April 30th

Hi Everyone.

Our big news this week is:

Sylvie has learned to sit. She can't get into sitting position by herself, but if I put her that way, she can maintain, and she LOVES it. She is so happy to be able to see everything and reach for things and not be lying down. She sat so for a good 45 minutes this morning, tipping over only twice (once with the aid of her loving brother). I can't believe she is so big! She also continues rolling over in bed, but happily has learned to sleep either way. It is fun to go in to get her and have her smiling up at me. Unfortunately, she now doesn't stay covered up and is often very cold in the mornings. She has the cheeriest smile and easiest disposition. What a lovely girl she is! I am giving up hope on her sucking on a finger or something. She seems to be growing fond of the pacifier instead, although she isn't dependent on it to go to sleep.

We just watched the video of Jens at Sylvie's age. It is amazing how different they are! He was so busy even then, and his little body was all muscle. Not that Sylvie isn't strong, she is, she just has a little more padding than Jens--she is delightfully squashy. By 5 months Jens was pushing up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth and he was much more vocal than Sylvie is. He also laughed a lot, which Sylvie doesn't do at all. She is much more easy going and content. I am realizing, though, that she is not getting as much specialized attention as Jens got. I spent hours talking to him, reading to him, dancing with him . . . Sylvie gets attention squeezed in between errands and Jens.

Speaking of Jens, he continues to keep us very busy. He keeps us on our toes! His favorite thing continues to be playing in the back yard. He digs in the dirt and plays for hours.

His favorite day is Saturday because Mike gets to stay home all day. He loves his dad!

I am trying to think of what we've done this week, but I think it has just been the normal stuff. We had friends for strawberry shortcake, which turned out very sadly--my cake fell and was VERY dense. I am not sure what went wrong. Monday I helped Natalie put a second coat of paint on her banister. It has been her pet project--she stripped the whole thing and refinished the wood. The painted spokes really make the wood stand out. It looks very nice and reminds me of how crummy ours is. Tuesday we played with the Hyers at their house. The boys ran around the house almost constantly from the time of our arrival to the time of our departure. Wednesday we had book club here on The Book Thief. Everyone really liked it and we had a really good talk about it. It was a very interesting book and I am glad I read it. I have certainly thought about it a lot.

Mike has been riding his bike very regularly. He got the packet for the 2 day 175 mile ride he is doing in June and is feeling very inspired to start working out. I have been impressed with how diligent he is!

Last thing--I repainted the bathroom today. I really tried to like the red, but I just couldn't come around to it. I think the contrast between the red and white was too strong and the red was to cold. It is a soft yellow now. I will send pictures when everything is put back together.

Rolling Over

Sylvie is back in the dog house after rolling over in bed at 5 am and not going back to sleep until 6:45. I remember this phase with Jens--it was horrible. He would roll over and then couldn't sleep because he was facing the wrong way. It appears we will endure the same stage with Sylvie. I have been trying to teach her to roll back, but she isn't catching on very quickly.

April 22nd

We have been happily adjusting to being home. It was really good to get away--I was definitely stuck in a rut and came home with some new energy to tackle some jobs that need to be done and start working out again. It has also been gorgeous here. We went from snowy to sunny and in the 90s, although it isn't going to stay that way. We are enjoying pulling out our summery gear!

Jens has been transfixed by the neighbors' landscaping. Yesterday I took the screen out so he could perch and watch the bobcat at work. He has a new appreciation for construction since watching Bob the Builder in Utah and almost non-stop in the car on the way home.

He was happy to go back to school and is pleased to see all of his toys. So pleased that yesterday I think every toy possible was out and strewn around.

Sylvie is working on redeeming herself after the drive home crying debacle. She is doing a pretty good job. We are working on consolidating to two naps a day, which will be nice, and she is going to bed earlier (and getting up earlier so I can exercise). We pulled out the high chair and she is practicing sitting at the table with us during meals.

Yesterday she tried rice cereal for the first time.

She was not impressed. She did a better job at breakfast today, though.

Last Sylvie update, she has developed a move we call "the noodle." When she is getting tired and doesn't want to play with any toys, she wants to be carried around with her pacifier and look at things. This is how it looks:

It is quite funny, but very exhausting as she weighs 20 pounds and the noodle can NOT be done sitting down.

Home Sweet Home

The rest of our Utah visit was very enjoyable. It was nice to stay an extra week that was more cheerful than the one before! Betty improved every day, especially once she started getting decent sleep. On Wednesday, baby Emilyn was born. It was a snowy day! It snowed most of the afternoon and by the time I took Mati to the hospital there was a good cover on the ground. It proceeded to snow all night. We awoke to 10-12 inches, which Jens was thrilled about. It gave us some great light for a Sylvie photo shoot.

Jens spent the morning playing with his cousins at Kangaroo Zoo (a bounce place) and spent the afternoon playing out in the snow. It was a good day for him!

Friday was Jens's first time bowling. He loved it and enjoyed the whole game. He got excited when it was his turn and spent the time waiting by bothering his cousins.

Sylvie spent the time sitting with Aunt Nan and chewing on anything she could get into her mouth.

Friday afternoon we visited the Johnsons at home one last time. Mati wasn't there, but Emilyn was! It is amazing how tiny new babies are, especially compared to Sylvie. It seems like she was new not so long ago! Time is going by too fast.

Friday night we had one last family dinner. We got home just as the kids were finishing and I cooked up steaks for the adults. It was a fun night. The busy-ness of the evening was evidenced by Jens's bedtime prayer in which he mentioned how grateful he was that he didn't have to eat dinner because he wasn't hungry. (My response: "What?!? He didn't eat dinner???") He DID, however, eat candy, cookies, an otter pop, and an ice cream cone. Argh!


Then came the drive home. We were packed and ready. It started off pretty well. It ended up being one of the longest drives ever, or at least it seemed that way. Sylvie cried all the way from Truckee to home and Jens threw up EVERYWHERE while we were driving down from Donner Pass. The road is pretty curvy and he got car sick. Luckily he mentioned it to me that he wasn't feeling good, so I gave him a bag. He missed the first time, but made it the rest. We pulled over quickly to clean him up and a really nice state trouper pulled over to make sure we were okay. He stayed parked behind me with his lights flashing the whole time while we changed Jens's clothes and I cleaned the car seat. Then he gave Jens a bear, which Jens really liked, especially the silky blue ribbon.

Now we are home again, doing laundry and trying to recover from the vacation. We were very grateful to be there and it ended up being a good time, but it sure is nice to be home.

A Grateful Heart

A selection from Jens's family prayer this morning:

... Thanks that Dad could go to work and spend money for our family so we could have everything we have and buy toys. Thanks that we could watch tv on Tuesday (that would be today--does he have plans I don't know about?).

Jens Funnies

Grandpa: "I love you infinity!"
Jens: "I love you in Portuguese!"

* * * *
"Are we going Eastering?"

He eventually picked up that it was about the eggs and changed it to "Easter egging."

* * * *
To the tune of "I am a Builder" (the new primary song)

"Carl's Junior iiiiissss awesome!"

* * * *
While staying with Aunt Becky, Jens went into the bathroom. She followed him to see if he needed any help and asked if he needed the seat up or down.

"Dudes stand up," he answered.

* * * *
Mati is jumping on her blow up air bed.
"Look Jens! I''m jumping!"
"You are going to pop it! It's like a balloon!"

April 15th

Hi Everyone.

We are still in Utah, and today we are enjoying a lovely snow shower! It has been a busy visit this time around.

We really enjoyed the first weekend here with Mom, Dad, and Peter. We watched conference and spent time together. On Monday Mom, Dad, Peter, Jens, and I went to find snow. We had to go all the way up to Aspen Grove and the snow was sort of hard and slushy, but Jens and Peter had a great time playing around.

We checked out a snow cave, did some sledding, and made tracks, just like Peter from The Snowy Day. That night we joined Mom, Dad, Peter, and Loren for dinner at Sundance. We left Jens with his Bacon cousins, which he loved, and so did we. Sylvie came with us and was her typical angelic self.

Tuesday was so gorgeous--we spent as much time outside as we could. Jens and Jake wore matching shirts that day, which they thought was so awesome.

Sylvie got a little sunburn--she is definitely more fair than Jens is! Betty met with her surgeon that day and did pre-op stuff for Wednesday.

We ate at Los Hermanos, which was good as always, although very cold! Jens and I shared a fancy drink, which he loved.

Wednesday Betty went to the hospital for her lung procedure. We were all worried, and the surgeon came back very doom and gloom, giving a terrible prognosis even though the surgery itself was successful. It was a worrisome day! Thankfully, she met with her oncologist early Thursday morning and he was much more positive. She is meeting with him again tomorrow to determine her course of treatment. We are crossing our fingers for more good news!

Thursday I spent the day at Kristin's house, which is always nice. Jens and Mati are very similar--loud, pushy, high energy--it took a few minutes to get used to each other, but they have played well together ever since.

Thursday night we got together with lots of Provo friends at Brick Oven. It was good to see everyone, even though it was harder to have a quality visit in a restaurant with all the kids.

Over the weekend we had some fun family dinners and more sandbox time then Jens's clothes liked.

On Easter we went to the Johnsons' for breakfast and an egg hunt. Jens and Mati were cute and it was fun to be together.

Betty came home from the hospital on Sunday and within minutes of us getting home to see her she showered, blow dried her hair, and put on makeup. She is healing well although she has had a few rough nights. Sunday afternoon we had a delicious Easter dinner at the Bacons and the kids did a big egg hunt.

Jens ate a lot of candy.

We have decided to stay in Utah this week for a variety of reasons--the weather has been snowy and cold, which makes the idea of Donner Pass very daunting, we didn't get to spend much time with Betty last week, and we wanted to meet the newest Johnson family member, Emilyn. We are expecting to hear news of her arrival any minute! Mati spent last night at Grandma and Grandpa's house in anticipation of her arrival. The kids were so excited to be together that they stayed up until at least 10 and were up by 7 this morning. We are at the Johnson house now, and Jens just went out to walk in the snow even though I warned him that I have no change of clothes for him. We are glad that we have such a nice family and such good friends to keep us busy while we are here.

April 7th

Hi Everyone--Just a quick note. We are sad today to find out that Betty has stage 4 metastasized breast cancer. She is going into the hospital tomorrow for a preliminary operation to drain fluid from her pleura space (space between the lungs and the pleura, where there should be NO space). She will meet with an oncologist tomorrow after the procedure to determine a treatment plan for the cancer. We are trying to be hopeful and optimistic. All thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated!

April 2nd

Hi Everyone.

Sylvie had her 4 month check up today. She weighed in at 19 lbs. and measured 25 inches, but I don't think they measured her right. I think she is more like 26. I looked back at Jens's 4 month check up--he was 18 lbs. 3 oz and 26 and 1/2 inches.

Sylvie was supposed to get shots today, but I opted out because she has a cold. Her nose is so stuffy and runny--it is very sad. I figured with a big drive ahead of us tomorrow I would rather wait on the shots and not have her any more miserable than she is already. Doesn't she look sad?

She has been just charming the pants off everyone lately--big smiles and lots of chatting coming from her. A few nights ago she decided that stuffing her fingers into my mouth was hilarious--I would pretend to eat her fingers and she would just smile and laugh as much as she does (which isn't much--it is mostly a smile with a haaa). She did it over and over and enjoyed it every time. It is fun to see her personality emerging--she is going to be busy and curious like her brother. I just hope she won't be as violent.

Speaking of her brother--he cracks us up and makes us want to tear out our hair by turns. Today he came running into Sylvie's room, so excited, wearing the pumpkin hat he wore for his first Halloween (he was 2 months old).

"Mom! Look at this!"
"What is it?"
He shows me his pants. On the front is a zipper pocket which he has just noticed because it is supposed to be on the back. When he went potty, he put his pants on backwards and made this great discovery.
"Watch this!" He unzips it and puts his hand in. "Do you want to try?"

It is a good thing he is so funny.

Also this week Jens gave his first talk in primary. The two previous Sundays we went in to the primary room after church and let him practice talking into the microphone. He was nervous both times and had to hide for a minute before he was brave enough. He helped write the talk, which was about families. He talked about how families help each other be healthy and strong, they play together, tease each other, and spend time together. He drew a picture of our house, then cut out pictures he drew of me, Mike, and himself holding Sylvie and we taped them on the front of his house picture. He was pretty nervous--I sat up in the front with him and held his hand, but when it was his turn he went right up to the microphone and said his talk nice and loud. He wasn't shy about it at all! We were so proud of the good job he did.

On Tuesday Jens had a field trip with his school. It was at Techniques Gymnastics, which is a real gym with all the gymnastics stuff. I got to go with him, which was fun. He was so excited. He got to try out the beam and bars, jump in the foam pit, jump in the bounce house, use the ribbon streamers, and do an obstacle course. He was disappointed not to get to try out some of the big kid stuff--the rings and uneven bars were in the back and there was a trampoline. Maybe next fall I will see about putting him into a tumbling class.

Other than that we have been pretty quiet around here. All of us have been under the weather and laying low. We are looking forward to seeing many of you in Utah!