Emmit Sidney Birr

Arrived a few days early! Emmit surprised us on 12/31/09 at 1:24 pm. Here's the measurements:

8 lb 13 oz; 21 inches. I'll have Caryn add details later. I just wanted to get some pics posted and let everyone know that the family is doing very well.

Our 1st Christmas!

Today was a fun day as well! The festivities kept us going once again. We started the morning by sleeping in until 7 (thanks Gerrit!). We opened stockings (bottom right) and then took a break and had breakfast.

I wanted to use my pancake molds which were Christmas shaped and the eggnog flavored pancake mix. Gerrit didn't want to wait so he had a poptart. My attempt at the molds, didn't really work, a broken snowman, 1/2 of a snowflake, and crumbled elf was not quite the Martha Stewart Christmas breakfast I had envisioned. Adam took over and made round pancakes instead. (I'll have to work on perfecting the molds!) We had a yummy breakfast, even if Gerrit didn't each much pancake. He did let us eat and didn't rush us to open gifts.

Following breakfast, we went back to opening the presents that we have for each other and that Santa had left too. Even Grandpa Bob and Grandma Marcy/GG sent a few gifts for Gerrit to open. So of course, Gerrit had a nice ratio of 2:1 to open compared to us but that was fine. He loved opening gifts and wanted to open ours as well. Only having 3 of us to open gifts went by a bit faster than we are use to (it takes all night w/ my large family). It was a nice time for us to relax and see what it is like to open gifts just us (we've never had that before). Only a few gifts need to be returned too which is a nice thing!

Gerrit and Adam headed out to shovel the wet heavy snow/slush that fell over night. We felt like we were in MI today with the rain,sleet,snow mix we had all day. We were a bit disappointed we didn't get the snow like predicted, it was just too warm. If we had, we'd still be shoveling!

Nap time for Gerrit, Adam took a snowshoe walk on the golf course to blaze a trail for skiing, and I hunted down Whipping Cream at the gas station. I had a dessert all planned and then changed my mind after the grocery store closed yesterday. So I checked the gas station and low and behold, they had whipping cream! So Creme' Brulee' it was for dessert tonight! :)

Following nap time we set off to Dahlen's again for a late lunch. A wonderful roast dinner was had by all. We took a break from eating and Adam became brave and joined in on the Rock Band bandwagon. He took his turn at the guitar and drums and even did some solo singing! (I of course, knew better and saved my ego by watching). When we needed a break it was dessert time. I made reg. and Egg Nog Creme' Brulee' and they both turned out well. The boys even liked it and they had never had it before. Gerrit saved me the best part - the crusty sugar!

Here are a few photos from today's festivities:

Starting with the top row: the witching hour, Gerrit letting us know it was time to go home - he wanted the mic but Adam was singing, Gerrit holding the mic thinking he was singing, Gerrit sporting his new football jersey (his MSU one is a bit small), opening his 1st gift - farm equipment from dad.

Bottom row: 'playing' the drums with Paul, Adam relaxing as he sings, Gerrit noticing all the presents that were not there last night when he went to bed, Gerit discovering the stockings left by Santa. He liked the Cars slippers but didn't want to wear them - guess they will be going back to the store!

And there you have it, our 1st Christmas in MN as a family. We have made it a few more days with the little babe still inside which was nice of him. I'm definitely not very comfortable, but knowing we don't have much going on is helpful. I head back to the dr. on Wed and we'll discuss inducing dates if it comes to that (I don't think it will). The dr. doesn't think this babe will be as big as Gerrit - I'm not holding my breath!

Because we have such great friends here, it made being in MN for Christmas that much easier. We love our families, and missed them a lot these last few days, but we are very thankful we have a 'family' that we can spend time with as well. We have a lot to be thankful for and were reminded of it all these past few days.

We hope you had a great Christmas too!

Merry Kissmas!!

(as Gerrit would say)

Christmas Eve

Adam spend most of the morning snow blowing and shoveling. He decided to 'work from home' today. After some help by Gerrit, he went to Julie's so Adam could work and I could do last minute things before the festivities began. We ended up meeting friends for breakfast at Bridgett's, getting new cell phones, and Adam went skiing. (So much for getting any 'work done' today!) I put together the few things we needed to bring to our party and got in a quick little nap.

We were almost late for church and sat in the front row! Surprisingly, Gerrit did very well. It was a nice service and we sang a lot of the good 'ol Christmas hymns. After church we headed to Dahlen's for a gathering of friends. I realized I didn't take many pictures to capture the evening, but basically it was a few of the Team Beat families eating - what we do best (besides the guys biking!)

Top left: Logan home from college, Nathan holding Anders, and Dave - in front of the great spread of food we grazed on all evening. A few gifts were exchanged between the kids. Gerrit got 2 Lightening McQueen's (from the movie Cars) and was in heaven! He also got his first baby from Langley's (his godparents). He knew how to hold it (middle, bottom), feed it (top right) and Pam helped him change his clothes (bottom left). It was very sweet to see how much he knew about holding and feeding a baby. He preferred to feed it the juice instead of the milk! The bottom right is Gerrit drinking from a wine glass (full of sparkling juice!). I thought it was very risky to give him a real glass, but he used 2 hands and did well.

The Dahlen boys got Rock Band so the evening ended with listening to bad singing, poor guitar playing, and off-beat drumming. It was a late night but a lot of fun.

If we couldn't be with our 'real' family, this was the next best thing!

SNOW update: Most of the day the temps were around freezing so we didn't get near the snow they predicted. Not going to be fun to deal with the ice when it does get cold enough!

PS - Adam and I tried Leftse for the 1st time tonight. (A Minn./Scandinavian thing for you Michiganders who don't know what it is). We had it the "german way" (with sugar) and the "norwegian way" (with butter). It wasn't bad; nothing we'd go and snack on, but if it were served, we'd eat it!

It's Almost Here...

Gerrit made this Santa countdown in daycare on Dec. 1. He has faithfully added a cotton ball to Santa's beard each day. Between Santa's beard and 'opening a door' to the Advent calendar, he was pretty busy each day. Rarely did he forget to do either one!

On one of the recent Sat. am donut runs, Gerrit lucked out and got a cookie as well. He finished his donut and wanted his cookie. Why wait? He was going to eat it at some point, so we got it over with...

Above left: how to eat a cookie

Above right: what the cookie looks like when you are all done

The face of a cookie, or should I say, frosting eater...

(He had a shower following this episode)

Shovel, Shovel, Shovel

The title pretty much sums up the next few days around here. We got about 3" the other morning. The community snowblower was slightly out of commission so Adam used the smaller blower (how nice to be able to choose which one to use?). Gerrit was very upset he missed the opportunity to help - he was too busy watching a kid show and eating oatmeal. I promised him he could shovel when he came home from Julie's. Little did he know, there would be a lot of opportunities for him to shovel this weekend. There is probably 6" of fresh snow on the ground with another 4 coming today and another 5-9 tonight. The only problem with Gerrit shoveling is that he takes the snow from the banks and puts it on the driveway or sidewalk - a bit backwards!

Adam bought a bigger sled yesterday so they will be able to go sledding in the next few days too. I think I'll lay low and try and keep this babe inside as long as possible! We don't want to have to push the Subi's limit getting to the cities in this storm! Ideally, I would like to wait till next Thurs as my Dr. will be on call for a few days over the New Year weekend. (Adam would really like next Thurs for the tax break.) I had a dr. apt yesterday and continue to progress - a bit faster than I'd like due to this storm. Luckily we don't have a lot going on so I can relax.

Stay tuned to hear about our Christmas festivities...

Need for Concern?

Gerrit can name mascots and spot them a mile away. He often finds them well before Adam and I can find them! He knows the Vikings are football, Gophers, Michigan State is "go state", etc...

Today we were reading a book on colors and I asked him which lollipop was the red one - he pointed to all the other colors and finally ended with the red one because that was the last one. He may know his sports but we need to work on his colors!

[As much as Adam is hoping for an athletic scholarship and saving money on college, I think we may need to use that money for a tutor so Gerrit will make it to college! :) ]

Reversing Roles

While watching MSU basketball today, Gerrit loves to play on his own hoop. I think he looks at what the guys are doing on TV and then tries to do it himself (he tries to hang on the rim, but gets in trouble when caught - Fisher Price just isn't as strong as a breakaway hoop!). He offered me a chance to shoot today as well which I thought was kind of him. I took a few shots from a seated position on the couch and missed them all. Soon Gerrit took it upon himself to show ME how to make a basket (granted, he was 2 feet from the hoop!). How thoughtful of him to teach his mommy how to shoot a basketball.

Moments before I received my coaching lesson I had to take his band aid off his thumb. It was getting in the way of his shooting!

The Rock

This am while watching Sports Center (after eating his oatmeal), Gerrit said to Adam:

"Throw me the ROCK, dad!"

Watch out - if Gerrit throws his butt into your legs and elbows you - that is because Adam was working on 'boxing out' last night!

A Special Visitor

Z-town was lucky enough to have a special 'sighting' of Santa tonight. We were lucky enough to remember he was going to stop by the library after dinner so we hustled over there to get a quick glimpse of the man.

Before we left, I changed Gerrit's shirt so it would make for a better photo when he went to say hi to Santa. Adam didn't understand why because he knew Gerrit would not go near the guy!

And Adam was right! Maybe next year?

Shaving

We don't know why, but Gerrit calls shoveling 'shaving' and he loves to 'shave'! The shovel he is holding was one I had when I was a kid that my parents gave to us this fall. He would be outside all day holding on to his shovel if we would let him. He tried to shovel the snow (which was on the grass) this weekend. We shoveled after daycare today - I should correct myself and say I shoveled and he watched holding his! It was no wonder he was cold and we were able to go inside - he wasn't doing anything!

Kissmas Time

Gerrit loves to play with the ornaments - unfortunately some have paid their dues because of it. I'm hoping we can make it the rest of the season without anymore needing to be 'retired'. Our tree all trimmed and full of lights. Yes, the star touches the ceiling - couldn't have picked a more perfect height this year! My favorite - the nativity set that Gerrit loves to look at and see baby Jesus (and of course the angle with a basketball).

Gerrit-isms

A few pictures to show you what Gerrit is like these days...

I don't know where he learned to clean the floors or why he shows interest in it because I surely have not been on my knees cleaning it!

If you look closely, you'll see Gerrit tackling the laundry

His 'ramp' for his cars - very clever!

Days After the Blizzard

We are settling in after all of the shoveling from this past week's big storm. It was the single largest snowfall we've yet to experience in Minnesota. It's been quite a transition from the mild weather we had a couple weeks ago.Gerrit's blood is still thickening as after 10 minutes outside he proclamied in a low voice "daddy I'm cold," to which I asked if he wanted to go inside and he responded "yep." As Caryn mentioned, the theater district made a new acquisition. The old snow blower lasted 26 years and served us well. We are very fortunate to have some great neighbors that have taken care of us with hand-me-down snow blowers and a lawn mower. I'll be happy to blow out the entire block with this new toy! Gerrit was fairly impressed as well.

Blizzard 2009

I will retell the happening of the past 24 hours as best I can. Most of the happenings occurred in Z-town...

When I went to bed last night the county in which my school is in was added to the "blizzard warning" which made me think we would not have school today. Just as I was to get up, the phone rang giving us the sweet, sweet message of 'no school' today! So we stayed in bed and tried to sleep a bit longer.

I called Adam around 7 30 to check in and he was trying to take care of the drifts (up to his knees in some parts) so he could bring Gerrit to daycare. Gerrit was a trooper and hung out inside while Adam worked on the driveway. He didn't see much action next door or he would've brought Gerrit there for a bit. By 8 am, Adam said forget it and gunned it to get out of the driveway. He was able to get Gerrit to daycare allowing him a bit more freedom to work on the snow and get some real work done.

Following the daycare drop off, Adam went to Bridgett's for coffee and ran into some towns people that we are aquainted with. He enjoyed his coffee and conversation until a pharmacy worker waved the men across the street. An older gentleman got his car stuck so the guys did their civic duty and helped him out. Before they knew it, the barber shop next to Bridgett's cleared out and those men came over to assist as well! Once they got the car out, they headed back to the coffee shop and asked to pull the shades so no one else could see these men inside and call them out to help!

Adam did one round of snow blowing which included the walks of the neighbors as well as our own. He had a conference call mid morning and during it, the phone rang a few times. Adam was a bit embarrassed to have all this noise in the background while talking to the big wigs in St. Paul!

In the meantime, I was knitting and enjoying morning t.v. and hoping to get my Dr. apt moved up earlier so I could go home. No such luck on the dr. apt so I ran a few errands and then to the dr. All seems well with me and the baby. I won't go into detail, but I'm progressing in the right direction.

Adam went next door to learn about the new purchase for the theater district - a new snow blower! The one the neighbors had was brand new but worked like an 'electric broom' as one of the men said. So they bought a new one and want to store it in our garage. This would mean we would be storing 3 snow blowers! We inherited the old one from the neighbors which works great on our gravel driveway and my parents gave us their old one now that they don't need it in the condo. We don't want to use that one on the gravel and ruin it. (Once we get the driveway paved in the spring, we can get rid of the old one.) Adam was trained in on the new one and it has everything automated and is just shy of hand warmers! Adam said 1.5 swipes (if that is possible) is all that is needed to clear the sidewalks it is so wide! And he only went up to level 4 for speed and said he'd need his running shoes if he were to try the highest speed! I think we will be lending out the other snow blower to friends for a while since we have the posh snow blower now. And our end of the deal? Keep the gas can full and help with the maintenance! What a deal and what great neighbors. During the inservice it was also said that Gerrit can come next door when Adam is alone and needing to take care of the snow - they are retired and can sleep whenever! So call and wake them up was the message.

Following his training, Adam met Dave D. for lunch at Bridgett's. He didn't go in either as he works in Roch too. His boys didn't have school but were at friends and his wife was stranded south last night and possibly tonight too. So both men were bachin' it today. My guess is they had dinner together tonight.

We decided it was best for me to stay here tonight instead of risk the drive home. I probably would be fine, but the wind is pretty strong and there are a lot of flat, open areas I'd be driving through. Of course, I spilled on my shirt today so I will be doing laundry tonight at Sue's (I only took 1 set of new clothes). She's out and about and I have some quiet time at her house. A bit more knitting and early bed is in store for me - its like a little vacation!

The snow has stopped, the cities got about 7.5 inches and Adam guesses they have close to a foot - hard to tell with the drifts. I see that the blizzard warning has expired which means school will be on tomorrow. Despite the cold wind chills (-20 to -30), school will go on...its Minnesota! Luckily I only have a little over a week of the 'winter driving' to and from school and then things should be a bit easier if I can be around to help with the kids if Adam tends to the snow.

What a day Adam had. I asked if he got any work done - a few phone calls and his conference call was all he had time for! He said he could never work from home - too many distractions.

I can think of all these other great things I would've been able to get done had I been home as well, but am thankful I have a great place to stay in case of bad weather. Sue takes care of me and my safety is more important than a few loads of laundry I could've gotten done today.

Update

I've been slacking, I know. I keep thinking I'll download a few pictures but the camera is never near me when I think of it and I'm too lazy to get up and get it. So here I sit, once again without my camera to download the pictures. Oh well, I've got some time so I'll update you on the latest.

Gerrit loves the 'Kissmas tree' and lights (that is how it sounds when he says Christmas). He turns them on in the house and will point out other homes that have lights. For a while there he liked to look at my nativity set by Carol Roeda. He likes looking at baby Jesus. Hopefully he'll get the whole idea of celebrating baby Jesus' birthday as the season progresses. He likes the big blow up Santa that is across the street from daycare and thinks Santa is sleeping when he's not inflated. He made a cute little paper Santa Christmas countdown on Dec. 1 and each day he glues another cotton ball on Santa's beard. I don't think he understands what happens when the beard is full, but he knows he gets to do it every day. Also, the advent box we have as a family is a big deal for him. He knows that after dinner he gets to open another door. Its been a nice way to get him to eat a bit more at dinner too! (He's not a huge dinner fan - more into breakfast.) I have a little tree in his room that has to be lit before he can go to bed as well. Its mostly decorated with sports ornaments which he enjoys looking at and pointing out the various balls/sports. I've enjoyed watching some of the Christmas specials with him too. I don't recall ever seeing the 1970s Santa is Coming to Town special that was on last night so that was fun for me too.

I currently am in the cities at my friend Sue's. We are getting hit with a blizzard in Z-town so I stayed here for fear I wouldn't be able to make the drive in the morning. I have a dr. apt tomorrow afternoon anyways, so even if we get cancelled (here's hoping), I would still need to get up here for the apt. So Adam and Gerrit are bachin' it tonight. I was able to take care of a few Christmas errands and then met up with Sue for dinner. Now we are just hanging out and watching all the school closings. I'm sure Z-town won't have school and can only hope it continues north to call off some schools in the metro. Adam took work home so he doesn't have to do the drive as Rochester is also under a blizzard warning. He can take care of the walks in the 'theater district' as a neighbor calls our houses. Basically, Adam will be doing our driveway as well as our side walk (which is a corner) and the walk of the 2 houses next to us - he can try out the 'new' snow blower we inherited from my parents. We now have 2 snow blowers so the neighbors think he can do all the work!

I'm feeling ok. The baby seems to be sitting on my bladder so I frequent the bathroom or at least have the sensation to go! I'm progressing fine and no signs one way or the other if I'll be going early. Adam has a big meeting on the 7th and a bball game on the 9th so he'd prefer not on those days! I would like a few days of my winter break before the kid comes if I have my way. I head back tomorrow to the dr. as I'm on the every week appointment schedule now.

I'm looking forward to watching Gerrit play in the snow - assuming the temps aren't too low!

Christmas Spirit

The tree is up and decorated as is the rest of the house. Gerrit finds the ornaments fascinating and wants to touch all of them. It took me a bit longer to get the ornaments on this year as I had to strategically put the soft ones near the bottom and make sure all the balls and bicycles were out of his reach! I first tried to decorate the tree with him around and soon found that it wasn't going to work. He broke one ornament and found another one that looked like a ball and thought it was fun to throw it at the tree! So I waited until nap time to finish!

When we came home yesterday, I was busy getting dinner ready and hadn't had a chance to turn the Christmas lights on in the house. Adam was home and I thought he had plugged in the Christmas tree and thought to myself - wow, he's in the Christmas spirit this year. Normally I am the one that is in charge of turning the lights on. This morning the tree was lit again. I thought, wow, Adam must really be in the spirit if he's going to take the time to light the tree in the morning (we are not awake and home long in the mornings to enjoy it).

I finally asked him if he plugged the tree in and I wanted to say how impressed I was that he was doing it lately. He said no. He unplugged them last night and that was it. We both started laughing....our little Christmas spirit is Gerrit! He figured out how to plug the lights in - we witnessed it finally when Adam unplugged the tree and Gerrit didn't like it. Here's hoping the kid doesn't electrocute himself before January!

PS - I have pictures of the tree but didn't download them yet to the computer. I thought I'd try writing this post a minute at school and it worked! (I've never been able to do it at work for some reason... probably b/c its personal and not school related???) Maybe tonight.