The kittens!

Here they are. Roy is the orange one and Luna is black and white. Yes, they are very cute and sweet, but they can also get (and do) into LOTS of trouble. We are teaching them not to go on counters, tables, furninture, into the ficus tree, etc. Luna is very cuddly and loves to hang out on your lap. But, mostly it's playtime all the time for these two. This is great preparation for when Valerie becomes a toddler!

All dressed up!

Here's Valerie in her Thanksgiving dress. Her hair keeps growing and growing and she's got her Daddy's GREAT sleeping gene, so far.

Things are going well, Paul's almost on his long December break from Grad school. Can't wait!!! And, I have a super-nasty head cold. Ouch. My goal is to NOT give it to Valerie.

Very Inspiring Message

This came from my brother-in-law, Rob via email. I watched it with Valerie. It's one of those things that sort of shakes you to the core. It was so good, I decided to bookmark it and the next time I feel BAD, I am going to watch it. As I have learned, this life is NOT a dress rehearsal... have fun and laugh everyday. I think I'm pretty darn good at this even when I am a bit on the grump side... but it is so, so true and we really do have a choice, every minute of every day. In fact, just today, I had a free half hour and decided to run up to Whole Foods to get a vitamin that I needed, I got all the way there and did not have my wallet. I was slightly annoyed, called Paul and thought about it while talking to Paul... I had 2 choices... get totally ticked off and let it ruin my time out OR realize that it was a gorgeous day and stop at Starbucks for my favorite pumpkin spice latte. Since I had $3.69 in my emergency change bucket, I went to Starbucks and thoroughly enjoyed the weather and my latte! How's that! Any who, here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Am I nuts??? And a freak tornado in the Lansing area...

No pictures yet... but we just adopted 2 new 8 week old kittens today - a boy and a girl. The boy's name will probably be Bill or Ned. No idea on the girl's name yet. They are FULL of energy... wish me luck, I think I am crazy, but they needed homes and I really missed not having a pet in my life. Apparently, these kittens were delivered accidentally with some bales of hay to a Vet that my friend Kate works with over at the UW animal hospital. The foster family lived right around here, so we all got to see them and felt that it was the right situation. So, they are brother and sister and got separated from the Mother.

And, on a freaky note... my Mom's neighborhood got hit with a tornado - there's lots of huge trees that caused a lot of damage and her chimney got a bit torn up. Thankfully, she was at my sister's house watching my nieces and nephew at the time. I am so glad she was safe and just can't believe that a tornado came through her neighborhood!

That's about it for the updates... Valerie's geting HUGE, but she still loves her sleep and if she doesn't get her naps, we are in for rough times!!! The feedings have been rocky (again), but breastfeeding is going much better now, I think. I finally saw a specialist Doctor around here who helped me out so much.

The Baptism

Here she is at her baptism on Sunday. It was so great to see everyone. Valerie did great for the actual ceremony, but we've learned that she does NOT like loud music. We were in the cry (or in Val's case, SCREAM) room until the actual baptism took place. It was tough for me as it took a looong time to get her calmed down and on top of that she was exhausted. The day ended up very nice and the food was delicious... Thank you to everyone for ALL the help.

My first smile on camera!

Here we are in Michigan (while at Anne & Larry's wedding weekend) and Grammie Dorothy got me on camera! Yep, I couldn't believe it... my Mom got Val to smile and then got it on camera. The smiling's still a little sporadic, but starting to be more and more daily. She likes to smile at the ceiling fan quite a bit these days too.

She IS HERE!

Here's Valerie! She loves to sleep and eat and be wrapped very tightly in her swaddle or her carseat. She doesn't mind tummy time or her baths. She makes us laugh on a daily basis.

Well, I did everything I could to prepare to be a Mom and there was still more I needed to do, go figure. I'm trying to be very relaxed about everything for the most part, but I have my moments of frustration. It is very EXHAUSTING, but in a good way. At the 3AM or 4AM feedings, I just remind myself that this is just a season in my life right now and to thoroughly enjoy it, so I do.

Okay, really ready... NOW

Okay everyone, I am sooo-ooo ready for this (I think). I just got the last energy burst (I think) and cleaned out 2 closets. 5 pair of shoes are off to Goodwill along with 5 of Paul's old coats. Paul and I are going to Woodman's for grocery shopping tonight because I am very worried about our cereal quantities. I have definitely dropped and have experienced lots of pressure and weird contractions, especially today.

I'd like to apologize in advance for not being a better hostess when people stop by to visit after mini is born. I have a feeling that I am going to be a bit out of sorts but I have no idea how this is all going to work.

Amee - Thanks for the encouraging words this evening. It was great talking with you. Mel - Thanks for the phone call today and for setting up the family baby pool!! Julie - I am hoping that you're right about the July 14th date. I am doing A LOT of walking right now and eating spicy foods!

All ready for Baby...

Here's the baby's room and me 9 months pregnant! Then the next one is out in our backyard under our trellis.

Have I dropped?? Maybe a little bit. The Doctor's appt last Friday (6/29) says that things are progressing as they are supposed to and I'm getting closer. I have been cleaning the house like crazy (nesting???) - even cleaning light fixtures and all the fans (aka: "Sheilas"). Paul's helping too - the last few things have been done: diaper Genie setup and the curtain rod being installed and curtains hung. We *feel* like we're ready... but who knows when she'll decide to make her arrival? The official due date is July 23rd, but I'm ready now (I think). I am very excited an a tad bit nervous. How are we going to do at all of this?

Door County "Baby Moon" vacation

Here's our vacation as a couple. On June 11th, we spent 1 week in Door County - which is sort of like the "thumb" part of Wisconsin that sticks out into Lake Michigan. Very, very relaxing - weather was perfect, sunny & 70's, 80's every day. We rented a cabin on the beach - the Lake Michigan side, near Jacksonport. For the first couple of days, we just stayed at our cabin and went down to the beach. The water's still very COLD. Paul got in and swam for about 10 minutes on Tuesday. We took a few walks on the beach, however, I am not as fast as I usually am due to the additional baby weight! There were some huge Carp (1 1/2 feet long) that swam up to shore and freaked me out - Amee - what do you think? Icky, but very interesting to see them come up so close.

We found that we really enjoyed the city called Fish Creek and the Peninsula State park is beautiful - we scoped out some great campsites. We went and saw a comedy/musical at the State park's ampitheater called Guys on Ice. Hilarious - now I really know what a Wisconsin accent sounds like. More relaxing stuff - we taught ourselves how to play Backgammon a little bit better by looking at some library books, it's partial luck of the dice and a touch of strategy - lots of fun. Paul did lots of crosswords and I worked on my easy sudokos.

On our last day, we kayaked in Ephraim's Bay - it was so nice being on the water as it was extremely HOT that day. Also, on our last day, we experienced a Door County Fish Boil - that was great. Overall, was an extremely relaxing vacation... which is just what we needed before the arrival of our "mini".

Rob & Mel's Wedding!

Wedding time! On June 6th, Paul's brother Rob and Melissa tied the knot in Milwaukee. The reception was held at the Milwaukee Zoo. This was such a fun time for us. I got to spend lots of time with Amee, Reed, Mary Ann and my Mom too. I feel like I got to know Milwaukee much better as I was driving around by myself. Amee and I only got lost once trying to get to the hair salon. It was so wonderful seeing family and getting to know Mel's family better too. And... I must say, Melissa's jewelry looked great! I made the necklace and earrings and Melissa made the bracelet (I showed her this new skill). And, Melissa and I did the designing for all the jewelry. I think this is the most beautiful set of jewelry I've ever made. Thank you Rob and Melissa - we had a wonderful time and it was great to celebrate your special day!

Baby Girl ultrasound... from May 23rd

This is an old ultrasound picture, from when she was 12 weeks, I think. I just love the legs and feet in this photo! I couldn't get the current 32 week picture to post here. Anyway, I did have an ultrasound at 32 weeks - they got a good shot to really determine the sex - still definitely a girl. We're still having a tough time with her name! You will all be surprised very soon... as I think that she may be early now - she was 3 lbs & 10 oz. last Wed. She's going to be a BIG baby. The Dr. was happy as the placenta has moved up so no problems for delivery. Oh, and the Xray tech mentioned that she had a lot of hair on her head. We found that it was more difficult to see things at 32 weeks as she's so big now.

My ankles are swollen and my rings no longer fit, but I have really been enjoying this entire pregnancy thing. It's great to feel her moving around - now it's mostly huge kicks on the right side. I wonder why? It's a miracle that there's a tiny person in there. Her room is mostly done, just a few more "buggy parts" that we need. (Check the Erdtmann family dictionary for definition of that word...)

Busy Gardening around the house

Wow! This place looks tons different outside now. Paul and I spent Memorial Day weekend doing gardening and yard work things. Paul trimmed many evergreen branches and I set up the nice rock border that you see below. We have been trying to grow grass and we have been successful! We are so excited that we finally have planted something and kept it alive. We're pretty motivated with this new gardening thing now. Actually, we found the key to all of this is... watering. Yeah, I know, very basic stuff. Anyway, we're hoping that our green thumb streak continues... even after the baby arrives? I don't know about that, but we are going to try really hard!

Glorious Baby Shower in Milwaukee

This was taken at the Baby Shower in Milwaukee back on April 21st at the O'Neil's house.

Beautiful day and GREAT time. This was so much fun. And baby "mini" got many nice things from her Aunties, Uncles, Grandmas & Friends. It was so awesome to see everyone and have everyone there from many different places and states! Thank you all.

The end of an era for a very great friend

Norm passed on to a better place on the evening of May 15th while we were both with him. He will be missed! I already miss him so much and it hurts. He was a great companion and friend for almost 13 years.

This picture was taking back in Detroit at my old house on Phillips. Norm was a great cat, full of unconditional love. I was not ready to say Good Bye. This grieving process is so very difficult, I have not cried so much in the past few days. My heart is broken and in the process of healing. But, I do trust and believe that it was his time to go as much as this does hurt.

Here I am!

Here I am... starting this blog thing on Mother's Day!!! I wanted a place to post family & friend pictures and let people know what is happening. So, short and sweet, but as I get the hang of this - expect more.