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!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
The days are flying by...
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!
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!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Miranda is 6 months old!
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Welcome March
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!
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!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Too busy!
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!
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!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
World of firsts!
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.
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.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
so much to learn...
(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!
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!
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