Brooke Rosonke, M.D.

Who knew that this pretty little girl, known too long for her liking as "Brittnee's little sister" would grow up to be a doctor? Well, actually, I probably knew. As did anyone who spent much time with her as a kid. From a farm in Iowa, to four years at Yale studying bio-medical engineering, followed by another four years at the Duke University School of Medicine, and then ANOTHER three years of residency at the University of Arizona's Department of Emergency Medicine, today is Brooke's very last day as a student...as of tomorrow it is all official...she's an employable ER doctor. Congrats Brooke. I can't even fathom the amount of intellectual, emotional & physical stamina this journey has required. We are so proud of you.

And yet I wish you even more luck & success in the next phase of your journey, the one that I know is closest to your heart...spending time with sweet Asher & Sunidh and eventually having a house full of little buggers. Good luck in Michigan...we love you!

23 months...a few days late

Notes to come. Last night was the first night in the big girl bed and today is the first day without the baa. I need to be an attentive mama today. Pool or foam tree at the mall?!?!?! tbd...

UPDATE:
the answer to the tbd was both...in the AM we did the foam tree until the 5 year old boys took over, and this afternoon after naps we did the pool. her favorite part of the pool might be the safety check/snack time. i pack us a couple of pb&js, some fruit & some carrots usually. i swear the kid will eat anything if i give it to her at the pool...and you'd swear it was the best thing she's ever tasted!

night one in the big girl bed was not too bad. about 1 1/2 hours of putting her back in it, telling her not to get out, etc. a bit of crying, but overall about what i expected or even a bit better. nap one went off without a hitch...as it was morning one without the baa. by the time nap rolled around you betcha she was ready to get into that bed & stay there with that precious baa. so far tonight has largely been the same...i've gone in once to retrieve the 'dropped baa' that i'm proud to report she did not get out to reclaim herself, and then we rocked, sans baaa, which didn't last long. the baa is staying in the bed. as in not.ever.coming.out.again. so the big girl bed cause has been seriously aided by the love of the baa. she really did much, much better than I thought she would today without said baa...a bit of whining, but not nearly as bad as i had feared. a few tears, but they were more for show than true sadness. although i did keep her very busy, let her watch a bit more TV than usual, and tried really hard to be silly when she was sad. aahhh. she's talking again. still not asleep at 9p. i've moved from my usual perch on the sofa to the landing right outside her door. fun times.

other notes at 23 months....

-she is talking a ton. she uses plural now, as in two ducks. she can sort of count to 10....at least she knows all of the numbers and aside from skipping six she's almost got it. she repeats EVERYTHING.

-her latest thing is to sit in a chair, cross her arms, and say, "so." i couldn't figure out where this came from until i saw clay do it. cracked me up! he does do it all the time!

-her first commonly used sentence is "yes, i do." as in response to, "do you want a cup?" "yes, i do."

-last week playing in her kitchen with Dad he asked for a drink of water (pretend). she took the cup to the pretend water spout on the pretend fridge, then paused and looked back at him and said, "words? words?" until he said please!

-"thank your welcome" is her version of thank you &/or your welcome. she says it all the time, always in the same sing songy voice.

-she HATES sunscreen & bug spray. i think most of it burns her skin...but i bought some ridiculously priced stuff for kids with eczema so i really don't think it hurts now, but she still either thinks it does or will and makes a run for it every time I mention putting in on. she'd even rather not go swim or go outside than put it on.

-she knows that right now she is one, and that on her birthday she'll be "twos"

-she knows the prayers that we say at night & can finish the end of every sentence of the Now I Lay Me prayer and the Hail Mary. she loves to bless DAD each night.

-she attempts to make the sign of the cross before we say our meal blessing...and will remind us if we forget to say the prayer. she touches her head, her belly, and then the left shoulder with the left hand and the right shoulder with the right hand...at the same time.

I know there is more I want to record (I think of this as a baby book as well as a tool to share with others), but I think she's not getting out of bed at this point & I'm going to go have an hour of mindless tv time before bed now. Despite how well today went for her and how proud I am of her it was a long one for me...worth it of course, but long!

Happy Birthday Iowa Guh

Sadly the last photo I have of the two of them is from almost a year ago! Good thing we are headed there soon. Happy Birthday Mom. Wish we could be there with you to celebrate.

life...an ending & a beginning

Bernard A. “Benny” Halvorson, 77 of New Hampton, died Friday afternoon, June 19, at the 9th Street Chautauqua Guest Home, Charles City.Memorial services will be 11a.m. Wednesday, July 15, at Trinity Lutheran Church, New Hampton with Pastor Kevin Frey and Pastor Joel Dahlen officiating. Internment will be in the New Hampton Cemetery.Friends may call 4 - 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 14, at Hugeback & Chenoweth Funeral Home, New Hampton and an hour prior to the service Wednesday at the church. Bernard Albert “Benny” Halvorson was born August 19, 1931, in New Hampton, the son of Henry and Anna (Olson) Halvorson. He received his education in rural country school near Jerico and the New Hampton High School. On October 3, 1953, at the former St. Olaf Lutheran Church in New Hampton he married Janice C. Hartson. To this union six children were born. Benny had worked at the Iowa State Department of Transportation retiring after 41 years. In 1965, the couple purchased their farm northwest of New Hampton where they raised their family. His wife Janice died on June 17, 2001 at the age of 65. Benny especially loved working on the farm, socializing with friends and family, and in his later years fishing, camping, gambling and watching old westerns. He had been living at the Riverside Chatauqua Assisted Living in Charles City, where he enjoyed watching the river.Survivors include two sons, Bradley “Bucky” (Pam) Halvorson of New Hampton, Todd (Krista) Halvorson of Erie, Colo.; four daughters, Brenda (Mike) Kellogg of Nashua, Lori (Mike) Rosonke of New Hampton, Debra (Steve) Lahr of Fairfax Station, Va., Tamara (Dan) Halvorson of Madrid; 10 grandchildren; 7 great-grandchildren; two sisters, Jeannie Huber and Anna Mae Qualley both of New Hampton.He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife and one brother, Hartley Halvorson.

Luckily Clay & I had planned a mini vacation for the week of 7/13...so instead of a trip to Portland we'll be heading up to Iowa for the week. I'm glad that we get to go as a family to be with my extended family. I grew up 5 minutes away from Grandma & Grandpa Halvorson, and across the street from Grandma & Grandpa Rosonke. I LOVED playing at my grandparents house with all of my cousins all the time (on both sides), and it breaks my heart that Luci & Asher have yet to meet. I'm excited to see lots of family I haven't seen in years...always the silver lining of a funeral.

On the other spectrum of life news, babypea waved hello again this week. (S)he was positioned so that we got a clear view of his/her little spine and all looked well. It was a wonderful thing to see. My OB is letting me come back each week until I feel the baby regularly...most likely around week 18. We'll also have the big ultrasound around that week to check for health with a possible bonus of finding out the sex. And yes, we'll absolutely find out if babypea is willing to show us!

Grandpa Benny

Luci's Grandpa Benny the Great (my mom's dad) passed away this morning. Grandpa has been sick for as long as I can remember but he fought hard, until this morning. He passed peacefully and for that I am grateful. Luci saw him last at Christmas but we didn't get any photos during that visit..although I do remember that I was surprised how she climbed right up in his lap to give him a hug. Clay & I saw him last in late January, right after we lost the twins. What I'll remember most about that visit was that he was the family member who was most open about our loss, telling us how sorry he was, asking us questions about how we were doing, and telling me how I would have made a good mama to twins (he & my grandma had twins, so he'd know ;) It was a conversation that touched my heart in a way I'm sure most people could never appreciate and I'll carry that memory with me forever.

While I'm sad, the tears fall most freely when I think of him being reunited with my grandma after 8 or so years...I'm so glad they are finally together.

luce, her guh, and 12 weeks

Luci & her guh... I'm pretty sure she drank at least a gallon of water from the pool....yummy!

my sweet baby.

I see this face a lot...usually when she's all up in my face, trying to tell me something that she thinks I'm not getting...

happy girl.

Luci's guh was here for the weekend and thank goodness! Aside from the usual first trimester woes, I came down with the nasty bug that everyone has been fighting and it was not fun...nor was I. Somehow Guh came in with her Guh-like way and managed to give me a much needed break from cooking, emptying & loading the dishwasher and laundry, all while providing 24*4.5 (the number of days she was here) help caring for an active needy toddler. Thank you Barb; I'm so grateful for you.

The big girl bed is still on hold. After getting a nice yet affordable twin mattress up onto the bed which we (and by we I mean Clay;) had assembled in her room we realized a-we were missing many, many support slats necessary to hold the mattress up and b-we were 5 inches short of mattress. ugh. So today one of the twin mattresses went back (a regular twin works fine for the trundle) and I found an extra long twin mattress that could be ordered....for twice the price, of course. Why does 5 more inches of length double the price?!?!? Clay's mission was to get some wood to make the other support slats...which he has plenty of time to do now given the mattress won't be in until Tuesday at the earliest, and probably more likely later in the week. XL Twin means XL mattress pad, sheets, the whole ball of wax.

It's been one of those weeks where everything seems to be so much harder than it should be.

BUT...I'm TRYING VERY HARD to keep perspective. At least, making a very conscious effort to keep perspective. It's okay that the bug spray doesn't want to come out while I holding my screaming toddler still in order to save her from another 50 bug bites. It's okay that our cats suck lately and pee on stuff. It's okay that a twin mattress doesn't fit our deal of the century used bed. It's okay that I have to take back all of the twin size bedding. It's okay that the laundry is never done and the house is never clean enough. It really is all okay.

As of Monday we reached the 12 week milestone...I'm off progesterone & can resume normal activities :) yaay. Babypea measured 12w4d and I was able to hear the heartbeat for the first time...nice & steady in the 160's. It was absolutely the best thing I've heard all week.

Our family is well and very blessed in so many ways. And that is what is important to focus on.

ugh...big girl bed time already?!?!!?

Luci has decided her favorite awake activity in the crib is trying to jump out. Literally, trying to jump out. As in, land on her head jump out. Guh & I found her yesterday morning just happy as a lark, practicing this new found activity. At first we watched, thinking it was cute. Then we quickly decided that cute as it may be, safe it certainly was not.

Picture flapping your arms like chicken wings. Imagine said chicken wings gripping the out side of the railing, with her armpits anchored against the top part. Imagine strong little abs & legs jumping as high as she can, with her head going farther & farther over the top of the railing. As in any one time that she got high enough her little waist would be over the railing & she would literally end up toppling out of her crib, head first, diving to the floor...and even if she tried to stop herself the momentum would keep her going.

UGH. Luckily Amanda had a video monitor we can use for awhile to keep an eye on her. When she did it last night I ran right in there & told her it was NOT safe and that beds were for sleeping. She promptly laid down, closed her eyes, and went to sleep. This morning I woke up & heard just a teeeny bit of noise from the monitor. Not even enough noise to be sure that she was awake. She was. Giggling ever so quietly at herself while practicing her fun new activity.

I don't think she's even trying to get out. I think it just must be fun. It looks kind of fun, if I was an almost 2 year old and had no idea I was about to break my neck. I've been prepared for her to start trying to climb out. I could even stomach the thought of a broken arm or something from a mis-step. But literally jumping out & landing on her head I'm not cool with.

Looks like Clay & I have a project to complete in the few days he's home this week.

1st gymnastics class = HORRIBLE

Luce had her first gymnastics class this morning...and she was HORRIBLY behaved! Of the 8 or so kids in her class, ranging from 15 months - 2 1/2 years, she was the ONLY one who wouldn't sit when it was time to sit, go where it was time to go, and do what it was time to do. And taking turns? Forget it! She not only didn't want to wait for her turn, but when it was her turn to go she just ended up crying, kicking & screaming. Seriously. The child cried, kicked & screamed on the floor for at least 35 minutes of the 45 minutes class. A proud mama I was not.

After 15 minutes of this behavior I broke down & gave her the baa. I was embarrassed by her behavior, and embarrassed that at almost 2 she still has a paci. But turns out it had nothing to do with the paci...it didn't really make a bit of difference so I hid it after awhile & she was so busy throwing her fits she didn't even notice.

Um, so yeah. But we aren't giving up. She asked to go 'homa' (home) after about 30 minutes but we stayed and the last 15 minutes were the best of the class. She finally did sit when it was time to sit at the end...otherwise no stamp. And she wanted that stamp...so when she realized that was the reward for sitting she went right into the middle of the group and plopped herself right down in front of the teacher. Smart, smart teacher ignored her until the very end (since she was the last one to sit) and then gave her the stamp. Go Miss Karla.

To be fair, she's sick. Has been for 3 weeks now. I probably shouldn't have taken her to the class, but I've been looking forward to it for weeks thinking she would just love it. I have an antibiotic prescription filled, ready to go. But the only time she's had an antibiotic it actually made her more sick (allergy to penicillin that took a week to show up) and our doc took her off all meds due to drug intolerance or something. And I don't want to make her feel worse.

Ugh. So we'll try again next week....cause she starts pre-school for 3 1/2 hours 2x a week this fall...and she's got to get a bit better at following directions before then or they'll probably kick her out!!

babypea waves hello

sweet baby waved hello to me this morning and all is still looking well. (s)he's too big to see with the vaginal ultrasound, and a bit small yet to see perfectly with just an abdominal ultrasound so the measurements were all over the board this morning. somehow the angle made it hard for our doctor to get the whole baby in the screen to measure...but she wasn't the least bit worried about it. she even asked if i had had coffee this morning because babypea was so active. no coffee though, just 1 slice of pb&j toast and a Carnation Instant Breakfast shake (the no sugar added kind...it has a lot of protein :).

thank you all for your continued thoughts & prayers :) I go back a week from today...they're so good to me there!

too cute for words

so I'll let the photos do the talkin...

10w2d

Babypea is still in there, healthy heart beat and all :) (S)he wiggled around to say hi to me again this week. This last week was the worst yet in terms of nausea. I was starting to feel better at this point with Luci, but with this pregnancy it still seems to be getting worse. I'm not complaining though...just documenting our journey!

Luci, who should we ask God to bless?

Luci: DAAAAADDDD!!
Mom: Dad? (he's #1 every night) Who else?
Luci: ASHERRRRRRRRRRR!!
Mom: And Asher? That's nice Luci, who else?
Luci: WAAAYYYEEEEEEEE!!!
Luci: JAAAMMMIIIEEEEE!!!!!
Mom: And Wally & Mr. Jaime? Oh that's sweet Luci. What about Mom?
Luci: mmmhmmmm.

Mr. Jamie has taken on a more prominent role as of late....I think he's the subject of Luci's very first crush! She smiles & looks almost bashful when we mention him, and has a big shy smile for him now each time we see him. Super cute.