Daddy Daughter Time

Reno took Marli on their first Daddy-Daughter Date before he left. He planned out the whole day and Marli loved it! First they went to play at the park, then out for pizza at Pizza Factory, then he took her to Build-a-Bear where she made a panda that has become her new best friend. They finished off the night by stopping for ice cream on the way home. Marli absolutely adores her dad and loved having him all to herself for a night!!! I equally appreciated an evening to myself:)

Marli and Reno before their date

After the big night and showing off her new panda

This was Marli and Panda eating breakfast this morning. She makes me fix the panda a bowl of cereal almost every morning, it is so funny!

One day I was inside cleaning when Reno called me to come outside and this is what I found - Marli had set all this up and put everyone in their place so that they could watch all the cars go by our house. (Since we live at the back of our neighborhood I think only 2 cars drove by the whole time they were out there)

Easter

Here are a few pics from Easter. This is only from one of the egg hunts she went on. Yes she is wearing snowman pajamas and yes there was snow on the ground when we woke up that morning!

Marli loved putting the jelly beans in and out of the eggs just as much as eating them.

Father and Son Harley Ride - Year 1

Reno and his dad had their first (of what I am sure will be many to come) Harley rides down in Arizona. They have been wanting to do this for awhile and they finally got their schedules to work. Reno was in heaven!! This is just what he needed before a long busy summer of selling.

Reno's mom drove the truck behind them and was able to join them on a couple of rides.

After a week of riding, I switched places with Mat and Julie and met Reno down in Phoenix for some much needed R&R and alone time! This past month Reno has been so crazy busy with work that we have barely even seen each other, let alone carried on a decent conversation so it was so nice to have some time together before the baby comes and before the selling season officially starts. Every day we would get up and play tennis or go on a bike ride, layout by the pool, then go to a yummy restaurant for dinner. This was my idea of the perfect vacation!

We ate at the Capital Grille where Reno said he had the "best steak of his life", which is a pretty bold statement coming from him. Not only were the steaks impressive, but I think they also had the largest menu we have ever seen!

We also got to spend some time with my sister Marisa who lives down in Pheonix.

As you can see, Marli had a rough time while we were gone - tea parties with Grandpa and foot massages from Grandma.

We couldn't get enough of the 80 degree weather and hated to come home, but how can you not be excited to come back to this adorable face?

The other day we got together for a girls lunch/playdate. It was so much fun getting together now that we are all "stay-at-home moms". These kids had so much fun playing together (at least the older ones did). I can't wait to see what its like in another year when all these little boys are running around!! Marli was so exhausted after her friends left that she sat on the couch and literally ten minutes later was out cold...and she NEVER falls asleep like that!

Road Trip

Last week Reno was out of town selling so Marli and I packed up the car and took a little roadtrip to visit my best friend Natalie up in Montana. It was so much fun!! Marli was an angel on the 9 hr drive thanks to lots of fruit snacks, Nemo and every other movie we own:) Natalie's husband Craig was out of town for work too so it worked out perfectly! After getting the grand tour of Billings, MT (which took all of about ten min) we spent most of the week lounging around her darling house eating yummy food and reading our old journals. We stayed up late every night reliving the days of jr. high drama, high school crushes and many more adventures we've had over the years. Thanks Nat for being such an amazing friend and for making our trip well worth the long drive!!

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, and Natalie's was blurry so this is the best pic we got of our trip.

Pure Entertainment

From the time she wakes up in morning, Marli has me laughing. Every morning she has something new to say when I go get her out of bed. It usually starts with her yelling "Mom! Mom!", when I finally pull myself out of bed to go get her these are a few of the phrases she greets me with in the morning:

• "It's dark in here!" (on the days she woke up before the sunshine at 6:30 or 7)
• "Where are you?"
• Yelling to me while I'm still in bed - "Mom! What you doing in there?"
• "I want to make my bed"
• "I need to blow my nose!"
• "I want to watch the Olympics on the couch"

Seriously, the things she comes up with sometimes are amazing! Most the day she is busy chatting my ear off and copying everything I say. Here are some pics of what we have been up to the past month or two.

Reno built Marli her first fort, or "house" is what she called it. She loves crawling through and hiding in tunnels.


Even though it is freezing outside, one of Marli's favorite outfits these days is her swimsuit. If I looked that cute in a swimsuit I'd probably want to wear it all day too!

Marli and Macie - Marli loves it when her cousins come over to play

Always unpredictable... When Marli is quiet for too long I know I will either find this:

Marli had set up all her books on the chair and she was reading them out loud to herself. It was the cutest thing ever! I love listening to her "read" to herself, especially the books she has practically memorized.

Or this...

Marli showing how happy she is that she gets to eat her smoothie on the couch next to Dad.

Lookin' Good

Marli has finally (knock on wood) re-mastered the skill of falling asleep by herself, and sleeping through the night in her big bed. Part of her nightly routine is reading a story before bed. Two of Marli's favorites are Dr. Seuss' "There's a Wocket in My Pocket" and "Hop on Pop". She pretty much has these books memorized. To my surprise, Reno and I are both characters in these books. EVERY time we read Wocket in My Pocket Marli points to this little guy and says "there's mom!" and then continues to find "mom" on every page. Even as I am typing this Marli saw the picture on the screen and said "Look, its mama!". Just as I am about to question my self-image, I feel a little better when Marli points out "Dad" to me in Hop on Pop. Yes, in Marli's eyes, this attractive yellow creature shows some very close resemblence to Reno. Oh how we love when Marli shares with us some of the insights of her 2-yr-old mind!

Do I really look like this? I'm sure its just
because we have the same color of hair :)

"Reno" is the tall, handsome character on the right

Marli's Birthday

Marli just turned two! I think between Christmas and birthday Marli thinks opening presents is becoming an every day thing. Little does she know thats all she gets for another year:). We are so happy that Marli is in our family and can't believe that she is growing up so fast! She always keeps us on our toes and dazzles us with her spunky personality. She is a total daddy's girl and definitely has him wrapped around her little finger.

Marli is lucky to have so many grandparents and great-grandparents that love her!