception without ham on buns.

The usher never needs to ask you where you want to sit.

Outtakes

From our Christmas modeling session...Maren shows her true colors...full of spirit!

A Model Christmas...

We are finally healthy...a few nose drips here and there, but nothing major. Yeah! We had a modeling session with Maren at Frederik Meijer Gardens ( http://www.meijergardens.org/calendar/christmas_around_world.php) in Grand Rapids for our Christmas card.

This picture was very good, but did NOT make the cut. I'll post the winner in a few days...and a few other outtakes from the session. Our fabulous babysitter Annie took these, she just completed her photography degree at Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids. She said Maren moves too fast to not use a flash. She moves too fast for us, that's for sure.

Is it 2008 yet?

We have decided that we need a new year. Since the last posting, all three of us have had stomach flu. Maren and I missed Grandma Bunny's annual Christmas Tea and we gave the flu to Grandpa Jensen, too. 2008 has got to be healthier than 2007!

Amazingly with all of the sickness, Maren continues to be a happy little gal, chattering up a storm and behaving like a full blown toddler. Last night she hid in a closet from us and when John found her, she was laughing. I nearly had a heart attack and was running up and down stairs looking for her, sure that she had broken her neck doing a daredevil stunt (current favorite - jumping off stairs, couches and chairs) while I was putting away laundry.

Whew!

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

The bad news first. We are all sick - AGAIN. Must be payback for a great week in Hilton Head, but we are into the second week of colds and runny noses for all three of us. YUCK. And, as an added surprise, Maren broke out in hives on Monday night. YOWZA. Poor baby, her breathing was fine, so we put her to bed as normal. When I checked on her late in the night, she had unzipped her sleeper and was scratching herself.

So, off the the pediatrician yesterday morning where he confirmed some kind of food allergy. She is taking two meds right now to control the hives and the allergy. After the hives go away, we are to give her one highly allergenic food at a time, and watch for 24-48 hours for symptoms to pinpoint the allergy. The weird part is that she hadn't had any new foods on Sunday or Monday, all things she's eaten for the past year. The doctor said that didn't matter, an allergy can develop at any time.

The funny part of the visit - after the exam, Maren turned to me and said "Ears? Ears?", since the doctor hadn't checked her ears. She thinks that's what happens at every doctor visit.

THE GOOD NEWS
I know that all parents have this experience (and aunts and uncles, too), but it is blowing our minds that she has a memory for song lyrics and words from some of her books. She has been singing the lyrics to "Oh, Susannah" over and over and over again. She's a big fan of the song and the Laurie Berkner video and makes us dance to it on a daily basis. She has also been quoting from "Goodnight, Moon" to us and it brings tears to my eyes. "Night Stars. Night Air. Night Noises," she says.

The other funny moment from the doctor's visit - at each visit the kids can select a small plastic toy. She walked into the office and before sitting down she said to the doctor "Frogs. Froggie. Frogs," which was the toy she had selected at the last visit. This time she picked a mini-lobster, which she first called a but, then a spider, and she sang "Itsy Bitsy Spider" for the doctor. I'm sure it made his day.