Vetter Family

New Movies!

2010-09-19T20:10:00.001-07:00

Here's a few new videos of Miranda. The first one is her reading her favorite book about Dora & Boots. The second is showing off her baby-tech-skills with Daddy's I-Pad.
Enjoy!

The audio sync gets way off in the second clip of this, but better later on. We've gotta get a new editing program!

Family Vacation in Denver!

2010-06-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

We got home yesterday from a fantastic family vacation in Denver, CO. We took in tons of sights and activities in town. My parents rented a gigantic home for everyone to stay in, it was beautiful and spacious, complete with pool table, theater room, jacuzzi tub, and private bathrooms for each family. Quite impressive.

Fun activities included:

HANGING OUT WITH ALICE!
My brother's daughter is 13 months old now. It was super fun for Miranda to play with her cousin. We liked hanging out at the house for meals, naps, World Cup games, movies, Ring-around-the-Rosie, catch, and books. Alice is such a sweet, sweet baby giving lots of hugs and always waving 'hi' to each member of the family!

DENVER ZOO
Miranda liked the elephants and monkeys the best. Both girls did really well getting in and out of strollers and seeing all the funny animals. Alice was slightly more interested in the other people than the animals. Neither of the girls liked the scary carousal that grandma and grandpa just HAD to take them on!

CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
Miranda went to the museum with Brandon, grandparents and me. There was a couple different rooms to free play with kid-sized houses, animal habitats, painting, building and dancing. Miranda loved the dress-up shoes and dancing in front on the big mirror. There's plenty of footage of that below!

IMAX 3D Toy Story 3
Brandon, my Dad and I went to a big movie theater for the great new Pixar flick! It was as good as the hype!

Rockies v. RED SOCKS GAME
Miranda and Brandon both experienced their first Major League game. The entire family of 9 all went together, which was a pretty impressive feat! The girls didn't watch much of the game, of course. But they did enjoy meeting the Rockies' mascot "Dinger" who is conveniently a big purple dinosaur that Miranda called "BARNEY!" all night. Socks lost that first game, but won later in the week in an awesome game that Scott, Lisa and Eric went to!

SWIMMING and MONKEY BUSINESS
As an unexpected bonus, the house we rented had a membership at the neighborhood 'pool club'. So we got in for free, and took the girls to the nice baby pool. There was also a sweet water slide designed for kids that went wicked fast and twisty for full-grown adults in the big pool. The 'Monkey Business' was an indoor play-land we took the daughters to one day. It was perfect to play at, since it was too hot outside for regular parks. This place had big inflatable bouncers and slides, and lots of things to climb up. The girls loved it (so did the adults!)

Unfortunately, our video footage is mostly of Miranda and not a lot of Alice or other family members. We mostly took pictures on Scott and Lisa's camera, so I'll connect a link to those soon - but we occasionally grabbed the video camera around the house, and took it to the Children's Museum.

10 Terrific Things about Toddlers

2010-06-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Miranda has grown and changed so much in the past few months. She's certainly moved from baby stage into a toddler. And while that comes with a whole new set of challenges, it's a whole lot of fun too. Here are ten things I enjoy about this new personality of my baby, I mean 'kid'. (She's 20 months old)

1) MEMORY
Whenever we go to the park Miranda plays with the blue swing and points at the black one calling it 'Caelie!' This is because Caelie played with us at the park 3 months ago, and used that swing! Today I grabbed a pair of brown shoes for her and she said 'Al-la' which means her cousin Alice who has the same pair of shoes!

2) WORD POWER
This kid learns new words EVERY day. It's astonishing. This evening (in the 3 hours between supper and bed) she learned 'bunny', 'wait', 'hiding', and 'Barney' and used them each repeatedly and correctly. We think she's up to over 100 words, and increasing by the hour.

3) AFFECTION
Miranda has been very un-affectionate her whole life. Since she could hold up her head, she hasn't rested it willingly on any shoulder. But recently she started giving more hugs and blowing lots of kisses. I love to see her hugging her dolly and even Jack the dog! Of course Mommy and Daddy hugs are the best :-)

4) INDEPENDENCE
She loves to try to put on her own socks and shoes; has even succeeded with one shoe one time! She's into climbing things now too, since she just got tall enough to get onto the chairs and couch. If something is too tricky to climb up, she'll walk to the bathroom and carry the little stool out for assistance.

5) FAVORITISM
Miranda has firmly established her favorite toy, tv show, snack, book, youtube video, etc. Some things change weekly, but some have lasted a long time - like the Brown Bear book, her purple blankie, and on-line videos of cats. Her memory of these things is impeccable. (She sings {la-la} along to the song in the cat video - which is in Japanese).

6) HELPFUL
Doing laundry, dishes and dusting is much more fun now that I have little hands to help. Miranda is pretty good at putting clothes in the dryer (even straight out of her own drawers) and getting the Tupperware to the cabinet (after banging them on the floor for awhile. I do appreciate her fetching my towel when I get out of the shower!

7) BRAVERY
Within the last month she's started climbing kid-size stairs on feet, going down the slide by herself and even dangling from the bars on the playground. Of course, the trade-off here is now she won't LET Mom help even though she's not always stable.

8) VOCAL
I picked her up from daycare one day and asked, 'How was she today?' The answer was, "Loud. Not naughty, just very noisy." That's most days, she babbles and talks and sings and shouts pretty much all the time. Annoying when you're on the phone, pretty adorable most other times.

9) INTERACTIVE
I am loving all the games and songs and toys Miranda and I can play together now. She's really into cooperative play with parents or little friends. This evening we figured out a simplistic hide-and-seek (hence learning the words 'wait' and 'hiding') and played until Mommy was exhausted from running around the house and being found every 20 seconds!

10) AWE
Despite all the things she's learned, we still find something brand new almost everyday. Then I get to watch Miranda take it in with her eyes (and mouth, and mind) wide open. This weekend it was lots of new and funny animals at the zoo. This morning it was a great thunderstorm with lots of noisy rain. I love the look on her face when she's discovering something new!

All in all, we are still really enjoying our little girl. But that's not to say that parenting is all roses, and a toddler will highlight that quickly! So my second list is 1 Terrible Toddler Trait.

1) STUBBORN
Her intense independence and devotion to only her favorite things magically combines with her Vocal powers to produce full-on meltdown tantrums pretty much everyday. Whether it's not wanting to leave the park, eat that vegetable, or let Mommy finish an e-mail she will make her anger painfully known to everyone within a 1-block radius. (It's a good thing she's learning to hug, so Mommy doesn't lose it, huh?)

Thanks for reading my list. If you have/had kids, what do/did you love about their toddler days?

Spring fun!

2010-04-23T14:54:00.000-07:00

Some fun new pictures up; we've been enjoying all the nice weather around here. It's raining now, and we probably won't get out too much this weekend; but Spring shall persist nonetheless!

I'm looking forward to a trip to Fargo to see LOTS of family; followed by a trip to Oregon to see Jodi F. & fam, and Jodi A. & fam (new and improved with brand new baby!) Brandon, meanwhile, will be homebound and busy with end-of-school and graduation parties.

Vetter update

2010-04-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

We're back from Mexico, and gearing up for an Easter weekend. I have tons of great stories from the mission trip - but won't take the time to get them all down here. You can call me and get them in person; but first check out the pictures, videos and blog by following links at www.dwu.edu/campmin. Or the picture slideshow below! Ok, one quick story: we just heard this week that the family whose house we started building has already moved in and gotten settled! We broke ground for them on our first work day, and had things about 3/4 completed in just 4 days of hard work. Now Maria (18), her husband Rodrigo (21) and their kids (2 & 15 months) have a home - just in time for baby 3 who's already on the way. Copy this link for Mexico pictures: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpAQYeh-Nuc

Being back home with Miranda is great too. She's a little jabber-box these days; learning and using new words everyday. The weather has been nice, so we've had lots of walks and trips down the slide - which she calls a 'wheeeee'!

Here's a fun video of 3 girls. They hail from Mexico, Mitchell and My house; but little girls everywhere know how to sing and dance, giggle and play!

Walking and Talking

2010-02-25T09:32:00.001-08:00

Not a lot of time to post, but lots going on around here!

Bullet points:
- Vicky has the 30 Hour Famine tomorrow; 30 hours of juice fast, dozen middle schoolers over night at church, 6 awesome 'Tribe' games. Good fun - but lots of work. Had to laugh last night when an 8th grader told me she had $103 already! She had been going table to table at supper, so I asked how much she had before tonight; '$3!'
- Pastor Brad from church passed away last week. Funeral and prayer services were this last weekend. Hard time; be praying for his wife Joan and son Aaron.
- Brandon and Vicky leave for Mexico in 16 days! The trip is payed for, and most all plans made - vamanos!
- Miranda leaves for Bismarck in 15 days to stay with Grandma, Papa, Grandpa Ed, Great Gr & Gr, various friends, and dog Abby. I think they've got the babysitting thing covered!

We got a new video camera since our old one was wigging out. It's very different, but I think it'll work out. Here are the inaugural videos - some walking and talking from our toddler!

Bye for now,
Vetters

Video Download Day!

2010-01-25T20:13:00.001-08:00

We finally got some videos off the camera! First, the much anticipated...first steps! This was filmed at Christmastime, and really was Miranda's first walking session! She only took about 3 steps before Uncle Eric was on the camcorder and catching all the action.

She's been practicing her walking all month now, and is much more stable and strong already.

Next up; Miranda watches herself in the viewfinder.

And now, a baby's day in the office.

We had two other kids over that night, and they were watching cartoons, but Miranda just had a few loose ends to tie up at work.

A few short clips of fun at Christmas: Miranda got rides in the laundry basket, and care of Papa Pete's floor sweeping game!

This last video is a game Miranda played for nearly 20 minutes one day. After she had done about 10 rounds of this (put bears on the chair, climb up, hug bears, throw them off the chair) I decided to film it for awhile. We have about 5 minutes of this footage, but here's the condensed version. This was before Christmas, so she was 14 1/2 months old.

New Pictures

2010-01-05T19:45:00.000-08:00

Sarah and Chris visited us from Kentucky this past week! We had a super great time catching up with them, hanging out in the frigid North, playing games, sharing meals, watching Miranda, and passing around a nasty cold amongst us all. Well, that last part wasn't my favorite - but the pictures that Sarah took ARE my new favorite. Check them out on Picasa, and if you live in Kentucky, seriously consider hiring this girl to shoot your next event; she's got skills!

Christmas 2009!

2010-01-01T15:27:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas celebration in Bismarck this year! We spent all our time with family and friends, bouncing between houses despite the enormous storm and large amounts of snow. You can see all the fun in the pictures on Picasa, link to the right. Here's some teasers...

Fun games at Grandma and Grandpa Petersons!

Hanging out with Great Grandma and Grandpa and their dog Tug.

Miranda got lots of hugs and kisses from everyone...Grandpa Ed gave double doses!

She really liked the whole trip to the mall to visit Santa, and seeing all the other kids, and all the pretty decorations...however, didn't like Santa himself one bit! She does like Santa's alter-ego Pastor Kermit under normal circumstances.

Lots of Family Fun with Peterson's and Vetter's!

We had four Christmas celebrations all together. Immediate Peterson family (with Scott, Lisa & Alice joining via Skype), Extended Peterson-Westgard family, immediate Vetter family, and Extended Vetter family! All four were super fun, full of toys and cute clothes, and marked with laughs and hugs and love (and of course tons of food!)

Miranda gave us a great gift in taking her first unassisted walking steps on our last day in Bismarck. We're working on the video...but there are some glitches, so it may be a little while. I'm sure she'll be a professional walking girl before I'm able to get that posted. Sorry!

Christmas gifts

2009-12-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Miranda is at a totally fun age, and things keep happening all day and I think 'remember that to tell to people, it was funny!' Because she just learns something new everyday, and does something surprising every hour. So, here's a list of some new tricks our 14 1/2 month old has pulled out of her Christmas bag.

- Miranda tries to put on her own socks by placing the sock on top of the foot with lots of intensity and often grunting.

- She grunts a lot, to show she's really working hard. Sometimes she'll do it purely as a joke; move something that moves easily but grunt and fuss about it - just to be funny! Then laughs about how funny she is.
- She 'fake sleeps' when we lay her down in her crib. Lays down really quickly, and cuddles in the blanket, then pops her head back up and giggles at you as if to say 'see, I know how to do it! Watch, I'll do it again!'
- She can now say, w/ intention and meaning, Mama, Dada, NO, no, no, and Ball.
- She often says, but doesn't understand yet, 'Yesh'. We're pretty sure she's quoting Michael from 'the Office'.
- She's getting pretty good with a spoon; fed herself her entire lunch today, between using the spoon and fingers. The picture is from this weekend, when college kids were baking in our house.

- I changed her diaper today after Brandon had watched her for awhile, and the whole waistline was packed with graham crackers! This was sure a mystery to me, as she was wearing a onesie and didn't have access to her diaper to fill it with stuff - nor has she EVER done something like that before. She thought my shocked expression was DElightful and laughed and laughed as I cleaned them out. Brandon's only comment 'oh, you know, she was kinda itching her belly after we ate'. My guess is she was putting them inside her shirt from up at the neck! Crazy baby.
- Yesterday she was playing in the bathroom while I was using it. She saw the tp in my hand and asked for it. I gave it to her, because I'm a push-over. She took it and immediately started wiping the back of her leg/bum. How funny is that! Miranda is ALWAYS watching...guests beware!
- She figured out she can't reach the Christmas tree ornaments from sitting, or up on her knees. And she can't yet free-stand in the middle of the room. So she gets her walking toy and pushes it over to the tree so she can swat as the colorful bulbs.

- I love to see how she's problem solving now. Today she decided both of her crib blankies should come visit the living room, so she'd grab one and drag it up in front of her, than go back and get the other and drag it up to the first. Then she tried to stuff them both inbetween her legs and crawl/push with them for awhile. It took a long time, but she got them both half-way down the hallway. Meanwhile Mom farmed on Facebook and supervised the project!
- She's learned to tickle you back. She doesn't do it often, but when she remembers it she'll find some exposed skin and move her fingers really gently and say ki-ki-ki then laugh and laugh.
- She LOVES to stand up and reach down to pick something off the ground. She'll support herself on the couch or me, and repeatedly throw something on the floor just to pick it up over and over. Every third or fourth time she'll punch the object up in the air in a victorious celebration!

All in all, Miranda is entertaining her parents and we're loving this stage of postbaby/pretoddler. She's not quite walking on her own yet, but getting close now. Today was perhaps the most fussy, frustrating, tantrum-filled day she's ever had; and I STILL love her at the end of it, so we're doing good there! What new wonder will she have in store tomorrow...

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T19:02:00.001-08:00

The Vetter's had a great Thanksgiving, with a full house of fun! Miranda is up on her feet running all around, as long as someone comes along, and there were plenty of fingers to hold this weekend!

Vicky's Mom and Dad came down, and Mom made two fabulous meals that we'll be eating on for 2 weeks to come! Her brother Eric also came, and brought his super-nice girlfriend Laura, and super-playful puppy Cooper! So all together we were 6 adults, 1 baby, 2 dogs, and unfortunately 1 mouse; well ex-mouse thanks to Dad's late night heroics!

The weather was great, so we got some time in at the park. Miranda does love that swing!

And, of course, we had to show Laura the Corn Palace. Where else could she see a mural of a sag~way made of ears of corn stapled to the side of a garish building?!

There are a few pictures up on Picasa, but we were using other cameras more than mine, so I'll post more when I can steal them from everyone else.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving too!! Hi Jodi!

October...where did you go?

2009-11-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

I've neglected my blogging and posting of video duties. Apparently the kid turned one and I decided the world has seen enough of her. The grandparents don't agree though! So here are two videos for you, from her birthday, both over a month old - better late than never. It's surprising how she already seems older and smarter now than these videos, just 6 weeks ago. Watch for footage soon of some wobbly first steps...Miranda's pulling up and creeping along furniture, but not yet free-range.

This video is some clips from her actual birthday, Sept 29th.

The following video is a fun ball game Miranda came up with at Grandma's house in late September.

Mama and the baby leave for Boston on Wednesday, for a few days with Baby Alice and her parents. Grandma Marcia is coming too! Should be fun, but we wouldn't mind a little extra prayer coverage for the plane rides on Wed. and the following Sunday!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, Miranda!

2009-10-01T13:09:00.001-07:00

I feel bad for not posting on Miranda's actual birthday, but we were just so busy celebrating :-) Actually, most of the fun happened last weekend, when we spent a few days in Bismarck with family and friends. We had a great birthday party for Miranda with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Eric, Great-grandparents, Grandpa Vetter, Uncle Bob, Godfather, and friends! Unfortuneately, the people behind the cameras were just so captured with Miranda's beauty, they forgot to get pictures of anyone else but her - so it's looks like she celebrated mostly on her own! We did have fun though, with food and cake, presents and giggles!

We also spent a few hours at the Pumpkin Patch, which was amazing fun! Be sure to follow the link on the right to see pictures of this spectacle! Lots of pumpkins, lots of hay, lots of people, lots of sunshine, just one trebucht, lots of fun.

For Miranda's actual birthday: we played with all our fun new toys, went out to dinner, and took our monthly growth pictures. Good day. Crazy to think she's a whole year already. It really does go as fast as everyone warns you it will! Our birthday girl has been a joy and blessing to us everyday since she arrived; I'm quite enamored with her, to put it mildly.

Walmart Pro Photos!

2009-09-22T17:11:00.001-07:00

We took Miranda in for 'professional' one year pictures today. I say 'pro', because it was just Walmart, and not an independent photographer or anything fancy. It went pretty well; Miranda cooperated and was in a decent mood. She was a little apprehensive of all the new things, and this picture lady always yelping and whistling to make her look. This anxiety can be seen in the hand that never left her ear or mouth - but that's ok, looks pretty cute anyway!

Some really cute pictures in her little dress; and great ones with the beloved Pooh bear.

We gave her a cake and let her mess it, and herself, up. That was fun. She didn't give us many good smiles though, because she was just so interested in examining this new texture.

The great thing about Walmart, is that you get all the proofs on CD to use however you want - so, all the pics, even the 'enhancements' with frosted frames and whatnot, are up on Picasa!

Pictures

2009-09-21T17:48:00.000-07:00

Some more new pictures up on the Picasa page. I love Picasa and it's ever-growing collection of Miranda's life!

Office Party

2009-09-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Well it's been a busy week at the Vetter home, but we of course made time for our favorite show, The Office, which premiered a new season last night. In preparation, we watched a few episodes from Season 5, and discovered that Miranda HAS to compulsively dance to the opening theme song!

Just as funny was the little 2 1/2 year old girl that came to watch with us, who matter of factly asked her Mom and Dad "Is that Michael?" - I guess they've seen a few shows too!

Miranda is on Acid Reflux medicine, and Soy milk instead of Whole. These two things have helped settle down the puking, and we're all doing much better! Now she just needs to pack on some pounds and catch up to her previous growth curve. Watch out world, big baby on the way...

Joy and Angst

2009-09-04T18:58:00.000-07:00

Miranda's day is filled with joy and sorrow as much as any adult. Except she can find joy in a seemingly uninteresting dish towel, and her angst doesn't extend much beyond yucky tasting food! It's good to be little :-)

Sadly, Miranda is still throwing up a good number of meals. We kept good track this week, to see the trends and any food connections. Nothing clear. But we do know she's thrown up 8 times in the past 7 days; so that's not great.

11 months old

2009-08-29T09:21:00.001-07:00

Today is Miranda's 11 month birthday - such a big girl. It'll be a one year celebrating before long! There are new pictures up on Picasa; a couple really good ones this week :-)

We started the acid reflux medicine last night - and then threw it all up. But we'll hopeful the puking will calm down sometime this week!

Puke and Freshmen

2009-08-27T08:27:00.000-07:00

I haven't sat down to blog, or post pictures lately - but I have a good excuse; our lives have been covered in puke and freshmen. Thankfully not freshman puke - we'll leave that job to the RD's - but plenty of freshmen orientation and moving in activities that keep Brandon and his ministry team hoping. Leaving me to fend for myself at home with the puker. Miranda is having some sort of eating issue - mainly the issue being what see eats ends up all over her clothes, chair, spit rags, bibs, hair, mom's clothes, carpet, furniture, etc! She's throwing up about 1 meal a day, soemtimes 2. Lots of theories abound from other parents of pukers; we haven't pinpointed her issue yet. But the doc's are on it! In the meantime, she's still pretty happy and healthy and roaming all thoughout the house. So we're not too worried, just trying to make sure she gets enough calories and keep up with the ever increasing laundry!

I'll get some new pics up soon - I'll spare you pictures of the real 'action' around here though!

Forward Motion

2009-08-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

Miranda is now exploring with forward motion; getting quicker by the day!

She immediately discovered fun new sounds in the kitchen. Don't worry, grandma, we put locks on the garbage, cleaners, and pots and pans.

mobility

2009-08-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

Miranda is no longer limited by her lack of mobility. She is officially a crawler, as of last Friday, and has now become quite familiar with the word 'No.' I don't think I had to tell her 'no' before, now it's every hour. Mom and Dad are scrambling to lock up cabinet doors, close bathroom doors, get the dog away from the highchair at meal time, and prevent little whatevers, from anywhere in the room, from entering that tiny mouth. Thankfully, she seems to actually respond to NO, for now anyway. She'll typically stop what she's doing and look at us for clarification or further direction. We'll see if that lasts! It seems her personality has blossomed overnight as she now know exactly what she wants, and knows how to get there to reach it. Anyone getting in the way of this process will receive a back-arching, shreaking fit. But it only last about 10 seconds and she finds something new to coo at! Always an adventure!

10 month old baby

2009-07-29T19:34:00.001-07:00

Miranda is so old...we can't even believe it! She's 10 months today and learning all sorts of big girl things like...
Standing with support!

And...Eating!

And...Drinking!

And...Cracking jokes!

She is delightful; silly and giggly and chattering constantly! Not really crawling yet, still just getting up on the knees and sitting back down. But everyday she gets a little more coordinated. She's got one little tooth now, on the bottom left, and I'm sure more will soon follow. We're really enjoying her; just wish she wouldn't grow up quite so fast!

Happy Birthday Papa Pete!

2009-07-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

It's my dad's birthday - which surprisingly, falls on the same day as Miranda's Grandpa's birthday! Have a happy day Papa Pete!

The Vetter's are glad to be back in a routine after a good week at camp. I'll post some pictures from the Rock, but they're pretty random. Once we have the week-in-review video done I'll send everyone a link to that!

Ready to Rock!

2009-07-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

The Vetters are off to camp! Wish us luck - pray for our campers this week!

Miranda's all packed up and ready to go!

Babes in Boston!

2009-07-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Miranda is quite the little traveler...flew to Boston and back without trouble! She loved running through the airport when we thought we were going to miss our flight: mom and dad didn't like it quite as well :-)

We met our beautiful new neice/cousin Alice. Miranda kept trying to hold her hand, we wouldn't let her get much closer because she would scratch at Alice's pretty face.

Brandon baptized Alice at a special ceremony with the whole family and lots of friends gathered at her grandma & grandpa's home. Alice screemed the whole time - but Brandon was able to squeeze in the blessing none-the-less!

It was a great trip to the big city; complete with Boston Duck Tour (quack!) and lots of family fun :-)

There are a lot more pictures at the link on the right; also growth pictures for Miranda's 9th month birthday. Can you believe it - 9 months! But not crawling and no teeth yet. so she's still my little baby!

Run, run, run

2009-06-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

I guess summer is a good time to get out running, but our family isn't exactly the lace up the sneakers and go for a jog type. Instead, we've been running to keep up with a crazy-full schedule of lots of great events and destinations, that make one marathon of a summer.

Last week we were in Rapid City for the Methodist Church's Annual Conference. This was a big year for us, as Brandon was fully ordained as an elder (Pastor)! You can see pictures at our Picasa site on the right. The ceremony was really nice, formal and elegant. Brandon likes to compare this milestone to a college prof receiving tenure - as he now is employed indefinitely. That's sure nice security in this day of so many lay-offs (trusting of course that the Methodist Church won't entirely collapse during our lifetime - pretty unlikely!) The rest of the week at conference was fun too. We caught up with a lot of old friends, lots of Pastors and church leaders. Miranda survived her first hotel stay pretty well; she even patiently endured the regular schedule getting thrown way out of whack. It's good to know she travels well, as we have a lot more of that coming up! She also had her first trip into a big swimming pool - she wasn't a big fan of the cold water though, so it was a short trip.

Yesterday we drove to Winner, SD for Robbie and Vicki's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony for an amazing couple. It was fun to see so many graduated college students there! I have never driven through SW South Dakota, it's gorgeous! Brandon and I parted ways there, as he drove onto Rapid City for a week of High School camp and Miranda and I drove home.

This morning and afternoon Miranda and I enjoyed the huge benefit and celebration for Pastor Brad at the Lutheran Church where I work. There were hundreds of people there, we didn't have near enough seats or food! We planned for 500, and that wasn't enough - how amazing! I haven't heard how much money was raised yet but there were wonderful gift baskets in the raffle, homemade items in the silent auction and fantastic baked goods for sale, on top of lunch and free will donations - I think the total will be very helpful in paying down Brad and Joan's increasing medical bills! It was great to see so many people from all his different churches drive into town just to see and celebrate him; this year is also their 30th wedding anniversary, and his 30th year in ministry! It was a good day.

This week will surely fly by with lots of evening meetings and work commitments while I try to manage single parenting with Brandon out in the Hills. When Brandon gets back he has a wedding to perform here in town, and then we're all off to Boston for an extended-family vacation. All the Peterson crew are meeting up at Scott's to cuddle and kiss our new little Alice! Can't wait! Let's hope Miranda will fly as well as she rides in the car.

Daddy's Home!

2009-05-23T16:20:00.000-07:00

Brandon got home from Peru this week! He was gone for 12 days; but it sure seemed longer when trying to manuvre single-parenting. The trip was a grand success. It started out really rocky; with huge airline problems causing them to lose a full day stuck in Miami then another day in Lima waiting for the luggage that didn't come from Miami. So they were a couple days behind on work schedule in Chincha; but made up for it with hard dedicated workers. The pictures show lots of time spent with the neighborhood children sharing loads of hugs and giggles. I"ll work on getting some pics up for you; they're still gathering them together from all the students. The team was awesome; Brandon was very impressed with the great attitudes and servant mindedness of his students!

Miranda and mommy missed him, but did pretty well throughout the week. I'm grateful for friends in town and a fantastic babysitter that helped watch her when I had evening commitments. She tried really hard not to learn any big new things so Brandon wouldn't miss out. Below is a video of her playing; she's gotten pretty good at clapping now which is one of her newer skills.

Big news in the Peterson family - Scott and Lisa had their baby girl! Alice is one week and one day old now. She's home now, eating, sleeping, eating and sleeping. She's beautiful and I swear she's already smiling in some of the pictures! I can't wait to go out to Boston in June and cuddle her!

Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T14:03:00.001-07:00

Happy Mother's Day all you moms out there. I'm very happy to be in the mommy club this year. It is a club, I feel, an unspoken understanding among Moms everywhere. It seems to me that any gathering of moms will contain conversation on those little annoying things kids do; whether it's babies not sleeping, toddlers not listening, or teens not caring, but everyone in the circle knows those kids we're complaining about are our children and we love them to the moon and back! There's always that tone of endearment amidst the frustration. So, this mother's day - enjoy your kids; the handfuls they are!

Miranda hasn't been sleeping through the night lately- so that's our frustration. But she is learning new things each day, which is so fun to watch! She has a full fledge individual personality now; and it's a pretty likable one. She likes to play games and be silly. One of our favorite games is peek-a-boo; specifically when someone hides behind the couch and pops out on different sides, or unexpected places. She watches, and leans from side to side looking, then sqweels with delight when you appear. (I just explained peek-a-boo, as if you were all so unfamiliar with the concept!) Anyway, it's fun to make her laugh. When she wants to be silly she shakes her head from side to side like no-no-no-no and dances her legs a bit. She fully expects you to laught at this - so the jokes go both ways. Unfortunately personality comes with assertion and Miranda will certainly let you know what she wants in no uncertain terms; whether its a toy, or to be picked up, or food - she wants it now! Brandon thinks she gets that from me; could be.

We decided our Mother's Day/Anniversary tradition should be family photo shoots. Since May is almost half a year from Miranda's birthday this could ensure we have good pictures twice a year, of her on her birthdays and all of us on Mother's Day. So, we took our first outing to the park yesterday to attemp some colorful pictures. Conditions weren't good, windy, very bright and sunny, and baby was a little cranky. But, there were about 6 or 7 good shots in the whole ordeal. We actually got better ones in our own backyard later in the evening. So, that makes Mom happy! Visit the "Web Albums" link on the right to see these.

The big news around here is, of course, Brandon's trip to Peru. He left this afternoon with a few of the students and they are picking up more along the way to Omaha, NE. Once everyone is together 19 people will fly to Peru tomorrow morning! We had 3 of the college girls staying with us this week; as school got out last week and they were homeless until the trip. Everyone was pretty excited, nervous about remembering to pack everything, and gearing up for a long day of travel tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about how things will go around here without Miranda's favorite man; but I'm sure we'll manage. Brandon's co-leader Leah is leaving a house with 2 young girls and their daddy - so if he can do it, I can for sure, right!? Pray for the Peru mission team and all the things they'll see and do in the coming days!

No new baby Peterson yet - my vote is for today - have that baby already, Lisa; it's mother's day!

Birthdays

2009-04-29T15:09:00.000-07:00

Today is my 28th birthday, and Miranda's 7th month day. I'm slightly more excited about the later than the former! She's been so silly today, I just have to share it. She learned to clap, literally today. Did it once over lunch, then we all kept clapping at her and she'd join in! It's adorable :-). She's always been a fan of clapping when we do it to her, so you can just see the joy in her face now that's she's figured it out! She's also been 'clicking' her tongue, but sucking in and flicking it. She's done this before, but not for awhile now. Today she's playing with her Grandpa Ed and pulling out all her greatest tricks to win over his heart.

We took some great pictures with her and all those stuffed Tigers for Peru - you'll have to go check them out at the link on the right. She was in a good mood to put up with all my posings.

Thanks to all for the many birthday wishes; we're having a fun day around here!

The days are flying by...

2009-04-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile (I think that's how I have to start all my posts recently). We've been trucking along, with busy jobs, and happy playful evenings with baby. Miranda is incredibly interactive these days. She's loving peek-a-boo and any funny face games. I love her little giggle, and the look of anticipation when she's waiting to laugh at something! She's fun. If you want to video chat, look us up on Skype!

Our camera is broken and shipped off for service. So, sorry, but no new pictures for a couple weeks. It's killing me not to be able to capture all her pretty faces, but we have a replacement camera coming down with Brandon's dad tomorrow!

Brandon has been busy a lot with year-end things at the college, and Peru trip prep. They leave in less than 2 weeks now - for a mission trip in Peru. The team is really good this year, I know they're going to have a great time! All the students have been over here to the house for some 'training sessions' - it's a living room full of laughter and plans and faithfilled kids. I'm excited for their trip, as is Brandon of course! Today he brought home 70+ stuffed Tigers (our school mascot) to pack and hand out to kids in Peru; how fun is that!

I'm (not so) patiently waiting with the rest of my family for our newest addition - Lisa is due within the next week and a half! Keep her and Scott in your prayers please! And think of Brandon and his team traveling on May 10 and the two weeks following. I really don't want him to come home with Swine Flu!

Miranda is 6 months old!

2009-03-29T10:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it - our little baby girl is 6 months old! Happy half-birthday day, Miranda Ann! And what a big girl she is, growing like a weed and learning something new everyday. About 15 minutes ago she rolled onto her belly, then rolled onto her back, they once more onto her belly; very effectively rolling herself right into grasping distance of Jack, the object of her desire. Watch out world - she's mobile!

We went for Miranda's 6 month check-up on Thursday. Everything looks good, right on track! She weighs 15 lbs 13 oz; 27 inches long, and a good head size. Her weight is right at the 50% for her age, but her length is at the 85% - so she's a tall girl. She had a couple immunization shots at this appointment. That's usually a cry-fest, but she did so well this time! She gasped and turned red right when they poked her, then screeched and started to cry. But just then the Dr. peeked into the room and joked with the nurses to 'stop hurting the babies around here' to which we three chuckled, and that made Miranda laugh! So she did this crazy laugh while crying mixture, and then was fine. All told she was upset for about 20 seconds.

I'm constantly amazed at all the new things she can do. She sits pretty well now, but topples over before long. Her legs are getting really strong; she stands when we're holding her and kicks everything. Loves to kick and splash in the tub! She's so interactive and fun now - laughing and playing all the time. 2 weeks ago she'd have a giggle fit when we tickled her belly or kissed her neck. Now she'll laugh just at funny faces or voices; so we're telling lots of hilarious jokes :-). I love to cuddle this kid-o; we lay on the floor or in the bed and talk, cooing and giggling and just loving on each other! I hope to always remember these precious moments with my daughter; they swell up my heart with joy. She's seriously delightful!

List of tid-bits about Miranda: her eyes are still blue, she's loved every new baby food we've introduced, she hums while she nurses, she wakes up happy and talking, she loves to throw her head back and stretch out her neck, she watches Jack everywhere he goes and likes to pull his hair, she only poops once every 2 days, she doesn't have any teeth yet, she likes to bang on tables and anything with her hands, she sucks her toes whenever possible, she's growing hair but is mostly still a baldy, she loves to grab the remote-cell phone-cup-food away from mommy and daddy. I'd like to go on and on describing every wonderful little thing she does; but I may bore you all. In short - she's an awesome baby.

In other news:
- Our family members in North Dakota are all ok (right now at least); Fargo has a lot of waiting and watching this week yet.
- Pastor Brad at my church is a couple weeks into chemo and radiation treatment. He's feeling ok right now, but expected to get sick pretty soon. The prognosis on his cancer is not encouraging. The church has hired an interim, who will start after Easter.
- Dakota Wesleyan is undergoing a lot of change in personnel; which has been sad and tough on many. Brandon's job is ok, but he's losing some great co-workers and his department is restructuring a lot. I think he'll be moving offices this summer.
- B's been on the road almost every weekend leading services at various churches along with the Peru mission team. They're working hard to raise money for the trip. The team is really good and Brandon enjoys working with them; it will be a great mission trip this May.
- My brother and sister-in-law are expecting their baby in about 6 weeks! I'm so excited about this baby! We're going out to Boston in June to meet the little bundle of joy.

I'll work on some new pictures for the albums this afternoon - so check them out.

Welcome March

2009-03-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

Well, my Famine weekend is over and it went so well! I really enjoyed the evening and afternoon with my students. We had a group of college kids from Augustana come help with games and worship, and they were great. My young students did so well; didn't complain about the hunger, played all the games with enthusiasm, listened during the Bible lessons - they were just really good. They'll do a presentation in church next week to show the pictures and tell the stories. After that we're done fundraising; right now they have raised about $1300. I'm feeling so much more relaxed now that the Famine is over and went well - it's a lot of work.

Brandon went on a mini-mission trip to Minneapolis these last few days. They were working at a camp site, stocking a food pantry and (my fav) helping old ladies install the new cable boxes. Sounds like a good time! He's got a couple days off with the rest of spring break; so the whole family will finally be able to relax a little.

I posted some new pictures as Miranda has now entered her 5th month. Such a big girl! I can finally say looking back at her new-born pictures she seems like an entirely different baby, so tiny and squishy-faced. She really is growing up fast; don't they all! She recently tasted some carrots along with her rice cereal. She likes both foods quite well; opens her mouth real wide and leans in toward me to try to find the spoon the moment the last bite was swallowed. It's pretty cute - like everything she does these days. She's also become VERY interested in Jack the dog. She watches him everywhere he goes and reaches out to grab him whenever he walks by her. She loves it if we sit and pet him, he doesn't love it as much, because she grabs his fur and tugs!

Too busy!

2009-02-26T14:41:00.000-08:00

I've been reminded by a couple different people that I haven't written anything for about a month now. But, for good reason - it's been a very busy month! Brandon is gearing up for a mission trip to Peru; which means he's on the road most weekends or at least Sundays, leading services with his team in various cities. Some of them are over-nights. I've been getting ready for the 30 Hour Famine, which is always involved and full of little tasks for me. My youth and I are fasting tomorrow, and we have a lock-in which ends with a free meal for the general community. So today I did the grocery shopping, and have been gathering supplies for the games and lock-in all week. Plus, we've both been sick with colds and flu and possibly laryngitis that all just seems to drag on and on.

The biggest thing at the church though is our Pastor, Brad. He found out he had a brain tumor about a week and half ago. Had surgery last Friday to remove it, and is now in recovery for a few weeks before starting cancer treatments. The surgery actually went really well. In his absence, the few of us in the office have been scrambling to fill all his duties. Mostly this week we've been trying to figure out meals and help for him and his wife around the house (she has MS and limited activity.) I don't mean to complain that his illness has lead to extra work for us, I'm more than ready to do what I can to help them out - I just write about it to ask for prayers for Brad & Joan, and our church in general to keep moving forward.

In brighter news, Miranda is light and joy and laughter everyday. No matter what the day brings I can't wait to play on the floor and blow strawberries on her belly. She's really good at grasping now and will grab our cheeks or nose and giggle, giggle, giggle. She plays in her 'exersaucer' that spins around to give her access to 6 different toys. She doesn't really roll over yet - I think she can, just isn't interested. She recently discovered her feet, so whenever she's on her back she grabs them right away - thus she'll fall onto either side, but keep holding her feet and can't roll over! Everyday she seems to 'talk' more and laugh more and play new games - she's just awesome!

Say a prayer for my teens tomorrow night - they'll be tired and cranky, and HUNGRY. Come to think of it, say a prayer for me!

World of firsts!

2009-01-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile. Miranda has kept us hopping with lots of new activities; actually the rest of life is busy and she's a welcome respite. But we have had some firsts. She's just now getting over her first cold. That was a sad series of events. I had a cold and just as I was getting over it she started getting stuffy and weezy. By the next day her nose was running and she was just full of sneezes and coughs. Her little watery eyes and red drippy nose looked just absolutely pitiful. Meanwhile she had her 4 month check-up and had to get some more vaccines. So, she was a little feverish from that too. But she was a little trooper and after a day of sleeping and plenty of Tylenol she was doing much better. Today she was all smiles and giggles again. The giggles would be another one of her 'firsts' in recent weeks.

Her check-up had all good reports. She's up to 13 lbs and 13 oz. I was actually surprised, because I was sure she was over 14, maybe 15 already - she seems so big to me! But she's growing right on pace; she's consistently been at the 51% at each dr visit.

Other firsts have been: first birthday party (which was really just going out to dinner for Daddy's birthday) first pair of jeans (worn to Daddy's birthday) first bath without crying (mommy's happy about this, now we bathe every other day because she really likes it!) first taste of food (rice cereal, hopefully will help her sleep longer at night) and just for fun first time trying on Daddy's clothes (they're a little big).

There's lots of good new pictures on Picasa, follow the link to the right.

so much to learn...

2009-01-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

(Conversation at the Vetter house after returning from Christmas vacation)
Brandon: Miranda's happy to be back in her familiar swing.
Vicky: Yeah, it's too bad this one doesn't recline though, like the other one at home, that was nice.
Brandon: Seriously, you think all swing makers would think of that, since all baby's necks are so floppy.
Vicky: I know; wait, what does that metal bar on the back of the swing do?
Brandon (messing with the bar) Oh, it reclines the seat, so she doesn't flop around.
Vicky: Good to know, after 3 months of trying to prop her up in there!

Tip to future parents - if something seems inconveinent, check if there's a quick fix already available...Seems like the makers of baby-things have already figured a lot of this out. We've had about 3 simular scenarios to the one above already. So much to learn in baby world.

Big news: Miranda rolled from her belly to her back. To be fair, it was mostly like falling...she pushed up with her arms, and her heavy head just flipped her right around! But, nonetheless, we'll claim it as her first rolling action. Every time she's laid flat on her back now she twists up her back and legs and cranes her neck around. It looks terribly uncomfortable; but also seems like it'll lead to rolling eventually. Such a talented little girl :-)

She has a new favorite toy; it's a piano-like stand, with 5 big buttons that light up and play songs. She loves to lay on her back and watch all the flashing lights. Best of all, if it stops singing, she can kick her feet to hit a button and start it again. Oh the joy!

Baptized: Miranda Ann, Dec 21, 2008

2008-12-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

(old: Vicky's baptism, 13 weeks old, 1981.

new: Miranda's baptism, 12 weeks old, 2008.)

The much-anticipated baptism for our great baby girl was yesterday! It all went very well. I was struck by the 'full-circle' nature of it all when my mom and I dressed Miranda in her pretty white baptism gown. It is the beautiful silk and lace gown I wore 27 years ago. But even more meaningful to me than her being in 'my' gown, was the neat moment of dressing her in the same room I put on my pretty white wedding dress just 5 years ago. Then, standing before the same altar where her daddy became my husband not too long ago, we vowed together to raise her to know the Lord and His love for her. To top it off her godfather is Brandon's best man Andrew, and her godmother my maid of honor, Jodi. It's amazing how much has stayed the same in all the things that have changed throughout the course of our marriage!

The morning, and well into the afternoon, was filled with family and friends that came to meet Miranda and celebrate this special day. Grandma had prepared a wonderful party in her honor. It was kind of surreal, actually. This is the way we marked big milestones while I was growing up. Now to gather together to celebrate my daughter's first big special day really made me feel 'all grown up'. Let's hope Miranda grows up always knowing how loved and cherished she is by this family, our friends, and most importantly our gracious God.

Very Thankful

2008-12-01T15:13:00.000-08:00

Well it's Monday, that this particular Monday means 'get back to reality'. We had a fantastically fun Thanksgiving break. We ate (and ate well), played crazy games, watched cheesy Christmas movies, cooed at the baby, and laughed the entire long weekend away. I am seriouslly so grateful for my family! We have such a good time together. My little brother always has the best stories and most refreshing laugh; I wish I could hang out with him way more than I get to. My father keeps the room in stiches whether he means to or not; everyone should be so lucky to have someone as easy-going and fun loving as this man in their family. My mom and grandma effortlessly made amazing meals over and over this week, and Mom even squeezed in some laundry and plenty of kitchen clean up in between hanging out. When we started playing games mom and grandma were both laughing so hard no one could speak anymore! My grandpa quietly takes it all in and reminds us all to enjoy the moment; I don't know quite what it is about his personality, but his very presence makes people happy. My husband - my wonderful husband - actually enjoys being with my family and celebrates these times with me. He cracks everyone up with his wit and keeps everything running smoothly. Meanwhile my best friend was in town, and she lights up any room - my family was seriously sitting around anticipating her visit with excitement. It was like the joy arrived when she walked into the room. To top it all off...my beautiful daughter was smiley and flirty and happy and fun much to the enjoyment of all. I could go on another whole story of the delights of watching various family members holding and loving her. Papa Pete and Grandma (hers, my mom) really take the cake here - they just adore her and it's such a blessing to watch! But, I'll close this out, because that beautiful baby wants to be fed now! In sum - I'm thankful for family this year :-)

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T06:44:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a nice Thanksgiving so far. Our first two hours of the holiday have been just peachy! My parents and grandparents are here for a few days, so it's a full happy house. My brother is still on his way some time today. I'm excited for a family filled weekend! Miranda's Godparents are in town too; what fun!

Well the other day wasn't a fluke, Miranda does sleep about 6 hours each night now. It's been really nice. She had her 2 month check up this week. She's 11 pounds exactly! What a big girl. 2 month check up though means lots of vaccines. She had 3 shots with 7 total vaccines in them. She's never cried quite so sharply as that! Just pure fear and shock in her eyes when those first two shots hit her. Poor little thing. But thankfully she was consoled before too long with some cuddles from mom. She didn't have any bad reactions; no fever or anything so that's all good. She did sleep a ton afterwards, either from the trauma or the tylenol!

We're doing our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. So today is prep and cooking. Thankfully my family is smart enough to know I'm not going to prepare a big family meal. So mom and grandma came with 3 coolers of food and tons of supplies yesterday, ready to cook! Maybe we'll go to a movie today too, there are a lot of good ones out right now. Miranda's never been to the movie theater, we may need to experiment with that. She did great at the basketball game the other night, slept straight through it.

Have a happy turkey day everyone!

What just happened?

2008-11-18T12:34:00.001-08:00

I woke to the familiar sounds of a hungry baby this morning, about 7:30. But I had one blaring questions in mind - what just happened? See, the unfamiliar thing about this morning, was I had been sleeping since 1 am. That's a long time! That's the longest I've slept since Miranda was born; it....was.....awesome! But here's the thing - I'm not 100% certain that she did sleep through the night. There's this little suspect notion in the back of my mind that we got up and did a feeding, and I just don't remember it at all. So, I'll still say that I slept through the night, but I'm not for sure that she did. I think so; she's been building up to an over-night sleep pattern. I just know it's very possible that I could, at this point, get up, feed, burp, change, rock, and put her back down and not really know about it. The mind gets a little fuzzy when you don't let it sleep for 7 weeks.

Anyway, here's the really cool thing about last night. Andy was fighting bed time with all she's worth. From 11pm to 1pm Brandon and I were passing off turns trying to get her to sleep. Typically, after her evening feeding, we lay her down, go to bed ourselves, and she falls asleep. It's a pretty easy pattern. But last night she kept getting up again, crying, wanting some cuddles. So, each of us would rock her to sleep, put her down, she'd wake up, we'd send the 'other parent' to start over. (wondering about the 'cool' part? getting there...) This was wearing me out, I really wanted to go to bed; at least for my new regular 2 hours of rest. So, I prayed in exhaustion, 'God, let this child sleep; I need some sleep.' I don't think I'd ever actually prayed that God would knock her out, we've just been going through the routine every day. But I prayed it, and meant it. So this morning when I woke up with the confusion of consecutive hours of sleep I knew God answered that prayer. As previously stated, I'm not sure if she slept through the night or I slept through the activity - but either way I felt good!

My Big Girl

2008-11-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

Well, going to daycare this week went just fine. It was a little harder to leave her that first day than I expected. Everyone said it would be; but I thought I was tough. Turns out - no. It has been good to get back into the swing of things at work. It's a little overwhelming playing catch-up in a few areas, but even that's getting worked out very quickly. I do like being back with the youth, of course, they're fun!

Happy day - the grandparents, my parents, are here for the weekend. Silly little blizzard won't stop them! Miranda was very happy to see them, I think - it's hard to say. She burped, gurgled, smiled big, and pooped. I take that to mean she's happy! I know for sure Mom and Dad were excited to see her - that's easy to tell. We're all smiles around here. I'm working on catching this beautiful new smile of Andy's for some pictures. We pretty much live to see that wonderful moment around here.

Random note - I'm so excited that Thanksgiving is coming! Why you ask? Because my grandparents and brother and parents are all coming here for a few days - and my best friend is coming 'home' to Mitchell for a whole week. Party.

Miranda is getting so big. It's ridiculous. More than just her body growing, she's changed so much in her alertness and ability to pay attention to things. It's really amazing how big she seems. I actually have caught myself thinking nonsense things about her bigness. Like, our friends had a baby last week, and he's so tiny and new and wonderful. And I thought, Wow, remember when Miranda was that new. She'll be a big, older friend for this little guy. But - no, she's 1 month older than him; that's like the exact same age in 'real' life. I even saw some baby clothes in the closet that had the word 'baby' on it, and I thought, that's so childish and young for this big girl. Wrong again, she's a month old! I'm just obviously a little surprised at how big she seems and how much she knows already. But, I'm glad she's still my little baby :-)

Numbering Days

2008-10-29T11:22:00.001-07:00

This is my last week on maternity leave, I start back to work on Monday. I've already been doing a couple things with my youth group - but just planning from home and going out in the evenings when Brandon is home with Andy. Anyway, next week the new routine starts and brings mixed emotions for me. I do want to go back to work. I enjoy my job and feel frustrated when I'm missing things or skipping opprotunities to be with the teens. So, it will be good to jump in again. On the other hand, it has been great to be home with my Miranda. I like the pace and rythem we've found in the past few weeks. The flexibility is nice, the company is great, and the option of napping in the afternoon is really helpful! I'm a bit concerned about the sleepy factor in heading back to the office.

I'm very lucky to not have worries about our babysitter. I know that's a stress for many new parents. But Miranda is going to stay with a very sweet friend of ours and her own little granddaughter. She offered her services when we were pregnant, and the plan has just come together beautifully. We went over to visit this morning and she rocked Andy to sleep like a pro. I think they'll get along very well. And Miranda will have a good friend in her 18-month-old granddaughter.

So, other moms out there, I need some advice. How do I store up enough milk for Miranda at the daycare? How much does she need on hand? And what's a good way to collect, store, transport, and use it? I have ideas on how to do each, but would love to hear what's worked for other working moms best. I might run over and feed her myself once during a daycare day - since our babysitter lives 2 blocks from the church and it would take me less time to do that than pump at work. The timing will be tricky though. Well, speaking of feeding issues, I've got a little girl begging for attention right now - gotta go!

One month check-up

2008-10-25T04:47:00.000-07:00

Andy had her 1 month check-up yesterday. It's a couple days early for her actually being a month old, but that's alright. Everything looks really good. She's growing, seeing, hearing, eating, doing just fine! Her weight was 8 lbs 7 oz now; almost 2 whole pounds more than when she was born. She certainly looks and feels big to us every now and then. I can't believe some babies start at this size. That's huge.

She's starting to interact a little more. Not old enough to respond, or mimic, or laugh at our funny jokes yet. But, she'll stare you down and give you all manner of quizzical eyebrow looks.

3 Weeks Old

2008-10-22T14:35:00.000-07:00

Week three of young Miranda's life is flying by. We've been busy with tons of little things. It's hard to say what fills up all my time, yet I know it's full! I've put in probably 5 hours of work this week, which should be nothing compared to a full 25 hr week; but somehow it's kept us hopping. Every little task certainly takes a little longer with kid in toe. (I tried to do some grocery shopping on my own the other day - it was tricky. Andy's car seat didn't fit well into the front of the cart, so I set it down in the main basket. This left very little room for groceries! You should have seen the poor little darling with boxes and bags and fruit pilled all around her. By the time I got to the counter I realized I didn't bring in any money because my wallet was in the diaper bag, which Idecided I didn't need for groceries. SoI lugged her back out to the car, then back in to pay, and back out again. Thankfully, I was at the 'hometown' store and they take your bags to the car for you; I've never been so grateful for that service until this week.)

I did develop/come-down with mastitis this week. It's an infection in the breast. Rather painful and annoying. Doc put me on antibiotics which are certainly helping things heal. The first day was bad though -as it comes with flu like symptoms. A restless night of chills and sweats is only made longer with feeding and rocking sessions every 3 hours. I'm already doing a lot better though; and can even feed her directly now instead of pumping to feed.

Daddy thinks our little girl is getting big, but we haven't had her weighed in about 2 weeks so I'm not sure. It's hard to tell when you look at someone everyday. Speaking of Daddy - Brandon is so good at his new role! He helps with every aspect of Miranda's care, even changes the extra stinky diapers without complaint. Now that I've been pumping so much he's taken over a few feedings too. He's a good daddy and has the magic touch to comfort his daughter to sooth her to sleep. There's some good daddy&me pictures on picasa; go check 'em out.

Thespacebar on thiskeyboardisbroken and it'sdrivingmecrazy!

2 weeks old

2008-10-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

It's weird to think Miranda is already two weeks old. There are moments when everything is so new and different and I swear she just arrived here. But in other ways it's as if we've had her, and known her, and loved her forever. I think for the most part I feel like I've been at this motherhood thing for longer than two weeks; it definitely feels normal and natural in many ways. I thought it would be a harder adjustment - with the lack of sleep and tiny pink clothes in the laundry and that little person eating on me every 3 hours - but it all fell into place so smoothly that I can't remember life without these things.

We had house guests up until yesterday. Grandma (my mom), had been here since day 1, and for the weekend we had Papa Pete and Aunt Beth (B's sis) and her bf Tom. It was a super-fun weekend! But by yesterday evening the house was quiet and it was just the three of us. B was off of work today so we really got to settle into our family mode. It was nice, just being us, doing everything on our own. I think I expected my day to be so different with a baby - but it's really quite the same, just enhanced. We watched a movie, played the Wii, went to Walmart, did laundry and dishes and ate regular meals. It was a great relaxing day. Tomorrow is my first day all alone with my daughter while Brandon's at work. I think it'll go well. I do miss my mom though. She was such a huge help with everything, and it was fun just to get to hang out with her for so long. When does anyone get to just sit and chat and bum around with a parent for 2 whole weeks? I'm a lucky girl.

Baby's 1 week check up

2008-10-09T16:06:00.001-07:00

Miranda is 10 days old now, so we just had our first check-up - as we were released from the hospital 1 week ago. Of course the big question is always weight gain in these first few days. I'm happy to report that our little girl is doing great!! She was born 6 lbs 10 oz, was down to 6 lbs 1 oz when we left the hospital last Thursday. Today she was already 7 lbs 2 ozs!! Can you believe that? She gained an entire pound in just this past week. I guess the breast feeding is working just fine. So that's our happy news for the day. Everything else looked great at the check-up too.

I'm going to start a new slideshow to track Andy's growth. My cousin used a special teddy bear to compare her son's growth every month. I loved these pictures, so I'm stealing her idea. We bought a very tall giraffe, named Jeffery, to take periodic pictures with. We'll start with every week (seeing as she can apparently grow a pound in one) and do every month after that. So - that's the stroy behind the Jeffery growth picture above.

First few family days

2008-10-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

We brought Miranda home on Thursday morning! Since then we've been resting, eating, cuddling, crying, changing diapers, and watching tv. We've had our first bath (just sponge bath at this stage), our first walk outside, and our first overnight in the house. All things have gone really well. She's really a calm and happy baby so far! She mostly cries when she's messy or hungry, but is pretty easily comforted. I even clipped her nails today and pinched a bit of skin which bled a little. She yipped when it happened, gave me a very disappointed look, then got over it. Calm baby, right?!

I'm recovering pretty well. I actually feel really great, not sore or tired or anything for a while. But then I get up and move around too much, or too fast, or get up and sit down at a funny angle and I soon remember my incision pain and lack of ab muscles. Mom and Brandon have been awesome to take care of everything around the house from cooking to dishes to laundry to changing and comforting Andy and waiting on me hand and foot. So, I'm really grateful for both of them. Most of the day I'm enjoying my baby and feeling pretty good.

Our first night was a fun adventure. I think we were both geared up for a lot of work and frustration and no sleep - so it went way better than it could have. We were up for three different feeding sessions. Brandon helped get her up and changed and positioned for feeding. I would feed (obviously), which has been going a lot better than it was at the hospital, then we'd take turns on who rocked and sang and comforted her back to sleep. Once was a really quick one, the other two were 40-70 minutes each. She likes to be up after eating. She's peaceful, just looking around and hanging out, but awake for sure. Overall we got some sleep, and successfully fed and loved our little one. So, good night. She's actually been awake more today than yesterday - so I'm wondering if she'll sleep well tonight.

We go back to the hospital tomorrow morning to check her jaundice levels.

We had a couple visitors today, which is nice. If you want to come by and meet Andy, don't hesitate to call or stop by. There are a few sets of pictures on picasa. Click on the link on the right. We;ll add new albums as we take more pictures. Her face is already changing a bit from when she was born. How strange.

And then she came...

2008-10-01T18:27:00.000-07:00

My little angel is sleeping soundly in grandma's arms, so I thought I'd take a moment to write out our birth story.

We came into the hospital about 9:00 p.m. on Sunday. We were scheduled to induce labor, hoping to have her on Mon afternoon or evening. I was actually already having pretty regular contractions when they got me hooked up to the monitors, so we just watched and timed them for a while. Around 1 am I took a half pill to speed things up a bit, since the contractions weren't really productive yet. That brought me up to about 5 minutes apart, and a pretty good level of contracting. I wasn't really in pain yet, just a big uncomfortable. B and I both slept on and off throughout the night. The nurse debated on whether or not to give me the second dose of the inducing stuff, to keep things progressing. I was doing fine, but wasn't getting any stronger or closer together - or more dialated in the process. So, about 7 am she gave me the rest of the pill.

That's when things started going poorly. I was totally overstimulated and had some contractions that didn't stop - not giving the baby a moment to rest. This stressed her out and her pulse rate dropped dangerously and often. Within moments there were 5 nurses buzzing around me and doing who knows what. It was scary. Brandon had been sleeping, but was up on his feet quickly. They gave me something by IV that stopped the contractions, but it was an muscle relaxant and it caused me to shake and spaz all throughout my body. That felt awful! Baby was still stressed, so a Dr came and broke my water and put in an internal monitor. It wasn't long before they were trying to decide if we should continue laboring like this or not. I was definitely feeling the contractions now, and they hurt. I got the epideral, which wasn't bad and helped relax me a lot. But, through monitoring and whatnot the baby was still dropping out on heart rate, and had pooped internally, and just was unhappy. So, to the c-section I was whisked.

Everything happened really quickly from then. They put Brandon in scrubs, disconnected all my machines, rolled me through the hall and into the elevator, and in minutes had me in the operating room. I stayed awake throughout the process, and Brandon held my hand and watched the whole thing over the curtain. (Gross, B) Not much to say about the c-section - it was quick and awkward, a little scary, but the nurses and drs were really reassuring. Within about 20 minutes of being in the room they lifted a wiggly little body over the curtain for 2 seconds. This was apparently my baby! I was pretty out of it, but Brandon watched the Dr clean her up from across the room. Dr, baby, and Brandon left for the nursery and I was left lying there to be stitched back up. This was really the only bad part of the process, because I was alone up there for about an hour, and then another 1/2 hour in post op recovery. They wouldn't let Brandon or my parents come see me, nor had I even met the baby yet. So, we all waiting, not so patiently through this time. Brandon was in the nursery with his yet unnammed daughter, and my parents were peering through the window, anxiously waiting a chance to meet her and see how I was doing.

Eventually, I came down, they brought her out of the nursery, we all got to hug and cry and smile together in our long-term recovery room. We named her Miranda Ann, as you already know, but we've been calling her Andy. I'm doing really well with recovery, I feel great actually - considering the circumstances. Miranda is very heathly and passing every test they give her. She's content and happy as a baby so far. Sleeping a lot, of course. Not a stellar nurser yet, but we'll keep working on it.

Brandon says this is way too long now, and I have to get back to my sweetie. Thanks for reading, thanks for caring!

Miranda Ann is Here!

2008-09-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Miranda Ann was born on Monday, September 29, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. You can view pictures of HERE.

God takes care of even the impatient

2008-09-26T13:18:00.001-07:00

We just got back from our Dr's visit. We've been going quite frequently in these last weeks of pregnancy. This was by far my favorite visit though! Having just written about impatience this morning, I'm happy to tell you, we have a plan. Everything is happier with a plan! Our Dr. said the baby is looking good, I'm feeling good, my plecenta is apparently ready to be done with it's job and fully 'mature', which puts things in a bit of a time frame crunch, and he's leaving town in a few days. So, add it all up and it spells: inducing on Monday! There's always the chance that I'll go into labor on my own between now and late Sunday night, but if not, we'll take a pill to start the process. This makes me very happy, because the waiting and guessing is just stressful. Plus, I think it'll be really sweet if we do go until then and this girl comes on the 29th! My b-day is a 29, so is 2 of my cousins, and my mom and aunt are 9ths. We are fans of having girls on these dates, apparently! I can't believe I was just complaining about having to wait, now I'm a little freaked out that my baby girl will be here within 3 days - God always throws me funny curve balls like that!

I'm not patient

2008-09-26T09:21:00.001-07:00

My husband knows how un-patient I can be when waiting for something big and good. Just ask him sometime about the weeks and months before our engagement. I was awfully unpatient waiting for that beautiful ring to appear from his pocket. These days, I'm waiting for a beautiful baby to appear in our lives. I don't think I've gotten any better at waiting in the past 5 years of marriage.

I haven't even reached my due date yet and I'm slightly upset that this baby hasn't arrived. I'm having a constant internal conversation with her about why today would be a great day to be born. Pretty sure she neither hears me, nor cares about my opinion on the matter. It's unnerving to plan your day and week with such a big quesiton mark of when all the plans will change. I think I've already mentally checked out of work and house chores and any plans, just assuming that at some point soon we'll drop everything and have a whole new plan involving hospitals and pink blankies. It's hard to think about, or want to do, anything else then meet this baby. Oh, the waiting. I couldn't even sleep last night while hoping every little teasing uterine contraction would develop into something more than the false labor my belly is so fond of these days.

I did have a really good time yesterday evening watching 'The Office' premiere with some friends. I didn't want to go into labor before that event, because I knew it would be fun. But now - I've little to look forward to other than baby time, and the anticipation has sure set in quickly since last night! I know, I'm pitiful, but thanks for listening to me whine (in type). Watch for news on the (hopefully soon-arriving) little one!

Best Baby Shower ever!

2008-09-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't write sooner, my baby shower was 6 days ago, but it's really taken that long just to unpack the bags and put the nursery together!

We had such a marvelous weekend home in Bismarck! The baby shower was just perfect. All the decorations were beautiful - everything was either purple or safari animal themed (like our nursery)! Lisa made a great cake, and Kristie made these adorable decorations out of rolled up diapers and baby socks.

We played the 'guess the turd' game with melted candy bars in diapers - gross and fun. I didn't do very well, I think I only had 5 or 6 out of the 10. One of my friends came over from the Grand Forks area, and it was great to catch up with her. One of Mom's friends (whom I'm quite fond of as well) came with her little girl from MN. I think all the other guests were Bismarck natives. It was fun to see everyone at once!

In the midst of all the incredible gifts we got, Brandon actually won for best gift. He surprised me by flying in my best friend Jodi from Oregon for the entire weekend. Everyone knew about it but me, I was entirely oblivious! She came walking into the backyard with the guys on Thursday night. B said he was going to hang out with the boys (which is totally normal and non-suspicious), and actually went to the airport to pick up Jodi! I was so surprised, and delighted. So, all weekend was made extra special to hang out with her, and my mom, and friends at the house.

In the list of amazing gifts though - we have a lot of homemade things. Apparently my entire family and circle of friends are very crafty and talented! In our nursery is currently: the pictures my Dad drew (you can see below), two crocheted blankets from Lisa in Bismarck, one gorgeous quilt with baby safari animals from Aunt Lisa, a great shelf for above the changing table that my Grandpa built, a homemade ceramic piggy bank from Irene, and 4 totally cute paintings of baby animals that Aunt Beth painted! All that on top of really nice baby gifts and all the hundreds of things we had registered for at Target. This is one crazy lucky kid - and I get to be the crazy lucky mommy!!

Click HERE to see all the pictures!

Slideshow update

2008-08-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

We decided to put up pics every 2 weeks in the final stretch here, instead of 4. Seeing as the baby grows about 1/2 lbs every week, and Mom even more than that. Our little peanut isn't so little anymore - about 5 lbs these days.

Visitors and plans

2008-08-16T10:29:00.000-07:00

We've had 2 sets of visitors this week, and we didn't let either of them rest. Coming to the Vetter home is more like short term mission work than vacation, apparently. My parents were down last weekend, and we kept Dad hopping with all sorts of Mr. Fix-it projects. The biggest was putting up lattice/fencing all around the back deck so animals stop hanging out there and driving the dog (and hence us) crazy. He also fixed things around the house, and hung fabulous new art in the nursery. Check it out in the pictures, all Papa Pete originals! Mom and I did all the baby's laundry and organized clothes into sizes and accessibility. Quite productive!

This week Brandon's Dad came down. He has not stopped working on the bushes and flowers and general landscaping all around the house. He's seriously been out there for 6-7 hours every day. They've torn out all the old weeds and overgrown shrubs and planted pretty new things. Now he's got the edging rubber stuff in, and is starting to lay down a bunch of red mulch. You can see how much I understand all this, I'm probably not using the right words. But, it looks great!

So that's been our house guests and house projects. We're hoping Beth might make it down sometime too. And of course all the parents will be back when baby comes! The rest of our week has been full of plans for the beginning of school at DWU, and beginning of edu programming at my church. I'm eager to start confirmation and Bible Study and Sunday School and finally get to know all the students. Brandon's glad kids are trickling back to campus with sports teams this week, and everyone next week. This place will be hoping again!

Our next big plans are to go to Bismarck for a baby shower my Aunt Kristie and good family friend Lisa are hosting for us! I'm a little nervous about this, since it's during my 37th week of pregnancy. I keep hearing stories of all these women having their babies 2 or more weeks early, and that freaks me out. But, I know, and Brandon tells me daily, that the majority of people go to that 40th week or over - so it SHOULD be fine. The shower will be great, I'm excited for that. It was super fun to register and pick out all the adorable baby things in the nursery dept. We're going with a safari theme of baby African animals - so cute. Our registry is at http://www.target.com/ if you want to see. If you're in the Bismarck area, come to the shower on Saturday, Sept 13th at 2 p.m. at First Lutheran Church across from Bismarck High School!

After that I guess our plans involve having a baby and learning what to do with her. That should be enough to keep us busy for awhile! I hope YOUR plans are to come visit said baby!

Brandon's home with chicken nuggets, so I say goodbye. :-) Vicky

Baby Update

2008-07-26T06:51:00.001-07:00

I'm so sorry, I haven't actually given any baby news in a long while. As if you people are reading this blog to find out what B and I are doing - yeah right - get to the kid! Here's all the baby/pregnancy news fit to print.

We did a very 'unofficial' ultrasound with a nurse at our home clinic. We played around for about 1/2 hour - it was awesome! We saw some images of the baby's face, and for just a moment a perfect little foot with 5 tiny toes. What fun! The kid was squirming and moving hands and legs constantly; which I guess I already knew because I can feel it all the time now. Just recently we actually reached a stage where you can see the movements by just looking at my belly. That's kind of creepy. Anyway, the point of the story - having seen no 'man parts' we believe this baby is a girl! So I'll finally stop saying 'it' and call her she, which is so much better! We've been calling her a girl for a couple weeks now, and even buying a few girly things, so we're getting pretty excited about baby-girl world.

I'm still feeling really good - this whole pregnancy has gone just beautifully. I'm bigger now, as you can see from the 28 week picture, and growing regularly. So, I do have some discomfort with her pushing against my ribs, and just in general getting heavy to carry around. My feet and hands swell up every now and then, but not to unbearable amounts. I guess I'm a little nervous to see how the next 9 weeks go, knowing that she'll gain 1/2 pound every week from here on out. I guess that means I'll about double in belly size. She's roughly 3 lbs right now. People say I don't look 30 weeks pregnant yet, I'm too small. I feel big, though! It may be that I'm carrying her really high - in my ribs. In the next few weeks she's supposed to move down lower and 'get into position'. We'll see.

I had a blood glucose test about 3 weeks ago, and failed. So I had to do the 3 hour version of the test last week. Which meant I went to the clinic at 9 in the morning, not allowed to eat breakfast. They drew my blood, waited an hour for the results, had me drink the sugary soda thing then drew my blood every hour for 3 hours. So, all told, I couldn't eat or drink anything until 1:00 that afternoon. That's like torture for a pregnant woman! In the end they said my body is NOT processing sugar appropriately. So, I've been put on a minimum sugar and low-carb diet until the end of the pregnancy. They said my levels aren't quite at 'gestational diabetes' classification, but it's a similiar idea to that. So that kind of stinks for us. I really like bread in all it's forms, and sweets a lot! But, it's been going ok this week to back off them all.

That might be all the baby news I have right now. My dad is making some picture for the nursery, which I'm really excited about. He's got all the skills of an artist! I think Beth is going to do some art work too, which will be awesome! She's in Peru right now, so keep her in your prayers. Also, on a side note, please lift up my good friend Amber and her boyfriend Eric in your prayers. Eric was recently diagnosed with leukemia and has been in the hospital all week with problems.

The Rock - ROCKS again!

2008-07-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

We're back from a wonderful week of camp out in the hills. 56 middle school campers, and nearly 0 disciplinary problems. Can you believe it? It was such an amazing group of kids, I was extremely impressed. It also probably helped that we had a world-class staff of great counselors to keep them entertained, happy, and growing all week long. I swear I laugh more during one week of camp than most other months altogether!

Some of the highlights from our week:
*The outfits counselors wore to play Rock Band.
*The new variation of 'electricity' that includes tossing a cup of water at your competitor.
*The really well-behaved, involved, enthusiastic campers!
*The fact that very few, if any, kids said the sessions were too long and boring.
*The communion service on Thursday night with lots of genuine commitments and repentance.
*Teaching a whole group of campers how to play Samari / 'Waa'.
*Scaring the pants off the group in the cave. I didn't go, but I saw the footage and heard the stories.
*Playing with the three little boys that came with counselor parents.
*The best moment: when the counselors attacked the entire camp with garbage pails of water and the hose, while all the campers had their heads down and eyes closed, innocently playing a game! Both Ju-cos were with the campers, getting soaked, even though they had foreknowledge of the plan - that's dedication!

Now we're home, doing laundry and sleeping. I napped twice already today - long naps too. I feel fully pregnant and huge now, and get worn out fairly quickly. We've got a week to recover and prepare, then it's back out to the same place for high school camp. I hope that one goes just as well!

Africa Pictures and random update

2008-06-14T10:19:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the picture from Brandon's trip to Tanzania. We're still working on putting some video together. Follow this link http://picasaweb.google.com/vbvetter it's the first album, called Tanzania 08.

I started my job this month at Trinity. It's been going pretty well. Like with any new job I've got a lot of people, and programs, and computer files to keep straight. There's lots of information gathering at this time. But, overall, it's been going really well. I like my co-workers and am getting along with them. I've met a few people from the church, and everyone's been so welcoming and nice. I really like this congregation, actually. I haven't hung out with many youth yet, but have at least met a few. I'm eager to get started with that. We actually have meetings this coming week with both high school and confirmation groups - so things are starting up!

Brandon has nicely recovered from his jet leg, and a weekend of Annual Conference. So, the house is happy and normal once again! This weekend we're actually out in the Black Hills with my family, just to hang out and take in the trees.

Vicky

Brandon back in America!

2008-06-06T15:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I didn't get on earilier to say that Brandon and the entire team did indeed arrive safely home earlier this week. I've only gotten some stories as they come trickling out; but lots of good pictures. Everyone is doing well, and it sounds like the trip overall was a big success. B's gone again now, for Annual Conference. But, he's in the country and only out of a couple of days - so I can handle it. Eventually we'll post the Africe pictures and I'll share that link with y'all.

I started my new job this week! It went really well. There's a huge learning curve, of course - it'll take a while for me to know what's going on and learn who's who. But, this week I figured out a few organizational things in the office, started getting a feel for the programs in place and what's been tried before. Best of all, we had VBS all week - so I got to hang out with lots of great moms and volunteers and about 30 sweet kids every evening. It was really fun, and quite a successful event. I was with the 4 yr. olds mostly. I'm so impressed when they answer questions about the Bible or theology correctly. It's amazing how much they can understand and remember so young! Overall I'm really excited to be in the church and glad to finally get going on the job.

Garage Sale Queen!

2008-05-31T18:49:00.000-07:00

Do you know a Garage Sale Queen? I'm sure glad I do! She goes by many names, but I call her 'Mom'. And this past week she dominated the Bis-Man Garage Sale kingdom. In the process the Vetter family nursury went from 0% stocked, to 80-85% done! Check out the pictures, we made a major haul! It filled my SUV, and we had to leave the big piece, a changing table, back with Grandpa for some reinforcements.

We got big things, like crib, swing, blanket sets, bouncy chair and we got teeny-tiny things like newborn onesies and socks that barely fit two adult fingers. Overall we had 70+ items of clothing in a range of sizes to grow into and out of. Here's the amazing part...are you ready? We wrote down everything we saw laid out in the living room and estimated the cost of each item when bought new (with some internet search help). A conservative estimate puts us as $1300 of supplies, we spent LESS than 20% of that!

It was amazing to set everything up in the room that will be our nursury soon. It finally started looking like one today! I just keep thinking about all these great things and how right now they're clothes on the shelf or a cute toy on the floor - but before long they'll wrap around our baby and be drooled on and played with and washed a hundred times. These are my baby's things! How amazing is that!

Thanks for everything, Mom and Dad! I had a great week at home, and am very grateful to be this much more prepared for the little one's arrival!

Brandon in Africa

2008-05-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

Brandon is in Tanzania - and many have asked how things are going. I'll give you the update on the few things I've heard, but I'll make him blog and show pictures later so you get it first hand. The highlights I know are what I receive in a text message when I wake up and he's finishing a day for work (8 hr difference). We've talked for a few minutes here and there too.

The first week they worked hard at Huruma Orphanage, where the main task was digging a latrine. They got it down to ten feet deep, but needed to stop there for lack of ladders or means of getting out of a 10 ft hole. The goal is to be 30 feet deep, but they won't personally dig much beyond 15 as armatures. They'll leave money for Zachariah to hire it out. Problem is, knowing Zachariah, he's going to try to keep working on it himself because it needs to get done. That's not good work for a man his age or build.

On the weekend they went on safari. The highlights I heard about there were the white monkeys with blue balls - also known as blue-scrotum monkeys, apparently. The elephant they watched push down a tree with it's trunk (look for footage on that later) and lots of good giraffes, lions, elephants, etc. Sounds like they had lots of luck finding the 'good stuff'.' They're with our same driver from last year - who is an excellent tour guide and really funny, nice man - so I know they're having a good time whenever they're travelling, and especially on safari.

This week they're in the small village of Minjingu, and a neighboring village. In Minjingu is the preschool we helped clean up and clear out last year. They have been doing improvements and final touches there. I guess Robbie and Amy built 2 picnic tables from scratch! Cha was painting some original art work on the walls, which is incredible I'm sure. Everyone else was running chicken wire along the fences to keep out the goats (always a concern), and once again dealing with the bats. They 'smoked out' the bats, literally with a flaming paint roller on a long stick. They were trying to find the opening to close it up - Brandon was standing guard to watch for the bats' exit. I guess they came flying straight towards him, he tried to duck out of the way, but tripped on a rock and fell and rolled and made everyone laugh at him for what seemed to be a big over-reaction to a few bats flying overhead!

In the second village they're constructing a new preschool building. Some were laying brick, some clearing land - like cutting down trees with machetes, some picking rocks and mowing the grounds. All in all, it sounds like they've stayed busy. They've also found time for fun. I've heard of at least one volleyball game, that they lost. They taught some local kids the basics of baseball with a stick and fruit from the ground. I guess that was a neat evening because there were about 8 kids around when they started playing, then about 15, eventually over 30 kids joking around with our team and learning this new sport.

They'll finish work in the villages tomorrow, go back to the main city, work again at the orphanage, attend a real African church on Sunday, and head home. From my time they begin travels on Sunday around 1pm, they'll arrive in Sioux Falls about 7:00pm on Monday. Please keep the team in your prayers, and ask God to bless the projects they're working on and the people they're with.

I heart Kentucky!

2008-05-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I reached 'our old Kentucky home' a day late because of some airplane problems, but we're sure glad to be here now! We've just had a fantastic weekend with all the wedding festivities, and getting to see the whole church community. The wedding was absolutely beautiful, and the couple thought of so many romantic details to make things very special. It was extra fun for us because every time we turned around there was another youth, parent, church friend or whoever ready for a hug and catch-up conversations. We've actually already seen just about everyone I wanted to connect with in these past two and half days. We even caught 2 families from different towns that came in for the wedding too. It's so exciting to be back and reconnect with all these important relationships and people. It's different having a 'spiritual friendship' or even just history in a faith community than other more basic relationships. I feel so close to these guys, especially all my old youth, because of the things we talked about, learned together, and been through in the past. It's not like a reunion of college friends, or hometown acquaintances, there's a lot of depth and love shared around here. I like it!

Kansas City

2008-05-12T18:43:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I were off on a grand weekend adventure the last few days. We drove down to Kansas City for an anniversary weekend. B had bought tickets to 'Wicked' a couple months back. It was a great show! It's so funny and witty, and was crazy-well performed. Other than the big show on our actual anniversary, we just bummed around the city. I was impressed by how 'modern' of a big city KC seemed to be, at least the parts we were in. Lots of things were new or recently updated and very well designed and kept up. We went to the zoo, to a mega-church B keeps tabs on, and plenty of restaurants and wandering around. Our hotel was really fancy. We kept joking about the room which was advertised as 'contemporary hip'. It pretty well lived up to that description. When we first walked into the lobby we were offered free champagne by the desk hosts; and outstanding hospitality like that continued all weekend.

It was a long drive back and we both started to get a little overwhelmed thinking of everything that needs to be done this week before the next great adventures. In short: I finish my last day at the colony on Thursday (I told my students about the pregnancy and not coming back today). Brandon is organizing a hundred last details for Africa as well as doing class with the team this week. We're both getting ready for the Kentucky trip, which starts Thurs. Brandon is packing for the longer 2 weeks in Tanzania. And, just other miscellaneous things that come along with preparing for those trips and deadlines. So, it's busy - but we're looking forward to everything coming up!

Ultrasound!

2008-05-03T08:45:00.001-07:00

We had an ultrasound done this week. It was really fun! It's so neat to see this little baby swimming around in there. He/She is so active - always moving arms and hands. I'm surprised I don't feel it more yet; Brandon keeps telling me to count my blessings because it won't be long before I feel every little move.

They took measurements on everything, and each thing kept popping up at 18 weeks and zero days, which was exactly that day of my pregnancy. I don't know how they measure the femur size to a particular day - but that's what the machine said! The only thing that measured different was the circumference of the head, which clocked it at 18 weeks and 5 days. I had to thank my husband for passing on big-head genes. 5 whole days bigger than it should be - I'm not concerned. Let's just hope his crazy-big brain comes with that package!

It was too early to tell the gender. I was bummed about that, because I thought we would find out. So, we'll have to wait and see. It's possible our doctor can do an unofficial ultrasound at the clinic on one of our next visits. But, that's just our plan, not his. We might just have to wonder and guess until October. That seems like forever away! As fast as the end of the school year has come, it still seems like the pregnancy moves super slow. I'm not even half way there yet. Maybe that's good, because our house isn't even a 1/4 of the way ready to welcome of baby. We've put off all the shopping and rearranging rooms and whatnot until summer. But, college graduation is today, I'm done in two weeks, then it's Kentucky trip, Brandon to Africa, I start my new job, and hello summer!

This whole week has just gotten away from me. We had 2 sick men in the house, along with 3 extra houseguests, 2 being little kids. Our permanent house guest got sick on Wednesday, followed by Brandon who got it really bad. He was entirely down for a day and half, and now just taking things as slowly as possible. It's a pretty busy week on campus, so there was a lot he couldn't get out of. Meanwhile I didn't sleep with him up puking all night, then couldn't do my afterschool naps with the little ones running around, so things have been on the crazy side. It was actually really helpful to have the other mom here, because she was a cleaning and cooking saint! I would have been in big trouble without her. It was fun to hang out with the kiddies too!

Well, the weekend should reestablish normalicy; although our busy May isn't exactly going to have a normal schedule. Should be fun though!

More Snow?!?

2008-04-25T12:11:00.000-07:00

So just when everything was getting green and pretty and springy, we get hit with a second April snowstorm. Blizzard is maybe more accurate; I'm not sure what they're officially calling it yet. I do know our schools closed down around 10:00 this morning and it took me over twice the normal time to drive home from the colony. Seriously, it's April 25, did Mother Nature miss that memo?

Not that I'm complaining - unexpected three day weekend! Poor Brandon had to teach a class at 2:00, and they just announced they're closing down campus at 3:00. So close.

Winter Wonder Land - in April

2008-04-12T07:57:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't believe the snow around here, unless you live in any state touching SD, then you probably got hit too. We've had 9 inches this weekend! On Friday it was blowing around so badly they actually cancelled school; which doesn't happen often in Mitchell. I always have to laugh because if KY got 9 inches of snow, they'd be closed for week at least!

Jack enjoys it, he bounds around like a bunny, falling into all the deep drifts. We took him out for his regular walk, but half way through Brandon couldn't resist the nice prestine field filled with a foot of fresh snow. He and Jack took off running through it, I wish I had a video camera - they looked pretty funny. You can't really run through that deep, it's more like giant steps and bounds.

Getting the Word Out

2008-03-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of fun letting everyone in on the baby news! We told some close friends right away, parents and siblings soon after, but waited until a couple months in to really spread it around.

For those we don't see, like out-of-town friends, we made a little video. We set it up to look like just a video of Jack, our husky-lab, showing off some tricks (not that he knows any). So, turns out a lot of friends, with actual lives, didn't watch it. One even called us later and said "I wasn't going to take the time to watch some dumb dog video!" another e-mailed us back just catching up on regular news and sharing some good news of their own and casually mentioned 'cute video, you guys need some kids.' She obviously didn't watch it! So, jokes on them, because the end of the video was the news - Jack has no tricks, but Vicky has a bun in the oven! You can watch that if you want...

With that news out we were free to talk about it around town. Brandon decided to mention it during 'joys and concerns' in his weekly chapel service at the college. Seeing as it's both a huge joy and simultaneously extremely concerning and scary - this seemed appropriate. So, he says "We wanted to share with you all, and ask for your prayers to be added to ours, because my wife Vicky is 12 months pregnant." Well, instantly all the women in the room start whispering and gesturing to him "12 WEEKS, 12 weeks, not months." Brandon recovers nicely with "oh, yeah, that's right, 12 weeks - I don't think we're gestating an elephant!"

Sicky Vicky : Healthy Baby

2008-03-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

The flu, or something like it, has been going around the colony. Our students are dropping like flies. Sunday morning, it hit me. Brandon was gone, doing a church service out of town. So I, alone, sick, and pregnant was not a happy girl! After lots of throwing up, crying, and talking to my mom on the phone I got through the morning. It was a couple days of yuckiness though; quite the double whammy of fatigue with flu and normal 1st trimester tiredness. I was out of school for 3 days, but it was only a 3-day week, so I had 4 freebies to fully recover.

The good part of all this is we went to the doctor on Tuesday. I was dehydrated, so they hooked me up with some fluids - always helpful. And just before the appointment I noticed some bleeding when I went to the bathroom. Of course, a sick, emotional, pregnant lady doesn't handle that well! I was pretty scared, and just sure this sickness was messing with the baby - although Brandon and the dr kept assuring me it wasn't. But, to appease me the doc set us up with an early ultrasound at the hospital. It was rough sitting around the next three hours in waiting rooms - but it was just incredible to see that tiny baby inside! He/She was 4 cm small at the time, but already moving around and everything. We could watch the blood flow, see where the hands were going to grow out of the little flipper beginnings, and clearly tell head from tail. Pretty exciting stuff! I can't wait until our next one when she/he's much bigger and more obviously baby looking.

Telling the Parents

2008-02-15T18:39:00.000-08:00

Thanks to my good friend and college roomie we had a great plan for revealing the pregnancy to my (V) Mom and Dad. They came down for the weekend just to visit. We attempted a nice dinner, that absolutely fell apart in a series of errors. But, we didn't mind too much, because we had this big secret to share. After dinner we sat down to play Hoopla, a Cranium type game. I was up with a drawing task - draw the person on this card. Well instead of drawing for that clue, I drew this picture you see. Well my parents, being such games, weren't thinking beyond the game. So while my hands were shaking and I was trying to look casual, they're guessing 'obstetrician, gynecologist...surrogate mother'... So finally I draw a big arrow pointing to myself. Mom stares at the picture dumb-founded, Dad looks up and says "you're not, are you?!" It was pretty funny!

New Blog

2008-01-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

We thought we'd start a blog to share any fun pregnancy stories and pics as we go through this new adventure. It's already been a really interesting time; but we don't get to talk to so many friends regularly - so maybe this will be a good way to keep in contact, all be it one-sided. It'll be your job to catch us up on your lives! Thanks for being part of ours!

V+B