Crafty Idea

I have been going through all our "stuff" and found countless old cards - birthday, anniversary, congratulations on having a baby, thank-you notes, all kinds. Many of them have beautiful designs, and some of them were probably fairly expensive.

Sometimes there are nice poems, or handwritten notes inside, or just a funny phrase...

The problem is that whether they're attached to some sentimental event or not, it's hard for me to throw away a card that someone was thoughtful enough to give. I try not to be a packrat, and I despise clutter, but over the past year, cards have become an issue around here. I have been collecting many, especially the ones we received after Lucy was born... which is where I got my idea:

I eventually plan on making a scrapbook for her, and since she is almost 8 months old, I am obviously already really behind. I wanted to keep all her cards, but realized that they're pointless to save unless they are somehow being enjoyed. I got the idea to use the cards (even though they may be partially cut-up in the process) as embellishments in her scrapbook. This way the cute artwork, and even the little handwritten notes from friends and family can be added to the pages, so we will always remember who was nice enough to send us a card.... oops - just kidding - we will always be able to enjoy their kind words!

So if you ever plan on scrapbooking, or feel guilty throwing away a $4.00 card (which someone no doubt spent 20 minutes agonizing over at Hallmark), put them to use... and clean out that junk drawer!

Well-Viewed

In light of our attempt(s) to rearrange our living room, I am offering some quotes from familiar people about television.

We have struggled to find a way to situate our couch, chair, end table, bookshelf, and entertainment center - and the deal-breaker is always how various furniture is angled toward the television, or how we can hook the cable up to the television in a particular location...

... and it dawned on me, our lives are revolving around TV in more ways than one. While I love certain shows, I worry that we are addicted... like one could be to alcohol. Do you enjoy a glass of wine? Or do you need a glass of wine? Well, I need a glass of wine, I'm afraid. I like Matt Lauer to tell me what's going on in the world every morning. But I also need feng shui. Therefore, we're considering banishing the TV, at least until we have a different living room that allows for harmony among furniture, decor, and media. I think TV has a lot of positive things to offer, if you want to sift it out, but once you start picking and choosing, the line between "fun" and "junk" is blurred. I love the news, I love the dramas, comedies, Jeopardy!, American Idol, This Old House, Bert and Ernie...

Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover. ~Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

The television, that insidious beast, that Medusa which freezes a billion people to stone every night, staring fixedly, that Siren which called and sang and promised so much and gave, after all, so little. ~Ray Bradbury, The Golden Apples of the Sun

Television: chewing gum for the eyes. ~Frank Lloyd Wright

Your cable television is experiencing difficulties. Please do not panic. Resist the temptation to read or talk to loved ones. Do not attempt sexual relations, as years of TV radiation have left your genitals withered and useless. ~Matt Groening, The Simpsons

If you read a lot of books, you're considered well-read. But if you watch a lot of TV, you're not considered well-viewed. ~Lily Tomlin

When we say "War is over if you want it," we mean that if everyone demanded peace instead of another TV set, we'd have peace. ~John Lennon

I believe in love. Yes, I believe in love! Love! Money! Love! I believe in poetry! Electricity! Cheap cosmetics! I believe in the sky over my head and my silver shoes beneath me! I believe in Las Vegas! I've been there! I know that it exists. I believe in you! I believe for you! I have a vision! I have a vision! I have a vision! I have a vision! Television! Television! Television! Television! ~Mirror Ball Man (Bono), ZooTV

No final decisions have been made. We might not be able to take such a drastic measure, but if we do, it'll be okay - summer TV is mostly reruns.

Dooce

For the past couple of months, I have been checking out Dooce, a blog written by a woman named Heather Armstrong, who lives with her husband and daughter, and their dog, in Salt Lake City.

I found the word "Dooce" in the list of blogs linked on other friends' blogs... Who is this Dooce person, and why are all these random people somehow connected with her? I had to find out for myself, so I started reading and got hooked. I don't know if anyone of my blogging friends actually knows her personally, but it's hard not to feel like you do in a way, when you follow along with her experiences day to day. She is such a talented, funny, and candid writer that you want to see what happens next... the story is her life and it's actually a good read. She illustrates with truly beautiful photography.

A couple weeks ago I added Dooce to my links, so I guess you could consider me a fan. Even though she's a total stranger...

But be warned: if you start going back to her earlier posts you may end up reading her entire blog (which doubles as her career thanks to the ads), and she has had it since 2001. With multiple posts each day... you do the math.

Entrusting

This morning I was informed by Brett Thomas that an 8-month old girl went missing from the 2800 block of Taft Ave. That is the same street we live on - but it doesn't connect. There is a sort of "break" in the road at a point between here and there. That section is off of 28th street... but it still made me perk up and listen carefully, since it's not that far, and grab my phone in case I saw anything suspicious. A mother apparently had a bad migraine last night, and last saw her daughter playing in front of their apartment complex around 10:30 PM, with a mentally-disabled cousin. This morning, both were missing.

She said the cousin was barely capable of caring for himself... good thing HE was left in charge of her precious infant daughter.

I watched footage of a distraught mother being consoled by neighbors and family, and thought, what a nightmare! Since her daughter was missing, I was sympathetic and worried, hoping and praying that someone would find the baby, and even the cousin too.

Now I just learned the Amber Alert has been cancelled (everyone is safe and sound)... and my sympathy has all but vanished. How could she entrust her little baby girl with an individual who can't possibly know how to take care of her, outside of an apartment complex, at 10:30 PM, in a relatively unsafe part of town, etc. etc.? Migraine or no migraine, common sense should prevail.

Mothers

Yesterday was Mothers Day. Since it was my first Mothers Day, it was hard not to reflect on the mother-child (especially mother-daughter) relationships I have witnessed, or been a part of...

My own parenting style is influenced by how my mother raised my sister and me. I think that it's impossible to avoid, because that is the "way" we have always known. It almost always makes women more like their own mothers. I know this isn't something we strive for, but it just sort of happens. I never realized the amount of love, fear, and pride she has had in her heart, watching us grow up. All those emotions are on full-throttle from day one, and after experiencing those emotions on a daily basis myself for the last several months... I'm humbled.

On the other side of the family, Ron's mother (Sarah) is the matriarch of a growing extended family, four children, eight grandchildren... she is as happy as any grandmother could be. She has so many reasons to celebrate Mothers Day, and deserves a little special attention and thanks for all she gives to us. This year, however, she spent Mothers Day on an airplane, on her way to England... after hearing that her own mother, almost 97 years old, has taken a turn for the worse. A family member sacrificed financially to get her a plane ticket to see her mom. Sarah needs to see her mom before she passes away, which could be very soon. I can't imagine what the mind of an older woman is like, having to think about your own mother passing on. Sarah will struggle with this, but her mother has lived a long and fulfilling life. I hope that she finds peace in being with her over the next couple of weeks, if they are her last. I never met Ron's grandmother Julia ("Grandma England") but I feel connected to her in a small way. She is Lucy's great-grandmother. Seeing children at the beginning of life, and thinking about an old woman nearing the end... I suddenly feel like I'm standing in the eye of a storm, beautiful, calm, and frightening.

I remember wanting to have a baby and wondering when or if that was going to happen. I promised that if I could have a baby I would never take her or him for granted, trying to bargain for pregnancy. All too easily I broke that promise, since the days go by so quickly, and we have this amazing child that keeps us busy, laughing, and exhausted. Last night I snuck into her room quietly while she was asleep, and it was like I was seeing our daughter for the first time again. (As cliche as it sounds) I kissed my fingertips, reached into the crib, and gently touched her.

Baseball Game

Weekend Recap

This past weekend was quite eventful... Friday Ron's parents and their friends Kurt and Susi from Germany came over for dinner (outside) and we had a lovely time. Susi last saw us when I was pregnant but just starting to show. She really loved holding Lucy and Lucy loved pulling Susi's necklace off (magnetic clasp). She was so good the whole time! Way to be a happy baby, Lucy! I think they were impressed with our home and our yard, which looked good since we spent a lot of time on it over the past week. They left and about 15 minutes later, my sister and her boyfriend arrived for a weekend visit from Chicagoland. We hung out talking for a while, and then finally went to bed. Saturday was my 26th birthday, so we celebrated by going to a Whitecaps game at Fifth Third Ballpark...


Kelly got box seats down behind the backstop, just onto the 3rd base line. Since we were right up against the front, we had a place to set our beers! The game was pretty good, but the Whitecaps ended up losing in the last inning. Then there were fireworks! Between each inning there were lots of SHENANIGANS (Amber, I had to use that word because that is the only word to describe it). It's nice for the kids. Lots of silly games and things to keep people entertained. Ron and I plan on coming back for more games when Lucy (and other future children) is old enough to enjoy them. After the game we went to my parents' house to make s'mores outside. We all went back to our house afterward smelling like a campfire. Mmmmmm....

Sunday we skipped church and went to Legends for breakfast (Lucy was pretty well-behaved but kept reaching for my omelette, silverware, placemat....). Then back to mom and dad's to give out Mothers Day cards / gifts, and just to hang out some more. Kelly and Heath took off early afternoon to head back, and the rest of us went to Grandma and Grandpa Hiddema's for May birthdays and Mothers Day, barbeque etc. A LONG day for all. A Long weekend...

Rise and Shine!

Lucy must be waking up earlier because it's light out earlier. There's no other explanation - she went to sleep quite late last night (9:30) and was up at 5:15! UGH! I let her play in her crib and make noises until I finally got up at 6:15 and fed her an earlier breakfast. The thing is, when I went down to her room, I walked in and discovered her sitting in her crib, pacifier in mouth, smiling. She wasn't even propped up against the side (note: her getting up into a sitting position and staying that way hasn't happened before, since whenever I try to "make" her sit on the floor she fights me by stiffening her body and refusing to bend at the waist).

Seems like suddenly she's coming up with some new tricks. I tried to work with her on her crawling this morning and sometimes she decides to go on her hands and feet (as in the downward-facing dog), instead of hands and knees:

which results in either her dropping back down onto her knees, or if her arms give out, dropping onto her face. She's been practicing yoga like this for a couple of weeks, so this is nothing new. This morning, her arms unfortunately gave out in a rather dramatic fashion, which Ron was still home to witness. The poor girl started crying and had tears streaming and everything. No more crawling practice until later today! I carried her over to where she could see our dog Killian and she stopped immediately.

Also, Happy Birthday, Bono!

PS: That's not a photo of Lucy...

Stolen Blog Post

i so don't need a blog: random

It takes a special person to see deeper meaning in the city's symbol of the Calder sculpture and a wavy blue line representing the Grand River. But she's right...

Packing Bins

Ron picked up some gray Rubbermaid storage bins, so we can start get organized (I'm sick of our storage room being a pile) and put things in them that we know we want to save. I gave Lucy a little blanket she can curl up with. She's all set to go! Don't worry, I won't put the lid on until it's time to put this bin in the back of a pickup truck.





(I hope no one is taking this seriously)

A Whole New World...

This morning Lucy actually crawled, technically. She lunged forward and collapsed after just a couple of moves, but she did it... a little! She will probably get better at it over the next couple of days, and will soon be all over the place. From what I hear, it's just "all of a sudden" they figure it out and become instant pro's. I can do some baby-proofing, but something tells me she will discover hidden dangers that I can't even predict!

The timing isn't too terrible though, since we're beginning to de-clutter and super-clean our home in preparation for putting it on the market. There will be less breakables and personal mementos around for her to scatter, and although I want her to explore freely, I want it to be a safe envirement for her... and not go around behind her "undoing" what she does. Exciting! Scary! I'll keep practicing with her and she'll soon be crawling - and then I'll think, "Why was I in such a hurry to help her gain this skill!?"

Kelly's Back

Kelly is back from Ireland and posted her photos here.


I guess in this case, the grass really is greener on the other side. She had a good time, but is glad to be home, and I'm only starting to look through her 239 photos she posted. She was even at the Cliffs of Moher!

Tulip Time

Yesterday I spent the morning and early part of the afternoon in Holland with my mom and Lucy, checking out the tulips. We went to JP's for a drink since it was still a little chilly at 9:30 AM, and then went to Centennial Park. There were lots of cute children dressed in Dutch costumes, and many beautiful tulips.


Of course, Lucy wasn't all that excited about a bunch of flowers. I was trying to get some nice photos but she seemed more interested in flirting with the cute Dutch boys she met at the park. She did all she could to stay awake almost the whole time we were there, but she fell asleep in the stroller eventually, if only for a short time. I am not complaining though, because she didn't cry once.

The rest of the week looks kind of touch-and-go with rain, so I'm glad we went yesterday. The weather was perfect and the tulips still looked good. It was nice to walk through Holland, Hope's campus, and the park.

Cutest Thing That I Ever Did See....

Last night at Mark & Susan's we were watching one of their digital channels with oddball videos and such, and this came up. If you like kittens, or Fatboy Slim, or anything cute... or good music... please check it out right now!!!

While you're at it, check out some of his other videos, like That Old Pair of Jeans, all pretty entertaining. I miss MTV. We don't get MTV, but if we did, we still wouldn't see any music videos. I should say, I miss MTV of the late 80's and early 90's before reality shows took over...

Annika Celeste

Tuesday, May 1, 2007, at 12:47 a.m. Mark and Susan had their second child. She was 7 lb. 15 oz., 20.5 inches. Everyone is healthy and doing well. We're very happy for them and excited to meet our new niece Thursday night when we go to visit them at home. The photo was taken by Steve at the hospital.

Big sister Sloane is probably really busy helping her mommy with the new baby...

Luck of the Irish

This morning, on my favorite morning news show - Today - I tuned in to see Matt Lauer at the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland! The views were indescribable, and I'm suddenly extremely envious of Kelly, because that's probably very similar to what she will be seeing on her bike trip! Matt flew into Shannon (same as Kelly) and is traveling all over the western side of the country.

This is all part of a yearly expedition called Where In the World Is Matt Lauer? where Matt travels to amazing destinations that are kept a surprise from the viewers until he is there. Yesterday he went to the Boeing Assembly Facility in Everett, WA. It was really interesting to see all about how the planes come together, and the new 777 being built. The facility is so big, workers ride bikes from one place to another, it has its own weather system (clouds, rain even), coffee shops, dry cleaners, sleeping facilities, med centers, restaurants, just about anything you'd need to live. Not to mention the giant commercial airplanes being built! It was cool to see that, since a good friend of mine from high school - Kevin Price - is a mechanical engineer for the company.

Gettin' Ripped!

Lucy is working on her upper body strength, here she is doing her morning set of push-ups. She has pretty good form (for a baby) and a lot of determination. I'm starting to see some real definition in her biceps.

If you're wondering what on earth she is wearing, it is the yellow overalls from when Kelly and I were babies. I believe they were purchased for Kelly in 1979.

More Lucy Pics

Bike Ireland

Saturday night my sister Kelly left for Ireland with her friend. They are going to ride their bikes around the southwest countryside, and see some really beautiful sights. When she comes back she will have had some unforgettable experiences. I'm really excited for her to have this opportunity, and I remember when she first told me she was thinking about going, not quite sure if she should. It's a once-in-a-lifetime type of thing, and I'm glad she decided to take this trip.

She said she would try to post updates on her blog, but probably won't be able to upload any photos... I'm sure she be taking hundreds! She might even have to start a SmugMug account, like ours.

Step Right Up, Folks!

This morning I took Lucy to her opthalmology appointment, per the recommendation of our pediatrician. Our pediatrician's thoughts were that her vision, eye movement, focusing, dilation, and everything else eye-related seems normal, but it's just a good idea to get her checked out by an eye doctor. I agreed with him in all respects, so today was her visit to Dr. Peters.

At first a technician came in and administered a variety of vision and tracking tests, which Lucy passed perfectly normal for her age (just under 7 months). She then put 3 drops into each eye (three times, 5 minutes apart) to make her pupils dilate. Lucy did not like this, but stopped screaming as soon as it was done.

Then after a bit of a wait, the doctor and his intern came in to take a look. He shined lights in her eyes, and turned off the lights in the room and held up this amazing little device with whirling colors (I was transfixed, so I imagine Lucy liked it too). I don't know what it was supposed to do... but it was amusing. Then the two of them were just asking me general questions (he even shined the light in my eyes to see their color) and sort of leaning back, pondering gaze at my child. "hmm... yeah, it's subtle but I see what you mean..." regarding an alleged droop to one of her lids. I have stared at her and analyzed her and cannot for the life of me see this. I suppose if you try hard enough, you can see an asymmetry in anyone's face, but I tried not to let it bother me. A few more questions, and a screaming session which involved restraining her on my lap while I held her arms down (as she was kicking me repeatedley), the intern holding her head still, and the doctor shining a light behind a magnifying glass into her dilated pupils. Sound like fun? Imagine if the people doing this to you are 10 times your size!

Anyway, the conclusion is: yes her eyes are different colors. This is known as heterochromia iridium (which I knew thanks to the information superhighway). It can be a genetic abnormality (harmless, but rare physical trait that is not associated with any other disease, or trauma), or it could be caused by disease, injury, various "syndromes" (great), tumors, lesions, etc. etc. etc. All I can say is, aside from her eyes being different colors, there are no symptoms present which would make me think she is anything but a perfectly healthy child. I would suspect that if her heterochromia was a result of something serious, there would have been something more noticeable in her development, behavior, or temperament.

Moving on - they want us to come back in June for further examination. He wants to see how her pupils react to light change before anyone administers drops. He also said that it might be something where we explore more in-depth genetic history, and then I sort of stopped listening. I do take this seriously, but I am not going to spend the next (indefinite?) number of months letting curious doctors and specialists conduct experiments on Lucy. If there is cause for concern, I will pursue it and take all their advice, but I don't like how it made me feel when they were scrutinizing her face. She has her whole life to be scrutinized. In our society it is hard enough for young women to feel good about the way they look. She is unique and beautiful (I have proof).

Panic Attack!

I decided that when it was time for Lucy's afternoon nap, I would let her fall asleep in my arms, on the couch, while maybe dozing off for a while myself. Afterall, I'll only be able to do that for so long until she is either too big, or too old to nap... I read two books to her, and we were all bundled up with a blanket and before I knew it we had both just barely entered dreamland. Suddenly our weather radio started beeping - loud and fast! And LOUD. I remember looking through the little booklet at all the different types of beeps and what they could represent. Loud and fast was the *worst* kind of alarm there was, so I lept off the couch with Lucy in my arms, letting the blanket fall onto the floor.

As I ran to the radio to listen to the weather announcement recording (a male voice, see below) and read the message that scrolls across... the phone rings. I glance at the radio and see "TORNADO WARNING", then run and answer the phone (I know, I know) thinking it might be someone calling to warm me of the same thing. It wasn't - it was a woman from Kent County Health Services conducting their periodic checks on Lucy's development, and my questions or concerns as a parent. I immediately told the lady about the warning on the weather radio, and to hang on... Meanwhile opening the basement door and calling Killian...

... the warning was for the southernmost counties of Michigan, and has now become a tornado watch. So I was all shaking from the adrenaline but was able to answer the lady's questions.
So why does our weather radio have to send me into a tailspin of fear because a tornado touched down 150 miles away from me? Oh well... better safe than sorry. That radio is a blessing and a curse. I am sure glad we have it in case of real emergencies that could occur in the middle of the night, when no one is watching television. It just catches me off guard! I guess that's the idea.

The device also warns us when there is a volcano eruption, tsunami, earthquake, flood, social emergency (like a riot), hurricane, and a whole bunch of other things that will probably never happen anywhere near Grand Rapids. Basically for us, it's for tornados, t-storms, and blizzards... oh my. Well now I'm all keyed up and won't be taking a nap.

Hannah's Wishes

My brother and sister-in-law sent this to everyone, it's the school project of their daughter Hannah (my 4-year-old niece): her 3 wishes. They said they did their best to keep a straight face. I have to admit it is a little funny, but also very cute...



My advice is don't over-analyze her choices... I'm sure she thought them through carefully! :) Basically anything involving being a princess would probably make her happy!

New Holland Brew Co.

On April 6th I took this photo - it was a snowy night and Ron and I went out to New Holland for a couple drinks and some chips. I just snapped this shot randomly (no flash) from one of the high-tops in the front of the restaurant. I was pretty happy with the composition, even though it could be clearer. Anyway, I just e-mailed it to someone from NHB. They already wrote back and said they'll probably use it somewhere (maybe on their site) and said maybe they can hook me up with some beer for my efforts! Well, that would be great, but really I was just glad he liked my picture. Hope you do as well.

Talk Me Into Anything....

I've been convinced that I am capable of running a marathon. I'm a former cross-country runner, so the sport isn't completely unfamiliar territory, but it has been quite a while since I did any running on a regular basis. Also, the thought of a marathon is quite overwhelming so the only way to really approach it is by breaking it down into smaller distances in a training schedule like Hal Higdon's example. The farthest I've ever run at one time is 7 miles, and that was when I was about 16 years old (almost 10 years ago!). But starting tomorrow, I am supposed to begin running. That's fine, since the weather is improving and I can think about the great shape I will be in this summer, and maybe have some form of a tan...

I think I have an acceptable pair of shoes, but something tells me that I'm going to have to start aquiring some "cooler" running gear. Can you imagine!? Getting into a sport as an adult was not something I expected to do... but like I told Kelly earlier, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." The best thing to do is to just embrace these unexpected turns. This one can only lead to more self-confidence, as well as improved physical fitness. I really can't see anything bad coming from it, so it's worth a shot.

The date looming in my mind is October 7, the date of the Chicago Marathon.

My sister Kelly and my cousin Luciana are going to run as well. Kelly is also training for a half-Ironman length triathlon in August, so she is way ahead of me as far as preparation, but I have the advantage of a very flexible schedule, since I'm not working outside the home. This summer I can get up early (before the heat hits) and do my running, maybe with Lucy along for the ride.

It's been a long time since I've really had a goal set to accomplish, and I think that this one is realistic. I never would have thought I'd run a marathon - and maybe that's exactly why I should. It will also be a fun experience to share with my sister and my cousin.

Babies Suck!

Ha ha...

This is her new favorite thing to do. I don't think I can stop her... she is determined to suck on her big toe.

We Should Be Having a Priority Contest!

Okay, I have to express some thoughts here. I'm taking a risk that someone might stumble across this blog, but I'm just going to be honest about my feelings - and what better place than the world-wide web! Oh well...

Our baby Lucy is developing and growing at a totally normal pace. We're not sure how much she weighs (I'll let the doctor tell me if there's anything to be concerned about), or exactly how many inches, and half-inches she is in length. All we know is that she is perfectly healthy and happy, she smiles and loves to play on the floor, and last night - for the first time - had REAL prolonged laughing fits when our friends' dogs were sniffing around her play pen... she thought it was the most hilarious thing, apparently, and I can't even describe what it was like to hear her really laugh... just like a "real" kid! As weird as that sounds... we were tickled (lame phrase, but that's the way it really felt!), it was the most amazing thing I've ever heard. My point is, I think there are more important things than whether or not she is sitting up without toppling over, or how big (or small) she is.

I have never been huge into competition. The only thing that I really got that way about was beating my own best times in high school cross country... but all the while I was perfectly happy to be running on JV (not top 7) and not have the pressure. I just always liked doing things for "the fun of it"... not to be the best. I guess that's why I slacked a little bit in school... there were times where I thought, 'hey, good enough!' but I can't really think of a more rediculous thing to get competitive about than the development of infant children.

Unfortunately it's not always possible to avoid this weird competition (especially in a family known for lots of competitiveness), and even though we don't like it, it's important to other people and we are brought into it without even wanting to. I don't like that our child is compared to someone else's, because all kids are so different. Not to mention, they have different genders, different parents, different ages... so talk about apples and oranges! Anyway, as hard as it is to let it slide, we hope to just smile and say, "wow, that's great", and continue to focus on the things that really matter, like our little girl's giggles... okay I just had to vent there. Bye now!

It's called a "Play Yard"...

Or is it a "Pack-n-Play", or a good old fashioned "Play Pen"? Or maybe it should be called "Baby Cage".

Whatever it is, we finally broke down and bought one - it's green with multi-colored safari animals as accents. Lucy plays on the floor more now, and we want to keep her safe from curious pets (ours or other people's), and eating yard treasures of any kind when we take the operation outside. I'm sure whatever were to discover would go directly into her mouth. This is a more controlled environment. Anyway, it was fun to put her in it, she rolled around and had her face pressed up against the mesh sides, and was scraping her fingers on it... no attempts yet to escape. Hopefully it will work nicely for her, and not fall apart before baby #2 comes along. We like to be economical :) (hence not spending extra money on bells and whistles we don't think are necessary). Wow - our lives are so exciting! I'll post pictures another time!

No Surprise Here

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Sleeping With her Pink Bear

I know, I know, babies are supposed to sleep on their backs - but Lucy rolls onto her front all by herself - and today after she fell asleep Ron walked in to find her like this, cuddling with her pink bear (so I grabbed the camera):

Garrett & Ian Dancing

These are my twin nephews, Garrett and Ian (Ian is in the gray, and Garrett is in the black t-shirt). Free entertainment!

6 Months Old!

Here's the cake I made for Lucy - it didn't turn out exactly as I had in mind, but it was still pretty cute!


Here's is Heath and Kelly - they came up to visit for the weekend. The 4 of us (them, Ron, and I) went out to New Holland Brewery Saturday night for dinner and drinks, and then to Buffalo Wild Wings. Sunday we went to my parents' house for burgers and to celebrate Lucy's half-birthday :)


Here is Lucy eating some frosting on her little cake (an extra cake my mom bought just for Lucy to dig into). She didn't know what to think about all the attention, but she seemed to enjoy the frosting.


Here's Kelly holding her niece before we had cake.


More Photos from the weekend!

Sitting Pretty

Lucy is getting a little bit better at sitting. It's fun to see her all propped forward on her hands, but she still doesn't know how to avoid tipping over!

Deadly Game

When I was subsitute teaching at GHS, I had some good days, some upsetting days, and some days where I was on the brink of losing faith in our youth and the future "leaders" of our country. I am still not sure if I can say our previous generations were less stupid, but it sure seems like kids are coming up with more creative ways to kill brain cells...

There was even one day where I was going over a video or a quiz or something, already frustrated and annoyed by young teenagers who don't care about, or appreciate the opportunities they have at a school like Grandville. I noticed out of the corner of my eye two kids behaving suspiciously, and a moment later realized that one was "choking" the other. When I caught them, they stopped instantly, but I couldn't stop myself from going off on a mini-tirade about how stupid and dangerous that was.

Teenagers really do believe they are invincible. I believe there is evidence that cognitively, they aren't able to judge a dangerous situation the same way an adult can, and even by age 18 that part of the brain still isn't fully functioning (and this is one of the main reasons so many car accidents are caused by teenagers). I remember several teens, in different contexts, explaining how [name your tragic scenario] could never happen to them - and there really was no convincing them otherwise, because they have such an inflated self-assuredness that they think YOU are the idiot. Geez, was I ever that ignorant? (maybe). Yikes... well, one thing is for sure, I never would have let someone choke me in order to get a head rush...

... but I do remember in junior high school my friend, who shall remain nameless, hyperventilating and having someone press on her chest as she held her breath - she would then collapse to the floor, unconscious for a couple seconds. She would come to, and tell us she had a dream! I never had the "guts" to partipate in this ritual, but other friends of mine did... right in my parents' basement! Big fun! Ughh.. kids are so stupid!

The cop on the Today Show who was talking statistics said this is a lesser form of the same 'high' caused by the choking thing. Meredith confessed that she did it (the hyperventilating / passing out thing) when she was younger (and she is my mother's age). Maybe times haven't changed so much afterall.

Wallace 3-point Buzzer Beater

Rasheed sinks a 63 foot (2/3 court) 3-pointer to send the game against the Denver Nuggets into OT. Pistons ended up winning 113-109. The clip on espn.com shows it better, but I found one on Google video.

Bathing Beauty

Lately Lucy has been taking her bath every night in this sitting contraption that actually makes it easier for me and her. In the infant tub she was trying to sit up, so it looked like she was always doing crunches, and she was practically hanging out of it. This is much better! And now she can start to play in the water, throw toys around, and splash with her hands.... which means I'll probably end up getting a little wet too! She loves taking a bath, and even when she is fussing and crabby, if I put her in the tub she calms down and smiles. It's a key part of the nighttime routine.

Congrats!

I just checked my friend Tiece's blog and her new ticker says "Landon Adrian is 2 days old" - so it's a boy! Congratulations! I've been checking and I'm glad to see the good news. Looking forward to when pictures are posted...

Anyway, today we actually spent half of our waking hours outdoors! It was so nice, it was actually HOT out! I skimmed a bunch of dead leaves off the pool cover. I thought it we did some each day, or every few days, it wouldn't be such a big job when it came time to open the pool. I can say, however, that no leaves are IN the pool this year. We shouldn't have the pea-soup issues we did last time, and Kelly and I won't be swimming in an aglae-filled swamp. ;)

We also pulled our patio set out to the deck and sat out there with Lucy, and Ron's parents for a couple hours. It was nice to get some fresh air, and I think Lucy enjoyed the change of scenery. Looking forward to more days outside...

Hope Fan

Lucy was laying by the orange "H" and I decided to put her in her Hope College T-shirt from Pam & Teri and take a few pics. Maybe she'll be a future Flying Dutchwoman!

Learning her ABC's

Well, maybe she is a little young for that, but she is actually sitting up for extended periods propped on her hands. She seems really happy to do it. This is her on her tummy, but I love this photo. The old blanket is so big that folded up, it makes a decent landing pad when she tips over...

High Chair

I am now feeding Lucy her solids in the high chair instead of her bouncer. We finally got it over here and she is getting close to being able to sit up. She needs to sit on a folded towel to boost her up a little bit, but I think she likes it. She doesn't slump too badly! I took some pictures of her after she ate dinner last night and she was happy...

Wake Up and Razz - Night #3

More Photos
Well, luckily it seems that Lucy has abandoned the entire wake up and cry idea... but the past two mornings she did wake up a little early to babble and razz for a while. Today it was 4:30 but I ignored it and she went back to sleep after a few minutes until almost 7:00 AM. Good enough for me. At least we're not getting up multiple times in the middle of the night anymore, and she isn't waking up and crying because she "can't" put herself back to sleep. I think if she wants to, she is able to. I guess sometimes she just wants to hang out in her crib and have a chat with her little pink bear.

Cry It Out? - Night #2

The title "Cry It Out" doesn't really apply this morning, since last night Lucy did not wake up and cry even once! Could she have learned that quickly? Maybe. She woke up at 6:10 AM (a little earlier than I'd like) and started babbling and "razzing" like crazy... It's somewhat normal for babies to wake up and talk for a while and then fall asleep for another hour or so... so I tried to let it go for a while... but when she didn't stop I went down there and found her completely perpendicular in her crib, with her head under the aquarium. I straightened her out and gave her the pacifier and her pink bear, and she fell back asleep right away. So weird. I think she was unhappy in the position she had gotten into.

I went back to bed while Ron got ready for work, and thought Lucy would not sleep much longer, and she would wake back up and want to eat. Since I don't use an alarm, I slept until 8:00 AM before realizing that Lucy was still sleeping too! I went down there and she was just waking up again... and she seemed really happy and rested. I know how she feels....

"Art"

Coffee and Baby Bottle

Cry It Out - Night #1

Well, a little while ago I posted something about letting Lucy cry in her crib in the middle of the night, and not rushing down to calm her. Well, that plan didn't really work, because when it happened we reverted to the old way of thinking - that if we catch it early, she will be easier to settle down than if we wait until she is totally worked up. This resulted in her waking up 3 or more times a night - about every 2 hours. She'd fall back asleep right away when one of us would give her her pacifier and her bear... so it wasn't a huge ordeal. Getting up repeatedly in the night got just old enough for both of us that we decided it was time to let her "cry it out" (whatever "it" is) and stick to our guns. Also known as the Ferber Method, it is supposed to teach a baby to soothe herself back to sleep. Some people feel strongly that it is cruel, and I respect their feelings. It is heartbreaking to listen to your little one cry and picture that frowny face and the tears. But some parents get to a point where the long-term benefits of healthy sleep (both for baby and parents) are far greater than the supposed damage done by not comforting the crying baby. Lucy will not feel a loss of the trust or security that has been built over the last 5 months, and she will never remember last night.

So, she went to bed at her usual time. We have a fairly consistent routine, and she is in bed around 8 PM. She may get another small bottle around 9:00 or 9:30 and then goes right back to her crib (awake) and falls asleep. Last night she woke up around 12:35 AM (not unusual) and started crying. I was going to go at 1:00 and check on her.. but her crying was slowing down a bit, and it was more "yelling" than screaming... so I felt fairly confident that she was safe. I thought a few times that maybe she was crammed in the corner of her crib, or uncovered, but I told myself that if that's the case, she will still be okay. By 1:25 there was silence on the monitor. After a few minutes, I tiptoed down to see what kind of mess she had gotten herself into. The blanket was thrown to one end and she was crammed against the side bumper pad under her Ocean Wonders Aquarium. When I picked up the blanket to put on her, she woke up with a jolt and said "Hey Ya" just like Outkast! Seriously! I quickly put her pacifier in her mouth so she would not keep talking and further wake herself. Then she was instantly back to sleep for the rest of the night - till 7:00 AM (when her morning usually starts).

All in all I have to say it went really well. 50 minutes isn't bad, when some people who attempt this have to put up with 1, 2, or more hours of screaming. Reading about their experiences made me feel a lot better about trying this out. So, it looks like we're on the path to success if we stay consistent. Maybe tonight will go even better and by the weekend we will all be sleeping through the night!

**Added Note** Ron slept through this entire process!

Milestone!

Today Lucy rolled from back to front truly all by herself for the first time! I could tell she was really close to doing it, so I grabbed my camera to take video before she actually did. I'm really glad because now Ron, and other family members can see it too.

This first video is pretty short - it does show her doing it, but not at a good angle. It's still technically the "first" time so I thought I'd post it anyway.



The next video is longer, but it shows it better. I was not too surprised that she was able to do it... I knew she had the ability, but she just hadn't put the pieces together until today (bringing both arms to the side at the same time, etc.). Well, it's pretty cool, and I'm proud of her development. I hope you enjoy watching her!

Courtney Elizabeth

Yesterday I visited Laura, who had a baby girl on February 25 - Courtney Elizabeth. She seemed so tiny next to Lucy! It's hard to believe Lucy was ever that small. She felt light as a feather... maybe I'm getting really strong. It was nice to see her and Courtney while she was still a "newborn", and I got to see Laura's beautiful home! Maybe since they're only 5 months apart, our girls will be able to play together someday!

Here is a close up photo of Courtney - most of the time she was asleep, but I tried to get a few good shots of her with her eyes open - very difficult to do! She has the cutest little whisp of hair on the top of her head...

Mood Swings

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... the bottom picture she has kind of a stern look - click to see closer up.

More Photos

Little Tri-pod

All of a sudden Lucy is able to sit up for little bits at a time, just before losing her balance and tipping over... we were trying to get a good picture but just as Ron would click the shutter button she would move! I think in the next few weeks she'll be just about stable enough to sit happily.


Ron took some photos of me with Lucy - since I have practically none. This is one of the decent ones. She was getting pretty tired of all the activity we were putting her through, but it's fun to see her meet new challenges. It's almost as if she knows she is doing a new "trick" and is pretty proud of herself! We are proud of our little girl!

Babbling in Bed

Here is a video of Lucy making some funny noises. Bear with me - the first minute or so is just sound because the lights were out, then I finally walked in and turned the lights up. It's dim but still visible. Funny how when I tell her to say "goodnight" she gets all quiet...



Here's Lucy earlier today - 5 months old. She is getting really good at "standing" while I hold her hands, and is enjoying her exersaucer a lot more now that she is capable of turning around (on purpose) - always clockwise though... clever girl.

Wishing for Spring

All this snow and ice is getting really old. Whenever we go anywhere I have to bundle Lucy up until nothing is visible but her little face - and then cover the whole operation with yet another blanket. At least she looks good in her little hat. The sunshine makes me feel a lot better, unfortunately I think we're in for some more ice and snow. Well... next month is March (Whoa!) so it won't be much longer....

Smiling one minute....

...Spitting up on me the next.

I was sitting on the couch, holding Lucy in my arms. She woke up early from a nap and I was thinking I might be able to get her to go back to sleep for a little while. She looked up at me, and seemed wide awake, so I smiled at her. Under her pacifier I could see her smiling big back at me. I took her pacifier out of her mouth, and she just looked up at me grinning so big she had little dimples in her cheeks. The suddenly, BLAH! - a nice little pile (of what was once applesauce with bananas) on me. It wouldn't be so bad if there had been a warning. She continued smiling as if nothing had happened. Well, it's a good thing I hardly ever dress nicely at home...

A New Little Friend

This morning I read my e-mail and learned that my friend Laura had her baby Sunday morning, Feb. 25. I think that was either her due date, or one day off. Anyway, she was thinking it was a boy, and honestly I was too (not sure what I base this on... it's just a guess from a "feeling", so whatever), but she had a baby girl, Courtney Elizabeth. She was 7 pounds 9 ounces. Laura was really nervous about the labor and delivery, and I'm anxious to hear her story. I'm sure she did great, and the e-mail from her best friend doesn't mention anything about any complications. I am so excited for her, and I can't wait to visit them.

Only a few days before Laura had her baby, my cousin's wife had their boy - Ryder Jay. He was 8 pounds 9 ounces, 20.5 inches long, born at 2:24 AM. She is recovering slowly but surely after having not-so-easy a time. I look forward to meeting this new baby as well.

It'll be weird to see and hold a newborn, because I'm used to our almost 5-month-old, and I am betting that I won't believe how tiny she, too, used to be. Fun times.

Meanwhile, Lucy's cold seemed to have vanished, but now reappered in the form of a sore throat. Pretty good only having one illness in the first 5 months. Anyway, she's just taking it easy. No fever, so I'm not too worried about an infection, like strep. All I can do is watch her temp, and give her baby Tylenol and lots of rest. Speaking of which, I hear a hoarse sounding cry - gotta run!

Another Blast From the Past

With the drastic changes that have taken place in my life over the last year, it seems like I am, in many ways, a totally new person. I have grown a lot and there really is no turning back. Also, there are friends from the past who could easily be tucked away forever into a closed chapter of life ("Before Baby"?), or our high school and college years. Full of fond memories, but never to return!

Somehow just the opposite seems to be happening - in the past 2 months we have gotten together with my college roommate and her husband, a friend of Ron's from high school and her husband, I got back in touch with my friend Eric from college (who lives in Vermont) - he called last night and we caught up a little bit. He might be in Michigan in May so maybe we can all get together out at New Holland Brew Co. or something. It was so weird - I was always trying to find an e-mail address or phone number, but only thanks to myHope, a new system set up by Hope College for alumni, did we finally cross paths again (over e-mail and phone). I'm really excited about this opportunity to find out where all these old friends of mine have ended up. I have stayed in touch with a handful, but I think about how many people that I was so close with, until graduation sent us in different directions. Hmm... well, either way it's been fun so far, and I hope this pattern keeps up...

It's just someone taking that first step. With a little bit of effort we've managed to rekindle friendships that will hopefully last well into future chapters...

Long Weekend

We're back into the "normal" routine of the workweek... Even though it is a short one! No school for Ron Monday or Tuesday, and today there was a 2 hour delay due to Freezing Fog! That's a new one...

Anyway, the long weekend was nice, we got to spend some time with friends and family - just about each day. Friday we went to New Holland Brew Co. (restaurant) and met up with Deanna and Rik ... Deanna went to high school in the UP with Ron. Now they live in Zeeland. It was a lot of fun - I can't wait to get together with them again.

Saturday was another work-on-the-Nova day. Ron also went to Buffalo Wild Wings with Keith - it had been a while since they hung out with just each other. I got a lot of reading done in Water For Elephants and later we watched part of SNL.

Sunday we went to my parents' house late in the morning because Ron and Sarah were going over there to hang out and see the Nova before the eBay buyer picked it up (around 1 PM)... they got it loaded on a trailer and Ron said bye to the project that took him years to complete. But he felt good about having finished it. Ironically, the buyer is going to pull the engine and transmission, and paint the car a different color. So - some of Ron's work is going to be undone... but in a way, he did it for himself (not for someone else). The money we got from the car will help us out, and hopefully in the future, he can do a new project and not have to sell it. After the Nova thing we went to Lisa and Dave's to watch the Daytona 500. Lucy was really fussy the whole time, since she hadn't napped really all day. She couldn't fall asleep in the playpen in one of the bedrooms, especially since the race / TV was super loud. I in turn became fairly frustrated, and was more than ready to leave by the time the race ended. We stayed to see the finish - which was great, actually. I was just really glad to get home that night!

Monday we got up early and dropped Lucy off at my parents' for the day, and we went to visit Kelly in Lisle, near Chicago. We stayed fairly local, going to Fry, then out to lunch, and then to Ikea. We bought a couple little things... then we hung out at her apt. for a while and then drove home! We were home around 9:30 or 10:00 PM.

Tuesday we went to Ron and Sarah's for lunch. Brianna was there because they take care of her during the week, and she had no school (Grandville). We stayed for a couple hours, and then actually went to 2 thrift stores to look for cheap deals. We ended up buying a couple clothing items for Lucy, but only spent a few dollars. After that it was just a relaxing afternoon/evening.

Marie Antoinette

Last night Ron and I watched Marie Antoinette starring Jason Schwartzman (as Louis XVI) and Kirsten Dunst. I thought this was one of the best movies I've seen in a long, long time... I wish we would have gone to see it in the theater, but it didn't show for long (as far as I remember) and we honestly don't go to see movies in the theater very often. Anyway, I can't even say enough good things about it - I just recommend it highly. It's such a beautiful movie in every way.

Sun in Winter

This is one of my favorite recent photos taken last Saturday, the 10th - it is of the Grand River near Johnson Park in Walker. It's actually down by a boat launch. I love when the sun is shining and there are blue skies in the winter... it might make a nice computer wallpaper if you're looking to update :).

This is Gladys....

It may be 7 minutes long, but it's worth it... well.. it made me laugh out loud! I found this on someone else's blog and at the risk of being unoriginal, I am not ashamed to admit that I wanted to post it on my own... (thanks Mark and Tara)! Anyway, it's hilarious, enjoy!

Roses

Here is a photo I took today, of Lucy with (fake) roses... she did her best to try to rip them apart and eat them but I got plenty of good pictures of her, so please check them out! She is wearing another old sweater from my and my sister's baby days.

4 Months... and a Reunion in Holland!

Lucy had her 4 month checkup and immunizations yesterday with Dr. Joe. It went well, although we ended up having to wait and she got hungry, so she started crying, and then while she was being poked and prodded, started screaming. The only way the doctor could hear her heart/lungs was when I finally gave her a bottle. Just when she thought things were getting better though, the nurse had to poke her legs with needles 4 times! Lucy was looking at me like I had really betrayed her, like 'how can you just stand there and let this happen?' and I felt really bad. When it was over she was sort of doing that gasping-hyperventilating (like a kid who's been crying hard!), but she calmed down by the time I had her back in her carseat. Phew!

She is a growing girl - a bit above the normal weight and length for her age, but proportionate (so that's good). She is starting to pull her knees under her butt when she is on her tummy... so I can tell she wants to crawl. Although I think it will be at least a couple more months before we see anything like that. She definitely wants to get moving!

Tonight we visited Jen & Kevin Wolthuis and had dinner - Swedish meatballs, which were excellent, and salad. I finally got to meet Elinore who I have watched grow through Jen's blog. She is even cuter in person. Jen and I were roommates in Cook Hall (at Hope) for a year, and hadn't seen each other in several years (since 2001?), and it was nice to hang out... plus our husbands really got along well! Even though a lot of time had passed it really didn't feel like it. Hopefully we can find time to get together again.

Groundhog Day

As it happens, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning, which means an early spring is on the way. Thank goodness. I'm chilly.

"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."

That's a quote from one of my favorite movies - Groundhog Day. And what better day to pull it out, dust if off, and watch it. I think this is the one time each year where we are guaranteed to do just that. And I love Bill Murray!

This date is also significant to me (and easy to remember...) since it was one year ago today that I found out that I was pregnant... officially - since I already had a pretty good feeling after I almost threw up from a sip of coffee (the horror!). Well, I'm back to drinking coffee of course, but I can't believe how much life has changed in the last 365 days. I couldn't imagine from just seeing two lines on a stick (a faint test line is still a line!) where I would be one year later.

Rolling Over!

Here's a new video of Lucy rolling over. She started doing this a week ago, but now is really good at rolling back onto her back with no help at all. She still can't roll onto her front by herself, but a little help gets her there pretty easily.

Pardon Killian's barking in the background!

Back on Track

After being thrown off a little bit due to teething/growth spurt issues, Lucy is back on a beautiful nap schedule, and sleeping through the night much better. I've also started feeding her a bit more. I think I had been feeding her the same amount for over a month, and I think she needs a slight increase. Anyway, I took the pacifier photo yesterday, and it just looked kind of boring... so I jazzed it up on photoshop. As you can probably tell, that's my new favore effect to play with.

There are a couple new photos on Smugmug of Lucy with her Grandma Sarah ... we visited them last night, and amazingly Lucy was happy the entire time! I say "amazingly" because for the last week she would scream and cry at least a couple times a day. I took the edge off with a little Tylenol before we left, but she was awake and more or less happy for 3 hours straight. Minimual spit-up too... well, for her that's an accomplishment!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my sister Kelly's birthday! I hope it's a good one. Here's an old photo of the two of us in 1982.

It's always the last place you look....

...because then you stop lookin!

I found my keys, they were in a compartment of a purse I almost never use... I had to get a purse to take to that Stampin' Up party ... usually the diaper bag doubles as my purse, but that wouldn't be too cool... so anyway, after I went back to my parents' house to get Lucy / Ron, I threw my set of keys in the purse and did not need them - since Ron had his set to drive us home. Then I threw my purse in the guest bedroom...

I did lose a set permanently once, so I was really worried that this was a chronic problem of mine (and was getting a bit defensive about it when Ron was astonished at the fact that I lost yet ANOTHER set of keys)... anyway, there is a difference between losing and misplacing. I knew they were misplaced, and now they are on the phone stand where they belong. I did learn a lesson though - they should always be in the same spot.

Stampin' Up!

Well... a little while ago my friend Caroline invited me to a Stampin' Up party at her house. I knew there would be at least a few people there that I knew, and it would be a good way to force myself to get "away".. even for just a couple hours. Besides, I'd probably get to go home with a souvenir project (I did), and some great ideas. So, the party was last night (Thursday). Of course I didn't buy anything (although I saw many things I wish I could have gotten), but the point was that I am motivated to get back into scrapbooking... Maybe not to the extent that some people take it, with all the doo-dads and expensive embellishments (and all the tools etc. required to affix them), but at least to start getting some pages done. I do like to keep things simple, but seeing the demonstrator make her projects, which actually seemed simple watching her do it... it really is amazing what you can do with the right stuff. A person could literally spend thousands of dollars on this hobby. Stampin' Up is similar to Creative Memories, but involves (obviously) more stamping! Other than that they seem the same to me (but I'm no expert). The nice thing is you can make your own decorative paper with the stamps, to use as backgrounds. You can use letter stamps, and other designs... you can do all kinds of things! I think I'll have to just get back to the giant scrapbook project looming in the closet, and maybe pick up a few items from a craft/hobby store later. I can't be ordering the kits and sets they were offering last night. I wish! I watched my friends greedily filling out the order forms ("if you order $100 of supplies you get a free... whatever") and I was thinking "HA! Ron would kill me!".

But, I got a glass of wine, a free card (that I made), snacks, and some inspiration.

Funny Girl...

I'm not sure why, but Lucy kept arching back to look at the top end of her crib. I would try to straighten her out, and she would just fight me and keep looking up there. I'll always wonder what was so fascinating....

Photoshop Fun

Here's Kelly on her trainer in our parents' living room.

Ouch

So here's the picture I finally got from the med center. Click on it to see a larger version - and you can see just how far the break went through the base of my toe. There are more on our photo site (under 2006), which show the toe after it was realigned.