There and Back Again

Who are you???

2010-08-06T13:23:00.002+02:00

Eowyn tells us who she is...

Cruising

2010-08-02T11:21:00.005+02:00

Asher's been doing this for about a month now, walking behind this toy. Laminate flooring causes it to get away from him a bit.

New Kite

2010-07-29T08:32:00.003+02:00

I bought a kite yesterday. If you bought a six-pack of 1.5 liter pepsi bottles, you got a kite free. So, of course! I had to! Free kite! With a Pepsi logo! And Eowyn loves Mary Poppins, and she loves "lets go fly a kite".

So, we're walking to the field, and she had 0 patience. We weren't going fast enough for her liking, so she kept trying to grab the kite. "Daddy, fly a kite?" was asked about 200,476 times.

When we got there, of course there wasn't enough wind, and since I'm about as fast as an 85-year-old with a walker, we couldn't get much lift, but she was still excited to see the kite "fly". I even insisted she run with the kite and followed behind her, because I'm still fast enough, holding the kite as if it were flying.

Asher video

2010-07-28T11:20:00.003+02:00

New video, starring Asher, as he shows off his 3-pt offensive lineman stance, does the splits, and low-crawls. Amazing sequence and show of flexibility, all in the first 15 seconds.

With cameo by Baylor and voice by Maren.

Renewed interest in blogging.

2010-07-23T13:41:00.003+02:00

I don't know why that's the title. It just is. After being in Germany for a year, I think its time we de-Facebookize for a bit. Give blogspot a renewed chance at life. So here we go.

Asher is a big dude. He's strong. He's cruising. He crawls with a limp. Seriously. He's never quite learned anything but the army low-crawl, and so he's always only pushing himself along with his right leg. It gives the impression of a limp. And he growls as he scoots. And not even 1 years old, and Eowyn being almost 3, he can out-wrestle her for a toy he really wants. A couple of weeks ago it was a balloon in the car. Amazing it didn't burst. He's also been able to pull himself up into a standing position and walk around the coffee table for a couple of weeks now. Dude's pretty cool.

Eowyn's getting close to her 3d birthday. She's still very tall for her age. And very much a daddy's girl. I was home for 3 weeks taking vacation time. That only made it worse. She's into wearing dresses now, for some reason. Her German is improving rapidly, and she still translates for me. Its amazing to see her catch herself speaking "the wrong language" to either myself with English, or to Maren's side of the family with German, and say the same words in the "correct" language. She's in "Kinderdargen" every day until noon, though they're about to take a 3-week break.

Maren's also well. We're trying to figure out how she's going back to school in the fall and make sure the kids are taken care of. We'll get it figured out, but Maren's going to study to teach biology and English at the high school level in Germany. It'll be another 3-5 years?????

Here's a video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8vLE3MPk_M

Sickness

2010-03-01T21:33:00.002+01:00

Last week was a bit of a rough one for us. On Sunday (my 1 day that I took off from work in the month of February) the 21st, Asher started getting very fussy around the time we got home from church. By the evening he was running a fever. Turned out he had Strep throat & bronchitis. The next day Eowyn came down with a bug, and Maren started feeling it too. That night the dogs even took turns throwing up. I lasted until the weekend, when I was opening Noises Off at the theater. Kiddos are mostly better, but Maren still has a sinus infection.

She went to the doctor for that today. Without even looking at her (read: glanced up at her once from typing on his computer, and that was it...no examination or anything) gave her a prescription. She's going to an E-N-T on Weds.

Hopefully today, March 1, isn't the only day I take off this month...

Translations

2010-03-01T17:42:00.003+01:00

Eowyn has really begun to fully understand both languages we're throwing at her. She's always picking up new things, repeating what we say. Sentences still aren't full, but then again, she's learning two at the same time.

The other day, as we were driving, an airplane flew over. Eowyn said excitedly: "Mama, ein Flu-flah (Flugzeug)." Then, in the same breath, but in a condescending tone: "Daddy, airplane."

New Car (to us)

2010-01-25T17:12:00.005+01:00

We splurged. We bought a new car. We've been thinking of getting something a little roomier for the family, dogs included. We wanted something that'll handle the small German streets (our Taurus has the turn radius of a school bus...check that, one of those Semi trucks pulling 3 trailers you see out West...), fuel efficient-ish, and of course, we could all go to Oma & Opa's in. Of course, w/ dogs, we have to get a topper, but that shouldn't be an issue. Here are the ones we considered.

Its a 2008 Opel Astra Caravan. German-spec station wagon. Now seriously, why can't these sell in the US? Oh, right..."We don't like station wagons. We'll just get a bigger SUV."... *ahem*...you mean the station wagon of pickup trucks????

Long time no post...

2009-11-25T23:41:00.005+01:00

So, if you forget your user name & password, does that mean its been too long since you've last posted? I say yes!

Well, for those of you who don't know, *someone* turned 29 last week on Wednesday. And we're not talking dog years, so you can exclude Jetta & Baylor, and my birthday is February, but thank you for suggesting it was me. I look younger, don't I.

On Saturday, Maren's sister's boyfriend (no, that's the end; going no further) took some photos of us 4 (plus some of the 2 dogs) with his "fancier-than-point-&-shoot" camera that we have. They're nice. Even the ones with me in them.

pictures of Asher

2009-10-13T23:18:00.005+02:00

Eowyn & Asher

2009-09-28T09:52:00.002+02:00

Asher Records (John Asher Records)

2009-09-22T16:26:00.002+02:00

...was born at 10:33pm local time in Germany. Mommy was in labor for about 4 1/2 hours or so with him. He was a big boy, 4310 grams, or 9lbs 8oz., and 53 cm, or about 20 7/8". His head was 36cm, or about 14 1/8".

Maren wanted to name him Asher. We were looking at Hebrew, Greek, and Roman names mostly and settled on that. We decided on his "second" name as John, after my dad, but we thought it flowed better as John Asher, rather than Asher John.

Comparatively, Asher is about 450 grams, or 1 full pound, heavier than Eowyn was, and 1 cm longer.

Asher slept a good part of the day, and didn't even eat from about 1am or so right after birth last night until almost 1pm today. He & mommy are doing well. I have pictures on facebook, and will load some here later.

Eowynisms

2009-09-19T08:54:00.002+02:00

We're celebrating today. No, not because a baby's been born, in fact he hasn't been, but because Eowyn is finally saying her name correctly. No longer is she "Eowa", but now "Eowyn", and sometimes "Eovin". But she's dropped the final "-uh" for "-in".

So here are some other words that she says, first word, then the translation:

Oma--Oma
Oma--Opa
Ani--Annika
**kissing noise**--Kirsten
Nate--Daddy
Moo-ma Auto--the movie Cars
Moo-ma Poppy--Mary Poppins
"Oonie"--Uri, or Ur-Oma (great-grandma)
Bodish--fertig (finished)
**happy surprised gasp**--Nutella (as in, walks over to the cupboard, points, and *happy surprised gasp*)

Last blog Pre what's-his-name

2009-09-07T22:30:00.001+02:00

Maren was at the doctor today. The Lad (who shall remain nameless...since Maren & I don't have a name for him yet) is already bigger than Eowyn was when she was born, is still 2 weeks from delivery, though the doctor tried to help "jump start" the process for Maren. We'll see if that works. I was just going through and reminiscing about old photos of Eowyn. Hard to believe that's been over 2 years now.

We like the area we live in, very pretty and our cameras don't do it justice, but far from work, and we'll be looking for something else in the springtime.

Here's some recent photos.

This picture was in a German Burger King. I thought it was awesome they used a photo of Green Bay Packers. I was so excited about it I told them I played for Green Bay before I realized what I was doing.

Jetta, 16 months. And now much faster than Baylor.

Eowyn found some wild black berries.

Another new video

2009-08-07T15:10:00.002+02:00

We found Eowyn walking around in her mommy's shoes...notice how she reacts when she realizes she's being filmed...this cannot be a good sign of things to come.

New video

2009-08-07T14:52:00.003+02:00

This was a couple of weeks ago after not seeing me for about a week.

more pictures

2009-06-28T22:34:00.003+02:00

Update

2009-06-28T22:15:00.003+02:00

Well, we've been in Germany for about 5 weeks now and haven't posted very much...so here it goes !
Eowyn has been having lots of fun getting to know her Oma and Opa (grandma and grandpa) and her aunts Kirsten and Annika.
The weather has been nice and sunny even here in Germany so we've been playing in Oma and Opa's yard a LOT ! It was warm enough today to pull out a brand new little pool that Eowyn was supposed to get for her birthday (Thanks Oma and Opa! ). She was ok with wearing her new swim suit bottom but refused to wear the top...Even though the water was pretty cold Eowyn had a blast playing and splashing in the pool and playing with her new buddy, an inflatable penguin that came with the pool
Later in the day she "helped" Opa water the flowers in the yard and had to be changed again...
A couple more big announcements. I had another ultrasound this week and the dr. is now 100% sure that the baby is a boy ! He was not shy this time around. In other news, Eowyn used the big girl potty for the first time today ! She has been pretty proud to announce that "I pooh-pooh" but usually it has been after the fact...until today. I got her on the potty really fast and she actually went! Then she wanted to sit there forever. I kept asking her if she was done and she kept telling me NO! I finally had to pull her off and distract her with something else.
So, it was a big day for her.

Nanny

2009-05-28T23:11:00.004+02:00

Maren's screensaver has random pictures that we've loaded onto the computer. Today, Eowyn saw cousin Natalie's picture on the screen and called out "Nanny!" (not because she's stupid. she just can't say "Natalie" yet.)

It's a boy?????????

2009-05-25T20:58:00.002+02:00

Maybe? Frau Doktor today was pretty sure, but not 100%. He(?) had his(?) legs tucked under, the umbilical cord was there, he(?) was sitting at an odd angle...the whole thing looked like doppler radar to me. Maren's convinced, but I could see Eowyn was going to be a girl, this just look like a massive blob.

If its a boy, we'll name him Winthrop Norbert. Anyone with that kind of name is bound to be rich. Picked on, but rich. If its a girl, it'll be Natalia Rosa. But why does that have such a familiar ring to it.......oh well.

By the way, it was hotter here than in Marshall, TX, today. Probably much less humidity.

Eowyn's first Nutella Broetchen

2009-05-23T14:44:00.002+02:00

Eowyn has been enjoying some good German bread. She loves the crusty French bread you get at restaurants. This morning I went to a bakery to pick up fresh rolls (Broetchen) for breakfast.
Here are a few pictures of her first German roll with Nutella.

We're here

2009-05-20T21:06:00.002+02:00

We're in Germany. Just thought I'd post here very quickly. We're tired, but Maren's family is here, the dogs are grateful to be out of the kennels, and we're wired.

We'll post pics of us in Germany (i.e., giant beer steins, lederhosen, and bratwursts) as soon as we can.

more pictures

2009-05-14T04:58:00.004+02:00

ok, this might be overdoing it a little...but here is the last batch of pictures from today.

more pictures

2009-05-14T04:52:00.002+02:00

Here are some more pictures of Eowyn playing on the mall playground and on grandpa's school bus.

Eowyn's first professional haircut

2009-05-14T04:33:00.002+02:00

This is my first post so I'm sure Nate will edit if after I go to bed...
I won't try to be funny or witty but I do have something the masses are screaming for...new pictures.
We are staying with Nate's parents in Michigan and went to the mall today to get Eowyn her first professional haircut. She didn't want to sit in the chair by herself so mommy had to sit in the chair and Eowyn sat in mommy's lap. Then we had to bribe her with a sucker to sit still. The lady took about 2.5 inches off! I didn't know her hair had gotten that long. Of course we think she looks super cute with her new big girl hair cut. After her hair cut she got to play on the playground and climb around on some gigantic fruit and furniture. She loved it.
Once we got home grandpa stopped by to let Eowyn play on his school bus. The dogs were in the backyard but decided to jump the fence and hop on the school bus as well.
Enjoy the pictures of our girls. It will probably be a while till we post again since we are leaving for Germany next Wednesday.

"Bee-bah"

2009-04-17T08:33:00.002+02:00

Eowyn is learning new things. For example, if she bangs on the windows after we tell her 'no', Mommy puts her in "time out." She doesn't care for that too much. And what's inside a Krispy Kreme box, or at a McDonald's drive-thru window (or, as Baylor refers to it, "The Magic Window of Smelly Goodness"). She loves those!

We've been trying to teach her to say "please", but "please" was seemingly too difficult to say. So, we decided to try the German variant, "bitte" (bit-tuh). She picked it up quickly, but it sounds like "bee-bah". Tonight, we ordered pizza. Maren ran to get it along with some allergy medicine (who knew Domino's carried Zyrtec?!..."Yeah, I'd like a pepperoni thin crust, some cheesy bread, a 2-liter, and throw in some parmesan...oh, and can I get a box of Dayquil?"). When she got back (I'm sure Eowyn recognized the box), Eowyn threw her toys down & ran to her chair shouting "bee-bah bee-bah bee-bah!"

We're also learning to throw a ball. Eowyn's aim seems to be improving steadily. In completely unrelated news, Daddy's reflexes are improving drastically out of sudden necessity.

Speaking of learning, we had someone look at our house yesterday, and while I was at rehearsal last night, they stopped by again. We learned that its Baylor, not Jetta, who about rips through her crate when people come into the house.

more Kaiserslautern

2009-03-14T14:48:00.003+01:00

For anyone interested, here is the weblink to the theater where I'll be working.

http://www.mwrgermany.com/KL/theater/production_history.htm

They'll be performing "Lucky Stiff" opening May 28, so Maren and I will get to see a show that's up and meet the people who work hard and volunteer their time there.

And for my fussball-loving friends who are curious, no, we have no interest in adopting 1. FC Kaiserslautern as our new "home team." That'd be like moving to Texas and immediately becoming a Cowboys fan.

The end of Texas.

2009-03-11T07:43:00.002+01:00

Dear family & friends.

God sees fit to bring a new chapter into our lives. In May, 2009, I will no longer be a professor at East Texas Baptist University. Instead, I will become the "Theatre Specialist", or artistic director, at the community theatre on the army instillation in Kaiserslautern, Germany. This will put us 1 1/2 hours from Maren's family.

There is no telling how long we will be there, though should I do a good job, I could have this job as long as I want. However, we are committing for 3 years at the minimum. To our friends in the US, we will miss you dearly, but we hope to have a large house for you to come and visit us. To our German friends & family, we can't wait to share our lives with you again.

To my students I leave behind: I love you all dearly, and these last two years have been some of the most memorable moments in my life, and I will cherish them forever.

Live big.

Finish.

More September

2009-02-04T17:46:00.002+01:00

So, with Eowyn, most of you know how the timing was incredibly stressful: had just graduated, were buying a house, moving to a new town, starting a new career, problems buying the house, new job was 3 1/2 hours away from our hospital, blah blah blah.

So obviously, this time will be less stressful, right? We'll have the opportunity to plan things better, be more efficient, enjoy everything in the comfort of our own home (except the birth, because that'd be gross...), right?

So, in the first week of January, my October production of All My Sons (October 2008) was invited to a professional theatre festival in Poland! That's our university students going from September 20-27 at the festival (plus travel dataes). We'll be in Czestochowa, Poland, and for my Catholic friends, that's the town of the monastery Josna Gora with the Black Madonna (beautiful place. I had the chance to tour it Dec. 07).

Guess when Maren's due??

September 23!!!

September!

2009-02-02T02:45:00.001+01:00

Big news for our family in September. Maren will be giving birth to our second child!

More to follow later, but it'll be mid-September!

Assorted pictures

2009-01-27T18:38:00.012+01:00

like father, like daughter...

Christmas dress

sitting on the dog

too cool

opening christmas presents

Maren's 28th birthday (November)

Eowyn & Natalie...you think these two won't be getting into trouble together one day?? (October)

Records family update

2009-01-21T16:47:00.004+01:00

It seems that each "update" I apologize for being away so long and promise to "be better the next time"...

Eowyn is now 17 months old. She & Jetta are into everything. Kind of like professional tag-team wrestling, where occassionally when the teammate of one is arguing with the "official" and both jump in and beat the unsuspecting "lone" individual together...yeah. So, sometimes it's just one at a time getting into everything, and other times its both. We're never really sure which one gets into the kleenex box or trash can, unless the other happens to be locked up.

Maren has given Jetta a new name, actually. "Jetta" is her middle name and "STOP IT!" is her first. These are used interchangeably. When we're outside, her first name becomes "Ka-meer." Apparently, she's oblivious to both of these names.

Eowyn is back in daycare. (Insert big "frowny" face) But she seems to enjoy daycare, she squealed today when we got there, and most of the time she doesn't even look back at me when we get there. She gets excited to have a bunch of playmates. And she adjusts so quickly to being with other people. Its good for her to have those set "patterns". And we can tell that she REALLY enjoys having us both home on the weekends. But she's always excited to come home. We think she's more well-behaved with other people than she is with us, to be honest.

Speaking of...a little someone is always a little bit more ornery w/ her mommy than w/ her daddy. I think daddy comes across more sternly than mommy does...

Of course, yesterday was a HUGE day, not only for our country but the entire world. I know I have family disappointed with the election results as well as excited, but none the less, it IS a new day in our world today. I am excited for my friends who can tell their children, not with hope, but with the proof in hand, that their kids can be and do whatever they set their minds to. I'm excited that I can tell Eowyn that she can grow up to be and do whatever she wants as long as she has the perseverance and fortitude to see it through. Things aren't going to turn around over night, however. Economy is still dwindling. Terror will still exist even if Guantanamo shuts down. No fairy has come and waved a magic wand and caused sin to "exit stage left". People are still hungry, still poor, still losing homes.

But here we are. 2009. A whole lifetime ahead of us.

Narnia

2008-12-26T05:44:00.003+01:00

First of all, Merry Christmas! (I've watched Lord of the Rings too often, because I can see Pip yelling "Merry!" when I type "Merry" in "Merry Christmas."....and now its a vicious endless cycle...)

Maren & I just finished watching Prince Caspian of the new Chronicles of Narnia Disney movie series. (Think I'll see some coin for plugging Mickey & Minnie's boss???) Anyway...after it was over, Maren said, "Lets go to Narnia on our next vacation!" So, I pulled up Travelocity. We were going to plan May 17-28, 2009, but they're unaware of Narnia's location. Anyone know a site that might use it? I hate using the Just-O-Blount travel agency after the last trip we went on...completely 3rd rate travel org. if you ask me...personally, I think Maren just has the hots for Prince Caspian & wants to leave me for him....

2008-12-14T05:18:00.002+01:00

Baylor: the alarm system

Jetta: Security Detail

Daddy & daughter: WWE Smackdown moves in the back yard. Its all fun & games until someone loses an eye...

2 smart girls & a palooka

2008-12-11T00:06:00.006+01:00

So we've almost survived our Michigan and German infestation. We exterminate the last relative from our premises on Sunday morning. Its been fun, but time for them to go! (I sure hope none of my family reads this blog anymore...)

On a serious note, we've discovered the gravity of intelligence in the first 2 of our girls. Jetta, the Palooka, however, we're not so sure about. But then again, she's the equivalent of a teenager, so she's forgiven...

Eowyn: yesterday Eowyn began taking us by the hand and leading us to the kitchen. She takes us to where her favorite food was last placed (popcorn, chocolate, the fish that smile back, etc.), then puts her arms up, our cue to pick her up. Upon being lifted, she points at what she wants. Often, this is accompanied by screaming or other guttural noises...

Eowyn: today, Maren & Kirsten were on their way back from Shreveport, trying to keep Eowyn awake to have a nap when they got home. They were giving her gummy bears. Eowyn took from them with her right, put it into her left, HID her left hand on the other side of her car seat, and said, "Uh-oh", as if she'd dropped her gummy bear...

Baylor: today, I came home from work and started playing with the dogs. Usually, when I try to play with Baylor, Jetta decides its time to rough-house with Baylor too, and Baylor doesn't get any "daddy" play time. So, Baylor got her favorite toy, walked deliberately past Jetta, growled as if to say, "leave my favorite toy alone", which of course got Jetta to grab it. Baylor feigned being mad by barking once at Jetta, and then immediately running over to me, tail wagging...

so, I don't know about Jetta yet, but we've got 2 other highly intelligent little girls...

The Family is coming! The Family is coming!

2008-10-24T04:53:00.006+02:00

I feel like Paul Revere a bit...have to warn everybody. I've posted 3 lights in the tower, because they're coming by air...

the nice thing in all of this is Eowyn will only be in daycare 1 more week, including tomorrow, for the rest of 2008. she seems to be more and more "appreciative" of her mommy & daddy these days. at night, she's not wanting to go to bed, regardless of how tired she is. she wants her mommy to hold her. and in the morning when i get her ready for daycare, before we leave, she comes as if she wants to be picked up, and then just wants to be held. so we're really glad that we'll be able to have her w/ family.

but anyway, here's the countdown:

1. my family. mom, sister, niece, 2 aunts, and a cousin in a peartree. saturday-saturday. now, the 2 aunts & cousin only stay for a few days. but i think the dogs are in for a shock.

2. we get a few days reprieve and then its my mother-in-law. now, maren said i was wrong because she grew up with her and SHE would know...but her mom waves, and by "waves" i mean a sweeping gesture that says "i'm driving 100 and you're driving 75, get out of my way" at traffic in front of her, but we're SOOO looking forward to having her for 2. Long. Weeks. And she won't be driving here in Texas.

Then its Thanksgiving week. We get to be the monster visitors up in Illinois for Thanksgiving (my first Thanksgiving with any family since 1997...which reminds me...my mom was offended that Maren's family (in Germany) didn't invite me to Thanksgiving dinner with them my first year there........I'll let that one sink in...). My parents will meet us there.

3. Maren's middle sister is coming the week after that for 2. long. weeks. thereafter. but then its Christmas, and i'll be done w/ classes, and Eowyn will have people to watch her at home. Family. won't that be nice?

Blame game

2008-09-24T15:55:00.009+02:00

While the New York Yankees have missed the post-season after 13 straight years, the blame game has begun in New York. Tabloids blame broken-down old players. They blame young pitching that didn't pan out. ESPN.com blames the organization for bad drafting (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=olney_buster&id=3589629&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1)

But the heart of the issue is really altogether something entirely different and being vastly overlooked: Mariano Rivera. Obviously, the Yankee fans, the media, and even his own coaches and teammates hate him. In the final home game at Yankee stadium, the cameras panned away from the scene, as if on some *wink wink* magical cue (obviously arranged by the Steinbrenners), Derek Jeter grabbed Rivera from behind while the catcher, Jorge Posada, began to beat Rivera into a conscious-less pulp.

Police subdued Rivera's wife while the beating continued.

There you have it. Its all Rivera's fault.

Here Posada is seen "macing" Rivera after giving up another homerun.

Tough Decision

2008-09-21T21:07:00.002+02:00

So, there's a tough decision facing someone in my family, and prayers would be appreciated. Its been an issue for a while, and now the finality of that is coming to fruition. Your thoughts & prayers are appreciated.

My dad has to decide what to do. Lifelong Yankee fan (except for a few years living in Oshkosh where he masqueraded as a Brewer fan): does he watch the final game in Yankee Stadium history? or does he watch the ultimate in week 3 NFL matchups, Green Bay v. Dallas, a place in which Dallas has never won, and after tonight, still won't?

Decisions....please pray. Its eating him up inside.

Eowyn's walking

2008-09-17T17:44:00.002+02:00

Yep. The reign of terror has officially begun. Now there's nowhere she can't go. She prefers to walk everywhere, but when time is of the essence, she still scrambles faster on all 4s.

I know she takes some after me, because when she waddles around she more resembles my late-Grandpa Painter more than anyone else: a little bowl-legged, belly sticking out. I'm waiting for her to tell me that "when you get older the belly shrinks" or to bring over a dozen donuts.

We'll get video of her roaming around soon.

Ike, part II

2008-09-17T17:35:00.002+02:00

Ike passed over with not too much damage to our property. Lots of downed limbs of different sizes. Our lawn looks like, well, a hurricane came through.

There were several neighbors with huge limbs down, and some who even had trees come down. Several folks I know had new skylights created for them in their living rooms by crashing trees. The university had several trees & power lines down, including a tree that apparently landed on a car moving past. I don't know that to be true, but from what I heard no one was hurt, just the car was trapped by branches.

We didn't have power for about 53 hours. It was another 24 before our phone & internet were back up & running. Fortunately, it stayed cool after the storm passed. High's have been low 80s, and low's have been mid-50s.

Eowyn only fussed one night. It was a bit warm in her room, but otherwise I'm not sure she noticed anything terribly different.

Ike

2008-09-13T18:41:00.002+02:00

Yes, we're riding out Hurricane Ike today. It should hit us pretty hard fairly squarely sometime early in the afternoon. Winds are already gusting pretty good, and we do have a Tornado watch.

We've already had some pretty good sized limbs fall, and I'm expecting larger ones later. We also have extra water, a cooler of ice in case power goes out, and our stove is gas. We should be ok.

If we lose power, our phones will not be operable since we signed up with Vonage, which runs through the internet. Our cell phone should be ok.

But, as long as power doesn't go out so I can watch football, we'll be ok.

Monkeys

2008-09-09T15:19:00.003+02:00

So, I was watching football Sunday, because as I said I'm a football nerd. And I was really into some game, because when I watch football, I get into the game. And I look to see where Eowyn is, and she's atop the couch.

She had climbed up onto the couch, and from there proceeded to scale the back of the couch. I grabbed her before she had a chance to fall over the back onto the hardwood floor. I set her down to see if that's really what had happened, since I had been watching football. Sure enough, she did it again.

She was quite proud of herself.

Green Bay uniforms

2008-09-08T16:50:00.008+02:00

So I'm a football nerd, and proud of it. But I wanted to share this.

A few weeks ago I was looking at something online about former Green Bay Packer uniforms (I'd tell you why, but I don't want to admit it) on www.packersuniforms.com. Come to find out, around 1994 Ron Wolf (then the General Manager of the Packers) had proposed new uniforms, something along the lines of the glittery gold that the St. Louis Rams use with their unis. He didn't like the "Michigan Maize" that Green Bay used. He said the bylaws stated Green & Gold, not Green & Maize. So, he had proposed the new uniforms, the board of directors had accepted the proposal, and everything was set to go, but then he had a realization: Green Bay needed a better team, not better uniforms. The proposal was set on the back burner, he got Reggie White, and rest is history.

Want to know what those uniforms would have looked like? Scroll down. They would have looked just like this, except with a G. Same colors, just without the striping:

Fantasy Football

2008-09-08T03:27:00.005+02:00

I'm all for fantasy football. I kind of like it, but I'm not die-hard. Quite frankly, I don't care to root for players to do well on teams that I "non-fantasy" hate. Like Dallas & New England. But I do it every year, and every year I ask myself, "Why am I doing this again?"

So, I was checking my team tonight to make sure I wasn't doing too lousy. And I notice an advertisement on the page. It reads:

"Free Draft Kit Bundle & StatTracker®!"

All you have to do is:

"Open a Revolution MoneyExchange Account and get the Draft Kit & StatTracker bundle for FREE, plus get $10 in your MoneyExchange account*"

Seriously now...Who offers THAT in exchange for financial services??

New Semester

2008-09-04T05:25:00.007+02:00

This new semester, which is just over 1 1/2 weeks old, has brought many new changes for us. Maren began working recently, and Eowyn began daycare.

Eowyn is handling the daycare well, though it has messed up her sleep schedule. She had been going to bed at 7:30 every night, sometimes sleeping until 8:30 or even 9:30 the following morning. Lately she has been putting herself to bed (not literally, of course) at about 6:30 each night. Otherwise, she's adjusting to the newness of being away from Mommy during the day.

Maren enjoys having something else to occupy her time, but she misses Eowyn during the day.

I just concluded auditions & callbacks for Arthur Miller's All My Sons, which will go up in October. This means, of course, that we'll begin rehearsals very soon and I'll be away a bit more again.

For the most part, we had very little wind from the Hurricane, and we didn't get nearly as much rain as was being forecasted. We feel pretty lucky.

Some pics from August:

Had to spend a night in the hospital.

House hunting??

The good stuff.

Nina came from Germany for a visit!

So did Grandpa.

Baylor & Jetta after a hard day's work.

1 Year Old, part 2

2008-08-16T20:42:00.006+02:00

More videos today. Maren's friend Nina was with us until this morning. She flies out today, and my dad arrives this evening. But today, more birthday videos.

By the way, when did jumping on a trampoline become a sport??? I think someone on an Olympics committee's been drinking something a little strong. But we're getting rid of softball & baseball from Olympic activity? Bizarre.

Someone does NOT like wearing a bib, and Maren can't keep a candle lit.

1 Year Old

2008-08-16T01:54:00.005+02:00

Today is Eowyn's first birthday. Too early to reminisce, so don't ask. Besides, she's only 1. Not to mention horrific memories of the delivery room experience still haunt my dreams.

This first video was shortly after Eowyn had her third cupcake. It is in real time.

But on a more serious note, we had fun today. We opened presents, but Eowyn wasn't in the greatest of moods. However, Eowyn discovered different shapes go through different holes. But even if you have the right shape, doesn't mean it'll just come back through the right hole...

Eowyn and the remote

2008-08-07T04:08:00.003+02:00

Eowyn spent the night in the hospital last night. 'bout broke my heart to walk into her room and see her eyes all red from crying and the IV sticking out of her little foot. She felt a little warm to us yesterday morning, and Maren took her temperature, finding it to be 103.2 F (39.6 C). So, she took Eowyn to the dr., and he admitted her. Her white blood cell count was very high, and he was worried about a bladder infection. So Eowyn & Maren did not sleep well at the hospital. She still had a fever off & on today, the baby's Motrin was helping keep it lower, though. Hopefully she'll sleep tonight.

However, she did discover the remote to our new ceiling fan. I installed it with the fan last week, and it can dim the lights up & down as well as change the speeds. Made Eowyn forget all about her troubles for a little while.

Jetta or Eowyn?

2008-07-25T23:49:00.006+02:00

Lately, many of our friends and family have been divided. Some of you are demanding more photos of Eowyn. Others are calling for new photos of Jetta. Please know that we are aware of the situation, but we will do what is best for our family. Sometimes, family does not always agree. But we're still family. If it is best for us to show pictures of Jetta, then that is what we will do. If it is better for us to show you photos of Eowyn, then that is what we will do. But until Jetta applies for reinstatement, ... sorry, getting a little caught up with the whole Packers/Brett Favre controversy lately.

Enjoying Eowyn's pool after a long, hot bike ride. Thanks Opa!

Update

2008-06-28T23:41:00.006+02:00

Today I finished cutting all of the vines, limbs and brush from the back yard. I still need to kind of clear out the creek, and maybe "reorganize" the rocks at the bottom to make it more efficient (i.e., not so much standing water long after the last rain...), but the back yard is now clear. I'll probably try to take down a couple of smaller trees so I can see about getting some more sunlight and maybe some grass to grow. Soon I'll be able to tackle a different home project!!

Maren pulled out the little walker from Eowyn's Uncle Karl & Aunt Jen (and cousins Isaac and Ben). She started walking right away. First time on the hardwood floor was a little scary, she got going faster than she meant to. But she's moving along!

....and tonight, Jetta figured out where Baylor keeps her water.

Sanitation & the environment

2008-06-24T06:29:00.008+02:00

With the economy going south, Eowyn found a way to help us save money, and at the same time help the environment. She decided we should only be using 1 piece of toilet paper per toilet use, also known as 1ptpptu. We tried to negotiate 2 ptpptu's to no avail. Maren was secretly negotiating for 3ptpptu's under the table, and when I found out, the whole deal was off. Of course, Eowyn only gets 1 wet wipe per diaper fill, or 1wwpdf.

Meanwhile, the batteries in Eowyn's baby swing, which she's more than too heavy for, have gone to use again.

Jetta found it, and on her third try was able to climb in. I think she liked it until it wouldn't stop rocking. She doesn't wet in the house near as often as she used to. She's getting bigger. When we first got her, she didn't seem to have "big paws". But they're getting bigger. She's bigger than Baylor was when we got her, and Baylor was a month older. She's going to be a big, protective girl.

In the meanwhile, she and Baylor love to play. And then she crashes wherever she was done playing.

Phowey.

2008-06-20T05:30:00.011+02:00

Its been a long year for me. I finally caught my breath. Eowyn's in bed. The pup is in bed. Maren's asleep. Baylor is curled up on the futton.

After school ended the last week of April, we started May term immediately. I taught a senior level theatre history class. I had not taught the class before, so in large part I was preparing a full week's class one day, and teaching it the next, for nearly 4 weeks. And for the final two weeks of May, I was also in rehearsals for Horton Foote's play Tomorrow in Salado, TX, which is 4 1/2 hours from Marshall. So after my last class I was zipping down to rehearse. We played the first two weekends, and the show was really pretty good. Its too bad the producing group wasn't better.

Two things happened on June 6. First, we got a new pup, Jetta, a German shepherd. She just turned 8 weeks old, so the bladder isn't very big. But we have mostly hardwood floors, so its easy to clean up, and she's beginning to learn to go to the door when she needs to go out. Baylor didn't like her the second day she was here at all, but they play together quite well now, and she follows Baylor around like a little sister.

Second, Maren's dad (Markus, a.k.a. Markus the Burger) & youngest sister (Annika) came for a surprise visit. I was in Salado, so I had a colleague pick them up from Shreveport and just "show up at the door", quite literally. We had a great visit with them, although my time with them was shorter because of the show. We still had a great time. I don't think I've eaten so much as I did while they were here. Lots of burgers. I think they sampled every place that sold a burger in Marshall. Markus wants to come back next summer for longer and help do some work on the house, which I would love. So now all of Maren's family have come to visit us here in Marshall all the way from Germany.

They were here for 10 days, and now its just us again, getting used to the summer, setting up some summer projects and goals. Eowyn is a joy. She's getting bigger (she was above the 100 percentile line for height). She turned 10 months old on father's day. Maren put her in a new 18-month sleeper tonight, and it was almost tight on her for length.

Here's a couple of photos of our yard. I wish I had taken a few "before" photos from last summer when we moved in to use as a contrast. But for an idea, we didn't know there was a house there on the other side of the fence because the bamboo was so high...

New Photos

2008-05-27T07:06:00.006+02:00

A River Runs Through It, plumbing, and moles

2008-05-17T04:05:00.013+02:00

We've had more plumbing fun. But, we've discovered the "root" of the problem...all of the tree roots growing through. So we have 2 new big holes in our back yard. I also discovered we have a mole in our midst. Literally, the raised ground proves it. I won't be kind...

We had quite a bit of rain on Tuesday & Wednesday. Maren shot a video of it.

Here's another video of Eowyn with crazy crazy hair, 2 front teeth, and daddy being retarded to get a laugh.

wasn't there a british 80s band w/ a lead singer that had this 'do?

already getting into the cupboards

someone had a rough week...

...sometimes you just have to have the right toy...

someone got their Christmas wish (insert grandpa's annoying toy here...)

some new videos

2008-05-05T01:47:00.002+02:00

Spurs win! Spurs win!

2008-04-30T07:32:00.005+02:00

San Antonio finished off Phoenix tonight. Every year people pick against them. One of these years SOMEONE, besides me, will wise up and pick them.

So, to celebrate...here's two videos of Eowyn.

Eowyn

2008-04-25T18:16:00.005+02:00

About time for pictures. When the death threats start rolling in, you know its time to download some new photos.

Eowyn sat in the seat of the shopping cart all by herself last week. She's sitting herself up, pulling herself up, and not staying in the rooms we leave her in anymore. Where have 8 months gone?

Can you find the two Cheerios hidden in this picture? Can you find the two bottom teeth? Can you see the two top teeth about to poke through?

Before...

...and after the water sippy cup.

A new addition to the Records clan

2008-04-25T05:08:00.002+02:00

Maren & I are proud to announce a new addition to the family.

We will be getting a German Shepherd pup sometime early this summer, probably in early June. We are excited. We woke up Eowyn to tell her, but she kind of cried for a while and spit up, so we just put her back to bed, the toothing grouch. Totally ungrateful. We told Baylor we were getting her a puppy sister, and she got really excited. She went to look out the window.

It'll be nice to have a baby in the house for a change.

8 months

2008-04-21T16:11:00.003+02:00

No, that's not how long its been since I last blogged, that's Eowyn's age. I'm sure those of you who are upset that I haven't posted any photos of our daughter who is now crawling and getting her top two teeth will be able to get over it. It was a very busy month directing the two plays. I was usually at school from about 7/7:30 every morning until 11 or 11:30 each night. Even weekends the weekends. But the shows have now come & gone, and I have much more time at home.

But Eowyn is growing up & changing quickly. She's a quick little bugger, too, and almost to the point where she's into everything. Right now she's only into 85% of everything. She climbs like a little monkey all over everything, trying to pull herself upright, and sits well on her own. About a week or 2 ago she amazed me by feeding herself her own bottle. Maren said, "Oh yes, she's trying." I said, "No, she IS feeding herself." Her crawling is still on her belly, but she's moving faster & faster.

I'll post new pictures soon.

Waco trip

2008-03-24T05:21:00.006+01:00

So this past week was spring break. It was a MUCH needed break. We went to Waco Saturday morning just to get away for a couple of days, and it was great to see some friends. But tomorrow we start back up with school again, and as I write this, The Goonies is on TV. Let's hear it for Jonathan Ke Quan, better known for his role in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when he yelled "Indy, Indy!" 5 dozen times. But, ah, Goonies, giving us an early glimpse of the acting prowess of Samwise Gamgee (a.k.a. Lynn McGill, Rudy, or, to those of us who know him, John Bower), and Edgar Frog (a.k.a. Teddy Duchamp, Ricky Butler (opposite Ray Peterson (a.k.a., Chuck Noland, Jimmy Dugan, Capt. John H. Miller, and Woody)), Dean, or just simply "how the heck did he get so many roles??"). But I digress...

So...anyway. Here's some pictures of Eowyn.

After watching Enter the Dragon on AMC with daddy, Eowyn's been listening to Carl Douglas on repeat for the last 7 days...

Its her "school spirit", "9 mos clothes are getting too small", "see how chubby my thighs are", and "best Michael Jordan impression, now all I have to do is dunk" look rolled into one...

with Tante Kirsten...who's probably going to see this, cry because she "misses us" (i.e., Eowyn), and then call around midnight her time...

...leave her for one second...this time she was scooting under her crib...

at the Waco Zoo

Refreshing slushy after the zoo...she's figured out the straw goes in the mouth, but she hasn't figured out what to do next.

Our friends Justin & Atalie. We stayed with them over the Waco weekend. Justin is multi-lingual, and here he's reading to Eowyn in High German.

With the Castleberrys.

You can't tell real well, but Eowyn was asleep, and she had her foot up on the wall.

A sad, sad day...

2008-03-05T05:43:00.002+01:00

Man, we'll miss this guy...

Records Look-alike Meter

2008-02-28T21:14:00.003+01:00

Our friends the Ecklunds found a cool family "look-alike-meter" that Maren was anxious for us to use......here's how it turned out....

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

But now for real...

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Hard to post when you're sick...

2008-02-23T06:07:00.013+01:00

This week I got the flu for the second time this month. I woke up at 2:15 on Tuesday morning with a 103.5 temp. In all, I missed 9 days of work this month. I really don't like being sick, but I really hate having to miss work. However,...

Maren & Eowyn have stayed healthy. Maren's sister Kirsten flew in on Monday, and she's been healthy as well, so that's good news. Kirsten was supposed to arrive Sunday, but her flight took off & then was sent back to Frankfurt for a computer problem. Then they were diverted to Birmingham, AL because of tornados in Atlanta, so she missed her flight to Shreveport. She did get to stay in the Hyatt on the Airline's dime, though.

Eowyn is teething. She's getting her two bottom front teeth. We've felt them for a little over a week, and they've been poking through for a few days now. She's been a little cranky the last 2 days. Its fun to watch her run her tongue over them, trying to figure out what they are.

She also discovered her tongue, and that she can stick it out. We had fun this afternoon sticking our tongues out at each other.

...Celebrity "busted" photo, after a late night of partying & whatnot.....at least she kept her diaper on this time....

With Tante Kirsten. Happy birthday Tante Kirsten!

...who likes carrots?!

Discovering her tongue...

Discovering Daddy's tongue...

Little Mullet Girl: No More

2008-02-14T15:32:00.005+01:00

So Maren's finally put her foot down about The Mullet. "Its grown too long," she said. "Its time to blah blah blah blah blah," I heard. "Blah blah blah blah, blah blah. Blah. Blah blah blah blah blah." I don't think it was too important.

However, because of an earlier bad haircut episode, and because of her own complaints of bad haircuts at the hands of her own mother, I had made her promise to never cut Eowyn's hair again without my expressed written permission. I gave it to her verbally.

So, her hair has gone from this

to this

which made her do this.

But when she saw it, she did this

and finally this.

Some fun pics

2008-02-13T00:39:00.000+01:00

Not only has it been a somewhat stressful semester in terms of the workload at school, but I had the flu for about 10 days. So its been a while since I've had a chance to, or even felt like, post anything. But I'm feeling better, and best of all, Eowyn & Mommy never got ill. So, to honor that, I have some fun pictures to post.

Where does the weekend go??

2008-02-03T20:43:00.000+01:00

Its been a rough weekend in our house. I've been flu-ish all weekend, and Maren hasn't been feeling well, either. Fortunately Eowyn has been well. But it sure makes it hard to stay up with school work, so I'm spending my Sunday afternoon at the office catching up on grading and other things I've fallen behind on.

Here's some new photos of Eowyn:

Bandana courtesy of Nina...

Eating solid food...

Yes, she's standing by herself...just using daddy for balance.

A new game...

2008-01-30T14:40:00.000+01:00

We discovered a new game Eowyn likes to play last night. For a while now, its been "our thing" for me to lie on the couch and hold her up in the air over and make noises like she's flying. She keeps her legs out fairly straight and loves that little game.

Last night she was standing on my stomach, but she kept bending over at the waist. I'd stand her up, and she'd lean back over. I decided after about 3 or 4 times to see where she was going with this, when she picked up her legs and held them out straight...she wanted to play our game...not even 5 1/2 months old, and "asking" to play a certain game...

We'll have some more pictures and a video or two this weekend.

Lost Keys

2008-01-23T14:50:00.001+01:00

So, about a year ago, Maren misplaced one of our sets of car keys. Just a key and the electonic unlock/lock/trunk opener/spasm button controller thing. Not a big deal, we'll go get it replaced.

$85!

Maybe you didn't understand me: It would have cost $85!!! to replace!

So, we didn't do it. Cost too much money. We didn't have it. Instead, we looked high and low. We looked near and far. We looked in old purses, old book bags, in seat cushions in the couch. We never found where she put it.

Well, today I put on a sport jacket I hadn't worn in a while. I usually find things like old theatre programs, candy, a pen, maybe a $20 bill or a half-eaten sandwich. But there was something different in my pocket.

Ta-da...there they were, the lost keys.

Why Maren put them there is beyond me, but the important thing is that we put this all behind us and stop the finger pointing, stop the bickering, and most importantly, stop playing the blame game.

Maren would really appreciate it.

A sad, sad day...

2008-01-22T04:09:00.001+01:00

Not even the attendance of the Packer greats could put Green Bay over the edge. When Eowyn woke last night following the Packers' loss, she cried for an hour. Whether it was hunger, the knowledge of the Packers losing, or daddy swearing at the top of his lungs for 15 minutes after the field goal ended overtime, I don't know. ETBU is giving me 3 days of bereavement leave.

Maren took Eowyn to the doctor today. She's not been feeling great lately. However, she's 2 chunks shy of 18 pounds.

Long time no post

2008-01-17T14:14:00.001+01:00

Let me just say this for those of you sending hate mail about no new posts (subliminally or otherwise)...I'm on the books for 8 classes this semester. Let me say that again (and I'm typing it slowly for emphasis): Technically, I'm teaching 8 classes this semester. Blogs may be slower this semester (I'm back to typing normal speed now) because I'm just busy. And I'nm not going tuo take away preshis family timme to blog. Or spell check. (Ok, that was really just for effect. I do spell check. I can't help it. I delete & retype until its correct.)

So while I'm eating my morning poptart, here's some new pics, beginning with great-aunt Carole, who graciously shares her anniversary with Eowyn's birthday (and gave Eowyn a Packer's cheerleader outfit for Christmas). We stayed with her (by the way, I think this blog has had WAY too many "( )" and for that I apologize) on the way back from Christmas. I'm not sure what she was more disappointed by this trip through: that she had to let go of Eowyn's chubby thighs or that we didn't take pork burgers back....

bath time is always better when you have a duck

a little something from the Packers-Seahawks game

(this is Eowyn's way of "sticking it" to the Cowboy fans)

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T18:54:00.000+01:00

Its been a long time since we posted, but when you forget to take your camera cable with you (or maybe we lost it...) on vacation, photos become the last thing to be taken care of.

We left Marshall on Tuesday, Dec. 11, after my last final exams, about 4:15 pm. We drove through the night because we wanted to make sure we missed an on-coming ice storm, and got to Mom & Dad's just before noon the next day. Maren drove a few hours for me so I could get a couple of short naps in.

We then flew out of Detroit to Frankfurt on the 13th, arriving on the 14th. Eowyn slept most of the night on the plane. On the 16th, I met a colleague at Frankfurt International and we flew to Poland to our sister school in Czestochowa, and then back to Frankfurt on the 19th. We then were in Germany until the 27th when we flew back (2 1/2 extra hours on the plane while the brakes were worked on...Eowyn threw a fit about the time we would have been landing, and an extra 1 1/2 hours delay in Detroit before flying back to MBS...in which Eowyn screamed--and I mean SCREAMED--for an hour...).

We've made the trip to Grand Rapids & back on the 28th & 29th, and are now here in Midland, MI w/ Mom & Dad until the 2d, when we head back to Marshall, stopping in Taylorville, IL. We'll get back in the evening on the 3rd. So that's our holidays. And now the good stuff....some photos.

The monastery famous for the "Black Madonna" in Czestochowa. In the treasury room, amongst articles given by ancient kings & queens was a US Army Chaplain's coin given by a chaplain I know...

Gelnhausen. One of my favorite towns in the world. Unfortunately, we arrived the weekend after their Christmas Market.

Maren's friend Nina with Eowyn.

Maren & her mom at the Hanau Christmas market (photo really cool on accident).

Maren's youngest sister Annika.

Annika with Eowyn.

Markus (Maren's dad) with Maren & Eowyn.

Maren's mom (Ulrike), Maren & Eowyn.

Maren's sister Kirsten (showing off her cookbook).

Uri's (Ur-Opa & Ur-Oma) with Eowyn.

The big girl in Daddy's seat on the airplane.

With Great-Grandma (who just had some major heart surgery).

With Grandpa.

4 months.

2007-12-10T21:43:00.000+01:00

Eowyn turns 4 months old on Saturday, the day after we arrive in Germany. She had her measurements taken today: 16 pounds 2 ounces (7314.2 grams), 26 3/8 inches (67.3 cm) long. 95th percentile. In unrelated news, Maren was subject to "random" steroid testing over the weekend.

Some people have been wondering who Eowyn looks like the most: Maren or me. We think its Kirsten, Maren's sister (the middle of 3). The first photo Maren is holding Kirsten. The second photo, Kirsten is the dark haired girl. The third, is Maren's Oma holding Kirsten. And fourth, a picture of Eowyn for comparison...but Kirsten's eyes are darker...

...its almost as if 3-year-old Maren was holding her daughter way back in '83....

Our Little Mullet Girl

2007-12-05T13:38:00.001+01:00

Someone was refusing to take a nap last evening. We'll let you guess who, but we'll give you a hint: she has a mullet, and we won't tell you her name, but the initials belong to Eowyn.

New Pics

2007-12-04T15:37:00.001+01:00

The Packer Family.

Mommy's more excited about the hair clip than Eowyn...

Eowyn has discovered that she can make the same grunting noise when she's happy as she makes when she's upset.

Daddy & Daughter engrossed in that magic moving picture box thing...

I think Mommy & Daddy are more excited about the sunglasses, but Eowyn LOVES to be outside. (note daddy's fingers trying to prop Eowyn's chin up higher for the photo...)

10-1

2007-12-03T17:01:00.001+01:00

The Packers lost, most importantly though, is whether or not Favre will be able to play on Sunday. Yes, they probably lost their chance to play the NFC championship game at home, but here's the thing, the Giants will be #5 seed, they'll beat whatever chump is #4. The 3 seed will beat 6, so the Cowboys will host, and lose to, the Giants. The Packers will beat the 3, and host, and beat the Giants, and then in Super Bowl XLII, defeat the previously unbeaten Patriots. Only problem, is...does that mean Favre rides off into the sunset...

...were you expecting stuff about Eowyn?? Well, the Packers are now 10-1 when she's wearing "the socks." I'm beginning to think that maybe she needs to be wearing the socks AND awake. Its really lousy being superstitious. I think its time to stop, but Maren's addicted too.

Photos of Eowyn later today (I forgot to bring the camera cable to the office with me).

Seasons Greetings from the Records!

2007-11-26T18:06:00.001+01:00

Copy & paste the link for much hilarity...

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9609563581

Celebrating 48 blogs!

2007-11-17T04:25:00.000+01:00

We have 48 states. There are 48 flavors at Baskin Robbins. Maren's IQ is 48. Jesus was born in 48 BC. My dad is twice as old as 48 and has 48 hairs on his head. I have 48 teeth. Everyone has 48 fingers and toes. 48 days in every month. Dr. Pepper has 48 flavors. And this is my 48th blog. Coincidence?

So to celebrate the 48th blog, we give you some new pictures. Go. Celebrate. Have fun. And enjoy 48.

...right now we don't have room in our kitchen for a dishwasher....soooooo.....

...Eowyn wondering when she gets her clothes back...

I'm not superstitious...but the Packers are 8-0 when Eowyn wears Packer socks. The one loss included a Halftime bath and no socks once the sleeper was put on.

Eowyn thinks it funny Daddy's pretending to be asleep. Or maybe just gassy.

When Mommy styles the hair...

Pop quiz...how do you make a cool baby cooler???

...add sunglasses.

Whose got big eyes??

New Videos

2007-11-10T03:10:00.000+01:00

Here are brand spankin' new videos!

Er...maybe I should clarify first...there is NO spanking going on here. Just new videos. And "spankin'" in this context is an adjective, not a verb....Yeah.

Enjoy.

Nov 4. Eowyn sucking her thumb, then getting fussy.

Nov 7. Eowyn talking to Mommy.

Sneak Preview

2007-11-08T15:54:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow we get our Mac back from the shop (the hard drive quit and had to be replaced). But we have BIG PLANS for updating the blog this weekend!

First, for those of you who think that Eowyn looks more like me than Maren, wait till we put some side-by-side photos of Maren & her sister as babies up on the site!

Second, we will have a NEW VIDEO up of Eowyn tomorrow night! That's right, folks, TOMORROW NIGHT!

She's been very vocal lately and, like Maren, has a lot to say! We were able to record some of that last night. So I'll again have the ability to upload video and put that on the ole blog.

Eowyn also enjoys a good game of "I'm a big girl and can sit up with Daddy's help" and "I'm a big girl and I can stand with Daddy's help". We hope to catch those on film too.

We are excited, and you should be as well. Bring some popcorn, bring a friend.

In the meanwhile, here's some picture's of Eowyn's Oshkosh B'gosh Halloween outfit (not the costume) that Daddy picked out ALL. BY. HIM. SELF.

All Hallow's Eve

2007-11-05T16:20:00.000+01:00

I'm not quite sure, but I don't think Eowyn the Pooh got much out of her first Halloween. First, the students here at ETBU host "Candy Fest" each year, and decorate their dorm halls for Halloween. Each hall has its own theme. I held Eowyn, and Maren held the bucket. But it was a rather warm evening, and Eowyn was wearing a rather warm costume, and that just made her tired. She didn't stay awake too long waiting in line.

Second, she hasn't gotten any candy yet, and she's pretty upset about that. She keeps reminding us there's no way for her to get any cavities since there aren't any teeth yet. We'll see, huh? I kept trying to sneak her some ribs last night, but Maren wouldn't let me.

She's also beginning to drool a lot lately...Maren is praying there aren't any teeth coming too soon.

New Home IV: A New Hope

2007-11-02T14:58:00.001+01:00

A short time ago, in a galaxy you also live in...there was a civil war brewing on lots 22 & 23. Evil Galactic trees were bombing the rebel base with their leaves, needles, and limbs in an attempt to discourage Rebel fighters from raking.

During the battle Rebel fighters had stolen plans that would ease the removal of the debris. Rebel fighters called the Power Company to restore tension to the electric cable, and a secret weapon was received from in-laws living in a far off country through smuggled funding disguised as a "Christmas" "gift". This weapon gave the Rebel Alliance...A New Hope.

New Home III: Living Room Menace

2007-10-23T17:27:00.000+02:00

The university was having a "clearance sale" about 2 weeks ago, getting rid of old furniture. We went over with the theatre in mind, but I found a couch that was in fairly good shape for $1. The support had been broken and it needed some more padding for the back, (which cost about $20). And because I was thinking of using it for the show, they let me have it for free. Its fixed, I decided not to use it for the show, its now in our living room. Now, we haven't hung up many pictures, and in fact we're pretty much just using pre-existing nails on the walls, but here you are...our living room.

Eowyn has been a joy. She can be frustrating at times, what with exploding diapers at 3 am and all. But she's talking to us and smiling a lot. She was even mimicking me bobbing my head "yes" and "no" last night and again this morning. THAT was awesome. I was changing her yesterday morning and stood her up. She surprised me by standing on her own strength for a few seconds. I had my hands for support. Maren got the camera & she did it a second time, though she was giving me her weight as the picture was taken. Anyway, here's some photos of the living room and Eowyn.

These two are going to get in so much trouble together in about a year or two...

...When daddy dresses the baby when its cold in the house.

Big smiles

2007-10-19T19:44:00.001+02:00

Eowyn's 2 month checkup

2007-10-15T18:58:00.000+02:00

Someone is a big girl. A very big girl. According to doctor office charts, 5 out of 5 doctors would call her big. My aunt Carole would call her "cornfed," but probably not to our faces. I remember when my brother was playing T-ball one very large lad coming up to bat. In her *ahem* sweet, quiet voice, I remember her saying, "THAT BOY'S CORNFED. WELL HE IS!" His parents were in the same bleacher section.

More on Eowyn in a minute.

I had the privilege of seeing my very good friend Andy marry Alicia this weekend. I had the honor of being the best man in the ceremony. It was a whirl-wind trip for me, but well worth it. I had very little sleep and a large amount of fun, and some funny stories about Chad, Rodd, Andy, Chris, Glenn and his son, and John from Friday night. I also got to see my 14-month-old nephew Isaac, who has compensated for smaller birth measurements than his two female cousins. He isn't as cornfed as Eowyn, but he's tall.

Before going to bed last night I called my mom & dad. My dad asked me if Maren had gotten bigger while I was away. I said, "No, in fact she told me she's lost some more weight recently. Why, does she look bigger in her pictures?" I thought it was rude, but this morning I'm wondering if I should have asked if he meant Eowyn instead of Maren, instead of hanging up on him.

So back to Eowyn. She had her measurements and first sets of shots today. Maren said Eowyn screamed and had lots of tears. She said it was the first time she'd heard her cry from pain. However, there was a 7-month old in the waiting room that was smaller than Eowyn, and the nurses & doctor all asked if Eowyn's daddy was an exceptionally big guy, because Eowyn's height & weight are at the top end of the chart. She's now 13 pounds, 4 ounces (6010 grams) and 23 7/8 inches (60.64 cm), and that is in the 95th percentile for her age. We're looking into Early Childhood Sumo Wrestling groups for her.

Unwelcomed Excitement

2007-10-10T17:29:00.001+02:00

Last night after I left home for rehearsal, Maren put Eowyn in her carrier (kind of like a backpack, but in front), put Baylor in her harness and took them for a walk in our neighborhood. A neighbor's Pit Bull was loose, and Maren let the owners know. The dog was wagging his tail & seemed playful, when he suddenly 'snapped' and went after Baylor, putting her on her back and not letting up. A neighbor ran out of her house (without shoes), grabbed a stick & beat the dog off Baylor. Maren called the police, and me, and I left quickly to see how Maren, Eowyn & Baylor were before returning to rehearsal (which had not yet started). The owner promised that, since this was not the first (or second) incident, he was putting the dog down today.

Everyone knows that Maren is a person who loves & protects animals from cruelty. But she said she saw the dog turn from friendliness to aggression with no warning. Took Maren forever last night to fall asleep...as bad as she felt for Baylor, all she could think about was "what if he had grabbed Eowyn's leg?" I hate to think about what that dog could have done so easily to my little girl.

More of Eowyn

2007-10-10T00:45:00.000+02:00

Oma had to leave to go back to Germany today. Mommy always takes that pretty hard. And the time always goes by so fast. But we had a great time while she was here.

She helped Mommy by burping Eowyn and getting her to sleep for naps.

Played with her & got her to smile a lot.

Littlist Offenbach Kicker in Texas! Go Kickers!

Eowyn loves her jungle toy that "Uncle Justin" & "Aunt Atalie" gave her! (I know, I know...it was Rufeo's idea...)

And of course, now that we have her room set up, she takes her naps in the cradle!

New Home, Part II: A Work in Progress

2007-10-09T14:30:00.000+02:00

I promised a while ago that there would be some new pictures on the way of the home and have as yet failed to deliver. Well wait no more!

Here's the front of the house. Its odd because our address is on one street, but the driveway and the front of the house sit on another street. Odd. By the way, that's Baylor laying in the front yard in front of the porch. She loves to just go and sit/lay outside, and she's very protective of Mommy & Eowyn, especially when Daddy's not there...just ask the four guys who've tried to come up looking for odds-n-ends work...

One major project we've decided to wait until spring/summer for is repainting the trim on the house. First, I despise the color. Second, it needs to be done.

One of the unique things in our yard, besides the creek, is this side yard, on the south side of the house (the squirrels from the north side avoid those from the south). If you enlarge the picture you'll see a brick retaining wall. Its actually about a foot tall. On the other side you'll see the top end of a smoker. We have an outdoor brick grill. Then you'll see the brush pile...you may not be able to see it very well, but trust me, its there. Speaking of, if anyone wants to help me clean it out in two weekends....

The tree that is leaning waaaay to the right is at the back of our property. In fact, fortunately, its our neighbors tree, so if it ever falls....

The back side of the house. Not very appealing at the moment. I'd like to get rid of that railing and install a wooden deck. Windows from L-R: Kitchen, door to kitchen, 1/2 bath, full bath.

The Forest. Or what remains. The backyard looked as though it had been avoided for a long time. I wish I'd taken some more photos, but there was a neighbor we didn't know existed until I knocked down all of the bamboo. The shed is in shambles. I don't know if it would be smarter to knock it down or replace the awful flooring. (I can't tell if it was water or termites or both that led to all of the rot.)

You see the bridge in the foreground. It crosses the creek in our backyard. Its close to 6 feet deep in spots, including the bridge.

To give you an idea of how leafy it is back there. Not much grass, mostly a forested floor. A lot of work to do because I'd like to have more grass and less forest. We like the forest, not the poison ivy.

time for more pictures

2007-10-03T00:35:00.000+02:00

I last published on Sept 27, which is like 400 grandparent years when they live so far away like Eowyn's do.

So, after over 170 phone messages, 642 text messages, and a visit from the local sheriff (yes mom, we're still alive...), here are some new pictures. It was a busy week in the Records' household with signing for the house, a new ceiling fan and carpeting in Eowyn's room, and a visit from Maren's mom. But alas, I've cut my dinner short--Mom--to bring you a new blog....stupid rumbling stomach...

On a brighter note, Eowyn has been smiling a lot. Of course, how quickly it becomes tears...

We will have more pictures of Eowyn's room newly remodeled as well as the house later this week.

Mommy's girl.

Who takes after Daddy???

The first smile we were able to catch

Proud Oma

The only way to get Eowyn to take a nap

Napping in the cradle

Smiling & playing in the jungle set from Justin & Atalie

New Home, Part I

2007-09-27T17:13:00.000+02:00

No pictures today. I apologize to those of you who can't read.

Maren & I now own the house! We did all the paperwork yesterday, signed for it, and now we officially own it!

At the request of a certain parent (my dad), we'll try to get some pictures of the house this weekend. I have a few, but they're not very good. So we'll do that this weekend.

Also, Maren's mom comes this weekend for an 8-day visit starting Sunday. Maren's estatic...pray for me. We pick her up in Shreveport, I know she won't even notice me this trip until we get back to Marshall.

First bath

2007-09-20T02:29:00.000+02:00

This weekend I gave Eowyn a bath for the first time. It wasn't her first bath, just the first time I gave her a bath. Quite an experience. I was worried she was going to mess the whole time. In all honesty, I think she's becoming a bit "potty-trained" already. She knows that the perfect time to pee and poop is as soon as the diaper comes off.

Seems like she's getting bigger every day. I was feeding her tonight and she was staring intently at me with one of those "who are you?" looks.

Maren's headed back to Waco this next weekend for her own checkup with the Dr. I'm jealous. But somebody has to work...

First Bath with Daddy

2 Sundays with Packer socks...2 Packer wins

After a hard day of Golf and shopping.

Looking cute for the camera, but Mommy knows better...

4 Weeks

2007-09-12T15:36:00.000+02:00

So I posted this blog earlier today. This is a "PS" at the beginning instead of the end. First, Eowyn is 4 weeks old today. Second, Maren took Eowyn in to be weighed. She weighs 10lb 9oz now. That's 95 percentile, for those of you keeping track at home. She's a chunker. In fact, she seems to be a lot like her Uncle Karl in the respect of crying if food isn't in her mouth the minute she wants it to be.

Here are some videos. These first two were from August 26 and the last one was Sept. 10. As a word of warning, you will probably find the last one long & boring if you are not family. Its just Eowyn grunting & looking at the camera. If you push the play button, you are watching at your own risk. Any grumbling, complaining about length, and boredom come with the following instructions: Step 1, Go to the bathroom. Step 2, Lift toilet seat. Step 3, Insert head into toilet bowl. Step 4, Flush. Step 5, Repeat. Consider yourself swirlied.

Eowyn w/ hiccups & a sneeze.

Baylor checking out Eowyn.

Just Eowyn being beautiful

Pot Pourri

2007-09-11T14:00:00.001+02:00

No real theme here today, just a quick blog before meetings and a day of classes.

Here Eowyn is telling me about her day. It usually consists of loud, long "WAAAH"'s followed by short, fast "huff"s.

"Sneaky Mommy deleted the picture with her face in the picture while Daddy was out walking Baylor. I didn't tell him either...he'll find out tomorrow when he tries to load it on the blog after telling Mommy he didn't get one of her face. But that's ok because she hadn't had a shower and she was kind of smelly..."

Baylor enjoys two games...Scratch-n-sniff and Hide-n-seek...here she's doing both...

Church clothes! Complete with Packer socks. Say "Go Packers!"

After a long hard day of eating, sleeping, crying and pooping.

Direct TV

2007-09-07T20:22:00.000+02:00

Today we had our television hooked up. It was a big day for Eowyn, as she finally gets to be brainwashed in the same manner of all other kids in the United States. After all, we all know TV was created by God for Americans, and therefore is a God-given right....right??

But here are pictures in celebration of Eowyn's last night with no tv...

Time for an update!

2007-09-05T01:57:00.000+02:00

Its hard for us to update very often since we don't yet have internet at home. But soon that will all be in the past! And soon, we will also have a house and property in our name! Woo-hoo!

But now to the important stuff....pics of Eowyn Grace.

Here I was kissing Eowyn on her cheek...she turned her head and started sucking on my nose...

Baylor loves her new little sister. We can't wait to see them play together.

Big Girl!

2007-08-29T18:24:00.000+02:00

Eowyn had her 2-week checkup today. She was born at 8lb 8oz (3885.5 grams), but she now weighs in at a hefty 8lb 13oz (3997.3 grams) . I'm sure that this is also the only time in her life she will want to be referred to as hefty. She's also now 21 1/4 inches long (54 cm) up from 20.5 (52 cm), so that's an increase of 3/4 inches, or 2cm. Also, her head size was 13" (33cm kopf), and now 13 3/4 (35cm). Which means at the current rate, when she gets to be 5' tall, she'll look like Humpty Dumpty.

Big Sigh o' Relief

2007-08-27T15:23:00.000+02:00

We finally have a chance to breathe a little bit, and I finally have a chance to post....Last week was quite hectic, especially for myself with so many meetings. My mom & dad were visiting from Michigan and did way too much for us while they were here. I'm sure THEY need a vacation when they get home...

Eowyn seems to be doing well. She's eating, as Maren says, like a champ. And if by "champ" you mean "ready to eat every hour"...Eowyn seems to becoming a little more aware of things and she's holding her head up on her own when she's held upright for about 5-6 seconds at a time before it flops back into your chest. She also told me the other day she wanted a taco. That was odd.

Of course we've had several fun diaper experiences already...I think the Ad Council needs to come up with a "Know When to Say When" about babies filling up diapers.

Baylor loves her new "sister." When Eowyn wakes up and cries, Baylor will go and sit next to her and grunt-cry for us. She loves to stand w/ her paws on the pack-n-play and look in. I've never seen her tail wag so fast as when she gets a chance to check in on her.

We still don't have a home phone, internet or tv. There isn't much option to choose from here, but its all outrageously priced. That is a priority this week, however, so that Maren doesn't go insane at home w/ Eowyn.

Eowyn & Sophie

2007-08-19T15:50:00.000+02:00

We left the hospital about 10 pm last night. Eowyn's cultures came back negative. If they hadn't, it would have been 7 more days in the hospital for her in Waco...I would've had to go back to Marshall for school this week, so thank God for that.

Baylor (our dog, not the school) was absolutely wonderful when we brought Eowyn home last night. First, we let her greet her mommy, who she missed very much. Then, sitting with Maren on the couch, we presented Eowyn to her. Her tail (Baylor, not Eowyn...Eowyn doesn't have a tail...) was going about 100mph (about 180 kmh) when she saw her. She just wanted to sniff her all over. As the night went on, she just really seemed like she wanted to help out. She was such a sweet dog last night (as she always is...).

We're leaving for Marshall in a few minutes, and I don't know when I'll get a chance to add more pictures or videos, so here's a short one from last night at the hospital. Renee & her daughters brought us some much-welcomed Bush's chicken. I'm sure Renee is going to love telling this story, so if you read it first, let her tell it anyway: Sophie kept touching & stroking Eowyn, and she had asked on Wednesday night if she could hold her. Of course Renee said no. She didn't ask Saturday, or I didn't hear her. So I told her to sit in the chair and put the boppy pillow in her lap, and then I gave her Eowyn. She was so excited she didn't know what to say...

Eowyn Grace, the movie

2007-08-17T07:46:00.000+02:00

Eowyn Grace, with pictures

2007-08-16T21:37:00.000+02:00

Eowyn Grace

2007-08-16T05:29:00.000+02:00

Eowyn Grace was born today, August 15, 2007, at 3:23 pm, central time at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center. She was 8 lb, 8 oz (3,864 grams) and 20 1/2 inches long (52 cm).

Maren's water broke at 8:30 pm Tuesday night. (Don't worry, Atalie & Justin...she got to the toilet quickly and no mess to your house...and thanks again for putting us up for two weeks between moving...) We arrived at the hospital at 10:30pm. She had the epidural after trying her best to hold out at 6 am, received Potocin about 6:30 am, and finally delivered our daughter at 3:23 pm. It was a long day for us. I slept about 3 1/2 hours during that time, Maren dozed off once or twice.

Eowyn is very healthy and happy. She recognizes Mommy & Daddy's voices & seems to react to them with familiarity. We're not sure yet who she looks like.

Daddy was stupid & left the camera at the hospital, so no pictures yet. But I'll attach some tomorrow afternoon. If you're interested, the blog below has "the story" about how we picked the name.