tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88431461907416721482024-03-13T00:32:06.760-05:00The Baertschi FamilyWe may be a little quirky, but we love each other!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-48440725291836379232010-12-22T15:48:00.000-06:002010-12-22T15:48:06.629-06:00Our 2010 Christmas letterThis past year definitely had its ups and downs, but we pushed on through by the grace of our good Lord!<br />
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The majority of the year consisted of grieving the loss of my mom, celebrating the birth of our handsome son, and keeping up with our 3 year old "teenager" in the house.<br />
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Our time during the winter season was spent cuddling and loving on the new baby in the house. Alivia did really well with the new baby and loved helping take care of him and making him happy.<br />
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In the spring we invited a friend from church, Pam, to come live with us. It was an adjustment having another person in the house at first, but she has been a true blessing to our family and we enjoy having her here. I especially love watching her with our kids, because she loves them so much and I know they love her too. We have had the opportunity to get to know her children and her four year old grand daughter, whom Livie loves playing with. We all have learned so much from each other and I can honestly say that this is definitely a GOD thing. <br />
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We had a very good summer which included many trips to Paul and Sally's (Grandpa and Grandma's) lake house. Both of the kids love being in and on the water. Alivia tried her hand at tubing and jet skiing this year which made me a little nervous, but she is so brave that I had to let her try. She does really well and maybe next summer she will be doing even more things that make me nervous!<br />
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Fall was spent enjoying the unusually warm weather, the beautiful changing of the leaves, and Alivia starting preschool. We also joined a class that Liv, Weston, and I could all take together. We did these classes with Livie when she was young and they have played a huge role in how we parent, how creative we have become with play, and it allows me to connect with other parents while the kids socialize.<br />
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Weston continues to get into everything that he shouldn't be getting into and he is really keeping us on our toes! His favorite thing to do is follow me around, play with his sister, rip up books, torture the dog, eat, and blow raspberries on any tummy that is within his reach. He is practicing his walking skills by taking up to 4-5 steps at a time, but has yet to master them. I don't think it will be much longer before he is having us chase him around! <br />
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Alivia is thriving and learning so much in school, it is so neat to see her writing letters and sounding out some words. She just finished up a dance class that she really enjoyed taking. My hope is to try her hand in gymnastics next. She loves reading books to Weston, helping me cook, and being creative with whatever she can find!<br />
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Alan is still working at Lino Lakes Prison as a Corrections Officer and leading worship at our church. I am very proud to announce that Alan has completed his second bachelors degree and hopes to start a career in graphics design and media arts soon. In the mean time he is making websites for friends and perfecting his own. He is a busy guy, but that does not stop him from helping me out when he can and being a playful daddy to the kids. I am truly blessed to have such a great guy. <br />
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I am a stay at home mom trying to hold the house and family together. I found a new hobby in photography that I just love and I hope to take it to the next step in the near future. I will be taking a short class that will teach me the basics of my camera, composition, and some other things that will be helpful. I am also teaching Sunday school for the preschoolers at our church, which I enjoy doing. Alivia is in my class and often tells me that I am "the best teacher EVER!". That makes my heart melt and makes me more thankful that I able to be a stay at home mom and do these extra things that I do. <br />
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Our trust and faith in God has carried us through this year and that has been a major blessing. It is our hope that the year to come will be even better and God will be present in everything we say and do.<br />
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Many blessings to you all!<br />
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Love,<br />
The Baertschis<br />
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To learn more about what we have been up to, please feel free to browse our previous blog postings and continue to check in with us!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-23970332782023029022010-11-10T23:53:00.000-06:002010-11-10T23:53:33.069-06:00Liv's first haircut!After 3 1/2 years I finally got the guts to get Alivia's hair cut. I had asked our good friend, Kelsey, to cut her hair and I think it turned out great! No regrets here, thank goodness!<br />
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Liv did really well and was such a trooper.The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-608067358367528632010-11-10T23:48:00.000-06:002010-11-10T23:48:24.154-06:00Chunky Monkey and Livie BelleWe had so much fun with the kids this year for Halloween! The weather was beautiful and the kids were so incredibly cute. Weston dressed up as a monkey that we got from his second cousin, Evan. Alivia wanted to be a princess, so I let her pick from a few different ones; she chose Belle from Beauty and the Beast.<br />
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We had our roommates granddaughter with us as we went to our church's "Trunk or Treat" even that they held for the community.<br />
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Weston is 9 months old now and what a challenge he has been for me! He is constantly getting into trouble, bugging his sister, eating stuff that he shouldn't be, attacking the poor dog, and just being a major BOY!<br />
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Some of his favorite things to do now are play patty cake, blow raspberries on my stomach, cruise in the pink walker, and flip through books. I am really enjoying watching him look at things intensely and try to figure things out. When he is feeling really brave he stands all on his own. To me, it seems like a long period of time, but I think its only about 20 seconds or longer if he is distracted enough. He can get around pretty fast with crawling, almost too fast for this momma! <br />
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Weston now has 4 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom. He has started to refuse baby food and only wants to eat what he can feed himself. This has been a frustrating thing for me trying to find things that are ok for him to eat. So far crackers and cheerios seem to be the easiest thing to give him.<br />
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At his 9 month appointment, Weston weighed in at nearly 25 pounds and is in the 97th percentile for weight and height. <br />
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We are currently working on some sleep training in hopes to get this boy to sleep through the night and to take better naps during the day. Here's hoping!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-33820217530340301532010-10-07T22:13:00.000-05:002010-10-07T22:13:47.411-05:00Weston 8 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_59Z7EsJnuVGE3P-lmX2839pyAXx4-dBIIl0EUqmYaJs5NV_7s3RP1o7aS_J4SW5Luz3M88FSxqxFQmWgcCMbO6De05QD95_UifzMYXQSVTUawJk09L067dyTFWvUfaTOq7JF4m5_gkia/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_59Z7EsJnuVGE3P-lmX2839pyAXx4-dBIIl0EUqmYaJs5NV_7s3RP1o7aS_J4SW5Luz3M88FSxqxFQmWgcCMbO6De05QD95_UifzMYXQSVTUawJk09L067dyTFWvUfaTOq7JF4m5_gkia/s320/033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Holy moly! We have entered destruction mode with Weston! He has grown in so many ways in such a short time. Weston started scooting and rolling around and getting into things that we weren't used to him getting into. He was across the room when Alan waved at him and Weston returned the gesture! At first we thought it was a fluke, but he kept doing it right on cue. Our happy eight month old is now sporting 4 teeth, two on top and two on bottom, with more coming in. He is also crawling some, pulling himself up, walking along the furniture, clapping, waving, and saying some words like "buh-bye, mama, and dada". I'm getting a little nervous about his new move; He acts like he wants to stand up right in the middle of the room without holding onto anything, which means that walking is not far behind. Ooooh dear! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-19107127588884246012010-09-11T15:16:00.000-05:002010-09-11T15:16:13.511-05:00Bob and LarryLast Monday Alivia kept getting out of bed for random reasons. First it was that she was thirsty, then she was scared, then she had to go potty, then she wasn't tired... you get the idea. I was so tired, so I pulled out the ultimate bribe: We could go see Bob and Larry (from the VeggieTales) on Saturday if she stayed in her bed for the rest of the night. It worked! The bad part was that I pulled this bribe out on a Monday which made for a long week of Liv asking "Are they here yet?".<br />
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</a></div>The day finally came, thank goodness!<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"> Weston was even a little amused. He was fond of petting poor Bob. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nHHDOhj-placdUauRLKSk8FmeVs91Oq168bfiq-Ula6JZxrYAViaYJtvP1VmPm5Wkfr2JKjizzKQXFYTS387pbFeFA3IYfNozN3hZ6DrPm8fPTkurXv9sRLs7yq8ZymVPdpsfPS8lK9K/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nHHDOhj-placdUauRLKSk8FmeVs91Oq168bfiq-Ula6JZxrYAViaYJtvP1VmPm5Wkfr2JKjizzKQXFYTS387pbFeFA3IYfNozN3hZ6DrPm8fPTkurXv9sRLs7yq8ZymVPdpsfPS8lK9K/s400/006.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">She even got to meet and hang out with a local radio personality, Beth Kidd, from LITE fm.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExdZCIdIPN3ZJNiaNY8eVsAWn1U_itv5eoIJHn7PYHCBACqx55ixI6N92b6F7311l9MZOjOInHO-SCUaRWQu09SfEMb7nJmpbQ50vboTvKG2UoduGx6oPr1K6rYLeL9Ptg-1TkPxHMjf6/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiExdZCIdIPN3ZJNiaNY8eVsAWn1U_itv5eoIJHn7PYHCBACqx55ixI6N92b6F7311l9MZOjOInHO-SCUaRWQu09SfEMb7nJmpbQ50vboTvKG2UoduGx6oPr1K6rYLeL9Ptg-1TkPxHMjf6/s400/013.JPG" width="267" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Liv loved watching them from afar. I caught her waving to them all while wearing one of the most genuine smiles that I have seen. It's the small things in life, I guess. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjuZzt2BJqEmbId3HKnA8yEb29c7tAZKsTbra_Uf-t7NsJRkziIXXsEZW-ioxwfzqWJw7ndwpPfzdiORmmI0wMJkB_lXfpQxZ8y8lDDgotINL3HigjsD7zqPc6fGVHgbsoPQYUKHmArxW/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLjuZzt2BJqEmbId3HKnA8yEb29c7tAZKsTbra_Uf-t7NsJRkziIXXsEZW-ioxwfzqWJw7ndwpPfzdiORmmI0wMJkB_lXfpQxZ8y8lDDgotINL3HigjsD7zqPc6fGVHgbsoPQYUKHmArxW/s400/015.JPG" width="267" /></a></div><br />
I love being a Mom and I love being able to make my kids happy. The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-28335015181819240112010-09-10T11:06:00.000-05:002010-09-10T11:06:39.294-05:00Weston 6 and 7 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipb4YC2s1P7YbJRigMDVkf5s6Y9BYm1DX2rL6tUKR7lXs-40zZhFTa6dT-gZuTyAlZ8UvgsiE4lv_DAvc9d7qGWJocG_IzywFYvIo7vxJGyDQ9aEkP2dfp2eq0PITvp0URTsVQ_a2x-dZ/s1600/058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjipb4YC2s1P7YbJRigMDVkf5s6Y9BYm1DX2rL6tUKR7lXs-40zZhFTa6dT-gZuTyAlZ8UvgsiE4lv_DAvc9d7qGWJocG_IzywFYvIo7vxJGyDQ9aEkP2dfp2eq0PITvp0URTsVQ_a2x-dZ/s320/058.JPG" /></a></div>Weston is working on his fourth tooth, this time it's two on top. We are slowly moving out of the gummy baby stage. I was a little sad, because teeth mean that my baby is getting older and soon won't be a baby anymore. I think Alan is looking forward to him growing up more than I am. West isn't exactly the best sleeper and he still doesn't take a bottle, that makes things a little difficult for Alan (and anyone else for that matter) to watch and take care of Weston. <br />
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The boy is holding onto his blue eyes still, we are hoping they stay that color because he is so handsome with those baby blues! Last I checked he was weighing in at 24 pounds and is currently wearing size 18 month clothes at the age of 7 months! He loves his big sister and keeps screeching at her; it's almost like a dinosaur sound and it cracks us up every time. <br />
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We are on our way to having a crawler and I am not sure that I am ready for that quite yet. I look around and see how much we have to do in order to baby proof the house. Alivia was a very good baby and we never had to baby proof anything (except the top of the stairs for her safety). I have a feeling I am going to be locking everything up and hiding stuff from my monster baby. He is such a boy already. Game on.The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-29329569257338414942010-07-22T23:50:00.000-05:002010-07-22T23:50:37.358-05:00Weston at 5 MonthsWeston is almost six months old, so I thought I would update everyone with where he is at with things and what he has been doing. Poor kid gets the shaft compared to Livie, I updated her blog every month. Well, maybe he shouldn't keep me so busy with his fussiness and then maybe, just MAYBE I could blog again! :) <br />
The last time we went to the Dr it was because he was having trouble sleeping, was shoving his fist in his mouth, and drooling excessively. Turns out he has "silent reflux". The Dr gave him a prescription and things seemed to get better... for like a week. Weston was quick to go back to his fussy self and I had no idea why. After doing lots of brainstorming Alan and I decided that our next step was to take dairy out of my diet. So, I did. Man, it is the hardest thing to do! You can find dairy in just about anything you eat. My weakness is the cheese. No more hotdishes, pizza, sandwiches with cheese...the good thing is, it's only temporary. My "dairy diet" seems to be helping quite a bit, actually. I'm not perfect, but it will have to do for now. In fact, I may even consider weaning Weston if he continues to bite while nursing. We discovered his first tooth that came in. As of 5 months and 3 weeks, he has a new bottom tooth. That is almost 2 months sooner than Alivia. He is such a big boy now, I can't seem to keep up with clothes that fit him. Last we checked he was 20 pounds and 2 ounces at 5 months. We have his 6 month appointment on Monday, so we will see how big he has grown. He also accomplished sitting up, drinking from a sippy cup, and eating solids... all before 6 months of age. That's my boy!!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-73395679182029989952010-05-16T00:52:00.000-05:002010-05-16T00:52:12.650-05:00Mother's Day without my mom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1XKvjTftS_CJ8p-hUm5wCwXh2K20yLwQgcLAvm0NERalL_WLpD0fOvMMLE23kRhLooSQJWcsT1z6rx0-s9HcR5XDZEPdxekfIw5jkhRtahcbMxf98nybjYcG5bO3dyP8fNjCkjTK7Tpo1/s1600/wed16.BMP" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1XKvjTftS_CJ8p-hUm5wCwXh2K20yLwQgcLAvm0NERalL_WLpD0fOvMMLE23kRhLooSQJWcsT1z6rx0-s9HcR5XDZEPdxekfIw5jkhRtahcbMxf98nybjYcG5bO3dyP8fNjCkjTK7Tpo1/s400/wed16.BMP" width="276" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
Last year on Mother's Day I gave my mom a stepping stone that I had made, she loved it so much that she displayed it proudly in the front yard. This year, I only had memories of my sweet, loving mom. I never would have thought that I would be spending a Mother's Day without my mom so soon in my life. It's very hard for me to let go and know that she is in the best place ever. Sometimes I get caught up in my own "woe is me" moments and I forget how wonderful it is that she is with our Creator. Can't we have the best of both worlds? Some day... some day.<br />
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I think about her often and I always imagine what she would be doing or saying at any given time. Sometimes it brings huge smiles to my face and other times it leaves me heartbroken.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSN-Lh0FzFSHSSf4H6gCWGZh_TyzqwdXP6vraZJ8-ITqGh7dF5Ax8KsdwZGjBMRPOqgCLD7KHYTH-5QHjdfs0JTmH1rSjJJKvMRu_CTzOf_GPW6S1DHWxkE79fThCgzTsdsBMkV5FvheD/s1600/171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSN-Lh0FzFSHSSf4H6gCWGZh_TyzqwdXP6vraZJ8-ITqGh7dF5Ax8KsdwZGjBMRPOqgCLD7KHYTH-5QHjdfs0JTmH1rSjJJKvMRu_CTzOf_GPW6S1DHWxkE79fThCgzTsdsBMkV5FvheD/s320/171.JPG" /></a><br />
I try really hard to keep her memory alive with Alivia. We talk about her often and we always mention that we miss Grandma Bekki. I like to think that Alivia will always remember her, she was Grandmas pride and joy! Alivia was so spoiled by Grandma, it wasn't even funny! They could play outside with each other all day long! Bubbles, bike rides, and park visits were their favorite activities among many others. I just know that Weston would have been just as special to her if she would have met him. <br />
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When I think about my mom, I remember her to be very dedicated to whatever she did. She made sure that us kids were happy, the house was spotless... and I mean SPOTLESS, and dinner on the table every night. She worked very hard and didn't get very much appreciation from us at the time. She was always being goofy and playful, I loved that about her. At times she would drive me nuts, but that was mom!<br />
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I am so afraid of forgetting her and the things that she did and said, so it is my mission to keep the memories alive. I am thankful to have her in a few videos so I can hear her voice and we have a lot of pictures of her, mostly of her being goofy! I miss her so much and am trying to figure out how to survive without my good friend, my phone buddy, my go-to person, my children's grandma.... my mom.<br />
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I miss you, mom. Thank you for being you and for raising me to be a good mom myself. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and for being so wonderful to Alivia. I will see you again some day and when that day comes, you better have the biggest hug waiting for me, because I sure could go for one right about now! I love you with all of my heart...until we meet again <3 Happy Mother's Day<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44FlYQhx0fo_Mqy2i7hDM2-qQR2Oeaj5aZjOQQ0zAH3O8pdAq_Xqo7cisq5Q7TVfu3yzTsve427B_heT1H4s_KKi1DxWuITPdM73btya3xhTyHYAtw-4H96k_VbUSIn8VvgQ6rxQ-ADva/s1600/100_0752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44FlYQhx0fo_Mqy2i7hDM2-qQR2Oeaj5aZjOQQ0zAH3O8pdAq_Xqo7cisq5Q7TVfu3yzTsve427B_heT1H4s_KKi1DxWuITPdM73btya3xhTyHYAtw-4H96k_VbUSIn8VvgQ6rxQ-ADva/s400/100_0752.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-55083640062565232712010-05-05T22:21:00.005-05:002010-05-05T22:52:38.221-05:00Playing Catch Up<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2oW20nQaI2rr4xOShNfIwRRXZl2K3_HZodT232hA0UOGQVcBFFOz0E3QdLGmraFp613kll1VxQJYBJ9rn5gVz9chFJG0AhRvYVUkCN6jB6IqeCPVafZ_K-C9wckxsjoZQpZkkHqwoHgNW/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2oW20nQaI2rr4xOShNfIwRRXZl2K3_HZodT232hA0UOGQVcBFFOz0E3QdLGmraFp613kll1VxQJYBJ9rn5gVz9chFJG0AhRvYVUkCN6jB6IqeCPVafZ_K-C9wckxsjoZQpZkkHqwoHgNW/s320/011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467999092252943538" border="0" /></a>What an adventure the past few months have been with the kids! We are still trying to figure out how to manage two kids, I like to think that we are finally getting it down. Weston has been such a different baby than Alivia was and it is fun to compare the two, each having their own little quirks. Weston has proven that he is a very good eater; At three months old he weighs a whopping 17 pounds and 5 ounces. We have made several doctor visits due to an ongoing viral infection and to see an ENT specialist. The viral infection is just hanging on which leaves us with having to give Weston nebulizer treatments in hopes to get rid of the nasty stuff. The doctor thought that Weston had a very small chin and wanted us to get it checked out, so we did. It is a condition called Micrognathia and it can be a problem if the child has a hard time breathing or eating, neither of which is a concern for Weston. Hopefully his chin will catch up with the rest of him otherwise we will have a hefty orthodontic bill when he gets older. Other than the virus and the chin issues, it has been a lot of fun watching the boy grow and do new things. He loves trying to sit up from laying down, he can't quite get up but is getting some good abdominal workouts. Weston has rolled from his back to his tummy twice, but I don't know if it was intentional.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XJ2qLRQ2IIiWP7HvjMJ2TtTPf5I7J3UwZMArPt00rcO4CtdYAfL3oOoLzYw6iqswjpGbf5qwXxESsZXxPizvCG4ljpVF1i39giFuq4mS8rzXjYQ9FrldEQydA0fiClNGpuDqpdfeMUwk/s1600/042.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XJ2qLRQ2IIiWP7HvjMJ2TtTPf5I7J3UwZMArPt00rcO4CtdYAfL3oOoLzYw6iqswjpGbf5qwXxESsZXxPizvCG4ljpVF1i39giFuq4mS8rzXjYQ9FrldEQydA0fiClNGpuDqpdfeMUwk/s320/042.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467999715277689714" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Alivia will be three in less than a month. I am still trying to decide what we should do for her birthday. The last two birthdays have been a rather big ordeal and I would like to keep that going, but I don't know if it's feasible this year. Either way, I hope she has a lot of fun and knows that she is very loved! She has been potty trained for a couple of months now and it has been a huge relief! We just have to work on the night time training and then we will be set! We have her all signed up for preschool in the fall, it will be a bittersweet transition for me! She will be happy to get out of the house and learn new things and I will love the "break", but I will be sad that I can't be there and experience all of the new things with her. She is such a smart girl and she needs more than what I can offer to her, so it will be a good thing. She started drawing faces, which is something that kids start when they are around the age of 4 to 5. I am so proud of her artistic abilities! She definitely has some sass to her and sometimes I am not sure if I should send her to time out or laugh! Often times I catch myself giggling and shaking my head at how grown up she acts. I am in for a treat when she's a teen, I can just tell! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsAOnAawkCDW97uzYnZSTIiYuo9FkVg7izdr1_9KtqcQuvtCZmt1KVA1880s3Mc4HTv3TrCGI7JMTyW6nGvcXuoJoEOMYrAhgNVdQ2wHBsRWgz0z3QSfVcCred0PIQR15Wt31Sdkv05Aiw/s1600/052.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsAOnAawkCDW97uzYnZSTIiYuo9FkVg7izdr1_9KtqcQuvtCZmt1KVA1880s3Mc4HTv3TrCGI7JMTyW6nGvcXuoJoEOMYrAhgNVdQ2wHBsRWgz0z3QSfVcCred0PIQR15Wt31Sdkv05Aiw/s320/052.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467998706568161634" border="0" /></a>The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-83056434063516030932010-03-21T23:45:00.002-05:002010-03-22T00:01:39.257-05:00Pain in the..<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_FhpnDxdpmU9E_Ar7WWzqKKKVx52KJqNj0qGedRKKHp0nCFTCizvXqxKCm3tfKYoCcGE0gbTl-V5Hsew3uT8jeZeEh9o83ycw2iM9oMI64aepAeIiQsMJX_-ZzqG6OfE-t-sLQA-2cX5/s1600-h/004.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_FhpnDxdpmU9E_Ar7WWzqKKKVx52KJqNj0qGedRKKHp0nCFTCizvXqxKCm3tfKYoCcGE0gbTl-V5Hsew3uT8jeZeEh9o83ycw2iM9oMI64aepAeIiQsMJX_-ZzqG6OfE-t-sLQA-2cX5/s320/004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451318837863539314" border="0" /></a><br />...wrist, that is. A day at the YMCA daycare seemed to be a bit more than we had anticipated. Alan came back, after dropping Livie off at the YMCA daycare, to find Alivia holding her wrist and crying. He could not figure out what was wrong with her, so he brought her home. After telling me that she refused to move and get out the car, we made the decision to take her to urgent care. After waiting there for a few hours and pushing Alivia around in a wheelchair (because apparently a hurt wrist means you can't walk) we got some x rays done. It turns out it was nothing more than a sprain. She was fitted with a sling and we were sent home. Once home, Alivia still refused to walk anywhere and we had to cater to her every need. We felt really bad for her, but after a while we encouraged her to do more things and she eventually forgot all about her wrist. After a couple of days Alan finally convinced her to take her sling off, she wasn't using it the right way anyways. I think it was just the comfort of knowing that the sling was there that helped.The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-53371076067418704462010-02-01T13:18:00.025-06:002010-02-01T15:53:39.361-06:00Weston is finally here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_otL0q3JFsHAnAxXRu033GtGoIBmey6vpGbkn4ODXAN47UO9hfYDe1bsk6QRZJIfLtTBnqYAECmBqccV5oqJ2GvaKQ_XlkfUp2Ji7JBtkfGtXwl3afB3OK41XDAh2rA21CW2Q7Qw4E50/s1600-h/002.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM_otL0q3JFsHAnAxXRu033GtGoIBmey6vpGbkn4ODXAN47UO9hfYDe1bsk6QRZJIfLtTBnqYAECmBqccV5oqJ2GvaKQ_XlkfUp2Ji7JBtkfGtXwl3afB3OK41XDAh2rA21CW2Q7Qw4E50/s320/002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433359799123919170" border="0" /></a>Weston David is finally here! After 41 weeks of pregnancy, I could not be any happier that he finally decided to come out. I was scheduled for an induction on Sunday January 24th at 7:30am. I was supposed to arrive at the hospital first thing in the morning and they were going to break my water and hope the baby would come on his own and without medication to help the labor progress.<br /><p><br />Anticipating that we would be having a baby on Sunday, Alan and I decided to attend an "Ugly Sweater and Mustache" party that Saturday night. We put on the ugliest sweaters we could find from the thrift store and Alan sported a pretty gross mustache, although he thought it was pretty awesome<br />.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggofXQRAg2pinUjm1nCNCAE7eWg8jCzRHoHRBZXczMoEjvpmxXaOzTyyUv3z6jPNzhU_ahw_vp3ZCCtmtiOvrxQTxeT8M5ja_MbjQsvmr28iXAuMb8COf6jQ9W5B5wSCqWOuaK6CulvGi9/s1600-h/010.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggofXQRAg2pinUjm1nCNCAE7eWg8jCzRHoHRBZXczMoEjvpmxXaOzTyyUv3z6jPNzhU_ahw_vp3ZCCtmtiOvrxQTxeT8M5ja_MbjQsvmr28iXAuMb8COf6jQ9W5B5wSCqWOuaK6CulvGi9/s320/010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433359399390802418" border="0" /></a><br /></p><br /><br />After leaving the party we decided to make a quick stop at Target so we could get an extra battery for our camera. We had Alivia with us, so I decided to run in all by myself. The batteries were locked up, so after getting an employee to unlock it for me I had to follow him to the register to purchase it. The guy must have been oblivious to the fact that I was really pregnant and I was not able to move very fast, because it seemed as if he was running to the registers and I had to try to keep up.<br /><p><br />We got home around 10:00pm and not more than 15 minutes after being home I had a pretty intense contraction. I thought it seemed weird to have such a strong one so suddenly. I was under the impression that they would start at a manageable pain level and then eventually progress. A few minutes passed and I had another one! They kept coming every 4-5 minutes. I waited about 20 minutes before texting my mother-in-law to forewarn her of the possibility that we would need her to come over to watch Alivia. I decided that we needed her to come over and as soon as she arrived we were off to the hospital arriving there around 11:30pm. As soon as I walked off the elevator I approached the nurses station and demanded my epidural. The nurses had a good giggle, as I am sure they hear that all the time, and I made sure that they knew I meant business! Everything was happening very quickly and I was very much in denial that this was the real thing. I entered into the triage room and set me up with an IV and checked my cervix. I went from 4cm to 8cm just for being in labor for an hour. They rushed me to a delivery room before getting all of my information into the computer and much to my delight, the anesthesiologist was right behind us! I got hooked up to what I like to call the "wonder drug" and everything was A Okay! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKmEx4DRTdEZlhagmcqrhnp3qFN6Ehfsw-MD1PFgvhHq2h99VcEwDjvJbib21p6dtrpIO9HWILfKvugEAgjJ8Q5hd0D8hXmrWbjCNbZCZy4n4IQXmqoYY50zpbL6DQHqehCr5jSgbw8eH/s1600-h/023.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAKmEx4DRTdEZlhagmcqrhnp3qFN6Ehfsw-MD1PFgvhHq2h99VcEwDjvJbib21p6dtrpIO9HWILfKvugEAgjJ8Q5hd0D8hXmrWbjCNbZCZy4n4IQXmqoYY50zpbL6DQHqehCr5jSgbw8eH/s320/023.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433360670785518946" border="0" /></a>They broke my water and around 2:30am they gave me the go ahead to push. I was all set up to push and just waiting for my next contraction when someone came running into the room saying "Don't push yet! Dr. Myles just went into the O.R.!". My nurse asked if there was another Dr and there was, but she was delivering another baby just down the hall. My nurse told me I had to wait until my Dr was done preforming the c-section before I could start pushing. Around 3:30am the Dr came running into my room completely out of breath and very frazzled looking. He quickly started prepping himself for the delivery of our baby.</p><br /><br />I was finally able to start pushing! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4IDRu7Qc2Teze0KAZXrTqjWNsDf7bz7lLSpwG9jx9S9KpyMegTRrt6IkYfagf9nj6QoSnzsvhWX6bydO_3JJxCVbmyJNipEE40PEAHJk1h0-8FgxhdLQpZZ20LJjqMc06rzet5lbd6Nd/s1600-h/026.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK4IDRu7Qc2Teze0KAZXrTqjWNsDf7bz7lLSpwG9jx9S9KpyMegTRrt6IkYfagf9nj6QoSnzsvhWX6bydO_3JJxCVbmyJNipEE40PEAHJk1h0-8FgxhdLQpZZ20LJjqMc06rzet5lbd6Nd/s320/026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433361216881555634" border="0" /></a>After the quickest 4 minutes of my life, baby Weston David was born! He came with total ease and very fast. My cousin Jessica, who witnessed the whole birth, said that I made having babies look easy. I take pride in that, but I know I have to give most of the credit to the epidural.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvrzDWeVoRrujPNW4vlGW39O3t5Dp7Qv0C0DEwLhMX4KSji9XvKroqqSfauChq8pUso01XHCTaYIFVAxY2nnOjmHLsLPiowDQ5XDK-DOvJo_nYf3xVauOP5O9xxAtvTP6KM89CzM4BIQ2/s1600-h/029.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOvrzDWeVoRrujPNW4vlGW39O3t5Dp7Qv0C0DEwLhMX4KSji9XvKroqqSfauChq8pUso01XHCTaYIFVAxY2nnOjmHLsLPiowDQ5XDK-DOvJo_nYf3xVauOP5O9xxAtvTP6KM89CzM4BIQ2/s320/029.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433361597129641602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Weston weighed in at 8 pounds 6 ounces and was 22 inches long. After some neurological and physical tests, the Dr determined that Weston was born at 42 weeks gestation instead of 41 weeks that we originally thought.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOweLcNrVj-Q9bd_I0lQqzd0gTs_FYaDPLmv0s3_tbrdrFH5Qtv_JrVgKnK7VSNhdjnvpOUwYiFWMa4RyrQcfxswzbr7Y_3VYltVtkogNMCxcMuD5FanIzyCRZ5OIUl7r9eDFaNVM5VsBB/s1600-h/039.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOweLcNrVj-Q9bd_I0lQqzd0gTs_FYaDPLmv0s3_tbrdrFH5Qtv_JrVgKnK7VSNhdjnvpOUwYiFWMa4RyrQcfxswzbr7Y_3VYltVtkogNMCxcMuD5FanIzyCRZ5OIUl7r9eDFaNVM5VsBB/s320/039.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433362807694183618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdG3Y6Zi6f1dIGLSnuNsq9-rheGY2iF8fn6rmngAwSpHjlp9OJvziPJXHnfZjacq_-Mkx55_XGQTYFL7cObaiAwsbPHID4c0AsWkwZ8LOrj9coph5GqPXz24dMm5yWfbOJaI7wLg4ycWG/s1600-h/033.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcdG3Y6Zi6f1dIGLSnuNsq9-rheGY2iF8fn6rmngAwSpHjlp9OJvziPJXHnfZjacq_-Mkx55_XGQTYFL7cObaiAwsbPHID4c0AsWkwZ8LOrj9coph5GqPXz24dMm5yWfbOJaI7wLg4ycWG/s320/033.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433362005476869618" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitF2SbRCI0DIdfJ9XqWrR01rOlu9y73YNF90RxooemFivRn0KAcp_gxIoMu0FtrRdMXwu81giiF_31SvJN3mOwd4p5PsaPOiMcAUyYtyGeeyXsQgVt16FD5VKxcB_AQvEckTCJ4Sdvw2Xa/s1600-h/049.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitF2SbRCI0DIdfJ9XqWrR01rOlu9y73YNF90RxooemFivRn0KAcp_gxIoMu0FtrRdMXwu81giiF_31SvJN3mOwd4p5PsaPOiMcAUyYtyGeeyXsQgVt16FD5VKxcB_AQvEckTCJ4Sdvw2Xa/s320/049.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433362417153080226" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtTJNI6O7NnLMnvDTyA-89i1LY0Nr3UJFFyTeJQfYmDoBDnOZAVI-K-VJZhom7MDme_Wlc9BsQdeE3EqZE29UcVMjDNLfeNrTRmk0azkwSaZ1C9EOeKmUz9HwDa1knjpLSxXMzjhm9p8S/s1600-h/067.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTtTJNI6O7NnLMnvDTyA-89i1LY0Nr3UJFFyTeJQfYmDoBDnOZAVI-K-VJZhom7MDme_Wlc9BsQdeE3EqZE29UcVMjDNLfeNrTRmk0azkwSaZ1C9EOeKmUz9HwDa1knjpLSxXMzjhm9p8S/s320/067.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433363769981135618" border="0" /></a>We came home the following day and had a pretty rough first night, he cried for several hours. I'm not exactly sure what was wrong, but it could have been the fact that he was circumcised that day or because he had a really stuffy nose. Either way it has worked itself out, because he is sleeping and nursing like a champ now. He's awake more in the late night, but I am a night owl so it doesn't bother me all too much. Probably a whole different story once Alan returns to work in two weeks!<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjHVYDVDUgPprYYQ63UhGdViUNEfh0g1GxEAIRtsW7AS9Q9JzE2Q_-jVRKsKRtJtA_LyNghlaVd_3SUE5DYGFQnIZRvvE53Yb8eufhArWyV9HTIuzahYyzCR5j505AiJFqAypbUf3zudX/s1600-h/095.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAjHVYDVDUgPprYYQ63UhGdViUNEfh0g1GxEAIRtsW7AS9Q9JzE2Q_-jVRKsKRtJtA_LyNghlaVd_3SUE5DYGFQnIZRvvE53Yb8eufhArWyV9HTIuzahYyzCR5j505AiJFqAypbUf3zudX/s320/095.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433366773472428226" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgdSkoW3pnzYbqGxLZkEYRRhv-FaAjH8POLYxZO9h4cxynZzObz3d_wjU1Gq5b68IpvP7y9qi7ZrWsqran-IehZRiBiUBo4TWzk9JKlNn0hyEZ59Y6OY82vikAbCVmBToWLO4wNrkFkTU/s1600-h/068.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgdSkoW3pnzYbqGxLZkEYRRhv-FaAjH8POLYxZO9h4cxynZzObz3d_wjU1Gq5b68IpvP7y9qi7ZrWsqran-IehZRiBiUBo4TWzk9JKlNn0hyEZ59Y6OY82vikAbCVmBToWLO4wNrkFkTU/s320/068.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433365683666305426" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltiOmFFLP3GiZg7FuvAlwULGj9hYs9AIV6qAWDkqMo6QsGNCZ28hEWyvyIVc930gyIiyNZNuSG6b5XLvCPWSOzGAGSjs0XARFZfX3s9KQDiEB97VeglvSQ0LqUHRbjLrwig6hZVMzt8Fx/s1600-h/101.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjltiOmFFLP3GiZg7FuvAlwULGj9hYs9AIV6qAWDkqMo6QsGNCZ28hEWyvyIVc930gyIiyNZNuSG6b5XLvCPWSOzGAGSjs0XARFZfX3s9KQDiEB97VeglvSQ0LqUHRbjLrwig6hZVMzt8Fx/s320/101.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433367069839281330" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJ8jMpSV-S2ajfiGrYOIdWIVftK25XLgHX91_2CWnag6oQCDBF_BTZUaMGfNnY5BGUmd4UlgnRT8UsTC9i-gUcGismGoeg9Sgs5f3voynRRvRPAAwebLnhEWRoilTqGF71fT6VSEcB83w/s1600-h/103.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJ8jMpSV-S2ajfiGrYOIdWIVftK25XLgHX91_2CWnag6oQCDBF_BTZUaMGfNnY5BGUmd4UlgnRT8UsTC9i-gUcGismGoeg9Sgs5f3voynRRvRPAAwebLnhEWRoilTqGF71fT6VSEcB83w/s320/103.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433367211291646610" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLo5UZyoDxOAWvdt8L2BHR-IR0whuzXI_asx_i4D1N78i_15Qq2LHC4mv-JfLEvuizUkKZfQyCEL-bMbpvDVYpbcKJeVbO8bowHZ9ibcO5eBeggcZTYGZIYMXAw8iExPWTcQ6i8huk0l4/s1600-h/072.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLo5UZyoDxOAWvdt8L2BHR-IR0whuzXI_asx_i4D1N78i_15Qq2LHC4mv-JfLEvuizUkKZfQyCEL-bMbpvDVYpbcKJeVbO8bowHZ9ibcO5eBeggcZTYGZIYMXAw8iExPWTcQ6i8huk0l4/s320/072.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433366276692888306" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPvqGj-mJfnOqRk4LSsxdiaMyUKrTsJS7nldWId844L8YRstnoJgO2GCIuj4iXBqdGqcGl9eFIo7f4tzEQ3LCjuFN6CY86gA9hiGEZWqZlsraz6YjZHm-d55e3rRFIY4QJOeXk3VxHpb_h/s1600-h/078.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPvqGj-mJfnOqRk4LSsxdiaMyUKrTsJS7nldWId844L8YRstnoJgO2GCIuj4iXBqdGqcGl9eFIo7f4tzEQ3LCjuFN6CY86gA9hiGEZWqZlsraz6YjZHm-d55e3rRFIY4QJOeXk3VxHpb_h/s320/078.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433366503234744338" border="0" /></a>The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-70226068510679387752009-09-07T01:55:00.000-05:002009-09-07T01:56:50.636-05:00A little update"Well" (followed by a big sigh) and "I got something to tell you" are just a couple of the sentences that frequent Alivia's conversations. Don't let the cuteness fool you, because she also has a mean side to her! She has started to be aggressive towards playmates and I can't help to think that we are in for it when her new sibling arrives. (It's a boy!)<br /><br />A lot of redirection and pep talks are in order for this two year old. <br /><br />I am making a point to keep her as busy and social as I can now that the cooler weather is upon us. I have her signed up for two classes this fall and they will go thru January, when her brother is born. One of the classes is an art and music class. Its meant to help us parents to provide the right tools and creativity for our children. I think Alivia will really enjoy this class! The other one is an age specific class where she will learn how to interact with kids her age including arts and crafts, music, dance, puzzles, and a ton of other creative things. The parents leave the kids with special teachers for part of the time in which we will discuss common complaints and share our advice on how to get through them. I am looking forward to this class.<br />We also have our weekly play group and I babysit one day a week as well. It should be pretty busy for us, just the way I like it.<br /><br />Livie is currently into the Land Before Time movies and just got her first dinosaur toy, which she loves! I'm wondering if she will ever turn into a girly girl or if she will just end up like me and be a tom boy. Time will tell.The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-34434830083459312202009-08-18T22:22:00.010-05:002009-08-18T23:01:58.168-05:00Summer is coming to an end...Well, I have not updated this blog all summer! I guess that is because we have been super busy, especially the month of August and its not even over yet. We have anniversaries, birthdays, appointments, and Alan has a boundary waters camping trip planned for next week. Busy, busy, busy!<br /><br />Today Alan and I celebrated our seven year wedding anniversary. I can truly say that the past 10 years that we have been together have been a major blessing to me and I am truly grateful to have such a loving, caring husband and a beautiful daughter.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfrlpG3AgB2iZK_FW2-72DLVjenOJ9Esfp_oKAyX14pbpyI8WFvK-MGAVE6rPO1pFV5cyVOl3cE7lvV_AG7v0YpgStf1lgABRSNUB9OJRhr3VfncbuYu8IXVb_zEni-Rr_35bSw2YwaA3/s1600-h/wed999.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYfrlpG3AgB2iZK_FW2-72DLVjenOJ9Esfp_oKAyX14pbpyI8WFvK-MGAVE6rPO1pFV5cyVOl3cE7lvV_AG7v0YpgStf1lgABRSNUB9OJRhr3VfncbuYu8IXVb_zEni-Rr_35bSw2YwaA3/s320/wed999.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371515950912164434" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This summer has also been filled with play dates and babysitting. Alivia has had a lot of friends to play with, but sometimes I think she would like more, only because she asks me almost everyday to play with a friend. Its a good thing that she will have a little brother or sister to keep her company in a few months!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimftUaAh7XzyQBe3aldsl5Vajpz5Z8Qyc3ESRHft9wMkzPauGjPREA1K2JzJP8q-NFF8wqkTbg3wzK5YmFO94By3d8xJefnQkVK-4pMM-GZsATrGgmHCw-Ez9mpGY0nUHZ6EEPnQt7wg7Z/s1600-h/023.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimftUaAh7XzyQBe3aldsl5Vajpz5Z8Qyc3ESRHft9wMkzPauGjPREA1K2JzJP8q-NFF8wqkTbg3wzK5YmFO94By3d8xJefnQkVK-4pMM-GZsATrGgmHCw-Ez9mpGY0nUHZ6EEPnQt7wg7Z/s320/023.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371516351752271010" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Speaking of little brother or sister, Alan and I will hopefully find out the baby's gender on August 28th. We are very excited to learn what we are having, no matter the gender. It will be nice to put a gender to our day dreams and be able to start preparing for the new bundle of joy.<br /><br /><br />We have been trying to get to the pool as much as possible, but this abnormally cool summer has prevented that from happening often. When we do get to go, she enjoys it a lot! She keeps trying to talk me into letting her go down the 200+ foot tall waterslide... I think not! She is such a brave little girl!<br />We have not been able to make it to the Baertschi's lake house a whole lot with Alan's work schedule, but Alivia loves going on the boat and playing on the beach.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisu8dOOVBDM5WrjkD7wFwwf4xGpnLgRM2sadoMEl17jjyjeLSTeHFmYYxn0DKv7bPBA7I316QKcuMaxJFo9Gh4XbjeOH0rGiKPI8qYuF6MVns6FQP11QMkM0kT3z_b00muUBVSv63et0tz/s1600-h/018.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisu8dOOVBDM5WrjkD7wFwwf4xGpnLgRM2sadoMEl17jjyjeLSTeHFmYYxn0DKv7bPBA7I316QKcuMaxJFo9Gh4XbjeOH0rGiKPI8qYuF6MVns6FQP11QMkM0kT3z_b00muUBVSv63et0tz/s320/018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371518210545825794" border="0" /></a><br />Liv has also learned to peddal on her trike, although she prefers it more when we push her.<br />Among the many things that she has picked up this summer, she has been able to carry on conversations with adults pretty well these days. She is quite the story teller and has to be the center of attention when in a group of adults. Alivia has been enjoying going on carnival rides now that she is tall enough. She surprised us when she insisted on going on the kiddie coaster. I have no idea what led me to think that it was a good idea to let a little 2 year old on a roller coaster, but I am all about making my spoiled girl happy. She really enjoyed it and has become a carnival ride junky at the ripe age of two.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFiYlLX7j2pjLiuBWoTRdHUNPY70X4pGsKlmw_XW2l_4eMLcmNdQBx_Rsm-hN30cDykDVyEP-6DlYG8c96p7F5OKsfV9_lG387cAfT15RbymQs-K3Nhky3UirJQUem8vEGmbsaeYiKbdCG/s1600-h/020.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFiYlLX7j2pjLiuBWoTRdHUNPY70X4pGsKlmw_XW2l_4eMLcmNdQBx_Rsm-hN30cDykDVyEP-6DlYG8c96p7F5OKsfV9_lG387cAfT15RbymQs-K3Nhky3UirJQUem8vEGmbsaeYiKbdCG/s320/020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371516941192730706" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oVYJdxp4LABci1CXIkg47dshEiNqpoqF0QU4ooLZ5zxuAxEzHK_HlS14uRD9ZFn0ynUqApx8rQHKnxhy3mgNxbjCVjF3C_6ygUhrr5k1TBTGkPUOntSw6kSyDp_THJQTPKe7ylsKWQXx/s1600-h/018.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4oVYJdxp4LABci1CXIkg47dshEiNqpoqF0QU4ooLZ5zxuAxEzHK_HlS14uRD9ZFn0ynUqApx8rQHKnxhy3mgNxbjCVjF3C_6ygUhrr5k1TBTGkPUOntSw6kSyDp_THJQTPKe7ylsKWQXx/s320/018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371517145748009058" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGrZ9ISF4IIKiBmW_6WPiRglpRckkl3Ue2b048hQYVvt4caXGcr6PtEAB-5ST-4oBSfYuBm1wct_Q0jmqOnYyCtol4oBcFNtoR2y8NZUdzRBBT86_UvAUbgVLsf93gNYVVUl-bdcPRto1/s1600-h/020.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQGrZ9ISF4IIKiBmW_6WPiRglpRckkl3Ue2b048hQYVvt4caXGcr6PtEAB-5ST-4oBSfYuBm1wct_Q0jmqOnYyCtol4oBcFNtoR2y8NZUdzRBBT86_UvAUbgVLsf93gNYVVUl-bdcPRto1/s320/020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371517550457429922" border="0" /></a><br />Liv also got to enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks for the first time! It was way past her bedtime, but after the intial shock of how loud it was, I think she enjoyed herself.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUvPRLupD5KCVj2hHG1WFLh6OEBwuEXzZagou2mTYVZ_iYIREVxhDIUuml5S8tBqypUQZhv5RioaUJMpD1ulHT-CvP3RPiSmdcDbm1HMsWzCh4EQoNTh7faQJx2WJS3bVnaVTgvFG9wKk/s1600-h/018.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkUvPRLupD5KCVj2hHG1WFLh6OEBwuEXzZagou2mTYVZ_iYIREVxhDIUuml5S8tBqypUQZhv5RioaUJMpD1ulHT-CvP3RPiSmdcDbm1HMsWzCh4EQoNTh7faQJx2WJS3bVnaVTgvFG9wKk/s320/018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371519924609482930" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I know I say it all the time, but she gets more and more fun as the days go by. I am so excited to see her interact with her new sibling, she is going to make a great big sister!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-45283832538205739222009-06-20T22:14:00.006-05:002009-06-20T22:40:07.017-05:00Birthdays, Drs appointments, and just plain funAlivia's birthday landed on a Monday, so we decided to have a special day just for her on her actual birthday. Alan, Alivia, and I all went to see the Clifford exhibit at the Children's Museum. Alivia got to see a huge Clifford statue <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7bZemwKA7WJUdZKegWoesvyh4oaFFgcbU5M1oeh3jTTmRSConnFekv0vXPFv8USg3FbbTawdRQozBff8dKjGu3q_ifCZmZPv_0IkiTmc9TXF_K9j3GBMi_A6OS20C2GzwoVP8XPp9QrO/s1600-h/011.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ7bZemwKA7WJUdZKegWoesvyh4oaFFgcbU5M1oeh3jTTmRSConnFekv0vXPFv8USg3FbbTawdRQozBff8dKjGu3q_ifCZmZPv_0IkiTmc9TXF_K9j3GBMi_A6OS20C2GzwoVP8XPp9QrO/s320/011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349618873221612610" border="0" /></a>and play in Cliffords neighborhood, along with all the other fun things at the museum. I am pretty sure her all time favorite is the water area. She can play in the water tables, make bubbles, and race boats down the ramps.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vjRPeA5YEUbYU7jSCDSYKeTlrwWuUzkQ6leP9x7HCmjOP42W8f6WyPcRVN6EM3kYuM19Sng_XHw4sOdV8s_k11y_LvJYbxWyb7til_le1O21aVxUXy5HT-0Nv2iXqWD_KuMhLWpiSgL4/s1600-h/055.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5vjRPeA5YEUbYU7jSCDSYKeTlrwWuUzkQ6leP9x7HCmjOP42W8f6WyPcRVN6EM3kYuM19Sng_XHw4sOdV8s_k11y_LvJYbxWyb7til_le1O21aVxUXy5HT-0Nv2iXqWD_KuMhLWpiSgL4/s320/055.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349619430832093666" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The following day we both had a Drs appointment. She had her two year check up and is checking in very good! She weighs 32 lbs and is 36 inches tall. Making her real close to the 95 percentile of both categories. The Dr was looking for 2 word sentences, but Alivia surprised her with 5 word sentences. She is definitley a talker!<br />My appointment was a rather long one, so we left Alivia with Grandma Sally. I had to get briefed on what I am in for as far as having a baby (as if I didn't already know everything they were telling me) and then I had a lot, and I mean A LOT of blood drawn for all the tests that they run when first becoming pregnant. After a long wait, I was also granted an ultrasound. The baby was one week further than what we had thought, which is nice for me! We got to see a little spec on the screen with a rapidly beating heart. Everything looks good, so far! As of today, I am 10 weeks pregnant and VERY happy to say that I have avoided morning sickness completley! I have no idea how I got so lucky! I tire easily, but I will take that anyday. My next appointment is on June 30th where we will get to hear the heartbeat over a doppler.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPoKIfVVMWqq4Qh5BPGiN2LBgBprGDRNpeJpnJp5iE5cAqQkDaufLWUWBEhMr-HmuEhqfp7c9kWUAvsDB9QVj6GTlMxwdgFxY3r-G7xKT8ZPL6IwqXvTpuFqUEahw1C02kVADUg_jGRT0/s1600-h/040.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCPoKIfVVMWqq4Qh5BPGiN2LBgBprGDRNpeJpnJp5iE5cAqQkDaufLWUWBEhMr-HmuEhqfp7c9kWUAvsDB9QVj6GTlMxwdgFxY3r-G7xKT8ZPL6IwqXvTpuFqUEahw1C02kVADUg_jGRT0/s320/040.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349619866520065714" border="0" /></a>Later that week we had a party for Alivia's birthday. We invited close family and friends. We had planned on having it outside so we could play some yard games, but rain and 50 degree weather enticed us to stay inside! We ordered pizza and pasta and just hung out. It was a lot of fun!<br /><br />We joined a play group that our friend has started. We meet every Friday for a couple hours to play with some good friends. We look forward to going every week. We also got a pool pass for the summer, but have yet to find a good day to go. We are hoping to go this Tuesday as long as the weather stays nice.<br /><br />Other than that we have just been playing outside, seeing Grandparents, and having lots of fun!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-39312222882603506252009-05-25T23:20:00.002-05:002009-05-25T23:23:45.802-05:00Memorial Day Weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwe6W9ep9BduCHNlPpJhNJO054NPROlolwHj1e8GeeU8as1gpHg2du697-iYHDOmtN5kt69FstjlPEVg611-6aOg92mctBEkSrV_J_2uppwSE8A-YSApdIxG9Vb5WfK71gF3D3JZx1ykJd/s1600-h/028.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwe6W9ep9BduCHNlPpJhNJO054NPROlolwHj1e8GeeU8as1gpHg2du697-iYHDOmtN5kt69FstjlPEVg611-6aOg92mctBEkSrV_J_2uppwSE8A-YSApdIxG9Vb5WfK71gF3D3JZx1ykJd/s320/028.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339983266826418610" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We had a rather uneventful Memorial Day weekend, which is fine with me. We visited with grandparents and went to a bbq at my cousin's house.<br /><br />We are in the daily countdown to Alivia's second birthday! I have not done much to prepare for it. A complete opposite attitude than last year! This year I just want spoil her. Alan, Alivia and I will be taking a trip to the Children's museum to see the "Clifford, the Big Red Dog" display. I just know she is going to love it! She will be showered with lots of hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy (nothing different there!) and we will let her know over and over that it is her special day. The following weekend we will be holding a medium size birthday party for her, but mainly for Alan and I. We need some adult interaction and with her only turning two, I am thinking this is the last time that we can get away with having it be an adult based gathering. I think the cake and ice cream will make up for it though :)<br /><br />If you have not heard, Alivia is going to be a big sister! I am due at the end of January. We are really excited, but nervous at the same time!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-1690556510301961262009-05-21T23:32:00.003-05:002009-05-21T23:45:25.475-05:00Git er doneSo I posted awhile back that I had plans to accomplish a lot of things in the coming months. So far I have finished painting Alivia's room, prepared my garden, did some much needed landscaping, and the rest is yet to come. <br /><br />I didnt realize how big of a task most of these things were. Alivia's room took me a whole 8 months to finally finish, mainly because I was unsure of how I wanted to do the stripes. I just decided to wing it! I think it came out pretty great! I get a lot of compliments on it, I can tell Alivia likes it too!<br /><br />The garden was a big pain in the booty to prepare! Luckily, I had my dad helping me otherwise I think I would have given up on it. The food prices these days has gotten me motivated to grow my own veggies and do it all organically. The only problem is, I dont have the slightest clue as to what I am doing! I may not even end up with a veggie garden this year. I have a feeling it will be trial and error. How else will I learn though? I am preparing to plant the seeds now that (I think) it will stay above freezing from here on out... at least I hope so, it's almost June for goodness sake! I have sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, and my dad is growing red and white radishes. Sweet!<br /><br />We are trying so desperatley to get rid of the weeds in our yard. Seems like our yard is the only one with a dandelion problem. I cant help to think that its because the previous owners just let it go for way too long. I bet it will take years before we get our lush green grass! At least we have grass this year! Last year it was all dead and you could not even walk in the yard without shoes on. So, we layed some weed and feed, are keeping up with the mowing, and will be plating grass seed in the spots that need it. Now only if I could get rid of that pesky gopher that has taken post in our yard! We have tried poisoning him, but he is still around. Cute lil bugger, but I want him gone. I finally got around to planting some flowers around the mailbox. I like it, it looks so much better than what it was. Next, I have to finish digging a trench around the trees that are along the road so I can lay some plastic, edging, and some mulch. Once I get that done (and my garden) then I think I will be satisfied for now... until fall.The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-71208665769560039352009-05-12T08:35:00.004-05:002009-05-12T09:42:36.289-05:00The happy and the sadThe sad: After 8 years of having our ferret, Mo, we decided it was time to let her go. She had a tumor on her front leg that was an open sore and not healing. We decided to not have the surgery to remove it, because it would have cost us hundreds of dollars with no guarantee that the tumor wouldn't come back. Given her age (most ferrets only live 4-6 years) we thought putting her down was the best we could do for her. It will be weird not having her around, but it was time.<br /><br />The happy: Alan, Alivia, and I will be welcoming a new member to the family (the human kind) at the end of January! It's still pretty early on, but I am too excited to not tell anyone. I am 4 weeks pregnant, only 36 more to go! Please be in prayer for a healthy pregnancy and baby. Thanks!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-13675037642518852052009-05-08T22:19:00.004-05:002009-05-08T22:43:40.955-05:00HappeningsWe have been keeping pretty busy, hence me not blogging as often. The weather is finally starting to get nicer and the green grass is very appealing! We have flowers budding on our plum tree and the leaves on the other trees are trying to pop out!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJXXE-td5LUDE8NscvNESS-zdJm_dRSDHUTm8jYkXjrVMIdMFGfw4yAEU0wSpupJRJ7lpMnkG0o-FceeM5aI9CNpwg5m1GQZ-_uFHuH9K9GpTzsJwVoJ64iYVVYYtOd66hijVRFmr5atg/s1600-h/020.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJXXE-td5LUDE8NscvNESS-zdJm_dRSDHUTm8jYkXjrVMIdMFGfw4yAEU0wSpupJRJ7lpMnkG0o-FceeM5aI9CNpwg5m1GQZ-_uFHuH9K9GpTzsJwVoJ64iYVVYYtOd66hijVRFmr5atg/s320/020.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333660325392581842" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90V6U1LVH29vtlirJo1tMhk7tPX_8VpOrj_JitvdC1VWfql7ezjKyrbCbvLNGNcIoQE19Q339wxsIUsBpc8iD-rbnU-I40R6tKqUUtjUw6DFVT95cTAmDUqQG4hlNZDIWS0eABRMvA0jp/s1600-h/031.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90V6U1LVH29vtlirJo1tMhk7tPX_8VpOrj_JitvdC1VWfql7ezjKyrbCbvLNGNcIoQE19Q339wxsIUsBpc8iD-rbnU-I40R6tKqUUtjUw6DFVT95cTAmDUqQG4hlNZDIWS0eABRMvA0jp/s320/031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333660329931096354" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Alivia is now counting to 9 and saying most of her ABC's. Her favorite song to sing is "Twinkle, Twinkle." She is pretty much the most adorable little girl I have ever seen.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwprYjTLqp8H1gRnN_zyXWM3hW6Tn0OAT8L2aNkVwt7ZaGom3ws-ZOmnHxSbWhhJxI38p-uqKxatCXmfXj7sQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Alivia has been diagnosed with asthma, so now she has to be on a nebulizer machine. She seems to be doing well with having to take her "steam" and has yet to fight us on it, which is a different story from two weeks ago.<br /><br />I will be starting her second birthday party plans soon! Oh where has the time gone?The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-61297290532481796762009-04-02T22:43:00.013-05:002009-04-03T00:35:30.374-05:00Denver!Alivia and I (Kandace) took a one week vacation to good ole Denver, CO. We had the pleasure of staying with our friends, <a href="http://addisonmariemercer.blogspot.com/">Brian, Kassie and Addie</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmD0r8dKETZ59iXXrBUPeo44Pqx1rKuqx5SPnzAOzkmsyOKSyXYp1etxa-Z-Y-YxqumFeLqb6OEbbMI-ru9rxIt-tJeRk-FBxJwIssjF29EC4te9-82J0UC7WwswjWMmjv-vyxlscGTYP/s1600-h/181.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcmD0r8dKETZ59iXXrBUPeo44Pqx1rKuqx5SPnzAOzkmsyOKSyXYp1etxa-Z-Y-YxqumFeLqb6OEbbMI-ru9rxIt-tJeRk-FBxJwIssjF29EC4te9-82J0UC7WwswjWMmjv-vyxlscGTYP/s320/181.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320315228338991586" border="0" /></a>They were (and always are) very generous to us and we greatly appreciate it! (Thanks, Mercer's!) It was so much fun watching Liv and Addie play and communicate with one another. It's amazing that they know what they are saying to each other, like they have their own language.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdtDjRi9Tq2mfL2QoDrQX88Z4Buabc_JC2ipFu8ld-7wFWxifJFgU_ARX1atMzmy0lc6Uw9BqGhFUWwL7c5xNBcixh93oXbSRcTCl3viLuFTLcSQzj8WvUZ7DfYgn0YsWr2oGJP2gs_f98/s1600-h/073.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdtDjRi9Tq2mfL2QoDrQX88Z4Buabc_JC2ipFu8ld-7wFWxifJFgU_ARX1atMzmy0lc6Uw9BqGhFUWwL7c5xNBcixh93oXbSRcTCl3viLuFTLcSQzj8WvUZ7DfYgn0YsWr2oGJP2gs_f98/s320/073.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320322213159139218" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We did a lot of fun things including swimming...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0RvjyjcdiB2hVDLXW_l7mk-j3QJ-l65SVivDhaQNnfRx-aU9yBoF0YTEKvvkVEl6fdPAOm1ynXGNi4VgLwmXwH430tUw9CeDSeutCFuD3hnegv3LBtcC4vGu7_04rt0Ib7B66Cgi_d0b/s1600-h/008.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip0RvjyjcdiB2hVDLXW_l7mk-j3QJ-l65SVivDhaQNnfRx-aU9yBoF0YTEKvvkVEl6fdPAOm1ynXGNi4VgLwmXwH430tUw9CeDSeutCFuD3hnegv3LBtcC4vGu7_04rt0Ib7B66Cgi_d0b/s320/008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320315777314301394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukB2937tCRSzyTeyvKDYaKD2ZJESFhgFxQoiGqxYmPE3uiIjM1lys_cd26TFxtYY-0xkg1hxyZTY81i49DwLUeWApU5BspJq37H5YRRWgDVnCVABmC5Dc2ZjN-iCenjIhzxk73_e14HB5/s1600-h/017.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukB2937tCRSzyTeyvKDYaKD2ZJESFhgFxQoiGqxYmPE3uiIjM1lys_cd26TFxtYY-0xkg1hxyZTY81i49DwLUeWApU5BspJq37H5YRRWgDVnCVABmC5Dc2ZjN-iCenjIhzxk73_e14HB5/s320/017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320317086252947170" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hanging out with Tara...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpufEFChxDgdPNgoAjq1uuF3zlOmQiufPCs9N3BZk6GTwvwA-JGhz3233pgQSLaZdZcZ5-t8joTNGk1xdK4OL_DF8gLt18klW_B_a5Zfcrb20f8G05FLSH_t9-Xn4qcqjOV4ZOFxAtI0_d/s1600-h/027.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpufEFChxDgdPNgoAjq1uuF3zlOmQiufPCs9N3BZk6GTwvwA-JGhz3233pgQSLaZdZcZ5-t8joTNGk1xdK4OL_DF8gLt18klW_B_a5Zfcrb20f8G05FLSH_t9-Xn4qcqjOV4ZOFxAtI0_d/s320/027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320317696140390834" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjnnrmvwtbL1F-RKVsAtd4_zfXQJI1GZxCNMZeaVme_uo0oFOVTup4XY3LFZt7PFSrxOthOg8cw7I-GHl8ufShpxDoQmZ7pKZ99jFRwy9OC2CIXOgx0VtVG3iAAv3ThHd9096AjPeDuOa/s1600-h/261.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjnnrmvwtbL1F-RKVsAtd4_zfXQJI1GZxCNMZeaVme_uo0oFOVTup4XY3LFZt7PFSrxOthOg8cw7I-GHl8ufShpxDoQmZ7pKZ99jFRwy9OC2CIXOgx0VtVG3iAAv3ThHd9096AjPeDuOa/s320/261.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320318444604124994" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Going to Red Rocks with Anne, Jr, and Anne's friend and son....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIeQCXDi6qOJa5u6m8jFQEg09d_sGCJWDJ1pCnflDCF84_cbCCe73nSbge4f9uGI0Peb14TD9Otm3HmqPkTlN_gEAGn_70o9QFM8Hc2Ex2gtu5YWqD9gofXUeLhsaMlXmXE2jCdDy3zT1/s1600-h/038.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvIeQCXDi6qOJa5u6m8jFQEg09d_sGCJWDJ1pCnflDCF84_cbCCe73nSbge4f9uGI0Peb14TD9Otm3HmqPkTlN_gEAGn_70o9QFM8Hc2Ex2gtu5YWqD9gofXUeLhsaMlXmXE2jCdDy3zT1/s320/038.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320320409684158882" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3C8Z9xevIKDlX_7645UWHzKW6q7VqIqw285uupM1dd0lIpw7jXjsGToDMourwDoVH-jYPW0PsPMgJOZwUwbPlpKAszZZU5zqNSeqz7xvL3k3Z6w8X-rT7ud2L6lxmF9tTAyHH9ttNj5I/s1600-h/033.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3C8Z9xevIKDlX_7645UWHzKW6q7VqIqw285uupM1dd0lIpw7jXjsGToDMourwDoVH-jYPW0PsPMgJOZwUwbPlpKAszZZU5zqNSeqz7xvL3k3Z6w8X-rT7ud2L6lxmF9tTAyHH9ttNj5I/s320/033.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320320413497451378" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVREop2liFie4qCuWxr8CqCoTr_RKmJo-OeYij-KGANrmYJZ4o8HHhqz1bl9qkO2w9eHyeeUPV6chAZRIks2kuXa3L9cPh_kWGvGuzYp9OXXfr9c6-O_rV72iLdcMGMT6h_ls5zrQTyPT/s1600-h/046.JPG"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNVREop2liFie4qCuWxr8CqCoTr_RKmJo-OeYij-KGANrmYJZ4o8HHhqz1bl9qkO2w9eHyeeUPV6chAZRIks2kuXa3L9cPh_kWGvGuzYp9OXXfr9c6-O_rV72iLdcMGMT6h_ls5zrQTyPT/s320/046.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320320417492879698" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Meeting up for some dinner with Kim, Dylan, and Carson...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAuqBIrqT_irROHICZ_azsZuA8SfscqnPePmZGFAgzfXjkylnQJrMQRAunPSUx2pp-v__kjO29Lc-9W9s9Rq8qDXSMEe0TeQftvHadBBxx6aWBeXB8N6hkGbG0NCXNHa-ABsfSkun6anv/s1600-h/062.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikAuqBIrqT_irROHICZ_azsZuA8SfscqnPePmZGFAgzfXjkylnQJrMQRAunPSUx2pp-v__kjO29Lc-9W9s9Rq8qDXSMEe0TeQftvHadBBxx6aWBeXB8N6hkGbG0NCXNHa-ABsfSkun6anv/s320/062.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320322216930431410" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Watching the annual March blizzard...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFfsp55makPBOXHGYJMfNDPXyYG50ctQJT7yQmmreuxqN1R5xbWhOCYeGbVNjyRV2LJkEEt5JCCCMjBAEMfo5IQLbBWC3gRKCggsYyPGYhIZUSO390gdiXCROK-l7MyV_UoELar4_4waB/s1600-h/064.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjFfsp55makPBOXHGYJMfNDPXyYG50ctQJT7yQmmreuxqN1R5xbWhOCYeGbVNjyRV2LJkEEt5JCCCMjBAEMfo5IQLbBWC3gRKCggsYyPGYhIZUSO390gdiXCROK-l7MyV_UoELar4_4waB/s320/064.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320322208847421170" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hanging out, because Liv was sick...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfrRchFuCf9SmF6EHkQEWX0nD75yZZMMiVvwUbqTXWb3DumZDT6gQxAPz5vvMQN6aFQz_WbLOgNL5tAqyG-DwO-qG1V5w_3_wJ0Jhy2NiaILGIx5PaUfTkVGPsnlog5WaqU9CxSyFOZDo/s1600-h/097.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfrRchFuCf9SmF6EHkQEWX0nD75yZZMMiVvwUbqTXWb3DumZDT6gQxAPz5vvMQN6aFQz_WbLOgNL5tAqyG-DwO-qG1V5w_3_wJ0Jhy2NiaILGIx5PaUfTkVGPsnlog5WaqU9CxSyFOZDo/s320/097.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320322224138352754" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBoGuRQWYwKJwQ2eM5mLY-em6zyci8VitwIPwjpQMqc9Yrk-lI0Lejwk7hsNj8Z0ATLgS0V24DB7xSSdkcbUtB5451oTqkinF5oeEwF392Iysf-KltMuZ3rDAoDpKUEe-Why_ceD-yNQR/s1600-h/101.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBoGuRQWYwKJwQ2eM5mLY-em6zyci8VitwIPwjpQMqc9Yrk-lI0Lejwk7hsNj8Z0ATLgS0V24DB7xSSdkcbUtB5451oTqkinF5oeEwF392Iysf-KltMuZ3rDAoDpKUEe-Why_ceD-yNQR/s320/101.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320324866392897410" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The Children's Museum with April, Ethan, and the Mercer's...<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc3aHeNmc8dglx9jsusPrI8A19n-_wMq89cEdSnmDSNUx1i23K19zlz_zG6D16XKLYdWo9KMkz7i-UBJE2nEh29YFEdBTZOMnYNY5rfuPum1zKKQYt4mlu9p58B1lxp1-U3AmZsXfT4sv/s1600-h/124.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHc3aHeNmc8dglx9jsusPrI8A19n-_wMq89cEdSnmDSNUx1i23K19zlz_zG6D16XKLYdWo9KMkz7i-UBJE2nEh29YFEdBTZOMnYNY5rfuPum1zKKQYt4mlu9p58B1lxp1-U3AmZsXfT4sv/s320/124.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320324881562761730" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTT_ZjNCrhluJNtN-KsnDxZfcH7Kn77uTCIDOKemuTeXsDH5ZDyI0U4rX6_qur6excP49hPNvXGmwO_dTRJWQdU5nWKnYYaMq37r3w3q5qFaMNjJF_t7bjQPAL13zbdjqLPBbr-zjA_0T/s1600-h/164.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwTT_ZjNCrhluJNtN-KsnDxZfcH7Kn77uTCIDOKemuTeXsDH5ZDyI0U4rX6_qur6excP49hPNvXGmwO_dTRJWQdU5nWKnYYaMq37r3w3q5qFaMNjJF_t7bjQPAL13zbdjqLPBbr-zjA_0T/s320/164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320324887457113410" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjm-VeomDlsHSIWN5XZo36S2024b7CI2xPHtblL31NWECwBzmFWnKqpV20xMVEvsH8cqQdxOviQFNkCobzhMj_yvJMAYYYW4Gwj45ek93mT8QKRIXCmw7RDEjUyUxH3Ek1ACl6_v6aC4W/s1600-h/153.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBjm-VeomDlsHSIWN5XZo36S2024b7CI2xPHtblL31NWECwBzmFWnKqpV20xMVEvsH8cqQdxOviQFNkCobzhMj_yvJMAYYYW4Gwj45ek93mT8QKRIXCmw7RDEjUyUxH3Ek1ACl6_v6aC4W/s320/153.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320324875374366178" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlk1T76H3B5z5-iTxXjjRU5j-uSx-rFErImlc7z8nsaXq2kHKoXvgdJ5jSbLJrxmu5XVC4J9DTPAbRmyPWPIheH2WOjfF5hPf9mvD_VOQxGB0VTciftAOWZ6tpq7fwYO6Bx74B4yK_BRP8/s1600-h/131.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlk1T76H3B5z5-iTxXjjRU5j-uSx-rFErImlc7z8nsaXq2kHKoXvgdJ5jSbLJrxmu5XVC4J9DTPAbRmyPWPIheH2WOjfF5hPf9mvD_VOQxGB0VTciftAOWZ6tpq7fwYO6Bx74B4yK_BRP8/s320/131.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320324872895029522" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We were also able to see "Uncle Sean" for a few minutes before he ran off to a soccer game...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmCpYy-s14A8tNeTV0QapsCbVVuHpynM8m7UEFTU_2bQcoPnrTB0e9NVHt7680o_H0zDJwUe7usVXRGrqQplGzrCsq2kUV4WfnTeOHE6y62DTt3C265ZPSkdtcAwNp3jHZaisd7-j4dO3/s1600-h/195.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpmCpYy-s14A8tNeTV0QapsCbVVuHpynM8m7UEFTU_2bQcoPnrTB0e9NVHt7680o_H0zDJwUe7usVXRGrqQplGzrCsq2kUV4WfnTeOHE6y62DTt3C265ZPSkdtcAwNp3jHZaisd7-j4dO3/s320/195.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320327127276046242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Enjoying the day with Tara and Dylan at the aquarium...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9rMwvkI-GZRMP-jGYbLneyDs_HyzmCTCAkKFDXkFLV054yu40kWFP98WGLj05py8ipq-iv8Z3PFj1vdRII5S_MKGX7MP05_ePRaCg9-0UwSHh4ctyPSfLTQOypjRufw1Ji7IhTZP3TQH/s1600-h/239.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9rMwvkI-GZRMP-jGYbLneyDs_HyzmCTCAkKFDXkFLV054yu40kWFP98WGLj05py8ipq-iv8Z3PFj1vdRII5S_MKGX7MP05_ePRaCg9-0UwSHh4ctyPSfLTQOypjRufw1Ji7IhTZP3TQH/s320/239.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320328861007578642" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Sx8UQj5CXk6krWaOFnVQ0z5BEg20aUhFSZsA69nIpH1e1KtpKgy1M2JxmS-jtY8y21WZpz6zu9885URUoGZbgK9nsM53WA37Qo4qx3MpVt7VTpkJ6xOmyDRBuxWCQy4y_WXm-u3p98p-/s1600-h/280.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Sx8UQj5CXk6krWaOFnVQ0z5BEg20aUhFSZsA69nIpH1e1KtpKgy1M2JxmS-jtY8y21WZpz6zu9885URUoGZbgK9nsM53WA37Qo4qx3MpVt7VTpkJ6xOmyDRBuxWCQy4y_WXm-u3p98p-/s320/280.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320328876763698978" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UZ-_QDxlbmwChgHr0_6EY7z-E7T1J4O3q1GhbYQBZT9DySiPylFMBspz8_fntksEYXBVTCGYWbMgeSBUX0k7-g69-Xc5Ow3JyQyg9BJxiH86EUv77VOfcn3HbwZfUpsHWsyuS9df1APO/s1600-h/266.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1UZ-_QDxlbmwChgHr0_6EY7z-E7T1J4O3q1GhbYQBZT9DySiPylFMBspz8_fntksEYXBVTCGYWbMgeSBUX0k7-g69-Xc5Ow3JyQyg9BJxiH86EUv77VOfcn3HbwZfUpsHWsyuS9df1APO/s320/266.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320328870680714402" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bvbqVi4RbP1fiAQNmJZI3VWNOUt9ZC6dx4aBtE7wmh5Tjc4Ywel4zDmZHJ_pTU9veCaFgFTscMiyTPUfnLy7DsSZVsZJF4h4IJGrhj8ovcxmfzxVILIq7OGLqOPbKCluRpDLxUzhZ8r8/s1600-h/297.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1bvbqVi4RbP1fiAQNmJZI3VWNOUt9ZC6dx4aBtE7wmh5Tjc4Ywel4zDmZHJ_pTU9veCaFgFTscMiyTPUfnLy7DsSZVsZJF4h4IJGrhj8ovcxmfzxVILIq7OGLqOPbKCluRpDLxUzhZ8r8/s320/297.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320328875226397890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A lovely chat with our old friend, John...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNxN2Fb5aqrz9CfoKakBtP8EBa-3V82Y-s8v2YsLsWZrZ4mpdd9ew2ju5ffdeeiSKb54wYRz4p64sUNpfebdkf03SlhrsLhyygEbOMc02wyjiFUCHI9LGQ29iD_g18v0Hm1-EKT5J0ohV/s1600-h/298.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNxN2Fb5aqrz9CfoKakBtP8EBa-3V82Y-s8v2YsLsWZrZ4mpdd9ew2ju5ffdeeiSKb54wYRz4p64sUNpfebdkf03SlhrsLhyygEbOMc02wyjiFUCHI9LGQ29iD_g18v0Hm1-EKT5J0ohV/s320/298.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320328880396756354" border="0" /></a><br /><br />and then a delayed flight that led to a missed flight due to me being taken to the hospital via ambulance. I am ok, just was a little faint and needed an IV to get me back on my feet. We ended up staying an extra night in Denver, because we had missed the last flight out for the night. Bummer.<br /><br />I was happy to get home to my own bed, without Alivia hogging all of my space! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwgSFFTuHm7Aijx2opVo0VHnN3eijAGZU4kek0MaAF_6DSd45o1wniK1qRZkt877qrI8lhOSgPAAzuOdonssOqmHmwewkm3dL2zz5z92Kpy5khaIGYPqEA4DVo57CePs7y_cFY3ZLEY-y/s1600-h/093.JPG"> <img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcwgSFFTuHm7Aijx2opVo0VHnN3eijAGZU4kek0MaAF_6DSd45o1wniK1qRZkt877qrI8lhOSgPAAzuOdonssOqmHmwewkm3dL2zz5z92Kpy5khaIGYPqEA4DVo57CePs7y_cFY3ZLEY-y/s320/093.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320322216170697922" border="0" /></a> <br /><br />I also enjoyed catching up with some friends at our former church called <a href="http://www.scumoftheearth.net/">Scum of the Earth</a> and our good friend and former pastor, Nate and his family, of <a href="http://sites.advancedministry.com/anokachurch">Anoka Covenant</a>.<br /><br />All in all, we had a great time! Alivia and Addie seemed to enjoy their time together.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKvuklL1iYVgAQsUU3KUlhSeGpqb5mY-Fr_vsAyxQM68GGSLi6I9TJob7W1pt1WRqgHR0CG7nSfWZ0QVvIBlBnasPUVIj3JA7iw1yfzRPsVTS58G6uovvG95vWaUNSn2hnFwmKdn1jQ0l/s1600-h/199.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKvuklL1iYVgAQsUU3KUlhSeGpqb5mY-Fr_vsAyxQM68GGSLi6I9TJob7W1pt1WRqgHR0CG7nSfWZ0QVvIBlBnasPUVIj3JA7iw1yfzRPsVTS58G6uovvG95vWaUNSn2hnFwmKdn1jQ0l/s320/199.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320327131752655842" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig35RX6FtO_ZjAWNFf2OOyL_3KgC_JvDO7DaxbRcQBMQtYRoO9SlqBlNnicG1aaDmWmJwf1H3m0GkCUN43KVnf7eJdlQu9bWzEfgyV2B174OuLsAbWZAw2KaXVQdf6tv29oGkvtTFoP84P/s1600-h/201.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig35RX6FtO_ZjAWNFf2OOyL_3KgC_JvDO7DaxbRcQBMQtYRoO9SlqBlNnicG1aaDmWmJwf1H3m0GkCUN43KVnf7eJdlQu9bWzEfgyV2B174OuLsAbWZAw2KaXVQdf6tv29oGkvtTFoP84P/s320/201.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320327135508565362" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCWxREaHYXkBSUHZVTPhxMJr82Pyl8YNj_zlf4UnT8fvy_Cv05GQqc3caP6en6T5dMBO99SimOxSbRkU4545BoeUdwOSQjCNdoHm13lO-UlGi1X_FJ9GEAxDPWximQZLqlPoQrkJsNuDO/s1600-h/210.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoCWxREaHYXkBSUHZVTPhxMJr82Pyl8YNj_zlf4UnT8fvy_Cv05GQqc3caP6en6T5dMBO99SimOxSbRkU4545BoeUdwOSQjCNdoHm13lO-UlGi1X_FJ9GEAxDPWximQZLqlPoQrkJsNuDO/s320/210.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320327138510063186" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Livie also loved Polly the pug whom she refered to as "Pollys"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZKa-ptj_tfS7K_ScxHjKvr3KgHOm70T7n3sRjD3bz7zpjojZegWZ_sRA90jUElJl8KeVnhgdqgM3NikFEFSTLrzwf13NYkannic6Yajmz_iu6fl2r3qRo-6yoD19Bj3XobGLydkqGzBT/s1600-h/228.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_ZKa-ptj_tfS7K_ScxHjKvr3KgHOm70T7n3sRjD3bz7zpjojZegWZ_sRA90jUElJl8KeVnhgdqgM3NikFEFSTLrzwf13NYkannic6Yajmz_iu6fl2r3qRo-6yoD19Bj3XobGLydkqGzBT/s320/228.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320327142810893778" border="0" /></a>The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-7621414482331145542009-03-15T23:35:00.006-05:002009-03-16T00:07:20.776-05:00Our weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGiHc2_TUSbh66nysB4AsjOKxHUI_93_N9gH4hzoq3yoW8cFsAeSCVdV4oE_7MDNwCPPGh1XPB2GGqv4YgWTRbIP8jygXOB4HQpiMHdAqZfU_mKGN9dcAD287M6YwLYpbB8hMgby8QdNZ/s1600-h/007.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUGiHc2_TUSbh66nysB4AsjOKxHUI_93_N9gH4hzoq3yoW8cFsAeSCVdV4oE_7MDNwCPPGh1XPB2GGqv4YgWTRbIP8jygXOB4HQpiMHdAqZfU_mKGN9dcAD287M6YwLYpbB8hMgby8QdNZ/s320/007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313643220385461074" border="0" /></a><br />Our weekend started off kind of rocky. (Friday the 13th) We had plans to go to the <a href="http://www.waterparkofamerica.com/">Water Park of America</a> with our friends, Anne, Jayson and their son Jayson Jr. We packed up the car and headed out. We get to Brooklyn Park (about 20 minutes from home) and Alan's car stalled at a red light.. in rush hour.. on a highway. NOT FUN. After trying to start it and praying that no one hits us, we decided to call AAA. We are in the process of getting a tow truck confirmed when all of a sudden, it started! Praise the Lord! We had our friends on their way to meet us somewhere, so they could follow us just in case. Thankfully, we had no more problems after putting in some fuel injector cleaner. We are on our way to the water park, already an hour late at this time... we miss our exit. Crap. We try to turn around, but end up on a different highway. We turn on the GPS (should have done that in the first place!) and we were then able to find it after taking another wrong turn due to not trusting Eugene (our GPS). We pull into the parking lot to find ZERO parking spots available. No hopes of one opening up anytime either. Alan dropped Alivia and I off at the door and went searching for another place to park. All of which were private property parking only, Alan decided to risk it. We finally get into the water park.. it was amazing! All of our worries and bad feelings disappeared. I was like a kid in a candy store. Anne and I unloaded the kids to the daddies and we went off to explore! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzlbC_nAE3wzHQZtDddz9vUfZ0KPEWv8iBfX-7ch4Gu8zdYbn7SaqIFPuTWloSeISAlnzNIbkIdUNTRWFjWPjDilQNKlaYr4yZdvEmTV4o5zdztFugiam3Ht5lRA6_oW3anW0GnbHiIuA/s1600-h/012.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzlbC_nAE3wzHQZtDddz9vUfZ0KPEWv8iBfX-7ch4Gu8zdYbn7SaqIFPuTWloSeISAlnzNIbkIdUNTRWFjWPjDilQNKlaYr4yZdvEmTV4o5zdztFugiam3Ht5lRA6_oW3anW0GnbHiIuA/s320/012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313643608603559346" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAxl3EEvrftUCa2of7JqnlVGedP19VS3L9yD8GlTLTmVOEQVQYzFWMG7ECceg5VJqQhXA1WzkfkCKvbXnZTAOkNdrmMLZCJx-IIE00O5KqPu7hyphenhyphenHRXWZC0slW1ya2k68J1f3KBtLmUnH5/s1600-h/015.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPAxl3EEvrftUCa2of7JqnlVGedP19VS3L9yD8GlTLTmVOEQVQYzFWMG7ECceg5VJqQhXA1WzkfkCKvbXnZTAOkNdrmMLZCJx-IIE00O5KqPu7hyphenhyphenHRXWZC0slW1ya2k68J1f3KBtLmUnH5/s320/015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313644126998002450" border="0" /></a><br />They had tube slides, body slides, a lazy river, a raft ride, surf simulator, wave pool, sports pool, 2 huge hot tubs, and a rather large kiddy play area where Livie had a field day! She loved going down the water slides that were just her size. The night ended without problems. A great way to unwind from our frustrations and I can't wait to go back.<br /><br />Saturday we just hung out and did some shopping at Target followed by some cheesburgers and potatoes off the grill courtesy of my mom. <br /><br />Sunday morning we woke up and went to church. It was a beautiful day! I was working in the nursery, so I got to play with Alivia a lot. We had a slient auction in which I bid on some pretty cool things. Well, I think they are cool and it goes to a good cause.. the <a href="http://anokachurch.com">Anoka Covenant Youth Group</a>. I got a <a href="https://sharksteammop.com/contents/index.aspx?LompID=28368&SiteID=12457132">Shark steam mop</a> for $30.00 and 2 passes to <a href="http://www.bunkerbeach.com/">Bunker Beach</a> for $10. I am pretty excited! To make the day even better, Livie and I came home and had a wonderful 3 hour nap. The day could not have been any better after that!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-75260176052805168082009-03-12T01:02:00.003-05:002009-03-12T01:09:09.150-05:00Wii FitThe Wii Fit never fails to make me feel like a horrible person! I don't suppose anyone told it that I don't respond well to criticism, even if it <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> constructive! "Kandace, it's been 30 days since you have last exercised (you lazy bum)" or how about "Kandace, you should really consider laying off the afternoon snacks" or even "Kandace, you have gained 2 pounds, way to not stick to your goal of <span style="font-style: italic;">losing</span> weight!" <br /><br />Yep, I fail. <br /><br />I did however enjoy racing Alan today while running in place and I got to watch my brother do the hula hoop. Something that no sister should ever see. Ever. (I have video! Heehee)<br /><br />I can see where the Wii Fit is coming from though. Good thing it doesn't have eyes, otherwise it would have seen me run to get a brownie right after working out! See, I fail.The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-19686821750222648392009-03-11T13:55:00.002-05:002009-03-11T14:07:48.542-05:00Old Man WinterI am starting to despise the cold here in Minnesota. It seems like the winters go on and on and on and well, you get the idea.<br /><br />Alivia and I are getting pretty antsy, we can't wait to get outside of the house to play! Being cooped up since October is no fun for a mommy and a toddler. I dream of warm sun, a slightly cool breeze, the sound of the ice cream truck rounding the corner and watching Alivia splash around in her pool or making some mean mud pies in her sandbox.<br /><br />It should be illegal to be this cold. I'm serious.<br /><br />I woke up this morning to my house sounding like it was going to collapse with the next big gust of wind that was slamming us. I also woke up to it only being 64 degrees in the house! Not the best motivation for getting out of a warm bed, but baby was calling. I attempted to turn the heat up, but it was already on and blowing out COLD air! No idea how that works when it's set to be on heat. So, I busted out the space heaters and snuggled with Alivia on the couch with some cozy blankets. The heat eventually kicked on after our hot shower.<br /><br />Random thought: Do you know what I hate? When I am comfortable on the couch and my phone rings- it's all the way downstairs. Leave a message, I will get back to you when I am done being lazy!<br /><br />Ok, back to my post. There are a lot of things that I would like to learn how to do around the house. I think I will document my trial and errors so you all can laugh at me and be glad that you are not me. <br /><br />I am going to start with painting stripes on Alivia's wall. I haven't quite figured out the easiest way to do it, but I am sure it will all work out in the end. I would also like to finally finish decorating her room. It would be nice to have ONE room finished in this house of ours. Pictures to come...The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-52498171153730365562008-12-31T21:42:00.003-06:002008-12-31T21:47:16.326-06:00NYEWell, it's time to ring in the New Year. Not sure where the excitement has gone that usually comes with ringing in a new year... perhaps I am finally realizing that the new year doesn't really bring on any great triumphs. At least no more than normal, who needs a new year resolution anyways? Ok, I guess I do. There are many things that I would like to achieve in the coming year, but finding time and motivation is the problem. Maybe I should start small? Or maybe I should start big?The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8843146190741672148.post-86972721698242272072008-12-31T01:09:00.003-06:002008-12-31T01:18:38.578-06:00I suppose..I suppose its about time I get to blogging. I only made this account nearly 7 months ago. I had good intentions.. really, I did.<br /><br />I am becoming a blogger in the mere hopes of inspiring someone. I am not sure how yet, but that is my hope. <br /><br />I stumbled across a news story about a local St. Paul woman who was an avid blogger, a mother, a journalist, a wife, and a victim to cancer. This brave woman wrote about her trials good and bad. I found her blog in the worst of instances. Her husband had just published a statement saying that she had passed away. My heart just aches for this family. How could something good come out of something so horrible? This woman referred to a gentleman in one of her recent entries. A man by the name of Matt Logelin. He and his wife were expecting their first child. After 5 weeks of bed rest and a premature birth the new mother got up to visit her baby for the first time. She passed out and died before she even got to say hello. These people have such hardships in their lives, yet they blog about it for us all to read. It inspired me, so I am hoping to find a way to inspire others.<br /><br />Welcome to my crazy thoughts and I hope to be more entertaining in the future. As you can probably tell, I am not a good writer nor am I am good story teller... have mercy on me, please.<br /><br />Enjoy!The Baertschi'shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17353104603851268368noreply@blogger.com0