09/18/2005 Newsletter

09-18-05

Time again for our not-so-monthly letter! Since our big news for the last letter was that we are pregnant, I figure I better start off telling everyone that we are having another little boy. We found out at the end of August. The ultrasound technician announced at first that she thought it was a little girl but that she couldn't tell for sure, so we were getting used to that idea. Then they went back to check again and we found that he definitely isn't a little girl. We are excited that Seth will have a little brother to play with and that this little one will have a boy cousin the same age to play with too (My sister Marrisse is having a boy in December). We haven't come up with any definite names yet and we are open to suggestions.

I need to put a little blurb in here about Seth's second birthday party. It seems so long ago, but I wanted to write down what I remember about it. Seth has been really into vehicles of all sorts lately, especially helicopters and airplanes. So I decided to make him a helicopter cake. It was fun to try and figure out how to go about it, but I think the end result was pretty good for a first try. There are a bunch of pictures of it here on the site so check it out. I made the cake the day before the party and put it in the fridge. Seth spent the evening and the rest of the next day begging me to open the fridge so that he could see his copter cake. James and I bought twisting balloons and made balloon airplanes and helicopters for decorations. We had a picnic dinner of hamburgers and hot dogs and then Seth opened his presents. I think he was little overwhelmed by all the loot he got and didn't know what to play with first. He got all sorts of firetrucks, boats and helicopters. Gma and Gpa Baerwaldt gave him an outfit with a super cute baseball hat. I used any money that was sent for his birthday to buy him a new bedding set for when he has to move out of the crib to make room for the new baby. The set has vehicles galore on it and I was able to get a matching rug and decals for the walls. I think he won't mind moving to a new room when he sees all the neat stuff in there.

We bought a shed of our backyard so that we could store our tools and stuff for winter. James decided he wanted to make a nice pad for it to stand on and we spent several weekends clearing weeds, moving dirt, leveling gravel and sand and building the shed. We are pleased with how it all turned out. The backyard now looks more complete and we don't have to worry about storing all our junk on our patio anymore.

Over Labor Day weekend we went to Yellowstone National Park. Jenni and Justin came with us and it was a first trip there for all of us except Justin. We stayed in the town of West Yellowstone. The hotel was quite expensive, but split between us and Jenni and Justin it was a little more affordable. Next time we go I think we will camp inside the park itself, we'll have to plan a little more ahead that time.

The first day we were there we went to the bear and wolf "zoo" that is in West Yellowstone. Seth didn't enjoy it as much as I thought he would, but it was very interesting to see these animals up close. The zoo has a lot of plans for expansion and it might be a really awesome place one day. We also went and saw the IMAX movie "Yellowstone." It was interesting to learn about the history of the park before going in. That afternoon we drove into the park and went to the artist's paint pots and the Norris Geyser Basin. I think James and I were both surprised at what we saw. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but the geological formations and geysers were different from anything we'd ever seen.

The next day we went south in the park, we drove past Old Faithful and straight to Yellowstone lake. We had a picnic lunch at the lake, walked around some more geysers and paint pots. Seth did not like the steam that rises off the ground there and every time the wind blew the steam our way he'd wave his hands in the air and say "moke, moke" (smoke). It was pretty funny to see him try and wave the steam away. After the lake we drove back to Old Faithful. There were tons and tons of people there. We got there about 50 minutes before the geyser erupted so we browsed the gift shop until it was time. It was spectacular to watch the water being forced into the air. The crowd clapped when it first went off, but then stopped. Seth kept right on clapping and saying, "yay!" The eruption lasted over a minute, so I think some people were watching Seth more than the geyser toward the end of it.

The last day we went north to Mammoth Hot Springs. I think it was my favorite part of the park and I wish we could have spent a little more time there. Water flows out of hot springs and falls down terraced formations. I can't even describe how interesting it was, and the pictures probably won't do it justice. It was spectacular. We really enjoyed our trip there and will probably go there again in the next year or so.

Last weekend we took a trip on the TRAX train downtown to go to the Greek Festival they have every year here in Salt Lake City. Seth was enthralled by being on a train and all he wanted to do the whole time we were at the festival was to go back and ride the train some more. We met Jenni and Justin there and since they had already gotten their food, they offered to watch Seth while we stood in the Disneyland-like line to get our own food. James had Greek Chicken, Dolmathes (stuffed grape leaves), and meatballs. I had a Gyro and Greek beef stew. The stew was my favorite. I think James liked all of his choices. I think we may have started an annual tradition, it was good food and fun.i

Seth has been keeping us busy lately. He is getting taller and can reach the edges of the counter tops and all the buttons of our entertainment equipment. He loves watching "Buzz" (Toy Story 1&2) and "Little Joe" (any Veggie Tales movie). He also likes to read scriptures, he knows that the scriptures start "And now it came to pass." Whenever he reads his own stories now they always start "And now it came to pass." He is getting really good at saying his own prayers and adds stuff that mom and dad don't think of. Tomatoes are his favorite food right now and I have a hard time getting him to eat anything but fruit and veggies. He also likes watching Star Wars because it has R2-D2 in it and light sabers. He's been surprising us with new phrases like: "In a minute" and "See you tomorrow". He likes being Mommy and Daddy's little shadow and wants to know what we are doing at all times. It amazes me how much he soaks up just from watching us.

That's it for this letter. More to come in the next few months. We love you all.

Love James, Miekka and Seth