Sleepy Alex
Well, last night, Alex went 10 hours between feedings. I was so excited this morning I had to tell you all. That is the first night of uninterupted sleep that I have had in close to a year. I feel like I could rule the world today! It is amazing what a good sleep will do for you.
Crazy and Fearless
When you saw this title you mayhave thought that this would have to do with the terrorist acts in the US, but no, I have a little terror of my own proweling around the house at all hours of the night. Dispite threats, punishment, removal of privlages, this is how my night went. 9:30, Liza put to bed. Up 3 or 4 times playing the potty card until I finally got really mad, had a big talk about lieing, many tears and she finally slept at about 11:00pm! I had all my scrapbook stuff out so I stayed up until 12:30 am scrapping, then at 1:15 Alex was up to eat. Liza also woke at this time, which I thought I was fortunate that they were both up at the same time. Insted of 2 hours off eachother. She came into my room asking for a hug, then she went to the bathroom all by herself, and I sent her off to bed. Alex finished eating and went to sleep and I went to tuck in Liza. She was still awake but resting. Approx 2:00 she came out of her room claiming the need to go potty. I simply told her that she didn't need to go and to get back in her bed. To which she cried and climbed into bed Aprox 2:30 am I am awoken by strange sounds. I go to investigate and find Liza behind Zuzu's cage in the bathroom??? Why, I still don't know. I sent her back to bed again, getting more and more angry with every try. About 3:25 She played the potty card again. Then at about 4:15 She Casually walked into our room as though it were 4 in the afternoon, and asked me if I would please fix her stroller, which she was pushing. AT this time she had privlages taken away and more threats. At 5:30 she was wandering around in my room and then through the house. I could hear her little pitter patters. Then I finnnaly got up when she was going to the bathroom yet again. She peed more in the night last night then she did all day yesterday. We even took away drinks after supper because of this happening. Finally at 5:45am I made her go to bed and sat at the kitchen table where she could see me watching her and made her lay still for 15 mins, she was finnally asleep after her 4 hour party!! Alex was up at 6:05 to eat, brents allarms at aournd 6:45 and then i slept. CRAZY!!! It is now 9:45 and She is still asleep, but not for long, she has got a friend comming over at 10:00 stinker, I had half a mind to make her get up at 7:30 like normal! Cry me a river eh? She is nuts!
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany: Buy a big bat!
Tobie: What a party! You must be tired out!
Great Grandma Davies: Thank you for this wonderful, fun story. I love all the comments and all the pictures.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Sept 8, 2001
White Coat Ceremony:
Today Brent had his "white coat ceremony". This is exactly what it sounds like. A day where the Dean of Osteopathic Medicine talks to the students and their families about the symbolism and responisbilities that go along with the white coat which Drs traditionally wear. The part that stood out to me the most was the trust and relief that people feel when they are ill in any way and the person in the white coat walks into the office. I thought how true it is that most of us intantly open up to and trust the persons who wear this "white coat". It was quite a neat afternoon. I was very proud of Brent today, it was like we finnally made it in, he will be a Dr! We had a nice time at the ceremony and then we had a yummy yummy dinner at Olive Garden. It was a great time. And I think that David and Shirley enjoyed themselves too. The kids were so good too. Tommorow is church, of course, but just to rub it in to anyone who has had Davids Turkey, we get Turkey dinner tommorow! :-) ! CONGRATULATIONS BRENT on getting in!
Comments:
Grandma Wall: Brent, we are all proud of you. You have worked very hard to get where you are and we want you to know we love and support you.
Grandma Tiffany: I'm envious of the turkey!
Today Brent had his "white coat ceremony". This is exactly what it sounds like. A day where the Dean of Osteopathic Medicine talks to the students and their families about the symbolism and responisbilities that go along with the white coat which Drs traditionally wear. The part that stood out to me the most was the trust and relief that people feel when they are ill in any way and the person in the white coat walks into the office. I thought how true it is that most of us intantly open up to and trust the persons who wear this "white coat". It was quite a neat afternoon. I was very proud of Brent today, it was like we finnally made it in, he will be a Dr! We had a nice time at the ceremony and then we had a yummy yummy dinner at Olive Garden. It was a great time. And I think that David and Shirley enjoyed themselves too. The kids were so good too. Tommorow is church, of course, but just to rub it in to anyone who has had Davids Turkey, we get Turkey dinner tommorow! :-) ! CONGRATULATIONS BRENT on getting in!
Comments:
Grandma Wall: Brent, we are all proud of you. You have worked very hard to get where you are and we want you to know we love and support you.
Grandma Tiffany: I'm envious of the turkey!
Sept 6, 2001
WIRELESS!!
Alex is off his monitor! Yeah! I am so excited. I think that he sighed a sigh of relief when we took it off and has slept almost solid since then. We are all glad, and are feeling surprizingly comfortable with the absince of it. Really the Dr told us we could take it off, but the company hasn't retreived it, so if I can't sleep, I may take the crutch while I have it, but i don't forsee any problems. Glad to be Wireless.
Comments
Grandma Tiffany Good news!!
Grandpa: HOORAY!! I am so glad to hear that Alex is doing so well!
Tornado
Well we had a bit of a scare today when we were at the Drs office. We were just about to leave, we were just waiting for the shots for alex and we would have been done and on the way home if little miss Tiny bladder haddn't peed twice already! Anyway, the nurse came in and told us that we had to go down stairs into the corner of the basement because there was a tornado warning. Apparently, there were sirens going off outside that we couldn't hear, and many mommys up set that their toddlers were being woken from their naps. I was a little worried as we booked it down stairs and met with every other person in the 3 story building. About 15 mins or so later they cleared it for us to go back up stairs. We went back, got the shots and headed home. As we were nearly home, Less then a mile. Right on our own street, there were camera crews and emergency vehicals out on the road. Some gagage was distroyed with all the cars inside, and other dammage ie trees down etc.. It was scary for two reasons, one, that it was so close to home, but two, we could have been driving right there had we been 10 minuets ahead of schedual. Had Brent a little worried when he did the time calulations and realized that we could have been in it too. At his school they had all the students go down in the basement for 45 mins! They were more on the go then the drs office I guess. Kind of a thrilling day! We are all well, and surpizingly only one guy was hurt and he was at a golf course. It brought back memories of the one that touched down in picture butte a while back while we were in Lethbridge for the day. Crazy how things happen. Isn't that exciteing though???
Comments:
Auntie Tracey: Have you heard when tornado season is and how long it lasts? Pretty freaky to have a "touch down" so near your house!
Grandma Tiffany: Glad you are all OK. I didn't realize that was tornado country.
Alex is off his monitor! Yeah! I am so excited. I think that he sighed a sigh of relief when we took it off and has slept almost solid since then. We are all glad, and are feeling surprizingly comfortable with the absince of it. Really the Dr told us we could take it off, but the company hasn't retreived it, so if I can't sleep, I may take the crutch while I have it, but i don't forsee any problems. Glad to be Wireless.
Comments
Grandma Tiffany Good news!!
Grandpa: HOORAY!! I am so glad to hear that Alex is doing so well!
Tornado
Well we had a bit of a scare today when we were at the Drs office. We were just about to leave, we were just waiting for the shots for alex and we would have been done and on the way home if little miss Tiny bladder haddn't peed twice already! Anyway, the nurse came in and told us that we had to go down stairs into the corner of the basement because there was a tornado warning. Apparently, there were sirens going off outside that we couldn't hear, and many mommys up set that their toddlers were being woken from their naps. I was a little worried as we booked it down stairs and met with every other person in the 3 story building. About 15 mins or so later they cleared it for us to go back up stairs. We went back, got the shots and headed home. As we were nearly home, Less then a mile. Right on our own street, there were camera crews and emergency vehicals out on the road. Some gagage was distroyed with all the cars inside, and other dammage ie trees down etc.. It was scary for two reasons, one, that it was so close to home, but two, we could have been driving right there had we been 10 minuets ahead of schedual. Had Brent a little worried when he did the time calulations and realized that we could have been in it too. At his school they had all the students go down in the basement for 45 mins! They were more on the go then the drs office I guess. Kind of a thrilling day! We are all well, and surpizingly only one guy was hurt and he was at a golf course. It brought back memories of the one that touched down in picture butte a while back while we were in Lethbridge for the day. Crazy how things happen. Isn't that exciteing though???
Comments:
Auntie Tracey: Have you heard when tornado season is and how long it lasts? Pretty freaky to have a "touch down" so near your house!
Grandma Tiffany: Glad you are all OK. I didn't realize that was tornado country.
Sept 4, 2001
Labor Day with the Walls
We woke early on our holliday to head off to a breakfast that was put on in a park by the Young Women in our ward. We had some food, and then Liza played until the party pooper (that would be Brent) ( he had a biochemistry test today) Told us we had to go home. But we barely got home and turned around to go to a B B Q with the Spouce Association. The food there was plentiful and yummy! They had all kinds of activities for the kids and a little crowd of 12 yr old girls to entertain! What a great afternoon. WE came home from that, Liza had a nap, and then we headded for the pool. Came home and had dinner and a bath and hit the hay! What a day. Busy busy, and we'll see how it affected Brents grades :-) It was fun though. Even if Brent was stressed.
A Beach In Iowa?
Today we went to playgroup which was held at a place called Grays Lake. It is just about 5 mins from the airport and looks like it could be a man made lake. It is really big though. There was a playgroud which was all shaded by trees where the moms sat and talked and let the kids play. Then we took them all down in the sand and they dawned their water wings and set off swimming. Liza had a ball with her new friend Ethan. (which should cause all kinds of confusion at Christmas time with her cousin.) Anyway, she had a ball, I enjoy being with the moms, and well, poor Alex slept through nearly the whole event. We are loving it here with all the friends and free food!
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany : Reminds me of that country song about the ghost that walks the beaches of Cheyanne Wyoming!!
We woke early on our holliday to head off to a breakfast that was put on in a park by the Young Women in our ward. We had some food, and then Liza played until the party pooper (that would be Brent) ( he had a biochemistry test today) Told us we had to go home. But we barely got home and turned around to go to a B B Q with the Spouce Association. The food there was plentiful and yummy! They had all kinds of activities for the kids and a little crowd of 12 yr old girls to entertain! What a great afternoon. WE came home from that, Liza had a nap, and then we headded for the pool. Came home and had dinner and a bath and hit the hay! What a day. Busy busy, and we'll see how it affected Brents grades :-) It was fun though. Even if Brent was stressed.
A Beach In Iowa?
Today we went to playgroup which was held at a place called Grays Lake. It is just about 5 mins from the airport and looks like it could be a man made lake. It is really big though. There was a playgroud which was all shaded by trees where the moms sat and talked and let the kids play. Then we took them all down in the sand and they dawned their water wings and set off swimming. Liza had a ball with her new friend Ethan. (which should cause all kinds of confusion at Christmas time with her cousin.) Anyway, she had a ball, I enjoy being with the moms, and well, poor Alex slept through nearly the whole event. We are loving it here with all the friends and free food!
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany : Reminds me of that country song about the ghost that walks the beaches of Cheyanne Wyoming!!
August 27, 2001 August 28, 2001
Still Winning
Alexander also got weighed today, and he is a whopping 10 lbs 8 oz. YEAH!! Up by and ounce! Anyway. Things are good with him. He is now only up once in the night as well. And is a great little sleeper. Alex (Xander) also loves to be cuddled, but is quite independent as well. He will snuggle right up if you hold him, but doesn't often demand attention. Good thing because Liza has been demanding a lot ever since she has had to adjust to having only one parent around most of the time. Liza is now 27 lbs and hits the 25th percentile on the growth charts. We set up Xanders crib in "her" room yesterday and she was so excited, she wanted us to put him in it right away. We couldn't however because the mattress is still on her toddler bed. We are planning to move beds around in a few weeks, when alex is off the monitor and on a schedual. We told her that we had to take Alex to the Drs first and get the Dr to take away his monitor and then he could sleep in the crib. She was excited, so today when we met with a nurse, she knew that the setting was a Dr's office, and the whole weighing process was familiar. As we left the office, she asked, "So Alex's monitor is gone?" It was so interesting to hear her make that connection. They are smart little people. She is getting to that age when she remembers EVERYTHING!
Comments:
Grandpa: Great to hear that Alex is doing well enough to be considering going off the monitor and sleeping in a seperate room.
Funny Liza
Yesterday, Liza had me laughing. We went to play group in the morning. We all met a park, which we had a little trouble finding. Liza was participating in the looking for the park, offering her ideas of where we should turn to find it. When we arrived, she got out of the car and announced "I am here everyone!! It's Okey, I am here." I don't think anyone heard her as we were in the parking lot, but it gave me a chuckle.
Then as we were driving to the bread store she asked me "mommy, are you a dude?" I don't know where it came from. But she says dude, just right.
Then on the way home, for conversations sake, I asked her what Santa was going to bring her for Christmas. She responded with "A Sock." I said, "Just a sock?" And she said, "well maybe 2 socks and some toys, but just a sock."
She also mentioned yesterday "I'm a weirdo, thats what Erin tells me, that's what she said." Erin is one of Andreas friends.
Then last night she did one of her newest acts for a laugh, she pretends to sneeze. I guess you have to see it but she does the pre sneezing face and then fakes a sneeze, it's hallarious.
What a clown.
Alexander also got weighed today, and he is a whopping 10 lbs 8 oz. YEAH!! Up by and ounce! Anyway. Things are good with him. He is now only up once in the night as well. And is a great little sleeper. Alex (Xander) also loves to be cuddled, but is quite independent as well. He will snuggle right up if you hold him, but doesn't often demand attention. Good thing because Liza has been demanding a lot ever since she has had to adjust to having only one parent around most of the time. Liza is now 27 lbs and hits the 25th percentile on the growth charts. We set up Xanders crib in "her" room yesterday and she was so excited, she wanted us to put him in it right away. We couldn't however because the mattress is still on her toddler bed. We are planning to move beds around in a few weeks, when alex is off the monitor and on a schedual. We told her that we had to take Alex to the Drs first and get the Dr to take away his monitor and then he could sleep in the crib. She was excited, so today when we met with a nurse, she knew that the setting was a Dr's office, and the whole weighing process was familiar. As we left the office, she asked, "So Alex's monitor is gone?" It was so interesting to hear her make that connection. They are smart little people. She is getting to that age when she remembers EVERYTHING!
Comments:
Grandpa: Great to hear that Alex is doing well enough to be considering going off the monitor and sleeping in a seperate room.
Funny Liza
Yesterday, Liza had me laughing. We went to play group in the morning. We all met a park, which we had a little trouble finding. Liza was participating in the looking for the park, offering her ideas of where we should turn to find it. When we arrived, she got out of the car and announced "I am here everyone!! It's Okey, I am here." I don't think anyone heard her as we were in the parking lot, but it gave me a chuckle.
Then as we were driving to the bread store she asked me "mommy, are you a dude?" I don't know where it came from. But she says dude, just right.
Then on the way home, for conversations sake, I asked her what Santa was going to bring her for Christmas. She responded with "A Sock." I said, "Just a sock?" And she said, "well maybe 2 socks and some toys, but just a sock."
She also mentioned yesterday "I'm a weirdo, thats what Erin tells me, that's what she said." Erin is one of Andreas friends.
Then last night she did one of her newest acts for a laugh, she pretends to sneeze. I guess you have to see it but she does the pre sneezing face and then fakes a sneeze, it's hallarious.
What a clown.
August 15 2001 August 18, 2001
Finally A Good Sleep
The past 5 days or so, Alex has been setting off his alarms in the night. They were low heart alarms. This was because his alarm was set at 80 and he is old enough now that 80 is not too low, infact he can safely go down to 60. So every time poor Alex went into a deep sleep his alarms went off. They would keep going off until he woke up and brought his heart rate back up. The poor kid didn't get a deep sleep for a long time. After much work with the monitor company here, we finaly got a new monitor yesterday afternoon. We all finaly got a good night sleep. Liza had a little friend over to play today, they had a good time and we are planning her birthday party for Saturday. I hope a few kids can come. Alex was really talkative this morning, and that was fun too.
Liza's party
Well, the party is over now, and we can all rest. Early this morning, I began to sweat, it was pouring rain, thunder and lightning. We were planning a pool party for Liza today. It was 6am and everyone would be here at 11am. But... Lucky for me, by 11:00 it was beautiful outside. The sun was shinning and it was fairly warm. Everyone came and had a great time, the kids had fun in the pool and the parents mostly chatted and made sure the kids didn't drown. There were 3 other girls and one boy. We had hot dogs and salads and chips. Lizas cake was chocolate with "dirt and worms" on top in icecream cones." Liza had a ball, she got some really neat toys. Thank you to everyone who sent her gifts. She had a great birthday today. I can't even believe that she is 3!
Comments:
Grandma Wall Liza is so grown up, I can't believe it. We enjoyed having all of you hear and celebrating her birthday, I wish we could have been there for the party and for her birthday today. We'll call later and wish her a happy day. Love you all,
The past 5 days or so, Alex has been setting off his alarms in the night. They were low heart alarms. This was because his alarm was set at 80 and he is old enough now that 80 is not too low, infact he can safely go down to 60. So every time poor Alex went into a deep sleep his alarms went off. They would keep going off until he woke up and brought his heart rate back up. The poor kid didn't get a deep sleep for a long time. After much work with the monitor company here, we finaly got a new monitor yesterday afternoon. We all finaly got a good night sleep. Liza had a little friend over to play today, they had a good time and we are planning her birthday party for Saturday. I hope a few kids can come. Alex was really talkative this morning, and that was fun too.
Liza's party
Well, the party is over now, and we can all rest. Early this morning, I began to sweat, it was pouring rain, thunder and lightning. We were planning a pool party for Liza today. It was 6am and everyone would be here at 11am. But... Lucky for me, by 11:00 it was beautiful outside. The sun was shinning and it was fairly warm. Everyone came and had a great time, the kids had fun in the pool and the parents mostly chatted and made sure the kids didn't drown. There were 3 other girls and one boy. We had hot dogs and salads and chips. Lizas cake was chocolate with "dirt and worms" on top in icecream cones." Liza had a ball, she got some really neat toys. Thank you to everyone who sent her gifts. She had a great birthday today. I can't even believe that she is 3!
Comments:
Grandma Wall Liza is so grown up, I can't believe it. We enjoyed having all of you hear and celebrating her birthday, I wish we could have been there for the party and for her birthday today. We'll call later and wish her a happy day. Love you all,
August 9, 2001 August 10, 2001
Yet Another Great Evening
Tonight we went to a dinner that was a a historical park. It was put on in an outdoor picnic area. Chicken burgers, pasta salad, chips, cookies and lemonaid. The food was good. They also had horse drawn wagon rides. Liza LOVED that part of it. She made another new friend tonight named Skyler. She spent a lot of time dancing on the stage where the DJ was with her new friends Skyler, Airean, and Sophia. They are all with in 8 months of eachother, so they get along great. And all girls too. We met even more new people and had a great time. Liza and ALex were so good and when we said it was time to go home, liza even admited that she was tired. We had a great time. :-)
Cat's Out Of the Bag
Today we found the perfect gift for Ben (brents brother) so we got a jump on our Christmas shopping. Then later tonight Ben called and was talking to Brent. Liza asked to talk to him and the first words out of her mouth were "We bought you shorts." Now she wasn't exactly correct in telling what we got, but let this be a warning to all........DON'T TAKE LIZA CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! :-)
Comments:
Grandma Wall: What fun children are. . . They say exactly what is on their mind. . . .they do bring a smile to our faces and joy to our lives.
Grandma Tiffany: she can keep a secret about as good as Samantha!!
Mom: "It's not a red sweater"
Tonight we went to a dinner that was a a historical park. It was put on in an outdoor picnic area. Chicken burgers, pasta salad, chips, cookies and lemonaid. The food was good. They also had horse drawn wagon rides. Liza LOVED that part of it. She made another new friend tonight named Skyler. She spent a lot of time dancing on the stage where the DJ was with her new friends Skyler, Airean, and Sophia. They are all with in 8 months of eachother, so they get along great. And all girls too. We met even more new people and had a great time. Liza and ALex were so good and when we said it was time to go home, liza even admited that she was tired. We had a great time. :-)
Cat's Out Of the Bag
Today we found the perfect gift for Ben (brents brother) so we got a jump on our Christmas shopping. Then later tonight Ben called and was talking to Brent. Liza asked to talk to him and the first words out of her mouth were "We bought you shorts." Now she wasn't exactly correct in telling what we got, but let this be a warning to all........DON'T TAKE LIZA CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! :-)
Comments:
Grandma Wall: What fun children are. . . They say exactly what is on their mind. . . .they do bring a smile to our faces and joy to our lives.
Grandma Tiffany: she can keep a secret about as good as Samantha!!
Mom: "It's not a red sweater"
August 8, 2001
Yesterday we had orientation at the school. I way we because they didn't just do it for the students they also did it for the spouses of the students. Brent went to school in the morning and then at noon we were invited to come for a picnic. We had a choice of beef on a bun or chicken, potatoe salad, and a veggie salad. Bottle water, or cans of diet coke, coke, or mountian dew. What a selection! We were so pleased. Everyone is super friendly. We met so many people that I am really having a hard time remembering names and faces. There are a lot of members in our school. Quite a few in our ward, and still more in other wards. We can't beleive how many people are from Utah, and Idaho. A lot of the students have children too, so Liza has a lot of new little friends. After lunch we registered liza in the child care for the afternoon. The SAA (spouses alumni association) arranged to take toddlers and up for the afternoon so that we could listen to speekers and learn a little about Des Moines. Liza loved playing with all the children and I got a break and a wonderful afternoon that made me feel so at home here. All of the Faculty was sure to let us know that we are part of the school family too and that they want us to be involved in the lives of the students. They had their Marrage and Relationship counclers come and talk to us about how to keep your relationship alive through med school and how to understand and help your spouse deal with the stress of school. They also told us about things in Des Moines and I joined the SAA whilch will be helpful in the comming months. They gave us the heads up on story time at the libraries, all of the events going on around Des Moines. Just a ton of information that was so helpful. I had such a great day yesterday. I got to be buddy buddy with the Dean of the Osteopathic School. ( Brents Dean). All of the Faculty is curious about Alex and his monitor. He has made us quite popular with them. The Dean and I had a couple little talks and he is so nice and supportive. The school offers a free gym, and many other perks like that. There are also several buisinesses in the city that offer quite the discounts to students. There are so many great things about this city. I am really liking it here. We took a trip to the mall, and it has all of my favorite store in it. It even has a wonderful little dutch Chocolatiessarie (sp) that is the first thing that I have tasted in the states that comes anywhere near Calebaut (sp). For those of you in the states, it kicks butt on "see's". Anyway, Brent is happy to have found a stop and go where they carry "Crispy Cream Doughnuts." They don't have 7-11 though!! It is so hot and humid that we are sure glad we have really good air conditioning. I went to Enrichment meeting last night and never felt awkward or loansome for one minuet everyone is so friendly and talkative. In every place that we have had to go for help from a buisness, like bank accounts, insurance agents, health care, etc.. the people have been so nice and great. We are so pleased to be here. I told Brent today that maybe we had to live in Philly for a year to teach us how good we had it elce where. We loved our ward in philly and we loved our end of town. But the people in philly and the city of Philly,..... yuck..:-(.
Anyway, we are happy here. We love it so much and can't get over how nice everyone is. We were wondering today if it was something in the water. We concluded that maybe we should stop filtering ours :-) Well, I better go, but just thought I would drop a line to everyone.
OH YEAH! ALEX WEIGHED IN AT 9 lbs 10 oz today! YEAH!!!!!!!!!! He is looking so big and is actually getting little fat rolls on his legs, which look so weird to me. I am used to his little rail premie body. :-)
Comments:
Grandpa: Glad to hear that things are working out so well.
Anyway, we are happy here. We love it so much and can't get over how nice everyone is. We were wondering today if it was something in the water. We concluded that maybe we should stop filtering ours :-) Well, I better go, but just thought I would drop a line to everyone.
OH YEAH! ALEX WEIGHED IN AT 9 lbs 10 oz today! YEAH!!!!!!!!!! He is looking so big and is actually getting little fat rolls on his legs, which look so weird to me. I am used to his little rail premie body. :-)
Comments:
Grandpa: Glad to hear that things are working out so well.
August 5, 2001
Home again:
We are home now, here in Des Moines. Both kids are doing really well. Liza is loving the ward here and is already claiming her place in the nursery with her fists. Thats right, belted some little boy who was hitting her. He later refused to hold her hand in ring around the rosey. (he learned his lesson) Alex is getting to be on a schedual and is now going 7 hours between feedings at night. Giving me about 6 hours of sleep at a time. (I am so excited) We had a great time in Calgary and then in SLC. We already miss everyone. I am still triing to get unpacked from vacation, but I keep getting sidetracked by all the other things that need to be put away. I just want to be moved in to our house again. This week is orentation for Brent and they have several picnics and things that families are invited to. I have joined the spouse group and foud 4 other girls in our ward whos husbands are starting DO school this week. There are 2 other girls who husbands start Pediatry this week too. Alex is cooing now, and smiling too. He gets bigger every day! More pictures to come soon.
Comments
Grandma Wall I can hardly wait to see Alex smile and hear him use his voice. I am counting the days to the white coat ceremony. Mom
We are home now, here in Des Moines. Both kids are doing really well. Liza is loving the ward here and is already claiming her place in the nursery with her fists. Thats right, belted some little boy who was hitting her. He later refused to hold her hand in ring around the rosey. (he learned his lesson) Alex is getting to be on a schedual and is now going 7 hours between feedings at night. Giving me about 6 hours of sleep at a time. (I am so excited) We had a great time in Calgary and then in SLC. We already miss everyone. I am still triing to get unpacked from vacation, but I keep getting sidetracked by all the other things that need to be put away. I just want to be moved in to our house again. This week is orentation for Brent and they have several picnics and things that families are invited to. I have joined the spouse group and foud 4 other girls in our ward whos husbands are starting DO school this week. There are 2 other girls who husbands start Pediatry this week too. Alex is cooing now, and smiling too. He gets bigger every day! More pictures to come soon.
Comments
Grandma Wall I can hardly wait to see Alex smile and hear him use his voice. I am counting the days to the white coat ceremony. Mom
July 13th
Stampedin'
Well yesterday (thurs) we went down to the grounds to see the Rodeo, and ride the rides. Liza had a fabulous time! She gets all excited when she see the Rodeo, and the Chuckwagons! She loves all the cowgirls especially. Grandpa Tiffany bought her a "Rodeo Girl" outfit. And she is sure that when she wears this, she IS a rodeo girl. She rode on the Merry GO Round 7 times, and could have gone more! She had a ball. There were some cars that gave quite a bumpy ride and she enjoyed those as well. She went with Grandma on the Farris Wheel, to which her reaction at the top was "I wanna get off"! But at the end of the ride she was reporting that it was fun, so I guess it wasn't too bad. She went on a little roller coster all by herself and she even did a little scream like the other kids. She was catching on to the way to ride a roller coster. She refuses to try cotton candy and ate her share of "those little doughnuts" (what do they call those stupid little things anyway?), and corn dogs. She had a good time, and she still doesn't like fireworks! :-)
Well yesterday (thurs) we went down to the grounds to see the Rodeo, and ride the rides. Liza had a fabulous time! She gets all excited when she see the Rodeo, and the Chuckwagons! She loves all the cowgirls especially. Grandpa Tiffany bought her a "Rodeo Girl" outfit. And she is sure that when she wears this, she IS a rodeo girl. She rode on the Merry GO Round 7 times, and could have gone more! She had a ball. There were some cars that gave quite a bumpy ride and she enjoyed those as well. She went with Grandma on the Farris Wheel, to which her reaction at the top was "I wanna get off"! But at the end of the ride she was reporting that it was fun, so I guess it wasn't too bad. She went on a little roller coster all by herself and she even did a little scream like the other kids. She was catching on to the way to ride a roller coster. She refuses to try cotton candy and ate her share of "those little doughnuts" (what do they call those stupid little things anyway?), and corn dogs. She had a good time, and she still doesn't like fireworks! :-)
July 8, 2001 July 10, 2001
Safe and Sound
Well, we are here in Des Moines! I really like it here, the people are so friendly. The Pediatrition that I choose for the kids is wonderful. Every person that we have had to deal with has been friendly! It has been great! Our ward is wonderful, we were welcomed with open arms. Everyone was really nice. We leave in a few hours for Calgary, so we will be seeing some of you in no time at all. I will keep the sight posted from there on our trip stories.
Long Day's Travel
Yesterday we took dad to the airport at 9:30 am and then we left our new apartment in Des Moines at around 11:00 am in a cab. Our flight left Des Moines at 12:40 and we were on our way to SLC. WE arrived in SLC sometime after 2:00 slc time. David, Shirley and Anne were there to greet us. We loaded up two cars and headed for walls house. Liza and Anne hit it off and drove poor gandpa nuts on the drive home from the airport. At walls, I got to visit my Strawberry Patch, wow! has it grown! I picked some Strawberries and some weeds, and then headed for the raspberries. Quite the crop out there too. We got to visit with Ben as well. We had a yummy dinner and then headed for the Airport to catch our flight to Calgary. Glen met us at the airport and gave us First Class treatment all the way. We were the traditional 2 hours early for our international flight, and we wanted to be first on the standby list. We were just begining to count down how much longer we had to chase Elizabeth around the airport when dark clouds moved in and the rain came down in sheets. We were delayed over an hour. So, after 3 hours of chasing Liza we finnaly boarded the plane. Luckly both kids knocked out on the flight and it was 1:30 am by the time we were meeting with Grandpa "Tiffany" and on the way home. At about 3:00 am the house was quite and sleep wasn't far away. Liza is up and playing with ALL the toys here at Grandma "tiffany"s house. What a day !
Comments:
Grandma Wall: I am happy to hear that the children slept on the plane and that you arrived in Calgary safely. I know it was a long exhausting day for all of you,. I hope you can get a little rest and relaxation in Calgary. I am sure you have a lot planned. . . but maybe the change will be restful. Love all of you, and we are anxious to have you back in SLC for a while.
Visit with Jake
Well today we went to a Stampede Breakfast, for those of you who aren't familiar, in Calgary during stampede week a whole bunch of buisinesses put on free pancake breakfasts. We went to one this morning (along with at least a thousand other people ). Brent preped liza telling her that we were going to get some "cow boy food." She loved it! She was a little overwhelmed and triing to figure things out, but she really like the band and was interested in all that was going on. They had not only pancakes, but blueberries, sausages, danishes and orange juice! What fun. Then this after noon liza was reunited with her life long friend Jake. We met jakes parents in a Prenatal class when liza and jake were on their way here. Their due dates were 1 day appart but with Liza early and Jake Late, they are a month appart in age. They have always played together really well, and today was no exeption. They had a great day, swimming, playing and watching a little movie. They really got a long great, leaving both sets of parents sad that the two of them couldn't be together more. Both of them were a little sad when the night had to end, but were comforted by the fact that they would see eachother again on monday. Tommorow is our stampede day, so I better get some sleep. We'll keep you posted.
Well, we are here in Des Moines! I really like it here, the people are so friendly. The Pediatrition that I choose for the kids is wonderful. Every person that we have had to deal with has been friendly! It has been great! Our ward is wonderful, we were welcomed with open arms. Everyone was really nice. We leave in a few hours for Calgary, so we will be seeing some of you in no time at all. I will keep the sight posted from there on our trip stories.
Long Day's Travel
Yesterday we took dad to the airport at 9:30 am and then we left our new apartment in Des Moines at around 11:00 am in a cab. Our flight left Des Moines at 12:40 and we were on our way to SLC. WE arrived in SLC sometime after 2:00 slc time. David, Shirley and Anne were there to greet us. We loaded up two cars and headed for walls house. Liza and Anne hit it off and drove poor gandpa nuts on the drive home from the airport. At walls, I got to visit my Strawberry Patch, wow! has it grown! I picked some Strawberries and some weeds, and then headed for the raspberries. Quite the crop out there too. We got to visit with Ben as well. We had a yummy dinner and then headed for the Airport to catch our flight to Calgary. Glen met us at the airport and gave us First Class treatment all the way. We were the traditional 2 hours early for our international flight, and we wanted to be first on the standby list. We were just begining to count down how much longer we had to chase Elizabeth around the airport when dark clouds moved in and the rain came down in sheets. We were delayed over an hour. So, after 3 hours of chasing Liza we finnaly boarded the plane. Luckly both kids knocked out on the flight and it was 1:30 am by the time we were meeting with Grandpa "Tiffany" and on the way home. At about 3:00 am the house was quite and sleep wasn't far away. Liza is up and playing with ALL the toys here at Grandma "tiffany"s house. What a day !
Comments:
Grandma Wall: I am happy to hear that the children slept on the plane and that you arrived in Calgary safely. I know it was a long exhausting day for all of you,. I hope you can get a little rest and relaxation in Calgary. I am sure you have a lot planned. . . but maybe the change will be restful. Love all of you, and we are anxious to have you back in SLC for a while.
Visit with Jake
Well today we went to a Stampede Breakfast, for those of you who aren't familiar, in Calgary during stampede week a whole bunch of buisinesses put on free pancake breakfasts. We went to one this morning (along with at least a thousand other people ). Brent preped liza telling her that we were going to get some "cow boy food." She loved it! She was a little overwhelmed and triing to figure things out, but she really like the band and was interested in all that was going on. They had not only pancakes, but blueberries, sausages, danishes and orange juice! What fun. Then this after noon liza was reunited with her life long friend Jake. We met jakes parents in a Prenatal class when liza and jake were on their way here. Their due dates were 1 day appart but with Liza early and Jake Late, they are a month appart in age. They have always played together really well, and today was no exeption. They had a great day, swimming, playing and watching a little movie. They really got a long great, leaving both sets of parents sad that the two of them couldn't be together more. Both of them were a little sad when the night had to end, but were comforted by the fact that they would see eachother again on monday. Tommorow is our stampede day, so I better get some sleep. We'll keep you posted.
July 21, 2001 & July 29, 2001
Ready, Set, GO!!!
Well we finnaly have a place in Des moines and we have our truck reserved. We are planning to pack the truck on the 30th. Unlike the Bryans we are cracking down and are almost pack to the point that there is not much left that we can pack before we actually leave. Mostly kitchen stuff left. We are still working on being able to visit Calgary and SLC. We'll let you know what is happening.
Packing up
Well, we are busily packing everything for the move. Poor liza is now left with very few toys, and the ones that she has I have up because I want her to want to play with them in the car. We figured that we were okey to pack her toys seeing as how she hasn't played with any in 3 days. She has been entertaining herself in boxes and other packing materials. We had a friend come and take her yesterday. She got to go swimming and play at their house (where the air conditioning works) while Brent and I were here in the hot house. It was somewhere in the range of 95 degrees yesterday and our air conditioning only feels cool at about 4:00am. The house is usually close to unbearable at 5-6 in the evening. Grrrr. Well that is our update, we are close, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Comments:
Grandma Wall: I'm sure this is a difficult time for you, trying to move with a new baby and a two year old. Boy! I wish I could be there to help you. I'm sure you are very busy. I am happy to hear that Liza is not having too much trouble with the idea of moving. She is such a sweetheart. We are glad that Bill will be there to help with the move. You are in our prayers. Hope all goes well.
Well we finnaly have a place in Des moines and we have our truck reserved. We are planning to pack the truck on the 30th. Unlike the Bryans we are cracking down and are almost pack to the point that there is not much left that we can pack before we actually leave. Mostly kitchen stuff left. We are still working on being able to visit Calgary and SLC. We'll let you know what is happening.
Packing up
Well, we are busily packing everything for the move. Poor liza is now left with very few toys, and the ones that she has I have up because I want her to want to play with them in the car. We figured that we were okey to pack her toys seeing as how she hasn't played with any in 3 days. She has been entertaining herself in boxes and other packing materials. We had a friend come and take her yesterday. She got to go swimming and play at their house (where the air conditioning works) while Brent and I were here in the hot house. It was somewhere in the range of 95 degrees yesterday and our air conditioning only feels cool at about 4:00am. The house is usually close to unbearable at 5-6 in the evening. Grrrr. Well that is our update, we are close, but there is still a lot of work to do.
Comments:
Grandma Wall: I'm sure this is a difficult time for you, trying to move with a new baby and a two year old. Boy! I wish I could be there to help you. I'm sure you are very busy. I am happy to hear that Liza is not having too much trouble with the idea of moving. She is such a sweetheart. We are glad that Bill will be there to help with the move. You are in our prayers. Hope all goes well.
June 14 2001
Sesame Place
We (andrea and I ) Took Liza and Zander to Seasame Place on Tuesday. For those of you who havn't heard of it, it is like a disney land Idea, but with the Seasame Street Characters insted of Mickey Mouse. We went thinking that the place was an ammusement park. I got on line however and found out that they were bragging about some water rides, so we packed our swimsuits incase we wanted to go on the water ones. We got there and much to our surprize the whole park was a giant water park. Liza, who is afraid of spraying water and showers, was not impressed. Nor was I when she wouldn't do anything and I payed $30 each, for her and myself to get in. I forced her to do a few things, but what fun is that? I was kind of upset until we discovered the other things to do there. They had a Parade of all the characters, much like the main street Parade at Disney Land, but much shorter. Liza LOVED it. When it was over, she looked up the street and said "I wanna see another one Parade." She really loved seeing all the Characters. We got pictures with Elmo, Bert and Ernie, cookie monster and Grover. Then we went to the shows that they had. They did an animal show that Liza loved, and one that was like a live filming of "Elmos World." which is a segment on Seasame Street that little Elmo fans love. They talked about Dance, and had the children (and some crazy senior citicens :-) dancing in their rows. She just loved this, and at the end of it they had the children dance, and put them up on the big screen, so that they were on Elmos world. Liza did have a good time, she talks and talks about it. But my reveiw is, unless your 2 year old loves water, it isn't worth $30 to take a 2 year old. I would say the ideal ages to take a child to this park would be 4-11 yrs old. I think it would be very fun for a family with kids these ages.
$$$$$$
Here is something for Alexanders Scrap Book.
The Hospital sent us a copy of the charges made to the insurance company. Detailing the cost of care for the birth and Intensive care Alex received. The First bill was for Labor, Delivery and Recovery. This bill was $8,708.40!
The Second Bill was for Alexs first 2 days in intensive care. This one was for $15,318.55! Then for the next 13 days in the Transitional Nursery the bill was 40,186.90! Just so that you don't have to get out your calculators, the grand total is...........................
$64,813.85!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Boy am I glad we had insurance. I am not sure what the monitor is costing on a dayly basis, but the little man is still running up a tab I am sure!
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany: Wow!!Expensive little guy!! That makes him worth about $15,000 a lb
Auntie Patty: Wow! And ya know they don't depreciate! Are you absolutely positive that you are covered? Did you forget and miss that last payment? Just a few details to think about! He's worth every penny!
We (andrea and I ) Took Liza and Zander to Seasame Place on Tuesday. For those of you who havn't heard of it, it is like a disney land Idea, but with the Seasame Street Characters insted of Mickey Mouse. We went thinking that the place was an ammusement park. I got on line however and found out that they were bragging about some water rides, so we packed our swimsuits incase we wanted to go on the water ones. We got there and much to our surprize the whole park was a giant water park. Liza, who is afraid of spraying water and showers, was not impressed. Nor was I when she wouldn't do anything and I payed $30 each, for her and myself to get in. I forced her to do a few things, but what fun is that? I was kind of upset until we discovered the other things to do there. They had a Parade of all the characters, much like the main street Parade at Disney Land, but much shorter. Liza LOVED it. When it was over, she looked up the street and said "I wanna see another one Parade." She really loved seeing all the Characters. We got pictures with Elmo, Bert and Ernie, cookie monster and Grover. Then we went to the shows that they had. They did an animal show that Liza loved, and one that was like a live filming of "Elmos World." which is a segment on Seasame Street that little Elmo fans love. They talked about Dance, and had the children (and some crazy senior citicens :-) dancing in their rows. She just loved this, and at the end of it they had the children dance, and put them up on the big screen, so that they were on Elmos world. Liza did have a good time, she talks and talks about it. But my reveiw is, unless your 2 year old loves water, it isn't worth $30 to take a 2 year old. I would say the ideal ages to take a child to this park would be 4-11 yrs old. I think it would be very fun for a family with kids these ages.
$$$$$$
Here is something for Alexanders Scrap Book.
The Hospital sent us a copy of the charges made to the insurance company. Detailing the cost of care for the birth and Intensive care Alex received. The First bill was for Labor, Delivery and Recovery. This bill was $8,708.40!
The Second Bill was for Alexs first 2 days in intensive care. This one was for $15,318.55! Then for the next 13 days in the Transitional Nursery the bill was 40,186.90! Just so that you don't have to get out your calculators, the grand total is...........................
$64,813.85!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Boy am I glad we had insurance. I am not sure what the monitor is costing on a dayly basis, but the little man is still running up a tab I am sure!
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany: Wow!!Expensive little guy!! That makes him worth about $15,000 a lb
Auntie Patty: Wow! And ya know they don't depreciate! Are you absolutely positive that you are covered? Did you forget and miss that last payment? Just a few details to think about! He's worth every penny!
June 11 2001
The Early Bird Catches the Worm
In all my efforts to get this little family on a decent schedual I put liza to bed last night a little earlier then usual, but she still stayed awake until after 10:00 pm. She hasn't had a nap in days since we have no constant schedual. I am sure that she is loving this. Anyway, so this morning she got up at 4:45 and it is now 7:15 and she is still up and is happily eating breakfast. Wouldn't you know that this morning is the first time that Alex has decided to go 5 hours between feedings during the night! Yup, I could have had 4 hours of sleep streight, but for some reason Liza figured 6 hours in a night was good enough for her. I can't beleive it. I always thought she had more of Grandpa Tiffanys sleep habits, but she is showing some of Grandma Tiffanys today!
Comments:
Auntie Patty : This is why mother's are made young! 4:45 is still in the middle of the night where I come from!
In all my efforts to get this little family on a decent schedual I put liza to bed last night a little earlier then usual, but she still stayed awake until after 10:00 pm. She hasn't had a nap in days since we have no constant schedual. I am sure that she is loving this. Anyway, so this morning she got up at 4:45 and it is now 7:15 and she is still up and is happily eating breakfast. Wouldn't you know that this morning is the first time that Alex has decided to go 5 hours between feedings during the night! Yup, I could have had 4 hours of sleep streight, but for some reason Liza figured 6 hours in a night was good enough for her. I can't beleive it. I always thought she had more of Grandpa Tiffanys sleep habits, but she is showing some of Grandma Tiffanys today!
Comments:
Auntie Patty : This is why mother's are made young! 4:45 is still in the middle of the night where I come from!
June 9 2001
Chubs:
Well we had a drs appointment for Alex yesterday and he wieghed in at 6 lbs 3 oz!!!! and is now 19 1/2 inches! That is longer then Liza at birth! He now sports some pretty chubby cheeks, yet his hands and feet are still long and skinny! He is eating all the time and big feeds too. He is kind of starting to be awake more often, but much to lizas dismay, he still isn't playing babies with her! We'll keep you posted on any more news!
Comments
Grandma Tiffany: Glad to hear that he is doing so well!
Grandpa: WOW - thats great news!! .... and another 12 days to his normal birth date!
Auntie Patty: It is so good to hear that little Zander is doing so well. He should be playing babies any day now! The pictures are priceless - especially the one in the BIG carseat!
Watch what you say
We are starting to notice more and more each day how careful you have to be in talking around Liza. Never say anything that you don't want to hear comming out of her mouth. A couple days ago we were all going to the mall and so we were packed into the car, and Liza wanted to do up her own belt. She was having a little trouble and was taking quite some time at it, so Brent offered to help. As he reached for her seatbelt she pushed his hands away and said " Don't freek out!"
We have tossed around the blame for that one, but we can't decide who she got that from!
Carnival
The catholic church by our appartment set up a carnival on the lawn about a block away. The whole nine yards, rides, games, prizes. Anyway we forked out the big bucks for tickets, but Lizas delight over the rides was more then worth the $! She had such a great time! She has been talking about it for days! She went on the boats and the helecopter, the big slide and the merry go round. When it was all over she told me that she wanted to do that again. I made the mistake of mentioning the possibillity of going to the Stampeed where we would have tickets and go on the rides again. Now she is looking very foward to that. I sure hope it all pans out for her. :-)
Lizas Lucky Day
The Garbage Man is lizas hero! Everyday when she hears his truck, she runs to the window yelling, "It's my Lucky Day, its my lucky day." We pull up the blind and she watches the truck. The driver knows that she is there and waves to her, then he picks up the dumpster and backs up the truck so that liza can see all the garbage fall into the back. Then he puts the dumpster back down and backs up so she can see the truck smash it all down, all the while waving at her in her window. One day he got out of the truck and climbed up on top and kicked garbage into the back, and waved and put on a real show. We love the garbage man at our house. (except on saturday morning when he comes at 7:30 am!! and it is her lucky morning!)
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany: It is my lucky day to be home when the Schwann man comes!
Well we had a drs appointment for Alex yesterday and he wieghed in at 6 lbs 3 oz!!!! and is now 19 1/2 inches! That is longer then Liza at birth! He now sports some pretty chubby cheeks, yet his hands and feet are still long and skinny! He is eating all the time and big feeds too. He is kind of starting to be awake more often, but much to lizas dismay, he still isn't playing babies with her! We'll keep you posted on any more news!
Comments
Grandma Tiffany: Glad to hear that he is doing so well!
Grandpa: WOW - thats great news!! .... and another 12 days to his normal birth date!
Auntie Patty: It is so good to hear that little Zander is doing so well. He should be playing babies any day now! The pictures are priceless - especially the one in the BIG carseat!
Watch what you say
We are starting to notice more and more each day how careful you have to be in talking around Liza. Never say anything that you don't want to hear comming out of her mouth. A couple days ago we were all going to the mall and so we were packed into the car, and Liza wanted to do up her own belt. She was having a little trouble and was taking quite some time at it, so Brent offered to help. As he reached for her seatbelt she pushed his hands away and said " Don't freek out!"
We have tossed around the blame for that one, but we can't decide who she got that from!
Carnival
The catholic church by our appartment set up a carnival on the lawn about a block away. The whole nine yards, rides, games, prizes. Anyway we forked out the big bucks for tickets, but Lizas delight over the rides was more then worth the $! She had such a great time! She has been talking about it for days! She went on the boats and the helecopter, the big slide and the merry go round. When it was all over she told me that she wanted to do that again. I made the mistake of mentioning the possibillity of going to the Stampeed where we would have tickets and go on the rides again. Now she is looking very foward to that. I sure hope it all pans out for her. :-)
Lizas Lucky Day
The Garbage Man is lizas hero! Everyday when she hears his truck, she runs to the window yelling, "It's my Lucky Day, its my lucky day." We pull up the blind and she watches the truck. The driver knows that she is there and waves to her, then he picks up the dumpster and backs up the truck so that liza can see all the garbage fall into the back. Then he puts the dumpster back down and backs up so she can see the truck smash it all down, all the while waving at her in her window. One day he got out of the truck and climbed up on top and kicked garbage into the back, and waved and put on a real show. We love the garbage man at our house. (except on saturday morning when he comes at 7:30 am!! and it is her lucky morning!)
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany: It is my lucky day to be home when the Schwann man comes!
May 25th
Well, we brought Alex home on Wednesday the 23rd. Liza was so excited, she couldn't beleive that he was here in our house and that she was alloud to touch and hold him. She started off by just touching his hands and uncovering him to look at him, and then she asked if she could hold him. She sat on the sofa with the standard pillow under the arm, and held him and looked at him. She loves to do this and she makes sure that she gets her turn with him. I think that one of her most favorite moments so far was being alloud to feed him a bottle. She always feeds her babies, and so it was really thrilling to feed him. Things are going good with his eating. He seems to be eating every 3 and a half to 4 hours. He doesn't like to wake up in the night, so that gets a little tricky. Usually, one feed takes over an hour to do. I have also been reminded of how much laundry little babies produce. In his first 24 hours of being home Alex produced an entire load of laundry! He has peed out of more outfits then I ever immagined! It is a good thing he is so spoild or I would be doing 2 loads a day, just to keep up. Because he is so little he has to stay wraped in a blanket to help him keep his temp. up, so when he pees it goes through one undershirt, a sleeper, and of course a blanket. Then if he didn't wet all his clothes and it is just time to change his diper, he will usually polish off the outfit, by catching you off guard while you're changing him, and pees all over it anyway. If you are lucky enough to get him in the same outfit, and walk away from the whole thing pleased that he is still dry, he will spit up on his sheets so that you can wash those insted! :-) What fun! We have a nurse comming today to weigh him and see if he is still gaining weight. I will update you on that when we know. Liza is dealing well with the change, she is starting to push her luck and see if I mean it when I say things to her and I am holding him. She seems to think that if I have Alex in my arms, I won't follow up on what I am asking her to do, but she is starting to get the drift, I think. As far as the monitor goes, it has only gone off a few times, and it is always while he is eating, he just gets too excited and sets it off. That is about all there is to tell. We are so excited to have him home and with us. It is so much nicer, the monitor that he is on is small and has a rechargable battery in it, so when he is in his crib, we plug it in, and otherwhise he can roam around the house. It is in a bag with a strap on it so that he is portable. It isn't too bad. He even went for a little walk on wednesday evening in his new set of wheels! We are just so happy to have him home and doing well.
Comments:
Heather Batalic: Congrats, Walls! I am so happy for you guys that he is doing so fantastic. I will definately have to come and see that little miracle once we get all settled in our new place in NY. (which probably won't be until early July now)
Mary Beth Lees: Glad to hear all is going well. Kids can't wait to see the little fellow and Liza (me too)when you come for a visit. Printed a picture for the kids and they thought it was pretty neat that I was able to that. mb
Grandpa: WONDERFUL NEWS!! I hope everything goes well for you. Sounds like he is doing very well - Li'l Bits too!!!
Looking forward to seeing him about the first of July.
Tobie: That's great you guys!! It must be a relief to have him home!!
Comments:
Heather Batalic: Congrats, Walls! I am so happy for you guys that he is doing so fantastic. I will definately have to come and see that little miracle once we get all settled in our new place in NY. (which probably won't be until early July now)
Mary Beth Lees: Glad to hear all is going well. Kids can't wait to see the little fellow and Liza (me too)when you come for a visit. Printed a picture for the kids and they thought it was pretty neat that I was able to that. mb
Grandpa: WONDERFUL NEWS!! I hope everything goes well for you. Sounds like he is doing very well - Li'l Bits too!!!
Looking forward to seeing him about the first of July.
Tobie: That's great you guys!! It must be a relief to have him home!!
May 17, 2001
Well, this morning the nurse told me that they are moving Alex into an Open crib today! That means that he can regulate his own temp. :-) He gained another oz last night, which puts him at 4lbs 11.6 oz. He nursed well this am. and they plan to let Brent give him a bottle this after noon. That is the latest.
Comments
Grandpa Wall:
Put Shirley on a plane this morning...she is headed your way. Don't let her worry about things here at home. We will be find. Best of luck with Alex today.
Grandpa:
Great News, Christie. Sounds like he is progressing well. Any projection as to when he can come out?
Auntie Patty
We are all glad Alex is doing so well. He must be a strong little monkey! It was good to hear that he will be home on Sunday! He probably got the word that his Grandma Cook was coming to see him!
Comments
Grandpa Wall:
Put Shirley on a plane this morning...she is headed your way. Don't let her worry about things here at home. We will be find. Best of luck with Alex today.
Grandpa:
Great News, Christie. Sounds like he is progressing well. Any projection as to when he can come out?
Auntie Patty
We are all glad Alex is doing so well. He must be a strong little monkey! It was good to hear that he will be home on Sunday! He probably got the word that his Grandma Cook was coming to see him!
May 14, 2001
Alex News
Well today we have some good and some bad news. On the good side, he is starting to nurse for longer periods of time. He gained another oz that puts him up to 4.9. (over his birth weight) The bad news, he is back under the jaundice lights and he started making the nurses jump around there. He has started what they call Apnea / Bradycardia. Both are very common in Premature babies, and can correct them selves, and if it doesn't, they can fix the problem with medication. The Apnea is when he forgets to breathe for something like 20 seconds, and this makes the monitors go off. Most of the time he will remeber to breathe on his own, but other times they have to reach in and give him a little shake. The Apnea sometimes causes the Bradycardia, Which is the heart slowing down. The nurses have assured us that his health is not at risk, because he is constantly hooked up to monitors, so they know the instant something is wrong. Some babies grow out of this on their own, and others have to be given a shot of what is basically Caffine, this kind of gives them a jump start and fixes the problem. They will first see if he can pull out of it on his own. The nurse also told me tonight that he doesn't have a really bad case of it, and unless it gets worse, she is pretty sure he will pull himself out. Otherwise he is doing well. The nurses told me that they fight over him and that he is a really good baby. he only crys when they weigh him because he doesn't like to be naked on the scale. I told them that they would cry too if we put them naked on a scale in a room full of people. :-)
Comments:
Auntie Tracey:
A shot of caffine aye? He has fetal DP syndrome. (Dr. Pepper addiction inherited from Brent!) Glad to read that he is gaining.
Well today we have some good and some bad news. On the good side, he is starting to nurse for longer periods of time. He gained another oz that puts him up to 4.9. (over his birth weight) The bad news, he is back under the jaundice lights and he started making the nurses jump around there. He has started what they call Apnea / Bradycardia. Both are very common in Premature babies, and can correct them selves, and if it doesn't, they can fix the problem with medication. The Apnea is when he forgets to breathe for something like 20 seconds, and this makes the monitors go off. Most of the time he will remeber to breathe on his own, but other times they have to reach in and give him a little shake. The Apnea sometimes causes the Bradycardia, Which is the heart slowing down. The nurses have assured us that his health is not at risk, because he is constantly hooked up to monitors, so they know the instant something is wrong. Some babies grow out of this on their own, and others have to be given a shot of what is basically Caffine, this kind of gives them a jump start and fixes the problem. They will first see if he can pull out of it on his own. The nurse also told me tonight that he doesn't have a really bad case of it, and unless it gets worse, she is pretty sure he will pull himself out. Otherwise he is doing well. The nurses told me that they fight over him and that he is a really good baby. he only crys when they weigh him because he doesn't like to be naked on the scale. I told them that they would cry too if we put them naked on a scale in a room full of people. :-)
Comments:
Auntie Tracey:
A shot of caffine aye? He has fetal DP syndrome. (Dr. Pepper addiction inherited from Brent!) Glad to read that he is gaining.
May 10 2001, May 11 2001, May 13 2001
Baby Brother Update
Just a little note to update: He has lost weight., I can't remeber how much, but that was expected and I am not too worried. They have put a feeding tube in his nose, and started him out at 2 ml of milk, and in one day he is now at 9 mls! He will latch on for a few seconds and he is strong, but he gets tired easy and falls asleep. He has his IV in his head now, (sorry auntie Tracey) But I like it there better because it is so big on his little arm. He has been taken out of the jaundice lights for the most part of today and is having wet dipers. We are very proud of his progress. And just so you all know, the pics are not doing him justice, and all the nurses in the ICU are in love with our incredibly cute little man!
Comments
Grandma Tiffany: I can hardly wait to see him!
Name!
After much thought we have finally named our son. His name is ALEXANDER JACK WALL. I went to see him this morning and he is doing well. He is eating over 30 mls a feeding and handling the increases very well. He is no longer hooked up to the IV line, and they will take the needle out tonight. Then he will only have a feeding tube, a heated bed, and the monitors that every baby in the NICU has to have. WE are so proud of our little fighter. Thank you to everyone for their prayers, I know that he is getting help with all the things he has to do.
Comments
Grandpa: Congratulations on the name. A bit of a surprise, but I think it is nice. Is the Jack for Grandpa Reeder? I note that both your kids have rather elitist old world names (Elizabeth & Alexander) rather than todays most popular. That will set them apart from their peers.
What do you intend to call him informally? Full name? Alex? Al? A.J.?
I am glad he is doing so well, I wish I could get a chance to see him sooner than July!
Latest News On Alexander:
Well, he is still doing really well. They are keeping his feedings at 36ml. for a little while. They will move it up now as he gains weight and shows tollerence for more. His has bottomed out on his weight and is now on his way up. He has gained 3 oz in the past 2 days and has returned to his birth weight. 4.8!
His little roommate went home today and another of the babies is schedualed to go home tonight. That leaves him there with only one other baby! Things are getting pretty quiet around there. We'll keep you posted.
Comments
Grandpa: Glad to hear he is doing so well!! Gaining weight is a great sign. He DOES seem to be a real little fighter!
Auntie Tracey: At least now--he will be the next one out! Sounds like he is doing good. I can't wait to see him on Friday!
Just a little note to update: He has lost weight., I can't remeber how much, but that was expected and I am not too worried. They have put a feeding tube in his nose, and started him out at 2 ml of milk, and in one day he is now at 9 mls! He will latch on for a few seconds and he is strong, but he gets tired easy and falls asleep. He has his IV in his head now, (sorry auntie Tracey) But I like it there better because it is so big on his little arm. He has been taken out of the jaundice lights for the most part of today and is having wet dipers. We are very proud of his progress. And just so you all know, the pics are not doing him justice, and all the nurses in the ICU are in love with our incredibly cute little man!
Comments
Grandma Tiffany: I can hardly wait to see him!
Name!
After much thought we have finally named our son. His name is ALEXANDER JACK WALL. I went to see him this morning and he is doing well. He is eating over 30 mls a feeding and handling the increases very well. He is no longer hooked up to the IV line, and they will take the needle out tonight. Then he will only have a feeding tube, a heated bed, and the monitors that every baby in the NICU has to have. WE are so proud of our little fighter. Thank you to everyone for their prayers, I know that he is getting help with all the things he has to do.
Comments
Grandpa: Congratulations on the name. A bit of a surprise, but I think it is nice. Is the Jack for Grandpa Reeder? I note that both your kids have rather elitist old world names (Elizabeth & Alexander) rather than todays most popular. That will set them apart from their peers.
What do you intend to call him informally? Full name? Alex? Al? A.J.?
I am glad he is doing so well, I wish I could get a chance to see him sooner than July!
Latest News On Alexander:
Well, he is still doing really well. They are keeping his feedings at 36ml. for a little while. They will move it up now as he gains weight and shows tollerence for more. His has bottomed out on his weight and is now on his way up. He has gained 3 oz in the past 2 days and has returned to his birth weight. 4.8!
His little roommate went home today and another of the babies is schedualed to go home tonight. That leaves him there with only one other baby! Things are getting pretty quiet around there. We'll keep you posted.
Comments
Grandpa: Glad to hear he is doing so well!! Gaining weight is a great sign. He DOES seem to be a real little fighter!
Auntie Tracey: At least now--he will be the next one out! Sounds like he is doing good. I can't wait to see him on Friday!
April 29, 2001
Lizas favorite things to do
Grandma Wall: I am getting so excited to hear Liza's response to her new baby brother when she sees him for the first time. She really comes up with some interesting comments...it shows she is thinking. I remember how we would watch Brent's expression when he was thinking deep . . and trying to figure something out. She is her fathers daughter. . . and her mothers too it sounds like. . . she is quite a shopper, not like her grandma Wall.
Her middle name is Anne for a reason:
The other day, Liza is sitting on the floor and had been instructed to put on her underpans. Knowing that there is a front and a back, she held them up and questioned "This way?" to which Brent responded "nope, turn them around." so she turned them and questioned again "this way?" Brent said "yes. thats right." so she turned them around again and asked "this way?" Brent said, "no, the other way." And in the exact tone of Anne "Okey." and pretended like she would put them on backwards, just for the reaction. Sound like anyone we know? Then the latest is to try to touch your had at the table and kissing your hand after dinner when her face is a mess. Sounds familiar? We know that there are more similarities, but we can't think of them right now, we'll keep you posted.
Comments:
Grandma Wall You brought a smile to my face with this story. I wish I could see her. She is growing up so fast and doing some funny things. Anne would be quite entertained if she could see her. Do you suppose Liza was watching Anne more than we realized . . or do you think this is just an "age thing"?
I just thought I would take a minuet to write and tell you of a few of Lizas new favorites. As far as places she likes to go, we found a new park that has a giant slide that she calls "The bumpy slide." she loves this park, it is a really neat park. She also still loves to go shoping, but has found that she would rather walk and touch everything, so it is not as much fun for me, she is just getting too big to sit in the stroller the whole time. However if we go for just a quick visit, she sometimes gets to take her baby in the baby stroller, she loved this. She is also still a big fan of the Dollar Store! She is her mothers daughter. We went for a walk yesterday down in the park, and she really enjoyed that, throwing rocks and racing, I think she really liked that. As far as playing at home, she can often be found alone in her room doing puzzles, playing with "Kelly" dolls, putting plastic lizards in cars and driving them around, playing "little people." and playing with her babies, she has quite a few, her most recent favorite has been one that wears a blue outfit with a duck on it and she is positive that it is a boy. She has no name for him, but he gets fed, and put in time out, and in trouble all the time. It is quite funny.
We are still triing to help her understand colors, but it is just not making sence to her. Shapes, animals specific names like (polar vs brown bears) , and even letters are starting to make sence, but not colors. We are triing the flash card route, we'll see if that works.
For Easter she got a bunny bank that she gets a penny to put in it for every day that she is dry and this seems to be modivation enough. She is doing really well, and would probibly do okey with out any prize, but it helps me to get her to remember.
She seems to have a very surface understanding of this baby comming. She knows that there are things in the house that are his, and she does pretty well to leave them alone. She told a lady at chruch today when she asked if baby brother was comming out, she said "yeah, but he is stuck in there." Gesturing to my stomach. I am also wondering what her responce will be when we have to go to the hospital because we are always telling her that if she chokes on something that we'll have to take her to the hospital and that the Drs will have to take it out of her throat. This seems to "scare" her into not putting things in her mouth because she doesn't want to go to the hospital. We have a tour of the Labor and Delivery ward at the hospital where I am to Deliver, on Thursday, so maybe we will take her so that she can see it and know some what, what is happening. Well this is our news lately, its not too exciting, cute or funny, but we have pictures comming back tommorow, so maybe we can make up for my boaring article. :-)
We are still triing to help her understand colors, but it is just not making sence to her. Shapes, animals specific names like (polar vs brown bears) , and even letters are starting to make sence, but not colors. We are triing the flash card route, we'll see if that works.
For Easter she got a bunny bank that she gets a penny to put in it for every day that she is dry and this seems to be modivation enough. She is doing really well, and would probibly do okey with out any prize, but it helps me to get her to remember.
She seems to have a very surface understanding of this baby comming. She knows that there are things in the house that are his, and she does pretty well to leave them alone. She told a lady at chruch today when she asked if baby brother was comming out, she said "yeah, but he is stuck in there." Gesturing to my stomach. I am also wondering what her responce will be when we have to go to the hospital because we are always telling her that if she chokes on something that we'll have to take her to the hospital and that the Drs will have to take it out of her throat. This seems to "scare" her into not putting things in her mouth because she doesn't want to go to the hospital. We have a tour of the Labor and Delivery ward at the hospital where I am to Deliver, on Thursday, so maybe we will take her so that she can see it and know some what, what is happening. Well this is our news lately, its not too exciting, cute or funny, but we have pictures comming back tommorow, so maybe we can make up for my boaring article. :-)
Comments
Grandma Tiffany
| Any rodeos down there?? Mommy: No, much to Lizas dismay, no rodeos. For those of you who don't know, she asks every day if she can go to the Rodeo again, and every time she talks to Grandma Tiffany that is what she asks her. She really enjoyed that. |
Grandma Wall: I am getting so excited to hear Liza's response to her new baby brother when she sees him for the first time. She really comes up with some interesting comments...it shows she is thinking. I remember how we would watch Brent's expression when he was thinking deep . . and trying to figure something out. She is her fathers daughter. . . and her mothers too it sounds like. . . she is quite a shopper, not like her grandma Wall.
Her middle name is Anne for a reason:
The other day, Liza is sitting on the floor and had been instructed to put on her underpans. Knowing that there is a front and a back, she held them up and questioned "This way?" to which Brent responded "nope, turn them around." so she turned them and questioned again "this way?" Brent said "yes. thats right." so she turned them around again and asked "this way?" Brent said, "no, the other way." And in the exact tone of Anne "Okey." and pretended like she would put them on backwards, just for the reaction. Sound like anyone we know? Then the latest is to try to touch your had at the table and kissing your hand after dinner when her face is a mess. Sounds familiar? We know that there are more similarities, but we can't think of them right now, we'll keep you posted.
Comments:
Grandma Wall You brought a smile to my face with this story. I wish I could see her. She is growing up so fast and doing some funny things. Anne would be quite entertained if she could see her. Do you suppose Liza was watching Anne more than we realized . . or do you think this is just an "age thing"?
April 26, 2001
Dreams
Yesterday Liza and I had a conversation that went something like this:
Liza " Mommy, I seed Tobie last night, at my house."
"You did? Did she bring Jace?"
"Yes, and Grandma Tiffany, and Tiffany, It was fun at my house last night."
I wonder if she had a dream with everyone there. She was pretty excited to have seen everyone. Just as a little side note, I mentioned earlier that while visiting Grandma she went to the Rodeo. Well, She asks everyday if she can go to the Rodeo. Funny Girl.
Liza " Mommy, I seed Tobie last night, at my house."
"You did? Did she bring Jace?"
"Yes, and Grandma Tiffany, and Tiffany, It was fun at my house last night."
I wonder if she had a dream with everyone there. She was pretty excited to have seen everyone. Just as a little side note, I mentioned earlier that while visiting Grandma she went to the Rodeo. Well, She asks everyday if she can go to the Rodeo. Funny Girl.
Hot
Yesterday we got a taste of what is to come here in Philly, and I tell you I am thanking my lucky stars that I will not be pregnant for much longer! I don't know how hot it got outside yesterday, but our apartment felt like a sauna! They havn't turned on our air conditioning so we are triing to cool by opening windows and taking advantage of the breeze. Well we had all of them open lastnight and got very little releif. According to our thermostat we sat between 78 and 79 degrees all night. Thats right floks, that was cooling down. It makes me long for home where you have to wear a jacket in the summer evenings! I've had hotter nights, but that was just a taste. I sure hope that they turn on their air soon, or I will be forced to seek cooling in the malls and we all know how dangerous that would be! It is suppose to be in the high 80's this week, look out, I think summer is here.
Comments
Mommy: Update: It is now almost 5:00pm and with fans blowing and windows open, it is about 82 degrees in here! "Pant Pant"
Grandma Wall: I hope they get your air conditioning up and running soon. It is miserable being so hot when you are pregnant. I remember those hot summer days before
Anne's birth. I wish I could see Liza in her new cool pj's.
April 11, 2001
March 31, 2001
Home Safe and Sound
Well to finish up our report of our time in Canada, we had Lizas little Friend Jake over to play on Monday. Liza had a great time with him and all of the toys! Then on Monday night Liza hung out with Grandma while I went out with Jacquie and Jen (some friends from High School) I had a great time catching up with the girls and Liza had stories about her night out with Grandma. They went to McDonalds where she had not only a happy meal but Icecream too, and then played with a new friend on the train. Then they went to Super Store where Liza claims that she "Got in Trouble. Grandma sais go this way, I go this way (pointing in opposite directions). Then I in trouble." It was quite a story about their night. On tuesday Great Grandma Reeder and Great Grandma Cook made the treck up to Calgary in spite of the snow storm the night before. We had a great visit with them! (Thank you to them for comming up :-) ) Then on Wednesday we went out shopping with Grandma Tiffany and had fun playing one last time with everything. Then Grandpa took us out for Chineese food and Liza discovered that she likes Won Ton Soup. Thursday morning we headed back for Philly. We had a Lay over in Montreal where we got to visit with The Bryans (thanks to them for comming to see us) We only got to visit for a half an hour, but the girls had fun, I think that just that half hour made Samantha and Elise more "Real" to Liza. She now talks about them like they are people, not just pictures. We arrived home here in Philly tuckered right out and are back in the swing of things. We even went to a ward party last night. It was a "Spring Fling" and They had an easter egg hunt for the kids. They hid big plastic eggs that they had filled with jelly beans. Liza found six! She had a great time and the plastic eggs are something she has been asking me to buy at the dollar store for a month, so she loves them. Brent is off for Spring Break this week, so we will have to keep you posted on the news.
March 25, 2001
What we're up to
Well, Liza and I have been keeping buisy here in Calgary. The first day that we got here, Liza was overwhelmed by all the toys so we spent the next day, (Thurs) playing down in the basement with all of Grandmas toys. Then on Friday we headed down to Picture Butte with Grandma to vistit everyone down there. Elizabeth had a great time playing with little cousin Jace, and seeing everyone again. She was full of energy the whole time we were there. We slept over at Grandma Reeders house where Liza even got her own bed. The next day we took a trip to the Picture Butte Bakery where she got to pick out a doughnut. Very Exciting. We visited the NEW dollar store in Picutre Butte, which is quite impressive. We didn't come home from Picture Butte until after 10 pm on Sat. Sunday was Church in Grandmas ward. She went for a big walk with Grandma and Tiffany in the am. and then was a good girl at church. On Monday we went to visit my old HighSchool and see Mr. Craven. And we stoped at my old work, where I worked when I was expecting Liza. We had a good visit with everyone. Then we went and got Grandpa From the Airport. On Tuesday we met Lizas friend Jake at an indoor playground and they played and had a great time together. Then we went to lunch with them. On Wed we took it easy and had one of my friends from work come to visit in the afternoon. On Thursday we went swimming with Jake, Liza loved that. we went to a wave pool that had a little kiddie pool off to the side. She had a great time in the kiddie pool and even braved the waves for a few minuets. She doesn't really like them though. She talked and talked about the buzzer that goes off when the waves are comming. Then that night we went to the Rodeo. Elizabeth LOVED that. She had such a good time and is still today talking about it. She loved to see all the animals and cowboys, and she really like the Rodeo Princesses. The Flags for some reason made a mark on her memory. I was a little worried about how she would be after the first cowboy out of the shoot in the first compitition which was bare back riding got bucked off in the shoot, and then the horse fell on him twice and then the horse went down. I thought she may have been scard at frist, but I am sure she didn't understand the severity of what happened. (the cowboy broke his neck and they have him in a body cast to prevent peralisis, and the horse had to be put down) The only part of the Rodeo that she didn't like was went the main clown was putting on Masks (pig heads, monsters) She didn't like that, it scard her. But she still had a really good time. On Friday Grandma was off work, so we went shopping and played with her. On Sat afternoon, Auntie Patty, Uncle Tom, Michelle, Tobie, Cory and Jace all came up to visit. We had supper with them and then hit the mall again for a bit. That brings us to today, another sunday. Our trip is almost to an end, the time has flown by so quickly. We are having such fun. :-)
Comments
Grandma Wall: It is so good to get an update and to hear of all the fun you are having there in Canada. We think of you every day and hope you are having a ball. I'm sure the time has been passing more quickly for you than it has for us at home. Sunday we had everyone here for dinner and I was busy making rolls to take for work ( a goodbye dinner for an employee working her last shift ) I missed calling you . . thanks for the news. I still wish you had a layover in Salt Lake City. Oh well. Hopefully I'll get a chance to see all of you this summer. Love, Mom
March 18, 2001
WEll here we are in Calgary. Liza is loving all the new toys to play with and all the new things to see and do. Our flights were good. We almost missed our plane leaving philly because nature called on Liza 10 mins before the plane was to leave. (it figures) Anyway in the run for the plane she knocked her eye on a railing and is now sporting a full on black eye. The people on Air Canada are so kind, and she got a ton of fun little treats from them. We then had to change planes and go through customs in Toronto. That took us a while with Liza walking at her little pace and we barely made it to our gate again. At least we didn't have to do a lot of waiting around. We then arrived in Calgary to find that there was no Grandma Tiffany at the Gate. So we waited there so that we wouldn't loose her. We must have waited around for over 20 mins until I realized that maybe we should go get our luggage, and then it occured to me that in the Calgary Airport she can't go back to the actual gate. (we have never flown in any gate but the international one, so I thought since we were comming from Canada she would be able to come to the gate, but she couldn't) So on the other side, mom was freeking out to the Air Canada people because we were not off the plane yet. OOPS! Any way, we are here and having fun. ALready been to Picture Butte, and visited everyone there. Time is flying by. We'll keep you posted on any excitement.
March 7, 2001
The other day for no known reason, Liza stood up on a stool and proclaimed "I am different!" ........." I am black." Where in the world did this come from? The only thing I can figure is she has a book called "No Red Monsters Aloud." That is about some blue monsters being mean to Elmo, and they talk about differences. But why she thinks shes black I have no clue!
March 2, 2001
The Return of Terri Jo
For some background, I have a bucket in the bathroom which I keep water and borax in (a tip from the Queen of Cleen) In this bucket we soak training pants. Generally the bucket is kept in the tub when it is not in use. So this morning, I got out of the shower, put the bucket of soaking pants, some peed, some not into the tub and went to my room to get dressed. As a general rule, Zu Zu is not alloud to go in the bedrooms, and she was out and running, so I closed my door. As I was dressing I could hear Liza gleefully laughing, and didn't think much of it. A few minuets later, I came out and looked in to see what was so much fun in the bathroom. "Zu Zu have a bath" Liza squeels as she dunks the ferret over and over into the bucket of dirty pants and pee water! Poor Zu Zu is triing to catch her breath between dunks and then gets out of Lizas grasp and starts to run for it spreading water everywhere. I grabed a camera and took a picture, so when I get it developed I will post it. Liza standing in the tub fully clothed, soaking wet holding the torchered ferret. "Fwim Hammy, Fwim."
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany
| I hope that Terri-Jo reads this!! Auntie Patty
|
Feb 28, 2001
We are comming to you live from our very own new computer. It works! We can get on line with the click of 1 button, jump from one web page to the next. It is such fun. We are working on getting the whole system up and running, so you will be hearing a lot more from our end. :-)
Honkin' Zu Zu
The otherday I was getting Lizas bath ready, so she stripped down and started chasing ZuZu around the house. She finally got her cornered and was straddled over her when she crouched down to pick her up. As she crouched she tooted, and then looked up at me in amazement and said "ZuZu honked my bum!" Then she picked her up and took her in her room and then came out and shut ZuZu in her room. I said "Liza, where is ZuZu?" She said "I put her in my room." I asked why and she said "Cuz she keeps honkin my bum!"
Comments
Grandma Tiffany
That is hilarious!!
Feb 23 2001
Dewsberry + Wall = STUBBORN
Whenever we clean up the house Liza gets jobs to do, and usually she is a pretty good helper. Yesterday however, she showed us a little of what she is “Made Of”. Her job was to pick up the Crayons that she had dumped on the floor earlier when she was coloring. She didn’t think that she should have to do this and tried every trick in the book to get out of it. “Mommy, you do it.” “Mommy help please.” She even at one point chose to sit in time out rather then clean it up. For the first 20 mins or so I kept trying to get her to pick them up, with threats and the like, but nothing was working so I just made it very clear that she was to do nothing else until she did her job. TWO HOURS and FIFTEEN MINUETS Later She picked up her crayons. In that two hours, the crayons were ½ in the bucket over 4 times, they were used as drumsticks, and as the insides of her bucket maraca. She kept herself busy in that time and even took two potty breaks. Just a little Stubborn!
Take a chill pill
Today they forcasted snow for us here in Philly. Since the last storm we had immobilized the city for hours, everyone freaked out! Schools announced early close. Most schools were out by 1:00, and the snow didn’t even start until 1:30! It snowed about 6 inches and will be 40 degrees F tomorrow and every school is closed! It is supposed to be 60 by Sunday. People get a little excited about snow here, to say the very least. I don’t think that this storm is any worse then what we see all year at home, but it caused very serious multiple car accidents! I think everyone here just needs to learn how to slow down in every sense of the word!
Stroller pushers Beware:
Today I saw why there are signs on escalators that tell you not to take your stroller on the escalators. We went to the mall and there was a little girl about Liza’s age, in an umbrella stroller with her leg stuck in the escalator. The only way that I can figure it, her mom must have started to go up the down and before she turned the stroller around the little girl must have got her foot in the place where the handle goes down underneath. Her leg was into that hole up to about her knee and she was still in her stroller. By the looks of things, I can’t imagine that she didn’t have any broken bones. It was very scary! I think that for a while I will be using the elevators.
Feb 21, 2001
Hall Pass
Comments:
Tobie:
| What a little smarty pants. She has an answer for everything. FYI Just so everyone knows, I voted on the pole and I voted for a girl and the pole says that I voted more then one. SO it is inaccurate. Also wanted to let you all know that the stow away that went to Lybia with Grandpa also got left in SLC when grandpa brought it to Liza, then Brents mom sent it to us here in Philly, and she is, as I am writing this flying to Iowa, Liza put her in daddys suit case:-) Comments: Grandma Tiffany:
|
Feb 18 2001
Elizabeth Anne
Comments
Grandpa:
Around our house the names were "KAY" & "DAWN"!
At last some news here.... there has a pretty sparce activity on the website lately. Everyone must be busy!!
At last some news here.... there has a pretty sparce activity on the website lately. Everyone must be busy!!
January 29 2001
Posted by Grandma Tiffany
I see that Brent is beginning his interviews for med school starting in Feb. Contrats and good luck from us all. We wish you well. Let us know where else you are going!
Comments
Grandma Reeder
| Where the beep is MCP Hahnemann???? Good Luck Brent! Good Luck from Grandma 52!! But where the beep is it??? Brent
|
January 4 2001
Over the Christmas Break, Michelle and I measured tummies. We figured that things would be fairly accurate seeing as how I wore Michelles Wedding dress. But one also has to factor in that I have already had a baby, and I am one month ahead of Michelle. The results are in and Michelle won on both waist and hip measruements by and inch or more! I don't know about that, sounds like more then one to me. *snicker snicker*
Comment : Grandma Tiffany
I was out at Michelles on Wed measuring the bedroom to see if there is room for three cribs!
Wall Christmas
Well, we had to wake Liza up for Christmas morning. She was up late christmas eve and so Brent and I went into her room in morning the and started talking, "Do you think that Santa came?" "Gee, I don't know it Is Christmas!" I've never seen her wake so quickly, she was up and ripping into presents in no time. She wanted to play with everthing right after she opened it, and there just wastn't time> we were suppose to be at Great Grandma and Grandpa Walls for lunch and that is a 2 hour drive away. As she hurried through the opening somewhat reluctent to not stop and play we discovered that the Alphabet bug that Grandma sent from Canada calls the letter Z "Zed". The american version of the same toy calls it "Zee."
Anyway next we were off to Great G&G walls, we saw a ton of family and stayed there overnight. we then went back to SLCwere liza got to enjoy her presents and then a day later got to see G&G Tiffany. we had a nice holliday.Thank you to everyone for the gifts.
Anyway next we were off to Great G&G walls, we saw a ton of family and stayed there overnight. we then went back to SLCwere liza got to enjoy her presents and then a day later got to see G&G Tiffany. we had a nice holliday.Thank you to everyone for the gifts.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
January 4 2001
Liza's Prayer
On the advise of "Grandma Tiffany" We began reading the same scripture everynight to liza rather then fight with her to sit and read a chaper, well that turned into memorizing. She has now memorized Alma 37:35. Which for those of you who don't remeber scripture mastery starts "Oh remeber my son and learn wisdom....." Anyway, tonight after scriputes and family prayer, she knelt down to say her own prayers and we try to just give her a start to repeat after us and then she has to finish the sentence. tonight it was "Thank thee for my Son" (from "oh remember my son") then I said "Please help me to...." which she completed with the phrase "keep the commandments of God." I guess in someways the mix of scriptures and prayer are making sence.
Comments:
Tobie; That is so cute. It is amazing how much they really are learning and how much they take in although we may not realize it.
On the advise of "Grandma Tiffany" We began reading the same scripture everynight to liza rather then fight with her to sit and read a chaper, well that turned into memorizing. She has now memorized Alma 37:35. Which for those of you who don't remeber scripture mastery starts "Oh remeber my son and learn wisdom....." Anyway, tonight after scriputes and family prayer, she knelt down to say her own prayers and we try to just give her a start to repeat after us and then she has to finish the sentence. tonight it was "Thank thee for my Son" (from "oh remember my son") then I said "Please help me to...." which she completed with the phrase "keep the commandments of God." I guess in someways the mix of scriptures and prayer are making sence.
Comments:
Tobie; That is so cute. It is amazing how much they really are learning and how much they take in although we may not realize it.
December 17 2000
Liza and I were off to the airport at 6:00 am on Thurs. We were to fly out of Philly at 7:40am and arrive in SLC at 10:30 slc time. Upon check in they informed me that I should have been called last night because my direct flight to SLC had been canceled. WE then stood at the check in for over a half hour while he tried to find us another way here. HE booked us on a flight that left at 9:50am to Cincinati and then a 50 min layover and then to SLC. So we got some breakfast and hung around the airport for 2 hours. WE then got Cincinati where we found out that our plane wasn't there and that they were triing to find another plane so that we could get going, they found a plane but then they had to find a pilot and crew. They put everyone on the plane thinking that they would have us all gone soon, the pilots plane was late, so we waited for ever siting on the plane for him. Then, when we did get going we had to wait in line to be deiced, then wait for a runway. We ended up not arriving in SLC until 5 pm or so, we were so tired. It was a really rough trip, and the little stinker didn't even have a nap!!!! We are here now, and all is well. Brent will come on Thurs, when all his tests are done. I sure hope he has better luck then Liza and I.
Comments
Grandma Tiffany:
Ofcourse Brent will get a direct flight and with a tail wind to boot. Then he will arrice early. That is Murphys Law!!
Comments
Grandma Tiffany:
Ofcourse Brent will get a direct flight and with a tail wind to boot. Then he will arrice early. That is Murphys Law!!
December 12 2000
No More Mommy and Daddy
Liza has now decided that it is much cooler to call Brent and I Mom and Dad. So now its, "hey dad, whats on your shirt" "thanks mom!" It is just funny to see her change from the "little girls" way of calling us to the "big girls" way. She is growing up so fast I can hardly stand it. :-)
Predictions
We haven't really said much to Liza about the baby, mostly because we don't think that it would mean much to her but also because if she does understand that is a long wait. A couple of times we have mentioned the baby in family prayer, but that is about the extent of it. Well, about a week ago she starting singing a song that goes like this "baby brother, baby baby brother." I don't know where she picked it up, but she sings it when she is tired and falling asleep. So in the last week we have asked her twice, "Liza are you going to have a baby sister?" She thinks for a minuet and says "Um, no." then we ask "are you going to have a baby brother?' and she always answers excitedly "yes, baby brother." WILD! We'll see if she is right.
Comments:
Auntie Patty
When the time gets a little closer you'll have to set up a poll on the website and we can all vote on what we think..boy or girl...
Little Bits is absorbing more than you realize!
Liza has now decided that it is much cooler to call Brent and I Mom and Dad. So now its, "hey dad, whats on your shirt" "thanks mom!" It is just funny to see her change from the "little girls" way of calling us to the "big girls" way. She is growing up so fast I can hardly stand it. :-)
Predictions
We haven't really said much to Liza about the baby, mostly because we don't think that it would mean much to her but also because if she does understand that is a long wait. A couple of times we have mentioned the baby in family prayer, but that is about the extent of it. Well, about a week ago she starting singing a song that goes like this "baby brother, baby baby brother." I don't know where she picked it up, but she sings it when she is tired and falling asleep. So in the last week we have asked her twice, "Liza are you going to have a baby sister?" She thinks for a minuet and says "Um, no." then we ask "are you going to have a baby brother?' and she always answers excitedly "yes, baby brother." WILD! We'll see if she is right.
Comments:
Auntie Patty
When the time gets a little closer you'll have to set up a poll on the website and we can all vote on what we think..boy or girl...
Little Bits is absorbing more than you realize!
November 24 2000
Toe Jam
Lizas toes have a real tallent for catching all the lint inside her socks, sleepers, slippers, what ever is on her feet. Well the other day she noticed these little balls of fuzz inbetween her toes and asked me "whats that?" so I told her that it was Toe Jam. That day when Brent came home from school she ran to him and proudly showed him her toe jam, she then made him sit down so she could take off his socks and check his toes too. This has since become a daily check. She often announces when she finds any and if she gets board she will sit on the sofa and pick it out one fluffy at a time and run each individual ball to the garbage can. She has also recently noticed when she wore dark green socks one day that if she doesn't remove the toe jam before her nightly tub, she ends up with "toe jam floaties" hin her tub, which are hard to catch. It is so funny, maybe you have to hear her little voice talk about toe jam, but its pretty funny.
Comments:
Auntie Patty
It sounds like Liza is quite entertaining! When Gram Cook showed us pictures of her she looks so grown up! She is sure a little lady now!
Lizas toes have a real tallent for catching all the lint inside her socks, sleepers, slippers, what ever is on her feet. Well the other day she noticed these little balls of fuzz inbetween her toes and asked me "whats that?" so I told her that it was Toe Jam. That day when Brent came home from school she ran to him and proudly showed him her toe jam, she then made him sit down so she could take off his socks and check his toes too. This has since become a daily check. She often announces when she finds any and if she gets board she will sit on the sofa and pick it out one fluffy at a time and run each individual ball to the garbage can. She has also recently noticed when she wore dark green socks one day that if she doesn't remove the toe jam before her nightly tub, she ends up with "toe jam floaties" hin her tub, which are hard to catch. It is so funny, maybe you have to hear her little voice talk about toe jam, but its pretty funny.
Comments:
Auntie Patty
It sounds like Liza is quite entertaining! When Gram Cook showed us pictures of her she looks so grown up! She is sure a little lady now!
November 23 2000
Schools Close In Philly
On Tuesday I was watching the weather and they were saying that these "extreemly" cold temps are unseasonable for philly. They said that this is the kind of weather they usually get in Jan. Just to make sure I hadn't missed something I looked out my window, nope, still no snow. Then they proceeded to explain that temperatures would be droping down to
-10 and maybe even -15 degrees (I've converted into Celceus) They then announced that due to the cold weather the following schools would be closed on Wed and proceeded to list 3 schools! I couldn't beleive it. I just thought I would share the laughs with those of you who have walked to school in -30 and -40 with the wind chill. :-) Silly people, they don't even know cold!
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany Yes, I remember walking 5 miles to school in -40 with a wind blowing out of the north at 100 miles an hour! We wrapped our feet in old newspapers because we didn't have any boots!
Auntie Patty: Yes, I remember walking to school in -45 with the wind blowing so hard we had to put rocks in our pockets to weight us down. This was after we did our chores in the morning and gathered in all the firewood for the day and fed all the animals. The ice was 3 inches thick on the pond and we had to take turns digging through with a butter knife just so we could have a drink. Shirley always made me carry all her books for her and I had to break the trail through the snow and she would follow. She got the newspapers for boots, but I had nothing......
Auntie Tracey: What kind of terrible mother did you have?? Such a sad, sad story!
On Tuesday I was watching the weather and they were saying that these "extreemly" cold temps are unseasonable for philly. They said that this is the kind of weather they usually get in Jan. Just to make sure I hadn't missed something I looked out my window, nope, still no snow. Then they proceeded to explain that temperatures would be droping down to
-10 and maybe even -15 degrees (I've converted into Celceus) They then announced that due to the cold weather the following schools would be closed on Wed and proceeded to list 3 schools! I couldn't beleive it. I just thought I would share the laughs with those of you who have walked to school in -30 and -40 with the wind chill. :-) Silly people, they don't even know cold!
Comments:
Grandma Tiffany Yes, I remember walking 5 miles to school in -40 with a wind blowing out of the north at 100 miles an hour! We wrapped our feet in old newspapers because we didn't have any boots!
Auntie Patty: Yes, I remember walking to school in -45 with the wind blowing so hard we had to put rocks in our pockets to weight us down. This was after we did our chores in the morning and gathered in all the firewood for the day and fed all the animals. The ice was 3 inches thick on the pond and we had to take turns digging through with a butter knife just so we could have a drink. Shirley always made me carry all her books for her and I had to break the trail through the snow and she would follow. She got the newspapers for boots, but I had nothing......
Auntie Tracey: What kind of terrible mother did you have?? Such a sad, sad story!
November 20 2000
Grandpa Posted
As part of my return trip to Benghazi, I stopped in for a few days in Philadelphia to visit with Christie, Brent and Li'l Bits. While I was home the weather was just wonderful the whole time, but on Saturday night (Nov 4) a major storm blasted into Calgary, to give me a send-off. Perfect timing for me, I guess. I understand it has been quite cold ever since. When I left on Sunday at 6:30 AM it was minus 11 C and icy on the streets from the new snow and sleet the night before.
Christie, Brent and Liza met me at the airport about 4:30 PM and we fought the late Sunday afternoon football traffic all the way home. After the requisite stop at the local MacDonalds on the way, we arrived at the Walls apartment for a relaxing evening of entertainment enjoying Liza's excitement for the visit. She is such a funny little character. She certainly has developed her own unique little personality.
On Monday morning, we were off to the Lancaster area to experience a bit of the Amish culture. A very unique experience. We visited an Amish farm where work and travel is still done by horse-drawn equipment and vehicles. There we had a tour of the old farmhouse with an introduction to the Amish culture, traditions and way of life. Liza loved to see the animals on the farm and I found their use of such things as waterwheels for powering pumps, etc. to be very interesting - no electricity or other modern conveniences are allowed. We then drove along a smaller highway where we saw work going on in the fields to harvest corn using horse-drawn harvesting equipment. We stopped for lunch and I had a traditional meal including German sauerkraut and sausage! When I told her what is was, Christie declined to even try any!! But it was delicious. Of course we had to end the meal with a traditional Sugar Pie. The restaurant offered free kids cookies at their affiliated bakery down the road so we had to go there and ended up with a Sugar Pie to take home. I don't think I shall forget the wonderful smell of baking and sweets and cinnamon that was wafting over the parking lot when we got out of the car.
We travelled on down the highway toward the town of Intercourse (that's honestly its name!!) where we toured around a lot of the traditional shops with handicrafts, quilts, deli-foods, carpentry, leathershops, etc. As we left there it was about time for children to be leaving school and as we drove down the road we encountered at least 15 horse and buggy carts travelling on the wide sholders. Most were Moms who had driven the family "car" to pick up the children from school. It was a really neat site. We drove a bit off the main road and into the countryside and saw more farm work going on using horses and had fun trying to identify the Amish farms as the ones without telephone lines or powerlines leading to them. Some even had double car garages with horse drawn buggies in them! It was a really neat day.
On Tuesday, Christie and 'Bits and I went to the docks in Philly to tour the shipping museum there. We purchased a pass that included a return boat trip across the river to the Aquarium in Camden N.J., tour of the shipping museum and a tour of a submarine and warship that were in dock near the museum. Th hit of the day for Liza was the boat trip! She was just thrilled by it and sat on the upper deck and waved at the people on shore. She later kept saying that she waved to the "kids" - they were actually some adult Japanese tourists, but I guess they looked small to her from way up there on that big boat so she assumed that those little people were "kids". We took the boat ride first and visited the aquarium for a couple of hours. It was really interesting and they had some tanks where kids could touch some of the sea life like starfish and urchins and even another one where you could touch live sharks!! Liza liked that and the big fish and the penguins and seals.
We took the boat back to the Philly side of the harbor (Liza was just thrilled to get back on the boat!) and toured the shipping museum for an hour or so. There are some really interesting exhibits of the ship building industry history in Philidelphia. I could have spent some more time there, but time was getting late so we went to tour the submarine that was docked nearby. It was a really neat experience to see the cramped insides of that sub especially since Shirley & I had recently watched the movie U571 (or whatever that number was!). It was really interesting to see the cramped little aisles in the sub and to try swinging through the little bulkhead hatches as the sailors in the movie did. (it wasn't as easy as it looked - by the way). We didn't get a chance to see the warship that was moored next to the sub as they were closing for the day. So we dragged ourselves home pretty tired, but fulfilled.
Despite our fatigue, we went out for a delicious supper that night at the Outback Restaurant. It was a fabulous prime rib meal - one that would even rival the Smugglers in Calgary - if you can believe that! Highly recommended.
On Wednesday we spent a little time to see the complex where the Walls live and the associated recreation facilities. After a final trip to the Golden Arches, we took the opportunity to stop in downtown Philly on the way to the Airport. I took the opportunity to take a quick look at the Liberty Bell there and heard a bit about its history before heading for the airport. It was a great three days in Philly. Thankyou very much - Christie & Brent!!
I left Philadelphia about 4 PM for Toronto then on to Zurich, Switzerland arriving aboout 10 AM. The weather there was cool and drizzley and not much opportunity for sightseeing. I had 13 hrs wait there so I took a day room in a small hotel near the airport where I was able to catch a few hours of sleep. I was not able to get much sleep on the plane so it was much needed. We left Zurich at 11 PM and arrived at our rooms in the Benghazi Guesthouse at 4 AM. A pretty tired bunch!!
I Commented:
We had a great time with Dad, and Now that he has advertized for us, all are welcome to come and see us. there is lots to do for everyone here in Philly. Great place for shoppers and non shoppers alike. Come and visit:-)
As part of my return trip to Benghazi, I stopped in for a few days in Philadelphia to visit with Christie, Brent and Li'l Bits. While I was home the weather was just wonderful the whole time, but on Saturday night (Nov 4) a major storm blasted into Calgary, to give me a send-off. Perfect timing for me, I guess. I understand it has been quite cold ever since. When I left on Sunday at 6:30 AM it was minus 11 C and icy on the streets from the new snow and sleet the night before.
Christie, Brent and Liza met me at the airport about 4:30 PM and we fought the late Sunday afternoon football traffic all the way home. After the requisite stop at the local MacDonalds on the way, we arrived at the Walls apartment for a relaxing evening of entertainment enjoying Liza's excitement for the visit. She is such a funny little character. She certainly has developed her own unique little personality.
On Monday morning, we were off to the Lancaster area to experience a bit of the Amish culture. A very unique experience. We visited an Amish farm where work and travel is still done by horse-drawn equipment and vehicles. There we had a tour of the old farmhouse with an introduction to the Amish culture, traditions and way of life. Liza loved to see the animals on the farm and I found their use of such things as waterwheels for powering pumps, etc. to be very interesting - no electricity or other modern conveniences are allowed. We then drove along a smaller highway where we saw work going on in the fields to harvest corn using horse-drawn harvesting equipment. We stopped for lunch and I had a traditional meal including German sauerkraut and sausage! When I told her what is was, Christie declined to even try any!! But it was delicious. Of course we had to end the meal with a traditional Sugar Pie. The restaurant offered free kids cookies at their affiliated bakery down the road so we had to go there and ended up with a Sugar Pie to take home. I don't think I shall forget the wonderful smell of baking and sweets and cinnamon that was wafting over the parking lot when we got out of the car.
We travelled on down the highway toward the town of Intercourse (that's honestly its name!!) where we toured around a lot of the traditional shops with handicrafts, quilts, deli-foods, carpentry, leathershops, etc. As we left there it was about time for children to be leaving school and as we drove down the road we encountered at least 15 horse and buggy carts travelling on the wide sholders. Most were Moms who had driven the family "car" to pick up the children from school. It was a really neat site. We drove a bit off the main road and into the countryside and saw more farm work going on using horses and had fun trying to identify the Amish farms as the ones without telephone lines or powerlines leading to them. Some even had double car garages with horse drawn buggies in them! It was a really neat day.
On Tuesday, Christie and 'Bits and I went to the docks in Philly to tour the shipping museum there. We purchased a pass that included a return boat trip across the river to the Aquarium in Camden N.J., tour of the shipping museum and a tour of a submarine and warship that were in dock near the museum. Th hit of the day for Liza was the boat trip! She was just thrilled by it and sat on the upper deck and waved at the people on shore. She later kept saying that she waved to the "kids" - they were actually some adult Japanese tourists, but I guess they looked small to her from way up there on that big boat so she assumed that those little people were "kids". We took the boat ride first and visited the aquarium for a couple of hours. It was really interesting and they had some tanks where kids could touch some of the sea life like starfish and urchins and even another one where you could touch live sharks!! Liza liked that and the big fish and the penguins and seals.
We took the boat back to the Philly side of the harbor (Liza was just thrilled to get back on the boat!) and toured the shipping museum for an hour or so. There are some really interesting exhibits of the ship building industry history in Philidelphia. I could have spent some more time there, but time was getting late so we went to tour the submarine that was docked nearby. It was a really neat experience to see the cramped insides of that sub especially since Shirley & I had recently watched the movie U571 (or whatever that number was!). It was really interesting to see the cramped little aisles in the sub and to try swinging through the little bulkhead hatches as the sailors in the movie did. (it wasn't as easy as it looked - by the way). We didn't get a chance to see the warship that was moored next to the sub as they were closing for the day. So we dragged ourselves home pretty tired, but fulfilled.
Despite our fatigue, we went out for a delicious supper that night at the Outback Restaurant. It was a fabulous prime rib meal - one that would even rival the Smugglers in Calgary - if you can believe that! Highly recommended.
On Wednesday we spent a little time to see the complex where the Walls live and the associated recreation facilities. After a final trip to the Golden Arches, we took the opportunity to stop in downtown Philly on the way to the Airport. I took the opportunity to take a quick look at the Liberty Bell there and heard a bit about its history before heading for the airport. It was a great three days in Philly. Thankyou very much - Christie & Brent!!
I left Philadelphia about 4 PM for Toronto then on to Zurich, Switzerland arriving aboout 10 AM. The weather there was cool and drizzley and not much opportunity for sightseeing. I had 13 hrs wait there so I took a day room in a small hotel near the airport where I was able to catch a few hours of sleep. I was not able to get much sleep on the plane so it was much needed. We left Zurich at 11 PM and arrived at our rooms in the Benghazi Guesthouse at 4 AM. A pretty tired bunch!!
I Commented:
We had a great time with Dad, and Now that he has advertized for us, all are welcome to come and see us. there is lots to do for everyone here in Philly. Great place for shoppers and non shoppers alike. Come and visit:-)
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