Wednesday, February 10, 2010

A Fun Day with Jessi & the kids

My friend Jessi drove out with her two kids (and she's pregnant) to say goodbye and spend some time together! The kids had a great time playing together but the highlight for me was the girls night out! Thanks Jessi, it meant a lot to me and it was so fun.

The kids had fun taking pictures with mom's camera. Here's a sample of pictures that Kelsey took. It really kept them busy and allowed a good amount of talking time for me & Jessi.

Then we headed down to the Baar pool - boy did we have our hands full! Kelsey and Abram are at a good age for water feature pool, which is where we spent most of the time. Then we ventured out to the bigger kids pool for some real swimming. After an hour and a half, the kids were tired and ready for a nap!
Or cookie decorating. Jessi brought sugar cookies and frosting and we decorated cookies for our friends, after eating some ourselves of course. They were SO yummy.



When Tally got home, we put the kids to bed and left to have ladies night at Cafe Felix in Zurich (I highly recommend it). It was so great to have uplifting conversation about all the wonderful things in our lives. We kept having to stop ourselves from talking too much about our kids.


Jessi and I went up to the gorgeous display of pastries and picked out 4 dishes for 3 of us. Jennifer hadn't had dinner yet so she got a delicious omelet (of course I had to taste it) and we each got a hot chocolate because that's what the place is known for. We stuffed ourselves full. 

I think we finished off even more than this

The next morning, Jessi and the kids headed back to Geneva while Kels, Aiden & I headed off to our appointments for the day. I wished it could have lasted longer, but real life must go on. 
Doesn't this look a bit like a prom picture pose?


CHEESY & CUTE!

Monday, February 08, 2010

Bathtime Fun

Bathtime is doubly fun when you have someone to splash with! Both kids LOVE the bath right now. 

Vintage Bathtime
The style & finish I chose reminds me of some bath pictures I have when I was a little girl  - the ones with my sister Julia, cousin Aubrey & cousin Shannon. Do you guys know which ones I'm talking about?


Blurry, but cute
Until he fell over...he's in the process of falling in this picture which is why I moved my hand (thus blurry) to try to catch him. He really is kinda scared of her. You would be too.


Here's my handsome little man making faces in the bath. This was his last time using a bath chair. He's such a happy guy and melts my heart constantly throughout the day. Just one look from those doughy brown eyes and I'm his. Add the dimples and he's got whatever he wants!
The last one on the bottom right reminds me of one I took of Kelsey when she was a baby.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Christmas Celebrations in Cali

Finally, our Christmas card from 2009. I hope this suffices for all those I didn't send one to. I didn't get around to sending a lot this year.

I dreamed up this picture before I even had Aiden. My friend gave me a painting of baby Jesus and it is hanging in Kelsey's room. I thought, 'I could do that with my camera.' Along came Aiden and with the help of my friends Jenna (location, assisting, getting the sheep help, etc.), Jessi (wardrobe), Mary (round 2 couldn't have happened this way without round 1), Wolfgang (manger & clean hay), and the people at the farm - this picture was able to happen! Jenna knew the people at the Adliswil farm and came and assisted me. This was my favorite picture because it's a. one of the few with the sheep in it. b. Kelsey looks like she's pondering the baby. c. Aiden is serenely looking on. I wish I could have gotten more of his face/ a slightly higher angle (I did in subsequent shots but the sheep wasn't in them). I kept the kids in color because I think it makes them stand out and since they are representing Mary and Jesus, I wanted to keep focus on the most important subjects. Plus once I did this effect, I feel in love with it and Tal did too. So, voila! Thanks for helping me make a dream, reality (even if it's just a picture).






Runners Up


This is more like the painting my friend Rachel gave me




Aiden's Birth Announcement (he was 5 mos. old by the time we started getting it out)


Tal's Favorite

My parents' card



Pictures with Mimi

My mom gave her this dress last year, but I never got great pictures of her in it. 
Good thing it still fits her this year!










The FIRST round of Christmas Presents...


A baby from Grammie & Tom


And cool Christmas jammies that have reindeer on the feet

And from (my) Aunt Lisa & Uncle Steve


Arkansas Gear!


GO HOGS!


Kisses for Grammie, Tom, Lisa & Steve - hope she gave them out to ya'll.


Second Christmas

Twas two weeks before Christmas
When Santa Claus came
To bring toys to Aiden & Kelsey
because they couldn't bring them on the plane... (and Santa wanted them to be able to play with their new toys before having to leave them behind) We did it at night because there was no better day - we woke her (and Tally) up from their naps!

Peek-a-Boo with Papa


A new doll


Cool rain jacket for spring


The kids are more interested in the new toys


The stockings were hung...

Picture with Santa - from the ward Christmas party

Maybe Kelsey will be happy to see him next year, but probably not as happy as Aiden

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Cancer Month


So far, February has brought some shocking news. I hope it ends TODAY.

On the first, we found out Tally's "wart" on his arm that he had removed was actually skin cancer. Luckily he wanted to have it removed before he climbed Kilimanjaro (it kept opening up and bleeding). The doctor did a biopsy and discovered it was Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans. It's so rare that there's not a common name - this is the latin name. Since the doctor didn't know it was cancer (hasn't seen this in 10 years), he doesn't know if he got all the affected tissue out. So, Tally is going to a specialist in Zurich next week to determine how/when they will reopen it. The hard thing is, Tal is supposed to go to Kilimanjaro in 2 weeks and it would not be wise to go with a fresh wound. But it probably wouldn't be wise to go with cancer in his arm either. The cancer is characteristically slow-moving so waiting a month might be okay. We are also in the process of moving, date STILL to be determined.

So I thought that was scary and it would be a lot scarier if left untreated. But today I got a call from my friend Niina, who was one of the first people I met when we came to Zurich. I sat right next to her when I worked at Goldman, two BIG pregnant bellies. We were both expecting girls. And they were both big, healthy babies.

Our fabulous work friends - I swear we were productive

The little princesses at 2 months - love those chunky legs!

Over the three years we have been here, we have become even better friends. Her daughter, Wilma and Kelsey have played and our families have gathered for birthday parties, BBQs, and dinners. When I got pregnant with Aiden, we laughed when she told me she was pregnant too - both of us with BOYS! Before we left for the US for Thanksgiving, I took one month photos of Wilhelm.

Wilma & Kelsey playing before the shoot




One of my favorites from the shoot. I love that smile - such a proud big sister!


Niina and I have been trying to connect again now that the holidays are over, but I hadn't heard from her in a few weeks. She called me today to tell me the reason she hasn't been reachable is because Wilma, her daughter, has Acute Leukemia and has been undergoing Chemotherapy.

Niina remained strong while I fought back tears upon hearing this news. It felt like a ton of bricks. My first thought was, 'how could this happen?' We talked for awhile. All appropriate measures are being taken and though this is just the beginning, she's a tough cookie and will make it through. But my heart breaks for them. Of course I think of Kelsey, and can't imagine going thorough what they are going through.

So cancer sucks.
I know Lord loves little Wilma and her family. And I'm not in any way comparing skin cancer with Leukemia, just relating my experience to hearing the big bad word CANCER hit so close to home.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Super Princess Wilma, as you fight off the big bad cancer guys and always.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Aiden at SIX months




Wow how time flies. My little man (or "baby dude" as my mom calls him) is six months old today. He is the happiest little dude I know and is laying beside me as I type this kicking his legs and flailing his arms and laughing at himself. He's so yummy.



Just a few days ago, he started getting up on his knees and rocking. Sometimes he rocks too hard an falls forward on his face. He's also sitting up like a champ. Unfortunately his sister thinks this is prime tackling time. He has a bruise on his left cheek from the latest scrimmage. Tal hopes it will help him be tough for when he's in a real football game. He also scoots himself backward across the hardwood floors and ends up getting caught under the furniture. I remember Kelsey doing the same.







He's also grabbing at everything around him. We went to a broki on Saturday (2nd hand store) and he was in heaven looking at all the fun things he could play with. Luckily, we made it out without breaking anything. Tonight, while I made dinner, I put him in his bumbo seat on the counter. He tried to pull out all my knives that I thought were far enough away and then proceeded to pull out all my cooking spoons, spatulas, wisks, etc. from the pitcher. It kept him busy for at least an hour.





Tal's watching a football game and Aiden is now in a trance watching along side Tally with his doughy brown eyes and pouty bottom lip. He likes his binky at bedtime but if he has it other times, he just plays around with it - studies it, throws it, picks it up spastically between fingers.

He's such a social baby and loves sitting up at the dinner table. We got Kelsey a new high chair and put him in her old one and he loves it. He hasn't liked cucumber or carrot baby food so much, but loves the little Gerber puffs and baby cookies. He also loved this random baby food that my friend gave me from Italy. The problem is, the name was in Italian and didn't have pictures so I'm not sure what was in it. Mom of the year right here! Ceci...which I just looked up...chickpeas? Random, but I'll have to try it.
The other day while feeding him, I looked down to realize I'd given him a pink bib, pink bowl & pink spoon. He likes the bright colors, right?




He's starting to sleep for longer stretches now, which is so nice. However, he still ends up in bed with me around 4am. He's SO sweaty and leaves a circle of sweat on our sheets. Seriously soaking. Tonight I tried putting him down in a onesie so we'll see how that goes.


He and Kelsey love each other so much. Sometimes I'll hold Aiden under his arms and let him "walk" to Kelsey....or chase her. Aiden has started pulling her hair when he can get it. Kels is usually a good sport about it. The other day, she wrapped her arms around his neck and picked him up off the ground a few inches. I was terrified. I just can't leave the room for long. She just wanted to hold him! When she's not beating up on him, she's really sweet to him. She goes and gets him toys to play with, brings him his binky, and helps him roll over.





It's all fun and games until somebody gets hurt



Holding him nicely


And not-so-nicely



We're so glad you are in our family buddy! Sorry you're not feeling so great today. Here's to half a year!


Just for a fun comparison, here's what Kelsey looked like at 6 months


Kelsey's hair was falling out and growing back blonde. Aiden's hair is growing in blonde, but he doesn't seem to be losing much. I'll post his stats once we come back from the doctor.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Please Bless the People with Lots of Owwies...

We were just having family prayers and we asked Kelsey if she wanted to say it (usually no). She said, "bless the people with lots of owwies?" I smiled at Tal. She remembered that we told her about the people in Haiti and about our friends' baby London. She then went on to repeat my words as she prayed. I said, "We're thankful for Jesus." She said excitedly, "I LOVE Jesus!" Tal and I just chuckled. I love the innocence, purity and simpleness of children. I'm so glad we're able to pray together as a family.

She also can't wait for church tomorrow, and every week. Church = Nursery.

Praying for you Lulu...

Little London is getting her new liver as I write this. I'm going to bed now praying that all goes well and there is good news in the morning. Liz, James, & Jones...stay strong. Our hearts go out to you...