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

July 17th

Cousin Sean Robert Lane

Well, I haven't posted anything since April. That's the reason for the many pictures. Since April, we've welcomed our nephew, Sean Robert Lane into the world. He's already two months old and growing fast. I believe we will see them again in August. We'll all be celebrating the first birthday of cousin Steve's son, Gabe. It will be fun to watch the cousins together in the same room.

Sarah experienced her first outdoor kiddie pool. She loves to play and splash in the water. We're also enrolled in a swim class at the YMCA which helps her get acclimated to the water. She kicks and splashes the entire time. She's also been to the zoo and reacted to seeing the big fish in the aquarium as well as the big gorillas. We've been keeping busy this summer with trips to Iowa, as well. We went down for a wedding of a former student and family friend, Jenny Pringle. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding along the lake outside Solon, IA. Mom and Dad babysat Sarah and had a blast. We stayed the week to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of Mom and Dad's town of Williamsburg, IA as well as the 4th of July. They had so much going on in that town and we kept busy going from event to event. Sarah had a good time watching parades, concerts, and seeing many new faces. It was fun to bond more with her grandparents as well as my aunt and uncle and my parents best friends, Jerry and Vicki. Sarah, Kim, and I turned around this last weekend to go down to Iowa to help pack up my grandpa's house. He decided to move into the nursing home near my folks so we helped Mom and Dad with the big job of packing up many years of accumulation. It's been a hard 6 months for Grandpa filled with lots of changes since Grandma passed away. He's been a real trooper and we're thankful that he's safe, eating better, and close to Mom and Dad. I'm glad Mom doesn't have to make the trips over to take care of him, too. With him there in Williamsburg, we'll get to spend more time with him on our visits.

As of today, Sarah is buzzing her lips a lot, eating a variety of foods, rolling and scooting everywhere, getting close to crawling, saying "M" sounds and "da-da" syllables. She loves to make noise with all of her toys and press the piano keys when Jason has her at the piano. She has to touch everything and then put it in her mouth. She keeps working on more teeth after her two bottom teeth have come up. Jason is her best friend. She doesn't like for anyone to leave her alone, but she especially fusses when he leaves the room. He's so silly with her and he makes her giggle. She'll miss him this week since he has rehearsal all day tomorrow for Festa Italiana. The festival starts Thursday and ends Sunday. He'll be starting at noon and ends at 11:30 p.m. every day. I worry about his lung after his lung collapse. (Oh yeah..his lung collapsed in June and he spent some time in the hospital after they stuck a tube in his chest and inflated it with a suction device).

Back to Sarah...she's our entertainment and our delight. We marvel at how much she changes every day. My goal is to do more play dates with other kids since she needs to have that social interaction as well as other models of different development milestones (crawling, walking, etc.). Jason and I also need to make more time for each other and "get away" for an evening here and there. We're lucky to have his folks and my sister nearby who are always ready and willing to babysit. Mom is coming up next week to spend some time with us. Dad is heading to Canada on a fishing trip so we asked her to come up and spend some quality time with us. It's fun to watch Sarah with all of her grandparents. They all light up in her presence and show so much love. She's a lucky girl.

I've decided to stay home full-time next year since I was officially laid off in Waukesha. We're going to buckle down and watch our budget more closely. We'll see what the world has in store for me career-wise in the next few years. Jason is checking into various masters programs and is thinking of starting one in the near future. He's still very passionate about teaching and continues to have rewarding experiences.

I do hope to update this more often. I'm sure I forgot some big things, but it's going to have to do for now. Feel free to let us know if you've visited the blog.

Take care!

Hope you all had a great Easter. We had a wonderful spring break since Jason had the week off. It started with Meghan and Bob's baby shower in Illinois. Meghan looked great and the shower went well. They received a lot of great stuff for their baby boy...he'll be set once he decides to enter the world. After the shower, we helped unload gifts at Meghan and Bob's, hung out for a bit, and then headed for Iowa for a few days. We were glad to see my Grandpa Whitehead so he could spend some time with Sarah before heading home after the wonderful Easter dinner Mom prepared for all of us.

As always, we had a relaxing visit with my folks. They babysat the Monday after Easter while we went out to our first movie in the theatre since Sarah was born. We went to see, "Wild Hogs" with John Travolta, etc. It was a fun, non-thinking type of film. It was just nice to spend time together. I'm sure Mom and Dad enjoyed having Sarah all to themselves, too. :)

We waited an extra day to come back home since we were having snow back in Brookfield. Once we got back, we continued to have a relaxing break. Jason and Sarah really had the chance to bond and spend lots of time together. Sarah's face lights up when Jason enters the room. You can tell she has him wrapped around her finger already. She got to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa Gillette on Saturday night when Jason and I used a dinner gift certificate at the restaurant, "The Grove", near our house. Our meal was excellent and I know Ron and Ann enjoyed their time with Sarah. Kim came out Sunday for pizza and to hang for awhile. It's fun to watch her around Sarah.

Now we're in the home stretch until the end of the school year. Jason is keeping busy with conferences, concerts, lessons, and gigs. He started a band lock-in years ago that has now become tradition. He was hoping the kids would forget about it this year but they held him to it. It's a good social bonding opportunity for the band kids and they always have fun. I just have to remind Jason he's not 18 and should watch how much time he spends on the basketball court.

I've started working in the yard cleaning up sticks, etc. It's good exercise. I'd rather exercise that way instead of "formal exercise". It's a bit cool and rainy here today so we didn't make it outside. Sarah likes to sit in the stroller and watch me work in the yard. She's really trying to talk more and has rolled over a couple more times. She keeps me laughing throughout the day.

After watching the news of the Virginia Tech tragedy, I just have to be grateful for every day. You never know what the next day will bring. The details of the shooter are now coming out saying he was a loner, mentally ill, etc. Our society is becoming more and more about "me..me..me" and so many people are feeling disconnected and aren't aware. It makes you hold the ones you love and care about closer to your heart and try to make efforts to reach out to those who need help. Are we here on earth to acquire more and more "things" or are we here to help each other. I know Jason and I have talked more about volunteering. We need to act on that and just do it.

April 3rd

Sarah and I had a wonderful visit to Iowa last weekend. Good friends from Centerville, Iowa City and Charles City came to my Mom and Dad's house in Williamsburg to meet Sarah. It was great catching up with all of them and to introduce Sarah. Sarah was a trooper as she was passed around all afternoon. I finally met my girlfriend Renee's twin girls, Madaline and Margaret. Too cute! She definitely has her hands full. I don't know how she balances working full-time and raising those two active bundles of joy. She's doing a great job! My girlfriend, Serena, is starting to show now that she's in her 2nd trimester. We're very excited for both Serena and Kenny as they prepare for parenthood.

It was fun being down at Mom and Dad's house. Their home is so inviting and it's easy to relax when we're there. It's so heartwarming to watch them interact with Sarah and see the unconditional love pour out of them. They'll have to work hard with future grandchildren to keep up the pace of picture-taking that they've set with Sarah. Her face is all over their house. :)

Big news for Jason! He took both jazz bands up to the Eau Claire Jazzfest and his Jazz I won and Jazz II came in second in their category. It was exhilarating for the kids as they got to perform for the night concert. They've all worked so hard and it's great to see that work recognized. The students were well-behaved and a good time was had by all. We were all glad to see each other on Monday and are looking forward to spring break to reconnect and catch up on lost family time.

Meghan's (my sister-in-law) baby shower is Saturday. It will be fun to see her open gifts and celebrate the upcoming arrival of our nephew. Her mother-in-law is providing brunch at a local restaurant and myself and Meghan's good friends, Jan and Katie, are in charge of cake, decorations, and activities, etc. After the brunch, Jason, Sarah, Sammy and I will head back to Iowa to celebrate Easter with my family. Kim will be home and my Grandpa Whitehead will be there so it will be good to spend time with him. We'll celebrate his 87th birthday as well as my mom's @#!'th birthday. :) which is actually today.

Until next week.....have a Happy Easter!

March 25th

We just finished visiting with our good friends, Matt and Leah Wanner. We fixed a Mexican dinner and topped it off with carrot cake (obviously didn't fit the Mexican theme but it tasted great!). They came without their 3 1/2 year old and 10 month old twins so they got to have a little "adult time". We always enjoy our visits with them. Of course, since we're all musicians, we sit around solving the world's problems and share how we think things should be run! :)

Jason had a busy week with concerts and contests. Tuesday night, the Brookfield Central Bands had a "Hurricane Katrina Relief Concert". They premiered a piece by Rick Kirby (our former band director and talented composer) based on the events of Hurricane Katrina and its effects on the Gulf Coast. Sarah and I listened in the lobby and loved every minute. They raised close to $2000. The rest of the week was spent preparing for jazz band contests. Jason judged in Menomonee Falls on Saturday and rushed over to the Bob Kames Jazz Festival in South Milwaukee to conduct the BCHS jazz band. They won the event and took home $1000. Both jazz bands head to Eau Claire, WI next weekend for UW-Eau Claire's Jazzfest. Busy, busy, busy.

Meanwhile, Sarah and I had a pretty uneventful week. We loved getting out and going on walks the past couple of days. She likes looking around at her new surroundings and enjoys feeling the breeze on her face. She's getting close to being able to roll over and likes to stand up on her legs when in your lap. She's also starting to notice the faces of her stuffed animals and she's paying a lot more attention to Sammy (our dog). Aunt Kim came over yesterday and got lots of smiles from Sarah. We watched the movie, "Holiday" with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. If you're a romantic comedy sucker like me, you'll eat it up.

Sarah has her 4 month appointment on Thursday. It will be interesting to see how much she weighs and how much she's grown. She'll also get her shots. Not fun. I hope all goes well so the trip down to Iowa will be "fusiness-free".

I better go spend some time with Jason. :) Take care!

Baptism Day

We had a very special weekend celebrating Sarah's baptism. She was baptized Sunday at St. John's Lutheran Church in Brookfield, WI surrounded by our family and close friends. I still have to pinch myself sometimes to make sure it's real. We are so blessed to have this wonderful baby in our lives. She did really well until the water was splashed on her head. Aunt Kim (Godparent along with Jason's sister, Meghan and husband, Bob) did a great job consoling her for the rest of the ceremony. We feel extremely lucky that so many of our family members and the Edmond family were able to share in the day. We also feel very fortunate to have a such a close church family. The love for Sarah was tangible in the sanctuary.

After the baptism, we had a luncheon at our house. It was fun to connect with everyone. Sarah was passed around a lot and was a trooper since her normal routine was turned upside-down. Her next big event will be a reception my mom is hosting in Iowa so some Iowa friends can meet Sarah for the first time. We're making the trip without Jason since he'll be in Eau Claire, WI with his jazz bands for a festival. Tis the life of a high school band director.

My job was officially cut for next year in the Waukesha School District. I'm not sad for me, but sad for the district. It's on the decline due to the state's funding formula. I'm thankful for the opportunity to stay home with Sarah. Speaking of Sarah....I hear her waking up from an evening catnap.

That's all for now. I'll leave you with a quote from our pastor, Dave Meissner.."Live simply so others may simply live."

Sarah Elizabeth 3 months old

Well...I tried posting a long message a month ago and it didn't go through. Now that we have a new computer, I'll try to keep this more up to date. Sarah is amazing! She's growing so fast. Right now, she's asleep in her crib. We're counting our blessings that she sleeps through the night. We'll see what daylight savings does to her internal clock. Sarah is holding her head up, cooing a lot, smiling and giggling, and using her hands more and more. She seems to favor her left hand. We're looking forward to her baptism next Sunday. Both sets of grandparents, two sets of great aunts and uncles, her Aunt Kim, Aunt Meghan and Uncle Bob and Jason's cousin and family will be there. We'll post more pictures after the momentous event.

We are in awe of her and so thankful that we are her parents. We can't imagine our lives without her. I'll sit and rock her at night and almost pinch myself to make sure it's really happening. I never knew how much my heart could love until having Sarah. Of course, I love Jason, my family and my friends. Being a parent adds a whole new dimension to your soul. Thank you again for all of those that prayed for Sarah! We are truly blessed.