family

Filed under: Rowan

Memorial Day Weekend

Maisy and Todd getting the trailer ready

Nothing says the beginning of summer like your very first bike ride!  Maren had her first cruise on a bike.  We got the girls in their new bike trailer and set off for a little ride.  All was fun and games at first, then the gravity of the situation (or helmet) sunk in and the glee was all but gone.  We got the girls out of the trailer for bit and then got back on the bikes and headed home.  All was well again.

Sisters in the trailer

Todd, Maisy, Baby Snow and Maren (Maren's helmet, rather)

Maisy has really started to like to play with her dolls. Her favorite doll is Baby Snow (White).  Baby Snow comes with us everywhere and Maisy takes excellent care of her!

Maisy wearing Baby Snow on one of her favorite activities.  Walking around the neighborhood collecting flowers.  Roses and dandelions are her favorite.  Luckily the neighbors think Maisy's cute and they don't mind that we clip their buds.

We helped our friend Kevin celebrate getting his MBA with a rainy BBQ at their place. Rowan and Reid were also there to celebrate.  Yari was showing off his doggie tricks and the kids thought- they could top Yari in the jumping through hoops contest!

Rowan and Maisy hoop jumping

To keep the wee one's occupied Winnie the Pooh was put on and we lined them up and let them enjoy.  It gave us 20 minutes of still and quiet kids.

Reid, Rowan, Maisy and Maren all in comfy line

Today was so beautiful that after we ran our morning errands we had a nice picnic in the front backyard.

mmmm applesauce and tortilla bits!

We are busy getting ready for Maisy's 3rd birthday party next weekend!  Time sure has flown.  We now have a full little girl- no more baby.  Todd and Maisy worked on putting a kid's sized table together for her party.  Maisy was a big help.

Getting the job done!

Maren is on the mend and is doing her weird sit, scoot all around

Maren moving

We have also signed up to participate in the AIDS Walk SF again this year.  It will be Maren's first walk and Maisy's 3rd!!  I've already met my fundraising goal of $200, but Todd is still short.  If you can- we'd love your support.  Please sponsor Todd.  We are so proud and happy to raise our girls to know they can and should care for others!!

Much love,
Todd, Becky, Maisy and Maren

Almost 9 months old! Wow.


“Hello There!”

We have had a major break through this week. Maisy slept through the night for the very first time. She didn’t do it the next night or the next, but we are working on it! We are doing what is called “sleep training”. We are no longer reinforcing night time waking with picking her up or with milk and the theory is that she will realize there is no need to get mom and dad up in the middle of the night because they can’t do anything for me anyway- and then she will just fall back to sleep and sleep like a little baby. Right?

Nap times have gotten a little bit more difficult now that Maisy can stand. She thinks it’s much more fun to have a standing party than to nap. She has also discovered the blinds that we had custom made for her room. She thinks they are perfect for sharpening her two tiny teeth on!

We had a very lovely first family Valentine’s Day together. Maisy made Todd a card. It was her first art piece.


Baby Painter

Maisy and Todd started the day with a nice book on the couch.


Reading time!

As Todd got laid off at the beginning of January, he is now working a temporary job in the city through the end of February. We hope that a full time position will come along soon! Maisy and I ventured into the city today to meet him for lunch. Meeting for lunch was such a treat. Todd doesn’t always get home before Maisy is in bed for the night, so it was good to give them a bit more time together. It helped that it was a beautiful day in the city and a fun day for a walk.

Later in the day Maisy and I met with Angie and Rowan at Lake Merritt for some play time in the park. It was the first time Maisy had been involved with duck and geese feeding. She thought it was okay, but then that one goose got a little too close and she started to get nervous.


hmm birds eating bread… interesting.


Tell that silly goose to back the duck up!

Maisy is a swing fiend- which is so adorable.


This is Maisy’s happy place

Maisy continues to become more steady when she pulls up on EVERYTHING. She is doing very well eating larger chunks of food and is feeding herself like a champ even though she only has her bottom two teeth. She’s gotten very quick too! It’s difficult to expect her to stay in one place these days. The good thing is that she understands when we tell her not to touch something and she so far respects that. We’ll see how that progresses.

She goes for her 9 month appointment the second week of March, so we’ll have more height and weight updates then.

Much love-
Todd, Becky and Maisy

Halloween is upon us

A s Halloween is approaching, we decided to take Maisy to the pumpkin patch today. Uncle Steven joined us on our adventure! Here are some pictures from our day.

We went to a little cute pumpkin patch in Oakland/Piedmont just down the street from the old and beautiful Mountain View Cemetary- which we took a tour of before the pumpkin patch, just to get in the mood!

Maisy really seemed to enjoy pumpkin hunting and picked a very cute little pumpkin all for herself.

We were so inspired that when we got home we got to work on our very own graveyard and body guard “Jake” to sit on our porch.

Maisy is going to be a bunny this year for Halloween. We are going to go trick or treating with friends Rowan and Evan (both monkeys). We’ll be sure to post pictures of the big night!

Have a happy Halloween season!

Much love to all- Todd, Becky and Maisy