Reunited

We were thrilled to be reunited with our friends, Heidi, Griffin, and Vaughn Matzen. Heidi and I met at the park when Aaron & Griffin were less than a year old and became fast friends. Heidi's husband, Tom, took a new job in March, which took their family to Seattle. We used to play together at least once a week, so we have missed them very much!

We had a fun morning at Pump It Up and then returned to our house where the boys enjoyed some time painting!

Monster & Butterfly

Aaron & Maggie love to get wrapped up in their bath towels and see what they look like! Here they are- Aaron the blue monster and Maggie the pink butterfly!

Aaron-isms

This little guy is hilarious! I do not do a good job of writing down all of the funny things that he says on a daily basis, so I am going to try to remember a few of his Aaron-isms as of late!




"When you go to the bathroom, that's called germs."

(I am wearing a white and black striped shirt and we are getting into the car to go to the zoo.) "We're going to the zoo, Mommy, and you're dressed like the zebra!" (I got such a kick out of that one that every time we go to the zoo now he tries to compare me to an animal. This week I had on a pink shirt, so I was a flamingo!)

"You know, some people have all the luck!" (He learned this from an Arthur book.)

"One time, when I was a super hero, I lifted up 3 gigantic elephants!" Many ideas of Aaron's right now, begin like that- One day, when I was a super hero.....

Three years old

I'm definitely late with this post, but better late than never! Time to put in writing what Aaron is up to at 3 years old.

Aaron continues to bring joy and laughter to our lives every day! At 3 years old, Aaron weighs 36 pounds (75-90th percentile) and is 37 1/2 inches tall (50th percentile). He is active, adventurous, mischievous, smart, curious, and loud! Aaron's language skills are amazing- he speaks in long, complex sentences with all kinds of age appropriate speech errors! (glides his l's and r's, substitutes f for th, reduces some blends) He is as smart as a whip, questioning everything (why, why, why), and challenging our authority constantly!

Aaron loves to:
-read books (favorites are Dr. Seuss, Froggy, Arthur, SkippyJon Jones)
-play outside (is currently in love with his stomp rocket and scooter)
-climb on anything and everything (he really enjoys trying to climb trees and climb on the top of the monkey bars at the park)
-help with cooking and washing dishes (he loves to use his little cooking gear and control the sprayer at the kitchen sink)
-play with sticks, tools, and all kinds of 'real' things
-sing songs (especially the theme from the tv show, Little Einsteins)
-play pretend (rocket ships, dinosaurs, zoo animals by putting a 'cage' around himself with an upside down laundry basket!)
-play with play dough
-paint, glue, and cut with scissors
-garden and water plants with Daddy
-watch tv shows (favorites are Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, Bob the Builder)
-watch movies (favorites are Toy Story, Cars, Bugs Life, Monsters Inc, Despicable Me)
-play games (Pop Up Pirate, Memory, Cootie, Trouble)

Aaron usually gets up around 6:30 (often thanks to his little sister) and naps from about 1-3 (usually takes a nap for about 3-4 days and then skips a day). If he takes a good nap, he gets to stay up until 8 and watch 1 or 2 tv shows before bed. If he doesn't nap during the day, he goes to bed at 7 pm with Maggie. Aaron sleeps with his monkey and softie at night. Aaron & Maggie share a room and generally get along pretty well. They pester each other, but each get bored when the other is not around!

Aaron is very excited to go to preschool next year and is definitely ready for a new challenge! He can spell his name, say the alphabet, recognize his letters most of the time and can identify their sounds. Aaron can rote count to about 15 and count to 6 or 7 with one to one correspondence. He's a sharp guy and we know that it will be good for him to learn from someone other than his mom and dad!

Aaron is an amazing little guy and we are so proud of him!


Aaron is pretending to ride a motorcycle (the arm of the chair is the cycle and the thing on his head is his helmet!)

Memorial Day weekend

We had a great Memorial Day weekend. Nanny & Papa came to visit and we always have so much fun!

On Saturday we went to Union Pier, Michigan to meet up with my Aunt Linda, Uncle Bob, cousin Jarrod and his wife, Molly and their 3 children, Nora, Dylan, and Grant. Jarrod and Molly live in Detroit, so we don't get to see them very often. This was our first time meeting Dylan and Grant and Jarrod and Molly's first time meeting Maggie! It was great to catch up and have the kids play together! (I had to 'borrow' some photos from Molly's blog because my camera was in the car and it was pouring down rain!) We had a great time, despite the weather being junky!







On Sunday, the boys went up to a Brewer game in Milwaukee while the girls stayed in Chicago.



Monday was the only nice day of the whole weekend. Unfortunately, Nanny & Papa had to spend it in the car driving back to Fort Dodge. We spent some time outside and ended the holiday with ice cream cones!

A day at the zoo

We love spending time at the Brookfield Zoo! Here are some pictures of a recent trip while Tom was in town visiting.

Maggie's baptism

We had a great day celebrating Maggie's baptism! She was baptized on Mother's Day, after her first birthday, just like Aaron was! We had lots of family in town to celebrate and loved sharing this memory with each of them!


The whole gang at the church before the service (Maria, Beth, John, Will, Tim, Amy Coenen, Tom, & Jorge in the back. Amy Thompson, me, Maggie, Mom, and Dad in the middle. Brett, Claire, Aaron, Olivia, and Jacob in the front.)

Amy, me, Maggie, Tim, Mom, Jacob, and Dad in the back. Brett, Claire, Aaron, & Olivia in the front.

The Strohbusch crew- Maria, Beth, John, and Will.

My awesome Mom & Dad, aka Nanny & Papa!

The Coenen fam

A few in our church- St James Lutheran



With the Godfather, Tom, and Jorge

Maggie and her Godparents, Tom and Beth


Pastor Donavan let Maggie stay in my arms, so everything went smoothly!

This was a day that we'll always remember. Gods Blessings to our little girl, Maggie Lynn!