I'm still shaking.

" """""Authorities investigated a serious two-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon near Tom's Market on South Airport Road just west of Garfield Avenue. A witness reported that a passenger car struck a supply truck and seriously injured the five occupants of the car. No further details were immediately available. Check tomorrow's Record-Eagle for an update on the story"

The result of this accident were 3 fatalities. All 3 that I knew well, were only 15 & 16yrs old & I saw them all as babies. There are only about 11 Laos Families in Traverse City, this is a really big blow. If anything, I hope it will serve as a warning for the other kids in the community to drive with responsibility. I will be going to 3 funerals this weekend/next week. IThis is right near my parents' home and I still am in shock.

My Poor 2 Sick Kids!

Kiersten was sick last week, all through her birthday week with explosive diarrhea. I had 2 days where I had to change her diaper four times in 1 hour. That is one of the reason I postponed her 1st yr appt last Wed to this Friday. At her birthday party, she felt better, but was not 100%. In fact, she took a nap before most of the guest left. Finally on Monday, she was much better. Her appetite was back and her bowel movements were normal in smell and consistency. Hopefully, she didn't lose much weight.

Last Friday, Peter kept us up until 4:40am (Pete & I went to bed at 2am b/c we were setting up decorations for Kiersten's Party). He woke me up at 3 am with a tummy ache and then he finally threw up at 4:15am. Saturday...he was playing all day and most of Sunday he was fine. Monday, he slept most of the day and complained of a tummy ache and feeling nauseous. He had one of the most explosive bowel movements I have ever heard and then he felt better. Yesterday, Tuesday, he spent 3/4 of the day whining about his tummy again. I tried to get him to move around a bit in the afternoon. When we got back from Sears, he stepped into the house, took his shoes & coat off and threw up on the floor. Then he ran upstairs and had another explosive bowel movement that even surprised Pete. He went to bed early and when he woke up this morning, he was back to normal. Hungry and eager to get playing.

We always have Motrin and Tylenol at home and that helped, but luckily neither had a high fever so we didn't have to make an emergency run to the hospital. We just had to keep the kids hydrated. Peter has never liked Pedialyte, but we bought some for Kiersten and she doesn't like it either. So, now the pedialyte we have is going to waste and its not cheap. I just couldn't believe that both kids got sick, but at least they didn't get sick at the same time ( : Now we can get back to enjoying the weather outside.

The day after the party.

Kiersten & Dianne playing together.
Dianne overstepping her boundries and makes that reach for Kiersten's bottle. Sorry, Dianne, its whole milk now, not formula, you can't have it.
A slap to the back of the head. "Thanks for coming to my birthday party little cousin, but you've gone too far."Grandma separating the girls.
The boys hanging out & being quiet (very rare in this house)

Birthday Pictures and more!

Here are a few pictures that we had taken tonight at Sears Portraits. Kiersten was just warming up in the first one.

This our favorite! Her hair is already below her shoulders!
We took these pictures on Saturday April 22nd. The first picture is missing Kiersten because she was not interested in taking any pictures.Little Dianne clapping away.

Kiersten's Birthday Party

Kiersten's 1st birthday party went well. We had over 30 friends and family over for a few hours. Kiersten wasn't feeling so well and was a bit under the weather all of last week, but she did the best she could. I thought we got a lot more pictures, but in the chaos of the day, we got a lot more video footage than pictures.

"Four Princesses" Cake

Kiersten has had cake for Pete's & Peter's birthdays already this year and she enjoyed her cake just as much.
Kiersten was the spoiled little girl with all the gifts she received. We received many gifts from those who couldn't make it as well. Peter even got lucky and received some gifts as well. Thank You!! My little niece, Dianne, was helping us out.

Three of my most favorite people in the whole world, my husband, son and daughter.

Dianne checking out the goods.

The little twin girls from next door, Veronica and Vanessa. Sorry it's a back view!

Grandma Ann holding her namesake, Dianne.

Birthday Party!!!!

We are finally getting things together for Kiersten's party tomorrow! Tomorrow we just pick up our food and cake. Today, I am prepping all of the veggies, pasta and potato salad. We did some painting last week and redid one of our bathrooms last night, we were up until 3am. Poor Pete still had to wake up to go to work. We have a lot of family and friends coming so it will be nice to see everyone again. The pediatrician appointment was postponed so I won't have stats until next week. I will post pictures of the party as soon as I can. Even though we have been working to clean up the clutter in the house, with 2 kids, it never seems clean enough!!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Kiersten!!!!!

I don't have a lot time right now, mornings are very busy here, but we wanted to wish Kiersten a very happy 1st birthday. 1 yr ago on April 18, 2005, Kiersten arrived at 9:17 a.m. Even though she arrived 5 days late, she entered the world after only 9 minutes of pushing. I will post some pictures later today & updates tomorrow since we are seeing the pediatrician for Peter's 4th birthday & Kiersten's first. No b-day party today, maybe just a cupcake, but we are having a huge party this Saturday for her.

Going to the Detroit Zoo

The kids & I took a trip to the Zoo today. The weather was perfect with a slight breeze to tone down the little bit of humidty & the animals were active and fun to watch! Here is Peter at 18mths in 2003

Here is Peter at 4yrs old in 2006
Always fun to see the camels, there was a new baby born here about 2-3 yrs ago.
We were lucky to catch these gorgeous cats at feeding time.
These cats, however, were being cats and resting/sleeping the day away.


The Detroit Zoo's newest (or one of the newest) additions. The Zoo's two resident elephants were moved to a reserve in California last year. The elephants were older & the cold MI winters were not ideal for them, so now they are retired in sunny CA. These 2 rhinos too their place.

Man...he had a serious itch and/or trying to adjust.

Poor guy, his pool wasn't full so he was laying in some mud on the side of his yard. Whenever we visit, he is usually hiding in his pool, so seeing him walking around is pretty rare.
"Mommy, the peacocks are gonna get me, hurry!!!" Poor Peter. We had lunch and a goose visited us, but Peter was really scared. Then the peacocks all started to get excited and were talking back & forth. Of course, it didn't help Peter that the peacocks get to run wild among the visitors.

The Arctic Ring of Life is a really amazing center and was featured on Animal Planet's Amazing Zoos. The polar bears were walking all over & swimming. There is a new baby polar bear, but I didn't see him with his mother today. The seals were either laying in the sun or swimming for the crowd.
Coming up after a swim. Sunbathing

Showing off for the crowd. Kiersten was really tired since she only took a 30min nap (car ride) & she usually naps for 2-3hrs. She enjoyed the ride, but didn't enjoy being taken out of the stroller. She perked up a little bit later, but both kids fell asleep on the way home.

Kiersten Updates

Kiersten truly keeps me on my toes and I have to keep a constant eye on her. She is an active little girl and here are just a few out of many things that she is now doing:

Trying to climb out of her crib(Peter never tried)

Broke her musical mobile (for her crib, Peter did the same with his mobile)

Mastered climbing up the stairs & now able to go down the stairs butt first(with help)

Peter & Kiersten will compete to see who can scream the loudest, it is quite cute at first because they will take turns and go back & forth. After a few screams, my headache starts. Peter has a slight edge b/c he can scream longer. They also 'play' and 'argue' with each other.

Hates her diaper ALREADY (I have never worked so hard to keep a diaper on her)

Enjoys rearranging my refrigerator, pantry and the pots and pans.

Enjoys exploring underneath our bed (yes its high & I should have bought a stool to get into bed) & has hidden from me with Peter's help.

Can climb onto her toy chest and look out her window.

Throws temper tantrums. She actually lays on the floor and whines and stomps her feet. I have never seen this in a child so young and it will stop as soon as she gets old enough for us to lay down some rules for her that she understands..will be soon! I can't stand whining!!!

A great eater and has enjoyed adult type foods for several months now even though she still gets some baby food. We are so excited that we have only a week and a few days until she will drink whole milk!

Kiersten has been saying Mama, Dada, and a few other words for some time now. If we ask her where is Mama, Dada or Peter, she will turn and look for the right person.

I don't have any current stats, but I will be taking Peter & Kiersten to the pediatrician for his 4yr old and her 1yr old visit in a week and a half!

Here's my rant!

It doesn't happen often, but I truly get annoyed when people say things when they don't know us or our background. People need to think before they speak.

We were at the mall playground playing today. A little boy started to play with Kiersten and I asked his mother how old he was which she replied he was 10mths old. Then she asked me how old Kiersten was and I told her 11 1/2mths old. To which she replied that 'we (she and her friend) notice your daughter and she is just so tiny.'

Memorial Weekend 2004 my family and I went to Mackinac Island for the day. There was this little playground area we let Peter play on. Needless to say, the grandmother of this little girl said your son is so small.

First, I am petite at 5 feet tall and I weigh 100lbs right now (working on losing 4lbs to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight-I've lost 18lbs since Jan!!!!). Chances are my children might be more petite, but we do have tall genes on both sides of our families. My youngest brother is 5 feet 11 3/4inches(like dad) and I just happen to be 5 feet(like mom).

Second, my children are perfect they way they are and they are not tiny. I do not judge other children at all and at most I just ask how old they are. I don't think that people mean to say it in a rude way, but I think its pretty inappropriate. Sometimes, I wonder how people want me to respond to it b/c I just bite my tongue and leave the situation. Next time I might not be so nice ( :

Ever heard of THE FAMILY or CHILDREN OF GOD

I was at the mall today with my kids and I was near the entrance/exit getting ready to leave. I was sitting on a bench and putting Peter's & Kiersten's jackets on them when this mother and son (and little baby) approached me. They had a religious booklet to give and were 'accepting donations.' I don't like that type of approach...if you are raising money, let it be known. Anyway, I told them I didn't have any cash and the mother gave me this little piece of paper and told me to read it since it was a letter from Jesus (I am religious). I gave them their booklet back because you could tell they wanted it back (I wasn't planning on keepin it).

I noticed that the organization was called THE FAMILY and I knew I've heard of them, but not of good things. Either ABC's 20/20 or NBC's Primetime broadcasted it, but it was about this group who 'encouraged sexual contact' with young children and it was 'written' in their books? One of the wives of the founder (David Berg) had a son who eventually killed one of the women who molested him and killed himself before he could get to his mother to kill her. His mother, I believe, is now the leader of this group. This group seemed to be half hippie/half cult like.

I understand they have changed a lot and from their website seem to do a lot of good work. I just thought it was crazy to actually get literature from a group that I saw on TV.

Happy Birthday MOM!!!

My mom turned 58 on Aprils Fools Day! My brothers and I all gave her some $$$ (its hard to shop for Mom) and some flowers she will plant in May. Now that she is 58, I will be 28 in June. It's hard to believe that I have 2 kids, I always thought I'd wait until I was 30. However, on the bright side I will only be 42 when Peter turns 18 (and goes off to college) and 45 when Kiersten turns 18. Pete and I will be young enough to still enjoy life...haha...

Kiersten is currently cutting her 7th tooth right now. Her 8th one looks like its going to come through any day. She has 4 on top and 3 on bottom right now. The kids and I took advantage of the nice days we had last week and now we all have colds, but it was worth it.

Peter's 4 year old pictures

Here are Peter's pictures we took today at Sears. He did a great job. It only took about 10mins considering we waited 40mins PAST our appt. time. I'm not looking forward to Kiersten's 1yr old pictures, she won't stay still!!!!

Not that you care....

I can't seem to get the date to publish on the pictures. They show up on the camera, but not when I print them or download them. I have read the manual about 5 times and I still can't get the date to show up. I'll probably have to take it in and have someone show me.

That brings me to....you may have noticed that the kids wore a lot of the same things when we happened to take pictures of them. What happen is that I packed for 1 week for the 3 of us which meant I did laundry and then we wore our clothes again the 2nd week. We just didn't have the room to pack for 2 weeks of clothes on top of the other things I had to bring. okay, you probably didn't notice or care, but now you know!

Traverse City Part 4 - The Birthday Party

Peter's Birthday Party! We did a Madagascar Theme which is currently his favorite. We have the movie and the playstation game (for Pete & I). We also went to Bounce Arena for an hour before the cake and ice cream. Peter loves Bounce Arena and had a great time with friends. I won't post any pictures this time since I have posted pictures of Bounce Arena before.

The beautiful cake and very yummy too!

Mommy (& Peter ) serving the cake & ice cream

Opening presents! Peter got the gift of money from family & friends. Peter got a lot of educational books and toys as well as GO FISH and a golf set, t-ball set and soccer set from mommy, daddy and Kiersten.
Hanging out with Uncle Pong & baby cousin Dianne

The girls getting ready for bed after a long day of play!