Newsletter: October 2003 Archives

All worn out...

"One Line to Rule them All..." View more pictures from the Golden Spike Trip View more pictures from Lord of the Rings line

My how time flies. It's been a month since we last updated this website. We have some great pictures to show and stories to tell.

We were happy that Great Grandma Jean and Great Grandpa Lynn were finally able to come and see Seth. Seth and I spent an afternoon with them over conference weekend. They took a tour of all the changes that had happened to our house since they had seen it last and then they took us out for a lovely lunch. We also saw them at Aunt Laura's house the following Sunday. I think that they are happy and excited to be great grandparents. I am glad that Seth will know both sets of his paternal great grandparents.

James took me out on a surprise date. We went up to Logan to see the ballet "Giselle". We left Seth with his great grandparents Baerwaldt while we watched the ballet. It was the first time we have left him with babysitters. The first thing that Grandma said when we came home is that we couldn't have Seth back. I guess he was pretty good for them, Grandma said he liked watching Oprah's talk show. The ballet was fun and it was good to enjoy James' company without the baby, although Seth never left my thoughts. I guess that's what happens when you are a mom.

Two weeks ago James and a bunch of his friends took turns standing in line for special Lord of the Rings tickets. They started their camp-out on Tuesday morning and the tickets went on sale Thursday. James' first shift was from 5-10 pm on Tuesday. Seth and I brought him dinner and it was windy and a little rainy. Seth didn't like being in the wind very much so we draped a poncho over his car seat while we ate. John took his turn standing in line on Wednesday. He was there for nine hours. I think he had the longest daytime shift out of anyone. James spent the night on Wednesday so that he could be there for the actual ticket buying. The tickets are for an all day showing of the three Lord of the Rings movies right in a row and they are only doing it in one theater so there were only 500 tickets to be had. Many people who camped out didn't get tickets, but James and his friends got theirs!

My older brother Spencer came to visit this month. We don't see him very often so it was nice that he was able to come. He brought his girlfriend Tammy with him. They went all over the State stopping at the national parks and meeting up with my parents in St. George for the Marathon. Marrisse and her girls, my dad and Seth and I spent one day with them touring downtown Salt Lake. We had a fun time perusing the Visitor Centers on Temple Square and taking a tour of the Conference Center. It was the first time I'd ever been downtown with someone who had never been there before, so it was interesting to kind of see things in a different light. That night we had a delicious meal with all of my family and Spencer got to spend some time holding his new nephew. I'm glad that he got to see Seth while he is still a baby.

This last weekend Seth and I went with my family to the Golden Spike National Monument. It was a long drive out there. I didn't remember it being that far away when we went as kids. We watched a movie on the building of the railroads and then went out and walked on the tracks where they pounded in the golden spike. Luckily we got there in time to get tickets for the last Engine House tour. They put the locomotives away for the winter and you can only see them if you get tickets for the tour. It was pretty amazing to see these beautiful and powerful machines up close. While we were walking around the trains we saw a little bunny rabbit sitting on a pallet between then trains. The guide told us that the wild rabbits crawl into the engine house through the small crack that the railroad track makes under the garage doors. It was the highlight of the tour for Hannah and Maggie.

We can't believe how fast Seth is growing, although his growth is mostly from side to side right now. My brother Chris calls him a potato. My mom and sister Amy call him Fatty Foo, Tank and Chunk. Needless to say, he is getting quite portly. When we took him to the doctor at the end of September he had only grown 2 inches, but had gained almost double his birth weight. He is very short for his age, which makes clothing him kind of hard. He is wide enough for 3-6 month clothes, but only fits in 0-3 month stuff length-wise. I am getting sad already that he is growing so fast. He was so small just 2 months ago... He is starting to smile all the time now. Sometimes I will put him in his swing and go and do something and then come back to find him just smiling away at nothing. He doesn't giggle consistently yet, but his giggles are becoming more frequent. He has also just started trying (unsuccessfully) to sit up on his own. Sometimes when I try and put him down in a reclining position he will strain forward with his head and neck to sit up straight. He doesn't quite have the balance to maintain an upright position on his own though.

Love, Miekka and James