Thanksgiving - Eve...more crafty projects.

I am working on a quilt. I will post pictures later. It is a very cute brown, orange & blue ragged square quilt. The top is done and I am ready to make the back, put it together and then quilt it!

In the mean time I found these rose barrettes to make for my little girl...they will go well with her brother's hand me down clothes.

I don't know how or when (ok I could maybe guess) but I think I may be catching the quilting bug and I haven't even made a quilt yet...but I have several ideas in my head.

I want to make a "big boy bed" quilt for Isaak, something with blues and browns.  Yes a big boy bed is in his future this spring, we need the crib for baby number 2 (April 2011).

I want to make a baby/crib quilt for our yet-to-be named daughter. Greens, Yellows, Blues, maybe a little pink.

I want to make a tree skirt that has quilt blocks in it (maybe not this year), maybe something like this.

I want to make 4 Christmas stockings, with the front made from red and green quilt squares.

I want to try this coins baby quilt.

I also want to try this simple square quilt or this raggedy quilt. Maybe I can whip one of them up in the next couple of weeks (too optimistic?), I do already have some fabric.

I already know what my problem is going to be...the prep. I just want to put it together! Not try to match colors, measure or cut...and certainly not pre-wash the fabric. Who has the patience for all of that, not me.

It's already been a month!?!

We moved home on March 25th. Our last few days in Amsterdam were hectic and filled with cleaning and packing. Thank goodness Janet was there to help. We couldn't have done it with out her.

We also couldn't have made it through our airport ordeal with out Courtenay & Brian. The dogs stayed with Courtenay & Brian for the last few days while we cleared out the apartment and spent the two nights in a hotel. They also helped us load our 7 suitcases, 2 very large dog crates and jogger into the van taxi. Kevin and Janet took Isaak and the dogs to the airport on the train and Courtenay and I squeezed in to the van with all of our luggage. It took us almost 2 hours to get checked in and all of our extra baggage fees paid. We dumped the dogs (yes both) off the luggage cart a couple of times. Isaak had his own seat on the flight, with his carseat. It really made all of the difference in the flight home. Andrea and Luis met us at the airport and helped us shuttle everything to our temporary apartment.

Our move home would have a lot more painful, physically, mentally and emotionally with out such great friends.

Somethings we settled right back into, it has taken a little while longer on others.  I am still not up for grocery shopping at Winco. I have to work up to it.

The new job is great! I love my team, boss and job. Granted I am no expert yet...but ignorance is bliss.

Other then work we have been getting back into the swing of things. Running on the weekend, taking the dogs to the dog park, working through Isaak's first ear infection, being at the farm for Dad's birthday, divying up some of Dad's stuff (guns...painful), watching Isaak get closer to walking, taking swim lessons with Isaak, Kevin's flying lessons, trying to get the book club book read before Wednesday, returning to the "wine club" (oh how it has grown from that first Champagne night) and reconnecting with our friends.

This weekend we are headed to Phoenix to visit Kevin's parents. Kevin and Isaak fly down Thursday morning and I will leave after work on Friday.

Easter

It just occured to me that Easter is right around the corner, well...Sew Mama Sew provided a little bit of a reminder.

I can't wait to get to Portland and to get my hands on a sewing machine! I have a handful of cute little critters that I want to make for Isaak for Easter!

Thanks to Sew Mama Sew,

I want to make this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

and this...

ooh and this...

ooh ooh and this!

It looks like I will be busy.

Isaak's 1st Birthday

Isaak had his first birthday last week. It is hard to believe an entire year has passed since Isaak was born. We celebrated with our friends Courtenay, Brian, Esther, Huib & Bo.

Don't judge me on the high chair. It was free and I am not complaining, however the pastel ruffles woudn't have been my first choice.


I wasn't up to making a cake, instead I made these peanut butter & jelly bars. They were suitably messy for a 1st birthday.


Isaak didn't really know what to do with the presents or how to unwrap them, I am sure he will learn before long.


I love this rocking horse! Thank you Esther & Huib.

And to top it all off, Kevin took this video of Isaak playing in his bath yesterday.

At least we know he doesn't mind water in his face.

Crocus Break

For Kevin's Crocus break this year we decided to take a 7 day road trip through Luxembourg and Germany. Our plans were to spend the weekend in Luxembourg with Kevin's cousins Anne & Jim, then drive to Bavaria and spend a couple of days with my cousin Amy and then wing it for a couple of days.

All good road trips have to start with a little drama or tramatic experience. Ours was no different. While we were in the final stages of packing the car the apartment door was left open and isaak craweled out to the stairwell and promptly fell down half a flight. He developed a nasty bruise and goose egg on his forehead. He cried for a few minutes, I tried to put ice on it but that would only bring on more screaming.

On to Luxembourg. We were going to stop in Maastricht and have lunch on the way. We ended up in a traffic jam outside of Maastricht, it took us 1.5 hours to go 5 km. Lunch ended up being at 2pm and at the Mcdonalds. Oh well. We made it to Anne & Jim's around 5pm. The last time Kevin had seen Anne & Jim was at their wedding, 30+ years ago. He didn't remember it but Anne had the pictures to prove it.

We spent the weekend relaxing, meeting their kids, see a few of the local sites, and eating and drinking very well!



Monday we headed on to Grafenwohr, in Germany, to see my cousin Amy. I think this is the first time that Amy and I had really seen each other in 20 years. When we were little we use to play together when ever our parents would visit each other. We are similar in age and similar personalities, when we were little we looked very similar too. Amy's dad, Scotty, likes to tell the story of my dad trying to get the 3 of us (Greg, Denise & I) all in to the car to head home, but rather then herding me to the car he had Amy in hand. We met Amy's beautiful little girl Allora.



Isaak was instantly in love, although I think his enthusiasm scared Allora at first.


While at Amy's we made a day trip to Nuremburg. Umm...bratwust, beer, pretzels and dumplings.



Wednesday morning we decided to head to Munich for the day. More bavarian food. I think Kevin and I both put on a few pounds during this trip. We didn't really do much siteseeing in Munich, but then what more do you need to see other then food.

Isaak decided that he had had the last of the mashed baby food, while we were traveling. He refused anything more then 2 bites of mashed food, so we threw our hands in the air and just started feeding him from our plates. He really liked the sausage and dumplings. The look on his face when we gave him saurkraut. Priceless.



After Munich we headed north to Bacharach. Bacharach is a cute little town on the Rhine, surrounded by little castles - on both sides of the river. We stayed at a cute little hotel and just relaxed.





Friday we headed home.

We tried to limit our driving to about 4 hours a day. Anything more then that and Isaak would really start to complain, which I promptly solved by feeding him teeting cookies. You do what you have to...

Moving Home

We will be moving home on March 25th. I have taken another job for Nike, in Portland. This move is a little bittersweet. We have really enjoyed living in Europe, made some great friends here and I really like the people I work with. Having Isaak has really made us want to be closer to our family and the loss of my father has only made that a bigger priority. When we decided that we wanted to move home we didn't expect it to happen this soon.

Before heading home we have a little more travel to squeeze in. Friday, Feb 19th, we head to Luxumbourg to spend the weekend with Kevin's cousins. Monday we will drive on to Germany and spend a couple of days with my cousin before heading on to Munich and possibly Saltzburg.

Isaak is more fun every day. He is getting close to walking and as chatty as ever. It is hard to believe that he is almost 1 year old.

Isaak and his little wheelie cart

MOV03237
Originally uploaded by Kevin & Dana

I have been contemplating one of these toys for Isaak for a while. I know that once he is fully walking I will wish he was still crawling...but I couldn't resist. Note the last little "push" he does at the end, definitely a "you are in my way mom" move.

A padded room

Below is our attempt to limit the number of bruises on Isaak's forehead.

My Father

As most of you probably already know, my father passed away on December 7th. It was very sudden and the result of a horrible accident. Needless to say the last couple of weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotion and travel.

The Accident
Before I explain what happened, you should know that my father was the most cautious person around guns that I know. He loved them and safety always came first. This was a lesson instilled in us from a very young age.

Sunday, Dec 6th (at about 5pm), my father was attempting to remove a shell that had been jammed in his Ruger 6mm rifle. This rifle was notorious for jamming, however it was very very accurate. Rather then remove the round in the same way that they had always done it (a brass welding rod, wrapped in a bit of cotton), my dad wanted to try a new way that he had read about. The new way involved pushing the bullet (which had separated from the shell & gun powder) back into the shell, disloding the primer and soaking everything in an oil that would neutralize the gun powder. At the time of the accident, the primer was no longer in the shell and the bullet had been pushed back into the shell, however it wasn't seated properly. Dad had poured plenty of oil down the barrel, over several days. He then took a air drill and proceeded to drill the shell out of the barrel (he had removed it from the stock and had removed the firing pin). He was drilling from the action end of the barrel. The heat of the drill must have ignited the gunpowder which caused the shell to explode (rather then fire the bullet as the bullet was seated completely). Dad took shell shrapnel in the chest and face. A piece of the drill bit entered his head through his eye socket and lodged itself in his brain (about mid line & left hemisphere). At this point he couldn't see but somehow managed to walk to the side door of the shop. My brother, having been in the shop and heard the explosion, caught up with him there. He called out to Dad, dad turned to look at him (never speaking) and Greg insisted he was going to the hospital. They made it about 4 more steps, to outside, when Dad collapsed and lost consciousness. Greg called 911 and then ran up to the house to get Janet to help him get Dad in to a car. The shop (and houses) are about 40 miles from the nearest hospital. When an accident happens at the farm you never wait for the ambulance, it just takes too long, you get in the car and drive as fast as you can towards the hospital, either meeting the ambulance on the way or beating it.

Greg & Janet stopped at my grandparents to tell them what happened and then raced on towards Endicott (about 15 mi away). Once in Endicott Dad was transferred to an ambulance and a helicopter was called in to meet him in Colfax. They then drove to Colfax where I think a couple of xrays were taken (at first it was thought that dad had a wound in his torso and that was the greatest concern). The helicopter then flew Dad on to Sacred Heart in Spokane. Kacie, my cousin who is a pharmacist, met Dad as he was brought into the trauma center at Sacred Heart. Due to her credentials and history at the hospital she was able to remain in the trauma room until the rest of the family arrived. Spokane is 80 miles from the farm, so it took them a little while to get there.

The surgeons rushed dad into surgery, as his brain was swelling due to the trauma from the drill bit. They removed a portion of his skull to try to relieve the pressure but did not expect him to make it through the night (now 11pm). Through the night and next morning his brain continued to swell. The intercranial pressure in your brain is supposed to be about 4psi. Dad's had increased to 120psi, before he was declared brain dead and time of death was called (around 11am on Monday, Dec 7th).

At this point the decision was also made to donate his organs.

Everyone had been able to get to the hospital to be there through the night, except for my sister and I. I did not find out about the accident until 11pm PST/ 8am CET. Denise had immediately booked a flight up to Spokane (arriving on Monday at 12pm) and I booked a flight home, arriving Tuesday at 3pm.

The Aftermath
Kevin, Isaak and I arrived in Spokane at 3pm on Tuesday Dec 8th. Greg & Denise picked us up. I remember not being able to take my eyes off of Greg's boots. They still had blood on them. Dad was still on a ventilator at Sacred Heart as the Organ Donation team was in the process of finishing the work to identify as many recipients as possible. This also gave Denise and I the opportunity to see him and say good bye. I am very grateful for this.

The next several days were filled with tasks that I hope to not have to do again for a very long time. The funeral was held on Dec 14th in Endicott. Dad was buried at the Endicott cemetary. My father really didn't like crowds and liked being the center of attention even less. His funeral brought in ~300 people and filled the church. During the burial, 3 fellow ag pilots flew over the cemetary in the "missing man" formation. It was an amazing tribute to dad.

My father died too young and as the result of a tragic accident. He died doing what he loved and would want people to respect firearms but not fear them. He has left a huge hole in our lives and I miss him every day.

Dad's Obituary

I am a slacker.

It has been over a month since I have posted. Sorry.

A lot has happened in the last month. Isaak now has 4 teeth.


Isaak was a "greaser" for Halloween.


He still loves his excersaucer.


And has the best laugh.


He is also crawling all over the place.


He has also started to pull him self up on things. He is easily getting to his knees...I suspect the feet are only days away.

He still sleeps for about 13 hours a night. I hope that continues!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with our friends, Courtenay & Brian, Esther & Huib, Andrea & Adam and a few others. Isaak was introduced to a true American tradition, "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving".


We already have our christmas tree up and the christmas music is playing non-stop. I rationalize this by the fact that we will be gone over Christmas...Italy! My aunt & uncle and 2 cousins will be here between Dec 18 & Jan 2. We are going to go to Rome, Florence & Venice between the 20th & 28th. My sister arrives on the 28th and will leave Jan 11th. Right now we are contemplating a quick trip to Germany while she is here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

England: London and Sherifhales

Last week was Kevin's mid Fall break. Yes, the schools get a mid fall break, 2 weeks at Christmas, a Crocus break, May break and then a couple of days off for the Queen's birthday...ok back to the Fall break...

We hadn't yet been to England, well at least for more then 24 hours. A couple of months ago Kevin contacted his cousin (Gaye) who lives outside Birmingham in a little village called Sherifhales. Her farm was beautiful, quiet and relaxing. We spent the weekend there and it was almost a shame to leave for London. I could have stayed all week.




We visited the Ironbridge gorge, where we saw the first iron bridge. Kevin's uncle Hayden has a memorial bench in the museum here.





We also visited the Ludlow castle and Bascobel house.



I am still amazed by the fact that everywhere you turn on this continent you are standing on history. Centuries of history.

Monday we headed to London, by train. Isaak slept for the entire 2.5 hour ride.

Monday afternoon we met Paul & Alex for lunch and then spent the rest of the day with them. We first met Paul & Alex in Argentiere, when we were hiking from Chamonix to Zermatt. We have stayed in touch. It was a wondeful day. We wouldn't have been able to see all that we did if they hadn't been leading us along. We walked through the Westminister Abbey, Big Ben, 10 Downing Street, the Horse Guards, National Gallery, tea (with clotted cream! Delicious!), Harrods, Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, drinks and dinner. All in one afternoon. We weren't that productive for the rest of the trip.


Buckingham Palace


Westminister Abbey.

Ok, I could post a lot more pics but won't. Click the "England" link on the left to see them all.


Tuesday we picked up the an English breakfast, Tower of London, Niketown & Oxford Circus (there is a reason it is called a circus), London Eye and drinks with Gaye's daughter.

Wednesday we played lazy and then caught our train back to Birimingham to then fly home. We almost missed our flight due to a train rerouting. Once at the gate I had to shove my green wheelie carry on in to one of the "your bag must fit in this to carry on". I was a little worried that it wouldn't fit. I had measured it before the Italy trip but this was going to be the first time I tried to shove it in a "cage". Luckily it fit and we were able to get on the bus and wait for everyone else.

We thought we were home free once at the Amsterdam airport. I had purchased our train tickets before we left on Friday so we headed straight for what we thought was our train. The board said it was our train...it was not our train. We discovered this when 5 minutes into the trip we were not at our train station but rather 10 minutes away from the Central station.

$$$$$$$ Holy Crap.

I just read a friends blog and discovered just how great we had it with our insurance and healthcare in The Netherlands.

My entire pregnancy and Isaak's birth cost us a whopping 120 euros, The only healthcare item we had to pay out of pocket was our birth class. It was a private class that was not covered by our insurance. Everything else, the midwives, the 3 ultrasounds, the lab tests, the hospital delivery, stitches (don't get me started on this one), 4 post birth (in home) midwife checkups, 8 days of in home maternity assistant care, Isaak's heel prick and hearing test. Nada. Nothing.

Oh, and the cab ride to & fro.

My sister-in-law is either in the process of, or about to give birth to my nephew. Her pregnancy has not been easy or free of complications. I don't even want to know what the total bill will be.

For a non-medical issue, childbirth is damned expensive.

Switzerland oh sweet Switzerland.

Last weekend we had plans to meet our friends Melissa & Andy in Switzerland. We flew in to Geneva and then drove to Interlaken. Melissa & Andy flew in to Zurich and then arrived in Interlaken by train. We ended up only seeing them for about 24 hours, but it was worth it!

I really love the Alps. I miss being able to see moutains almost every day. Lately we have been watching the National Parks' series on PBS. It has really made us miss the US.

Isaak was a good little traveler. He really only had one meltdown and that was on the plane home. We were asking for it. His naps had only been 45min long all weekend and his nights were shorter then normal (8 - 6:30). The flight home left at 8 and Isaak had been awake since 4:30. He screamed for 15 min once we were on the plane and the fell sound asleep and slept the whole way home. He took a couple of days to get caught up on his sleep. The first nap on Monday was 3 hours long.


*sigh*






I love the sound of these bells. I haven't been able to convince Dad to put them on his cows yet.






My boys.


This is the Switzlerand I remember.

Finally.

It has been almost a month since I posted last. I have plenty of excuses but won't bore you with them.

Isaak is getting bigger and bigger. He had his 6/7 mo check up last week. 7.95 kg. That is almost 17 lbs! 69cm (I have no idea how many inches).

He eats like a horse and I am glad that my body is no longer generating all of it!

Below are a couple of pics from the last week. Kevin has taken him to the park (with Bo) and sent me these while I was at work.





We are headed to Interlaken next weekend. I can't wait. I really love the Alps in Switzerland. Oh...and the melted cheese of course! We are meeting Andy & Melissa there for the weekend before they start their European vacation.

My Little Fish

We made it back to the pool on Sunday. I think Isaak enjoys it more every time. Last week we had bought him a floaty thing. He definately liked that more this time. The water was just deep enough that he could propel himself around the pool by either "walking" or frog kicking. He explored the entire pool!



He is resting his chin while kicking with his legs!






Happy Happy Boy


I love this outfit, thanks Jay!

Isaak is working on his first teeth. He was handling the pain pretty well until yesterday. He started pulling at his left ear more often. Last night he would cry about once an hour, all night. Poor little guy.

This morning Isaak woke up with a runny nose. I called the House Doctor today and he said use paracetmol for the teeth and call him back if he develops a fever.

I gave him a dose of paracetamol (tylenol)this afternoon and it seemed to help. He went right to sleep after his bath and hasn't roused since.

Isaak and I went for a run this morning, sans dogs. Halfway through the loop he started chatting, squawking and laughing. Too cute.

Yesterday Kevin and I took the road bikes to Ikea (with Isaak in the trailer). Something went screwy with my bike. I had changed the back tire before we left (in the last trip it had gone flat) and something must have gone out of wack with my rear derailer as I only had 3 gears...on the big one. Regardless, it was still faster then my dutch bike.

Last week we had taken Isaak to the Zuiderbad. It was too cold for him, both in and out of the water. Isaak was not happy with being put under water.

Saturday, we took Isaak to the Mirandabad. It is pool we had never been too. I had always thought it was 7 euros per visit. It isn't. It is more like 3.50 per visit. They have an entire complex of baby/kid pools. It incudes a wave pool, wading pool and two slides. The water was much warmer then last week and the air temperature was really warm. You didn't need to dry off to stay warm after getting out of the pool. He floated on his back, splashed in the water and went under 3 times.

Isaak now wears a bib all day...the drool is just too much. It is either change the bib twice a day or change his onesie 3 times.

Isaak Rolls Over

Isaak has learned how to roll over. He can go from back to front, on his right side.