Molly's Wagon

A little Christmas video...Molly taking a ride in her FAVORITE present, a wagon from G-ma and G-pa Smoko. Enjoy!

Patience Molly...one more day!

Molly, please stay out of the gifts until Christmas Day! And please leave the bows on the gifts where they belong, not on your head!

Duckie Hat, Part 2

See, I told you one day I would like my duckie hat!!!!

For some reason, Molly thinks that every time you take her picture, she needs to do "So Big". Or maybe she just got that I was trying to capture how big she is getting tonight during this photo session. Molly had ALL big people food tonight for dinner (meat balls, fruit and carrots). It is so funny to see her eat real food, like a big girl! She LOVES to eat and for the most part, will eat anything.

To My Daddy....

Hi Daddy! Thought you would like to hear from me. I love you and I miss you and I can't wait to see you in less than 2 weeks. I don't know how long that is but Mommy says it's not that long. Study hard! Love, Molly

I love my penguin slippers

When Molly was born, her aunt Nancy and uncle Robert sent her these penguin slippers. I laughed and laughed at how cute they were and how I could not believe they would ever fit her. Lo and behold, 9 and a half months later, they fit her like, well, like a slipper! They are so cute and she is so funny trying to walk in them. Inevitably, one always falls off but she thinks they are so funny.

Thanksgiving '08

The weekend is not officially over, but it is in my book. Matt left this morning for his three week stint in Miami. We decided that neither he, nor I, could EVER survive him being in the military. I don't know how my cousin Jayne does it with THREE kids and a dog with a husband in the military who was gone for MONTHS at a time. Jayne, if you are reading this, tips?

Molly survived her first thanksgiving. She met the rest of the Begel clan who came in from California and her uncle Alex and her "cousin" Ryan who came in with Amy from the East Coast. Despite her getting what seems to be some more teeth (as she pulled the same puking shananagins as last time) she was really good all weekend. She tolerated us taking her place to place trying to capture the best picture for the pending Christmas card. We were successful...you'll see in a couple weeks!

Matt and I enjoyed a night in with our good friends Dan, Bridget, their little girl Lauren who is not so little anymore, Jenn, John, Emily, Brian and then a quick visit with little Lilla (Jenn and John's daughter). We abruptly left Starbucks fearing Molly was going to get sick again. So far, nothing, just lethargy, LOTS of sleeping and little eating. Oh well....what fun would it be for Mommy if Molly didn't get sick while Daddy is away!!!

We really can't wait for Christmas as that means Matt will be home and these three weeks will have flown by. Enjoy some pics of Molly from the weekend.

Molly Scoots

Look out...she's got wheels!!

Love my new toy mom!!


I know, I am SO cool and SO cute.


What?! I can also use this thing to walk? Oh, I'm outta here!!

Not only does she have wheels, but she has teeth. Which would explain her behavior the last couple of days. Molly has learned to officially crawl, pull herelf up to a standing position and the other day, I noticed her two bottom teeth sitting right there, just waiting to cut through. So, in an attempt to appease her desire to take off and walk (apparently she thinks she has mastered crawling after 5 days) I bought her this little toy. Needless to say, she LOVES it. She even tolerates me helping her as long as thinks she can "walk" around. Yet again, I have video, but am doing something wrong and can't post it. Matt comes home tonight...all will be better:)

Still lots happening here....

Never a dull moment around here...Molly threw up for the first time yesterday. OK...maybe that is not blog material, but if this is meant to capture all the major moments in her life, well, this was MAJOR. Don't worry, I did not capture it, I was too worried about her, the floors she puked on (not ours) and what to do next. Needless to say, she has not gotten sick since but has not been herself. I read that teething can cause vomiting so I am just going to go with that.

On a less gross note, Molly now does "so big" and I captured it on camera during dinner tonight. She also was sneaking around trying to find her x-mas presents that came in this big box, and I caught her!! Silly girl...she needs to learn to be more inconspicuous than that!!! Definetly taking after her mommy in more ways than one (I have been known to snoop for the occasional present and Dee-Dee reminded me that I, too, had been known to get sick randomly when I was little). Can't wait for Daddy to come home!!!!4 days and trying NOT to count.

Lots Happening Here at the Smoko House

So many new things....

1. Molly has crawled, however is not officially crawling.
2. Tonight, I put Molly to bed and a few minutes later heard her yelling. Not crying, but yelling. I went in. She was STANDING in her crib, had thrown her pacifier and had a HUGE smile on her face. While I did think this was oh so cute, I could not encourage this behavior so I just laid her down and tucked her back into bed. The whole time, I was nearly bursting that my little baby was standing in her crib looking like she was about 3.
3. Molly and I are fairing quite well while Dad is at training, loving the new airline he is working for. Our morning routine involves me getting up and getting ready and then getting Molly up. She gets propped on the bed with a bottle (see picture) and feeds herself breakfast while I make mine and then join her on the bed. Together, we watch the news and prepare for our day...I think about how I am going to handle teenagers with attitudes and she thinks about pulling Gordon's ears, rough housing with Papa, jumping and spitting.

Forgot to Post

A few weeks ago, before Halloween, the Bodendein family and the Smoko family went to the Family Farm up in Cedarburg for some fall fun. We had a great time, as evidenced by Charlie's face walking on to the tractor for a hay ride to the pumpkin patch. Molly loved eating hay and Matt loved the old tractor in the barn.

Indoor Water Park Fun!!!!

As a little family vacation before Matt leaves for training, we went down to Illinois to Keylime Cove, indoor water park. We had a great time. Molly was a little overwhelmed I think, but she got into it eventually. The lazy river was her favorite while Matt and I liked the big water slides the best. They were actually pretty cool! Here Molly is showing her trepedation as we head down the lazy river....her paci was not in her mouth the whole time, just during times of overwhemling trepedation...like when Matt dunked her udner a waterfall than sent her into hysterics!!!

7 kids and counting!!!

I can't believe it. My how times have changed. Gone are the days where each Halloween, I would look forward to the annual Lawrence Halloween party. What would J.P be dressed as? Would Jason be showing any private parts? How drunk would Jeff get? Who would be making out with who by the end of the night? Who would announce a wedding? And then who would annouce a baby? No longer are the adults dressing up, but now it is time for the kids to dress up. The 1st annual, little kids party was this year at the Wenger's and it was sureal to say the least. So many kids...7 to be exact and one more little Lawrence on the way, joining the chaos in December. Here are the kids, from left to right we have Charlie the golfer holding his little bro Alex on his first Halloween, then we have Ms. Betsy Estill as a pink butterfly/fairy holding her little sister Megan, the monkey, who is hiding in fright at the thought that THESE are her friends for life. Then we have little Ms. Molly as the pumpkin, following in her cousin Charlie's foot steps as he was the same pumpkin for his first Halloween. Then we have Emma "crazy Claire" Lawrence as a giraffe. And last but not least, we have Aidan. Don't let that cute face and those big blue eyes fool you....he can hold his own to a Betsy hug any day!

So that was our night. Lots of "Emma, NO!", and "Charlie, we do not play baseball in other people's houses" and "Betsy, that cake is not yours and you had 5 pieces already" and "Aidan, get our finger out of the baby's eye" and "Molly, please stop whining". It was music to my ears:)

P.S. Not pictured, but who most definetly deserve a shout out are the Bertrand children. Matt's friend John is married to Dana's cousin and Carrie's best friend, Shannon. Their three kids were there, Jake who is 14, Jordan who is 6 (who you can kind of see dressed as a witch in this picture and Max who was Thomas the Train).

Pumpkin Picking with our "Pumpkin"

The last two days have been filled with fun fall activities! A trip over to Humboldt Park provided us with a beautiful backdrop for great fall foliage pictures. Then, on our annual "fall foliage"trip, Molly visited her first pumpkin patch and thought it was oh so cool! She loved the tractor and hay ride too, just like her daddy:) She spent more time trying to eat the dirt and pumkin stalks than pose for pictues, but we managed to snap a few good ones here. Enjoy!

Molly Enjoys the Fall!

Home with Mom

Having a few days off has reminded me how much I like staying home with Molly. But, I am sure by Sunday, I will be ready to go back to work:) Today, Molly and I went for a hike. It was a beautiful fall day and, despite being kind of tired, I think Molly had a great time. I borrowed Jeff and Dana's back pack carrier, threw Molly on my back and off we went. Here is a picture of how cute she looked as a little outdoor girl. The other picture is from the other night. I put Molly in her crib so she could stand and jump. She LOVES jumping therefore she LOVED standing in her crib like this. Thankfully, she doesn't know how to do this by herself yet....but once she does, I fear naptime is going to become very difficult!!

Hey Mom.....don't show everyone my privates!!!!
Eating the keys...getting ready to go to the Brewer's rally. Go Brew Crew!!!
Snuggling with my stuffed dog, Biscuit, whom mommy and daddy got for me from IKEA. They say it's a Christmas present, but I get to play with it now. I think daddy likes it more than me:)

What's with babies and keys??

Molly has been SUPER crabby the last couple days. Not sure if she has a cold or is teething, but she has reverted back to newborn status where she is sleeping every two hours, has a runny nose, NEEDS to be held, and is just all around cranky. BUT....I was able to pacify her for about 1/2 hour with my keys. Not sure why she loves them so much, but give that girl keys or the remote and you could get just about anything done. The other picture is of her, pre-crankiness, sitting on the rocker her great-grandpa made and playing with her teady from Gma....just being cute.

Welcome Cousin Alex!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alexander Cotter Bodendein

Born September 10, 2008 at 7:54 am

Weight: 5 pounds 8 ounces

Length: 18 inches

Enjoy being a big brother Charlie!

You're going to be awesome!

Up...and down.

Swingin' in the Park

It was a beautiful day to go swinging in the park and for a stroll along the lake. Can't wait to try the big swings!