The Japanese-Speaking Minivan

I have entered a milestone in my life! I am now a driver of a minivan and soon to be mom of three! Yikes! I can't believe it. It feels so weird. I didn't expect to feel this way, but it feels like a rite of passage that I have been wondering if I really want to enter. At this point, with my belly protruding to Wisconsin, I don't have much of a choice.

Have any of you seen those Honda Odyssey commercials talking about how the van is cool again? Probably not because I imagine those commercials are only for people who just spent their life savings on one and are trying to feel good about their purchase like me. It is a pretty cool car though. We picked out the color, a silver with just a bit of bluish green in it. The girls love the automatic doors and Dave taught them that they close and open by saying "Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo". This morning Ellie hopped in her carseat and said the magic words, and because I hadn't buckled her in yet, I didn't push the button. But then disappointed, she said, "Mom, it's not working."

Dave told Aubrie our car was made in Japan. Later when a Shakira song came on the radio, he asked Aubrie if she understood it. She said "no", and he told her it was in Spanish. She said, "No, Daddy, it's not Spanish. It's Japanese, because remember our car was made in Japan!"

It's official. I'm a member of the minivan club now!

Getting bigger!

I had another ultrasound last week (at 34 weeks). I'm a little worried because she said the baby weighed 6 lbs 3 oz already and was measuring over 36 weeks! Yikes! I know the last few weeks are mostly for the baby to be packing on the pounds, but with her already being 6 lbs, I'm a bit worried! Thankfully, the doctor said I would have another ultrasound at 38 weeks to see how big she is so we can discuss induction possibilities. Not that I want to be induced, because induction isn't that fun, but I would much rather be able to deliver a big kid than have a gigantic kid be stuck. Not to mention the fact that my older two girls have extremely large heads. Ouch!

All you single folk, I recommend asking your significant other if he has a large head before marrying him. It's not something you would normally think to consider in choosing a spouse, but it could definitely make child bearing easier.

Just kidding! I love you Dave ... and your large cranium.

The baby is sucking on her big toe in these pictures! You could see her mouth making the sucking motions on screen. And, we also watched her practice breathing. Evidently, this is something babies do in the womb.

Easter Busyness

It seems that whenever I have a lot to blog about I'm too busy to actually post it. We just returned from two weeks in Utah. Dave was travelling the world for work (New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Korea) and my family talked me into coming for a visit. We had a great time catching up with old friends and spending time with my family (including my grandparents who just moved to Utah).

Dave was able to join us for Easter weekend before we flew home. The girls had fun at a community Easter egg hunt on Saturday and then finding eggs and of course playing with the goodies in their baskets on Sunday. Grandma bought them their cute dresses. Thanks Grandma!

The weather was so beautiful there (in the 70s). The trees had blossomed and the grass was green. It made it very difficult to return to winter in Minnesota (30-degree temps and everything still brown as it could be).


Dave enjoyed returning to Tokyo -- the first time since we moved back. He visited a handful of old friends, brushed up on his Japanese, and even had time to be a tourist. He visited Tsukiji (an early-morning fish market) and watched the Sumo Wrestlers practice. Somewhere in there he worked too. He spent the most time in Tokyo. It was his first time in Australia and New Zealand but didn't have time to sight see because the only thing he was able to do other than work was shop for clothes. Delta lost his garment bag with his suits in it! What a pain!




I enjoyed getting to know my soon-to-be sister in law Julia. She and Spencer plan to be married in July. It's fun to think I am going to have another sister! I took their engagment pictures while I was there, and it reminded me why I like my nice camera so much better than our digital. I think our digital camera is junk. Maybe someday we can update our digital camera. But not this week...I'll have to blog later about our expenses for the coming week.

It's a baby!

I had a follow-up ultrasound last week to make sure my placenta had moved up. Thankfully, it had, but the other part of the ultrasound that was exciting was she spent a lot of time trying to get some good 3D pictures! It was such a different experience than when I had it done with Ellie. With Ellie, she looked so weird in the pics that I was traumatized for weeks. It looked like her intestines were on the outside of her body. I realize a few of these look the same, but it was like a 3D video that we watched where her body parts came in and out of focus. The above pic I like because it shows her perfect hand. I think in the ones on the left she looks like Ellie and the ones on the right like Dave. The one with her mouth opened isn't in focus at all, but it's fun to see her yawning. I'm so amazed by this technology and grateful the sonographer spent so much time trying to capture her. Fun! It makes me so excited for her arrival!

2 Little Monkeys

Another storm!

Amazingly, we had an even bigger storm just a couple days after the first, and now it's a total winter wonderland. Ellie, our Phoenix-born child, despises the cold, as you can see!

Faith to a 4-year-old

The other night Aubrie told me she has faith. "Mom, do you know why I have faith? Because even though there's a band-aid over my ouchy on my leg, and I can't see it, I still know it's there!"

Snowed In

There's nothing like a big snow storm over the weekend where everything gets cancelled (including church) and you can get lots done around the house. I think I want to put in my request for several more before the winter's over. Has anyone ever heard of church getting cancelled before? This is a new one to me. No complaints. I'm just surprised because it really doesn't seem that bad to me. I think we got about 10-12 inches of snow. One thing we accomplished this weekend was give Ellie her first haircut. I'm surprised I haven't done it yet, but with her hair so curly, she's been able to get by without one.

Pea Nose Ellie

After having a very booger-ey nose for several weeks, one day we noticed Ellie had an especially green boogery nose. It wasn't till the end of the day that we decided to finally take a closer look and found....

Forever Pink

It looks like pink is all we are going to see at this house. At least for another couple years. We found out that baby#3 = girl#3! We are excited. Well, truthfully, it's taken a little bit of work to be excited. It would have been fun to have something different, but as I keep explaining to Aubrie that having another girl is in fact not wasting babies (she's been saying all along she wants a boy because having another girl would be "wasting babies."). The reason, I tell her, is because she will be different than Aubrie and Ellie. She might actually not spit up every two seconds. She might not have a big belly. She might have fire red hair and brown eyes. But one thing is the same: she will definitely wear pink.

Year in review 2006

Merry Christmas!

During this time of year, we reflect upon our blessings and this has been the theme of 2006 for our family. Speaking of blessings, baby No. 3 will arrive in June!

We have settled into life up North and endured our first Arctic Winter. As soon as the snow melted, we emerged from hibernation and utilized each second of our summer.

For several weeks, Dave arose at 4:30 a.m. to work on our patio, went to work at 8 a.m. and then the minute he returned home, he worked on the patio until 1 a.m. At times, it seemed he was only moving dirt back and forth, but somehow it turned into a beautiful patio!

Once our outdoor projects were complete, we began to travel. Jeni drove 1,365 miles by herself with the girls to visit Grandma in Utah. That was an accomplishment, and well worth the couple weeks of fun. As a family, we then went to Martha’s Vineyard, Boston, and Philadelphia. We visited Jeni’s Dad’s family, meeting some of her aunts and cousins for the first time. After being home just a few days, Dave’s Grandma passed away, so we took an unexpected trip to California. We realized we stepped foot in 17 states this year!

David enjoys his International Business Development job at 3M and especially enjoyed the promotion he received. He works 8-5 and rarely has to bring work home! He’s playing in a 3M-basketball league again this winter, and despite moving to the more advanced league, they still seem to have no competition. After months of studying, in December, Dave took a test that quantifies his Japanese. The family accompanied him to Chicago, and we realized there are even colder places in the country than Minnesota.

Jeni had a busy year serving in the children’s organization of our church – although recently her assignment has changed to helping the teens. She is also teaching Aubrie’s at-home preschool program once a month (the four moms take turns teaching the twice/week school). Between these two assignments, and taking care of the two little ones, life has stayed mighty busy. The past three months have been particularly crazy because this is the first pregnancy she’s been sick. This fall, she took two cake decorating classes with some friends. We enjoyed Thanksgiving at home with a houseful of company (Jeni’s Dad, stepmom, sister’s family, and brother).

Aubrie, 3 ½ (but going on 10) is a people person and a budding performer. She sang a solo at her recent pre-school Christmas party (where she also performed as Mary in the Christmas pageant). She is in a ballet/tap class, but her dancing is not limited to 45 minutes once a week. Although it might seem like a potty dance, she often does a little jig while she talks because she’s so excited! Her excitement led her to 6 stitches in May after jumping on a bed at Dave’s work party, and another time putting a deep hole in her forehead that probably should have been stitched. Aubrie loves her friends and recently wrote a letter to Santa asking that he send “lots and lots of presents” to them. Aubrie knows all her letters and their sounds and is writing them well too. She often asks why it takes so long to grow up. One reason she anticipates the future is so that she can be a type-rope walker or maybe a good flying monkey who helps people.

Elliana, 21 months, is the biggest sweetheart. She gives spontaneous hugs all day long and loves to be held and cuddled. She loves to play with Aubrie and do everything she’s doing. About 7 times a day, she finds a dress-up costume to put on, requests music, and dances, twirls, waves, and does “the robot” (daddy’s teaching). We catch her sneaking books into bed so she can “read,” before dozing off each day. Her curly hair, big dimples from her chubby cheeks, and large ‘Buddha’ belly, make her sweet personality and hugs simply irresistible.

We’ve had several year-end reviews, where we have discussed the highs and lows of the year, but this year we can only discuss the highs. What a year of blessings this has been. We know whom to thank, and we especially worship Him this time of year.

Love to you all!