Gender: Female
Status: Married
Age: 30
Sign: Sagittarius
City: Ithaca
State: New York
Country: US
Signup Date:
02/03/05
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Wednesday, October 08, 2008
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my Sarah Palin hangups explained
So, after my last note, a friend of mine asked me to better explain the issues I have with Sarah Palin. I worked on my response on and off all weekend, and it became so lengthy that I decided I had better post it too. No use in letting that much ranting just go to one person. I am definitely an "agree to disagree" type of person, and I'd also love to hear what you like about her too. There are many small things about her that bug me, chief among them being the "folksy" talk. I believe that this, as well as her "sexy" factor, is being significantly hammed up to play to that "Joe 6'pack" crowd she likes to talk about. Personally, I'd prefer not to have another leader whose main selling point is the "I'd like to have a beer with them" factor. Look how well that turned out with Bush. Do I think that Gov. Palin is stupid? No. Absolutely not. Do I think she is any smarter than most Americans? No. She has proven herself to be very politically savvy, but that doesn't necessarily make her smart, and the fact that switched colleges 6 times in 6 years does not leave me feeling good about her education http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/WireStory?id=5728215&page=2. Bush, too, is politically savvy, but no smarter than the general population. I was very irritated after the debate because I think that many average Americans were fooled by her smooth speaking ability, but didn't listen to what she was actually saying: nothing. At the debate, she was all talking-points and "ah shucks" charm. Ninety percent of the debate was spent avoiding answering questions directly by either calling John McCain a "Maverick," inserting a barely related antic dote about her personal life or Alaska, or doing something cute like winking at the camera, using "folksy" speech or giving a "Shout out" to a third grade classroom. Any substance she did have was taken directly from her notes. If you saw her interview with Katie Couric, you can see that she is definitely not very familiar with national or international matters, and she is nowhere close to as eloquent when she is off script. This is the main reason I can't help but mock her. This brings me to my first and main major issue with Palin. The number one being that I do not feel she is qualified for the presidency. Had she accepted this nomination 4-8 years from now, my opinion of that would be different. In 4-8 years, she will likely be a very seasoned governor, with much more experience in and out of her state. However, at this time, her experience is basically running about the size of Morris (When Palin was mayor, the population was just 5,500, and even then she hired others to do much of the day-to-day mayoral duties for her). http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/13/AR2008091302596.html?hpid=topnewsand 18 months as governor of the nation's 4th smallest state by population. She makes fun of Obama's "community organizer" experience, but the fact of the matter is that his position as a community organizer was quite a large position http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94357421, and they failed to mention his 7 years in the state legislature. And as she herself states, as a governor, she has no experience dealing with Washington and how it works. At least if she was a Senator or Congresswoman with only 18 months under her belt, she would have had some experience dealing with national bureaucracy, partisanship and pundits, to name a few things. Secondly, I seriously question some of Palin's judgment when it comes to the best interest of her kids, which makes me seriously question her judgment when it comes to the best interest of our nation. I am certainly for mothers working and running this country, but my major qualms are two fold: I question her judgment first when it comes to her taking care of her baby, Trig. Her water broke while she was in Texas at a conference. Rather than seeking treatment, she proceeded to give a 30 minute speech and board a plane and take an 8 hour flight to Alaska (which is not only dangerous to the mother and the baby and likely against airline policy http://www.babycenter.com/404_is-it-safe-to-fly-during-my-third-trimester_2599.bc, http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html). After giving birth to her premature child with down syndrome, Palin then returned to work 3 days later – something that most mothers of healthy children would never do. Both premature babies and children with special needs require a lot of extra medical and parental attention, and I am appalled that Palin has taken on a nomination and potential job that requires so much of her time and energy. I feel she is doing a disservice to her son and her family at large. Again, had she taken on this challenge in 4 or 8 years, this would not bother me. I am gladdened to hear that she breastfeeds and wears a Trig in a sling. This is something I had not heard before and is a small consolation http://thewholefamily1.blogspot.com/2008/09/sarah-palin-slings-and-breastfeeding.html. For my second question of her maternal judgment (and the lesser of my 2 issues), Palin took this nomination knowing full well her 17 year old daughter was pregnant and unmarried. This has thrust her minor daughter into the national spotlight, resulting in much unnecessary scrutiny. The internet is now ripe with rumors and accusations about Bristol, including that she used drugs and has been very promiscuous. That kind of thing is hard enough on a teenager at of town or state level, but on a nation level, that's just cruel. This brings me directly into my next issue with Palin, her stances ..ion and Abstinence Only Education. I am pro-choice, but I am definitely not pro-abortion. I would like to prevent as many unwanted pregnancies as possible, and yes, abstinence is the best way to not get pregnant. However, I am a realist, and in real life, people have sex. Teenagers have sex. Sometimes people force sex onto others. Sex is a very complicated part of life that we need to prepare our children for thoroughly. We cannot pretend it doesn't exist outside of marriage and the only way to ensure unplanned pregnancy (and S.T.Ds!) is to make sure teenagers know about birth control. If they are well prepared, they will make better choices and more pregnancies will be prevented. It angers me that Palin said that she is "Proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby," yet, if she had her way, women would not be able to make that "decision." http://www.johnmccain.com/informing/news/PressReleases/ab547fc8-d96d-4f87-aa8a-2e52be2b66fc.htm. Palin claims that she does not support abortion, even in the case of rape or incest of a minor. She would only allow it if the mother's life was in danger. http://dwb.adn.com/news/politics/elections/2006/governor/story/8372383p-8266781c.htmlI fully believe that if safe legal abortions were not available in this country, there would instead be unsafe illegal abortion, as well an enormous increase in babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome or addicted to drugs, unwed single mothers, families on welfare, and women who will struggle all their lives because they dropped out of high school or college to raise their unplanned child. We will therefore see in incredible rise in the number of children who are considered "at risk" and will need special services from schools and the government. I detest the fact that there are some women in the world who use abortion as their main form of birth control rather than a carefully considered and mournful decision, but in those sad cases, it's probably better for the world that those women do give birth anyway. And I won't even start on how I find it absurd that Palin and other politicians who claim to be so "pro-life" are also very pro-war. It is expected that soldiers will die in combat, but since the start of the Bush's unwarranted and illegal war against Iraq, there has been an estimated 88,000-96,000 civilian deaths. http://www.iraqbodycount.org/. But as I said, I'm not even going to go into that. Finally, I believe that Palin is wrong on energy. Drilling for more oil in our own backyard will do little to help us become dependant from foreign oil markets and even less for the environment. I laughed aloud when she suggested that drilling for oil in Alaska and making their natural gas pipeline were "green" solutions. The only "green" solution is to utilize, fund, improve and promote natural, non-fossil fuel energy sources. A few things that I am okay with Palin are on include: A. Her stance on Church vs. State (per the Couric interview, unlike many far-right wing politicians, Palin actually agrees that the church should stay out of the state and vice versa). B. Gay rights – although I believe in extending rights to actual equality, much further than she does, from what she said at the debate, she's actually much more progressive on this issue than most far-right politicians (equal rights to visit partners in the hospital, etc.) Also, I am fine with her being a hunter and a member of the NRA, though I do support some gun control overall, especially related to handguns. I'd also like to mention that I am a Christian, but I believe that too many Christians are focused too much on their fundamentalist church's agendas and not on what the Bible actually says. To live like Jesus means to focus on love, charity, peace, forgiveness and devotion to God. It is not to condemn others and pick and choose parts of the bible to believe as literal in order to live out a personal agenda. Too often this agenda is pointed at gays and church vs. state, and science in our schools. Unlike Palin's Pentecostal church teaches, I do not believe in literal creationism, and it worries me that there are churches that teach children that the earth was created in 7 literal "Earth Days" around 5,000 years ago and that dinosaurs are a conspiracy because they are not mentioned in the bible. Why can they not say that God is marvelous and created this world in God's timeline and that the bible may be the word of God, but it was written by humans who do not fully know God's works? I know a devout Christian who studies the universe and is on a mission to look back into space to the time of the "big bang." When I asked him how he reconciles his work and his religion, he said "to study science and conclude there is no God is like to study a novel and conclude that there was no author." Finally, if you have not already read it, I encourage you to check out this well-written editorial about the double standards of race in our society. http://readingwritingliving.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/this-is-our-nation-on-white-privilege/Follow up: Also, I just read that Palin actually opposes gay partnership rights, it's just that right now in Alaska, it's unconstitutional to do so. So, she's like amend the constitution so that it will be legal to discriminate against gays. http://www.newsweek.com/id/162324
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Friday, October 03, 2008
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How to talk Minnesotan: the VP debate
..:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> Ahh Geeze, Sarah Palin did better than I expected in those debates. She may not have said much, but she sure sounded good saying it, don'tcha know. I got really tired of all those "you betchas" and "darn rights" that all them liberal media websites are calling "folksy." Not to mention the winks. Well now, that's just Sarah's way of saying "youknowwhat I mean." I just bet that Joe 6'pack and all them hockey moms out there just ate it up. I turned to Neil and said, "It's like she's a really put together 2nd grade teacher." Not one minute later, good old Sarah gave a "shout out" to a 3rd grade class in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Alaska.
Sigh. I don't want a folksy leader. I would like my president and vice president to be at least as smart as me, if not smarter. I would like the to speak as though they are talking to adults, not as though they are about to lead the class in a really exciting game of Heads Up 7 Up.
Two more notes: 1. I really hate that Sarah is so bad that I have to bash her. I resent the fact that the first female candidate for VP in my voting lifetime is soooo bad that I mock her. I don't want to mock a woman. I want to say "yay for women everywhere!" But I can't. My common sense won't let me.
Finally, Neil said it's funny how McCain and Palin are suddenly using words like "Change." He likened it to O Brother Where Out Thou when the son of the fat incumbent says "we need to get us some of the RE-form." Listen to it here:
http://www.moviewavs.com/php/sounds/?id=gog&media=WAVS&type=Movies&movie=O_Brother_Where_Art_Thou"e=reform.txt&file=reform.wav
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Wednesday, October 01, 2008
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Monday, September 29, 2008
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update on life
Hello friends and family, I hope this letter finds you well,
especially to those who have recently transitioned in jobs, locations
and homes. Please keep us updated on your lives. I love to hear
what's going on with everyone. It's been nearly 3 months since I have
sent an update, so I apologize for the length of this one. For those
of you with little time, here's a summary:
Niece Lauryn visited, we went to Minnesota and were able to see most
friends and family, Friends from CA visited and we all went to NYC,
Nellia is nearly 11 months old & crawling everywhere, Neil goes to
Korea for work in Oct. My dad has been in the hospital a lot for an
unknown illness.
Okay, now for the long version!
The last months have sailed by all too quickly. Nellia is nearly 11
months old!. I can't believe it's already fall! The temperatures
have been perfect for playing outside and our big tree in our backyard
has started to drop red leaves everywhere.
In the past couple months, we've had a lot of fun as a family! In
July, our niece Lauryn came to visit for 3 weeks. Highlights include
swimming at Robert Treman State park, where you can jump off into the
river and swim up to a waterfall, professional English horseback
riding lessons for Lauryn, and a weekend trip to Hershey Pennslvania.
In August, we were fortunate to go home to Minnesota. It was pretty
much a perfect trip. We got to spend tons of quality time with family
and many friends. My only regret is that I didn't take enough
pictures. If you have some from our trip, send them my way! On
August 10th, Nellia was baptized as my home church in Barrett.
Godparents are Neil's brother Steve, my sister Jennifer, and my
brother and sister-in-law Joel and Laura. Also baptized that day was
Brady, the son of my childhood friend Karla. Thanks Joel & Laura, the
Appels, Andy & Steph and anyone else who drove many miles to see us!
We were very fortunate to have our first visitors from California. My
friends Jennie and Jeanine came out earlier this month. We spent
several days hanging out in Ithaca and then we all went to NYC. We
weren't there long, but we were able to go to the Statue of Liberty,
Ellis Island, Ground Zero & Time Square. Neil took Nellia back to the
hotel so that I could see a show with the girls. We attended
Spamalot, a hilarious musical version of Monty Python and the Holy
Grail. Our trip happily corresponded with that of a couple of
Minnesota friends, so we were also able to catch dinner with Jill,
Beth Ann & their cousin Coralie. Last weekend, we went to a local
farm where Nellia got up close and personal with the animals (note the
picture of her kissing a sheep).
Nellia turns 11 months old on October 6th. She has been crawling
everywhere for a couple of months and has mastered the stairs up and
down. She is so good at them that we no longer need to hover over her
as she climbs. She cruises furniture, but doesn't show much interest
in walking by herself yet. I guess she figures crawling is fast
enough for now, and she certainly keeps us on our toes! Also, she
just started "driving" her little car by herself. She could drive all
over the house if she only knew how to steer.
Nellia now has 6 teeth, babbles a lot and has said her first words:
da-da (dad) and dah-ga (dog). Dadadadada is one of her favorite
babbles, but you really can tell when she is saying one of her words
rather than just babbling. Our house is also full of ga-ga, goo-goo,
ya-ya, and many screams and squeals (especially whenever she gets to
pet Taliesin or any other animal). The ma-ma sound looks like it's
quite a ways off. We laugh because we'll say "Nellia, can you say
Mama?" and she will reply with a very definitive "Dada." Silly girl..
Once we got back from Minnesota we started "sleep training." We got
an awesome DVD called "the Sleepeasy Solution (since Neil said it
would take a month for me to read a book…try 3!). I was really
hesitant to use a "cry it out" method, but it was easier with a
comprehensive plan. It worked fabulously and in less than a week
Nellia went from nursing to sleep and waking 4-7 times a night to
going in her crib while sill awake with no crying and sleeping through
the night. Amazing!
Not much new on my end, other than I get to try my hand at single
motherhood for a while this upcoming month. Neil is very busy with
work and will be gone more than home from late September to early
November. He is just finished a meeting in Chicago and is now in Long
Island, but the coolest thing is that he gets to go to Korea for a
week. He has been asked to teach a "pot plant production" in Seoul
for a few days. (many non-English speaking countries use this term,
referring to potted plants, of course).
Finally, please keep my dad in your prayers. He has had a lot of
weakness and fatigue and now several unexplained seizures resulting 3
trips to the emergency room and multiple hospital stays. He's
currently at the VA in Fargo. They have done many different tests and
his illness is still undiagnosed. They are planning to speak with a
second Neurologist soon, as the first just put him on some medication
and didn't seem to really care to find a root cause. My sister
Jennifer and I suspect it may be Lyme's Disease, which can be
difficult to diagnose, so we are asking for more tests related to
that. Hopefully they'll get to the bottom of this and hopefully it is
something that can be treated. For now he cannot drive, which, if you
know him, is very hard. He likes to go out and about. He gets pretty
bored, so if you know him please give him a call. His cell is
320-760-1413.
Hope to talk to you all soon!
~Janelle
Here are a ton pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/janelleam/Nellia11MonthEmail?authkey=JE1hw8OjUUE
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Monday, September 01, 2008
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Thursday, July 24, 2008
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nellia’s 8 month update
Hey, I sent this out a couple weeks ago and now I'm getting around to posting it. Nellia is now crawling everywhere, including up stairs and climbing up on everything. Crazy baby.
Wow how time flies! Last July, Neil and I said good-bye to all our friends in Davis and headed East. Neil has been on the job for almost a year, and next Sunday, Nellia will be 8 months old.
The last 2 months have been eventful ones in Nellia's development. In fact, we have a totally different baby from even mid June. To start, let me mention that on June 15th I sent an email to a friend containing this quote which sums up much of the last 2 months, "She's driving me nuts. She is sooooo fussy lately that I think I'm going to go insane sometimes. Nothing seems to make her happy for more than 10 minutes at a time."
However, it's now July 3rd and Nellia has hardly whined at all in the last week. The main reason she was so fussy was that she couldn't move yet. She wanted toys, food, parents, etc, but couldn't get them. Other reasons included teething and separation anxiety. In the last two weeks everything has changed.
Here's an overview of her physical progress:
June 10 – Pulled herself up on the crib rail
June 14 – Pulled herself up in crib and stood for more than 3 minutes
June 18- Held sippy cup and drank for several minutes
June 22 – First tooth came in, started to creep, evidence she has developed "object permanence"
June 25 – walked 2 feet along couch
June 27 – Reached for her swing because she wanted more –first time doing this
June 28 – Pushed herself into a sit
June 29 – Clapped hands
July 1 - Holds sippy cup very well…sometimes
July 2 – Started actual crawling
Neil and I have baby-proofed the house, but we still have tendencies to leave stuff on the floor. We'll have to break that habit really quickly. Her personality has developed as well, changing from observant and stoic, to cheerful and smiley. We even get to hear that cute little laugh many times a day now. Also, Nellia loves to eat chunky and crunchy foods. Cheerios and chunks of pear and avocado are her favorites.
My mom came to visit in for a few days in June. Nellia really loved to look at grandma and sit next to her in the car, but usually refused to let grandma hold her. Luckily, my mom has 12 grandkids and is used to all baby quirks. I'm glad she didn't take it personally. It was nice for me to spend some quality time with MY mommy. The highlight of her visit was our trip to Niagara Falls. It's amazing and breathtaking to see so much water flowing down. Mom took us on the "Maid of the Mist" boat, which gets so close to the falls you need to wear rain gear! Also, my Mom then surprised us all by choosing to retire at the end of June. Congrats to her!
Otherwise life with me and baby is about the same. We just finished a 5 week session of swimming lessons (which was really more just organized mom and baby pool time), we go to the farmer's market on Tuesdays and visit with other mom and baby friends. This weekend, niece Lauryn comes to town for 3 weeks. She plans to do a lot of babysitting, but I am sure we will be running around doing a lot of activities 12-year-olds like to do as well.
Neil loves to go on long walks with Nellia when he comes home nearly every day. He is working on the garden and learning that home ownership means fixing things. Lately, he has been regularly taking apart the dishwasher in order to squeeze a few more weeks of use out of it before we have to buy a new one. Work is going well. He is being nominated for many committees and other leadership roles. In the last two months he's stayed closer to home other than a quick trip to Worcester, Massachusetts in June.
We look forward to August, as we return home to Minnesota for an extended trip. Nellia will be baptized in Barrett on the 10th. We look forward to seeing all our friends and family then!
~Janelle
Visit our online album for cute pics of Nellia. If you have trouble with the album but want to see pics, let me know and I'll send them directly to you.
http://picasaweb.google.com/janelleam/NelliaMayJune08PlayingOutsideGrandmaKarenEtc?authkey=JRzasrBNsFk
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Saturday, June 28, 2008
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discstock coming up
Hey Disc Golfers & Music Enthusiasts! Discstock is a superfun disc golf tounament and music festival started by my family that takes place just outside of Barrett. I can't make it this year, but it you should go anyway!
Here's the details:
July 12, 2008
Discstock is happening again this year at the Ray Farm in Barrett, MN! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!
For the fifth straight year, Discstock is rocking with three great bands!
High Strung String Band
Sans Souci Quartet
The Lost Marbles
The disc golf two round "Round Robin" Tournament for cash & prizes starts at 1:00 on Saturday. Prizes for 1, 2, & 3rd place, longest drive, hole in one kitty, best womens score, youngest score, ect.
This is the best 18 hole "homemade" disc golf course in the state of Minnesota!
Many more details at www. sumachills. com
Great bands & camping in the beautiful north woods! Only 2 1/2 hours for the Twin Cities and 1 3/4 from Fargo!
Family Friendly- Kayaking, horseshoes, lifeguard patrolled sand beach 2 miles away, "frisbee friendly dogs" allowed, bring own food. BYOB.
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Thursday, June 26, 2008
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hairballs and cheerios
Between my shedding cat and my 7 month old baby, I constantly find hairballs and cheerios all over my floor. Neil thought it would make a good title for a blog, and I agreed, so here we are. I don't really have much to say or any time to say it, but I just wanted to check in with that little note.
Nellia is now creeping (pseudo-crawling), and standing against the couch. She also has her first tooth. What a proud mama I am.
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Friday, June 13, 2008
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organic produce info
Hey friends,
I know for many of you feeding yourself and/or children organic food is very important. I subscribe to a great newsletter called Nutrition Action. It's run by a non-profit company and does lots of testing on food and health. Last year, they did a good study on organic produce and compiled a list of produce in order of worst to safest. They especially recommend choosing organic for the top 12 whenever possible. I just found the list online for a different friend, and I figured since I took the time to find it that I should post it on my blog. Below you'll find info on the study and the list.
Here's the link to the online article too. http://www.foodnews.org/
~Janelle
Why Should You Care About Pesticides?
There is growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can adversely affect people, especially during vulnerable periods of fetal development and childhood when exposures can have long lasting effects. Because the toxic effects of pesticides are worrisome, not well understood, or in some cases completely unstudied, shoppers are wise to minimize exposure to pesticides whenever possible.
Will Washing and Peeling Help?
Nearly all of the data used to create these lists already considers how people typically wash and prepare produce (for example, apples are washed before testing, bananas are peeled). While washing and rinsing fresh produce may reduce levels of some pesticides, it does not eliminate them. Peeling also reduces exposures, but valuable nutrients often go down the drain with the peel. The best option is to eat a varied diet, wash all produce, and choose organic when possible to reduce exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.
How This Guide Was Developed
The produce ranking was developed by analysts at the not-for-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) based on the results of nearly 43,000 tests for pesticides on produce collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2005. A detailed description of the criteria used in developing the rankings is available as well as a full list of fresh fruits and vegetables that have been tested (see below).
EWG is a not-for-profit environmental research organization dedicated to improving public health and protecting the environment by reducing pollution in air, water and food. For more information please visit www.ewg.org.
The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies
RANK FRUIT OR VEGGIE SCORE
1 (worst) Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)
2 Apples 96
3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86
4 Celery 85
5 Nectarines 84
6 Strawberries 83
7 Cherries 75
8 Lettuce 69
9 Grapes - Imported 68
10 Pears 65
11 Spinach 60
12 Potatoes 58
13 Carrots 57
14 Green Beans 55
15 Hot Peppers 53
16 Cucumbers 52
17 Raspberries 47
18 Plums 46
19 Oranges 46
20 Grapes-Domestic 46
21 Cauliflower 39
22 Tangerine 38
23 Mushrooms 37
24 Cantaloupe 34
25 Lemon 31
26 Honeydew Melon 31
27 Grapefruit 31
28 Winter Squash 31
29 Tomatoes 30
30 Sweet Potatoes 30
31 Watermelon 25
32 Blueberries 24
33 Papaya 21
34 Eggplant 19
35 Broccoli 18
36 Cabbage 17
37 Bananas 16
38 Kiwi 14
39 Asparagus 11
40 Sweet Peas-Frozen 11
41 Mango 9
42 Pineapples 7
43 Sweet Corn-Frozen 2
44 Avocado 1
45 (best) Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)
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Friday, May 09, 2008
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Nellia’s 6 month update
Current mood:  happy
Okay, I'm going to be lame and not post a real blog, but just post the mass email I just sent out "from Nellia."
Hello friends and family! I hope that this letter finds you happy and healthy. This last Tuesday, I turned six months old! What an exciting half year it has been. I am now around 18 lbs and 27 inches long (I haven't been to the doctor in a while, so we're not exactly sure). In the last couple of months, I have started rolling from back to tummy, and sitting up for very long periods of time, and pushing my whole torso off the ground. I just started scooting forward if I have a wall behind me to push off of, and once I lifted my belly off the ground by myself. I have started eating solid foods too. So far, I like rice cereal, apples, avocado, bananas and sweet potatoes. I also put anything I can reach into my mouth and seem to like the taste of everything: plastic, wood, paper, fabric, metal, etc. There are lots of pics of me eating things on the link below. I also love to use my voice. I squawk & squeal and recently started babbling da-da and tt-tt.
Mom stays home with me during the weekdays. We meet friends my age for a playgroup once a week, and also take mom and baby yoga, which I just love. Mom likes all my friend's mommies as well, and sometimes I get the feeling that we are really going to see them and not the babies. Next month, we hope to take a swimming class too. Daddy usually feeds me solid food in the evenings when daddy comes home, and we like to play outside, especially on the weekends. He and I love to go for long walks on the trails near our house.
Last month mommy and I flew to Minnesota. I cried a lot on the first flight, but I did great on the other ones. We spent a day in the cities seeing friends and family, then we spent close to a week with my Alvstad relatives – Grandma, Grandpa, all my aunts and uncles, and all 11 of my cousins! Plus, 3 great-grandparents and many other friends and relations. At first I was a little overwhelmed by all the people and noise, but I got used to it in no time. I loved playing with my 10-month-old cousin Tayden, and I laughed and laughed at all the big kids, especially Josie and Maddie. I rolled over for the first time at Grandma and Grandpa Alvstad's house. I guess I was ready to start catching up to my cousins. Then we went to Aitkin to see Grandma and Grandpa Mattson & uncle Steve. I went for a walk around the farm with mommy and uncle Steve, and Grandpa Mattson talked to me in Finnish! I must have picked up my first ever cold in Barrett, because my first night in Aitkin I woke up very sick. Grandma and mommy tried for over an hour to calm me down. I was still feeling very bad the next day, so we went to the doctor. No ear infection, no RSV, just a cold with lots of pressure on my ears that hurt real bad. By the following day, I was much better again, just in time to see daddy's aunt & uncle and tons of daddy's cousins! No sauna for me this time, but maybe by the summertime I'll be ready to start this Finnish tradition.
Thank you to everyone of all the wonderful gifts we received in Minnesota: clothing, toys, and mementos. My mommy swears that she will get thank you notes to everyone, but we'll see if I let her get that done!
When he picked us up at the airport, I recognized daddy right away. And when we got home, my kitty Taliesin was very happy to see me. He rubbed against me and swiped under my hand over and over and over again. Poor mommy, he didn't even care that she had been gone almost 2 weeks too!
A couple weeks ago my daddy made a garden in the backyard. Mommy and daddy put a deer fence around it to keep our plants safe. While they were digging, they found several stones with fossil impressions of seashells. Daddy has been traveling a lot around New York state. He gets to visit lots of greenhouses and learn about them, and occasionally he gets to help them solve problems – like figuring out a fertilizer program or solving a disease problem. Daddy is excited to start adding team members to his lab. He had a technician and a visiting scientist that started this last month, next week his post-doc arrives and in August his first graduate student starts. He just started riding bike to school. It only takes him about 12 minutes to get to school, but twice as long to get home because we live a mile up a very very big hill.
We are all looking forward to the summer. I love to be outside in the warm weather, and mommy got me a swimming pool to splash in. We have heard that there are good swimming holes around Ithaca too. Grandma Alvstad is coming to visit me in June, and in July, my cousin Lauryn plans to come. A couple of mommy and daddy's friends plan to come to visit too. We are all going back to Minnesota in August, and I am going to get baptized. All that to look forward to, plus rolling, crawling, babbling, and maybe even walking. It's going to be a very fun next few months!
Hope that you are doing well. Send my mommy and daddy a little note about how you are doing if you have time! Have a wonderful day and a wonderful May!
~Nellia
(and mommy and daddy)
Here's a link to all my latest pictures.
4:30 PM
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