The Havener Sisters

Summer Stink-Eye

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 May 2012 20:56:00 +0000

The Racer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 19:04:00 +0000

If any Havener has a shot at being a racer, stunt driver, daredevil, or at the very least a ramp building expert, it is this one.

Not Very Winter-Like

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 22:09:00 +0000

The first zip line sighting of Spring!

The Stink Eye

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 04:50:00 +0000

Violet, we get you to pose for the camera by asking you for The Stink Eye. What is the stink eye you ask?

Ok the last one isn't really The Stink Eye. It is you whining! We get a lot of that, these days, but love ya anyway. And love The Stink Eye!

Ham and Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:06:00 +0000

Violet, you love hamming it up for the camera. And even more you love seeing the resulting pictures. And you are SUCH a Havener, though you have quite a bit of Nick Nolte and Chris Farley in there too... You are gonna be (hilarious) trouble, little one...

Raised with Technology

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:50:00 +0000

Every parent marvels at the technology available to their kids at a young age... But Violet, at 2 you are proficient on both Android and Apple devices. You can unlock, browse pictures from, play games with, and change settings on any one of the many mobile devices scattered about the house!
Your second favorite thing after pictures is playing Angry Birds. However, it should be noted that you shoot all the birds backwards, and don't care about your score. How immature! You would think you are just a baby or something...

Favorite Lemur

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 01:21:00 +0000

Maya, you are the best Lemur ever. We went to the zoo today, and you pushed Vi all over the place in a rented dolphin stroller. We went to the kids center and did face paint, then you went for seconds and thirds. Hopefully we will get all the paint off someday. Someday....

Happy 2nd Birthday Violet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:38:00 +0000

In the weeks leading up to her birthday, we kept asking Violet what she wanted. And she kept telling us "balloons!" So we got a helium tank and blew up a bajillion balloons this morning. She was so happy.

Also, Violet started Playschool today! Mom was afraid she would cry, but she didn't! She had a great time with Miss Sheila and the other kids. When she came home, she took off all her clothes, and peed on the floor. So she is definitely a two-year-old!

Tonight, we will eat cupcakes that big sister decorated, and play with new toys until we pass out. Happy birthday to our evil little bee.

xoxo.

Details

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:42:00 +0000

The amazing thing, Maya, is that you have a detailed story for every. Single. One of them...
This one's cousin told him about the show so he snuck out at night to see it. This one wanted to be in the climbing show (holding up a seal) but she has flippers, no opposable thumbs, so she isn't good at holding onto stuff. This one.........

Six years old is crazy, and I can't believe we have a kid this big.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 04:19:00 +0000

How is it even possible that she is this big? Maya got all dressed up for her "Holiday Sing" at school last week. It involved a fancy sweater, nail polish, a curling iron, and hair accessories. She was the only girl not wearing a dress. She was also the prettiest girl, and I'm not just saying that because I'm her mom.

Then last night, at about 1:00am, I woke up to find her standing over me in my sleep. She had lost her first tooth, and she was so excited that she needed to wake me up.

I would like to point out that the first tooth she lost, was also the first tooth she got. Pretty cool how that happens. Kid has a slight lisp now when she speaks, which is so totally adorable.

I would also like to make a request:
PLEASE, Don't get any bigger. JUST STOP GROWING. Stay six years old forever.

Felices Fiestas 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 03:23:00 +0000

Hope everyone is enjoying the season. Maya informed us that en Español, Felices Fiestas means Happy Holidays. So Felices Fiestas a tu y tu familia.

Santa was good to us this year. Violet is busy training for the Olympics on her new trampoline.

And Maya is trying to be all stealthy while rocking her new Super Secret Spy Glasses.

We didn't get our act together enough to send out holiday cards (again), but we really enjoyed getting all of yours. Thanks for thinking of us, and know we're thinking of you too!

Wishing you and your homies a wonderful 2012.
xoxo

Cheerio Killer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 19:42:00 +0000

Dad, commenting on how filthy these little monkeys are...
"I think we should learn something from Dexter and cover everything in plastic wrap."
Maya, piping up from the other room:
"Dexter does that?"
Discussion follows on how Maya is thinking of a different Dexter (Dexter's Lab, not Dexter the serial killer)
Maya:
"I know who Dexter is... He's a CHEERIO KILLER!"

Time to work....

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:15:00 +0000

Today is come to work with dad day! Thank goodness for streaming video, water-soluble markers, and lots of paper....

This is why I call her Ham and Cheese...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:52:00 +0000

But she is mostly just cheese... Violet, you really crack me up sometimes.

Leaf Monster

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 18:33:00 +0000

She's a monster, she is...

Imagination

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 19:55:00 +0000

In conversation with Maya...
"I met her a few days ago, when I was pretending to be a grasshopper with a jet pack."
This is the definition of unbridled imagination, I think.

Holloween Hauntings

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:54:00 +0000

Happy Halloween!!!

From Halloween

We started the festivities with the Halloween Parade for Maya's school. The kids were all decked out, and paraded around the school before going back in for their party. Violet's favorite part of the parade, by far, was going to the playground to slide while Momma dropped off the grapes for the party.

Finally, time for some candy! The Trick-o-Wagon was loaded up, complete with Biscuit the Dog and our little Vampire Bat.

As usual, the block was filled with kids to team up with. Our group prepares to set off in search of easy candy.

Maya taught Violet how to get treats. Violet was a fast learner. Violet likes Halloween.

By the end of the block, she was also an expert.

Happy Halloween from the Haveners!!

Jumpy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:49:00 +0000

We can pretty much count on two things in the morning. Maya will try to convince us she is too sick to go to school, and Violet won't want to get out of her crib until she has had enough jumping. Jump jump jump jump jump!! Violet is a happy baby in the morning... As long as she gets to jump!

Maya Loves Worms

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:57:00 +0000

Not much else can be said. The kid has a swing, trampoline, zip line, and 60 foot Ginko tree in her back yard, but more than anything she likes to collect worms. I love this kid.

Ham and Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:52:00 +0000

Time goes by quickly. Maya is in kindergarten and Violet is getting into everything and summer is pretty much over. Wow.
Today Violet gave momma quite a shock. Vi was napping on her floor and woke up while momma was walking Maya home from the bus. I was working upstairs and Vi must have sensed the opportunity, she crept like a ninja out of her room and down the stairs. Where was she headed? Kitchen, of course...
Suffice to say when momma got home with Maya, she was taking off shoes and not expecting Vi to jump around the corner and say 'BOO!'
Good one, Vi.
Now please stop coloring with markers on the walls, windows, bannisters, and yourself. Kthx.

Happy 1st Birthday Violet

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:57:00 +0000

Happy Birthday you sweet little cupcake! It's hard to believe it's been a whole year. You've already been to six states, seen the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, hiked with 3,000 year old redwood trees, been to Disney World, and said 'HI' to 3 million people.

For your birthday, we took you to the kids' museum...

...and had cupcakes at Grammy's.

You really liked your cupcake. But that didn't surprise anyone; you're a good little eater! You'll eat anything we give you. Even coffee.

Here's a tip: If your baby knows sign language, don't give her a cupcake with lots of frosting while wearing party hats. Violet was signing hat while eating a gooey cupcake, and it was an awful mess.

Happy Birthday Violet.
xoxo

Orlando Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:46:00 +0000

We had a fun-filled holiday weekend in Orlando, taking the girls to visit Grandma Suzanne and Grandpa Dale, and also meet a few of Maya's friends along the way...

From Thanksgiving

As always more photos in the album, so click on the link above if you want to see the whole gallery.

First of all, the weather in Orlando was a little different than Chicago, and the whole family seemed to like that.

Maya got her first ride in a front seat, taking Grandma's toy out for a spin with the top down.

Maya seems to have graduated to actual fishing, as opposed to just feeding the fish. She got her first taste of bringing in the (ahem) BIG ONES all by herself, catching around a dozen fish with her own pole and bait!

One of the highlights of the trip was Maya's dinner at Chef Mickey's, where she got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, AND Goofy. Wow. She was pretty excited to say the least.

We also drove over to Cocoa Beach for a few hours on the sand. Maya *loves* the beach.

One day, after Maya got finished catching her fish I decided to try and catch one of the pretty large bass who lurk around the dock. So I took Maya's pole, including the tiny hook and tiny bait, and caught a little guy (image below is representative, but is not the actual fish in question):

I threw it back into the lake, still attached to the hook, to see if it would get any attention. And boy did it. That little perch didn't stand a chance against this monster, which we somehow managed to get to the dock. Note that the fishing pole used in this case was not that much longer than the fish itself!

But it wasn't all about fishing, swimming, and eating at Mickey's restaurant. There was also a visit to the Magic Kingdom, aka 'The Park'.

Another big day there, including the whole family taking part in some thrill rides:

Maya and I stayed for a little longer than Mom and Violet, and got to meet Buzz Lightyear and ran into Stitch. Maya was finally big enough to 'drive' the go karts, she did a great job and seemed just as excited about it as I was when I was her age, driving the exact same karts with Grandpa Dick!

A great vacation, much needed as Chicago starts freezing over and Daddy starts his new job! Glad we got a chance to visit with them in Orlando and catch a little vitamin D before hiding in the family room for a few months!

Catching Up

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 03:24:00 +0000

Ok, I'm taking the easy way out and going to try and cover about twelveteen blog posts at once. It has been a busy month! This weekend, we went away for a mini-vacation to the Dells. Maya replied "WATER PARK!" to the question of what she wanted to do for the birthday, so away we went. Just for a few days, and combined with a day trip to Devil's Lake state park for a nice little getaway. Mouth got to do water slides, Vi got to eat french fries, Mom got to take pictures of leaves, and I got to put a few hundred miles on the M. Something for everyone!

From Wisco Dells Mini-Vacation

Before that, a trip to the Arboretum trying to enjoy some outside before outside gets too cold. Maya, you were in rare form this day. After watching Kung Fu Panda several times, you declared yourself Master Tigress and practiced your moves for us. Then tore about trying to scare all the scarecrows. Classic stuff.

From Arboretum

And even before that, Maya started (and finished) ice skating lessons. The whole family went the first time, to see her put on those skates and take to the ice.

From Skating

She took to the ice like a Californian. Which is to say... Hated it. Spent most of the first lesson on her butt, getting very good at standing up on the skates though! By the second lesson, begging us to not have to go back, we caved and will wait until she gets a little bigger, has a chance to try it out with her cousins, or suddenly develops the urge to fall on her tush over and over and over again. Perhaps when we get further into winter, it will seem like a good idea again.

Three web albums is probably enough for the moment. Just home from the weekend there are plenty of clothes to wash, leaves to pick out of the M, and things to put away. But I hope this makes up a little bit for a month of not posting! Soon I hope we'll get into Violet's new teeth (and love of eating pretty much anything and everything), Maya's new year at school, and some more of the family's adventures.

Walking, Talking, Eating

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 14:44:00 +0000

Violet June, you are getting bigger by the minute. You have been walking up a storm (ok, with a little help, but you are trying)! And then you started eating up a storm - peas, parsnips, baby poofs, anything you can get in your mouth! Well now you are talking a little bit - your official first 'sound' is "Guh" - not sure what it means, but we're pretty sure your first words are just days away!

This one gets funnier every single day.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 17:11:00 +0000

Maya, you continue to develop quite an ironic sense of humor and great timing. You are also a bit of a curmudgeon. Both of which are highlighted in this picture, an epic view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay and everything else, though you were completely annoyed by the cold, the fog, the fact that I didn't have enough quarters for the lookout binoculars, and pretty much everything else. I think the look on your face is priceless - never have I seen "screw you, Dad" put so firmly into a smile...

I have a reasonable number of pictures up in the Picasaweb gallery if you want to see 'em:

California Vacation 2010