The Murray Family

Lincoln's Big Decision

2012-01-23T14:31:00.000-07:00

This is a video from Lincoln's first birthday (October 1). We decided to follow a Korean tradition usually performed on a child's first birthday. We placed different objects in front of him on a table, each of which corresponded to a different "future". For example, a ball signifies an athlete, a ruler signifies an engineer, or a dollar bill signifies a rich man. It was a lot of fun. See the big decision for yourself below.

Minnesota Here We Come

2012-01-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

Last week, Vance formally accepted a job offer to work for a company in Eden Prairie, Minnesota as their Product Development Engineer! We are really looking forward to this new adventure in our lives. We visited the area and we think we will love it. We are also happy to move their because it is supposed to be a great place to live. In 2010, CNN's Money Magazine named it the #1 place to live in the United States. More importantly, we will have awesome family close by. We have a sister and brother-in-law and their two darling girls who will be so close. We will be not too far from my parents in Wisconsin as well. We don't have an exact moving date yet, but hopefully soon.

Anyway, we are really sad to leave all of our friends who have become family here in Indiana. We have fallen in love with this place and it will be hard to say goodbye. I really am starting to feel an ache inside knowing we are leaving. We have so many great friendships and memories here and we love this area. We have the best of friends and are so grateful for them!

Graduation!

2011-12-19T15:46:00.001-07:00

Vance has received his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering (MSME) from Purdue University! He graduated this past weekend. I can safely say that this has been the most difficult semester for the both of us. It has been incredible to see how much Vance has accomplished. He defended his thesis a few weeks ago and has been finishing up the last projects, journal papers, tests, etc. since then. This semester he almost always would head to campus until 11 pm to 1 am after dinner every single weeknight and sometimes on weekends as well. I am VERY glad that we are done with school, at least for now.

Now we can say we both have our master's degree. I am so proud of Vance. He finished his master's degree in one year and four months! He is AWESOME.

After graduation we took some pictures to remember the big day.

The commencement ceremony was inside the Elliot Hall of Music.

Next to the fountains that weren't running at this time of the year:)

All of us in front of the Bell Tower.

Vance in front of the ME building.

Lincoln thought it was so fun to have his dad's cap on.

Inside the ME building, where incredible refreshments were served. There was a vegetable platter that honestly looked just like a floral bouquet. I have never seen a vegetable tray look so beautiful.

Vance and Lincoln...I love my boys!

Make sure you read the post I just created below too...

Random Pictures from this Fall

2011-12-19T15:23:00.000-07:00

This fall I have cleaned up a lot of messes. As Lincoln is more mobile, he is getting into much more than I ever thought possible. One of my friends actually has taken pictures of some of the messes to remember. I think these were mostly from September or October.

This was his first time (and last for a little while) trying to feed himself yogurt! He had a grand time.

Who knew refridgerators and dishwashers could be the best toys?

I didn't know he was tall enough to reach onto the counter to pull the after Halloween candy corn down. Glad he's enjoying them:)

We have a jar where we keep some extra cash on hand. It must have been somewhere he got to it. He took the lid off and boy, does he love that money!

I am pretty sure this tape was from my undergraduate days at BYU, a recording of me evaluating a student. Oh well, not sure I would ever listen to it again anyway....

Well he has been SO FUN though. Lincoln is making so many more sounds and we love him a ton. He's so sweet to us.

Here are some more pictures from the last 2 or 3 months...

Vance just got me these beautiful lillies...just because...that was the best part. He's the best.

Lincoln just enjoying some cereal....

My friend Heidi taught me how to make these "flower" headbands out of clothing, or old shirts. So I have made a ton with all different types of old shirts that I don't wear anymore. Black, grey, light pink, dark pink, white, yellow and a variety of combinations. They look awesome. I have been crafty and it feels great.

At first I just wanted to see if this certain headband would fit a child about his age (and it did) and wanted to see how it looked. Honestly, it then was just kind of funny so I left it on him for a while. The headbands don't even bother Lincoln. It was kind of cute!! I tried to imagine that if he was a girl, or just had longer blonde hair, what it would look like. It kind of makes me want to have a girl next!

We made gingerbread houses this weekend for fun after we delivered some Christmas goodies to neighbors. I wish I had bought more candy to add more to the house, but, oh well. It was a great night though.

SPEECH-LANG PATHOLOGIST/PRESCHOOL TEACHER:

That's my new role at one of the school's I worked at last year. At the beginning of this fall, I was working 4 or 5 hours a month at a middle school in the area. Whenever someone asked if I was working, it was hard to say yes or no, because I was working so little! In November, I took over a language-based preschool class for a fellow speech-language pathologist. I work Mondays and Tuesdays right now and will most likely pick up even more hours in January. I am the preschool teacher/SLP for the whole class and it has been great! The first week was a little hard, but it has been so much better. I have ten 4 and 5 year old kids in my class. There are also two aids helping me in the classroom. We have been making some awesome Christmas crafts lately and I feel like I am getting the hang of being a preschool teacher better and really helping them learn language concepts. I still work on day a month at the middle school as well, so its nice to have the variety of ages too. Because Lincoln has been with a babysitter those days (with mothers who have kids his ages) he has become great friends with them, and his stranger-anxiety has decreased, so that's a plus.

Infantile Deep Nasal-Tip Hemangioma

2011-12-08T13:42:00.002-07:00

We're done! Today was our last appointment in Indianapolis at the Riley Children's Outpatient Center. We have been weening Lincoln off propranolol slowly for 2 1/2 months now. No more medicine, syringes, watching the clock, or trips to Indianapolis just for doctor's appointments.

For those of you that may not know....it started a little over a year ago at the end of November of 2010, when Lincoln was almost 2 months old. I had noticed Lincoln's nose become bluish-grey. I remember thinking it might be a bruise, but after a few days the term "hemangioma" popped in my head. I swear it was the "mother's intuition." I remember calling Vance and telling him what I thought it was. We saw our pediatrician about this a couple days later but she initially said to wait another 2 months to see what might happen until his 4 month appointment. But after I did some google images searches (which really scared me!) I knew we needed help right away. I called the peds office again and they said I could bring him in that day. It had gotten worse since the week earlier, so she made a referral to a pediatric dermatologist in Indianapolis. I am really glad I was a little pushy to get him in earlier and not wait longer. Often children have to wait up to 6 months to get in, but with the rapid-growth nature of this condition, we had to wait 5 weeks. In those five weeks Lincoln's nose got a lot darker and just about tripled in size, or at least it seemed.

Lincoln started on propranolol for his deep nasal tip hemangioma on January 25th of this year. We have been giving him doses (that keep up with his weight) three times daily since then, once every eight hours. Doing the math, that means that we have given this medicine at least 945 times!! Vance and I have been thrilled with Lincoln's progress and seeing the hemangioma virtually disappear. We are so thankful for the doctors and nurses that have worked with him! We also are huge fans of this type of approach/medicine for children with a deep hemangioma in its rapid growth stage. It has seriously worked a miracle for us.

Vance was a little worried a year ago, but I was even more worried, with a few tears over this and not knowing how large this hemangioma could grow, and what that could mean for Lincoln emotionally and socially. For me, I remember last December and January, having several nights laying in bed not being able to fall asleep because I was so worried about this. But honestly, all those fears are gone for the both of us and we have been so pleased with the results.

Dr. Anita Haggstrom has been a great pediatric dermatologist. Today we saw her for the last time. We didn't get a picture with her, but we did get a picture with the nurse, Melissa Bebe. She has been the sweetest to work with. I really am going to miss them. Its funny how they can mean so much to you, mostly because of what they have done for your child.

This is Lincoln with his nurse, Melissa. She gave him a couple little gifts (a kaleidescope and a coloring book) that he was loving at the moment.

This is the front of the Riley Outpatient Center. We won't have to go there every month anymore, thankfully.

We can throw away the 100 or so syringes we have and his medicine too!

Lincoln's hemangioma might be visible if you look really closely. Most of our noses are made of a firm cartilage on the tip, but Lincoln's is very very soft. The best way to describe it is like the feeling of bread dough that has risen. The hemangioma turned into fatty tissue that may or may not go away, and is on top of his cartilage. So Dr. Haggstrom advised us to watch his nose as it grows with the rest of his body. If it ever looks abnormal, we can see a plastic surgeon for a possible rhinoplasty, maybe before he enters kindergarten. At this point, we think it looks so normal that hopefully that's not an issue.

I can definitely say this was a GREAT day!

Fall 2011 Family Photos

2011-11-07T12:05:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had our pictures taken by our friend, Heidi, who is an excellent photographer! http://photobyheidi.blogspot.com. There are too many favorites to choose from, so here are just a few to give you a taste.

Halloween Weekend

2011-11-02T14:54:00.001-06:00

Lincoln and I traveled to Wisconsin last weekend. We are getting really good at packing and taking trips this year! The first night we were there we went to my home ward's Halloween party. My little brother dressed up as Elvis, and he looked great. Sorry for the horrible quality of the pictures. My phone's camera doesn't take good pictures in dimly lit places.

My mom (Professor Trelani and sister (Lady with a sari).

Lincoln (a frog) and me (Clay Matthews of the Packers!). My costume was more of a last minute thing, just using what we had. Lincoln did pretty well with his costume on.

My brother Peter and I took Lincoln and his cousin Jared trick or treating for their first time. It was so fun to see the excited looks on their faces. What a fun experience.

We picked tons and tons of apples in different varieties in my parent's backyard (and then of course hours of canning, too!). Lincoln enjoyed being outside...I love taking this little guy with me everywhere!

A couple of weeks ago we got our pictures taken by our photography, Heidi Jensen. I'll have to post those soon. We love how they turned out! Vance was missing us on Halloween, so he sent us one of our photos with a little Halloween twist. Happy Halloween!

Trip Out West Part 4

2011-10-21T08:00:00.001-06:00

Old friends are one of the best things. I am so grateful for the great friends I have had in my life. I saw a few of my best friends on our trip and it was absolutely wonderful. I wish the night could have lasted longer, but we had already kept Lincoln up way past his bedtime. I wish I could have seen more friends, but we didn't have the time.

We spent an evening with Jenni and Brock and our great friend Hawley. It was great talking about old times and just catching up with each other!

Trip Out West Part 3

2011-10-19T08:00:00.001-06:00

Vance's parents are selling the home that he originally grew up in. After we attended his home ward for church, we stopped by his home to reminisce. I think it was fun for Vance to be there and in a way special since this will likely be the last time he will be able to be there. Vance's family took a cute, funny picture of Vance going down this slide and they got a picture when he was "mid-air" or between the slide and the ground. So we thought we could get one with Lincoln on the same slide. Since he just turned one, he wasn't really ready to be let go on the slide by himself.

Trip Out West Part 2

2011-10-17T08:00:00.001-06:00

I had the opportunity to visit my old workplace, Geneva Elementary. Sometimes I miss that job so much it really aches inside!! It was one of those jobs where when I woke up each day, I was genuinely excited to go to work. I looved being there and making such a difference in those student's speech and language. I got to see many co-workers there. I felt like I was walking on clouds there! I got a picture with some close friends there. From left to right, Cyndi, Shannon, me, and Kendra.

We also visited Lincoln's great grandma Shirley Thompson (Vance's mother's mother). She is so sweet and I'm glad they got to meet.

My sister Kelsey happened to have a baby shower thrown for her. I missed getting my other cousins, Eliza and Caroline, who left earlier, but got some Kindt cousins in. From left to right, Ruth, me, Kelsey, Lauren, and Emily. What a joyous reunion it was. We had dinner with the Kindt cousins another date as well which was a blast.

I have such wonderful sisters. We stick together and have become even closer throughout the years. Aren't families wonderful?

Trip Out West Part 1

2011-10-15T08:00:00.002-06:00

Vance, Lincoln and I took a 5 day trip out west this past week. We felt like we did so much when we were there. We saw many friends but wish we had time to see even more. These pictures aren't in any particular order.

Lincoln is over a year younger than Jared, but he had a great time with this cousin. Above they are taking off all the magnets off of the fridge.

They sure had a good time together. I got to spend some time with my sisters, Kelsey and Ruth, and that was so fun.

Vance and I went back to the place where we had our first date, Sam Hawk, a Korean restaurant. Someone told us that they saw a picture of us there. We had forgotten that someone took our picture. We had lunch there this week and found the picture of us on our first date (October 14, 2008). It was laminated directly next to hundreds of other pictures so instead of asking them for it, we just took a picture of it. We are so thrilled to have this picture.

We stayed with Vance's brother Scott, his wife, Rachel and their two children, Mason and Brynn. They were such sweet and generous hosts and we had fun staying with them. We got a picture of Mason and Lincoln, but couldn't get Lincoln to sit still! Mason was about to go to preschool that morning.

Vance's side of the family threw Lincoln a little birthday party with cupcakes and he got some new books! He actually ate the whole cupcake. Below, Lincoln is observing his Uncle Austin.

More pictures to come soon...

August/September Pics

2011-10-14T10:07:00.001-06:00

I wanted to post a few pictures I found this week. This first one was taken on Purdue's campus in August. We went to visit Vance on campus one day. After we played in the water we went out to eat. We were amazed that Lincoln was so brave with such powerful and large fountains.

At the end of August we lent our car seat out to a friend. We have a larger convertible car seat for Lincoln now, so we don't use this any longer. Before we put it back into storage, we thought it would be funny to put our little (not so little) one in it! He is huge in this!! It made me think of how tiny he was in this when we took him home from the hospital. He did not like being in here, at all. This is before he started whining to get out.

At the end of one somewhat disappointing day in September, we decided to go out for ice cream at a cute place nearby. They have a miniature train that goes round and round. Lincoln loved it!!! It was definitely his favorite part, not the ice cream.

First Birthday

2011-10-03T14:38:00.000-06:00

We celebrated his first birthday last Saturday. My parents sent such a cute gift. It is a book called All the Ways I Love You. It has my parents voices recorded in the book that plays as he turns the pages. We love it!

Vance served a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South Korea. In South Korea, for a child's first birthday, they have a tradition of determining what they will do for their profession in life. They line up a series of items in front of the child, and based on whatever they choose, that is what they are destined to become! Vance thought it would be fun to do this for Linc's birthday, so we did.

We had three families over who are some of are really good friends (Pett's, Jensen's, and Woodland's). We would have loved to had more people over, but our apartment probably isn't large enough! Anyway, we had pizza, cake, and ice cream. We sang "Happy Birthday" to Lincoln, but I'm not sure what he thought of it all. We had a blast though!

An Early Birthday Surprise

2011-09-30T13:39:00.001-06:00

This week we have been practicing walking with Lincoln. Last night he took 15 or so steps by himself, although not in this video. He definitely still prefers crawling, but it is awesome to see him be able to do this. He seems to have a fascination with our video recorder.

Stats for the Books

2011-09-27T12:25:00.001-06:00

His first birthday is on Saturday, but Lincoln had his first year well visit with his pediatrician today. Here are the stats for the history books:

Height: 30 1/2 inches/75th %ile
Weight: 23 lbs 7 oz/ 50th %ile
Head Circumference: 48 cm/ 90th %ile

His weight dropped on the charts (percentile-wise) a little but that is normal. We're so glad he's a healthy growin' boy.

What Lincoln does now...

1. Waves bye
2. Almost walks independently
3. Can stand independently for a few seconds
4. Loves to push his "Cars" car/walker with the music on
5. Found him this morning playing with a bath toy in the toilet and having a blast
6. Says "mama" and "dada" and has a lot of cute jargon
7. Loves to flip light switches
8. Loves to pull out books, CDs, DVD's, toilet paper out of the roll, pots and pans out of the cabinets, etc.
9. Can use crayons to color on paper
10. Points and leans to things he wants
11. Understands "more" and a few other simple words
12. Enjoys graham crackers, watermelon, yogurt, bananas, NOODLES, string cheese, pretzels, or anything that might represent the shape of a noodle...
13. Sleeps 10 1/2-11 hours at night, with two 1 1/2 naps during the day
14. Uses a high pitched voice when around babies and has learned to be "softer" with them
15. Laughs and even gives courtesy laughs
16. Has started to "show off" a little bit when people come to our home
17. However, he has a lot of stranger anxiety right now and with babysitters. He has cried for a while the last few times when being babysat. He has been very clingy to me (the mom:)) which is flattering, but a little tiring!

18. He has brought us so much joy and we are so glad he has joined our family!

I, Annalisa, started going back to work last week at a local middle school. I actually work with a few of the same kids I worked with last year that have moved up from the neighboring elementary school. A couple of the kids seem to have grown quite a bit. It is really fun and I love being in the educational setting. I think it is also good for Lincoln to be without me for at least a few hours at a time and learn to be ok!

Growing Up and Graduation

2011-09-22T20:16:00.003-06:00

Lincoln is starting to look so much more like a little boy. I can't call him my baby much longer! While he was playing the other day I just caught a quick picture of him. He looks so grown up these days and his face is starting to thin a bit. He is really close to walking. He barely puts any weight on our fingers when we walk with him. But whenever we let go, he bends his knees to sit on the ground. He is a little nervous about it. I love this picture because you can see his two cute teeth on the bottom. Those came in during the same week when Lincoln was seven months old. He hasn't gotten any more teeth since! It has been five months! Even without most of his teeth, I am impressed how much he can chew with his gums. Here he is...

We visited his pediatric dermatologist in Indianapolis this week. We are lowering his dose for this month and hoping the hemangioma doesn't show signs of growth. If it doesn't we can stop the medicine completely after that! It will be so nice when that time comes. It has been a little bit of a pain to always remember his medicine around the clock. It will be nice to sleep through the night again!!!!

Vance will graduate this December. There was a huge engineering job fair a couple of weeks ago here at Purdue. When Vance showed me the list of companies that would be there, there were 5 pages of companies just looking for mechanical engineers. Wowsers! He has had first interviews with a few companies, and will have a few more in the next month. Then we hope to get second interviews with these companies as well. It's a competitive world out there! We have no idea where we will end up. When people ask us where we would like to live in the US, neither of us have strong preferences. I know we can be happy anywhere. I think it will really come down to where the jobs are and if we have a choice, the job that Vance will enjoy the most. We really love it where we live now and have made a lot of great friends, so we will definitely be sad to say goodbye!!!

All Time Favorite Video

2011-08-30T19:02:00.000-06:00

Tonight I was at a Young Women Board Meeting so Vance spent the evening with Lincoln while I was away. Vance recorded a few videos, but this particular one was my favorite. As Lincoln has grown older, he is learning to show more emotion, which has made some games more fun! Vance is a great father to Lincoln. When Vance gets home, Lincoln just lights up and wants to be held by Vance, of course. We think Lincoln will start walking in the next couple of months, but we'll see. Enjoy the video!

Indiana Dunes

2011-08-28T15:07:00.000-06:00

We have done so many trips this summer! We have been spoiled to be able to travel so much. Yesterday we went to the Indiana Dunes. It is located on Lake Michigan. There are so many trails to hike or bike, beaches to swim, and a few historical things to see as well.

These first two pictures are on the Lakefront and Riverwalk. It was pretty windy in the afternoon!

Below is a picture of Vance and Lincoln coming down Mt. Baldy. It is the largest dune, at 127 feet at the summit. Apparently the dune is moving inland at a rate of 4 feet per year.

Here is one of the beaches at the bottom of Mt. Baldy. Lincoln loves to be walked everywhere!

We took a video of Lincoln in Lake Michigan at the beach we went swimming at. It was so sunny and warm when we were swimming. It was like the beaches of Florida, but right in Indiana!

Vance took this picture a few days ago of the view from our patio early in the morning. It is so beautiful where we live.

I wanted to include a picture of Lincoln and one of his friends, Charlotte. She has come over a couple of times, and came over to play last week. Lincoln is 4 months older and likes to pat Charlotte on the face to show her how much he likes her, but of course his "pat" isn't very soft. So...we have to watch him carefully because he is still learning to be gentle!

Warsaw, Indiana

2011-08-26T09:00:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week Vance, Lincoln and I drove to Warsaw, Indiana. Vance has been driving the two hour trip each way to Warsaw every other week for two days during the last year. This trip was the last because he is finishing his current assistantship with the company there.

Lincoln and I have always stayed home while he leaves for these trips, but we came with him this time. We checked in at the Ramada Inn and did lots of swimming at their fancy indoor pool. Lincoln was loving the hotel room (especially the air conditioning/heating fan) and was on his best behavior. Vance's project manager took us out to lunch at a place called the Boat House on Winona Lake. It had a great view and good food. Lincoln never sleeps as well as usual on trips, so I was really worried about being at a nice restaurant with Vance's boss. I prayed that Lincoln would have excellent behavior, and he did!! Lincoln and I then spent the afternoon on a nearby local beach and then he sat in his stroller while I shopped at some cute pottery places, boutiques, etc. while Vance finished work that day.

I wanted to get a picture of Vance in front of the company he has worked so hard for during the last year! Great job! Love you!

Trip to Atlanta- More Pictures

2011-08-23T13:43:00.000-06:00

We all went to Centennial Park on one of our days in Atlanta. They have a daily "mini Bellagio" water show that was so fun to watch. The water shot up in a beautiful rhythm to the music. It was awesome! Before the show Lincoln and the other little boys played in the water. I tried to have a picture taken but Lincoln just whined because he was so tired and also wanted to go back into the water. He was such a champ on the trip, though. I'd take him any day!!

My brother Peter and I toured the World of Coke museum. I did this with my mother three years ago, but it was a lot of fun to go again. Peter's favorite part was the end of the tour when you get to sample 64 different Coke products sold around the world!

We went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and I was stunned by the georgous plants!! The variety and beauty of plants is hard to describe. It was awesome and I would love to go again one day.

Above are the aerial roots of a plant. Cool!

Lincoln is my sweet little baby boy who is not so much a baby any more. He makes us so happy each day and we are so blessed to have him in our family.

His hair is white as can be and was getting long on top. Kind of a fun look, eh?! I think it was smothered with sunscreen because hats just don't stay on any more.

My mom was so kind to watch the boys while Carrie and I went to the Georgia Aquarium. It was the largest aquarium I have ever been to. Below is a whale shark.

We spent a fair amount of time just watching these sea creatures swim around. I often forget the beautiful world around us and all of the awesome creations that there are!

On our last day we went to Allatoona Beach. It wasn't far from where we were staying but was in a secluded tree surrounded area. The sand was clean and light, and the water was warm. Joe was able to be with us during the day that day (and not just the evening) so we had fun swimming all day. Thanks for the trip!!! It was great!!

Trip to Atlanta!

2011-08-23T13:25:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Lincoln and I went to Atlanta with my mother and little brother to visit my brother and his family. I took a few pictures, but I'll have to post most of them later. I sent many of the pictures from my camera phone (forgot the regular camera) and sent them all at once to my email so I could download them to put them on this blog, but it says it is still "sending" all of those emails. Must have sent too many. There are only two pictures that made it through so far from our trip to Atlanta, and here they are!

My brother Joe, sister-in-law Carrie, nephews Hunter, Sawyer, my mom, brother Peter, Lincoln and I were all there together in Atlanta. We were so excited to drive there. It was a beautiful drive and didn't take very long. One evening we went to the Cheesecake Factory in Atlanta. I sat with Peter, Sawyer and Lincoln. It was fun! Sawyer wanted to hold Lincoln and he did a great job.

At the gas station Lincoln got to drive the car with Grandma!! He is such a big boy these days.

The rest of the pictures from our trip will have to come later.

A couple of days ago Lincoln and I went to the Tippecanoe Mall. We had fun looking in many of the stores. Lincoln enjoyed the moving car (back and forth, back and forth, but he loved it!)

Last weekend Vance, Linc, and I went to a birthday party to celebrate four people's birthdays (all born August 20th!) The two dad's were both born in the same year on the same date, and the little girls were born on the same date, same year as well. What are the chances of that?! We had fun at the BBQ at a local park and Lincoln enjoyed sitting next to Elise, a little girl in our ward. His mother, Ann, and I are planning their wedding already.

Glow Stick Party!

2011-08-21T19:57:00.000-06:00

Glow Stick + Cheerios = A happy Lincoln

Columbian Park/Zoo/Train Ride

2011-08-05T15:10:00.001-06:00

Today has been a quieter day, with just a trip to Purdue's campus to drop off Vance, and then to Walmart for a general shopping trip. But yesterday we had lots of fun. On the other side of town there is a huge park/zoo/swimming park (with a frozen custard place across the street). It is every child's dream and of course because Lincoln loves it and is so happy there, I love it too. We started on the swings. After even 10 or 15 minutes of this, I took him out of the swing and he started to whine and fuss, so I put him back in for a few minutes and got this cute picture.

The zoo is free and there are several water fountains of varying sizes that people let their kids play in. We didn't bring his swimming trunks, but decided to get soaked anyway. He spent the rest of the afternoon with only his t-shirt and diaper on and his sandals (with no shorts or pants) but because he's 10 months old and it was over 90 degrees, I don't think anybody minds!

After the zoo (he loved the goats the best again it seemed) we went on the mini-train ride. Lincoln gets very quiet and focused on the ride. His eyes are set on what he is seeing and he isn't in the mood to sip at his drink or have any snacks. But before the train ride I managed to get this picture. He brought out his grin as soon as my phone came out for the picture.

Poor Vance works so hard at school doing research in a lab while Lincoln and I get to have all the fun. He is coming with us to the fancy pool tomorrow though!

Lincoln and I are super excited because on Monday we are heading to Atlanta, Georgia for the week to visit some Kindt family down there. Wahoo!

Expressions of Love

2011-08-04T09:41:00.000-06:00

This video is a great reminder of how important it is to show our spouses and families how much we love them. It is so sweet!

Open House in Milwaukee, Diaper Changes, and Rental Cars!

2011-07-29T12:14:00.000-06:00

The following post is all pretty random. I just wanted to post some of our recent pictures!

Bath time is fun for all of us. Lincoln knows where to crawl to get his bath. Please excuse the hard water stain on the faucet. I really try to keep my home clean but somehow those water stains show up so quickly.

Any diaper or clothes changes are difficult now. I wish he knew I was doing him a favor! It seems to literally be a wrestling match to get a new diaper or clothes on him! We try to give him the most exciting toys or anything distracting, but it doesn't distract him for very long. He has things to do and places to go!

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated our two year anniversary. Here is what he have to display from that morning! We picked up the pottery we made, but I didn't take any pictures of those yet.

That is a "2" sign, not a peace sign.

Once in a while, Lincoln and I go out to meet Vance as he is coming home from school.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, we were rear ended on the highway in the Chicago area on our way to Oshkosh. Everyone was alright. Luckily our absorber was ok, but we got the paint refinished. It was funny because the guy who hit us was actually from Oshkosh, our hometown and he was headed back there as well. Anyway, we got a rental car for a few days, while they repainted the bumper. It was a 2011 Dodge Caliber. It felt great to drive and was fun, but we probably wouldn't buy one. The visibility was horrible. It was so hard to back up or change lanes. We felt like you couldn't see very well.

Yesterday Lincoln had a rough day. He is not napping as well as he used to. As we have shown on this blog, Lincoln loves water. Maybe we fostered this when he was a baby. We used to turn on the faucet and let the water run and it soothed him to sleep. Nothing else seemed to work. I usually don't let him, but yesterday I let him play in the sink. He was in heaven. I just had to make sure he didn't turn the water onto a hot setting.

Last weekend we went to Milwaukee for an open house. My cousin Elizabeth married Jason Dimond in December at the Nauvoo LDS Temple. I took a few pictures there of just a few of the family members that were there. We had a great time. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, which is pretty fancy for us!

Megan and Rachel. They are some of my cousins from Iowa. They also have a brother Matthew and little sisters Mary, Grace, Emma, and Lucy. They are such cute and fun cousins.

Uncle Nick, baby Lucy, Matthew, and Vance.

Below: Uncle Tim and Aunt Marta (from Mesa, Arizona). i wish I took more pictures of all the family that was there.

The newlyweds...Jason and Elizabeth. Congratulations guys! It was so good to meet Jason. We really like Jason and think they are great together.

Lincoln Crawls on His Knees and Two Year Anniversary

2011-07-22T12:58:00.003-06:00

Lincoln started crawling on his knees consistently yesterday. We are so proud of him. He had been army crawling since the beginning of June, so we are excited about this. Vance took this when he got home from school and I was finishing our dinner.

Yesterday he also tried to feed us with the spoon he played with during dinner. It was sure cute. He tries to pull himself to stand on everything, and seems more determined than ever to stand on the faucet in the tub....which makes us so nervous. We try to distract him to play with his toys in the tub, but sometimes all he tries to do is stand!!

Lincoln also has learned "peek a boo." Below is a video of him playing in the tub with our version of the game with the shower curtain.

This last video is about two weeks old. We got him a walker and he loves the independence it brings him. We have to watch our toes when he's in it, though...

We have been having all sorts of fun here lately. It has been extremely hot and humid, with the heat index at 115 degrees for the past three days. We are so grateful for our air conditioning (the bill will be high this month!) Anyway, we have been having fun. I have baked lots of bread (white, banana, pumpkin, zucchini), tried new recipes for dinner, got a new jogging stroller which is AWESOME, and got rid of a lot of extra things we don't need in the house. I also am almost finished with a great book called "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl. He survived the Holocaust and tells of his experience there but also relates it to many things he has learned about love and the purpose in life and suffering. He gained so much from his experience. Very inspiring and definitely not a downer.

In the last few days we went to the Tippecanoe County Fair and saw lots of pigs, sheep, horses, cows, chickens, rabbits, crafts, and more. Lincoln seemed to enjoy the horses the most. We also have gone to a nearby tumbling gym and played in the foam pit, crawled through tunnels, etc. Yesterday we went to the Tropicanoe Cove pool in Lafayette. It is the fanciest pool/waterpark in town. Lincoln didn't especially enjoy the lazy river (I suppose there is nothing to "do" while you float, however I loved it!). He was pretty daring and walked right up to the falling water toys, even if the water got in his eyes.

We celebrated our two year anniversary on Monday, July 18th! Vance was so thoughtful and did some sweet things throughout the day. When I opened the laptop at about noon, the "Love Songs" station on pandora started, and he had a card for me waiting there. I woke up to two bouquets or two dozen flowers for each month we have been married. Then I found Ghirradelli chocolates on the bed! Vance is good at making special days like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays extra special. I thought of a few things...one of them making a homemade card. I actually made a successful and cute one which makes me feel super crafty. Deep down I want to be more crafty.

A newly married couple in our ward volunteered to babysit for us, so we went out on the town in the evening. We went to La Scala, a fine Italian restaurant, for dinner. The food was soooo tasty and the servings were generous. We took home the rest that made enough leftovers for two meals for both of us. We also went to "All Fired Up," a pottery place in town where you can paint pottery. I painted a utensil holder and Vance painted a spoon rest. Then after that we went for a romantic walk down by the celery bog. The sun was setting and the wild flowers smelled beautiful. It was such a nice night and was fun to think about how glad we were that we chose to marry each other. It was nice to reflect on all the experiences, whether joyous or sad, we have been through. Love you Vance.

Who Does Lincoln Look Like?

2011-07-17T20:43:00.001-06:00

We hear it all the time. "He looks just like _____." We thought it would be fun to let those who read our blog give their opinion. So here are the candidates:

The Cousins: Left to Right - Hunter, Sawyer, Jared, Mason, Avely, Aubrey, Jack Jack, Camden, Dallin, Brynn, Kayla, Lyndee.

Mom and Dad:

Summer Fun

2011-07-12T20:04:00.001-06:00

Last Saturday, Vance, Lincoln and I attended the Wabash Riverfest. It is a yearly fest along the river with river boat racing, food to buy, face painting, balloon tying, live music, booths, pony rides, etc. We thought Lincoln might enjoy a pony ride. Vance walked along with him, because Lincoln definitely doesn't have the balance to hold himself. I think he enjoyed it but also was ready to be done at the end. They only went around about 5 or 6 times which was perfect. Then we enjoyed some tasty Italian Ice treats, which was wonderful! It was so good to eat on such a hot day. It has definitely been so hot and humid here lately. To some degree, we've stayed inside a bit more because it has been so warm.

Lincoln and I had a great day today. We went to the library for the birth to 24 month story/singing time. I haven't been in a while. There were a few other kids that looked just about his age. Lincoln definitely was the most vocal/wiggly one. He was very excited and wanted to crawl forward but then would come back almost instantly to give me a hug and be held. I guess I can't expect a 9.5 month old to sit still, though! Many people have said how active and wiggly he is, and I thought that maybe all kids his age are THIS active. However, as time goes by, and I have more time to observe, Lincoln definitely is a super wiggly kid! Tonight when I was wrestling him to get his pajamas on, I even broke a nail. Man!

Anyway, we read some books, played in the kid section, checked out books, and then headed to the zoo. They have this group of 6 or 7 gibbons (like monkeys) that sing and howl in unison that are always so fun and amusing to listen to. Well, our favorite animals to see today were the new baby goats. We went to the zoo a few weeks ago but a couple of the mothers hadn't delivered their babies yet! They were still so tiny. They also were remarkably tolerant of little children and specifically my baby "touching" them (which wasn't always a soft petting action, but more of a hit). It was really fun to see Lincoln enjoy them. There must have been 8 or 10 new baby goats. All of the sudden a couple of the baby goats kept sniffing Lincoln's shirt, and then were trying to eat his shirt! It was funny and fortunately Lincoln wasn't scared at all.

9 Months Old

2011-07-10T19:54:00.000-06:00

Lincoln turned 9 months old a week and a half ago, but he just had his checkup appointment with his pediatrician last Friday. I was expecting a few shots at this appointment, but they said they wouldn't do any more vaccinations until he is one year old. I guess I was a little relieved. Although I know vaccinations are good, I was not excited about watching the shots. Anyway, they took his measurements and discussed his development.

Height: 29 inches/ 75%ile
Weight: 21 lbs 3.6 oz/ 50-75%ile
Head Circumference: 46 1/2 cm/ 75-90th %ile

His 6-12 month old sized summer hat does not fit his head any longer, so I am not surprised his head measured so large!! Larger heads come from my side, the Kindt side, of the family (large brains as well). His head was in the 25%ile when he was born, so it has grown quite a bit!

What Lincoln does now...

Army crawls everywhere (starting to get up on all fours)

Loves to pull out DVDs, books, CDs from where they belong

Loves his walker and likes to open and close and open and close and open and close the cupboard doors (not enough time to type all the "open and closes" that he does)

Kitchen utensils, spatulas, etc are some of his favorites, along with pots and pans!

Enjoys it when we sing to him. Whenever I sing "Edelweiss" from the Sound of Music, he will start rubbing his eyes because he knows it is time to sleep.

Will always cheer up if we "walk" him

Points at people and objects

Has waved "bye" a couple of times

Tries to put his spoon in a bowl and mimic eating

Says "dada" "yaya" and a few "baba" sounds

Still makes raspberries, squeals, and loves to vary his pitch

Lately he insists on drinking his bottles 1. by himself and 2. laying down.

Loves his dad and gives him the biggest smiles when he sees him

Wakes up happy in the mornings

Loves turning fans on and off

Favorite toy of all time.......drum roll please........mom's keys!

Loves to play in sinks with the water running

Likes bananas, peaches, peas, brocolli, bread, crackers, tiny bits of chicken, just about any baby food, and loves his cereals!

Now drinks soy-based formula...had non-stop diarrhea for 3 or so weeks since he got sick in California. But he loves it and had no problem switching formulas, luckily. We'll try switching him back to a milk-based formula in a couple of weeks.

Independence Day weekend in Wisconsin- Part 2

2011-07-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

We went to the Oshkosh Fourth of July parade and met Vance and Janessa's first cousin and her family there...

Colored Bread

2011-07-09T06:00:00.002-06:00

A few days ago I decided I wanted to make some bread. A friend of mine did an official "rainbow bread" but I only used four colors and also made them swirl. So it was a little different, but fun to make, although my arms and hands were very tired afterwards! It took a lot of time and effort kneading all the food coloring into the separate pieces of dough. As you can see, it wasn't perfect....but it was fun enough that I'll probably do it again in a year or so when Lincoln will appreciate it more.

Independence Day weekend in Wisconsin (Part 1)

2011-07-08T06:00:00.002-06:00

We have done a lot of traveling lately! Last weekend we went to Wisconsin for the holiday weekend. We stayed with my parents and little brother and invited our sister and brother in law Janessa and Jeremy to spend the weekend with us. One afternoon, after going to our city's farmer's market, we went tubing and skiing.

Peter and Janessa at the head of the boat.

Jeremy and my dad tubing!

Our great driver, Rob Rhodes. Thanks so much!

Peter and Jeremy tubing...

Vance and I. It was such nice day. It was windy, hence my bangs just NOT cooperating.

My handsome husband, Vance.

My dad...

Vance and I tubing...

I tried skiing as well. The first time I wasn't able to get up (it has been a couple of years) but was able to after that. It felt great.

Louisville Trip

2011-07-06T13:35:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago, Vance, Lincoln, and I drove to Louisville, Kentucky two weeks ago for a quick weekend trip. We visited my college roommate Jodie and her family. It was so fun to see them and to catch up!

Jodie and her husband watched Lincoln one morning so we could attend the temple together. If you want to learn more about what we believe, click here.

Jodie's little boy, Peter was so cute. We went to the Splash Pad, a small playground/water park one afternoon. I got a little shot of his cute grin.

Vance and Lincoln just enjoying the day...

Part of the gang (Clark, Peter, Claire, Jodie, Lincoln and Vance). I was taking the picture, of course, and Jodie's husband was probably watching our bags.

Cute picture of Lincoln playing in the water. He looooves water.

Clark was such a fun kid to talk to. He was fearless at this park and also on the merry-go-round. There must have been 20 kids on the merry-go-round and he was hanging on the edge, and some older kids were spinning them so fast. Clark fell off and didn't even shed a tear!

Jodie and I. It was fun to reminisce. Her husband took a picture of us looking through a freshman year photo book. It was embarrassing to see all the pictures and remember all the typical freshman-like things we did!

This is the only picture I have of the adorable and little Claire. Lincoln apparently wanted her sunglasses but she didn't like it! (I wouldn't either if some big kid was trying to take mine:))

The last three pictures were stolen from Jodie's blog. Thanks Jodie:) We had such a great time!

The Beaches of California...before we went to Nevada and then came back to Cali:)

2011-07-01T11:28:00.001-06:00

Here are some pictures from my phone that I wanted to add to our blog. We spent a bit of time in San Francisco and the surrounding area before heading to Nevada. We already missed Vance but were having a great time. Here are some pictures!

I remembered how chilly it was in San Francisco from our trip last summer!

My brother Peter...

My parents with Lincoln along the beach.

Lincoln LOOOOVED the beach! This was his first time in the ocean. After a bit he was getting fussy because it was so cold, but then when we took him out of the water he fussed because he wanted to get back in! My mom was great at letting Lincoln get dirty and just play in all the stream beds/lakes/oceans throughout the trip (because that is what he LOVES). She taught me how to loosen up a little bit and be a little less concerned about how dirty and wet he gets from it all!

I love his adorable feet in the water.

This summer has been filled with lots of traveling so far. I think I have spent more days living out of a suitcase this month than at home!! Vance, Lincoln and I are heading up to Wisconsin this afternoon to spend the Independence Day weekend with my parents and our sister and brother-in-law Janessa and Jeremy and their two little girls. It will be fun. We are hoping for not a lot of traffic on the way there. Wish us luck!

Last weekend Vance and I went to Louisville, Kentucky for a couple of days. We visited my old roommate Jodie (Cozza) Heiselt and her family. I'll have to blog about it next week...

California Trip Part 3

2011-07-01T08:00:00.000-06:00

Part of the reunion we spent doing fun things like an Iron Chef competition, a talent show, crafts, and visiting.

My sister-in-law Carrie and her youngest Hunter during the talent show.

Above: My little brother Peter performing "Hound Dog" by Elvis at the talent show. My sister Ruth performed a comedy poem, Joe crushed a pop can between his shoulder blades, and my sister Kelsey and her family sang Old MacDonald. Mine was a bit silly, but my act actually WON!!!!

Lincoln with his great grandfather William Doral Kemper! They both have such beautiful baby blue eyes!

There are four generations of women here. On the right is my grandmother, Ida Low Kemper, then on the left is my mother Kristen Kemper Kindt, and then two of her three daughters (Kelsey and I). Kelsey is expecting another daughter. So a four generation picture of women!

My nephews Sawyer and Hunter in the red wagon. They are adorable. I love them!

Nephew Jared with nephew Hunter...out for another ride!

All of us Kindt kids from youngest to oldest (Peter, Ruth, Kelsey, me, Joseph)

Above is almost all of our clan. Mom, Ruth, Kelsey, Ken, Jared, Me, Joe, Sawyer, Carrie, Hunter) But we are sadly missing my Dad (had to leave early), Vance (devoted graduate student) and Peter (who thought it was funny to step out!)

I love this picture so much. My sweet little boy with my sweet mom!

Right before we flew out of San Fransisco we spent some time at Chinatown. It was fun to see the food, clothing, and little knick-knacks they sold. It was a great, exhausting trip!

California Family Reunion Part 2 (Yosemite)

2011-06-30T08:00:00.000-06:00

We spent another day at Yosemite National Park. I took other pictures with aunts/uncles/cousins on my camera phone, and will need to upload those as well. At least this gives you a taste of how beautiful it was. We went on an easy hike to the lower part of the falls. It was amazing how powerful the water was and how you could feel the mist from the falls so far away. We were wet by the end!

Georgous!

My little Lincoln all tuckered out at the end of the day.

Another view of the park.

On this outer edge of the park you can see the effects of a somewhat recent fire. Still beautiful.

California Family Reunion Part I

2011-06-29T08:00:00.001-06:00

We then drove from Nevada to Soulsbyville, California to participate in the Kemper Family Reunion (my mother's side). We had a lot of fun there. I took so many pictures but just can't post them all.

On the first day we went to Columbia, California. It was a small town and it had a place where they showed you how to find gold and gems in the sand. The instructor taught a specific way to shake your sand and use the water as a help. When you find the gold, you are supposed to say, "Eureka!" Below are pictures of all of us troopers having fun. Most of the kids/young adults were the ones doing this activity, with the adults helping.

Below: Levi Houghton, William Kemper, and Kemper Woodward.

Below: Aunt Jill and Andrea

Below: My dad and little brother Peter

Below: Tess Houghton, Carlen Hobbs, Suzannah Woodward, Caroline Kemper, Kelsey Ross

Below: Marta Houghton, Amy Hobbs, Maren Hobbs, James Hobbs, and Aidan Woodward

There was a neat guy there with a donkey that we got a picture with!

I wish I bought this umbrella stroller months ago. It has been so nice. Such a convenience!

Then a few of us got to go to a store where they taught us how to make candy. It was really neat and one of their machines were over 100 years old!

Nevada!

2011-06-28T14:56:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Lincoln and I went to Nevada to visit my brother and his family. We flew into San Francisco but then drove with my parents and little brother to Gardnerville, Nevada. It was so fun to see their home and to visit with them. We went to Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay while we were there. I took some other pictures on my camera phone which I'll have to upload later that have other people on them too. We parked at a parking lot and walked all the way down along a hike. It was so beautiful!

Below is a photo of Emerald Bay.

Infantile Hemangioma - Lincoln's Progress

2011-06-18T22:34:00.004-06:00

I thought that I would give an update on Lincoln's nasal tip hemangioma. He has been on Propranolol since January and we have seen very promising results. Other than Lincoln growing a third arm, there have been no major side effects to speak of (if there only was a sarcasm font...). I think that the best way to tell the story is through pictures, so here's the highlight reel.

October 22, 2010 - 2 weeks old - No real sign of the hemangioma

November 15, 2010 - 6 weeks - What's that you say? Still no signs yet?

November 29, 2010 - about 2 months - I laugh in the face of danger! First signs start to appear (blueish color)

December 10, 2010 - 10 weeks(ish) - Even the cuteness of his farmer outfit couldn't stop it. This is about the time Lisa noticed and called the doctor.

December 22, 2010 - 12 weeks - At this point we knew that he had a nasal tip hemangioma.

January 3, 2011 - 3 months old - The next few pictures show the hemangioma during the rapid growth phase. It is hard to believe that it got as big as it did. We started him on Propranolol towards the end of the month (I am sure glad we didn't have to do steroids with him).

January 12, 2011- Blue blue eyes, but unfortunately, a blueish nose too.

January 18, 2011

January 25, 2011 - This was when it was at its worst. Not too bad considering what it could have become untreated (hopefully not the size of the soccer balls on his bib).

April 16, 2011 - 6 months old - After about 3 months of treatment. Not only has the treatment worked well, but he might be the cutest little guy ever (he gets the good looks from his mom).

May 12, 2011 - 7 months old - After about 4-5 months treatment. Let that be a lesson to you nasal tip hemangioma. Lincoln can defeat you and cookie monster too!

He is looking good and we are so grateful for everyone's support and the expert medical care Lincoln has received from Dr. Anita Haggstrom and her team. Thanks!

May and Early June happenings

2011-06-07T10:17:00.001-06:00

It seems that lots of pictures of Lincoln are taken in his high chair... I guess that is where a lot of the fun is! I must have dripped some of his baby food on his tray, and he loved to play in it!

Sometimes Lincoln and I go to the library for reading/singing/instrument time. We went to the older group's reading time because of timing's sake that day, and they had a craft afterward.

On Memorial day we went to a nearby park and enjoyed the fun there. It was hot!!! Although we missed the parade, we enjoyed the zoo and also went on the kiddie train ride throughout the park. Even Vance and I really enjoyed that.

Just chillin' on the slide...

Somehow the best toys are the things we use (sunglasses, remote controls, cell phones, etc.) I actually won't let him play with my cell phone any longer. After he was drooling/biting on it for some time when I wasn't watching...the screen and some of the applications weren't working correctly for a day. Ha ha...not a toy any longer!

Our little boy is growing up!

Here he is playing with his "Incrediblocks" toys...

Below are some pictures from the last few days. Last Friday Lincoln and I went strawberry picking at a place called Annie's Orchards. It seemed that almost every year growing up we would grow strawberry picking in June as a tradition. We loved picking the strawberries and eating them as we picked!

Lincoln lasted nearly two hours and just loved playing in the fields. He had a couple of toys and I tried to pick the strawberries and keep him entertained. He is a really patient baby and becoming more and more independent these days.

The strawberries were just big enough that I think he would choke on them if he got a whole one in his mouth....I guess he had this one in his hand for the picture...but not for long!

He was my little helper. It was getting very hot and humid at this point...so we were ready to leave.

There was a sweet lady named Jane who was picking strawberries in the rows next to us, and we got to know her a little bit. Just before we left, she offered to take a picture. Although Lincoln was getting whiny at that point, I said yes to her offer. But as you can see, he had just about had it!!! I generally try to post some of our better pictures on our blog and make it positive, and not about the times when we're having bad days or Lincoln is just fussy, but this picture makes me smile. It reminds me of those bittersweet moments that are so real to all of us.

Vance and I have church in the afternoon and had some extra time. We decided to take some pictures. Above is Vance with Lincoln in front of our complex. This is the one we got where both boys are looking!

Trying out the timer for a little family picture! Lincoln looks a little bored/tired, and I think he was. I really think he was also staring at the flashing lights that increase in speed from the camera before the picture was taken.

Sometimes Lincoln and I blow bubbles back out in this grassy area, or it is where we start our jogs together to get to some trails in the area. We are so blessed right now.

This weekend Lincoln and I are going to California and Nevada! We are so excited for the Kemper family reunion, on my mom's side, and will be gone for a couple of weeks. I'm a little nervous about the plane rides with an older infant who probably won't sleep the entire time, being in an airport with a huge suitcase, stroller, diaper bag, carry on, car seat, and infant, (going through security will be quite the adventure) and changing time zones by three hours...and being in a place where I worry about trying to keep Lincoln's feeding/sleeping schedule, but I think we'll survive and have a great time. Vance would love to go, but he has got a lot of research and deadlines to meet for Purdue. We'll sure miss him.

Someone Please Explain This

2011-06-04T20:43:00.000-06:00

Calling all child psychologists. What is your diagnosis for Lincoln's behavior in this video?

Video Highlights of April

2011-05-22T19:32:00.000-06:00

Here are some fun videos of Lincoln. He makes us laugh all of the time.

Fathers and Sons Campout

2011-05-15T13:47:00.024-06:00

A couple of nights ago, Vance and Lincoln went to a nearby campground for a stake fathers and sons campout. Although they just spent the evening and didn't stay overnight in a tent, they still had some great bonding time....and I got the evening to myself!

Loves to eat dirt!

I got this picture last week. We got Cookie Monster a couple of years ago after Vance won 400 tickets twice in one night while playing Deal or No Deal (arcade game). We were on a double date with another couple and after mini-golfing we spent some time playing some of those games. Too bad Cookie Monster already has a small rip in his leg...surely it won't be around forever.

May Flowers

2011-05-13T15:34:00.002-06:00

I have a few pots on our patio with flowers that I am really enjoying lately. I have to be a little choosy in the flowers I buy because I only get sun on portions of the patio for a few hours in the morning. I'm not able to grow some of the vegetables (especially tomatoes) that I would like because I get little sun, but flowers are fun too.

My new favorite flower to grow are these yellow tuberous begonias. I love the middle of the flowers. Do you see all the wiggly tubes on one of the flowers? These are so cool!

Then here is Lincoln on our balcony patio. He has been having lots of runny noses these days. We go through lots of Kleenex tissues to try to keep him clean! He has already gotten a little too close to my flowers and has already pulled out an entire plant and ripped off some flowers and leaves of another, but I still love him to pieces. I have to be a little more careful!

Vance's 26th Birthday and Lincoln's first tooth

2011-05-10T10:42:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Vance's birthday. We got a babysitter and went out to our new favorite restaurant, the Hu Hot Mongolian Grill. We went there once before with my parents and siblings last month in Wisconsin and loved it. We highly recommend it. We then had some fun at a park playing basketball and frisbee. The weather was perfect. By then it was time to get our little boy from the sitter. After we got him to bed at our home, we had some dessert and gifts.

Funny face Vance....I know his Reese's dessert is small, but this was his dessert by request! Notice the candles make the shape of a 26.

Happy Birthday Vance! We love you!

Lincoln's special gift to his father was his first tooth!! His bottom-middle left tooth has come through. We were wondering when this day would happen and it finally came.

Dad's Shoes, Bubble Baths, and More...

2011-05-02T19:30:00.001-06:00

Last week we took a family trip to buy Vance some basketball shoes. He often plays "church ball" on Wednesday nights and we thought he needed some new shoes. His old ones had been giving him blisters and new shoes were definitely overdue. We came home with these and we all enjoyed them.

Lincoln got some new cute Oshkosh B'Gosh overalls last week too. Here he is just enjoying an afternoon.

In the picture above you can see my potted plants! I have a patio where I can actually grow something. We don't get enough sun on the patio to grow much...so they are part-shade to shade flowers. They are doing well and thriving. Somehow I usually have killed my indoor plants...maybe outdoor is the way to go.

This picture below is from a couple of weeks ago. It is getting easier these days to get pictures with him looking directly into the camera.

Vance has fun with Lincoln these days. Lincoln loves to be on his shoulders. It is fun having him get old enough where we can toss him a little or spin him around.... although the newborn stage where you really do have to hold them like they are porcelain dolls is so fun too! Here he is last Sunday before his bedtime.

Today when we were on some errands, I remembered that I had wanted to buy some bubble bath liquid. For our family home evening activity, we decided to use the bubbles in the bath for the first time. He just barely had a huge blow-out during our lesson and Vance needed to get back to campus...so the bath time was a practical activity! I ended up probably putting too much in his bath.... (can you have too many bubbles?) I don't think Lincoln felt me put the bubbles on his head or was really aware. Maybe the bubbles were more fun for us than him!

All About Lincoln:

Nurses about 4 times per day (starting formula for some feedings and more solids now)
Loves to sit up just about all of the time.
Does not like tummy time still... I have a feeling he might start crawling later because of this....
Will smile at strangers and doesn't have too much stranger anxiety
Will grunt and growl to get our attention
He loves it when we touch face to face. He makes the sweetest sounds and has the biggest smile.
Definitely has an occasional fake-laugh...but don't we all?
Enjoys "dancing" with mom and dad
Loves to "walk" around the house (of course with maximum assistance)
Sleeps from 8:30 pm to 6:30-7:30 am (and we wake him up at about 2:00 AM each morning for meds and feeding)
He is a generally happy child
People say he's a strong boy...like father, like son.

It has been a long semester for us. I sometimes feel like I am in grad school again! But Vance has finals this week and hopefully this summer will be a little less crazy. Vance will just be focusing on his thesis and research. Lincoln has been a little sick these past few days. He's been having a runny nose, coughing, and constantly wheezing since Friday morning. We're keeping an eye on him. Tomorrow we go to his pediatrician's office to get his second dose of the influenza vaccine, and I think I'll ask the nurse to listen to his lungs and tell me if I should be more or less worried. He has been quite whiny today, and I wonder if he just doesn't feel well. Anyway, I'm just so grateful for him and my husband. I love my boys!

Photography by Heidi

2011-04-27T13:48:00.002-06:00

My friend Heidi babysat Lincoln for me for a couple of afternoons the last two weeks while my other babysitter was out of town. She is such a good friend and talented photographer. You can visit her website at
http://photobyheidi.blogspot.com/ or http://photobyheidi.weebly.com/ . She snapped a few pictures while he was at their home. Thanks!

Lincoln was the happiest when his diaper was changed!

He is much more stable when sitting these days.

I love to eat everything. Give it to me so I can taste it...

Looking handsome...

This is Heidi's little baby girl, Charlotte. It is my favorite picture of all. Heidi said that Charlotte grabbed hold of his arm all on her own. They are good friends.

Lincoln on his surfboard...he's a natural.

Car Ride Bliss and An Amazing Easter Weekend

2011-04-27T13:35:00.001-06:00

Lincoln got a new car seat because he was just growing out of his old one. He didn't reach the weight limit on the other one we had, but he was just looking so cramped. He now has a convertible car seat and we love it. He is able to sit upright and there's a whole new world for him to see. He has more leg room and around his sides as well. We went to Milwaukee last weekend. On Saturday we left very early in the morning and headed north. We went to the temple in Chicago (my parents watched Lincoln at the hotel- thanks!) then went to see Les Miserables (thank you Maralee for babysitting) in Milwaukee, went out to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, visited Maralee's family (who grew up in my grandparents ward) and then played games with Maralee and her husband back at their house. We stayed with them that night, attended their ward, and headed back south to Indiana Sunday afternoon to enjoy our Easter together. It was a very eventful weekend but we had so much FUN!!

Anyway, here is Lincoln in his new car seat on our way to Milwaukee last weekend. Vance caught a happy picture with his phone.

Lincoln - Cats and Dogs

2011-04-24T19:10:00.000-06:00

Who needs a real cat or dog to have fun with when you have a crazy Dad.

Gmail Motion

2011-04-17T16:31:00.000-06:00

This technology looks like it is going to be awesome:)

My Little Lincoln

2011-04-12T19:53:00.002-06:00

Vance is gone tonight until midnight or later. I guess tonight you could call me a grad school widow:) He's got a huge project he's working on. I don't envy him, but I'm proud of him and all his hard work. He hardly every complains. It is really quiet in our home, but writing blog posts keeps me busy after putting little Lincoln to bed!

We are learning more about our little Lincoln every day. This week we've learned...

Somehow he loves Buzz Lightyear, Woody, and Jesse. He's never seen the movie but every time after we change his diaper he lunges his body at the picture on his diaper wipes container and smiles and laughs while he studies the pictures. Somehow those artists know how to appeal to six month old babies!

He flips his body upside down when we walk past our living room light fixture so he can see it better. He does this because we lift him up and let him pull the strings to turn the lights and fan on and off. It is so cute how it entertains him!

He loves baths, of course. He loves to sit up by the running water as the tub fills and put his hands through.

He loves playing in the grass and pulling it if he can. He seems to love the feel of it...he's never felt it before (long, cold winter!)

Tonight I sang some songs to Lincoln while I cuddled and rocked with him as he was so sleepy before his bedtime. I love to be able to do this because he reaches his hands up and will touch my face and "talk" to me while I sing to him, which really is cooing and gooing with a few "gaga" or "da" sounds. It is such a wonderful time. I loooove being a mom! I am sure going to miss this stage when it passes....can't he be 6.5 months old forever?!

Indiana dialect

2011-04-12T12:15:00.000-06:00

Sure, there is a little bit of an accent here in Indiana, which I am actually used to and don't notice any longer when I talk to people from this area. But there is a grammatical error that I definitely notice. However, I'm not sure if it is just the speech-language pathologist in me though that is overly sensitive to these types of things.

"Needs Binned" (a sign on a cart of items at Walmart)
"I'm not sure if it needs painted." (rental office employee)
"This firewood is ready to be taken, but needs split." (Craigslist advertisement)
"Want paid? Hand in your time card." (Sign at factory for workers)
"This needs cleaned." (Co-worker)

Do you notice what is missing? The prepositional phrase "to be" is missing in each phrase or sentence. Ever since a co-worker pointed it out to me, I hear this error made at least on a weekly basis. I think it is really interesting...alright I'll admit it is driving me crazy! I really love Indiana, but I don't want to start using this grammatical error. Please tell me if I do!

6 month Well Visit

2011-04-05T14:47:00.000-06:00

Lincoln had his 6 month checkup today. Here are his stats:

Height: 27 inches/ 75%ile
Weight: 18 lbs 11 oz/ 75%ile
Head Circumference: 44 1/2 cm/ 75%?ile

He got 4 or 5 shots as well today. He cried and cried but after a good nap is back to normal now. We are so proud of him!

He is also eating from a spoon without resistance. We'll be trying a lot of more solids now. So glad that he is now able to do this.

Almost 6 months

2011-03-30T07:37:00.000-06:00

Last week I took this picture of Lincoln. He is just growing up so quickly. He will be 6 months old this Friday. I love how BLUE his eyes are. Here are just a few of the things we know about Lincoln...

1. He wakes up happy in the morning and usually greets us with a smile.
2. He does not like to be spoon fed.
3. He is not too sure about solid foods in general, but give him a graham cracker and he is in heaven!
4. Lincoln loves his toys...his ladybug is his favorite.
5. Lincoln loves other people and he's not too shy. Not a lot of stranger anxiety (at least yet!)
6. Lincoln would rather be awake than asleep (although isn't that how it is for all kids?)
7. He would rather sit up than lay down these days, even in the bathtub.
8. He loves it when we touch his face and just smiles lots.
9. He loves it when we sing to him...his face just lights up.
10. He does not like chicken baby food (the pureed kind). I've never seen such a reaction!
11. Now that he can sit up on his own (doesn't need the bumbo any longer) he would rather not lay down as much. He rolls over much less because he's found a new trick to do!

The other day Vance went on an errand and brought back these red tulips for me for no apparent reason. I am thoroughly enjoying them!

Indianapolis Zoo

2011-03-16T20:39:00.001-06:00

Today we went to the Indianapolis Zoo. Although not all the animals and exhibits were on display because of the cold, we want to go back this summer. We had a good time. Lincoln liked watching the fish, dolphins, and more, but by the end he just slept and then played with his ladybug toy. He is a really good traveler so he didn't fuss on the ride there and back and just was content to enjoy the day.

Below Lincoln is next to the "dog shark" area. We missed getting a shark in this picture, but it was a good one of him looking at the camera, so we had to put this one in.

These dog sharks were in a similar type of pool that you'd see sting rays in. It was fun to watch them. Their eyes look kind of human like and they are such small sharks. It was fun watching them chase each other. Vance and I got to touch them, and it was such a funny feeling.

Lincoln and I by the green tree snake. This was right before his nap...he was so tired. He's had a cold (or maybe 2-3 colds) for about 3 or 4 weeks now. He wakes up coughing at night many nights and is almost constantly congested. But his runny noses are clear and he has no fever, so we're just watching him closely. We are doing all we can but I think the sickness is just waring on his little body!

We saw a dolphin "chat" instead of a dolphin show. I think a dolphin chat is just a fancy name for a shorter version of a dolphin show. It was neat to watch them follow the hand signals of their trainers. They sure jumped high and flipped and splashed. We learned that these dolphins a) will only follow the hand signals of their trainer and b) they will only follow the hand signals during a training session. I guess they only want to do their tricks when they know they will be fed!

Handsome Vance doing a rhinoceros impression. I did a giraffe impression but it just looked silly. Vance has the cool poses.

Lincoln and a cheetah!

Lincoln and a cool bird (forgot its name). This is when he wasn't really interested in the zoo animals any longer. This ladybug is his favorite toy right now. I am amazed how he can play with it for such long periods of time and still find it interesting day after day.We brought Lincoln a hat but we forgot sunscreen. His cheeks are a little red. Vance and I are both light skinned and sensitive to the sun...so we better stock up on sunscreen for the upcoming spring/summer.

A nice lady offered to take our picture in front of these elephants. I feel as if we should be holding Lincoln....but he is in a stroller next to us. Kind of an awkward family photo, but the best one and only one of the day!

Vance has spring break this week. It has been so nice to spend more time with him. I am really grateful for his love and patience for me. He really is my better half.

Work is going well.. I really love my Tuesday mornings when I am part of a preschool assessment team. We assess these cute kids and discuss their needs and placement. It can be tiring, but feels satisfying. I love the people I work with and being part of a team. Every child is so individual and we really try to do what is best for them. It is neat to meet the mothers and fathers of these children who are so concerned and worried and hopefully provide some encouragement and help for them. I really love it. I also work on Fridays with a few groups of elementary aged kids. They are for the most part such happy children. Last month one of them told me I looked like a movie star. That sure made my day!

Lincoln and I now only travel to Indianapolis monthly for his appointments with the dermatologist. This is nicer than the appointments scheduled every two weeks. His hemangioma has definitely stopped growing and has a lighter color and is smaller. When I compare pictures of him from the end of January when he finally was able to start on some medication and now, there is a significant difference. I am so grateful we were able to see a doctor when we did and that I was able to be "pushy" and go back to my pediatrician to get a referral. Because he has been gaining a lot of weight, we've had to increase his dosage a couple of times to keep up with his size. Getting up once or twice during the night isn't really hard at all any more. Knowing that we'll have at least 2:30 am feedings and meds until Lincoln is at least 12-13 months old (and very possibly longer) makes it easier. Lowered expectations for sure! We know it is well worth it for our little Lincoln that we love so much.

It has been a long cold winter, but we are looking forward to the warmer weather and being able to enjoy the outdoors more. We look forward to doing some more traveling to Indianapolis and seeing some family too. Love you all and miss you.

Lincoln - Pictures

2011-03-11T16:04:00.000-07:00

Lincoln is a growing boy! He's almost 20 lbs (look at those cheeks)! I'll post a video of him sitting up within the next week.

Somewhat recent videos

2011-03-01T15:16:00.003-07:00

Vance was in Utah last weekend for his grandfather's funeral, which was apparently really nicely done and beautiful. We sure missed him but were glad he could spend some time with the Murray side of the family. I headed up with Lincoln to Wisconsin for fun. We had a great weekend also. Vance got home in the middle of the night (this morning) so tonight we're trying to get back to normal. Lincoln has a really bad cold right now and was acting pretty miserable last night, so I stayed home from work this morning. He's been sleeping a little more and cuddling more today. I think by tomorrow he'll probably feel better. Anyway...since he's napping I thought a blog post would be fun to do. Here it is!

This was taken 2 or 3 weeks ago... enjoy! We've tried a few more solids since then, but he is so funny about foods. He won't eat anything if it is on a spoon. But if you finger-feed him, he'll accept more readily. Funny boy... Since I am working and Lincoln is on some special medication (and he HAS to eat when he takes it--which also is making him nice and plump) we are really trying to encourage solids, because lately he has been pretty resistant to bottles.

Bath time splashing! Lincoln might be having a bad moment or a great moment, but once you put him in the tub he is so happy. He loves to freedom to splash and move around. It is fun for us too. We tried to keep the video G-rated, of course!

Looking in the mirror.... I think this was taken one night when Vance watched Lincoln and I got to do some fun shopping.

My Husband Vance

2011-02-22T13:11:00.001-07:00

Vance is a great husband and father! We went to a basketball game together in December. It was Lincoln's first time and he did so well with all the people and the noises. Vance always is spending lots of time with Lincoln and making so much time for me as well, even though he has a heavy load of work and classes.

I think this picture was taken in January before church. I sure love my boys.

Vance made my birthday so special last week. It actually became "Lisa week" because it was Valentine's Day last Monday and my birthday. Every day he would do such nice things, such as giving me chocolates, cards, make dinner or take me out to dinner, do all of the dishes, let me rest, watch Lincoln so I could go shopping, sleep in, etc. He is always thinking of others. He has been doing so well in his classes and enjoying his assistantship too. I am a lucky gal!

4 months!

2011-02-03T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today Lincoln had his four month well appointment. He loooves to coo and smile at the doctor and nurses....that is until they stick needles in his thighs :) His stats are as follows:

Height: 25 1/2 inches/ 75%ile
Weight: 16 lbs 7.6 oz./ 75-90th%ile
Head Circumference: 43 1/4 cm/ 75%ile

He is a big boy! He had his immunizations again today, and we left the doctor's office crying (he did, not me). He has slept for almost 3 1/2 hours this afternoon, which is so nice because I have been able to make necessary phone calls for appointments, schedules for next week, work emails and write ups, get dinner ready early, unload the dishwasher, take out the garbage, etc. In my family it is called "putzing" which really means you just do a little bit of everything that needs to be done around the house! Am I right you Kindts? I really should wake him up so he goes to bed at a decent hour tonight!

Vance took a nap today too. He came home for a couple of hours because he was up until 2 AM working on a report he needed to get done and then had to leave at 8 for class. I don't blame him for wanting a nap. I would have too. He is really amazing and really smart too.

My goal is also to write a post soon about my husband Vance. So much of our blog has been just about Lincoln that I realized today that he needs some blog attention too!

Pictures from December and early January

2011-02-02T06:34:00.001-07:00

Lincoln got a bumbo for Christmas from his Murray grandparents. He does really well in his bumbo. This picture was taken in December. Thanks!!!

Above is a picture of us on Christmas morning before we headed over to the Murray family's home for gift opening.

Here are some of Vance's siblings opening their presents. It was so fun to watch them enjoy Christmas morning.

Becky and Jeff (Vance's sister and our brother in law). So fun to see you guys. We had a sibling gift exchange with them!

Lincoln just drying out and getting tummy time after a bath. He rolled from his tummy to his back on Thursday January 27th for the first time on his own, and then on Monday January 31st he rolled from his back to his tummy on his own too. WOW! He is just a really determined little boy!

My mom gave Lincoln a bath when we were up in Wisconsin for a few days over the New Year holiday. Lincoln still loves his baths. He just kicks and kicks his legs and arms. We have had to return his baby bath to the tub because he splashes so much now.

My parents got all the holding time in with Lincoln they could get.

My brother Peter put his glasses on Lincoln and it was pretty funny. This just gives you an idea of what an older version of Lincoln might look like. Super smart!

Holy Roller!

2011-01-30T19:51:00.001-07:00

Lincoln rolled over for the first time without any help. Check it out.

Lincoln has started his medicine for his nasal-tip hemangioma. So far he hasn't shown any of the side effects. We will start to see if his nose improves here in the next few weeks. He is handling the whole thing really well.

Recent Videos

2011-01-08T20:32:00.003-07:00

Lincoln is GROWING so much. We took a video of him trying to roll over last night. He just has a hard time with keeping the arm tucked under on the side he's trying to roll over to. He is tolerating tummy time much better now and is close to doing 360's on blankets!

Below is another video of Lincoln during bathtime this evening. He loves his bath so much. Every time we take him out of the bath he cries and cries, and once when we put him back in his bath, he stopped crying. It was funny.

Our lives have been a little more busy lately. Vance travels to northern Indiana for two days every other week for his assistantship and also has a heavy class load. I sure miss him when he's gone. But Lincoln and I get to spend lots of time reading, playing, going to the library, play group with friends, etc. But I'm also surprised that with even ONE baby, I have a lot of more laundry and picking up to do (blankets and burpcloths galore!). I'm also surprised with how much a baby can have. For such a small baby, they have large things that come with them....like a swing, jumperoo, bassinett, bouncer seat, bumbo seat, lay n play, crib, changing table, drawers with clothes, high chairs...it takes up a lot of space!

I am still working for the school corporation in the area, filling in for two therapists who are unable to work right now. I work one morning and one afternoon each week and am able to do a couple of hours of work at home while Lincoln is napping. I think it is a really nice balance for me.

In a couple of weeks, Lincoln has an appointment with the pediatric dermatologist in Indianapolis. I am really looking forward to it and to see what answers and options she has for us! Counting down the days!

Keep your eyes posted for another update!

A Utah Christmas

2010-12-16T14:22:00.002-07:00

Tomorrow morning we're leaving for Utah! We're spending Christmas with the Murray side of the family. I am really looking forward to it. We're leaving so early in the morning that we're still arriving in Utah in the morning... and it helps with a direct flight, too. We're trying to pack so tightly so we can only check one big, big bag at the airport, to avoid paying too much in bag fees. Sheesh.

Other good news... we have an appointment with a pediatric dermatologist in Indianapolis in January! We met with his pediatrician again today and she felt like we needed to make a referral. Knowing that we'll see a specialist brings relief to me. Yay!

P.S. Is it supposed to be "an" Utah Christmas not "a" Utah Christmas? I thought there was a rule that if the word started with a vowel, that you should use "an" before the word, but it just sounds silly. An apple, an egg, an igloo, an oven, an Utah? Maybe because it is a proper noun we should just say "A Utah Christmas." What do you think?

Where has my baby gone?

2010-12-15T20:34:00.001-07:00

My boy has changed so much!

Here is a picture taken at two weeks old......

Now here he is at two and one half months old........

I love the onesie and the cute bear pants...but didn't realize how funny they looked together... Oh, and we put socks on his hands to keep him warm sometimes. No fashion show here.

Sitting up with the aid of the couch...

He fell over ......then we snapped a picture. He actually didn't fuss at all when he fell...which is great because then I'd feel guilty or feel like a bad parent after taking the picture!

A New Record!

2010-12-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

Lincoln slept from 10 pm to 7:37 am last night. Wahoo!

That's 9 1/2 hours! He has made a new record!

Snow!

2010-12-10T11:13:00.001-07:00

It snowed recently! But here is a picture from the snowfall before the one yesterday that I thought I'd share. Here is what it looks like from our patio. I love our view.

Lincoln in all his cuteness this morning. He is wearing his Oshkosh overalls for the first time.

Here's a closer shot. I think he looks like Vance. Everyone says he looks like Vance. No one has said that he looks like me yet, but that's alright with me!

Count Your Blessings

2010-12-09T18:44:00.001-07:00

Today I have been thinking about how I should be more grateful for when things in life are going well. Especially since what has happened! During the last week or so I noticed Lincoln's nose a bit greyish-purple. Last week he accidentally hit his face on my shoulder (still working on head control :)) so I thought it was a bruise, but it hasn't gone away since then. Talking with his pediatrician and having her look at his nose today, she thinks this may be the beginning of a hemangioma. There is only discoloration at this point and no growth, so we're not sure. She said we'll know in the next couple of weeks. However, there is not much we can do about it at this point. Apparently, many hemangiomas disappear on their own after months or years, but some need laser treatment to get rid of them. The nurse said that with the laser treatment, there is often no scarring afterwards.

Then this evening our hometeacher brought us a tasty plate of Christmas goodies, and my mother got me a yearly subscription to Taste of Home, a magazine I love. People are so good to us.

Meanwhile, I guess we'll see if this is what I think it is. Deep down I hope this discoloration disappears. I am really worried, and couldn't sleep for a while last night, but I think everything is ok! But mostly I am grateful that things are really going well in our lives.

Vance had two presentations in the last two days at school. He has about one more week until this semester is completed. I think this Christmas break will be great for him!

Family Pictures

2010-12-04T12:46:00.001-07:00

We had a great photographer take our pictures a couple of weeks ago at Happy Hollow park here in town. If you like her, you can contact her. She has a website: photobyheidi.blogspot.com.

It was a little chilly that day but we had a good time. The park was still really pretty at this time of year even though it had lost a lot of its color.

Below: I thought this was kind of a funny/cute picture of Lincoln while he was a little fussy and as we were trying to console him!

Two Month Check Up, Shots, and Back to Work

2010-12-01T15:12:00.001-07:00

This morning Lincoln had his two month checkup appointment with the doctor today. His stats are:

Height: 23 inches/ 50%ile
Weight: 12 lbs 12 oz/ 75%ile
Head Circumference: 40 1/4 cm/ 50%ile

I'm glad to see where he's at and that he is a healthy boy. After we met with the doctor the nurse came in to give him his shots. Oh boy, did he SCREAM!! He's only screamed like that once before when he didn't feel good. It was the kind of scream where you have to wait a few seconds for him to breath again. I hate hearing that kind of cry. It was hard for me to watch. Also, I thought I would be teary, but I didn't cry at all! But I did feel bad for him (I still have a heart, don't worry:)

This afternoon I went back to work. I am substituting this month for a speech language pathologist every Wednesday afternoon this month at an elementary school. It is with a few groups of 4th and 5th graders. One group was a bit too noisy (I better put my foot down next week!), but the rest were great and worked well. I was really nervous about going back to work and leaving him with a babysitter, but I actually really liked it. Lincoln was happy and great when I picked him up. Big day, but it went alright.

November

2010-11-30T10:40:00.001-07:00

Last week we went to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures. We had a great time though with the Kindt side of the family. Last night we put up our Christmas tree, decorations, and listened to Christmas music for family night. After we went to bed, Lincoln was up between 2 and 3 am and just wanted to play. So I decided to make the best of it and take some cute pictures of his Christmas outfit. Love it! We are looking forward to going to Utah to see the Murray side of the family for Christmas. I'm not sure how traveling will go with the Lincoln, but we'll make it anyway!

Lincoln looks super cute with his bear hat on. We love this turtle blanket, if you can't tell:)

Recently I also caught Vance sleeping with Lincoln. I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the classic "father sleeping with son photo." Vance is finishing up his first semester here at Purdue. He's working really hard and spending lots of time at school and also here at home.

At one month, Lincoln's stats were:

Height: 22 inches/ 50-75%ile
Weight: 10 lbs 2.4 oz/ 50-75%ile
Head: 36 1/2 cm/ 25%ile

Tomorrow is his two month checkup appointment with the doctor, so we'll see how that goes. I know he's getting bigger, but I have no idea where he's at for now. Check for updates on the blog soon!

Lincoln's Blessing

2010-11-08T11:51:00.001-07:00

Lincoln's Blessing

Vance gave a father's blessing to Lincoln in our home on Sunday. It was a great experience. My parents and little brother came from Wisconsin for the weekend. It was so fun to have them! We are really looking forward to going to Utah over Christmas break to share Lincoln with the Murray side of the family.

Lincoln was just beautiful in his outfit.

Last Monday Lincoln had his one month check up appointment with the doctor. Lincoln was a pretty fussy baby until we started some medicine last week for acid reflux. He is feeling better, eating better, and seems to be more comfortable and in less pain during and after eating. He is starting to sleep better at nights, waking up only once or twice, and has occasionally been sleeping for 6-7 hours at a time! That makes us very happy!

Peter is really great with Lincoln. Peter likes holding Lincoln and is able to keep him happy and sleeping. He's got the touch! Here they are just looking at each other and relaxing.

We played Apples to Apples with the family and had a good time. Here are my parents with Lincoln.

Halloween and Hayrides

2010-10-31T20:21:00.001-06:00

Halloween in West Lafayette was a blast with our little boy Lincoln. We all dressed up and went to a stake trunk or treat. Lincoln was a little bear, Lisa was a beautiful witch with cool green and black stockings, and I was a caddie/bagger (Bagger Vance).

We also had a blast carving pumpkins. As Lisa mentions on the video, we actually carved pumpkins on our first date. It has become a yearly tradition that we look forward to doing.

We went to a farm with Lincoln a couple of weeks ago. They had a pumpkin patch, petting zoo, hay-bale maze, and live entertainment. It was more than we expected. Lincoln slept the entire time, but it was nice for Lisa and I to get out and have a fun date together.

Here is a link to a video of Lincoln. He is growing so much and is a happy, healthy boy.

Tub Time (G-rated)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsvl_659c7U

Two weeks old

2010-10-15T15:52:00.000-06:00

Lincoln has been growing so much already. His days are pretty simple. He just eats, sleeps, burps, and gets diaper changes. But we sure like him! Usually he gets up between 3 and 8 times in a night (some nights are rough) but last night he slept from 11:45 pm -5:15 am (when we finally woke him up to feed him). It was wonderful! It is funny how our expectations of sleep have changed. He also smiles several times a day, but always when he is sleeping. He is such a blessing in our lives!

Above.... cookie monster watches over Lincoln. We took a few of these pictures and they really made us laugh. We got cookie monster by winning 1100 tickets at Trafalga's on a date last fall. Vance won the arcade game Deal or No Deal twice worth 400 tickets each time!

Vance is such a great dad. Here's the proud papa!

Lincoln likes his swing...

Lincoln Vance Murray has arrived!

2010-10-06T20:46:00.001-06:00

Lincoln was born at 11:13 pm on Friday, October 1, 2010. He weighed 7 pounds 11 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. It was a really hard but wonderful experience. He has white peach fuzz for hair and definite blue eyes. We are so happy he is here and we have met him!

The birth story:

I woke up at 4 am on Friday with contractions that got stronger and closer together until 8:30 AM. They stopped altogether but started up again at noon and got stronger. I went to a work meeting but left at 3:00 because I was not feeling very good. Vance picked me up (he didn't want me driving that day for good reason) and insisted we go straight to the hospital. I was sure we'd be sent home but we were admitted. Once I was admitted, the contractions again slowed so they gave me some pitocin to induce labor and help it along. Vance was calm and a great coach the entire time. From 9:00 to 10:30 that night I dilated from a 3 to 10 centimeters. I was complaining a bit to the nurse about the pressure and pain and asked her at 10:30 if she could check me. Once she did she said we could start pushing! So at 11:13 pm Lincoln was born and more than worth it!

Our first family picture, above, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Lincoln was alert for a couple of hours after birth.

My parents and little brother Peter came down to visit us. Above is a picture of my mother, Kristen. We unfortunately didn't get a picture of Lincoln with Peter or my dad.

We are so glad to have him here but we are very tired, too!

Last night I took these pictures in the middle of the night to show what he looks like at day 4. We love him so much.

Lately

2010-09-13T10:08:00.005-06:00

I guess it was kind of fun/funny for me to get a picture of Vance on his very first day of graduate school. He was a good sport and let me take the picture.

Also, there are pictures added to the previous post of our San Francisco trip and other summer pictures, so scroll down to see.

Here is a view in the morning a couple of weeks ago on a cloudy day. It actually was a bit stormy that day, but gives you an idea. I love how in the morning the sun lights up the apartment and seriously looks golden and makes me think we left a light on from the night before. It is so pretty. There are TONS of trails around here to go walking on as well, along with soccer fields, outdoor basketball courts, etc.

Below is an old video from last summer. I guess we like surprising each other with video mode.

34 week pictures (one month ago)

Above is a video at 34 weeks, about a month ago. You can see a little bit of our apartment as well.

Above are 36 week pictures (about two weeks ago).

At our 36 week doctor's appointment I was 1/2 cm dliated and 50% effaced. Last week at our 37 week appointment I was 1 cm dilated and 75% effaced. We still have a couple of weeks to go, but he's getting ready to come!

32 week picture below. We were at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. We tried throwing around a frisbee, but it was too windy!

We're in Indiana

2010-09-02T14:15:00.006-06:00

Vance and I are now in Indiana. He just started his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering here at Purdue. We really like West Lafayette. It is very green, a bit hilly, and humid. Everyone has been friendly too. Our apartment doubled in square footage so we are loving the extra space! Our patio view is mostly of fields and grasses that are empty and the sun rises on that side as well. We made it safely here three weeks ago with our Penske rental truck towing our car, which was quite an adventure. It was pretty tricky filling up on gas. We had to plan out on how to turn around every time we would stop at a hotel, fill up on gas, etc. Once we got stuck at a hotel (we thought we had enough room to do a U-turn in a parking lot, but we didn't!) but luckily the owners of the car that was in the way were just leaving their hotel room after we had unattached everything from the truck. What a blessing!

Two weeks before we moved we had a family reunion on my mother's side in Preston, Idaho. It was awesome! We had fun swimming, games with second cousins, a talent show, etc. I was able to learn more about my roots as well. It had been a long time since seeing many of those family members, so it was so nice to be together.

Above are some of my mother's cousins, the kitchen crew, on our last morning at the lodge in Preston.

Above is Vance with my mom's cousins Lon and Monte. They were each Idaho state wrestling champions when they were younger. They wrestled in front of us, and it was fun to watch!

We then spent a week in San Francisco. Along the way we stopped in Boulder City, Nevada to stay with our sister and brother in law (Steve and Jen). It was really nice to be with them and catch up! They have the greatest kids! Thanks guys! We then spent the next evening with our other sister and brother in law (Becky and Jeff) in San Jose, California. I had the best pizza of my life that night and then we all played horseshoes in a beautiful park. We were actually in Santa Clara, the town of my birth, so that was really neat to revisit.

In San Francisco we had tons of fun as well. We had to plan when to come into and leave town to avoid traffic. Some of the things we did were a bay cruise (including around Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate bridge), city trolley tour (we were on top of a 2 story trolley and literally froze while we learned about the architecture in town, saw the "Full House" house, drove through Chinatown, Ghiradelli Square, etc.). We also spent some time at Fisherman's Wharf, went to the Jelly Belly Factory, ate at the Cheesecake Factory, went to the Botanical Gardens and a Fragrance garden (pineapple, coconut, lemon, chocolate, smelling plants), and more. The highlight of the trip was probably seeing Wicked. We loved every minute of it and were pretty tired by the end of the days we were there. It was a great trip.

Above- we are at the Golden Gate bridge. It was a really cold day.

We also went to Muir Woods. It was so beautiful there and quiet.

Vance got this picture in Muir woods. The redwood trees were so tall, we had never seen anything like it. We went hiking for a few miles and just really enjoyed it.

We also saw Wicked!!!! It was one of the most fun nights on the trip. Earlier that evening, we went and ate at the Cheesecake Factory, which was delicious.

Here is a fun picture of Vance. We waited in line forever for the Jelly Belly Factory tour. But they gave us these hats right before it was our turn for the tour.

We took a city bus tour on top of a two story trolley. We got to see so much of San Francisco on this tour and loved it. It was freezing, so when we stopped at the Golden Gate bridge to get out, we bought hot chocolate to warm our bellies for the trip back! We were surprised how cool it was in San Francisco, but in some ways it was the first time I felt cool all summer!!!

Now Vance has started school and is doing really well including being ahead in all of his classes. I am really proud of him. I have started a couple of weeks ago working at a 5th and 6th grade middle school in the area doing speech and language therapy. We sure miss our friends and family in Utah, but are loving it here as well.

We went to Milwaukee last weekend for the funeral of my grandfather, Walter Heinz Karl Kindt. We are really happy that he is now reunited with my grandma Rosie, who died last December. My grandpa Walter grew up in Germany, served in WWII, and then served a 5 year LDS mission in East Germany. He came to Wisconsin, married my grandma, and they had 7 kids. I remember as a little girl him telling me stories and I would just nod my head because I didn't always understand his strong German accent :) He always had chocolate to share in his desk drawers and loooved us grandkids so much. Sure will miss him.

Below is a picture of my dad, far right, and all of his siblings last weekend.

Here is Vance and I last weekend in Milwaukee.

Above is a picture of him in Germany with my grandma when he served as Mission President in the 1970's.

Above is a picture of him in Salt Lake City in April at a mission reunion.

He is in the front row in the grey suit with the missionaries that served there. Amazing turnout.

We saw our OBGYN yesterday for our 36 week appointment and baby boy is doing great. Everything is looking normal. We have most of his room set up and are so excited to meet him. I am feeling uncomfortable but really grateful for how well things have gone in this pregnancy.

We'll have to post pictures of the latest soon!

July!

2010-07-11T18:54:00.002-06:00

Vance and I saw the local parade for Independence day weekend. It was just about two hours long, with many impressive floats. We were by a group of pretty outgoing people, which made it fun as well. We had a picnic during the day with my sister and her husband and boy, and watched the fireworks that night after playing some games with good friends in our ward, with quite the grand finale at the end.

Here are some fun pictures of Vance and I. We seem to take pictures in the same part of our apartment lately. We've been having a good summer so far and enjoying the warm weather (but of course keeping the AC on most of the time when we're inside!!!!!!) The warm weather has allowed us to be more active outside, including playing tennis, lots of hiking, weekly soccer, etc.

Two days ago we sold one of our cars. We actually sold it, and saw the new owners drive away with it 14 hours after posting it on-line. The new owners and we thought that we got a pretty good deal, which made us all happy. So it has been two days of being a one car family and we haven't had any problems! It involves a little more planning since we are both working, but isn't too hard to coordinate.

Here is the 28 week pictures we took last week! Vance is really growing! Just kidding. We thought he needed some more pictures here on the blog. I have less than 12 weeks to go and starting to feel uncomfortable at times. We are planning on spending a week in San Fransisco in 3 weeks and having a big vacation before the baby comes. If you have any recommendations on what to do there, let us know. Then, Vance and I are moving to Indiana as soon as we get back and are super excited but will miss everything and everyone!

Birthdays and Bellies!

2010-06-13T16:07:00.001-06:00

This past week we celebrated the birthdays of two amazing women - our mothers! They are truly amazing women that inspire us to be better. We love you!

The birthday cake Lisa and I made. Lisa is a wonderful cook (and model).

Our baby boy seems to be doing great and growing all the time. I can't believe that he'll be here in a few months! We are deciding between Winchester, Rrrupert, Boots (Lyndee Stubbs' suggestion) and Zanther-Diaz for his name. What do you think? I personally like Rrrupert (make a rolling r sound at the beginning of his name). It sounds very regal. Seriously though, our top three right now are Christopher, Lincoln, and Quinn. It could very likely be none of those; we'll get a little more serious in the coming months.

Our baby boy is growing! About 15 more weeks to go.

Update

2010-06-07T22:32:00.000-06:00

This last month was fun- we celebrated birthdays on both sides of our families. We also celebrated the birth of a new niece, Avely Mae. She was such a tiny, beautiful little girl to hold.

There hasn't been too much news, but guess what? We got new carpet in our apartment! The word "carpet" may be a stretch. I think it might be better for an outdoor porch. But it looks much better than what was on the floor before. Our landlord asked us to put all of our furniture into the kitchen and hallway. Actually it was Vance who did all the heavy work:) Not only was it nice to get this "carpet" but we were able to estimate the size of truck we'll need in a couple of months for the big move.

Vance is at a place near Zion's National Park. He is able to go down for a couple of days to be with some family. I just began a job doing speech therapy in a rehabilitation center so I wasn't able to go. His phone doesn't seem to have reception, so I assume he's having a great time!

Our little boy is definitely growing. His kicks and punches are getting stronger and this last weekend we were able to see his kicks through my skin! It was really exciting to see. It has been a really great pregnancy. However, I'm not able to run any more. It just feels too uncomfortable. So now I just go on long walks, and Vance even joined me last week and he admitted that even his heart rate increased:) As far as the size of my belly, it is hard to imagine it will only get bigger for the next 3 1/2 months!

Ultrasound Pictures

2010-05-09T16:56:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures of our little boy. We love him so much already.

Head and face

Little Murray Baby is just chillin' with his legs crossed.

He seems to like hide and go seek already.

I can't believe he fits inside Lisa!

IT'S A BOY!

2010-05-08T13:30:00.001-06:00

We're going to have a baby boy! We had an ultrasound yesterday at the hospital, with a specialist in Maternal Fetal Medicine. It was nice to have a doctor who knows exactly what to look for and get some extra time during the ultrasound. We were going to have the ultrasound next week, but something came up for me and I had to reschedule earlier since Vance is leaving town next week.

We were a little nervous/very excited. We wanted to prepare ourselves for anything that could happen. But everything in the ultrasound looks great and he is a healthy boy! We were able to get a DVD of most of the ultrasound, so that will be nice to be able to watch again.

This morning I went running (actually a slow jog- I need to be honest) and went by a garage sale (luckily I'm still able to jog at this point). I ran home, grabbed a couple bucks, drove back, and got a couple onesie's and baby outfits that were still in good condition. We are very blessed and excited to meet him in a few months!

Graduation

2010-04-28T20:41:00.000-06:00

Vance graduated with his bachelor's in mechanical engineering last week! He did very well this last year, including quite a bit of newspaper and even TV coverage for his capstone project. We are so excited that he has accomplished this major milestone and are now looking forward to going to Indiana soon!

Vance below with his thoughtful pose.

Below is Vance's parents and my mom, who came out all the way from WI for his graduation.

THANKS MOM!

Below is a post at 18 weeks (poking out on purpose a bit to accentuate the bump) and 16 weeks at the bottom. Thank you to Janessa, for lending me some new clothes! We have our next appointment with the OBGYN on May 10th, and an ultrasound on May 11th. We would be so happy if our baby was a boy or girl, but mostly are hoping for a healthy and happy baby! Take the poll to guess if you think it is a boy or a girl. Oh, and we are having ONE baby. We had an ultrasound a couple of months ago and there appeared to be one baby. But I guess you never know!

Purdue University!

2010-04-12T20:59:00.000-06:00

Vance and I will be moving this summer to West Lafayette, Indiana! Vance officially accepted the offer last week to Purdue University's Mechanical Engineering graduate program. We are excited for the many new changes this brings. Meanwhile, Vance will be completing his last day of class at BYU tomorrow! He has been working so hard, and hopefully finals for him will go smoothly.

2010-04-11T16:45:00.003-06:00

Some good things have happened lately. Last weekend my sister, her son Jared, and I camped in Moab for a couple of days. We hiked the Arches National Park and really loved its beauty and warm weather.

Jared was a great boy the whole trip, but on the way back he had a hard time! We brought him along for entertainment. We stayed at a pretty good campsite. It wasn't as primitive as we were hoping, but it had a fire pit which was our top priority. We were able to make a fire, eat tin foil dinners, smores, roast Starburst candies, talk, and then try to sleep. It was actually a rough night, being soooo cold. There was frost covering the entire tent when we woke up. But we loved the experience.

Vance and I went to the Saturday afternoon session of general conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Above is a picture of Kelsey, my grandpa Kindt, and I. We attended his mission reunion in Salt Lake City that Easter weekend. There were lots of people in attendance.

The Beginning of Pregnancy Pictures

2010-03-31T18:33:00.000-06:00

This picture is at 14 weeks, just after eating dinner (which adds a little more to the bump).

Weekend Trip

2010-03-27T20:09:00.003-06:00

Vance is currently on his way back from a 3 day trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I miss him a lot. He placed first at BYU's Mechanical Engineering Oral Guard Presentations two weeks ago, where students present the research they are doing. So he advanced to regionals in Oklahoma. He made it to the final round and received 4th place!!

This is a picture of some of the buildings on Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. This is where the competition took place. Vance explained to me that this Christian university has buildings whose height represent the same height, length, and width of Noah's arc. I thought that was very interesting.

Vance will be graduating with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering next month. He has been working so hard, and putting so many hours into his classes and research. His capstone project has taken a good portion of his time. His team has created a prosthetic device for a woman who has lost her fingers and feet due to septicemia. This "hand" will be able to help her perform the functions it takes to run a household. The device will hopefully be able to button shirts, pick up nails, or other things we do with our hands. Vance has helped me realize how incredible not only are hands are, but are bodies as well. We are 99% sure about attending Purdue University this fall in West Lafayette, Indiana. Vance will begin his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. We are looking forward to this fun adventure.

Although I am missing Vance, I have been able to bake cinnamon rolls, run a 5K race, plan to make a boppy pillow for the future, watch the New Moon while enjoying Panda Express last night, clean the bathroom, floors, vacuum, visit good friends, etc. As far as making this boppy pillow, I want to use an indoor canvas material with some type of gender neutral baby print, but spent an hour in JoAnn Fabrics today without any luck. Any ideas? Work has been great. Two students last week were released from speech and language therapy! A highlight was helping one girl say the /r/ at the beginning of words for the first time. I love to see childrens' excitement and feeling of accomplishment.

We are now 13 1/2 weeks into this pregnancy. Our baby should be between the sizes of a peach and a fist :) According to a fabulous book, What to Expect When You're Expecting, his vocal cords are developing this week (although I haven't heard a peep from him yet!:) Once I get a real baby bump, pictures will be posted, and hopefully regularly throughout this pregnancy. Following the 5K race this morning, I saw two adorable 4-5 year old twins. They both had a tooth or two missing, and were the cutest and blondest kids. Since Vance and I are blonde haired with blue eyes, I'm pretty sure our baby will have snow white hair early in life and likely have blue eyes. Or who knows, maybe a red head with green eyes.

Announcement

2010-03-15T21:36:00.004-06:00

We are proud to announce the future arrival of baby Murray on September 29th! We are going to be parents and are very, very excited. We had an ultrasound one month ago. We got to see him/her and hear and see the heartbeat. Today we got to hear the heartbeat again. So far our baby appears to be healthy and growing!

Vance has been wonderful through the first trimester. I have been a bit more emotional and tired than usual, and he has been so understanding.

We are 12 weeks along and love reading the books and looking at the pictures, tracking the development all along the way. At this point, our baby is 2 inches or so long, all of its body parts are formed, but still developing, of course. It moves around lots, but is too small for me too feel him/her. It is amazing to realize that there is a real baby in there! We are so blessed!

Winter Fun

2010-03-10T21:29:00.001-07:00

Below...Today, March 10th is my brother Peter's 13th birthday! Happy Birthday Peter! Here we are in Door County, Wisconsin last summer. Peter is such a great brother and has a great sense of humor. Lately, we've celebrated lots of our family members birthdays (father-in-law Mike, brother-in-law Jeremy, sister-in-laws Keyana and Karissa, my sister-in-law Carrie, brother Joe, nephews Hunter and Sawyer, neice Kayla.) Sooo many birthdays!

Because our husbands are both mechanical engineering students, and because they are so dedicated to studying, Kelsey, Jared, and I get to see each other often. Kelsey and Ken literally live across the street, which has been a huge blessing. Vance always makes lots of time for us, but when he is busy studying, Kelsey and I are good buds. Here we are at a basketball game recently. We got there an hour and a half before the game to get seats, but as you can see by the empty seats behind us, we could have come a little later! Jared is really growing. He is a delight to be with, is "talking" a lot, and growing fast too!

I have been WAITING AND WAITING for a good snowfall here to go sledding. Finally, there was maybe 1/2 inch on the ground. We went to a nearby hill and went sledding for 15 minutes because it was so late at night and so coldThere was so little snow that anywhere you stepped or sledded on was just grass. How funny! Here we are with our awesome sled.

Vance and I had a fun date on February 13th, the night before Valentine's Day. He got me a gorgeous bouquet of roses...on his way back from a trip from St. George. I was sooo surprised.

We are deciding where we are going to graduate schools this fall. We have heard from most schools, but still waiting to hear back from two more. We'll keep you updated!

Ouch!

2010-01-26T20:22:00.004-07:00

By request, I am posting this very gross picture. :)

Vance and I just got back from a walk-in-clinic. I got 2 deep stitches and 6 outer stitches on my leg. Not thinking wisely, I left our largest knife on the counter, instead of putting it away after using it for dinner preparation. While picking up a plastic bag underneath the knife, it sent the knife spinning off the counter. I jumped back but it still cut my leg, and sadly made a big cut in my favorite work pants from GAP. Although cuts are not fun, we're grateful it wasn't worse!

Maybe I should milk this wound for all it is worth...do I need a wheelchair? Time off work? Someone to bring me meals? A cold washcloth for my forehead?

Other than the mild drama for the evening, everything has been going great. Vance was involved in a large grant for the Mechanical Engineering department. We are expecting to hear back from graduate schools soon as well. We've had some GEORGEOUS snowfalls recently. Vance has been enjoying occasional intramural or pick up basketball games with friends. I've been getting into shape...differently this time. I have been in the weight room in addition to some cardio exercise. Hoping to max out soon...just kidding. Work is going great. Several students have made large leaps of progress at school, which is very rewarding.

More Holiday Pictures

2010-01-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

Peter, Sawyer, Joe, Carrie, and Dad on Christmas morning.

Vance was so excited for the Hot Wheels 2009 Corvette found in his stocking.

Ken, Kelsey, Ruth, Vance, Peter, and I competed in a gingerbread house making contests. Vance, Peter and I were on the same team. We have here a watchtower and an "Up" house.

Peter added this guy to the watchtower. This won in the "most intimidating" category!

We decided to eat our anniversary cake top a bit early. It was fun posing. The cake looks a bit different on top (the buttercream/fondant flowers wilted). It didn't taste as great as it did last July, but we enjoyed tasting it!

Vance and I will be celebrating our six month anniversary in a few days. Being married to Vance has been wonderful. He demonstrates such a great example of unconditional love. He is so patient with me. I love him more than I did the day we got married. I look forward to the many years and of course FOREVER we have together!

Holidays

2010-01-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

We took some family pictures at our home in Wisconsin with our Kindt side of the family. This is just the silly one. We have Joe, Hunter, Carrie, Sawyer, Peter, Dad, Mom, Ruth, Vance, Me, Ken, Kelsey, and Jared. EVERYONE! It was so cool to all be together. We're not sure when it will happen again.

Vance's brother and sister-in-law (Scott and Rachel) gave us their old Christmas tree. We were super excited. It was more than we expected for a first Christmas. I was picturing a 12 inch Christmas tree or something... We got stockings and decorations as well from Tai Pan Trading... love that store!

This is what it looked like when we had all of the lights off in the room.

For Thanksgiving I made a peach pie. I was frankly suprised with myself and quite pleased!

This is the pumpkin pie I made. I can't figure how to rotate the picture.

We made chocolate covered pretzels in December as a little gift for friends and family. It takes a long time and makes a bit of a mess, but it is fun to do each year.