Cruise Pics . . . Finally!

Well first things first. I am FINALLY getting around to posting pictures from our cruise which was in June. I know, I know. It will be September tomorrow. But, better late than never. So here's what we got:
First, B had to settle into her home away from home for the week. Why does she LOVE portacribs so much?! She usually sleeps better traveling than at home. Wearing her out every day helps . . .

We started out in Boston. Here's a PhD at Paul Revere's house giving a spiel on what it was to live back then etc. Halloween costume idea for Eric . . . ;)

And here's Paul Revere in metal. We came upon him during our walking tour of Boston.

It was really hot though. And we couldn't board the ship until 3 pm--so we found some fountains to keep cool. Aunt Olivia helped B splash around.

Nothing better for a hot day . . .

Of course B had to order room service (all included!) when we finally got on the ship. Notice her green leg band for identification purposes in case we went down like the Titanic so she'd be matched to the right life boat. Personally--I doubt it would work in a panic situation. People tend to not think rationally then.

Looks like she just KNEW she would have the time of her life (and be spoiled) this week. :)

Here's our ship from the shore. It looks small but it was huge--the Maasdam.

Sunscreen was our first order of business every day upon reaching shore. Our first stop was Bar Harbor, Maine:
Unfortunately, Eric closed his eyes for most of the pictures we took during this trip. But I still included this to show the beauty of Bar Harbor:

We took a walk along the shore where there were gorgeous homes with a seaside view. Wouldn't love to live here?! Dave and Rashelle thought they'd pose in front of their future manor. For their summary and day by day of the cruise click here.


It was still a bit chilly especially after dinner when the ship would start sailing for the night and the sea breeze would pick up.


More slathering of sunscreen for the daily adventure. B noticed Dad had missed a spot on his face:

This was at the Fortress of Louisbourg. It was a 45 minute drive but well worth it! I totally recommend it if you're ever in Nova Scotia. Look at my cute sisters! No, that is not an authentic ancient canon--the fortress is reconstructed--so don't worry about my sisters desecrating history.

All of Bella's aunts were SOOOO helpful. I felt like I really got a vacation. They all took turns playing with her and even listening to the monitor at night so Eric and I could go see a movie or show. Thank you!

Aunt Amanda showed Bella how fun picking flowers could be. Isn't it picturesque?

Telling secrets and tickling . . .

Look at all those yellow flowers!

Sorry for the glare--it was rather sunny. Olivia, Amanda, and B. Random guy in the background.

At Prince Edward Island we declined the 45 mile drive to Anne of Green Gables' place but if you look closely at the bottle you'll notice Bella got her first swig of Raspberry Cordial. Or was it currant wine? ;)

Pretty windy on board the ship . . .

Dave didn't blow away though. Here's a huge bridge (Bridge of the Americas) that our cruise boat actually fit under?!!

Another picture of Eric. Hello eyes?!

This was the first time B was able to play with her cousin Abby. They hadn't seen each other since B was 3 months old. They loved crawling around the ship together! Abby preferred crawling over walking so B obliged.

Look at them go!
Every day B would run down the hall and knock on Abby's door to come play. She loved having someone her age.

Here's the two little squirts together. Playing with great grandma's lipstick Bella?!

Dave and Rashelle on a formal night. I believe Rashelle has escargot on the spoon. Mmmh!

And here's gorgeous Tressa and Amanda.

Nate and Bella in their finest. Notice Nate's cool tie from Panama. Bella really did enjoy this I promise despite the look on her face.

Oh yes--nothing like eating a hot dog in a velvet taffeta gown.

"Let me just clean my teeth before the drink lady comes around to get my order . . ."

My favorite city of all was Quebec. It was very European and unique. Although it was French speaking I'd recommend it for all English speakers. I love all the signs hanging above the shops.

More Quebec . . . the city is terraced and built in levels. Very cool although a bit difficult to navigate with a stroller.

And of course, what did we do most of the time but eat! This was at the midnight snack bar. I often opted out due to some sickness but everyone else enjoyed themselves immensely!

Thanks for the fun adventure! Bells is so lucky to have experienced her first cruise at the ripe old age of 1! And she has the shirt to prove it. :)

We're glad we have the memories with family! Thanks great grandma for a wonderful time!

It's a . . .

Well--I finally had another ultrasound this morning.

And the doctor says . . . B will have a sister!

We saw the "hamburger sign" which translates into girl. But of course, the doctor said she was not absolutely sure--she'll do another u/s later in pregnancy and doublecheck then. But that's good enough for me right now. And at 25 weeks I'm glad to finally have some direction as what "It" may be.

Day Out

Last week, we took advantage of our pass to COSI again! This time with B's little friend Maya. It was time for a day out! They headed straight for a swim in the river! Notice B's signature run with arms crazily swinging in back for balance.


Once corralled, they thought they'd both be coy and avoid eye contact before suddenly making their great escape . . .

However, the tractors (as seen in the background) were just too alluring. Here B is practicing for future lawn care duty.

But at the end of the day (note the dark undereye circles before naptime), B decided maybe she could share the spotlight with her friend M. Looks like John Deere has two cute new spokeswomen!

B wants to thank M for a great day out!

Olympics 2008

Yes! The Olympics are here again! I love this time and have spent many hours this week watching, with B as my little companion on the side. She hasn't been feeling her finest the past couple days as she is breaking in molars and drooling a lot, so the couch has been our friend.

Also, to celebrate the start of the Olympics, some amazing friends of ours (aka single mom and 7 month pregnant mom you know who you are) decided to put on their own mini Olympics for 16 or so kids. The kids ranged in age from 1-6 years old. And in fact, B was one of the youngest competitors. They got shirts, medals, pizza, and tons more for all the kids involved. They went all out!! It was amazing. Three hours later, after biking, sprinting, hurdling (yes, they even found kids hurdles), shooting (with potato guns), high jump, balloon tossing, soccer kick, javelin (that was a little dangerous), and more and more, both adults and kids were worn out.


Here is Bella during her turn in the dance competition. She, in fact, won silver in this event as she continuously danced through everyone else's turn. :)

And Bella was so excited that they had her favorite dessert--cupcakes! Here the little munchkins chow down during a break.

Thanks so much to you two for your creativity and energy! What a great idea?!

Goggles

Recently, we've been to the local children's science museum a few times (COSI). Once on a rain day, once to meet some friends. B loves this, as do I--especially the huge 2nd level where the kids can just run from activity to activity in an enclosed space. Perfect for moms who are too tired to chase them everywhere!

Here's B with her little friend Hewitt at the water station. He and his 2 brothers visited us last week from Detroit! We were so lucky! I put the little rain coat on Bella (provided by COSI) to keep her dry since she really gets into it. Of course her shorts and shoes were still soaking but at least she had fun!

Thanks to Steph, who remembered her camera this day when I forgot! B now thinks it's cool to crawl again . . . sometimes.

The funniest thing was that she found these goggles in the dress up section. They are if you're pretending to be a handyman and come with little tools, etc. Well, B just LOVES goggles and thought they were the coolest things ever! You can't tell here by her face but she was just so happy to wear them everywhere for about 45 minutes. As a side note, she is obsessed with goggles. Whenever she sees someone with them at the pool she just can't resist talking about it, wanting to try them on, touch them, etc.



The only problem was that they acted as blinders so she could not see to the side or below her since they stick out about an inch. Thus, it made eating lunch rather difficult (i.e. here she has no idea Steph is taking a picture).


Her friend, Thomas, also found a doctor's outfit and bag he just LOVED and wore it for about and hour--through lunch and everything. They were quite a pair!

Picasa Help?! Anyone?

Hello fellow bloggers,
I have been having some blogging trouble lately (hence the scant posting) and am looking for some help. As you can see, some pictures are missing from my blog. I haven't the foggiest how this happened. But I think it has to do with Picasa.
I was told to use this lovely program to speed up my posting and picture uploading. However, it seems it will only let me upload 4 pictures per post. Anyone else run into this problem?
Also, when I then try and edit these posts from Blogger, the pictures I have uploaded via Picasa become deleted. What the?!
So, if someone can tell (or show) me how to quickly upload more than 4 pictures to Picasa to blog, that would be great?!

Many thanks in advance.
Yours,



p.s. I can also not get some of the links to work on my blog roll. That is why it is so small. Sorry if yours is not yet included. But I haven't forgotten about you! I'll keep trying.

What is IT?

Well, dear readers,

I thought I'd give a short update on the latest prego news. (yes, I too used to hate the word prego--but don't worry you get used to it).

I had an ultrasound two weeks ago and the ultrasound tech could not figure out what "IT" is because the legs were too tightly closed. Then E and I did our own ultrasound (a benefit of being in the medical profession) but were again stumped by the little kid who would not move from a tight fetal position. I guess that's OK--since it is a fetus. But, not to worry. I was told I would have one more ultrasound in 1 or 2 months. Let's hope so! And I think I'll drink a Mountain Dew (even though I hate them) next time to get this kid moving. I must say "It" hardly moves as much as B did. But she was a bit out of control--so I don't mind.

On another note about that area of the body: B has had severe diarrhea for the past couple days. We're talking dripping down her leg! And so it was my lovely duty to collect a few stool specimens for my doctor's office. Oh the joys! You should really all try it if you haven't had a chance. There's nothing like sifting through poop with a tiny spoon to find the most slimy, watery "specimen" and then having to fill 3-4 vials with "it." Guess we'll find out what this "it" is sooner than the first "it."

Happy hunting!

HELLO?!! Comments?!

Ok, this post is directed to my FAMILIA: Hello out there. I know you are all mostly gone vacationing to Lake Tahoe. But for reals!? Not one measly little comment on my blog from you since I started writing all this time?!

Let me explain how to comment: At the bottom of whatever I've written for that post there is in little letters the word "Comments." Click on that and a box will pop up that will allow you to read or write comments.

These are NECESSARY for my blogging to feel fulfilling. Poor little me needs to know that you CARE and are reading this. The main purpose of this blog is to share pictures and stories with YOU. So if you're not reading, why should I write?

And, THANK YOU to those friends who do comment. It is a great self esteem booster. :)

So, PLEASE COMMENT so that I know you are out there. (p.s. I know that you read Amanda). And I love you for it.

Love you all!

Graduation Pics

Well, you must be thinking. It's about time!

Here's what E's medical school graduation looked like from my perspective. My beautiful (and energetic) little girl to my left. My Dad and brother to my right. I'm SOOOO glad they flew out. And can you believe my Dad is 50?!

And my brother is available . . . :)

Yes, E graduated almost 2 months ago and I'm finally posting these. But better late than never. I just thought I'd share with all of you--especially 3rd and 4th year med students and wives--that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I know those early hours (i.e. 4:30 am) and call (ugh) can be a shock to the system at 1st. But it gets better.

Here's the processional as they make their way across campus to the ceremony.


And here's the handsome graduate. B couldn't contain herself. She kept calling, "Daddy! Daddy!" or more like: "Dawee! Dawee!" That must be what brought the smile to his face. I had to hold her back from running to march with him.











I couldn't help but have my heart swell a bit with pride as I watched the whole thing since to me it reflected the culmination of years of effort. E has wanted to be a doctor since he heard about Operation Smile while in high school.

I feel like it was kind of a team effort since we would study together a lot through undergrad and for the first couple years here. I also received my RN while here and almost completed my masters. But I never did get any sort of graduation thing. So I guess I felt this was sort of my bit of the pie too.

And here he is being hooded by some Dr. from the College of Medicine. He was thinking he wanted one of our doctor friends to do it, but they are all so busy in residency that he didn't want to bother them he said. I still think it would have been cool.

Ok, well. That's about as bring and brag as they come. Until the next spurt of energy hits me! Ciao, ungentle readers.

Happy 4th of July!

We braved the rain and saw the local Hilliard parade. It was fun although we left after an hour because it was a down pour. B loved gathering and eating all the candy people threw. By the end, she was waving at everyone and everything. We sure hope Minnesota has a parade next year!

Happy 4th of July!

Feeling Manly

I know, I know...it is a rare occasion that I am able to push R away from the computer so that I can post something, but tonight I was successful. There have been several experiences in the past month that have made me feel worthy to carry my "man-card".


1) Finishing the basement: Despite the "Great Bathroom Fiasco of 2005" R convinced me to complete the job by finishing the basement. Going from cinder brick walls and concrete floor to seamless drywall and soft carpet. It took four
weeks to do everything (a considerable improvement from the four months that it took for the bathroom basement) mostly thanks to the framing and drywalling help from my Dad and the borrowed tools from an Allen and a Whitehead. We are happy with the way it turned out and welcome anyone over to enjoy it with us, although Bella's toys have already overtaken it.
Before and after pictures are displayed.












2) Getting paid: For the first time in over four years I am going to be coming home at the end of the day knowing that I made a little money for my efforts. So what if it breaks down to just a little over minimum wage, that's not so bad after eight years of post high school education...right? No matter, it still feels good.

3) Going golfing: This may be a regular occurrence for some of you, but it is extremely rare for me so a morning of golf was much appreciated. I'm not afraid to admit that I can play the whole course with 3-4 clubs, even though I still carry around a bag full of them (that makes it look like I actually know what I am doing). I am proud to say that I only had to resort to my "you never get over par on a hole" rule more than twice.

4) Yard work: Okay, it wasn't real yard work but it involved dirt, a shovel and my hands...so it counts. R, B, and I planted flowers in the spacious few feet of soil we have in front of our town home. We kept it simple but like the little splash of color it adds to our home. Here's B helping us water keep the flowers well hydrated.

5) Not showering for 3 days: admittedly not my most glorious moment, but manly nonetheless.






6) Working on my car: This was the apex of my "man month". I had been trying to ignore the blasted orange Check Engine light in my trusty Saturn for the past several months. I think I waited so long because I always feel like the mechanic works me over whenever I go to get something fixed.

"Oh wow, you need to replace your colon coil ASAP."
"Colon coil? I've never heard of that before."
"Oh yeah, it's right next to the cold fusion reactor behind the hamster runner."
"Well, if you think its important."
"For sure, if it doesn't get fixed immediately your car could blow up, or worse."

Needless to say I feel like I'm taking it up the colon coil by the time I leave, so I decided to figure this one out myself. I went to Advanced Auto and had them gather the error codes from the car and found out that the O2 sensor needed to be replaced (which costs ~$250 for a mechanic to do it). So I looked online and found a video on YouTube that shows a guy changing his O2 sensor and I said to myself "I think I can do that". So I bought the part (for $75) and in a true man move I set to work doing something that I had never before attempted armed only with a You Tube video as my instructor. Five minutes later the repair was made and my car was purring like a kitten. At this point, my manliness proven, I went inside and declared my mechanical prowess to R who gave me a well deserved congratulatory pat on the back. We'll see if the car makes it to work tomorrow. Rachel is on stand-by, just in case YouTube led me astray.

More trip to Utah

So, for my Dad's 50th we had a big party where we invited tons of people, had bratwurst and other traditional German sausage, delicious salads, cookies, and other good food. Me and my sisters were kept pretty busy trying to keep up with all the neighbors who came.

Here's a picture of my Dad (center) with his good friend (and former mission companion), Jim Renner, and wife who is an amazing sculptor and hilarious guy. This isn't a very good picture with the light in the background but I guess it's fitting since my Dad was in the spotlight the whole night and really enjoyed himself. He is a social animal. And Eric wonders where I get it from? . . .



Here's Eric in one of his more GQ moments.

Here's a pic of the 6 Oswald kids. And you think I'm tall?!

And here's the whole gang. B was a bit tired after a long day and I was feeling a bit sick so I don't look so happy. But it was really fun being with everyone. You can see the "Welcome Home" and "Happy Birthday" signs in the background. It was a trip we'll remember for years to come.

Thanks everyone! (especially Mom, who is not in any picture, but who was the main force for planning all this and taking care of everyone). We really appreciate you!

Trip to Utah - May 2008

We headed to Utah before graduation to celebrate my brother's homecoming from his 2 year mission to Panama as well as my Dad's big 5-0 Bday party. It was sooo nice to be there and see everyone. Who knows when we'll go back so I cherished this trip.

Here's Eric with my brother, Nate, just home from the mish.















B had a blast visiting everyone and getting all the attention as the only grandchild. She loved playing with her aunts and running around in the backyard. Here she is getting chased by Amanda and Tressa.








Here's B with all my sisters. ONO, Manda, and Tressa. Aren't they all so gorgeous?
You can see B was spoiled with attention!










And here's my other bro, Dave. Look at that photogenic smile! I don't know why I don't have a picture of his beautiful wife, Rashelle, but here's a link to their blog to get more info on the homecoming from her perspective.

Enjoying artichokes

Well, some of our friends remarked that they had never had artichokes before. Since E's from California, we were taken back by this and it inspired us to fix artichokes that night. Here's B with her 1st one. She loved it!! Frome now on we have to fix her one all for herself or she eats all of ours. However, she has not yet discovered that the heart is the best part. :) We'll tell her when she's older.

Mmmmmm!

April 2008

So, I thought I'd write a bit about what we've been doing these past 3 months. I'm feeling better today and actually topped it off with some Buckeye Blitz ice cream from Graeter's. It was SOOOO delicious! Of course, I may be regretting that in about 30 minutes when I head to the toilet. Anyhow . . .
Here's little B and friends Thomas and Hewitt during our trip to Philly at the beginning of April. I feel like such a slacker cause this was the only picture I took. But I went there to help my friend who had just had a baby and had to get her house ready to move. For some fun, I took her two boys and B on some outings. We went to the grocery store, story time at their library, and (across West Philly) to this AWESOME huge mansion that has toys in every room and is free for the "children of Philadelphia."
This picture was after this trip. Looks like I wore them all out, didn't I?







Next, is Miss B trying on her swimsuit for the 1st time as we got excited for the pool to open up.
At least she had the right idea . . .

Blog and Blah

Well, as aforementioned, I do so hope to post some pictures from the past couple months. As for this lofty goal--since I am not a blogger and have not yet tried Picasa--these 2 will do for now.

Plus, whenever I do have free time to blog (B's nap or bedtime) I am usually so sick by then that the last thing I want to do is stare at a computer screen while waves of nausea come crashing over me. Because afternoons and evenings are the worst for me, E and I have not had a real date in over 2 months. But maybe that's because I have a daily date with our toilet and bed. Thank goodness for Lysol wipes.

I can't help but be a bit jealous of those who have no sickness with pregnancy. Then I tell myself that they must have other challenges somewhere else. That makes me feel better. A little.

Plus, "it could be worse." I am usually GREAT in the morning and have no hint of nausea. HALLELUJIA! This, of course, coincides with church and most activities, which is good. However, if people looked closer they would see the dark circles under my eyes and little bruises (called petechiae) all around my face from throwing up so hard the night before.

When I'm staring at the dinner I so valiantly cooked, digested, and undigested--even though while cooking I thought "chicken never smelled so bad"--I can't help but wish for the day that this will be over. With B it was over around 16 weeks, which would be next week. So here's hoping.

But, since this consumes most of my day from 1 o'clock on, let's list the stuff that makes me sick: 1) the smell of boiled chicken, 2) the smell of cooked broccoli, 3) anything dairy products, 4) sickly sweet air fresheners, 5) Caesar salad, 6) chocolate, 7) staring at a computer screen. Ok, that's good for now. What makes/made you sick when you were pregnant?!


To end this post on a happy note. Here's B making up for my lack of eating. Here she was helping her grandma cook a delicious dessert--at least I heard it was good. She loves being a little helper!

2 more things

Oh yes, and I just had to add two more significant things that happened in the last couple months:

1) E has been working hard during his time off of school and FINISHED OUR BASEMENT! Thank you!!!!!

and

2) We are expecting Baby #2 in December! (yes, I'm still sick--ugh). Luckily, there have been no complications with this one as with the last. I've been paranoid about telling people cause of my last pregnancy, but I think I'm out of the danger zone for now. We'll see what the next ultrasound brings.

Note: Sympathy meals for any of the aforementioned events (i.e. baby, husband starting internship, etc.) are more than welcome after the aformentioned cruise in 10 days.
Just kidding. ;)

p.s. We will REALLY miss ALL our friends who are moving this next week. I start tearing up every time I think about all those empty houses where we had fun memories. I know B will especially miss her good friends Alyssa, Creed, and her favorite babysitter Katherine (& Tommie and Kassie) with her van that she just LOVED.

Last 2 months!

Hey all!
You're probably wondering what the heck happened to my posts? Actually, I won't kid myself. I'm not that significant in your lives. But, just fyi we've been super busy the last 2 months with trips to Philly, Utah, and visitors here for over a week. We've gone swimming for the first time this year and visited Fort Rapids (indoor water park).

B wore pig tails for the first time.
And . . . . drum roll please . . . E is graduating from med school TODAY! So, we're off there and then headed to Boston tomorrow for a cruise to Canada . . . more on that later.

Anyhow, gotta go. Busy day! Will post more in 10 days when we return! :)

Congrats!

Well, just wanted to say CONGRATS to my wonderful best friend and hubby, E, for his amazing accomplishments of plugging through not only 4 years of undergrad, but another 4 of med school. One word: WOW.

We've tried to make most things in our life a team effort, but for this he deserves his due. He worked hard and studied more than I ever could. He studied long days (and sometimes evenings)--but his hard work and dedication really paid off, I Must Say. . .

Ok, so that's about it from my "Bring and Brag" object of the day. E You Rock.

Oh yes, and sorry for the long break from posting. We had family in town and the fun just couldn't stop!

Here's a pic of E with some of his fellow geniuses at an Honors' recognition banquet. I guess they all got the memo about the blue shirt requirement. :)