On our way to New Mexico

Tomorrow morning we leave on a new family adventure!! It's kind of a long story... I'll map out our tenative plans...

Thursday night we will arrive in Rosholt, SD -- my home town -- actually staying out on the farm with my brother, along with the rest of the Moeller clan for our annual family get-together.

Friday Dirk is flying into Fargo. We will ALL be very happy to see him, and know that we don't have to say "good-bye" again!

Saturday is our "busy day"... driving to Hillsboro, ND to visit his Grandma Lillian, who will celebrate her 90th Birthday in September. That evening we are driving south to Rothsay, MN to meet a the farm of a girl-friend (mine) from high school to celebrate my 20th reunion from Hillcrest Lutheran Academy. Thanks LaShawn for hosting us all (hopefully there will be a few of us there?!)

Sunday the Moeller family is celebrating my niece Maddie's high school graduation! YEAH Maddie!! She is on her way to SDSU in the fall, going for her bachelor degree in Nursing! Jon has a big-deal party planned at the farm... guess who is decorating the cake?!

Should be fun, and a chance to catch up with lots of family who live in the area... Moeller, Jackson, Nigg, Jensen, Heesch, Peterson... the list just goes on and on... I never realized coming from a large, close-knit family was such an odd thing until I moved away from Rosholt (small-town life)....

Monday we are heading out on our big road trip -- our first pit-stop will most likely be Astoria, SD (not so far south!!)... to visit Dirk's parents and sister. Then we will be officially ON OUR WAY... to the dry, hot, mountain region of New Mexico!

Don't worry if you don't hear much from us... there is no internet avaiable at the house where Dirk lives... and if we aren't there, we will be in our camper (again, no internet!)... It will be an interesting month for our family... no cable TV,the only DVD player will be in our Suburban! No internet... etc.

We do have our cell phones... so we can keep in touch on occasion!
See you all in July!! (I think?)

Heathy Kid Check Ups Today

We visited Dr. Whitney this afternoon for the annual Healthy Kid visit. Of course... Two healthy girls, just as we expected.


Anika weighs 42 3/4 pounds, which is the 50th percentile for her age; and is 44 inches tall, which is the 25% for her age.


Liv is 25 3/4 pounds (35%); 33 1/2 inches tall (30%); and the circumfrance of her head is 48.4 cm (73%). Hmmm... sounds like Liv has a big head, comparitively?!

Anika was just happy she didn't have to get a shot... Liv was fortunate to only need one this time. Still not her favorite moment of life, but she got over it and was more than willing to accept the sucker as a bribe of appeasment from Nurse Faith.

For all my dear friends with little newborn babies at home today!

Just got a call from my dear friend who is home with her wonderful new baby, just a week old today... She's already struggling with "life" and getting enough sleep. It's so much harder when you have older children who still need you a LOT... and the new baby who needs you a LOT MORE... oh yeah, and then a husband, a home, and perhaps even a life outside of being a mom and wife?!!!

So here is my refresher course on Baby Care and Daily Routines, from the book BabyWise by G Ezzo... (also published under the title, Growing Kids God's Way).

Daily Routine Cycle -

Step One: Baby is awakened by Momma. As much as you can, try to wake baby, gently and sweetly, within the same 30 minutes each morning. As baby grows, they will learn to wake naturally happy, and not be upset or have the first instict to cry.

Step Two: (30-40 minutes) Feed & Burp Baby; take care of baby's physical needs - clean diaper, bath, get dressed for the day, etc.

Step Three: (30-40 min) Nurture & Stimulation Time - sing & play w/ baby; go for a walk; bouncy seat set where baby can watch you or look out a window; swing time; play-n-pack time with ONE age appropriate toy/visual; interaction w/other parent or siblings.

Try to alternate activities that are hands on w/ baby and activites where baby is allowed some free-play time.

For example: Early morning: swing time;
Mid morning: going for a walk;
Early afternoon: singing & reading time.

This helps mom to gain some freedom from holding baby all day long. Mom can be very near, within eye-sight of baby, and baby will feel completely secure and comfortable.

Step Four: (90 - 120 minutes) Nap Time - first 10-15 minutes can include holding, rocking, swaying, singing. Try to keep the pre-nap routine the same every time, perhaps draw the shades in thier room, put on a lullabye CD softly. Lay baby in his/her crib and leave them to settle themselves into a nap.

Repeat Steps One through Four for the rest of the waking hours of the day.

The Nighttime Routine for Newborns is to feed them only when they wake, no less than 3-4 hours from the last time they were fed. Do not spend any extra moments giving the baby stimulation, keep the baby in as dark as setting as possible. Touch is important, but refrain from talking anymore than you have to. As baby grows in size he/she will not be dependant on emotional needs given during nighttime feedings, and will more easily be able to sleep through the night.

As baby grows older, the routine will stay very much the same, except each stage will stretch longer in time. Feeding and Physical needs, Step Two, may never take more than 20-30 minutes... but Step Three will stretch out to a few hours, as will Step Four - Nap Time. By the time the baby is 1 year old, you will have only 2-3 daytime cycles each day.