Maren and Mike

Fun in November

2009-11-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

Playing with Mama

Looking for trouble...

...which can be found just about everywhere. Trying to walk in Dad's birthday boots.

Playing "look what we found at the market!"

Running around the kitchen with a bag over her head, and bumping into walls.

When she's particularly mischievous we bring out the Wild Thing horns.

It's getting increasingly difficult to get nice pictures of her, because when we ask her to smile (for the camera) she makes this goofy winking face.

And a belated Halloween pic from the gorgeous carousel at the Denver zoo.

Halloween

2009-10-31T19:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

We took Linnea and Lander to a 'trunk or treat' with our playgroup. Linnea discovered a love of pretzels, and spent lots of time roaring like a lion. Lander discovered the benefits of following clumsy kids around who are trying to eat and walk at the same time. Everyone wins!

Visiting the lion house at Boo at the Zoo.

September and October

2009-10-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

We went to Estes Park in September for a Niemack Family reunion.

Linnea and Minna playing with Cousin Max (who was in Italy)

Hiking with Great Aunts Susan and Judy.

Hanging with the family.

Mike's cousin Tom came to visit in September and we hiked to the top of Bear Peak and South Boulder Peak.

Oooh, cinnamon rolls!

Our favorite goofball.

Relaxing at an outdoor concert in Boulder.

Enjoying the last days of summer at the pool

Linnea would not take off her green sandals and bathrobe. Quite a combo!

She had lots of fun playing in the fountains.

But once she discovered the slide it was all over (for Mom and Dad anyway, who had to spend the next hour making sure she didn't go down headfirst/backwards/standing up, etc.)

Meeting her friend Jessie's horse.

Class of 2030? (Actually, we're going to have to root for Amherst...)

Oh my goodness - a hat!

Playing in a box with a friend of Uncle Tyler's

Grandma Mary Jane came to visit in October, and we went on a hike to Lost Lake in the Indian Peaks Wilderness with Tyler and Caitlin

Linnea has finally decided she likes her sunglasses - and adores her mittens!

Playing with Grandma at the lake

Hydration is key!

California

2009-10-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

On our way back from Yosemite we stayed in California for a few days

We stayed with Mike's sister Elisa, her husband Scott, and their daughter Minna (8 mos), and also met up with some friends from Princeton and their new son Zander.

We were treated to lots of Scott's amazing cooking!

At our friends Jeff and Maureen's wedding in Monterey.

Linnea's first first birthday party, at her Great Aunt Pam and Great Uncle Peter's house in Palo Alto. She was astounded by the strawberry shortcake.

And made short work of it!

The birthday girl, Dad, and Aunt Elisa

Linnea's First Birthday

2009-10-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

Linnea turned one! (Almost two months ago...sorry for the photo delay!)

We had a luau with tons of ono Hawaiian food including manapua, mac salad, and poi.

Lots of Linnea's family and friends came to celebrate, including Pippi, Auntie Laura, Gramps, Uncle Tyler, and Auntie Kaylie

Hauoli La Hanau!

Linnea was shocked that we let her eat a frosting-covered cupcake. Yum!

At the playground with Pippi.

On the slide with uncle Tyler.

Swings are her favorite!

Ru couldn't come, but he sent Linnea a beautiful haku, a baby lei, and a grass skirt.

She was kind enough to wear them (for a little while anyway).

Presents!!

More pics from Linnea's birthday week

2009-10-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

Linnea and Pippi playing at the Dushanbe Teahouse.

Who is that cute baby in the mirror?

The Wild Thing eats dinner.

Shaka!

Femme fatale in training? She's already mastered the look...

Linnea's favorite birthday present was a wagon from her great-grandmother Ani. She started out cautiously, but pretty soon she was trucking down the sidewalk with a brand-new sense of independence!

Then she learned how to run, which terrified her parents.

Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park

Auntie Laura was a trooper!

Dad, Linnea, and Aunt Kaylie taking a break.

Peekaboo!

Yosemite

2009-08-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

We spent a week camping in Yosemite just before Linnea's first birthday. She was a great camper, and seemed to really enjoy it!

In front of Yosemite Falls.

Dad spent the second day river rafting the rapids, while Linnea and I hiked to a pretty lake and went swimming.

It was tough to get Linnea to nap in the tent at first, especially since she quickly realized she could get our attention by waving at us through the mesh, which invariably cracked us up. But she got the hang of it eventually!

She spent her afternoons working in the coal mines to make us a little extra money.

Linnea and Mom at Glacier Point, with Half Dome in the background.

She has learned to make a very silly face when she's tired of us taking photos of her. It works!

Having a picnic at Glacier Point.

Half dome in the sunset.

Where to next? Linnea 'helping' us pack for our backpacking trip.

What were we thinking? All of the stuff we had to carry for our four-day backpacking trip. And it was bear country (as we quickly learned in person) so we had to bring bear canisters for everything, including the diapers!

Linnea decided to have a snack while Mom and Dad packed the backpacks.

All loaded up!

And we're there! Our gorgeous campsite at Upper Cathedral Lake.

Linnea gave her seal of approval!

And promptly took a nap.

Goofing around in the tent.

Our campsite from across the lake.

We stayed there for four days and did dayhikes from there, including this one out towards Yosemite Valley. The wildflowers were beautiful.

Linnea loves to steal and put on Mom's and Dad's sunglasses, but refuses to wear her own!

Contemplating a pinecone.

Playing at camp.

We taught her to scrub the cooking pots. She was a quick study!

Marmot!

More wildflowers on the way up Echo Peak.

The view from almost-the-top of the peak.

Picnicking at Budd Lake.

Linnea's little friend.

The happy adventurer!

Hugging Mom.

The whole family.

Linnea slept the whole way home.

Exploring Cathedral Lake.

Trying to eat the grass...

Dad swimming in Cathedral Lake...with a monster thunderstorm/hailstorm brewing in the background!

Reading bedtime books after a (very) long day!

More pictures of our gorgeous surroundings.

Sunrise at Cathedral Lake on our last morning (Nea was kind enough to ensure that we were almost always up by this beautiful time).

Minnesota

2009-08-16T20:16:00.001-07:00

In July we went to Minnesota for my Uncle John's memorial service. It was a very sad reason to go, but good to see the family, especially Linnea's two most recent cousins that are both within six months of her age. Unfortunately none of us remembered to take a photo of the trio!

Linnea 'sharing' her rocks with her cousin Madison at the lake.

Steamboat Springs

2009-07-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Steamboat Springs for the 4th of July. We found a great spot to watch the Steamboat Parade. Linnea enjoyed watching the action.

But liked eating her toes even more.

She may be cute...

...but here comes trouble!

Linnea's first rodeo. Future cowgirl?

Coors, Dad? Really?? I thought you had taste.

Hey, this actually fits me.

Perfect!!

Linnea discovers that grated cheese is pure bliss.

But it's hard to figure out how to get it inside your mouth!

Ptthbt.

In the end she decided to wash it all down with one big chug.

But was still covered in cheese!

This is Zeeba at air traffic control, wishing Pippi and Ru a good trip!

Summer Fun

2009-07-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

We took Linnea swimming at Boulder Reservoir, which is as close as you get to a beach in the middle of the Rockies!

The 'sand' was quite a success, in spite of being useless at making sand castles!

Standing all by herself!

Linnea has developed a frightening obsession with mouthing beer bottles.

And appears to have also perfected the drunken stumble (but I assure you, she's never actually tasted a drop!)

But she's ready to be the Official Spokesperson of Boulder Beer (in another 20 years).

Backpacking!

2009-06-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

Linnea's first backpacking trip! She had her very own set of long underwear, and baby smartwool socks.

Riding the Daddy Pony around camp = endless fun.

Dinnertime! The little lounger ate like a horse.

And then had Muppy for dessert.

We could never leave without Muppy!

It was pretty chilly (almost 10,000 ft) so Linnea had to wear a snowsuit to bed! She wasn't thrilled, but it was totally adorable.

Early morning exercises in the forest.

Stealing Mom's sunglasses at Crater Lake (a favorite pastime).

Lander the Amazing Pack Dog, who carried all of his own stuff plus most of our water. He's also (slowly) getting used to everyone we pass laughing at his sunglasses.

Linnea learns to drink from a nalgene!

Practicing her hunt seat equitation on a log. Look at that balance!

'Hey, why aren't we getting anywhere?'

Flying!!

2009-06-18T14:55:00.000-07:00

Mike and Linnea took a quick trip to Pasadena for Bob's 60th Birthday Baseball BBQ Bash, where they had lots of fun!

Linnea finally got to meet (and play with) with her cousin Minna, who is six months old.

We also had a wonderful visit from our friend Kate, who lives in New York. We went on a beautiful hike in Rocky Mountain National Park.

The happy hikers!

She especially enjoyed watching the bold squirrels.

2009-06-02T19:19:00.000-07:00

Baby performance art

'What do you mean I can't chew on the paint? You're ruining all my fun!'

Fortunately, all misunderstandings were cleared up with a nice warm bath.

Having fun can be exhausting!

Gramby and Ann came to visit on Memorial Day weekend, and we went to the Boulder Creek Fair on a very rainy Sunday afternoon.

And on a beautiful spring hike...

...to check nestboxes.

We found eggs!

Goofing around with Gramby.

Poor Lander has been diagnosed with a degenerative eye disorder that's accelerated by sunlight. Now he has to sport 'doggles' whenever he's outside.

At first he tried to rub them off on anything (or anyone) within reach, but now he seems to accept them as just another important part of being my Trusty Research Assistant. Like pack guarding. Especially if it has cheese in it.

'Hey, move it along here!!'

'That's better.'

Future scientist?

2009-05-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Pippi!! Love, the Birthday Elf

Linnea started talking a few weeks ago. She says Mama, Dada, dog, and Lander (which might actually have been her first word, although I'm sort of pretending that Mama came first).

Now the only time she's quiet is when she's stuffing things into her mouth!

Look what arrived in the mail!

She's also crawling (finally) and cruising, and is especially fond of making her own walkers out of whatever she can find around the house. Here comes trouble!

Linnea's first kiddie pool experience.

It was a little chilly, but she had fun!

Examining her name day card from Pippi and Ru.

Uh oh...is Linnea picking up on her parents caffeine addiction?

Looks like it!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

Linnea's day care teachers learned that she loves to finger paint.

So for Mother's Day, I set her up and let her pick the colors for her first piece.

Then, she focused all her attention on making a second one with the rest of the colors.

Maybe a future artist?

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in our family!
Love, Linnea, Michael, and Maren

Linnea's first tooth!

2009-05-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

I forgot to add this photo showing Linnea's first tooth!

She's no longer the "toothless wonder"!

April and Early May

2009-05-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

Linnea and Lander have been bonding more lately...

... especially over their mutual desire to chew on toys.

Linnea loves standing up on her changing table after her nightly baths,

and she often appears to be trying to climb up the texture on the wall.

Tyler stayed with us for a week before heading to Orcas to work on Mom and Bruce's new house.

He and Linnea had a lot of fun together.

Linnea learns about ...

She uses her jumper less frequently lately, but she still loves it sometimes.

Linnea tries out her great, great grandmother's cookie recipe, which were sent by grandma Mary Jane.

She loves them!

Just a few days ago Linnea started standing up with no support for a few seconds at a time, but we haven't quite gotten it on camera yet.

Linnea pops mom's bubbles from dad's lap.

POP!

Mmmmmm ... avocado, cheese, and pasta ... best meal ever.

I am the walrus!

2009-04-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

Linnea's first pasta! Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Enjoying the toasty pool at the Steamboat Hot Springs

Linnea used to get a tiny bit overwhelmed by swimming

although she's always been a fan of a nice, warm, post-swim shower with Dad.

She has been in swim lessons for a month now, and has turned into a fish!

She will jump off the side of the pool and dunk all the way under water. I think she's almost ready to learn how to surf.

Yum!

Sporting an impressive bed head!

2009-04-26T18:04:00.000-07:00

Linnea looking pensive.

Attack of the sweet potatoes!

And finally, some long-lost pics from Hawaii: Linnea and Pippi

and with her Auntie Mary.

2009-03-06T11:53:00.000-08:00

Nene and Nenes! After lots of searching, we finally found a pair at Volcano, who even obliged us with a photo.

Linnea in hysterics over Pippi's ka-chooo game.

Sorting items at our departure from Volcano - Kea stays, Nea goes...

Snoozing in Honolulu in preparation for the red-eye home.

She was a remarkably cheery traveler!

Volcano and Black Sands Beach

2009-03-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

After the parties we flew to Hilo to visit Volcano.

Linnea rediscovered Grandpa Ru and his tasty glasses!

Kea the cat was not thrilled to see an intruder sleeping in her spot.

The Volcano Cottage has officially become a Nene Crossing.

Linnea contemplates which of the resident stuffed animals to steal from Pippi!

And rediscovers Mom's old Fisher Price toys.

Linnea tried poi, the staple Hawaiian baby food. She seemed to concur with most mainlanders on it's taste.

On our last day there we went to Black Sands Beach.

Linnea saw her first green sea turtle!

...of the non-stuffed variety anyway.

2009-03-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Maren and Linnea are in Hawaii celebrating Linnea's great-grandmother Ani's 90th birthday. We spent the first five days staying with Ani in Honolulu.

Linnea met her godmother Pam and her cousin Liana.

Linnea and her great aunts Sharon and Pam were all born on August 3rd!

Linnea's new favorite game is stealing Ru's glasses.

She was fascinated by the fish at the Waikiki Aquarium.

And now she has her very own mini-fish tank!

Posing with Pippi.

"Hey, that camera looks yummy!"

"See Mom, no teeth!"

Linnea and Pippi goofing around at the family party.

Having lunch with Ru...

and Pippi!

Linnea wore a beautiful pikake and rosebud lei to Ani's birthday party.

The Birthday Girl and Judge Frances Wong.

It's hard to believe she's 90 years young!

Linnea eating apples and laughing

2009-02-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

When we were recently traveling to Princeton, we took all Linnea's clothes off before feeding her, so that there was less laundry to wash. She adjusted to wearing nothing but her giant pink bib and a diaper quite well, and would mostly just sit on the bed with her hands at her sides, then dive towards every bite of food that we offered her until she was full. Sometimes she made adorable grunting sounds like a little monster attacking the food on the spoon.

Linnea thought that Maren doing the Mission Impossible soundtrack was absolutely hilarious! She had already been laughing for a few minutes by the time I got my phone out and started recording.

2009-02-12T19:32:00.001-08:00

In January, Linnea and Kelly went with Maren to a conference she had in Boston. They found lots of fun things to do while Mom was away!

Linnea is really starting to enjoy reading books. Especially when it allows her to put off her bedtime!

Hanging upside down is another favorite.

Sitting up on her new jungle playmat!

2009-02-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

We took the little reindeer skiing for New Years.

She rode all the way to the top of Keystone Mountain on the gondola.

Future skier - or snowboarder?

Pippi and Linnea played at the mid-mountain lodge while Mom and Dad got to go skiing!!

Having fun on New Years Eve.

On the way home we finally got a sprinkling of snow for the last remaining Hawaiian in town! It didn't last long.