The Life and Times of Marley Vollmerhausen

A New Day

2008-01-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

it's been a while since i've had a chance to update marley's blog! that doesn't mean that a lot hasn't been happening. the end of 2007 was filled with new beginnings (school), celebrations (halloween, thanksgiving, and christmas), big projects (house under construction; moving in with grandma and grandpa for two months) and wonderful surprises (jack!).

through it all, marley has amazed us with her ability to roll with the punches (with a few hurdles of course -- i mean we are talking about a two-year-old here) and maintain that amazing sense of humor that keeps her father and me in stitches.

september started off with school at st. luke's -- a local day school around the corner from our house. marley can't get enough of school, her teachers and all her new friends. when i say the kid goes running into class, i'm not exaggerating. we are keeping our fingers crossed that this love of school keeps up for at least another few years!

september also brought a new member to our family -- roslyn! with mommy's business partner off on bedrest/maternity leave and mommy needing to work more hours at circle boutique, we were lucky enough to get into a nanny-share setup with our wonderful neighbors. we already aren't sure what we did without roslyn!

finally, construction started on our house. we added a new bedroom, new family room, new powder room, and new screened-in porch. lots of banging, dust, etc. drove us out of house and home. luckily travis' mother and stepfather (beloved grandma and grandpa) welcomed us with open arms -- for two months!

anyone else need a balloon hat?

horsing around with grandma!

despite everything going on, we were able to escape to our beach place for some family qt. and, since the weather stayed relatively warm through november we were able to spend lots of time running around outside.

more beach pics here.

halloween was filled with lots of treats and even a pumpkin carving (thanks, daddy!)

we also returned to st. andrew's lane for the neighborhood halloween festivities and trick-or-treating. marley got to reconnect with our neighbors, eat lots of candy, jump on a moonbounce, and show off her very scary lion roar!

more halloween pics here and here.

before we knew what hit us, thanksgiving was upon us. we celebrated at the raisch household. lots of yummy turkey, stuffing, and marley's favorite -- grandpa's mashed potatoes.

the next couple of weeks were spent waiting to get back into our house and -- hip-hip-hooray -- we were back in the first weekend of december! even though there was still come construction going on (and a port-a-potty in our front yard), we were able to get our christmas tree up and into the holiday spirit. we even got snow!

marley also got to have one last christmas all to herself. she got a new bike from santa, a stuffed dragon from khun tah, a new easel from gg, a shelf made by grandpa...we could go on...boy does it pay to be the first child/grandchild on both sides!

more christmas pics here.

and, as if there wasn't enough excitement, at 1:53 a.m. on january 1, 2008, we welcomed jack denis vollmerhausen. marley is loving being a big sister. she wants nothing more than to hold, feed, and kiss jack. but, marley being marley (and a 2 1/2 year old) there is a fine line between affection and physical assault. so, there's been lots of coaching, some tears, but lots and lots of love for baby "wacky jacky."

for more on marley AND jack, please visit us at www.adventuresofmarleyandjack.blogspot.com.

happy new year!

Miami Heat

2007-08-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

just got back from spending eight very hot and fun-filled days in miami. when i say hot, i mean 100-degrees-and-above hot.

our house (courtesy of travis' colleague jonathan) was gorgeous -- since every day felt like 100 degrees (up to 107 degrees), the backyard pool became our haven. the house backed up to the biscayne bay where we had our own little private beach. marley spent a great deal of time making "cookies" and "pies" and collecting seashells.

the first few days we spent enjoying our surroundings (i.e., the pool) with uncle paul and aunt susan, who are expecting their own bundle this coming november. we spent our days and evenings lounging around the pool, brunching at the delano, visiting friends on south beach, and grilling out in the cabana behind the house.

"dr. seuss and the delano go perfectly together."

susan and paul then hightailed it to south beach for the remainder of their "babymoon" while gg, grandma, grandpa, jeeka, and uncle steve joined us for the next five days.

we got in great beach time with jeeka and steve. marley's phobia of east coast beach waves subsided with the calm southern waters.

we ate a bunch of great restaurants too, including barton g. marley got to show off her miami style, eat chocolate, AND stay up past her bedtime.

the three of us also took in sights and sounds at the biscayne's seaquarium. marley liked the dolphin show just fine, but was more into the "sea cows" and their salad-eating habits. she even has her very own stuff sea cow now that she sleeps with at night!

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overall, a wonderful, relaxing trip. can't wait to do it again!
more miami pics here.

Summer Lovin'

2007-07-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

end of june-july have been busy and fun-filled with a trip to st. michael's (chesapeake bay), fourth of july fireworks, fun at the circle b, another trip to the beach, playdates, and some hardcore summer lounging around the neighborhood too.

what dat????

as our family is growing (well, right now it's just me that's growing -- three months and counting!), we're thinking we need to sell our one-bedroom beach condo and expand our horizons. so, we thought we'd give picturesque st. michael's a look. as beautiful as it was, travis and i did agree that it was more like a place to sit back, relax, and enjoy your golden years as opposed to a place where kids can run amuck.

nevertheless, the weekend with grandma, grandpa, and gg was a blast. marley of course enjoyed herself thoroughly -- who wouldn't being surrounded by your most loyal and devoted fans?

hangin' with gg

more st. michael's pics here and here.

marley also has been getting in touch with her artistic/creative side with lots and lots of painting. (occasionally with paint brushes, but mostly with fingers.)

fourth of july was fun with a slip-and-slide, badminton, and crabs at grandma's.

marley contemplates the slip-and-slide as the famed pecs vollmerhausen makes an appearance.

"i love coopers."

we did check out fireworks afterwards in takoma park -- for about five minutes. marley declared "no like, too loud, too scary" and then refused to look up at the sky.

here's a pic of marley and daddy enjoying a brief fireworks moment before we took off.

we'll try again in a couple of years.

mid-july we had a circle store event. marley and daddy were on hand, supporting mommy of course.

marley and her two daddies -- what an adorable family!

we of course rounded out the month with a trip to old faithful -- the beach.

and, we love our summer playdates with madeline. we usually end up staying a little late (don't you love those summer hours?) and getting a little grungy running around madeline's BIG backyard.

here we are cleaning up afterwards.

and, back home again! next up? miami in august!

"we're all sleepin'!"

"I Never Met a Pool I Didn't Like!"

2007-07-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

we're off and running this summer with pools, pools, pools. we're talking baby pools, backyard pools, private pools, public pools...if there's a pool in sight, marley's gettin' in.

we spent father's day in savage where aunt (actually great aunt) dana hooked up not only a killer baby pool for marley, but also a moonbounce AND two little neighborhood friends for her to party with.

needless to say, marley was in heaven.

a couple of weekends later, we spent the day at our neighbors' amazing vineyard in mt. airy -- broken ankle. basically, marley -- and about 30 other kids -- got to run wild around the hills, rock out on the slip-and-slide, and, of course, have some more water fun in a baby pool.

"the hills are alive..."

"my buddy chloe..."

after exhausting ourselves at that event, we drove home for a crab feast at kim & sam's. and, what do they have at their house? you guessed it -- a pool! no blow-up baby pool, though, but a real-live backyard swimming pool.

marley also had her first maryland crab-picking experience. she did it the smart way and got her daddy to do all the hard work while she enjoyed the fruits of his labor. yum! (sorry about the graphic crab carcass pictures to those of you not familiar with this somewhat barbaric, but oh-so-delicious maryland custom.)

more broken ankle and crab feast pics here.

"thank you for the crabs, kim!"

Water Baby

2007-06-11T18:06:00.000-07:00

we spent our traditional memorial day at the beach -- ocmd!

marley got to showcase her two new two-piece bathing suits -- both of which were too big. her grandma got ambitious and bought her a toddler 3, which basically fell off her as she walked along. then, we tried to find her a replacement little number at sunsations, but the smallest they carried was a toddler 4!

bathing suit #1

bathing suit #2

needless to say, we spent the bulk of our time at the beach frolicking in the ocean, making sand castles, and eating.

nothing beats corn on the beach!

here are marley and travis doing some hardcore frolicking.

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aside from quality beach time, we also made it out for our annual delaware canoe day.

"i can't believe these two have forced me to do this two years in a row."

overall, it was a beautiful weekend and marley couldn't get enough of the sun and sand. she is STILL asking to go to the beach these days.

luckily, pool season has kicked into gear and although there's no sand or waves, it is still cold water you can splash around in, right? plus, at least now she has a bathing suit that fits...

more beach pics here.

boonie!

2007-05-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

we visited marley's pal boone today and his new little brother, mack. marley was pretty disinterested in the baby and didn't really acknowledge little mack except for the occasional, "baby sleepin'!" that was inevitable followed up by a very loud "shhhh!" from mommy.

she was, however, very interested in boone's basketball. poor boone. he didn't know that he was going to get completely schooled in b-ball by a girl and then have to share his goldfish with her.

Strawberries and a Moonbounce

2007-05-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

we went to the annual montgomery county strawberry festival this weekend and gorged ourselves on ice cream and strawberries. we enjoyed our little outing with our neighbors, gabe & margy, and their three adorable kids -- olivia, oscar, and chloe. marley had a couple of firsts at the festival: first face painting (actually on the arm -- a strawberry, thomas the train, and nemo) and first moonbounce.

here she is rockin' the moonbounce with a little encouragement from her daddy and also olivia.

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more strawberry pics here.

Happy Mother's Day!

2007-05-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

what's the saying? it's the hardest job you'll ever love...

Getting a Headstart on that Summer Reading...

2007-05-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

2007-05-13T12:50:00.000-07:00

our neighborhood is so pretty in the spring with all the azaleas on bloom. we'll especially miss the swingset in "our" sideyard when the developers haul it away to make room for a new four-bedroom house next door. ah well, we'll enjoy it while it lasts. and, we'll always have sligo creek and its parks!

here marley is enjoying some qt with our neighbors' daugher, chloe.

Mac & Marley Sittin' in a Tree...

2007-05-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

it's been a "eenmil"-filled, uh, animal-filled spring with our tuesday jaunts to the national zoo for our spots & stripes class. we've learned about cheetahs, porcupines, salamanders, and more. we even have a home-made mobile to prove it! it's our very first artsy-craftsy project together and i think we (as in mommy) get an "A" for effort. i figure the more crafts marley gets into with school and stuff, the better my skills with finger paints, elmer's glue, and safety scissors will get -- at least that's what i'm hoping.

we also get to check out the actual animal we made in class, of course. here's marley learning about butterflies.

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marley's pal mac and his mommy scott take the class with us, which always makes for a fun zoo lunch afterward.

here's mac and marley (really mac) playing some fun-time lunch games.

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more zoo pics here.

we also hit up the guppy gala -- a kid-fest at the national zoo this weekend where marley got blow bubbles, eat chicken fingers, groove to the stylings of ms. belle and her purple monkey, and hang with her good buddy mac.

here she is cuttin' some rug for about .2 seconds before getting a raging case of stage fright. luckily mac kept the groove going...

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more guppy gala pictures here.

Nemo!

2007-04-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

enjoyed a beautiful weekend (sunny and in the 70s) in charm city. checked out the baltimore aquarium where marley got to see "white nemo," "orange nemo," "black nemo," and many more nemos of various colors.

here she is checking out some "ew" critters.

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the pleasant outing was without incident except for one run-in with a fellow toddler. the little boy decided that the fish marley was looking at really belonged to him and attempted to nudge marley off the ledge up against the glass fish case. marley just looked the little guy directly in the eye, pointed directly in his face, and loudly asked "WHAT DAT?"

usually travis and i cringe when marley yells out her "what dat?" to real, live people that usually are usually within a foot of us.(she doesn't restrict her "what" questions to inanimate objects.) in this case, though, we only smirked.

marley stood her ground while the little ruffian had to be shuttled away and i beamed with girl-power pride.

after the near toddler throwdown, we checked out the underwhelming dolphin show at the aquarium. travis and i did our best to get marley pumped about their tricks (overexcited wows, clapping like lunatics), but in the end, she saw through our ruse. the show was, well...just ok.

nevermind, though. a day with stingrays and hammerhead sharks is always a day well-spent.

more aquarium/baltimore pics here.

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs

2007-04-11T07:40:00.000-07:00

this easter, marley had not one, but two easter egg hunts.
first one too place at the allen household -- home to twins nina and sydney allen. since it had snowed the night before the hunt was moved inside. picture 20-plus kids completely hopped up on easter candy scrounging for easter eggs. we all had a blast.

the next day, we went to easter dinner at gamma and goompa's house where we had another egg hunt! this time, though, there was really no competition -- just marley's loyal fans directing her to where the eggs were hidden.

since aunt jessica and uncle steve were not in town for easter, mommy, daddy, gg, gamma, and goompa got to obsess over their object of desire with nobody checking them. someone needs a sibling...bad.

more easter pics here.

Spring is Here...Sort of

2007-04-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

before things went horribly awry and temperatures plummeted into the low 50s, we did have a blast of near-80-degree weather.

lots of trips to the park and to the creek to check out the froggies and duckies. here's marley checking out the sights and sounds of sligo creek.

warning -- this video clip -- with it's daring, cutting-edge footage -- may be inappropriate for some viewers.

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Lights, Camera, Action!

2007-03-20T13:59:00.000-07:00

no, marley hasn't gone hollywood, but she did get a little taste of the paparazzi limelight at the last circle boutique photo shoot!

our poor photographer not only had to shoot spring clothing for our web site, but also had to deal with nonstop "what dat?" questions from a two-year-old.

more pics of our little future diva? click here.

The Best Dad Award Goes To...

2007-03-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

well, all you have to do is take a look at this picture to know who this blog entry is dedicated to. it may have been marley's birthday party, but travis really brought the thunder when he got in the middle of the parachute and let all those little anklebiters bounce that stuffed elephant around until it "kissed" him -- several times agressively on the head.

anyhow, we celebrated marley's second birthday this past sunday with a whole slew of her nearest and dearest toddler buddies and...bingo! who is the bingo you ask? well, she is none other than the ultimate kiddie entertainer who travels around in a safari getup and five small animals (maltese, bunny, two hamsters, and a hedgehog!).

hand over that hamster bingo!

marley and the other anklebiters were in heaven with the critters and bingo's all-around nuttiness. (it takes a special kind of person to wear a matching safari outfit with her maltese, a ladybug on her nose, and leaves on her glasses.)

for more on marley's birthday adventures with bingo, click here and here.

WHEEEE!

2007-02-25T19:52:00.000-08:00

we had our first legitimate snow today and of course travis and i forced marley to get into it. we strapped on our gear, headed out to the nearest hill, and proceeded to engage in every snow-related activity we could think of.

we rode a sled...

fell out of the sled...

made a snowman -- an asian one of course!

made snowangels...

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and then headed home for some hot chocolate and a nap. perfect day!

more snow pics here.

Marley: Domestic Goddess

2007-02-25T19:28:00.000-08:00

marley made her first batch of cookies this past valentine's day. she "massaged" the dough, cut hearts out, and even frosted them.

her favorite was getting to lick the beater after mommy made the frosting.

we meant to share our cookies with family and neighbors, but an ice storm had us holed up in the house for a couple of days -- just long enough for mommy to house pretty much all of the cookies. thanks, marley!

Boy, That Snowball Feels Good!

2007-02-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

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first snow of the season (well at least since we've been back from thailand). it was not even an inch, but we made the best of it!

here's marley getting a snowball "lesson" from her dad.

Noodles, Noodles, Noodles

2007-02-11T17:26:00.000-08:00

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one last snippet from thailand. this was taken from denis' cell phone. no explanation needed except to say that she ate this voraciously the ENTIRE time we were in thailand and now poo poos bland american fare.

To Thailand and Back...

2007-01-31T04:05:00.000-08:00

our trip to thailand (and christmas season) got off to a rocky start. not only did marley hate on santa (see previous entry), but about a week before we were to leave for southeast asia, she caught a stomach bug and promptly infected me, her dad, and her grandmother.

what ensued included a pitstop (a very long five-hour pitstop) to the local emergency room where the doctor hooked us up with some sweet anti-nausea meds, a cancelled christmas eve dinner that we were to host, and the possibility of cancelling christmas altogether because no one wants to hang around lepers.

long story short, she recovered, we recovered, we celebrated christmas day (with bland foods) and the three of us made it onto the plane according to schedule on the 26th.

marley was great on the 22-hour flight to bangkok. we couldn't have asked for more. we did prepare, though. lots of new toys, movies for our portable dvd player, and plenty of walks up and down the aisles. oh, and a special shoutout goes to the japanese stewardesses on all nippon airlines who rocked out with marley when we started to lose steam.

once we got to bangkok we faced...jet lag. marley took about a week-and-a-half to adjust to the 12-hour difference. still, we managed to celebrate new year's with my family.

here she is partying with my cousin's son, who is a little younger, and a ton of balloons.

after new year's, we promptly headed to the mountains of chiang mai in northern thailand with my uncle lek and his wife. there we did the great animal tour of 2007: rode elephants, rode horses, partied with monkeys -- you name it.

"not sure about this guy. he looks nothing like george."

we also got to visit with my uncle who lives in chiang mai and marley got to experience puppies first-hand. my cousin is saying in thai, "she thinks they're dolls. she doesn't know they are real." needless to say, all four of the puppies were happy to see her go at the end of the evening.

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for more chiang mai pics, click here. oh, and if you're wondering why i'm standing on a random plot of undeveloped land, that is the new property we are purchasing with plans to build a house!

after chiang mai, we headed to the islands -- koh chang -- with my brother and his girlfriend. this was our third visit to the island and much has changed. the amount of development that had taken place in just five years (first time we visited it was virtually untouched) was staggering.

at any rate, the island is still gorgeous (as you can see in the pic above of marley and travis' pecs) and the seafood is unbelievable.

we ate a couple of times at bang bao, the fisherman's village on the island. marley fell in love with prawns and now asks for shimp, shimp, shimp.

"just hangin' with the boys."

more islands pics here.

after our fun in the sun, travis headed back to the states and marley and i spent quality time in bangkok with family.

marley loved her some uncle denis. if she ever threw a fit, his method to calm her was to mock her. strangely, it usually did turn the mood around. he's now convinced that is the ticket to disciplining toddlers -- mockery.

more of our final days in bangkok here.

and, finally, a family shot. it'll be a while before all of us are in the same room again! marley asks to see khun yai, khun ta, denis (yes, just denis...no uncle), ta lek, and yai nim. we miss everyone already and can't wait to get started on our home away from home in chiang mai!

Give Me the Easter Bunny Any Day

2007-01-30T16:26:00.000-08:00

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so, our christmas got off to quite a start. santa (our neighbor, scott) came for a visit, which we thought marley would love. for weeks she had been pointing to pictures of santas and yelling "seeenta!"

her reaction was, well, not what we expected. maybe this whole santa ruse isn't all it's cracked up to be?

anyhow, the evening ended on a high note after she opened her present from santa -- a collection of horsies.

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I AM a Girl!

2006-11-29T19:40:00.000-08:00

now my mom's gone ahead and made sure that everyone knows i'm a girl with the smallest pigtails in the history of pigtails. at least i won't have to listen to people refer to me as a "him," "big guy," or "little dude" anymore!

I Love Kitties Too!

2006-11-29T19:37:00.000-08:00

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our neighbors have a cat that pretty much just roams the neighborhood. well, for marley, it was love at first sight. you can't catch a glimpse of this cat without just going ape-you-know-what over it.

poor cat. always dodging the affections of a sweet, albeit unpredictable toddler who is still figuring out the difference between petting and hitting.

I Love Turkey and "Peendas!"

2006-11-29T19:03:00.000-08:00

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the three of us hit up the zoo last wednesday and got to check out the pandas. i remember going to the zoo as a kid and never being able to really get a good look at those guys because it was either too crowded or they were sleeping or whatever. but, we got a perfect view of them -- even the baby -- and marley got to try out her new favorite word: "peenda." still, i think travis and i were more pumped to see the pandas than marley was.

what was marley most excited to see? not the elephants or the cheetas or the zebras...but...a horse ("horsie, horsie, horsie!"). and, when it was time to move on from the horses, someone definitely threw a little fit. hey, to each his own.

for turkey day, we gathered at travis' mom's house and gorged ourselves on all the traditional thanksgiving day fare. marley was most down with the mashed potatos. the turkey must have really worked its magic because she slept an hour longer (until 8:30 a.m.) the next day. we're considering feeding her turkey every night for dinner from here on out.

we also attempted to take a family christmas picture, but marley was less than cooperative, evidenced by the series of pictures below.

so, that was our holiday. hope everyone enjoyed theirs as well!

The Musical Stylings of Marley V

2006-11-06T05:59:00.000-08:00

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My Daddy Can Run Really Fast!

2006-11-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

we went to cheer travis on this past saturday at the marine corps marathon. the night before, marley ran a random fever of about 100. we weren't sure if she was going to be able to make it. but, our girl knew her daddy needed her and she pulled through!

we hopped on the metro at the crack of dawn to make travis' scarlet wave start at 8:30 a.m. we spent the day in parts of virginia and d.c. rooting not only for travis, but for every other runner there. marley especially loved the wheelers and would stand on the side of the road as they passed, cheering and clapping.

while travis ran, marley enjoyed berries at the 10-mile mark.

marley also made a new friend at the 23-mile mark.

we saw travis at a couple of mile marks, but both of us being so short and the crowds being filled not-so-short people, we weren't able to get his attention. we hoped to catch him at the finish line, but missed him there too! but, we did find out he finished under four hours. go travis!

after the race was when things went awry for the two of us. we decided to try and find travis at the designated marathon meeting area. you would go to the area marked with the letter your last name starts with and hopefully find your runner. sounds pretty simple, right? not so simple when you have 36,000 people trying to do the exact same thing.

we never did find travis (he gave up after a bit and figured we had done the same -- he bummed five bucks and hopped on the metro). but, we did spend a maddening five hours trying to get home. two of those were spent in a cattle herd of spectators trying to get out of the marathon grounds. marley had the right idea...after about half-an-hour in the herd, she pulled her blanket over her head and went to sleep. she didn't wake up for two hours.

long story short, we finally were able to get in touch with travis via his mom and sister. travis and his poor, exhausted legs came to pick us up in virginia and we were home by 6:30 p.m. -- just in time for dinner!

happy ending to a long day!

I Thought it was Hair Gel!

2006-11-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

so, marley got her hands on our vat of vaseline the other day. she emptied it -- on her head and all over our leather ottoman.

the leather ottoman fared better than marley's head. she sported a conked hairdo for a few days before it washed out. (note -- for other mommies out there, if your kid does this, use cornstarch to get the vaseline out because nothing else will.)

here she is pre-vaseline removal. she got really irritated when i tried to wipe the stuff off her head. i guess she really had gotten attached to the clumps of vaseline in her hair.

Mouse or Monkey? You Decide...

2006-10-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

we had our annual neigborhood halloween parade this past weekend. marley dressed up as a monkey, but everyone kept complimenting her adorable "mouse" costume. ah well. last year she was supposed to be a strawberry, but ended up looking more like a tomato.

marley rolled deep with a posse that consisted of mommy, daddy, grandma, grandpa and gg.

the weather was beautiful (fall is the absolute best in the d.c. area) and the parade was a smashing success. we ended in this park where there was a moon bounce, hotdogs, a pumpkin roll, and enough sugar-packed goodies to send any kid into a solid two-hour high.

marley housed popcorn, a couple of cupcakes, a cookie, and tons of apple cider. she now laughs in my face when i offer her broccoli at any meal.

we had a blast, though. marley killed it at the pumpkin roll despite two little four-year-olds (obviously peaking on their sugar high) who kept butting in line, jumping in the middle of the alley, and all-around losing their minds.

marley eventually mellowed and we took her home where she passed out for a solid two-and-a-half hours (obviously crashing hard from her sugar high).

more halloween parade pics here.

Playin' Around...

2006-10-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

marley and madeline share a ride...

...and dinner. how cozy!

Circle Turns Two!

2006-10-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

marley partied it up a couple of weeks ago at our two-year circle boutique anniversary celebration. she spent most of the night running in circles (no pun intended) around the store and trying to hug yet ANOTHER little boy, our friend's son henry.

her father now taunts her by calling her "boy crazy." here she is going in for the kill with henry.

she also housed about 15 thai pumpkin empinadas. mmmm.

more circle boutique party pics here.

A Romantic Getaway in Wine Country...Marley-Style

2006-09-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

we attended our friends adam and anna's wedding this past weekend. and, as evidenced by the picture above from the rehearsal dinner, marley made a new friend. adam's sister's son, van, unwittingly became the object of marley's affections (and gripping hugs). at one point, marley even actually managed to topple the both of them over.

the flights there and back proved to be challenging. i almost laughed out loud writing that. using the word "challenging" to describe it is the understatement of the year. let's just say we survived it. more than anything, it cemented the fact that we are no longer parents of an easily appeased infant (yup, mommy's boob did the trick most of the time), but a rambunctious,stubborn,and very, very, very loud toddler.

at one point during our five-hour flight there, marley and i went head-to-head in the airplane's bathroom in a world-class wrestling match that i think could have made it as a pay-per-view event. girlfriend is strong! i dug deep though and managed to pull out a victory. i emerged from the bathroom with my hair in shambles, my shirt half off, and covered in sweat. i think the entire cabin wanted to applaud me.my sweet reward? marley slept for an hour.

when she woke up (dammit!) we did laps up and down the aisle, making pit stops to visit aunt jess (who was coincidentally on the same flight). i lost count after 20, but i know i did get a decent cardio workout. thanks, marley!

overall? travis and i gave her a D on the way out and a C- on the way home.

once we were off the plane, though, things got much better. we stayed at the carneros inn in napa, which was unbelievable. had our own private bungalow and back deck. marley got to run around naked, which is her #1 favorite thing to do.

here she is out front before heading to the pool.

we also went swimming and got to pet the horses, which, immediately elicited an enthusiastic "NEIGH!" from marley and dirty looks from all the childless people lounging around the pool. what you don't get pumped and yell out loud when you see a horse?

later, our friends, dan, denise, and their daughter ava, met us to do wine tasting at a couple of wineries. yum! marley got to climb a tree and push ava around in her stroller.

here were are after dinner.

the next day, we drove to calistoga, which is spa-country. travis and i got massages and all three of us took dips in the hot springs pool.

as for the gorgeous wedding ceremony -- which was held at a winery at the top of a mountain -- marley and i spent much of it walking around the parking lot because she is...well...a toddler. i did manage to sneak in this pretty shot of the ceremony while van distracted her.

she was the hit of the reception, though -- dancing, flirting ... you name it.

for more wine country and wedding pics, click here.

Corn, Cheebs, and Some Strange Noises...

2006-08-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

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here's marley partying with her corn and chatting away during dinner. there's a pretty hilarious moment midway through that you may or may not catch...i'll just leave it at that.

she will turn 18 months in september and we're celebrating with a doctor's visit and some shots. woohoo!

before then, though, she will be seeing wine country for the first time as we tour napa and attend our friends adam and anna's wedding. this will bring to a close our summer o' weddings.

for fall, we have daycare two days a week (with how attached marley's been to mommy lately, that should be a treat for the both of us) and a movement/gymnastics class. can't wait to see how marley deals with the trampoline.

in the meantime, enjoy the little slice of life at the vollmerhausens.

No Exercise For You Daddy!

2006-08-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

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so, marley's latest thing is that if she's in the room, there's no way you're doing anything except playing with her, especially if what you want to do involves being at her eye level --like doing situps.

check out travis' attempts to get some semblance of a workout in one recent afternoon.

"Doesn't She Know to Use Her Inside Voice?"

2006-07-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

this past weekend, marley got to see what life will be like once she's able to speak english and walk without randomly eating it at least 10 times a day. my grad school roommate, heather,came to visit with her four-year-old daughter, olivia.

marley was smitten with olivia, but olivia...not so sure about marley. liv,already a little lady, couldn't quite get into marley's lack of social graces. from smearing food on her face to her refusal to use her "inside voice" to her overall motor skill deficiency, liv did not know what to make of this little...thing! here's the two girls chillin'. feel the love!

little do they know that they shared a lot of firsts on this visit -- first ride on the metro, first time on an escalator...we figure once marley's three and olivia is six, they'll be the BFFs.

more importantly, the two mommies had a blast and got to bust out some old-school pictures from their party-girl days and say over and over to each other, "can you REALLY believe this is our life now?"

for more pics click here and here.

Yay! I Love the Beach!

2006-07-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

we spent the fourth in ocean city, which was crowded beyond comprehension. still, we had a blast lounging on the beach, riding amusement park rides, and more.

marley continued her reign as queen of the bedroom. the first night the three of us slept in the one bedroom in our condo. marley woke up at 1 a.m. demanding "da da" to play with her. travis and i lay there stiff as boards hoping and praying she would decide to just go back to sleep. no such luck. half an hour later, we stumbled downstairs -- sleepy and bitter -- to the pullout couch, which remained our bedroom for the remainder of our stay.

the next day, we hung at the beach and took in the sights and sounds (aaaaah) of ocean city. check out the snippet here.

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we also went kayaking, which marley loved. she was getting a kick out of telling all the birds "bye bye," and then proceeded to pass out midway through the trip.

marley missed out on the fireworks (they were delayed due to a storm and she'd passed out by the time they went off at 10:30), but she did enjoy some roast turkey and barbeque beef sandwiches at the park beforehand. beyond the sandwiches, she played the 'gonna getcha' game with her dad for a loooong time. it never gets old for her or travis or anyone watching for that matter. too entertaining.

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for more beach pics, click here.

My Girl Wants to Party All the Time, Party All the Time

2006-06-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

marley had a very busy weekends with not one, but two social events. first, our good friends kim and sam got hitched. the sky was threatening to explode all afternoon, but luckily held out for the ceremony and it only rained on us for a little bit during the reception.

marley was an angel at the wedding. the only peep she made was to periodically point to her father (who was the best man standing up front) and yell 'da da.' she then proceeded to shake her groove thang at the reception with a group of 10-year-old girls. she also forced everyone at the wedding to get into random games of peek-a-boo. how can you deny a 15-month-old a solid game of peek-a-boo?

check out pics here. not enough? more here.

on sunday, our neighbors had a birthday party for their two-year-old daughter, thea. marley housed a cupcake and got to play with winnie the pooh (thea's older sister in yellow bear drag).

more pics here.
we're all exhausted now and looking forward to a quiet night at home.

Just Another Day at the Pool

2006-06-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

had a playdate at the pool with our friends rachel and boone. marley got to test drive her ladybug floater. both kids loved the water and especially enjoyed adult swim when all the little school-age miscreants were forced to exit the pool. the four of us (knowing the lax pool rules at glenwood) stayed in despite the fact that half of our foursome was technically under the age of 18.

i did get to videotape a little of marley's exploits, but then got nervous with her instability. she wants to walk around, but at any moment could face plant (and has). so, check out the snippet below, which is the one shot before i got completely mommyfied. the kid in it is splashing us the whole time and is lucky all he got was from this mommy was a wheaton-style grit.

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more pool pics here.

A Very Savage Father's Day

2006-06-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

spent father's day in savage, maryland. ok...maybe the actual address was jessup, but whatever. the point is, we spent the day on vollmerhausen road. ok, the point is, we spent the day near vollmerhausen road. marley, despite her fear of all things male except for her father, took a liking to her great uncle edwin. maybe it was the resemblance to travis that made her feel at home?

she also took a nasty spill at the picnic. she acts like she's been walking for ten years even though it's only been about a week. her confidence completely surpasses her actual ability. well, you live and you learn

along with periodically injuring herself, marley refused to eat any of the picnic snacks -- her loss. she would have been lovin' life like her little cousin (second cousin? i forget how those things work) if she's partied with some of her great aunt dana's bourbon meatballs. mommy definitely got down with the bourbon balls and a few mike's hard lemonades.

for more vollmerhausen pics, here.

Out of My Way!

2006-06-17T17:02:00.000-07:00

No Golfing for This Family!

2006-06-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

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we spent this past weekend in ponte vedra, florida -- golfing mecca of the world. our good friends, denise and mike, were married in a beautiful ceremony by the ocean. i performed a traditional thai wedding custom of pouring water onto the hands of the newly married couple, which was such an honor!

although none of us actually teed off, we did spend a good amount of time at the beach and in the pool. (we're really solidifying marley's future as an olympic swimmer!) we also got to hang with our friends dan, denise, and their little girl, ava jane.

check out a marley moment at the beach. not enough? more marley beach pics mixed in with wedding pics here.

Doesn't Every Kid Need Her Own Bubble Machine?

2006-06-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

friday afternoons at grandma's are always a party! this past week, marley found herself face-to-face with both a bubble machine, and, from what her daddy reported, the musical stylings of zz top.

what better way to spend a summer afternoon than surrounded by bubbles and some good ol' fashioned cock rock!

check out more marley pics here.

Hey There, Hon!

2006-05-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

spent memorial day at the beach. AND, not just any beach -- ocean city, baby!

we kept it ocean city-real watching soft ball big buddies that played on the fields behind our condo; judging college kids passed out on the beach after an obvious night of raucous partying; and ingesting a grotesque amount of fried, battered, sugared, lathered, greased food.

we managed to shield marley from most of our failure, though, and she stuck with fruits, vegetables, and pasta.

our good friends adam and anna stayed with us and we met up aunt jessica and uncle steve. sunday night, we schooled anna (who is from california) on the art of maryland crab picking with a bushel of crabs. can't wait until marley is sitting there with us picking crabs!

marley loved the sand -- especially scooping it up and depositing it on our towels. she also got a huge kick out of jumping into holes in the sand with her daddy.

we miss the beach already, but are happy to be home where we have already started our ocean city detox with a week-long menu of water, salad, and fish.

for more dub-t fun, click here.

I'm Lovin' Me Some Cupcake

2006-05-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

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had a dinner date/playdate with shira and madeline.

a ball almost had to be removed because the two girls turned into wolverines when it came down to sharing it.

they did get along great during dinner, though, and even fed each other and cheeba some pad thai.

we split some yummy cupcakes from cakelove afterwards. what a treat for not only for the girls, but for shira and me too.

here's marley and madeline post-cupcake, ambling around in what i'm sure was quite the sugar high.

note madeline taking off with the much-coveted mini basketball. ha!

I'm a Readin' Fool

2006-05-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

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nevermind that the book is upside down. details, details!

The "Got Your Nose" Game Gone Awry

2006-05-23T18:25:00.000-07:00

mother's day at jessica's house was yummy. to be honest, i still forget (and can't believe) that i'm part of this holiday now.

marley got me a three-hour afternoon nap for mother's day. it was so sweet and thoughtful of her. i couldn't have asked for anything better.

here we're trying to get marley to sit still with gg (her great grandmother). as this picture demonstrates, more times than not, it's impossible to get marley to do anything except for what marley wants to do.

i guess i shouldn't be surprised...she is her mother's daughter.

we did get some nice shots a little while later, which you can see here.

Oooooooh....woooooow....

2006-05-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago, we attempted to shift marley to one nap a day while giving her a little taste of the great outdoors. the whole time we were hiking around great falls she looked like all she wanted was her stuffed pig, oinky, and the comforts of her crib.

luckily, she held it together for the outing, but shortly thereafter we reverted to the dual nap strategy.

here it looks like she and travis are having a "deep thoughts" moment, but really, she's about to pass out.

more pics of our trek to great falls are here.

Just Me & My Mommy

2006-05-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

The Cell Phone Debacle of 2006

2006-05-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

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Run, Daddy, Run!

2006-05-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

we're here to confirm that the suburban baby jog/bike mobile gets the party started. marley loves going on runs w/ her pops and yelling baby obscenities at fellow joggers and bikers that get in their way.

The Playdate

2006-05-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

also known as forcing your kid to be friends with people he/she doesn't know (and may not like), we have the ever-popular international sport of suburban mommies everywhere -- The Playdate.

marley and i do playdates all the time. this particular one was with my friend shelly and her daughter kylie. marley was in a really affectionate mood and wanted to hug kylie the whole time. marley's hugs can sometimes come off a little...aggressive (note the wild 'hug me' look on her face in the photo above). i actually winced a couple of times when she tackled little kylie, who, incidentally, was not feeling marley's love at all.

so, i ended up spending most of The Playdate protecting kylie from marley, while simultaneously pissing off my hug-happy kid.

if one playdate pic isn't enough for you, click here.

Dogs, dogs everywhere!

2006-05-23T11:58:00.000-07:00

a month ago, while travis was woopin' it up in baltimore at a bachelor party, marley and i spent a gloriously wholesome day at a petting zoo in ellicott city, md. they really should call petting zoos, goat zoos. i think there were 25 goats there and a random pig and horse.

it didn't matter, though. they were all dogs to marley. in my tortured attempts to teach marley sign language, i emerged with one victory -- the sign for dog. simply stick your tongue out and pant.

i think marley nearly hyperventilated, wildly panting with every goat (and single pig and horse) sighting.

here's marley doing her mommy proud with the one sign she's got firmly under her belt. actually, there weren't any animals around us at the time, so i'm thinking she's doing it to the random guy taking our picture. i guess humans are dogs now too?

click here to check out more pictures of marley, goats, her dog sign, and our further adventures in howard county.

Mom, How Could You?

2006-05-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

isn't one of the beautiful things about having kids is that you can put them in ridiculous getups and laugh your a%$ off? i know marley will have her revenge on me one day, but for now, i'm having a good ol' time.

Poo! Easter Sucks

2006-05-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

marley may only be one, but she's already a tomboy. it's a rarity that you'll catch girlfriend in a dress. but, we decided to strap one on her for easter. she wasn't exactly feeling it, to say the least. we figured, hey, if there's a time in your life that you're able sport a getup with a huge band of smocking around your chest, an enormous rounded collar around your neck, and a huge bow the size of your entire body cinching your waist...

she gave me and travis dirty looks all night as she attempted to crawl around in her big ol' easter dress. we ended up tying the skirt part of her ensemble up around her waist so she could maneuver around more freely. hey, if there's a time in your life that you can get away with pulling your dress up to your waist because it's getting on your nerves...

Steady as She Goes

2006-05-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

marley is totally down with dancing and she is especially digging the new raconteurs tune these days. turn up the volume and check out her sweet moves...

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Marley's "So Big" Video

2006-05-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

since we seem to be sorely lacking in our knowledge of cutesy children's songs and games, we really rely on grandma to teach marley (and us) those fun little diddies. if it were up to us, all marley would be exposed to would be inappropriate southern rap (dad), pop music designed to halt all positive growth and development (mom), and ridiculous dance moves from the '80s, like the cabbage patch (mom).

marley's fav thing to do lately, which provides endless hours of entertainment for her and us, is the "so big" game. for those of you not familiar, check out the video. i mean, i know she's my kid, but it's pretty f'in cute.

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Look Ma, No Hands!

2006-05-22T19:09:00.000-07:00