Sarah's 11 months old today

Sarah is 11 months old today. I can hardly believe she's almost one already! Since our last post, Sarah and I traveled to Iowa and spent some quality time with Mom and Dad. They eat up every moment they can spend with her and she loves being with them. We missed having Jason along, but it was still a good visit. I'll never forget the laugh-fest between Sarah and my grandpa. He was over for lunch and Sarah started doing her famous giggle (it's pretty unique...it has a chainsaw effect). She would laugh and he'd laugh back at her. He'd start eating his meal, but she still wanted his attention so she's laugh and look right at him until he turned back and laughed again. It went on for quite a long time and it was a "pure joy" experience for all of us.

We left Mom and Dad's early last Sunday morning to drive to Illinois to attend our nephew, Sean's baptism. He's the one in the exersaucer up above. He was an angel at his baptism and was quite mesmerized with the baptism font since it was part of a waterfall-like structure. Meghan had her wedding dress made into a baptism gown so it was very fancy and beautiful. Bob has a big family and Sarah loved being around all of the activity when everyone went back to Bob and Meghan's for food and cake. She literally fell asleep once Jason put the van in drive as we left their house to return home. Good times.

We went to a pumpkin patch today but Sarah wasn't too interested. She liked the pumpkins, but I think she was a bit tired. We were going to go to the zoo after her afternoon nap but she ended up taking a 2 1/2 hour nap. Jason was pretty disappointed but he's slowly but surely getting over it. :) Sarah and I are going to the library tomorrow for a costume party/sing-along/costume parade. We may meet he friends, Maya and Drew Edmond up there, too.

Laundry is calling me so I better quit for tonight. Adios!

October 15

Here are some of Sarah's 10 month pictures (what were supposed to be her 9 month pictures). The first two pictures capture her love of pointing. She climbed up the stairs for the first time today. She didn't seem to notice the accomplishment since her main focus was getting to one of our phones that happened to be on one of the stairs.

There's not too much else to report today. We had a nice weekend since Jason didn't have to rehearse for the musical. He got a lot of yard work done and we had some quality family time together. I'll head to Iowa this week to see my parents and meet Jason at our newphew's baptism in Illinois. I'm sure I'll have plenty of pictures to post next time.

Until then, remember to live simply so others may simply live.

End of July through mid-October

Well...once again, I've gone way too long in between posts. No excuses except that Sarah is keeping me on the run and I don't take the time. I was also having trouble uploading pictures and finally figured it out a couple of days ago. I think I'll just give the highlights month by month since my last post.



End of July

We visited Iowa a second time and started out the trip with a reunion of the "Centerville Music Gang, (plus Bette and David :)), in Iowa City. The Pringle Family hosted a lovely lunch at their house and we did our fair share of eating. We all drove to the Coralville Reservoir to go boating on the Pringle boat, play volleyball, and do some more eating. The picture of Sarah in a life jacket was on Pringles' boat. She was so uncomfortable in the life jacket. We were all relieved when she fell asleep. :) It was great to see everyone and we're always thankful that we're able to get together and catch up on one another's lives. The visit is never short on laughs. We stayed with Mom and Dad and had some more quality time with them in Williamsburg. We traveled up to Manchester, IA to visit with my cousin, Scott and his family since they were up from Houston visiting my aunt and uncle. Again, more great food. We also did some swimming in the neighbor's beautiful indoor pool. It was wonderful to see them and share some family time. The next day my whole family traveled down to Creston, IA for the Eischen reunion (my Grandma Whitehead's side). It was the last time we stayed in Grandpa and Grandpa's house and we shared a lot of "Grandma memories" so it was definitely a sentimental weekend.

August
When August arrived, Jason's wheels start turning fast as he prepared for marching band camp and the upcoming school year. We had a combined birthday party for he and his dad so Meghan, Bob, and Sean came up for the day. My mother-in-law made one of her special homemade cakes and we enjoyed the visit. I surprised Jason with a surprise 35th birthday party shortly after his birthday. The cake was adorable (pictured above) since I had a picture of Jason and Sarah scanned into the frosting. It was a fun night shared with really good friends, food, and laughs. We laughed especially hard when we pulled out the videotape of Jason's hypnosis at Project Graduation in 1990. It was hilarious!

We had another family birthday celebration down in Illinois for Jason's cousin's son, Gabe who turned one. It was fun to see Gabe, Sarah, and Sean all in one place. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay too long since we had a previously scheduled get-together with our church small group. It was a busy day of driving, but definitely well worth it!

Our friends, Kim and Paul Budde, welcomed their new baby boy, Daniel Paul, into the world in August, as well. It's boy #4 and he's just as adorable as the other 3! I admire Kim and Paul so much that they're able to keep all the balls in the air with Kim's demanding administrative position and Paul's teaching schedule (and fishing :) plus raising 4 wonderful boys. I tried cutting and pasting a picture from Paul's new website, but it didn't work. Congratulations to the Budde family!

Jason's marching band camp went very well. It's always interesting to see what personality the band takes on once the graduating seniors leave. He's lucky to have kids "step up to the plate" and dive right in. We went down to Iowa....again...:)...over Labor Day weekend. We were able to get together with my cousin, Val and her family who live in the D.C. area. Their daughter, Aida,like the opera (pictured above with Sarah, Kim, and Val), was born a couple weeks after Sarah so it was wonderful to get them together for the first time and see them interact. Of course, it was wonderful to see Val, Garry, Cassidy, and Aunt Jan and Uncle Wayne, too. It was a great visit and we're always so appreciative of the time we can spend with them.

September
School got off to a good start for Jason after returning from Iowa. Being home full-time with Sarah has been a gift. I'm not regretting the decision at all. I think staying home last year for medical and child rearing leave made it easier this year. We're very fortunate to have the means to make it work.

More babies entered the world in September. Our good friends, Andrea and Rich Warp, welcomed their son, Bennett Matthew, into the world. There's a picture of Bennett, Sarah, and I up above. Andrea and I (and are families) are participating in the Young Families group at church every 3rd Sunday and the Mom's bible study on Thursdays. We're looking forward to watching the two grow up together. She and Rich have photographed Sarah for her newborn, 6 month, and 10 month (it was supposed to 9 month pictures, but I spaced out) pictures and are wonderful photographers.

My girlfriend, Serena (she was one of my bridesmaids and dear friend that I met in Centerville for those of you who need a frame of reference) and her husband, Kenny, welcomed their daughter, Michaela Kathleen into the world in September, as well. She was actually born on her due date. How often do you hear that? Mom and baby are doing well . There's a picture of Michaela above with the plaid shirt next to her. I can't wait to meet Michaela when Sarah and I visit my folks next week.

I ran in my first 5K race for the Komen Race for the Cure on Sept. 23rd. I decided to set a goal for myself to run the 5K since I was having trouble motivating myself to work out and get back in shape. I stuck to a running schedule that brother-in-law, Bob, sent to me. I must be honest and say that I didn't enjoy the training process, but appreciated how much stronger I felt when I completed my runs. My good friend, Leah Wanner, ran with me. She normally would've sped right past me, but decided to take it easy since she was nursing a knee injury. I finished the run in just over 30 minutes. It was pretty powerful to be running with breast cancer survivors and their family and friends. It was also a fun morning for Leah and I to hang out...just the girls. She especially appreciates it since she's the mother of 1 1/2 year twins and a 4 year old boy. So now...ask me if I've run since the 5k. Nope. I've returned to my lazy self and must re-motivate. Maybe I just realized that I'm not the running type. I think I appreciate group classes more since someone is standing at the front telling me what to do and won't let me stop until the class is over.

After the 5K, Jason, Sarah, and I hopped in the van and drove down to visit Jason's sister and family. We had a nice afternoon hanging out, eating pizza, and playing with the babies. There's a picture of Bob with Sean and Sarah up above. It will be fun when the kids are older since we already have plans for camping and fun trips with the Lane and Gillette families.

My folks visited the last weekend of September. After they arrived, we went it to wake up Sarah. She reached out for my mom and dad to hold her instantly melting their hearts. I think they worry they Sarah isn't attached to them since they live hours away. Quite the contrary. She lights up in their presence and was so excited to show off for them. We had a relaxing weekend going up to the Farmer's Market and taking a stroll to the park in the wagon my dad gave us. I wish I had a picture of her first wagon ride. She loved it and was singing all the way to the park. We were also able to spend some time with my sister, Kim and her boyfriend, Cleo who happened to be in town that weekend. It was a lovely weekend all the way around and great to see Sarah interact with my parents, her Aunt Kim, and Cleo.

October
This last weekend was a busy one. We had the Homecoming chili feed and game at Brookfield Central on Friday night. On Saturday morning, we hopped in the car after Sarah ate and we took a road trip to the Twin Cities for a former student's wedding. Matt Tremel married his beautiful bride, Emily Mack at the Grand Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. It was a beautiful event and we felt blessed that we were asked to be a part of it. It also gave us the opportunity to visit college friends in the area. We stayed with the Julson family in Farmington and they watched Sarah while we were at the wedding. I think she kept them busy until she finally went to sleep. We also squeezed in a visit with Tim Hoffmann who continues to amaze us with his travel, work, and gig schedule. Doug and Sue Berg-Williams came over to Dan and Stacy's on Sunday afternoon. Great food and conversation are never lacking when we all get together. It seems like yesterday that we were at UW-Eau Claire and we love that we can just start where we left off when we get together. It was a whirlwind trip, but it was surprisingly relaxing. I think it was just nice to get away.

Sarah Update
This post is entirely too long but I guess that's what I get for waiting this long. Here's a quick synopsis of Sarah's milestones.

• 4 teeth, two upper, two lower
• crawling fast and pulling herself to standing and moving along furniture
• Says "mama" and "da-da"
• Uses the sign for "more" when eating
• Points at everything...it's soooooo cute. She literally starts pointingthe moment she wakes up. She's very curious.
• Waves hello and good-bye
• Laughs
• Responds to music by wiggling when she hears it
• Loves to shake rattles, homemade shakers, tambourines
• Gives hugs to stuffed animals and humans
• Loves books...as evidenced in the above picture
• Loves to turn the pages of books and pull up flaps in the books
• Eating well
• Almost weaned (Mom is having a harder time than she)
• Brings us joy each and every day

We're very lucky to have Jason's folks nearby to babysit off and on and to spend time with Sarah. They've taught her to wiggle her finger on her lips and make sounds, so they're quite proud. :) The fact that they're close by and home sometimes during the day, allows me to get out on my own for a few hours. Both Ron and Ann and Kim have become our main babysitters. Kathi and Bekah Campbell also helped me out a couple of weeks ago so I could go to my twice rescheduled hair appointment. I think we've adopted the Campbell Family as our relatives since we consider them family, too. It's just nice to know we can leave her in such caring hands.

Okay....I'm going to put this post to rest. Feel free to reply to the post and let me know how you're doing. I know I've said it before, but I'll truly try to keep this updated more frequently.

Love,

Nicci