Bad Reno Luck!

Maren:
This last weekend was Memorial Day and we took a road trip.  For the last few years Pica and Grammie have been coming up to see us, but now that Aunt Deb and the crew are living in Sparks mommy decided we needed to see everyone.  So, mommy loaded us up to head to Reno for the weekend.  Unfortunately, every time we go to Reno lately, we seem to have really bad luck!  Maddox got really sick, as he will tell you, and it put a bit a damper on our weekend.  I was a great big sissy and super supportive of both mommy and brother.  I never complained once, even though our drive took a lot of extra time and though brother was hogging most of mommies attention. 
Thankfully, mommy did her best to try and work around the yuckies and we were able to fit in plenty of fun.  Pica lives in a really nice neighborhood with quiet streets so we got to go for a few nice bike rides.  We also spent plenty of time at local parks playing.  Unfortunately, because brother was sick, Aunt Deb didn't want to bring the kids around so we were only able to meet them at the park for a few hours.  I took advantage of every second and rarely left Fletcher's side!
I also got to have a few private music lessons from my Pica.  He let me play his piano, violin, mandolin, and guitars!  I'm quiet the budding maestro!
Our last day in Reno, Pica took us back to the pool in Minden.  It is a huge indoor pool with lots of different areas to play in and I really had fun.  In one of the big pools they set up a water obstacle course for people to climb on.  Mommy, Maddox, Pica, and I all took our turns.  I had a blast but I'm not too sure that Maddox enjoyed himself.

Maddox:
Well... we probably won't be going back to Reno for a really long time. I'm pretty sure that my bad luck has soured mommy for that trip for good!
This time, unfortunately I was the one to be sick.  Thankfully our car didn't break down and I didn't end up in the hospital, but I was pretty darn sick to be sure.  Without getting too personal, lets just say I developed a pretty severe case of GI distress on the drive down.  It was a yucky, stinky disaster that continued through our entire weekend.  As a result, I wasn't happy unless mommy was holding me in her lap.  I complained a lot about my tummy hurting and being cold and was just generally grumpy for most of the time.
I did have a few good moments and did enjoy myself a bit.  I really liked going to the parks and played pretty good.  Time in Pica's music room was fun too.  When we went to the pool, I was happy when I was in the warm pool, but otherwise I just got too cold too fast.  Mommy took me on the obstacle course and it was fun until the big slide at the end.  Too much for my tired little body!

On a positive note, I am still stinking adorable and love to talk and sing.  When I sing "Patty Cake", instead I say... "Cabity Cake, Cabity Cake" and when I sing "The itsy bitsy spider" I say "The ipsy bipsy spider"!  Makes for a lot of smiles!

Spring time fun

Maren: 

Maddox: 

Warm days are occurring occasionally and we are trying to take advantage of them when we can.  When the sun is out we love to run through the sprinklers!  Now, saying that we run through them may not be totally accurate since I do my very best to not let any water touch me.  I would say that I am more apt to run around the water! 

I am kinda going through a rough phase right now.  Rough for every one but me really!  I have learned that when I scream REALLY loud that my sister will leave me alone/stop stealing my toys/stop touching me/stop looking at me/stop just about anything I don't like at the moment!  It works great for me but mommy and daddy don't seem to appreciate it.  Unfortunately, because it works with my sister, I like to try it for other situations when I'm unhappy too which definitely doesn't seem to fly. 

Happy Mothers Day

Maren: 

Spring is here, warm days are here and so is the sunshine!  With spring comes cute baby animals!  Daddy found a little baby duck in the middle of the road the other day and couldn't find a momma duck anywhere.  So, he picked up the sweet little thing and gave it to me to take care of.  Of course I was infatuated with her and wanted to hold her every second of the day.  Mommy made a nice house for her in a big tub and even gave her a little swimming pool to practice in.  She was so cute swimming around and eating all of the bugs and seeds we fed her.  Unfortunately our little ducky didn't live, even though I said lots of prayers for her.  I was very sad when she died.  

My Nonna had a big trip planned to see Auntie C's and the boys back in Pennsylvania and I was really jealous that I didn't get to go.  Because she was going to be gone for Mother's Day, we celebrated the weekend before with a nice picnic at a winery.  For Mommy's Mother's Day, we decided to stay home and spend the day together getting our garden ready for the year.  We had a wonderful day as a family and got lots of tomatoes, corn, basil, and beans planted.  Mommy and daddy decided to go a smaller garden this year because it is so much work.  Mommy and I did get to go to a special Mother and Daughter tea party at my school that was really nice.  Mommy and I got all dressed up and she even surprised me by straightening my hair!  Much to her dismay, I am constantly telling her how badly I want my hair to be straight! 

Maddox: 

I love being two!  I am such a great helper and becoming so independent.  Unlike my sister, whom according to mommy didn't really go through a big independent streak, I really like to do things by myself.  When they take me in to go potty and pull my pants down, I will often pull them back up and do it all over again!  I also really like to crawl into my car seat on my own and buckle myself in.  At least I try, though I often end up buckling my legs in through the arm straps!  

Sissy told you about our little duck that daddy brought home but she forgot to tell you about her cute name.  Maybe she was saving that for me to tell since I named her.  Sister had named her all kinds of girlie things like Princess Sparklepants, or something silly like that.  But we chatted and both decided that Sundae just seemed so much more dignified! Not sure I've really ever had a sundae, but when mommy explained what it was, it sounded pretty good to me!  When Sundae died, I was a bit confused why I couldn't see her anymore.  I asked mommy where she went and mommy told me that she went to Heaven to be with God.  That made sense but I wanted to know how she got there so I asked... "Did she go in God's truck?".  Mommy thought that was pretty sweet!

One of the cool things mommy let us do the other day was stick our heads out of her moon roof while we were driving down our dirt road. I have seen sister do it before but I've never had the chance because mommy was afraid that I would fall.  The other day, daddy was riding with us on the way home from Nonna's picnic so mommy could hold on to me and keep me stable!  Sissy and I had so much fun with our hair blowing in the breeze! 

A cute little thing I said the other day when mommy was getting me ready for bed... she likes to play peek-a-boo with me while putting my clothes on... as my head went into my shirt I said "Where me are?  And when my head popped out I replied "There me are!" Of course I said it with my cute little accent which made it all the more adorable because it sounded like this... "Wuh me aw? Duh me aw!"