June 21, 2006                                                                                                                                            
We are moving back to Wyoming on Monday, the 26th!  Yikes, I have way too much to do to get ready for this.  Steve is deploying in the Fall so the kids and I are going to move in with my parents.  It will be nice having family around during the year that Steve is gone.  Plus the kids will finally get to know their relatives!  Yay.  It is going to be so hard having Steve gone.  But we are definitely not the first family to go through this.

We went to Berlin a couple of weeks ago but I haven't uploaded the pictures yet.  It was so fascinating to see the Berlin Wall.  It was also a bit horrifying to hear the stories of people who tried to escape from East Berlin.  It is amazing to see how much Berlin and the whole of Germany have changed in the last 10 or 15 years.

The kids are growing like weeds, of course!  We have been spending lots of time at the park and in the pool since the weather finally warmed up.  Seth and Ashlyn both love the water.  Ashlyn just started learning to roll over and Seth is speaking in 2 or 3 word sentences.  They are so adorable!  :)

April 25, 2006                                                                                                                                            
We went to Salzburg, Austria on Saturday!  It was SO beautiful.  I only wish we'd had more time to see everything.  There were museums, churches, shops, a fortress, gardens, and tons of other things to see.  One day was definitely not enough.  We got to see where Mozart was born and also the catacombs where early Christians in the area would have their services.  They had to hide in caves to worship because Christianity was illegal at the time.  Pretty cool that they would make such sacrifices.

We also went to  Playmobil  on Thursday.  It was great hanging out with Mindee and her kids and just let the kids run around and play on everything.  What a fun day!

April 15, 2006                                                                                                                                            
April 15th already!  Hope you all got your taxes in.  :)  We had our Branch Easter activity today.  It was a lot of fun.  Seth didn't really understand the "egg hunting" part but he sure had fun dying them yesterday.  He couldn't get the spoon or the wire holder thing to work very well so he just stuck his hand in the dye to grab the egg.  Needless to say, his hands are very colorful today!  He also really enjoyed the egg rolling contest.  He kept running up the hill to roll his egg down, over and over.  And of course, he loves gorging himself on all the candy!  haha  (Ashlyn slept through everything.  But I'm sure she'll love it next year.)  :)

Now that the fun, frivolous part is over, we will have an Easter dinner and lesson with some friends on Sunday.  Steve likes to teach about the Passover and what the Jewish Seder meal can teach us as Christians.  It is really interesting.  He makes some traditional foods and everything.  Fun huh.  Well, we wish you all a HAPPY EASTER!

April 1, 2006                                                                                                                                            
The other day I was sitting in the bathroom painting my nails and Seth was wandering in and out of the rooms upstairs.  Pretty soon I hear him turning the vibrate switch on and off on the baby's bassinet but it's not waking her up so I decide to let him play with it.  About 5 minutes later I go to check on him and there he is, sitting IN THE BASSINET luckily not quite on the baby!  HAHAHAHA, I was trying so hard not to laugh (after I was sure Ashlyn wasn't getting squished).  What a character.  He had climbed up on the recliner and into the bassinet.  Needless to say, I did a little furniture rearranging that day.

This morning Ashlyn has been kicking her feet and waving her arms while we talk to her.  She is smiling a lot more and just revels in the interaction.  She's still sleeping for long stretches during the day and not-so-long stretches at night.  I try to keep her awake in the daytime but she just refuses.  Oh well.  The weather is finally getting nicer so we've been going out to the park every day.  Seth loves climbing the ladder, going down the slide, and swinging.  Ashlyn just sleeps in her car seat on the park bench.  And mommy loves getting out of the house and not spending 15 minutes outfitting the kids in winter clothes!

March 15, 2006                                                                                                                                            
Wow, I can't believe our baby is a month old already!  We are sure having fun with her.  She sleeps most of the day of course, but when she's awake, she just stares at us and has even smiled a few times already.  Seth is doing pretty well adjusting to having her around.  He likes to pat her tummy and say "Baby, oh . . ."  Pretty cute huh.  Then there's the moments when he tries to pull her out of my arms because he doesn't want to share my lap with her!  That's fun too.  (ha ha)  As for me, I've finally started exercising again and I'm feeling great.  I've been taking Seth to the library a lot but I wish the snow would go away so we can go outside and play!  Steve is back at work and we miss him but he's enjoying his job for once.  Yay!

February 23, 2006                                                                                                                                            
Ashlyn arrived on February 13th, the day before Valentine's day!  She was 4 days "late" but well worth the wait.  :)  She weighed 7 lb.s 9 oz. and was 20.4 inches long.  She has just a tiny bit of soft brown hair and is absolutely beautiful.  I ended up having a C-section after about 12 hours of labor because she wasn't able to drop, just like with Seth.  Her heart rate was going way down with each contraction towards the end and there was meconium (her first bowel movement) when my water broke.  Thus, the C-section had to happen after all.  She had to stay in the NICU for 10 days on antibiotics due to an infection from the meconium she swallowed but she is doing fine.  It was hard having her in the NICU because Seth could only see her through a window and I had a hard time being separated from her instead of having her in my room this time.  But we are just happy that the infection is gone and everything is going so well.

It was SO great bringing her home today!  I'm not sure it even feels real to me yet.  Seth seems to love having her here so far.  He has learned to say "baby sister" and is working on saying "Ashlyn."  I can't believe how much he seems to have changed in the week I've been gone!  I'm so happy to be home and have our whole family together.  It's awesome! 

February 10, 2006                                                                                                                                            
Oh boy, one day overdue!  I have to go to the doctor every other day now to make sure that her amniotic fluid level is good and that everything looks o.k.  Fun, fun . . . but so far I'm thinking what's another week versus surgery right?  Heehee, I'll probably end up having the Caesarean anyway but we've decided to take the gamble and wait until the 20th as long as the baby is still doing fine.  Keep checking back with us . . . she'll get here eventually!

February 1, 2006                                                                                                                                            
Good news and bad news today.  :)  Ashlyn is still in the right position, head down, but her head is really high and I'm not progressing at all yet!  Aaah!  The doctor said that they will let me go 10 days overdue and then we will discuss induction or C-section.  I SO hope it doesn't come to that!  And 10 extra days sounds like 10 extra years about now!  Hehe, I'm sure some of you know exactly how I'm feeling.  Anyway, hopefully our little girl will be making her appearance soon!

January 27, 2006                                                                                                                                            
Well the little rascal in my belly likes to keep us guessing it seems.  At 35 weeks she was finally head down but then at 37 weeks she was breech again.  So my doctor decided we should go ahead and schedule a C-section for Friday (today!) because it wasn't likely she'd turn again since she's over 6 pounds now.  So we packed all the bags and arranged for babysitters for Seth, I cleaned the house, and Steve turned in his papers for leave.  We went to the hospital yesterday for one last check and wouldn't you know it, she had turned head down again!!!  Hehe, I about fell off the table!  Of course we're disappointed that we won't be meeting our little girl today but we are VERY happy that I still have a chance for a "normal" delivery.  Yay!  I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions like crazy so I'm hoping the day is closing in. 

Things are going fairly well for Steve at work.  He just keeps working hard and looking forward to the day he can say GOODBYE to the military!  He had to go back to work today, of course, but he will take about 3 weeks off when the baby is born.  Seth and I will love having daddy home for once.  :)  Seth is growing like crazy and really developing a personality.  He's getting better and better at communicating with us and he lets us know when we misunderstand something he says!  Usually by saying No!  or throwing himself on the floor for a little fit.  Hehe, fun fun.  He is as sweet as ever, though - signing "I love you" all the time and playing games with mom and dad.  We love it!

January 16, 2006                                                                                                                                            
Not much to report here lately.  I'm STILL pregnant!  :)  hehe  Of course, that's fine since I still have 3 1/2 weeks to go.  Her estimated weight is now 5 1/2 pounds and she looks great.  We are so anxious to actually meet her!  Merilee had her baby boy on the 11th.  He weighed 6 1/2 pounds and he is super cute!  Click here for a few pics of Brandon.

December 20, 2005                                                                                                                                            
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Another year is coming to a close.  It's hard to believe how quickly the time flies.  We have about 18 more months here in Germany, and in the Army, and then who knows where we'll be!  Yikes.  We had a great time watching Seth open his gifts this year.  He opened them with one hand using just 2 fingers, so you can imagine it took a while.  After he opened each gift, he would get REALLY upset when we took it so he could open another one!  Cute huh.  Next year I think we'll let the kids open one each day before Christmas so they don't have to give them up to open another.  Hehe, should work better I think.  It sure was fun spoiling him this year with so many gifts!  Hope we can afford to spoil TWO kids next year!

My wonderful husband bought me new dishes.  (Good thing because I've broken 7 in the last 2 weeks! --Talk about a clumsy pregnant woman!)  He also got a play pen for the baby and an awesome German double stroller.  Plus money to spend at the After-Christmas-Sales!  What a sweetheart.  Oh and I can't forget the new digital camera that I got to open early.  I'm so spoiled!  Hope you all had a GREAT Christmas!

December 20, 2005                                                                                                                                            
I got a spontaneous "I love you" from Seth today!  It was awesome!  I was putting on his pants while he laid on the floor and he looked up at my and signed "I love you" 3 times.  It was the coolest.  He's also starting to say Thank You without prompting.  He makes the sign by patting his lips with his fingertips while he's saying the words.  It sounds more like Dank Ooo and it's super cute.

We thought we might be able to put the presents under the tree early but Seth can't leave them alone.  In fact, when I was wrapping presents yesterday, Steve got Seth up from his nap.  Seth came over to see what I was doing and tried to rip the paper off the toy that I was wrapping.  Guess he'll have a better time ripping presents open than he did on his birthday!  We can't wait.  (The presents are safely tucked away in the basement for now.)

December 9, 2005                                                                                                                                            
Today we took the train to the Christmas Market in Nuremburg.  It was so much fun!  I think my favorite part is all the awesome food.  They have bratwurst, liebtkuchen (ginger bread), chocolate covered fruit kabobs, fried seafood, crepes, and tons of breads, meats, and cheeses!    Then of course there are tons of stands selling all kinds of Christmas ornaments, toys, and so on.  Plus there are people playing string quartets, bagpipes, and French Horns in various places around the Market.  Talk about fun!

We are so looking forward to Christmas this year.  I'm sure we're spoiling Seth half to death but Steve and I have had a ball shopping for presents for him.  I'm actually kind of excited for Seth to get new toys because I'm tired of playing with his old ones!  :)  Well, we hope you are all having a WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!   We especially miss our family this time of year so we will be thinking of you often.

November 26, 2005                                                                                                                                            
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  (yesterday, hehe)  Hope you all had a nice one and are enjoying your weekend.  We had a few friends over yesterday and had a nice dinner, played games, and ate TONS of food!  Aaaah!  It was great.  Especially since the guys cleaned up while the women chatted and watched the kids.  Nice huh.  The only thing I regret is that I didn't take one picture!  What was I thinking?!  Hehe, "pregnancy brain" strikes again.  Oh well.

Seth had a great time eating stuffing and mashed potatoes and probably way too much dessert.  He would walk around the table and everyone would share bites of their pie with him.  He's so spoiled!  :)  His new thing lately is climbing.  He climbs on EVERYTHING!  The coffee table, chairs, the couch, and even the baby gates.  Uh oh.  If he can't get on or off of something by himself he says "down, down!"  His new words this month are ball, NO!, cheese, and peaches.

October 31, 2005                                                                                                                                            
It's been a while since I updated the site but Seth's taking a nap so I guess now is the best time.  Seth and I went home to the states for 2 weeks in October, which was a lot of fun.  It was great watching Lexi and Seth play together and he LOVED seeing Granny and Pappy again.  Pappy kept spoiling him with candy so I think Seth believes Pappy's name is Mmmm!  :)  Granny taught Seth to walk while we were there and after 2 weeks back at home, he's a pro.  It's the cutest thing when I runs to the door saying "Daddy"!  Seth's 2 new favorite words are "door" and "rock".

We are ecstatic that Seth will have a little sister next year!  I've been buying lots of pink clothes and have set up the "nursery."  Which is actually in our bedroom.  (Here are the pictures.)  I'll also be adding pictures of him in his "Bob the Builder"/Mechanic costume soon.  He looks so cute!

October 22, 2005                                                                                                                                            
I don't have much time to write anything tonight.  Just wanted to let you know what we found out at the ultrasound this week.  I know you're all dying to know! . . . . It's a GIRL! . . . . Yipee!.  --- More later ---

September 23, 2005                                                                                                                                            
Well, we've decided to find out what we're having after all.  Hehe, wishy-washy huh.  We just thought that since some friends will be throwing us a baby shower, we might as well take advantage of that, right?  If we're having a girl, it would be so nice to have that start that friends can help out with.  Plus it could save us a good chunk of money, right?!  My sister, Merilee, is still holding out strong, though.  She says they're going to wait.  :)  Anyway, we'll find out at the end of next month so Stay Tuned!

September 17, 2005                                                                                                                                              Happy Birthday to Steve!  He's 35 today.  Getting to be an "OLD" man huh?  :)  We went swimming and bought lunch at a sandwich stand.  Afterwards we bought him some new running shoes.  It's been a fun day.  On our way to the pool we were driving Steve's new BMW and it has a Sport mode. (which means it really has some get-up-and-go)  I was about to pass someone so Steve turned on the Sport Mode and Holy Cow did we pass that guy fast!  Hehe, the funny part was Seth in the backseat going Whee, Whee!  :)

We're enjoying our new house and are so happy to have finished the move.  Unfortunately we still have lots of unpacking to do.  Yuck.  Luckily we have a huge basement to stash everything in until we can get some shelving put up so we can organize our stuff.  This place is so much bigger than our last house.  There are 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a giant laundry room, store room, play room, shed, and even a 1-car garage.  (oh, and there's an attic too)  Crazy huh. 

September 3, 2005                                                                                                                                              Steve and Seth went on a (Father/Son Campout) this weekend with our ward.  They had a great time cooking over the fire, sleeping in a tent, and playing in the grass.  Seth had so much fun that he came home Saturday afternoon COMPLETELY exhausted!  It was so cute to see him slumped all the way down in his car seat when he got home.  Steve says he can't wait to take him again.  Next time we'll all go.

August 27, 2005                                                                                                                                                           The (birthday party) was so much fun!  Seth got to smoosh cake all over his face, eat junk food, and play with a few friends.  He didn't really understand the whole "opening presents thing" but the other kids were more than happy to help him.  (hehe)  We had a Teddy Bear Themed party complete with Teddy Bear coloring pages, The Bear Went Over The Mountain Game, and a Teddy Bear cake. 

August 26, 2005                                                                                                                                                           Seth is 1 year old today!  Where has the time gone?  I just marvel at how much he's grown already it doesn't seem like a whole year has gone by since we held our teeny tiny newborn in our arms.  It is so much fun interacting with him now that he is a little older.  His personality is really developing and we can even see his budding sense of humor.  He's still a very content child just like when he was brand new.  He takes regular naps, sleeps all night, plays alone well, and is just the joy of our lives! 

One of the most exciting things has been watching him develop his communication skills.  He's getting to know quite a few signs and words.  My favorite is when he says "Ca" (car) or "Ga" (go) and waves bye bye.  This means he wants to go outside and if we don't open the door for him, he gets a little upset.  :)  We're having a birthday party for him tomorrow, so watch for the 1st Birthday pictures that I'll be posting soon!

August 24, 2005                                                                                                                                                           Well, we found out today that Seth is not allergic to bees.  Yikes!  We went to the park for a few hours and I was chatting with someone as we were getting ready to leave.  Seth was sitting in his stroller and suddenly started crying really hard.  When I got him out of the stroller I could see a little stinger sticking out of his cheek and the area around it was starting to turn red.  Poor baby! :(   Then I saw blood running out of the corners of his mouth.  He must have jerked his head forward and hit his mouth on the stroller tray when it happened.  He stopped crying within a few minutes but I felt so bad for not watching more closely.  In the end his cheek didn't swell up too much and his mouth doesn't seem to be hurting him.  Whew!  Talk about an eventful park adventure!  :)

August 21, 2005                                                                                                                                                           I felt the baby move today!  I think I might have felt it earlier but I wasn't sure until today.  "She" (I hope, haha) kicked me twice during sacrament meeting.  That was always Seth's favorite time to get rowdy too.  :)  We had another (ultrasound) this past Tuesday.  The baby was moving all around and waving his/her hands at us.  And I can't believe how big my belly is getting already!  Yikes!

Seth is going to be 1 year old in 5 days!  This year has just flown by!  It has been so much fun watching him grow and change over this past year.  His latest accomplishments are waving bye bye and saying kittie, mommy, daddy, and nein nein (no, no in German).  And when we ask him, "What does the doggie say?" he pants like a dog.  It's so cute!

Steve's unit has just received word that they will not be deploying in October!  We are way excited about that.  He will be gone from Monday to Wednesday for field exercises but luckily he'll be back before Seth's birthday.  Yay!  We will start moving into our new 3-bedroom duplex on September 5th.  I'm not looking forward to packing and unpacking everything we own, but it will be nice to have the big basement with a playroom and for both of the kids to have their own rooms.

August 15, 2005                                                                                                                                                           The Youth Conference was a lot of fun.  Those teenagers sure wore me out, though.  (hehe)  The mountains were just beautiful.  Unfortunately it was raining and cloudy all week so I didn't get many good pictures of them.  Steve and Seth had a great time together while I was gone.  And he's getting 3 more teeth on top.   (his two incisors and 1 front tooth)  Should make for an interesting smile. :-)   His new favorite game is to run around the living room and kitchen while Steve holds both of his hands.  He does it so much that there are little calluses on his feet!

Piano lessons are going well and I'm having a lot of fun at it.  I'm even teaching Steve!  :)  I was released from Young Women's last week and was called as the Nursery Leader.  I was sad to leave the girls but I know the nursery kids will be a lot of fun.  (18 months to 3 years)  I only have 4 kids in the class, plus Seth.  How hard can it be, right?  Ha ha!  Actually, since the "class" is 2 hours long, I found it quite a challenge to keep them entertained and somewhat quiet.  I'll be more prepared and organized next week, that's for sure!  :D

July 31, 2005                                                                                                                                                           Well we weren't able to drive to Prague this week so I guess we'll have to do that some other time.  Steve and I were both busy with appointments and other things every day.  So we just took Seth to the park a few more times, played in the pool, and just had a good time together.  I'm leaving on Tuesday for Girls Camp/Youth Conference and will be gone until Saturday.  We're going to be in cabins at a lodge in the Austrian Alps!  Sounds great huh. :)  Steve is taking another week of leave so he can take care of the baby.  They'll get some great "bonding" time!

I'm going to be really busy when I get back.  I just added 5 new students to my Piano Instruction!  Three children and 2 adults.  They both said they have many more students to refer to me!  I guess I better decide how many students I'm going to accept.  (haha)  I'm also teaching an ESL course (English Second Language) on a volunteer basis once a week.  Plus there's still Young Women's activities every Wednesday and class every Sunday!  Not to mention a family and a house to take care of . . . PLUS we're moving at the end of August to a bigger house right around Seth's 1st birthday.  Yee Haw!

July 23, 2005                                                                                                                                                           We went on a 2-hour cruise down the (Rhine River) this weekend.  It was great.  There were at least 10 castles lining the river on just the small stretch our boat went on.  Seth had a great time too.  They had a little captains helm and he "steered" the boat nearly the whole time. 

July 19, 2005                                                                                                                                                           It's been so nice having Steve home!  We haven't done a lot of traveling yet but we've taken Seth to the park together several times and we take walks almost every day.  We've been out to lunch a few times and have even been hanging out with friends.  I didn't realize how little time we really have during the week.  Today we went into the woods and (picked blueberries).  Their were bushes as far as you could see and they were loaded with berries!  Mmmmm!

Our (second ultrasound) was today.  The baby was kicking and wiggling around.  It was so great to see it and be reassured again that everything is o.k.  I can't wait until I can actually feel those little kicks and jabs!

July 16, 2005                                                                                                                                                           Steve and I got to go to the temple together, finally!  We've both been a few times lately but not together.  We went with a few friends and then went out to a cool Greek restaurant afterwards.  It was really nice except I was feeling really sick by the time we got there.  That was the only day I've been sick so far and it had to be that night!  :)

July 13, 2005                                                                                                                                                           We found out over the weekend that Seth is allergic to Amoxicillin.  I had been giving it to him for 2 days for his ear infection when he started getting a (rash on his face).  It spread to his stomach and back but he's doing o.k. now.  We took him to the Dr. and got a different prescription.  The rash is gone and his ear seems to be feeling a lot better.

Steve got approved for 2 weeks of leave!  Yay!  He will be on leave from the 14th to the 29th.  It will be so nice for us to spend some time together and travel a little.  (A very little, because gas is SO expensive!)  As for me, I'm still feeling great.  I'm almost 10 weeks now and haven't had any morning sickness.  It sure is nice.  I feel a lot more tired than I remember being with Seth or Sam, though.  :)

June 25, 2005                                                                                                                                                           Well, I'm 7 weeks along now and everything still looks great!  I know it's still really early but I'm super excited anyway!  We got to see the tiny heart beating last Tuesday.  It was so wonderful!  My sister, Merilee, is pregnant too, by the way!  With our last babies, our due dates were 11 days apart and the babies were born 2 days apart!  This time our due dates are 14 days apart!  Crazy huh.  She's due on January 26th and I'm due on February 9th.  Merilee says they aren't going to find out the sex of the baby this time so they can have a fun surprise on delivery day.  I'm trying to talk Steve into that too.

June 14, 2005                                                                                                                                                           We are pregnant again!  Yay!  I am a little nervous but very excited too.  Everything is looking great and I am not having any of the problems I had last time.  The doctor says things are looking very good.  I'm only 6 weeks along but the complications I had with Sam began at only 3 weeks so . . . we're really optimistic.  Our second ultrasound is next week and we will get to see the heartbeat.  We'll keep you updated.

June 2, 2005                                                                                                                                                           We had a great Memorial Day weekend.  It was so nice for Steve to finally be able to take leave.  On Friday, we went to a beautiful little town in the Bavarian Alps, called Garmisch.  We spent the day strolling the city and sight seeing.  On Saturday we drove to the Linderhof and Neuschwanstein castles.  They were amazing!  (Check out the pictures on the Miscellaneous link in the Photo Gallery.)  Seth was a great little traveler.  He especially enjoyed being in the backpack carrier when we were hiking.

May 26, 2005                                                                                                                                                      Steve has been doing Training Exercises in the field for 2 weeks so it's REALLY nice to have him back home.  I have started giving piano lessons and I love it.  I only have one student right now but I plan to start advertising at the end of the summer.  One summer student is good enough and then I'll have regular students during the school year.  I'm excited about it!  Seth is pulling up on things all the time now.  I even found him standing up in the crib this morning!  He loves the swing at the park, ripping pages out of books, and "playing" the piano.  And his tooth is half way up.  It's pretty cute.  (You can see pictures of it on the 7-9 month page.)

May 4, 2005                                                                                                                                                          Seth pulled himself up to a standing position today!  He was playing with a drawer in the kitchen and pulled himself up.  He looked surprised, wobbled for a moment, and promptly tumbled headfirst into the drawer.  It was SO cute!  He just laid there, not sure what to do about it.  :)    I also discovered that his first tooth is attempting to break through.  Yay!

May2005                                                                                                                                                                                                Life is going great!  Seth is 8 months old and crawling around on his belly.  He rocks back and forth on his hands and knees but hasn't quite figured out how to move forward that way yet.  He says 'mama' 'dada' and 'baba' indiscriminately and it's so cute.  :)  We're enjoying watching his expressions as he tries all kinds of new baby foods and kind of look forward to the ones he thinks are sour.  (Hee hee, we're mean but peaches bring out the funniest expressions!)         Click for Seth's "sour" face

February 2005                                                                                                                                                           This has been a very tough month.  It's so hard to describe how I feel about losing our tiny son, Sam.  I was only 17 weeks pregnant but we were still so attached to him already.  For the full story, you can see (Sam's page.)

August 2004                                                                                                                                                           Our son, Seth, was born on the 26th in Amberg, Germany!  He surprised us by coming 3 weeks early and I required a C-section.  Our little guy weighed 6 lbs. and was 19 1/4 inches long.  He has soft brown hair and bright blue eyes.  He has completely stolen our hearts.  Sometimes we just sit on the couch and hold him for hours kissing his tiny clenched fists and anticipating those brief moments when he's actually awake!

June - July 2004                                                                                                                                                  Steve signed up for 4 more years with the Army and we moved to Germany.  We have a wonderful Branch here and have made quite a few friends already.  Steve has been called to be the Elders Quorum President and I am serving in the Young Womens program.