The Merz Family

Tree climbers

2012-02-06T16:32:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful sunny day today. We took the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. Baseball, pogo stick, bikes, scooters and tree climbing. It was great to get outside and soak up some Vitamin D. Can't wait for spring!

Max M - soccer star

2012-02-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

Max has started playing soccer this year. He plays indoor on the Happy Feet team - and loves it. He gets a little worn out at times but all and all enjoys his time on the field.

Max on a breakaway to the goal.

Much needed water break.

Sunny day

2012-01-28T17:35:00.000-08:00

After the sunny day we had today - it made me eager for spring & summer. Found these pictures of Max from last summer at Seabrook - it made me smile.

Sending warm thoughts your way!

Ice Skating

2012-01-21T15:27:00.000-08:00

After a two year hiatus, Maisie is back in ice skating lessons. It took her one lesson to get back into the swing of things. Now she is off and skating - it's like she never took a break!

Max is in his first session of lessons and is not as excited as Maisie. He is doing well and is a quick learner. Today he had his third lesson and is running on the ice and gliding. He says that he isn't taking lessons anymore - but we will see.....

Either way - it's something they can do together - and they are pretty darn cute to boot.

Date with the dinosaurs

2012-01-21T14:52:00.000-08:00

Max and I had a date - a real date - I was even allowed to call it a date today - at the NKY Convention Center. Today we "Discovered the Dinosaurs". Half of the convention center was dinosaur displays. Real looking dinosaurs - he was grinning ear to ear. The other half was set up with the money-makers. So we mined for gems (twice), panned for fossils, excavated dinosaur bones and jumped and played in the "in-float-ables". We ended the day with a purse-ful of treasures and day of memories.

Max and the triceratops. They were one of his favorites.

The T.Rex - his VERY favorite!

Max and the fossil castings of the dinosaur prints.

Mining for gems - so much fun we had to do it twice!

I just wrote a letter to Santa!

2010-11-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

I just wrote a letter to Santa!

For every letter received, Macy's will donate $1 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, up to $1,000,000. Help make wishes come true by writing your own letter to Santa!

Home again - home again - jiggity jig!

2009-08-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

My girl (and I) succeeded in surviving our first day of kindergarten - AND she is going back again tomorrow.

In all seriousness, she had a great day and can't wait to go back and learn more.

First day of kindergarten

2009-08-19T06:07:00.000-07:00

August 19, 2009 ~ Maisie had her first day of kindergarten. She was a little nervous when she got up and wasn't sure she wanted to go but a new dress, matching hairbows and cute pig tails cured her of that. She was too cute to stay home! She got on the bus with her friends from the street and off she went. Two friends have reported that she is already having fun - playing Play-doh and talking to her neighbor at her table. Watch out Mrs. Erwin - you might have a talker on your hands! :o)

Maisie took off up the street towards the bus stop - didn't wait for any of us!

Dani, Maisie, Lola and Frankie - ready for their first day!

Maisie on the bus (under the emergency exit sign). She looks too little to be on the bus....

Oldie - but a cutie

2009-07-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

This picture is from this time last year. I ran across it again and just couldn't resist. Amazing how much they change in a year. Here he looks like a baby still - now he is all little boy!

More freckles....

2009-04-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love my girl and that small sprinkle of freckles on her nose. I have no idea where she got them from - oooohhh but I love them!!

Maisie's Gift from SC

2009-04-20T19:04:00.001-07:00

This is the gift Maisie received from GG and Dude from their recent trip to Charleston. She LOVES it!! It hangs off the top bunk - right above where she sleeps.

My Freckle Nose Girl

2009-04-20T19:01:00.000-07:00

A day at the lake

2009-04-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of the beautiful day today to spend some time with the Merz family at the lake. It was sunny and 75 with not a cloud in the sky. A perfect day for the first pontoon boat ride of the season. We returned home tonight all with a little sun and all worn out from the fun day.

Natalie and Max keep an eye out from Grandma and PaPa's deck

Max-man loves trucks!

My beautiful Maisie-may. Doesn't she look so sweet and innocent?

FWL Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

The 2nd Annual FWL Easter Egg hunt was the Saturday before Easter. We had an Easter Egg hunt for all the kids on our street and breakfast after. The morning was beautiful - but a little chilly... It was a great start to our Easter weekend!

Maisie shows off one of her many eggs!

Max-man - Easter Egg hunter on a mission.

As many of you know, my Max is all boy. 110% rough. He squeals with excitement when he finds an Easter egg. This squeal is so high pitched - it pierces your ear drums. It is the cutest thing when my little man squeals like a little girl over a plastic egg!

My little dare devil

2009-04-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

Max-man LOVES his Tonka truck! What boy doesn't!?! Here he is riding it backwards down the hill toward the shed / woods. At least Daddy is at the bottom ready to catch him.....

1st day of pre-school

2008-09-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

Today Maisie had her first day of pre-school. I can't believe my baby is already in school! Here she is in the morning before we left for school. I asked her to look at me and smile - this is the pose she came up with.

She had a great day - made bear ears, a kissing hand for me and had goldfish and apple juice for snack. She apparently liked it b/c she said she is going back tomorrow!

An attempted photo shoot at the beach

2008-08-28T19:22:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to have pictures of my family at the beach - playing in their cute little clothes in the sand. So, off to the beach we go. As per usual - Maisie was a complete ham and Max wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get more than one frame at a time.

One of the cute ones - Maisie hamming it up and trying to hold Max still for 2 seconds.

Caught in the moment - walking on the beach - playing to the camera when a wave catches her by surprise.

Ooh wee - look at that booty!

He was swimming in a regular diaper and it was weighing him down - so off with it. Next year we are going to have to buy that boy a Speedo - look at that tan line!

What a beautiful night - makes it really hard to pack up and leave in a few days. :o(

One of my favorites.

2 days in Charleston

2008-08-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

We spent Tuesday and Thursday seeing the sights in Charleston - one of our favorite cities to explore. Mommy's favorite place is the Market - a great place to shop and Daddy's favorite place is anything historic. On Tuesday we went to the Market, a waterfront park with a fountain, Battery Park and ended the day having dinner on the pier at Folly Beach. Thursday we drove around Sullivan Island and Isle of Palms when GG was shopping at the bead store. We did a boat tour of Charleston Harbor and went to the Market - again. We ended our day in Charleston at the Noisy Oyster for dinner. We had a great time and were sad to cross the bridge away from Charleston. See you again next year!

Max aboard the harbor cruise.

Daddy's little taste of history - Fort Sumter where the first shot of the Civil War was fired

The USS Yorktown at Patriot's Point

A Charleston tradition - dinner at the Noisy Oyster and a HUGE piece of chocolate cake for Maisie. Her eyes are always bigger than her stomach but she has a great time trying - and sharing her delicious cake!

The waterfront park and the fountain for children to play in. Maisie is holding her dress up b/c I asked her not to get her dress wet as she didn't have any other clothes. Not a drop on it!
My favorite house in Charleston - on the corner of Battery Park and Charleston Harbor - the best of both worlds.
Maisie, Max and Daddy playing on a stack of cannon balls at battery park.
Max has never met a stranger. Here is loving on two bulldogs in Battery park. I guess he misses his Lucy.

Fun at the beach

2008-08-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

The sun came out today - long enough for us to spend about 3 straight hours at the beach. Max fell asleep on the ride to the beach and slept for about an hour on Dude's beach chair. Maisie wasted no time getting into the ocean and playing in the waves. We all had a great time!

One of my favorite pictures of the day - my two boys.

Maisie and Max play in the hole GG dug for them.

Nap time - island style.

Maisie playing the waves. She had a blast!
Brian and Maisie in the ocean.

Max warms up to the ocean. Yesterday he was not a fan of the ocean - loved the sand at the beach - just not the water. He would run from the water as the tide came in.

Fun at the park!

2008-08-21T09:12:00.001-07:00

Maisie, Max, Megan (aka Megan from the late, aka Patrick's Megan) and I went to the park near our house to play and take a few pics. Enjoy!

Fall Soccer Begins!

2008-08-21T08:58:00.001-07:00

A new soccer season is already upon us. Maisie is a member of the YMCA Black Panthers along with most of her team mates from the spring Yellow Jackets team. You will see a new addition to her soccer friends - neighbor Frankie "Dash" Salzarulo. He is so fast and so fun to watch!

Here Maisie puts some leather on the ball. After she kicks it - she is turns and waves to me to make sure I saw that she kicked the ball. We are working on her being more aggressive...

Frankie leads the pack. The others couldn't catch him.

Frankie scored the Panther's only goal. That smile is sheer excitement and totally priceless!

Almost as good as juice and snacks after the game is the parent tunnel. The parents join hands and make a tunnel for the kids to run through as we are cheering for them. They love it - so much so that several just run back and forth through the tunnel.

Air Max

2008-07-18T06:36:00.001-07:00

Max likes to watch the big boys on our street play basketball. He knows that it involves a ball (his favorite word!) but he just can't figure out how to get the ball up that high.

Max has gotten so big so fast - this reminds me that he still has a lot of growing yet to do.
~ AIR MAX ~

Fun at the lake!

2008-07-18T06:25:00.001-07:00

We spent the 4th of July and most of the week after at Lake Williamstown. We had a great week with our friends and family!

Max swimming - he isn't quite the fish his sister was at this age but he is working on it!

Maisie takes a break from swimming to color on the dock.

Lucy jumps off the dock after a stick. She LOVES to swim.

Clean up after a fun day by taking a bath in the sink at the Merz house. Anyone recognize this baby from 30 years ago?!?

After our fun week we were ready to get back home - we packed so much stuff we barely had room for poor Lucy!

1st birthday bash

2008-06-23T19:37:00.001-07:00

Saturday, June 21 - we celebrated Max's first birthday with friends and family. Thank you to all that came and celebrated with us. It does get a little crazy here but you being with us means the world!

Max rides his excavator with some of his loot in the background.

Start of a new tradition - my children with each of their God parents on their birthday.

Max with God father Barrett

Max man with God mother Kim

Welcome to my blog - Cooper John. Kim's newest addition born April 30. He is going to be giving his brother Carson some competition for blog time. :o) Yes, Craig, you can steal this one too....

Happy 1st Birthday Max!

2008-06-18T20:02:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, June 17 ~ Max turns 1! We can't believe it has been a year already. How time flies.... The first of many celebrations as our little man turns 1!

PaPa Merz helps Max open his gift.

Max eyes his cake but mostly the candle....

It took him a while to get into the cake but he finally got into it.

I think he was wearing more than he actually ate!

Happy Birthday Max-man! We love you!

One of my favorite people.....

2008-06-18T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here is one of my most favorite people - other than my own kids - to shoot. And can't you just see why - he is so handsome! Just look at those baby blues....

Love you Carson!

Wigs busted

2008-05-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today we had Maisie's 4 year visit at the pediatrician which entailed 4 shots - not a fun time. Afterwards, Maisie wanted to go to the birthday castle at Johnny's Toy Store and get her pick out of the castle. Then she decided that she wanted to get her hair cut - short. So off to the salon we went for Maisie and Max to get their hair cut. Maisie got about an inch taken off and Max had his first experience with the clippers - they both did great!

Maisie before her appointments

Maisie after her hair cut.

Max with his little man cut. He did great!

Max is walking

2008-05-19T14:30:00.001-07:00

Max has decided that it is time for him to become even more mobile. I guess his "run crawl" is not enough - he is going to walk. He walks with his hands up above his head - not sure why but it is cute!

Maisie is 4!

2008-05-19T14:27:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAISIE!

Aarrgghh!!

2008-05-19T06:09:00.000-07:00

Have you seen a cuter pirate? I will let these photos speak for themselves - WHAT A CUTIE!!

I will say the last pic is my favorite of my God son - Carson Hinkel.... As soon as I get more time, I will black and white some of these (the last one especially) and do another post.

A pirate and princess party!

2008-05-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 10 we celebrated Maisie's 4th birthday with a pirate and princess dress up party. She is so into dressing up and the Disney princesses - we figured this party was the perfect one for her!

Maisie and Kathleen realize they are both Sleeping Beauty as Cinderella Lola stands by.

A few of the F.W. Lane princesses: Lola, Maisie and Kendall

Pirate Max man

Happy Birthday to my girl!

A fun day was had by all. Now time to start planning for my little man's first birthday....

Zach and Danielle's Wedding

2008-05-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

On Friday, April 25 - their 3 year anniversary - Zach and Danielle re-newed their vows this time in the Catholic church. Maisie was their flower girl and after the wedding told me that she will be Danielle's flower girl next time she gets married - wonder what Zach has to say about that..... :o)

Maisie, Brian and Max at the reception. Maisie and Daddy are ready to dance and Max is ready to eat!

Maisie and cousin Amy on the dance floor. Maisie didn't leave the dance floor too much that night.
~Zach, Danielle, Dude and GG~

April 25th is their anniversary too - 33 years this year.

Thanks for a great day - we love you!!

It was a long day for the Merz kids. Max passed out at the reception and Maisie didn't make it out of the parking lot.

Looking forward to the next Gruenwald get together. Rumor has it we are doing an all inclusive some where.....

Dude is 60 - again!

2008-05-19T05:33:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, April 26 we surprised my dad with a cruise on the Ohio River with all of his family and friends. The big surprise was that he turned 60 on February 5th. Here are a couple of pictures from the night...

SURPRISE DUDE!

Here Dude's family and friends wait for him to arrive

My cousin Scott with his nephew Ziga. Scott is the one usually behind the camera.

Paul Brown Stadium at sunset

GABP with the lights on

Catch up...

2008-05-19T05:22:00.001-07:00

So much has happened since I blogged last - so I have some serious catching up to do. Since my last blog - Zach and Danielle got married with Maisie as their stunning flower girl. We surprised Dude with a river boat cruise for his 60th birthday (which was in February) and Maisie turned 4. Max has started walking.

I don't have very many good pictures from the wedding. My cousin Scott is the photog and I knew he would get great shot - I love his work! So we are waiting for his post production work to be completed.... In the mean time, check out this link where you can pre-order his book

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Kansas-City-Missouri/e/9781885435873/?itm=1

http://www.amazon.com/Kansas-City-Photographic-Scott-Reynolds/dp/1885435878/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209923605&sr=1-1

What Max loves....

2008-04-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

There are many things our Max-man loves. Two that are on the top of his list are: meal time and his sister. We haven't found anything yet that he doesn't like to eat. And his sister never fails to bring a smile to his face...

Max - ready to eat!

Maisie sharing one of Max's favorites - Cheerios.

Max wears his yo baby yogurt well.

Here he gets to enjoy two of his favorite things - food and Sissie. Awww Sissie...

This all new picture clarity brought to you by the new "toy" Daddy bought for Mommy - a Nikon DSLR camera. Thanks Brian! Now when Scott comes in to town I really figure out how to use it.....

Swing set as of April 14

2008-04-14T08:42:00.001-07:00

Here is what the swing set looked like this morning. Getting closer....

Looks great Daddy and Dude!!

Pig Pen resides in KY

2008-04-14T08:28:00.001-07:00

GG and Dude bought Maisie and Max a swing set for their birthdays. As you know, our backyard isn't exactly level - which makes swing set installation a bit of a challenge. Dude came over to bury 4x4's to level the swing set. This involved quite a bit of digging and mud. Maisie had fun digging in the dirt - never getting too dirty. Max had fun getting filthy!

Maisie and Max playing in the dirt. Max is probably wondering how that stick will taste.

Dude's best helper. I don't know what he would have done without all of her help!

Max on a mission. I am not sure if he ate or wore more dirt!

He is all boy - which is so different from his girly girl sister.

He had so much fun playing in the dirt.

By the end of the day, the swing set was level and I had two filthy kids. They had so much fun and slept great that night!

Fun at Otterville with the Hinkels

2008-04-14T08:08:00.001-07:00

The Merz and Hinkel kids got some much needed playtime. We have been trying to get everyone together for what seems like months - and Friday it paid off. We spent the day at Toddler's Otterville in Johnny's Toy Store. The kids had a great time!

Max watches Maisie and Kathleen dance their version of ballet. Future prima ballerinas??

Carson had a "ball"!

Maisie and Kathleen loved the slide. It was hard to get them to stop and take this picture.

Max loved the little slide. He did great for his first time!

The mean moms made the girls wait until the end to do face paint.

Here Carson and the girls paint their faces in the long make-up mirror.

What beauties!!

Everyone had a great day and the kids all slept great that night. We will have to do it again soon.

Thanks to the Hinkels for the pictures and for making the trek into the great state of KY. :o)

Princess Flower Girl

2008-02-28T09:27:00.000-08:00

Maisie is very excited that my cousin Zach and his wife Danielle have asked her to be the flower girl in their upcoming wedding. Zach and Danielle were married three years ago in Gatlinburg when he returned from his first tour in Iraq. They are having a Catholic wedding mass and reception on their anniversary this year, April 25th. Here are some pictures of our flower girl dress shopping last week.

This was her favorite dress, when she had it on. When she put the next dress on, it was her favorite too. Hard to blame her, she looks so cute in both of them!

Maisie in "the dress" while Danielle admires her impressive selection of flower girls.

This is the dress that we all agreed on. Lilac sash will match the "big girls" in the wedding. It is also good to know that Maisie will be able to jump in this dress if called upon. She practices by jumping, in her dress, from one platform to the next at the dress store.

The back of the dress (obviously) but have you ever seen a butt bow look so cute?!?

Maisie takes Max for a spin

2008-02-21T08:23:00.001-08:00

Maisie caught Max by the bottom of his jammies and took him for a spin. Check out the video.

Cupid Photos

2008-02-07T08:46:00.000-08:00

I have been slacking of late on our blog - but with good reason. We have been sick - Maisie, Max and I have had colds, Max an ear infection and Maisie pneumonia. We have been focusing on survival - blog takes a back seat. :o)

We are hopefully on the mend and have a couple of cute pictures from yesterday.

Maisie in her Valentine's red that Max bought her for Christmas.

This shirt is so appropriate for him - he smiles and plays shy with all the ladies wherever we are.

Aww Sissie - Max loves to hug his Maisie. The only thing Maisie minds is the "slobber kisses".

Daddy recieved his Valentine a bit early this year - we can never wait with surprises or keep a secret. Brian rated 2 Ariel Valentines and a heart full of peppermints and Dove chocoloates. Daddy better not leave his Valentine unattended - I caught Maisie eating one of his Dove chocolates this morning. She might take after her mother, just a bit!

Max's Tooth

2008-01-08T06:21:00.000-08:00

Finally ~ I was able to get a picture of Max's first tooth. He doesn't usually let people see it but here it is. Documented for all to see. Tooth #2 is almost thru - any time now....

Here is a pic of my two hams this morning. Maisie is such a great big sister!

Maisie's Makeover

2008-01-05T05:25:00.000-08:00

Maisie was cutting paper to make Max a Woody costume (from Toy Story). I left her at the table, scissors in hand, to change Max's diaper. She came running back into Max's room saying that she added some hair to Max's costume. When I asked her why she needed hair, she said "For Woody's shirt" - the fringe I guess. Then I asked her what kind of hair she added to Woody's shirt she replied with "My hair. I just cut it off". Yup - Maisie sacrificed her own hair for a homemade Woody costume for her little brother. She actually did not do a bad job of cutting her own hair. So, now she has bangs. Below is a picture of her cut - no professional fixing required. Maisie will be taking appointments most days of the week - afternoons are not best - nap time.

Max's Milestones

2008-01-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

The holiday season brought two milestones for Max. 1 ~ After months of preparation, on 12/26/07, his first tooth finally broke through. It is his bottom left - bottom right soon to follow.... 2 ~ On, 1/1/08, Max figured out how to officially crawl. He has been mobile for a few weeks via a crawl/scoot combination but he figured out how to move his arms. He is getting to be such a big boy!

Max crawled under his jumper and Maisie just had to pose with him.

Merry Christmas!

2008-01-02T13:13:00.001-08:00

It was a busy but fun holiday season for the Merz family. With Christmas Eve being on a Monday (and Daddy not having to work) - it was like we had 4 days to celebrate - and we took advantage of it. We had the Gruenwald Christmas on Saturday the 22nd. It is always fun to see the Columbus group. Sunday we finished up shopping and wrapping so we could be ready for Monday - Christmas Eve at Grandma and PaPa Merz's house! It was at Grandma and PaPa's that Maisie got her Ariel bike with seashell pedals. She loved her bike and couldn't wait to get outside to ride it - Christmas outfit and all. Christmas day GG, Dude and Aunt Gigi came over for presents and breakfast then it was off to the Nogueira house and then to Oma's. It was a long day but the kids had a blast and we can't wait to do it again next year!

Maisie takes her new Ariel bike for a spin

2007-12-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

This year Kim and I took Maisie, Kathleen, Carson and Max to breakfast with Santa at Boone Links Golf Course. The girls and Carson enjoyed the breakfast and story read by Mrs. Claus. I am sure that Max will enjoy it more next Christmas. Here are some photos from the day.

Maisie and Kathleen are excited to see Santa.

Maisie tells Santa about the Ariel bike with seashell pedals that she is hoping he will bring!

Maisie and Max wait at our house - ready to leave for breakfast.

My Godson - Carson Michael - what a cutie!!

Mmmmmm - breakfast!!

2007-12-10T13:39:00.001-08:00

Our big boy LOVES to eat. Here he enjoys his breakfast - rice cereal and prunes!

Ready to run....

2007-11-30T05:48:00.000-08:00

....or at least crawl! At 5 months old Max has mastered his four point stance. It won't be long now.

First Visit to Santa

2007-11-27T09:39:00.001-08:00

Max had his first visit with Santa with big sister Maisie showing him the ropes. Maisie is very excited for Christmas and is asking Santa for an Ariel bike with seashell pedals. She forgot to tell Santa what Max wants for Christmas. My guess is he won't much care - as long as it doesn't interfere with meal time!

Great Gram

2007-10-30T06:23:00.000-07:00

It is with great sadness, yet relief that her pain and suffering is over, that I report that Great Gram Evie passed away Sunday, October 28. She was surrounded by those she loved in her final moments.

Please enjoy the picture of her "greats" (great grandchildren) taken by Christi Traster of Snickerdoodles Photography. May it serve as a beautiful memorial in remembrance of the family she began.

Fall Tradition

2007-10-23T09:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend we enjoyed our annual fall tradition - pumpkin patching with the Doxseys. We went to Parky's Farm in Winton Woods for their Halloween Nights display. There was a hay maze, haunted house, petting zoo, hay ride, and the kids' favorite - pony rides! Here are a couple of pictures from this year's event, along with a couple from years past.

Josie, Mac, Maisie and Max ~ 2007

Josie, Sara, Maisie and Mac ~ 2007

Maisie, Josie and Mac ~ 2006

Mac and Maisie ~ 2004

Sorry ~ no good pictures from Halloween 2005.

Max is 4 months old!

2007-10-18T14:04:00.001-07:00

Max had his 4 month well visit yesterday ~

He is 17 pounds, 10 ounces and 26 and 1/2 inches long.

He is eating rice cereal and so close to rolling over ~

we expect it any time...

10/19/07 ~ Max rolled over today!

Maisie and Max

2007-10-18T13:33:00.001-07:00

Maisie and Max had their pictures taken October 3rd.

Here are a few of my favorites....