The Deters

Backyard Project - Our Awesome Rock Path

2011-05-01T10:43:00.011-04:00

We have been diligently working on our backyard with every spare minute that we have had for the past 3 weeks. So far it is all completed except for one side where we will have a garden. This last week we built a 65 foot by 3 foot "rock" path that extends from our gate to the backyard. We saw on a home show a couple months back a great idea of using recycled pieces of concrete to piece together into a path. We started searching around our neighborhood and open spaces and found plenty of concrete pieces anywhere from 2-4" thick that were just dropped by other people. After about 8 trips to search we had enough to finish our path and 9 hours later the path was in place. It turned out awesome and we were able to clean up our neighborhood!

This is as we started the path:

This is how it looked when we were done moving the rocks surrounding the path.

Here is the rest of the yard looks. The in-ground trampoline we did last spring. We extended our patio to the fence (this is where the basketball hoop is now). We also had a concrete company come and pour a 3 1/2 foot by 150 foot sidewalk that wraps around the entire backyard. It's a race track for the boys to run or ride their bikes around. Tiig already has gone around it at least 100 times in the past week and a half...

We put in two trees, an apricot and plum tree and 10 strawberry plants.

The next phase is the other side of the house. We have already built a 7 by 7 by 2 feet deep sand box that will be filled in with play sand sometime in the next 2 weeks. More pics of that to come! Then our garden area will be the last phase. Hanni and I have both come to the realization that working in our yard is so fulfilling. It is such a great feeling to turn a dirt heap into a beautiful oasis for our kids to play in. We also realize that sitting around and reading a book or watching a movie is also very fulfilling and we look forward to doing all of those things more once the yard is done.

Spring Cookie Decorating

2011-05-01T10:28:00.006-04:00

Hanni found a very cool spring cookie decorating kit at Target the other day. On Saturday we had time in the morning to decorate the cookies with Nana and the boys great aunt Jessica. Here's some pics of the finished product.

Tiig's cookie was just a pile of frosting, sprinkles and anything else with sugar. He decided that it was time to eat his cookie, well not really the cookie, more the frosting and sprinkles.

After adding more sprinkles (see table in photo) he continued to just eat sprinkles.

We had a great time decorating and eating with Nana and great aunt Jessica!

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T21:23:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since we posted to our blog but after a very fun Easter Sunday at home with Opa and Nana we thought it fitting to put up some pictures of the boys with their Easter stash.

Tiig was in heaven all day long muching on M&M's, Kisses, jelly beans, and pretty much anything else made of sugar he could get his hands on.

Just a simple blog to get us back into the swing of things of blogging on a more regular basis. I am sure some day our grandkids will look at this blog and wonder why we have long gaps of no posts. We will just have to explain to them that grandpa and grandma were secret undercover agents that worked side by side fighting international crime and those times that we did not post we were deep undercover in some exotic country like Belize living under the names of Demetri and Ingrid Medvedev. The improbable Ex-Soviet Russian-West German couple that met on holiday in Turkey. We argue about the Cold War and "whose fault it was" and things such as this. Although if I share that plan here the grandkids will read it anyway so it wont really matter.

On another note, I tried to change the background of our blog and failed miserably. I consider myself a pretty technically savy individual but apparently my knowledge does not match that of most middle-aged mothers of 4 kids that blogs and changes backgrounds on a daily basis.

Summer Festival

2010-06-26T16:00:00.002-04:00

The ward had a summer party that we went to. The weather was good, there were lots of kids, we had more food than we could possibly eat, and there were tons of games that the kids could

Finn was exploring his creativity by making a big street mural with chaulk. He was very focused and was sticking out his tongue quite a bit.

Check out that tongue.

And once again the tongue. But the rocks and shells turned out beautiful.

I was trying to play some soccer with Tiig but I guess he wanted to play football instead. He carried the ball to the goal and put the ball through the hole.

Planetarium

2010-06-25T15:36:00.003-04:00

We went to the planetarium today and watched a little show for kids called "Der kleine Tag". It's a musical by Rolf Zuckowski who has already influenced my childhood through his music and I hope that my boys will also love his songs.

I did not have a camera with me so I used these from their website.

Both boys thought that it was very cool to lay back and watch a show on the ceiling. Finn followed the show intently and especially thought that the laser show was cool. Tiig loved laying on me and looked up and pointed at everything that was moving and commented on it.

Summer Days

2010-06-24T16:06:00.008-04:00

First of all GO GERMANY AND GO USA! I'm quite excited that both teams made it into the next round of the world cup.

My boys sporting their team spirit.

We had a great summer day here. We went swimming and the weather was just georgeous. Finn and Tiig spent hours in the water. We had some french fries and hot dogs for lunch and later some ice cream. Seeing my boys enjoying the treat and playing in the water reminded me of my favorite summer days as a kid. It's so great that I get to experience those moments again through my own children.

Northsea....What a Disaster

2010-06-19T15:16:00.002-04:00

My sister and I decided to go to the North Sea despite the bad weather. I don't want to give a detailed account because that would just bring back bad memories but let me sum it up.

-it was freeeeeezing. So windy and it just sucked.

-we drove almost three hours to get there. Enough said.

-we had to walk forever on the giant long beach to get to the water.

-oh, I got a massive speeding ticket on the way there

-sand EVERYWHERE

-water EVERYWHERE

I need to stop cause I'm staring to feel depressed again. But we put forth a good effort and were already able to laugh about that disastrous adventure on the way home.

Tiig playing in the water and finding some mini jellyfish

The one semi good thing: flying a kite. But that joy did not last very long (broken kite, entangled string....)

Old Dog Route

2010-06-18T14:28:00.002-04:00

The boys were super excited to ride their 'bikes' today. We took them on a long tour to the house that I grew up in and then to the pond that is close by that we used to have to walk our dog around. Tiig rode on my bike in a kid seat and Finn rode his balance bike there and also in a seat back.

Finn made sure that Tiig was coming too and took him by the hand. It's so nice to see that they actually do get along every once in a while.

Fun Fun Day at the Zoo

2010-06-17T16:39:00.005-04:00

This was one of the funnest days we've had here so far. We just took our time to walk around and go wherever we wanted to. We saw many different animals and just enjoyed being there without pressure to look at anything in particular.

We fed the goats, they were very interested in our food and totally cornered Finn at one point.

Finn showing how big those antlers would be on him.

We were able to touch a turtle. They are very hard.

We also fed some carrotts to the elephants. Their trunks are so long and they pick the carrott out of your hand and slobber all over it.

We were there for almost five hours. The boys were such troopers. They just had a blast from start to finish. Every once in a while they wanted to sit in the stroller and sometimes they even shared.

I don't think we even left the parking lot and Tiig was already asleep.

It was a really fun day and the boys got a little bracelet to remember it by.

Sock Monster

2010-06-16T17:34:00.002-04:00

Finn got this really cute sock monkey for Christmas and he is currently in Germany with us. He has been to the farm, preschool, the playground and numerous other places. His cousin likes him too and asked his mom to get him one. Since they are on vacation right now I thought I'd make him a little sock monster instead.

Nail polish and underwear

2010-06-12T14:54:00.002-04:00

When I went to bed last night I noticed that Finn had some pink highlighter marker on his leg. When I woke up this morning I realized that he had carefully painted each toe nail and each finger nail. Only he did not stop there. He also painted each leg, and his belly button, his ear and hands. He had noticed that I had painted my nails and just wanted to be pretty too. So I cleaned him all up and explained that only girls need to paint their nails. Later he went to the bathroom and I saw another little surprise. He had painted a few lines of bright pink marker on each butt cheek.

Just some pictures of the boys coloring.

A few days ago I bought Finn some new underwear. He LOVES them. Not sure why since it's the same style like he had before. But he does and he usually changes them at least once a day. Tonight I went in to check on him and noticed that he was wearing different ones from the ones he was wearing to bed. I looked for the old ones in case they were wet but could not find them. At last I noticed that his underwear was pretty tight. He was wearing every single pair that he had in his closet. I counted ten!

I know that my Savior loves me

2010-06-10T14:55:00.003-04:00

Tiig is staring to talk more and more, usually all German. But when I was singing the new Primary song in the shower he started singing 'I know heees...'. How great that even little children can already learn the truths that are being taught through those songs.

Haircuts

2010-06-09T16:11:00.002-04:00

When I checked my emails on the laptop this morning Tiig came up to me and said 'tele papa, tele papa'. So we called Adam and Tiig kept giving him kisses on the screen. We miss him.

It was time for another haircut.

Finn's hair was pretty long. Only now it's a little too whort. Oh well, it will grow back.

Hide and Seek

2010-06-08T14:41:00.005-04:00

We have been playing a lot of hide and seek lately. Usually it's just Finn and I that play but Tiig has participated more and more.
Here they are both counting on the couch while gramdma is hiding. I was just a little late in taking this picture. Tiig's head popped up after the number five already.

Well, he was sitting on the couch and hiding behind the sheep but decided that he did not want to have his picture taken that way. Too bad. It was way cute, especially when was 'found'.

Last night we had salad for dinner. Finn only ate a little and said he was done. But I told him that he needed to eat more. He took another bite and I could tell that he was thinking about some way to get out of eating more. He turns to me and asks 'if I eat this whole salad can I have ice cream for dessert?' Needless to say he finished very quickly.

Rain rain go away

2010-06-07T16:50:00.003-04:00

Since I've been here the nice and sunny days have been sparce and very few. I remember why I love the desert climate of Utah and Colorado. So today, instead of going to the beach or so, we spent all day cooped up inside. Boo.

Good dinner

2010-06-05T13:09:00.002-04:00

We had a nice and warm day today. We went to the playground for a while in the afternoon and had a picnic. By the time we got home and had the boys all cleaned up I was too lazy to have a big dinner and so Finn and Tiig got some flavored milk instead. It was a great, quiet, clean, fast, and easy dinner. That's how I like it.

And the biggest monster award goes to... BOTH

2010-06-03T16:05:00.002-04:00

Me and the boys share a room, and since it gets very bright very early here, the boys wake up earlier than I like. So one morning I fled the room at around six in the morning to escape the constant fart noises coming from their mouths. I was delighted to catch some more sleep on the living room couch. Only when I got up the boys had already had some fun. They took all the bedding and every single item of clothing out of their dresser and put it in front of their door. They also emptied out the book shelf and put all the books into Tiig's crib.

But they made up for it by being espescially nice at brakfast.

Hooray for Skype

2010-06-01T17:02:00.002-04:00

We are regular users of skype to talk to each other but today was the first time that we also had the video with it.
The boys were giving Adam kisses on the screen.

Gut Gaarz

2010-05-30T13:55:00.003-04:00

We stayed at the farm for a week and enjoyed being able to have the cousins play together every minute of the day. Tiigs favorite part was to dig in the flower bed and watch the goats that were right in front of our house.

We had some gorgeous days and just soaked up the scenery and the sun with the kids happily playing together. It was quite idyllic.

Those four are quite the group. They can play forever and never get tired of being silly. I wonder if Finn will remember that he could never sit next to his cousin at dinner because they would be too silly together or that they jumped on the trampoline and their pants happened to fall down...

Either way they had so much fun and I loved seeing them be so happy together.

For the love of books

2010-05-24T16:46:00.002-04:00

We went to the library a couple times already and just checked out whatever book looked worth reading. So now we have a bunch of books at home and Finn really likes being read to. When he sees me reading a book he will pick a book himself and start reading it himself. Now he usually finds someone who will read it to him.

And what does Tiig do these days? EAT. He fell in love with German food, my little German boy. Oh I love him so much. This last week he has started talking a lot more and will put a smile on everyones face with his cute and silly things he does. He is so loving and and caring. He brings me so much joy and love and has a healing influence on me.

Library, Mall, Therapy, Playground

2010-05-21T14:32:00.003-04:00

We went to the library again this morning and got lots of books for our trip next week. Then we went to the mall to get something to eat. And before we went to the playground we went to see the therapist that my mom works for. I thought long about whether or not to mention it but I decided that I need not be ashamed of it or make a secret. So my mom works for this occupational therapist that noticed a few things about Finn that she offered to look a bit more into. So today we went and saw her again for some motor skill development and cognitive assesment. That's all I want to share at this point but I feel that I needed to share it and not feel like I am making a big secret out of it.

And also, I miss Adam very much.

Sunshine

2010-05-20T14:32:00.003-04:00

We finally had some warmer weather and sunshine (still long pants and sweaters mind you) but we took the cousins to get some ice cream. Oh Deutschland I love your delicious creamy tasty wonderful ice cream.

Riding on Oma's scooter.

We pulled the cousins in this. It's a German thing :)

Climbing a tree.

Oh how tasty.

I really enjoy being around my sister and her kids. It's so fun to see them play together.

Pure Joy

2010-05-19T16:13:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure what happened but my boys fell totally in love with those strollers. And when their cousin wanted his back we had a very sad boys. I mean truly sad. So my wonderful sister took us shopping this morning and bought them their very own doll strollers, in pink! Oh the pure joy on their faces when they got them. Needless to say we took them everywhere with us.

We went to visit my mom at work and then on to visit my grandma.

I miss you Adam

2010-05-17T17:01:00.002-04:00

I decided not to put a numeric value on the days that I've spent here anymore and for a lack of more creativity the title of this post simply states the obvious. I miss you Adam.

So thanks to my sister these pretty doll strollers have to accompany us everywhere! Tiig threw a huge fit and was mad at me for a good half hour when I would not carry them down three flights of stairs to take them with us to the playground when we went for the second time of the day.

But I am having a good time so far. I went to church yesterday and you know you grew up in a small ward when they "extend a special welcome to our visitor, Hanni".

Ingela and I attended a seminar on Self worth and now I'm feeling GREAT ;)

Day 2

2010-05-15T16:34:00.005-04:00

This lovely pink stroller had to go everywhere with us today. To the library, to a friends house (Peter), to the playground, and if I would have allowed it to Macdonalds too.

We had a fun day and the boys appear to be themselves again because they were fighting all the time.

Day 1

2010-05-14T15:11:00.008-04:00

We slept great!!! We went to bed around 10 pm and the boys woke up around noon today. The cousins came over to play and my mom gave them all a haircut. We also went to the playground for a little.

Tiig got a digger from his cousins. His eyes light up when he sees it. "Gaga!"

Finn was in haeven too. He found someone who played Wii with him.

Finn getting his hair cut.

Tiig's turn.

Travel Day

2010-05-13T16:18:00.003-04:00

Tiig got a little infant seat on the plane. It was a good idea in theory. They made me take him out and strap him to my lap every time the fasten seat belt sign was on. So I just gave up on trying to put him in there. Finn fell asleep right after dinner and was zonked out until we landed.

Gotta love air plane food.

P.S. I love you, Adam.

Bishop's Castle and Camping in the Rockies

2010-04-29T19:06:00.009-04:00

Yesterday we thought it would be fun to go checkout a nearby tourist attraction and go camping up in the mountains. The tourist attraction is called Bishop's Castle. I would recommend googling it to learn more about it but the story is that back in 1969 there was a man that decided that everybody should have their own castle. So over the past 40 years he has collected rocks from the surrounding areas and from donations from visitors he has been building a castle. It is located in the middle of nowhere by the San Isabel National Forest. As we pulled up we could not believe it. One man did this all on his own, below are just a few pictures of this amazing, man made structure.

There are two very tall towers and a dragon on the front. We made it up about halfway but the wind and the thought that it might not be very stable, we decided to go back down.

This is a large room with beautiful plate-glass windows. We imagined this to be the ballroom.

This was as we were walking up the steps of one of the towers. It overlooked the large room. Everywhere were posted signs, 'Enter at Own Risk'. Probably because of the huge dropoffs all over the place.

We held both of the boys close as we walked up one of the towers. Very narrow and steep...

He has built balconies all over the castle that are see through as you can see from this picture.

Not quite sure about this one. Reminds me of "By the power of Grey Skull...".

This was another room below the ballroom. There are beautiful arches...

And of course, what castle would be complete without a throne for the king? Here are our two princes.

It was such a windy day (Pueblo and the surrounding area was under a High Wind Warning) we were just going to drive home but on the dirt road home we came across a perfect campground so we set up campt for the night. We cooked some hot dogs over the fire to have chili dogs.

Tiig did not care that they were cooked or not so he just ate his right off of the stick. What a monster...

For dessert, some cookies. Compare our two boys, Finn so proper and clean as he is eating his cookie...

And then you have our little monster Tiig. Honestly, what 18 month old creates a cookie sandwich out of two cookies? Only our Tiig.

After dinner we went exploring around our campsite. Unfortunately we did not come across any animals but we did find plenty of trash that we took out with us. Here Finn is helping Hanni get out of a tough spot.

After the sun went down it was time to stoke the fire for some smores. Again, Tiig was too impatient to wait for the cooked smores, he was content with an uncooked marshmellow right off of the stick.

As we retired to bed the wind picked up slightly. We were aware of the high wind warning in effect for the area but we figured the trees would slow the wind. Soon enough the wind picked up to what seemed to be hurricane force. The boys slept right through it all but Hanni and I laid in bed and listened to the gusts come barreling down the canyon and slam into our tent. At 2am we noticed a problem with the tent. We soon realized that one of our tent poles was broken. Hanni put together a nice little MacGuyver-esque fix with a piece of an aspen and some twine that was left over from the previous campers. It held the rest of the night...nice job Hanni.

Overall a very good experience for our first night of camping in the Rockies. We did wake up to some light snow but as quoted by Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber "Yeah, we're in the Rockies!".

The Finished Project

2010-04-23T12:51:00.002-04:00

Dig it oh, oh, oh! Dig it!

2010-04-20T18:45:00.007-04:00

It's been a while since we posted anything on our blog but we have a very good reason. For the past 3 weeks we have spent every free minute digging a hole in our back yard. Now unlike the movie 'Holes' we were not digging for treasure, we were digging a hole for our trampoline.

Our friends the Jensen's that live in Utah gave us the idea so we bought a shovel and borrowed another shovel from some friends and got to work. We are happy to say that today we finished the last part of the hole. Check out the progress!

Here was a couple of days into it when we decided to keep a picture gallery. Each level that we dug was about 6 inches, and we needed it to be 36 inches deep at the shallow end and even deeper on the deep end.

This is our trampoline. 14 feet in diameter.

This is a couple of days later...

This was the end of the first week of digging...

The elders came over to our house to meet us and "role play" the first lesson that they teach investigators. At the end they asked if there was anything that they could do to help us and we said "Well, we have this hole...". The next day they came over and helped dig for a couple of hours. Hanni, Finn, and I were all good supervisors. Thanks Elders!

This was the last day, today that we had to dig...

As we came to the last part we ran into a pipe that according to Comcast was 3 feet to the north. Well, it was not 3 feet to the north, it ended up right in our hole. We were able to work around it and when we put rocks in the bottom you wont be able to see the pipe at all.

You can see in this picture how deep the hole is at it's deepest point. You can also see the pipe of CAT V cable, it's grey.

We were having a hard time getting in and out of the hole a week ago so we left some stairs for easy access.

We did some calculations and we hauled approximately 60,000 lbs or 30 tons of dirt out of our backyard!!! We are so happy to be done with the hard part. We are very grateful that we dont have any neighbors so we were able to drop all of that dirt into an empty lot.

Now that the hard part is done, we have some fine tuning of the hole to make it more round, then we will build a retaining wall out of brick to keep dirt from caving in on the trampoline. We will be sure to show the completed project!

Finally a new post but not even pictures

2010-03-29T16:48:00.002-04:00

It's been way too long since I updated this blog. It seems like the longer I wait the better post I need to have but that's not happening. So this will be just a bunch of random little stories that I want to write down so I can remember them.

Finn's thoughts on our new house:

me: "Finn do you like our new house?" (expecting him to say that it is awesome like he did many times)

Finn: "Hmm, no. It's kinda shiny!"

Finn wet his pants a little bit and I told him to get new pants. He came back with his tights that he wore for his skunk costume for Halloween. He comes back and asks me if we are going anywhere today. After I told him that we are just staying home today his face lights up and he starts jumping and cheering: "yay, so I can wear my sock pants?!" I have never seen a boy so happy to be able to wear tights.

The most commonly used phrase by Finn these days is "I will never be happy!!!" Close runner up is "I don't want anything!"

After telling Finn that is time to get ready for bed he got really excited and said: "Oh yeah, I way want to read my Book of Mormon."

We're Moving! Colorado Here We Come!

2010-01-16T23:25:00.006-05:00

Since the mid-summer last year Hanni and I felt like it was time for a change. After much prayer we decided that Colorado would be a good place to be. Target has a distribution center in Pueblo which is 2 hours south of Denver so I asked my DC here to start talking to their DC. After months of waiting, and weeks of being told that we would hear soon, we finally got the official word that we are being transferred to Pueblo, Colorado. My last day here is February 19th, so our plan is to leave here on the 21st. We are so excited!

We have made some great friends out here in New York but nothing beats being close to family. Initially we are moving in with my parents until we find a place to stay in Pueblo. New homes are going for pretty cheap in Pueblo so we are looking into building. Hanni has been busy talking on the phone getting quotes from movers (since we requested the move, Target is not paying for it) and we are narrowing it down. Any way that it happens it will be an adventure!

This is what the drive is going to look like to my parents house, 28 fun filled driving hours. Should be fun!

Happy Birthday Lana!

2009-12-17T14:44:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday little Angel!

Two years ago today you were born and then returned to live with Heavenly Father again. We had such a short but precious time with you here on earth. We learned so much about life in the two hours that you lived. I know that you we send to be part of our family and I also know that it was part of Heavenly Father's plan that you returned to Him so quickly.

I am sure that you are quite busy playing with all your relatives and friends and being an angel to those that need you. How grateful I am for the knowledge that families can be together forever! We are a forever family and we are working on that every day.

Today we celebrated your birthday by going out to eat for breakfast. They had these Kids glasses and Finn and Tiig were playing with them. I wondered what you would have looked like wearing them. I bet you would have looked so cute! I miss you very much some times. But most of the time I am thankful that you did not have to suffer a lot here. And now you get to be in heaven where I hope to be with you again some day. We also got you some balloons. Pink ones. We send them off in our backyard but it was very windy and cold today.

Lana, I am so comforted in knowing that you are in heaven. I feel at peace when I think about you and know that you are well. I love you very much and I thank you for all that you have taught me over the last two years.

Happy Birthday!

Fresh Powder (Nor-Eastern Style)

2009-12-10T14:20:00.011-05:00

I came home from work Wednesday morning at 3am and there was no snow on the ground. At 10am Finn ran in our room to wake me up because he wanted to ski so we looked outside and it had snowed about 12 inches! It was a lot of heavy, wet snow, not the dry powder that we are used to from Utah, but it was fun to play in. We started off by going on a walk with the boys' sleds. This was Tiig's favorite part.

Finn and Tiig's first sled ride together (thanks Aunt Melinda for the sweet sled that you gave us last year for Christmas).
After the sled ride it was Finn's turn to show off his skiing skills. This kid is a natural and I'm proud to be his dad!

Tiig had a front row seat to watch his older brother tear it up.
Just one more picture. As Finn was skiing we saw something crawling around on the ground under the snow. It turned out to be a mouse! Hanni was brave enough to pick it up so we could get this picture.
We had a great morning playing in the snow although we were all soaking wet by the end of it all. I am sure that this will be the first of many big snow storms for us up here but with 2 boys they will always be fun!

Finn's First Day/Night of Skiing

2009-12-05T18:17:00.012-05:00

We finally received our first snow of the winter so I took advantage of the inch or so that was on the ground to get Finn out on his skis for the first time. He was awesome!

The hill behind our house is pretty short but a perfect to learn on. Everytime that he would fall he would get right back up then ask me to carry him to the top. Someday, when he is a pro skier, I'm sure he will thank me for being his personal ski lift.

I explained to him what "first tracks" are and that is what he wanted to get the rest of the time. That's my boy!

The snow is still falling here so tomorrow I will try to get a movie. He was loving it! (Hanni is still not feeling well so this is Adam's second post ever.)

Elf Yourself!

2009-12-03T19:15:00.000-05:00

So I saw an "Elf Yourself" movie on my cousins blog and thought it would be fun to do the same for Finn and Tiig. It is really nice to have some time off of work so I can do more important things like turn my boys into elves. Merry Christmas everyone!

See the video below. (this is Adam's first ever blog post, hope you enjoy it)

2009-12-03T19:12:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Birthday Tiig!

2009-10-22T15:50:00.003-04:00

It's already Tiig's birthday. It feels more like nine or ten months since he was born but I guess my little baby is not so little anymore.

Some fun things about my little birthday boy.

He has ten teeth and is working hard on getting the top two molars through too.

He likes to drink carbonated beverages until his eyes start to water.

He is a good crawler now and also cruises on furniture. When you hold his hands he will take off running and knows exactly where he wants to go.

He loves to be outside. Anytime you open the front door he will charge. He will also get very upset if you do not let him out.

His favorite foods are grapes and fries. He does not like baby food at all.

He laughs super hard when Finn is silly around him.

When he gets upset while he is playing on the floor he will lean forward until his head is almost touching the floor and cry. It works. He looks so cute that I always have to come and comfort him.

He likes to crawl up the stairs and is staring to figure out how to get down too.

When he is done eating he will fling the food off the high chair.

His favorite toys are balls, cars, and now his new basket ball hoop. He likes to throw his toys and get them and throw them again.

He does not say any words yet. Not even mama or papa. But when we sing songs he will sing with us and make noises in the same rhythm.

He sucks his right thumb. He does not have a lovey.

He likes to cuddle with me and usually smiles at me when he sees me.

Half Vermont Journey

2009-09-07T09:08:00.010-04:00

Adam did his second half iron distance race of the year. He went out the night before to camp there but since it was raining all day long I stayed home with the boys. We came the next day to see him race. He had a great swim and bike but by the time he was half way through the half marathon part he was running out of steam. Still, I am very proud of him for even finishing such a long race and even more because he did it in under six hours. Good job, Sweety.

After the race we went swimming in a beautiful lake. The swim portion of the triathlon was in this lake too.

Before we headed back to camp we went to get some well deserved ice cream. Tiig loooved licking our ice cream.

Adam had a different race at this same location last year. We got a picture of Finn eating some ice cream then...

....and now this year. He looks so much older now.

Back at camp the men were reading triathlete magazine together.

We stayed one more night at camp together and had tasty smores around the campfire. The boys slept great (us not so much) but we had a fun time.

Just the two of us

2009-09-02T20:50:00.010-04:00

While Adam and Tiig were gone, Finn and I did a lot of fun things.

We had a super long and fun day at the Great Escape...

Went on a 4 mile bike ride...

Went to the Washington County Fair and saw all kinds of animals...
(the sign says: Please don't pet me, I'm VERY grumpy today)

We watched a demolition derby...

And of course went on lots of fun rides at the fair...

But Finn's favorite part was that he got to sleep in our bed.

Funny Finny

2009-08-23T14:10:00.003-04:00

Adam and Tiig are in Colorado right now. Since I'm still nursing I have to pump or esle es no bueno. So I was pumping and along comes Finn. He looks at me then at the pump. Then asks very curiously: "You peeing, mom?" So I told him that I am pumping milk for Tiig cause he is not here right now. So Finn asks "You peeing milk!?" I guess that's one way to look at it.

Happy Birthday Finn!

2009-08-11T09:55:00.008-04:00

Happy Birthday Finny! You are three years old now! This past year sure had it's highs and lows, I'm not gonna lie. You were in the terrible twos full force and are likely to continue this trend for a while. You can be so sweet and happy but unfortunately you chose to be grumpy and moody a lot lately. You freak out when Tiig touches your toys yet other times you make sure he has toys to play with and bring him new stuff. "I don't want anything!" That phrase pretty much sums up your attitude lately and even when we do something fun and you have a blast it's very unpredictable if you will express your joy or be grumpy again. To be honest I was not excited to prepare for your birthday. Anything fun that I tried to do for you lately you shot down with your bad mood. But your birthday was special. You were so excited to see the decorations and all the presents for you. A couple times you stopped and looked around and said "I can't believe it this room. I can't believe it. This awesome. I can't believe it this room, mom." And that made it all worth it. I love you very much Finn, and I hope that this next year will be filled with more laughter and less frustration.

(Sorry for all the negative information, but I wanted to post something honest)

Opening presents

After Finn had opened a couple presents he looked at one present and said "this one is for Tiig"

You can be so sweet, Finn. I love you!

Finn was very excited for the food. He kept rubbing his hands together and giggle.

Trying to blow out the candles

Henry Hudson Quadathlon

2009-08-06T14:37:00.002-04:00

For my last race of the year Adam and I did a quadathlon. Run- Swim- Bike- Paddle. Adam slowed down for me and we raced side by side for the whole race. It was quite fun to do something different than a triathlon. We had never really kayaked before so that added to the excitement. And as an added bonus- we both won our age group.

Nine Month Check-Up

2009-07-30T09:49:00.002-04:00

Tiig had his nine month check-up. He is doing very well, just a cute healthy baby. He did not need to get any shots which made the doctor's visit even better. Other great news was that he still fits in his infant car seat. Yay! He slowed down on the weight gain since he started crawling, just like Finn did.

Here are his stats:
Height: 29 1/4 inches (75%)
Weight: 21 lbs 0oz (50%)

Some things I want to remember about Tiig at this age:

he still likes to nurse and at night often falls asleep doing so
he rubs his thumb over my knuckles when he nurses or plays with his ear
he will not nurse when Finn is around. he is way to excited to watch Finn
his favorite toys are whatever Finn plays with at the moment. That drives Finn crazy.
he loves to play patty cake and "so big"
when he is done eating table foods he lifts his hand up high over his head and then smashes it down on his tray and is very pleased when it makes a loud sound
he loves to take baths with Finny. Tiig just starts giggling when I put him in the water
his shirts are all stained because he drags his belly on the floor
he still has some tender spots on his feet from pushing off
he recently started pulling himself up to standing and then lets go. I have to dive and catch him before he nails the ground
he sleeps great!
he only takes one nap but it's three hours long
he hates formula! He will take breast milk from a bottle but absolutely refuses formula
he has eaten more french fries than any nine month old should have

Montreal... Je me souviens

2009-07-28T21:44:00.003-04:00

We felt very patriotic for Fourth of July and left the country to visit Montreal.

We got to go to the Montreal temple. Adam and I had to switch off because we could not find a babysitter. But the boys liked playing in the car and eating lots of snack food that we brought for the drive.

We loved playing in the pool.

Tiig riding some serious rapids.

We walked through downtown Montreal and it was almost like being in France. They had street artists and performers and everyone spoke French. We thought it would be cool to get a drawing of Finn and Tiig, but Finn being Finn had this huge scowl on his face the entire time to that's what's on the picture. A happy smiley Tiig and a scowling Finn.

Finn got a huge plate of fries and was so happy.

More fun at the pool.

Tiig loved hanging out in the floaty. He would lean over to one side and splash the water over and over again.

Finn and Adam had so much fun jumping in the water. They jumped so many times. I should have counted it.

Only the first 20 seconds are exciting. For some reason i did not turn off the camera after that and I don't know how to edit it. Sorry. But you get to watch my pulse in my foot :). So how do I edit it?

Our hotel was very close to an Ikea. Since Finn does not need diapers anymore we could leave hi in the playroom while we went shopping. At least that was the idea. He bumped his head about five minutes after we dropped him off and would not stop crying so they called us in to get him.

They have the kids wear a vest with a number and their name on for identification. I thought it was pretty cute.

Musselman

2009-07-23T22:30:00.005-04:00

Yet another triathlon post.

We made a trip to the fingerlakes area and competed in the Musselman triathlon. We also went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant but do not have any pictures. We were able to put Tiig to bed before we left and our friends watched him while the rest of us went to see the pageant. Finn fell asleep within the first five minutes so it was almost like a date for me and Adam.

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of me doing the mini-Mussel but it was a great race. About 700 people participated. The swim was in Seneca Lake and into the canal. The bike was a fast flat loop and the run was a flat out and back along the lake.

Adam did the half iron distance Musselman triathlon. It was his first half ironman ever. He did really well considering that the race is over 70 miles long. He swam 1.2 miles, biked 56 miles and ran 13.2 miles. It took him 5 hours and 35 minutes to complete. Way to go Adam! I'm very proud of you!

He raced for several hours yet this is the only picture I have of him. He is that small gray speck with the white hat. Sorry Adam.

Our boys sure had a great time. Tiig absolutely fell in love with watermelon. He was in heaven when I gave some to him and worked on it for at least half an hour. Finn wanted nothing more than to swing. He must have been on the swing for hours that weekend and still wanted more.

Pine Bush Triathlon

2009-07-23T21:55:00.005-04:00

Quite spontaneously I signed up for this triathlon. It had a short swim (325 yards) and since swimming is my weakest portion it was great for me.

Just getting out of the water. I got tangled up in sea weed during the swim. Gross.

The race had two different transition areas. So Adam got in the car after my swim and found me biking on the course.

Crossing the line like I won the entire race ;)

Finn with my medal.

Turned out that I barely got third place in my age division. The fourth place girl crossed the line only two seconds after me. I could actually see her gaining on me on the run and I tried really hard (almost too hard, I started feeling a little sick) to finish in front of her. Good thing I did.

North Country Triathlon

2009-07-23T21:14:00.005-04:00

Adam and I were both able to compete in the North Country Triathlon thanks to the babysitter we brought along. It was a very early morning, but that's all part of triathlons.
The course was quite challenging as it was very hilly. Adam did the Olympic distance and I did the sprint.

Adam before his swim start

Crossing the finish line

Adam's race results:
Time: 2:39:58
Overall ranking: 29
Place in age group: 5

Hanni's race results:
Time: 1:39:36
Overall ranking: 40
Place in age group:2

Poor baby had blisters

2009-06-30T22:52:00.006-04:00

Tiig has his own version of crawling and mainly uses his big toe to push off. I let him go barefoot most of the time so it is easier for him to push off. But then I saw that the poor thing had blisters on his big toes from crawling around. I have never heard of babies getting blisters from crawling. By now he has some calluses build up and is ready to go again.

Potty trained

2009-06-30T22:41:00.003-04:00

We were at the store and Finn saw this race track toy and really wanted it. So I told him that he could have it if he pees in the potty. He did not want it anymore. But then he realized that it might not be such a bad deal and told me that he would do it. So we bought the toy and got home and he wanted to play with it but I told him that he needs to use the potty first. He did not want to do it. Warning TMI ahead: I showed him how to use it and then pretended that I got a toy for myself. That was all the motivation he needed. He used the potty and was so super excited that he is a big boy now and gets to play with the race track toy.

That was almost three weeks ago. Until now he is doing pretty well. Sometimes he forgets to pee in the potty when he is wearing pants. Consequently he runs around with no pants a lot. But he likes being a big boy and always proudly tells us when he went. Way to go Finn.

Picture Wall

2009-06-30T22:31:00.006-04:00

For Father's Day Adam got a picture collage of the boys to put in his office. The pictures turned out quite nice so we got a bunch and hung them in our living room.

Boston Trip

2009-06-30T21:16:00.011-04:00

We went to Boston a couple of weeks ago to go to the temple and to do some site seeing. Unfortunately Finn and Tiig both had pink eye and Finn also had a double ear infection. Adam and I were both struck with sore throats so that made for some less fun times.

We left for Boston right after church on Sunday and the boys slept for a good portion of the almost four hour drive. At the hotel we played in the pool before it was already bedtime for the boys. That night Finn kept us awake because he was coughing non stop for hours. Not so fun.

Monday we drove into Boston and went to the I-Max theatre and watched "Under the Sea". Very cool to see the 3D action. Finn loved it. Tiig was not a fan and cried a lot so I had to leave the theatre about half way through. Afterwards we went to the New England Aquarium. It was very neat to see all those different fish. By this point Finn had enough and was super grumpy and whiny the entire visit. My favorite part was to watch a diver scrub a sea turtle in a huge tank that also had sharks in it.

We ate lunch at Quincy Market and watched street performers. Then we walked about half of the Freedom Trail and saw some interesting historic sites like Feneuil Hall and the Paul Revere House.

We had super tasty ice cream with huge candy coated waffle cones before we boarded "Red Sox Nathan" for a Duck Tour through Boston by land and water. Finally something that both boys enjoyed. Finn got to drive the boat version while we were on the Charles River looking at the Museum of Science and the famous Citgo sign from Fenway Park.

We got back to the hotel to play in the pool again and were happy that they had turned up the water temperature.

That night it was Tiig's turn to rob us from our sleep. For some reason he decided to cry for hours on end without us being to consolidate him. He usually sleeps soundly through the night. Again, not so fun.

Tuesday we hit a little bit of traffic while we drove to the temple and missed the ten o'clock session. We dropped the boys off at a young woman's house and drove up to the temple and could not find my wallet with my recommend. I seriously thought that Satan tried everything he could think of to keep us from going to the temple. But then we found it. It was a wonderful time and built and lifted me up.

Adam's cousin met us at the temple and afterwards we went out to eat together. We parked our car at their house and took the train into the city. It was very nice to have elevators at every stop. But one elevator was so small that we had to seriousle wedge the stroller in and then only one of us fit in. Well the doors opened on the other side and we were stuck. There was no way to get the stroller out in any way.

We went to Fenway Park and walked around the stadium. The Red Sox played the Yankees that night. It would have been so fun to watch it.

It was raining on and off that day and we went to Boston Commons it decided to start raining quite hard. So we could not do the Swan Boats but we still walked around the park a little until we got too wet and Tiig kept crying.

All in all it was a very eventful trip. The sicknesses and not being well rested made it challenging at times but being able to go to the temple and also experiencing all those great things made it worth it.

He moves

2009-06-12T09:07:00.004-04:00

What better way than to lure him with food?

Tiig has started to crawl. Well, actually I don't think you can call it that. He moves more like a slug. He drools so much that he lubricates the way in front of him and then slowly scoots over it, leaving a slimy trail behind. I should just strap a mop to his belly. That way our floors would get nice and clean.

Of course I am excited for him to pass this milestone but truthfully I'm a little sad too. Now the days of cute little immobile baby that stays exactly where you leave him are truly over. Finn has also found that his toys are not as safe from Tiig as they once used to be.

Scooter

2009-06-11T22:11:00.004-04:00

This is Finn's very first time on a razor scooter.

Right after I stopped the camera he rolled on the grass area and of course crashed. But I think he did pretty well for a two year old. And yes, he is wearing his pyjamas.

I love FOOD!

2009-05-28T22:06:00.007-04:00

Anything and everything Tiig can get his hands on goes in his mouth. He loves food and pretty much everything else he can put in his mouth.

That corn was probably one of his favorites. Such a big piece of food all for himself.

Watermelon was also very tasty.

Sand must taste very good. He just kept putting one handful after the other in his mouth.

What is he eating now?

He has got the entire pacifier in his mouth!

Now that's much better.

Camping Trip

2009-05-26T14:36:00.006-04:00

We went on our first camping trip of the year the weekend before memorial day. We found this beautiful camp ground only twenty minutes from our house yet very desolate. It turned out nice that our house was so close because after we set up camp on Saturday it began to rain. So instead of playing by our camp and exploring the trails we found shelter in the mall. And instead of having smores and sing songs around the camp fire we had McDonald's. When it started raining even harder at bedtime we decided to just sleep at home and come back the next day.

The next morning we drove to our camp site first thing and had breakfast there. After a fun day at the amusement park we got to have our cozy dinner around the fire.

Finn had his own camping chair

Tiig hanging out in Adam's chair

That night we slept in the tent, but it was freezing. We were all bundled up in many layers of clothes and blankets and we were so glad to have a little space heater. Turned out that it was only 36 degrees that night.

All in all it was a fun and tiring weekend. Having our house so close definitely made a difference. For our next trip it would be really nice if Tiig would be walking. Also it should be a little warmer. But those minor things are forgotten quickly and I mostly remember just having some quality time as our family.

Great Escape

2009-05-26T13:45:00.001-04:00

It is always so much fun to go to the great escape. It's only 15 minutes from our house and we have season passes so we will probably go there many more times this summer.

Anyone Can Tri

2009-05-05T21:40:00.010-04:00

I did my second triathlon last weekend. It had a 350 yard pool swim, 11 mile bike ride and a 3.2 mile run. It was a pretty chilly morning so the warm pool water was very nice. I had to put on a fleece for the bike. When I got off the bike my feet were so frozen that it took almost ten minutes to get my feeling back in them in the run and my skin was so cold that it was quite red. It was a lot of fun though and I reached all the goals that I had set up for myself. I even placed third in my age group.

Every triathletes dream: a winner's mug :)

Adam was so great and watched the boys while I competed.

They also had a little kids triathlon where flotation devices and training wheels are allowed. Maybe we have to sign Finn up for that one next year.

Call me Spike

2009-04-28T21:37:00.009-04:00

We had Finn's hair cut. I know it was long and awesome but it was too hot. Finn sweats on his head like crazy when he gets hot or tired and since we had a nice heat wave coming through it was as good a time as any to get it cut.

Before

During

After

He got red hair gel in it and thought he was pretty cool.

When I tried to style his hair this morning, he looked in the mirror and said "No. That's not me." I guess he still needs some time to get used to it.

Half a Year Old

2009-04-22T21:38:00.004-04:00

Tiig turned half a year today! He is already six months old. He had his six month check-up and got some more shots.

Weight: 19 lbs 7 oz = 75th percentile

Length: 27 1/2 inches = 75th percentile

Head Circ: 45.0 cm = 75th percentile

He is a well proportioned, healthy and thriving baby. He weighs more now than Finn did at 1 year old. But it seems like he is slowing down a little on the weight gain. And that's perfectly fine with me. That way he can stay in his car seat a little longer.

We even celebrated a little by having cake and singing "happy half birthday". Yes, I know that Tiig probably should not have had any of the cake but does it make it better that I only gave him the icing? Finn insisted that I take a picture of him eating the cake too.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-21T22:38:00.001-04:00

Just a quick highlight of our Easter egg hunt at home.

A Child's Prayer

2009-04-17T22:42:00.002-04:00

Finn said his bedtime prayer all by himself for the first time. We usually say a part and have him repeat it but the other night he wanted to try to say his bed time prayer all by himself. This is what he said:

"Heanny Farr, kankou s day, pease bess, in name jeas quiest aaaaaamen."

It translates into: Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this day. Please bless us. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

He looked at me and gave me a huge smile and proudly pronounced that he said it all by himself. I'm also very proud of him and touched by how thoughtful he is when he prays. Yesterday he included his second cousin in his prayer, who just had open heart surgery "pease bess Max" and today he prayed for Adam at work. I know that Heavenly Father listens to Finn's prayers and I hope that Finn will realize that too.

Easter Pirate

2009-04-14T14:25:00.005-04:00

We went to an Easter egg hunt put on by Target that Adam was in charge of. We found lots of eggs and saw the Easter bunny.

Tiig loved being carried around in the Baby Bjoern all day long and took a little nap on Adam.

They also had face painting but Finn wanted a to be a pirate rather than a bunny. He went to a birthday party later that day that was in a pirate theme so it was perfect. Only that he scratched the face paint half off by the time we got home from the egg hunt. So I had to redo it before the party.

First Teeth

2009-03-31T14:48:00.006-04:00

Tiig got two teeth already. He was drooling like a champ for the last little bit and chomping on
his fingers non stop. Sunday the first tooth came through and on Monday the next one appeared.

I tried really hard to get a pictures of his new pearlies without prying his mouth open and these are the best I could do. And you can't see his teeth at all :)

He rolled over!

2009-03-25T14:56:00.001-04:00

As a belated birthday present Tiig rolled over all by himself! This is the after picture. He was grunting so hard and had to use a bit of momentum to get it but the smile on his face after he did it was priceless. That, and the long fart he let out. He was so proud of his accomplishment, and so am I. Of course he did not do it again when I tried to get it on video, so I have about 10 minutes worth of a kicking, arm flailing Tiig who definitely does not roll over. But I tried again a couple of days later and was successful.

Pardon the bare chubby legs. Tiig had his swim lesson earlier that day and I forgot to bring pretty much everything but a diaper.

Vacation at home

2009-03-25T13:39:00.000-04:00

Adam had this past week off work and we decided to pretend like we are on vacation. We tried to do something special every day.

Tuesday

We started the day with nothing other than green eggs and ham. Tiigy had his swim lesson in the morning and he is quite the expert at floating, since he actually does nothing. He is the cutest little fat thing that floats and shows his butt crack because he long outgrew his swim shorts.

Later we enjoyed our traditional St. Patrick's day dinner of corned beef brisket and then ventured to the Tree Paad. Finn got a bracelet upon admission that he still wears now. We were climbing around, sliding super fast slides and shooting balls with air guns. It was super fun.

Wednesday

Finn had his tumbling class in the morning and we were very delighted that he took a little nap when we got home which never happens because we were going to an indoor water park that evening.

Finn and Adam went down a couple long slides but Finn was not allowed on Adam's lap and got scared very soon, so we went to float around in the lazy river. Tiig was not a fan. The water was not exactly warm and he got splashed several times. I was kinda stuck in the tube with him on my lap so we involuntarily made another lap. Poor Tiig. The kiddie pool was much better. Tiig just relaxed in the water on our laps and Finn was happily sliding down the little slides and swinging in the swing set. Adam and I used that time to trade off going down the bid tube slides. Awesome fun!

I even tried the standing wave surfing. I was a little scary at first but seeing that no one crashes gracefully I sucked up my pride and went for it. It was so fun and the crashing was not even that bad.

Thursday

It was Finn's turn to have his swim lessons in the morning.

In the afternoon we watched a lot of March Madness basketball and then went bowling. Sadly we get worse each time we go. Finn however almost beat us even though he has to use the ball slide.

At home we put up our tent in the living room and watched a movie from it. Adam and Finn then had a sleepover in the tent. Finn still talks about the tent and the monkey movie we watched.

Friday

We went to the mall to buy some things for my birthday and Finn played in the play area.

Saturday

Adam and I had a triathlon spin class in the morning. It was the first time that we got to do it together and it rocked!

In the afternoon we went to Explore. There is so much to do for kids. Finn loved the bid ball pit- Tiig not so much. We dressed up as pirates and played on the pirate ship. Explored the water station with the locks and Finn's favorite was the play house with a huge spiral slide. Adam let his inner child surface and made a ball roller coaster. Tiig was very happy to drool around and later fell asleep.

Sunday

Adam woke up feeling sick so I took the boys to church. We used the day to rest and watch more basketball.

Monday

Albany has a big museum and we decided to check it out. Unfortunately Finn was a little ornery that day and did not let us enjoy just looking around. They did however have an antique carousel that they still operate and Finn and I loved riding on the horses together.

Tuesday

Happy Birthday to me!

I woke up not feeling well. Adam had decorated the living room and made me a wonderful birthday table. I got some cool triathlon stuff. Thanks to all!

We were so excited to go out to eat since our goal still is not to eat out until Easter, but my birthday was going to be an exception. So we had lunch at Panera and then went to the planetarium and watched a show on stars.

Lana has a star named after her so we looked up the constellation wherein it is.

They also had a hands on museum and we explored that for a little.
On the way home I started feeling sicker and later developed a fever. With lots of Ibuprofen we were still able to go out for dinner, just Adam and me. Thanks E. for babysitting our boys!

Mmmmm, rice cereal

2009-03-12T14:27:00.003-04:00

Tiig had his first tasting of baby food. He was quite interested in it, although I don't think that any of it actually made it down his throat because he spit it all out.

Finn of course had to try some too.

I tried it too but had to fight my gag reflex. The mixture of formula and bland nothingness for some reason really grossed me out. If I ever try it again I'll mix it with apple juice.

Bowling

2009-03-10T15:27:00.004-04:00

It's been forever since the last time we went bowling. It was Finn's first time playing and he had a ball! It was so cute to see him schlepping that big heavy ball over to the roller all by himself, walking so awkwardly in the bowling shoes but then jumping for joy when he saw the cones being knocked down. We had a great time! We did not even have a single gutter ball! (OK, I admit that the gutter rails were up.)

4 Month Check-Up

2009-02-26T20:50:00.007-05:00

I guess there is no denying that those two are related. I found Finn's 4 months check-up picture and the other one is Tiig's. Can you tell who is who?

Time has flown by and Tiig already had his 4 month check-up. He thought is was very funny to spit out the oral Rotavirus vaccine over and over again. I am questioning the effectiveness of that vaccine in him. And of course he did not like getting poked by the needles either. But the worst part for him was to lay on the scale. He was screaming pretty loud in that part.

We are very blessed to havea very healthy 17 lb 3 oz, and 26 inches baby.

I have to admit that I enjoy the little baby stage this time around much more. When the doctor started talking about introducing solids now I actually got a little sad because it means that I don't have the little baby anymore. I remember that with Finn I always wanted him to be able to do things early and could not wait for him to hit the next milestone. This time it's almost the opposite. I'd rather have Tiig stay so little for a little bit longer.

Fat Tuesday.......Lent

2009-02-24T14:38:00.002-05:00

I overheard people talking that it is Fat Tuesday today and tomorrow is the beginning of Lent. Although we are not catholic I thought it woud be a good idea for our family to have some goals for that time.

So we went to Wendy's and had our 'last supper' before we start not eating out again until Easter. We also decided that we will read through the book of mormon during this time.

I feel very good about that goal and am actually looking forward to completing it.

Errrrrrrrr, I pi-ate!

2009-02-22T19:33:00.001-05:00

No, Finn has not started speaking French, he simply proclaims that he is a pirate (and does so about 1000000000000 times a day when he wears that shirt). It's so funny how he runs around and says errrrrr over and over again. I'm about to give up teaching him that a pirate says arrrrr not errrr because he just gets mad and says errrr even louder.

I'm not sure how he went from holding hands to sticking his finger in Tiig's mouth but he realized that Tiig prefers a pacifier and then continued to try to stick that in his mouth.

Too bad he ran out of cereal

2009-02-18T17:46:00.006-05:00

At first I could not figure out why he kept his eyes closed for so long after each bite. Then I realized that he was actually falling asleep. He probably would have if he wouldn't have run out of cereal.

Happy Half Birthday Finn!

2009-02-09T19:36:00.005-05:00

Finn is 2 1/2 today. We tried to go to Chuck E Cheese today but there is none around. We wanted to do something fun but there is nothing to do here. So we ate at a Chinese buffet and then fought nap time until I gave up. Later we picked out fabric for his bedding. So as you can imagine it was every two and a half year old's dream day!!!

Here are a few things about Finn

Finn loves cars! He can play with his cars all day long. He likes to line them up and then line them up differently again.
He is adjusting well to being a big brother. He likes to help with diaper changes and makes sure Tiig has his pacifier. The other day we heard Tiig struggling and when we checked on him we saw Finn on top of him. He was so happy to give him a big hug and when we told him to get off he made sure that he gave Tiig a big kiss before he did.
He likes to hold Tiig's hand. I'm not sure where that comes from but when Tiig is on the floor Finn comes next to him and holds his hand.
Finn loves to go to the YMCA. He asks me several times a day if he can go to the Y. They have a babysitting program that he goes to while Adam and I work out.
If he spills something he stops what he is doing and will not continue until he or we clean it up. If his room is not clean by the time we put him to bed he asks for clean up time so he can put his toys away.
Lately he likes doing puzzles. He gets very frustrated if he can't do it on the first try but refuses to give up.
He usually wakes us up by announcing that he needs to eat oatmeal. However, if we pretend to be asleep he will sometimes just check in and then leave to go play.
When he tells us something we have to repeat it exactly as he says it. A simple yes is not enough. Even parts will not suffice. It has to be the entire sentence even if it does not make sense. If we don't do it he will keep saying the same thing over and over and get louder with each time he says it.

Finn, you make me laugh. When I think about all the silly things that you do I have to smile. I know I can always be more patient with you when I think that you are acting up. You are a great child and I have to remember that always. You have a very kind personality and I can learn a lot from you.

Ice Skating Attempt

2009-02-09T15:50:00.012-05:00

We finally found something to do on a Saturday. I think Adam and I were more excited to go than Finn was. It was a good thing that we had that red learners aide because Finn could barely even stand on his own. So we somewhat hung him over the bar and dragged him across the ice. He had a blast and I think he actually liked falling down. That's when he laughed the most.

His skates had a mind of their own. They just went all over and oddly enough chose the path of most resistance a lot of the time.

Random Milestones and Minor Accomplishments

2009-02-03T20:53:00.022-05:00

All of us hit (rather minor) milestones lately:

Tiig tied his record of most consecutive days of not pooping. I guess he just converts everything into fat that he consumes and therefore officially fits in a size 3 diaper. He works very efficiently - zero waste. Go green.

Adam has had his retainers for almost six months and will only have to wear them at night. I kinda liked his plastic teeth.
I am proud to announce that I was able to fit into my prepregnancy jeans and still was able to breath normally. Although they are not particularly comfortable I was able to wear them to the store (but took them off quickly as soon as we got home.)

Finn had a little growth spurt and can now reach light switches. I discovered that after I put him to bed and heard unusual loud playing noises from his room. Usually he plays a little bit in his room with the help of his night light before he falls asleep, but that night there was a full blow party going on. We are talking jumping off the bed, cars crashing into each other, singing full gusto, and running around.

Oops... big mistake!

2009-01-19T19:22:00.018-05:00

Tiig had this odd little patch of long hair on the top of his head while the rest was almost bald. Well, we decided that we would trim it a little to make it more even with the rest.

before

after

I don't know what really happened. It all happened so fast. I remember starting to trim the top and the next thing I remember is children crying, Adam yelling oh no, me being shocked, hair everywhere, and a completely bald Tiig. The rest is all a big daze.

Well, I guess our poor little guy is going to wear hats and hoodies for the next little bit. His hair is so short that it is all prickly when you touch it. Not anything like the soft baby fuzz that it is supposed to feel like. Sorry Tiig.

Tiig's Birth Announcement

2009-01-19T19:18:00.002-05:00

I know it's a little late, but better late than never.

Tiig's Baby Blessing

2009-01-15T19:21:00.002-05:00

Tiig had his baby blessing when we were in Colorado. Thanks Nana and Opa for getting him this outfit. It was great to be able to have some family there for it.

I love the picture where we all look so charming in the camera cause of the intense sunlight.

Chonkey Monkey

2009-01-14T22:48:00.005-05:00

Tiig had his two month check up and got his first shots. He weighed in at a whopping 14 lbs 9 oz and measured 23 1/2 inches in length. That puts him in the 95th percentile for weight but only 50th percentile for height. So he is quite the chunker. We might have to get him some overalls because his pants are all very tight around the waist.

Ski Loveland

2009-01-14T18:56:00.003-05:00

Adam and I got to go on a little ski getaway to Loveland when we were in Colorado. His parents watched our kids while we were ripping some sweet turns in shwank pow-pow. I guess that's the insider's way of saying: we had a fun time skiing and great snow. We stayed in a cozy motel for one night and enjoyed their outdoor hot tub while it was snowing. Although the car broke down on the way to the resort we enjoyed having time for just the two of us- no kids.

Christmas Marathon

2009-01-06T21:31:00.006-05:00

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We celebrated a little early cause we went to Colorado for Christmas and Andrea's wedding. Our celebration marathon began with "Christmas Adam" where the boys slept under the tree the day before our Christmas Eve (you know, cause Adam came before Eve). The next day we had our wonderful Christmas dinner and our German Christmas with opening the presents from relatives and friends. Santa brought even more presents during the night and we got to open those on our Christmas Day. What an event. It was so fun to see Finn get really excited when he saw the presents and realized that he is going to get some toys. And Tiig loves watching Finn. And to top it all off we flew to Colorado to celebrate Christmas with Adam's family and see Andrea get married a few days later and therefore got to celebrate even more!

Happy Birthday Lana!

2008-12-17T13:55:00.007-05:00

Happy Birthday little Angel! Today is your birthday and you would have turned one. I miss you! I think about you very often. I am so thankful that you were in our lives. It was an experience that I cherish above anything else but that I would never want to have to go through again. I feel so blessed to know that you are with Heavenly Father and that you are well. It's hard to put into words what I am feeling right now. Of course I am sad that you are no longer with us, and tears are running down my face as I write this. I'm just overflowing with emotion, love, hope, faith, gratitude and not just sadness. But I am also so eternally thankful that you did not have to suffer any longer on this earth. You were too perfect to stay here, and all you needed was a body before you returned to Heaven. I feel very honored that you chose me to provide you with that body.
So much has happened in this past year. We moved across the country and you have a little baby brother that is almost two months old already. Time has gone by so quickly but I always make sure that I never forget you. I look forward to the day that you get to be with us again. I love you!

First Real Snow

2008-12-12T21:27:00.008-05:00

We finally got our first real snow this winter. But since the sun goes down so early here we had to enjoy the snow in the dark. We went on a little sleigh ride and ran around the tree a bazillion times. Tiig was tucked up in my jacket in a baby carrier.

This is how it looked like today in the daylight.

The Big City

2008-12-12T21:04:00.007-05:00

We wanted to go to the city and figured that the Christmas season would be a great time to do so. Our friends and old neighbours from Utah, that moved there this summer, were kind enough to show us around. We would have been so lost without them. It was quite the adventure to walk around downtown New York City at night with a toddler an infant and a newborn. Let me just say that the city is not made for strollers or anything baby related for that matter. It was still a great experience though and we are glad that we were crazy enough to do it.

The famous tree and ice rinck on Rockefeller Center

Adam by Time Square

Riding the subway

The whole crew

Nice newspapers in the background ;0)

Nana's week

2008-12-12T20:47:00.007-05:00

Adam's mom came and stayed with us for a week. She helped a lot with Tiig and was a geat playmate for Finn. These are some of the things that we did.

A couple of walks with Finn and his balance bike.

Lots of story telling.

Yaey soccer! Soccer lesson with Finn- Nana got quite the workout herself.

Tiig slept though Finn's soccer.

Decorating cookies.

Nikolaus

2008-12-12T20:34:00.005-05:00

Nikolaus is a German tradition where St. Nikolaus comes to your house on December sixth. He comes through the chimney and leaves treats for the ones that put clean shoes out and leaves coal in the dirty shoes.

Adam and Finn cleaning their shoes for Nikolaus.

My boys in their pajamas. Finn was very excited when he realized that his and Tiig's were the matching.

So Nikolaus did come and he brought treats for everyone.

Wii Fit

2008-12-12T20:11:00.003-05:00

Finn loves to play Wii Fit with Adam. It's amazing the kind of attention span this little guy can have. He will mimic everything Adam does for a good 45 minutes.

Little Santas

2008-11-26T17:47:00.000-05:00

Oma is the best

2008-11-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

My mom came out to stay with us and help with the kids. She is awesome cause she takes care of Tiig at night and entertains Finn during the day. Thank you Oma!

Oma

Now that's a talent. Reading a book to Finn while Tiig is sleeping on her too.

Watching a little TV with the boys.

Always a smile on her face. Even when she gets pooped on.

First bath

2008-11-26T17:43:00.006-05:00

Tiig loved taking a bath. He was just hanging out and even dozing off a little.

Finn was very excited that he got to play with Tiig in the bathtub.

Kuscheln

2008-11-26T17:42:00.000-05:00

Finn likes to cuddle with Tiig.

"Finnish"

2008-11-20T13:50:00.010-05:00

Finn is talking a lot now, mostly just "Finnish" but also English and German. These are some cute words he says.

German:
Schipping = Schmetterling
Jeydit = Was ist das
Papa naesch = Papa schlaeft
Kippalad = Kipplader
Buckatsch = spuckert
Flocke esse = Haferflocken essen
Nueschel = Schluessel
feitschutsch = falschrum
Adadei = nackidei
Habang = Luftballon

English:
Na You = Love You
Kank Kou = Thank You
Bambamsch = Spongebob
Patschitsch = Patrick
Haap you = help me
Ackaball = Basketball

Introducing Tiig

2008-10-28T14:18:00.019-04:00

Finally some pictures of Tiig ("Teague")

Tiig Jonah Deters

2008-10-23T11:56:00.002-04:00

Baby Tiig was born on October 22nd at 11:06p.m. He weighed 8 lbs 14 oz and was 21 inches long. Pictures and more details to follow.

Haunted House

2008-10-13T16:43:00.001-04:00

Another fun Family Home Evening activity: We made a haunted ginger bread house.

Hmmm, the black icing was so yummy.

Eating it was the best part.

He really wanted to get the icing off the window.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-12T16:01:00.008-04:00

Last year we decided to make it a family tradition to go to a pumpkin patch every year to pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. We were very happy, when we found out that there are several pumpkin patches her in New York as well.

Finn picked out his own pumpkin.

On a little train ride around the pumpkin patch.

Finn lead us through the corn maze. He always contemplated which way to go before making a decision and then running ahead. When we got to the exit he said "Tadaa. Made it!"

They had a room full of carved pumpkins.

On a hay ride.

Laterne, Laterne

2008-10-08T12:45:00.001-04:00

Wir haben dieses Jahr zum ersten Mal Laternen gebastelt. Finn ist jetzt alt genug, um so etwas zu machen, und er hat viel Spass dabei gehabt. Er hat ganz fleissig Klebe auf alle Teile verteilt, und die Teile schoen fest gedrueckt. Er hat mir immer gesagt, welche Farbe er haben wollte, und ich habe ihm dann etwas in der Farbe ausgeschnitten. Als wir fertig waren war es zum Laterne laufen dann schon etwas zu spaet. Dafuer haben wir es an einem anderen Abend gemacht. Mir sind nur drei Lieder zum Laterne laufen eingefallen, und nach einer Weile war es mir zu bloed immer wieder "Laterne, Laterne, Sonne, Mond und Sterne zu singen", aber dafuer hat Finn mir dann erzaehlt, was er alles so im Dunkeln sehen konnte.

Seven.....Eight!!

2008-10-07T16:37:00.000-04:00

I guess this post is more for myself than for anyone else. I just want to be able to write it down so I will remember it.
Finn is at such a cute age right now. He is talking up a storm. While most of what's coming out does not necessarily make sense, it is just so cute to listen to. Right now he loves to tell us what color things are and to count in random order. When we ask him a question he always starts his answer with "uhm". I guess he got that from Adam.
A typical conversation goes as follows:
Adam: Hi Finn, are you awake now?
Finn: Uhm, yeah.
Adam: Did you sleep well?
Finn: Uhm, yeah.... nite nite, sleeping, kdjvanveavnae ivrnaerasdlfnnva ldkrnvaernalnsgrand.
Adam: Oh yeah? What did you dream about?
Finn: Uhm.... seven....eight!
Adam: Cool!

Changing Colors

2008-10-06T09:40:00.000-04:00

We went on a little scenic drive to enjoy the changing leaves of this beautiful part of New York. It was absolutely spectacular. We stopped at a little overlook and and just enjoyed it. The only eyesore was a bulldozer. But we let Finn climb on it and that was his favorite part of the drive. On the way back we stopped at this little town festival and had some fried dough. Sooo good.

Little Gangsta

Exploring the bulldozer

Going Private

2008-10-03T23:24:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are going to make our blog private in about a week or so. There is starting to be too much information about our family on here that we do not feel comfortable sharing with complete strangers. If you would like to continue to look at our blog please email us so we can make it accessible to you. Deters34@gmail.com.
Thanks