Dilworth Spuds: 2008

7/29/2008

Jordyn

Lake Vacation 010
Originally uploaded by brookv23

Jordyn in Detroit Lakes enjoying the beautiful day with our friends the Breuer's.

Spaulding Reunion

08 Spaulding Reunion (95)
Originally uploaded by brookv23

Addyson is getting so big, so fast!

(I have just discovered this fun trick of uploading my pictures directly from Flickr... I really love the internet and how streamlined everything is becoming.)

Wow! It has been a long time since my last post. I have spent a little more time playing on Facebook and Flickr and not enough time on Blogger. If you are still with me, here is a brief update on the Dilworth Spuds.

Kevin

Enjoying his "new" job at Summit Group Software, although it isn't really new anymore. He is settling in well and feeling like he has a much better understanding of the company and his role.
Getting a little exercise playing on a softball team this summer.
Getting a lot of exercise riding his bike to work on a regular basis to downtown Fargo.
Got a whole lot of exercise and ran on a relay team in the Fargo Marathon. (Has it really been that long since I updated? Wow!)
Just last week he joined the Dilworth Lions - something he has talked about for the last two years.
Thursday night he plays in the annual volleyball game - Dilworth Lions vs. Dilworth Fire Department. Sounds like the fire department has won many of the last few years and the Lions have high hopes that Kevin is going to be the guy to bring home a victory this year. I'll let you know how that goes.
At this moment, he is outside weed eating and getting the yard beautiful in preparation for Dilworth Locodaze this weekend and the parade that goes right by the front of our house.

Jordyn

Completed 5th grade and is really looking forward to 6th grade starting... I'm not sure if it is the back-to-school shopping she is so excited about or if she is genuinely so anxious for school to start. She mentions it daily.
Played softball and basketball this summer... this week she is becoming a well-rounded individual and is attending Theatre Camp.
Spent a week at Cooperstown Bible Camp.
Seems to be struggling a little with the "I'm growing up" and "I'm still a little girl" identity confusion. It's a tough age.
Is still very sweet and LOVES her little sister.

Addyson

Turned 2 in June.
Is a pretty funny kid.
Does great animal sounds... the best? A horse, an elephant, and a big dog vs a puppy. I should videotape it and put it online. It is adorable.
Loves, loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and for some reason she is particularly drawn to Pete. (If you aren't familiar with the show, Pete is the sometimes mean guy, sometimes nice guy)
Really enjoyed camping in the pop-up this past weekend. At times she just wanted to hang out in the camper and refused to come outside.
Starting to get very independent... wants to do many things herself. I know it is going to get a lot worse, but sometimes it is hard to watch her struggle with her shoes and not just do it for her.

Brook

In addition to NOT blogging, I have had many changes occur this summer.
27 weeks pregnant today. I am feeling great! I have not gained as much weight (yeah) and I am not retaining water like my previous pregnancies (yeah, yeah). Every pregnancy is different, I guess.
At our 20-week ultrasound, we were told that this baby looks like a girl. I told Kevin that he is a lucky, lucky man to be surrounded by so many women... and also that the coming years will provide him many opportunities for him to strengthen and grow his patience.
In 3 short weeks, I am going to start my new career path as a High School Business & Computer teacher at Park Christian School in Moorhead. I am so excited to finally have a full-time teaching position but I am admittedly very nervous about the change. I have many more hours of work to do in preparation for the coming school year. I feel confident that this is where God wants me to be and what he wants me to be doing. There was an Elementary position open at PCS and I took it pretty hard when it was offered to another teacher, but little did I know... I just happened to have a meeting with the principal the day after he found out the previous business teacher was retiring and the opening came up "accidentally" in our conversation. Even after realizing that I am going to need a maternity leave very shortly after the school year begins, the Principal and Superintendent still offered me the job. There were several "small miracles" that happened in order for this job to fall into place for me that I know God has his hand in it. My first teacher day is August 19 and the first student day is August 25.
Somehow I am trying to find time to remodel my office into the nursery before the baby arrives. Is 'Oy Vey' a Norwegian phrase?

5/04/2008

Addyson's First Haircut & Thomas' First Sleepover

Thomas spent the night at our house on Friday night! It was fun to have a baby in the house and also interesting to see what the future holds for us. I expect I'll be very tired and Addyson will be a little jealous.

After the sleepover, we took Addyson to Whipper Snippers where she received her first haircut. She sat so nice and looked like such a big girl in the chair. Whipper Snippers caters to the very young, so they had an Elmo videotape ready to go and a tv right in front of the chair. The haircut ended with a sucker, mmm...mmm...good.

Link to all the First Haircut pictures: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17776&l=8ea3c&id=671434853

4/30/2008

Seasonal Update

As time goes on, I get worse and worse about updates. Based on recent behavior, I guess you should check back in the summer for the next update.

Because it has been a long time since I last updated, I have a lot to share.

Jordyn started playing on a YBall team in January, coached by Kevin, Eric, and Bob (another girl's dad). The girls and the parents had a great time. They practiced once a week and played one game every Saturday morning. Here is a great team picture and a couple action shots of Jordyn.

In between cheering for her sister and the team, here is what Addyson did to pass the time at basketball. The girls often referred to Addyson as their team mascot. Is that a good thing?

Kevin continues to enjoy his position at Summit Group Software. He'll never admit it, but I think he likes not wearing a hat everyday.

I am staying busy with school, work, Girl Scouts, and trying to get Jordyn's summer schedule figured out. I am so excited for this summer to finally arrive. We don't really have anything big planned, but several fun weekend getaways and local celebrations to look forward to. I also continue to look for a full-time teaching position.

As I announced to everyone a few months ago, I began training to run the half marathon in the Fargo Marathon. My first running event was on March 15th... the St. Patty's Day 5K. I ran it with my friend Tanya.

Up until that point, training was going well. However, since that time, I quit. I quit because I discovered that Kevin and I are expecting a baby in October. I know that I could have sought doctor approval to continue training, but I was so tired during the first trimester that even making supper proved to be challenging most nights. So, I decided to take it easy and to see how things are next year. Here is baby's first picture.

So, our family continues to grow and we thank God for our healthy and happy children every day. Addyson had her last day of PT/OT today. She has done very well and when they did a re-evaluation a few weeks ago, the results showed that she is no longer qualifying for services so she graduated. I'm very pleased with the work the Dilworth school has provided to us, and I am sad to no longer have this time with Addyson and Carrie each week, but thrilled that Addyson is doing so well that they no longer feel that it is necessary to continue.

Addyson's personality is really shining through. She is a funny little girl. Last night when Kevin was trying to coax her upstairs to get ready for bed, Addyson laid on her tummy on the floor, closed her eyes, and pretended to be asleep, except that she couldn't stop smiling. WHAT? Isn't she too young for that? It was such a great moment and very demonstrative of the fun kid she is growing up to be.

2/04/2008

9 Years... Training?... and the Superbowl!

On Saturday night, Kevin and I went out on our first date in... um... well...

Yeah, that's right, neither of us can even remember the last time we went out on a date. So we dated it up old school... dinner and a movie. (Does that last sentence make sense? Since Jordyn is approaching adolescence, I'm going to try and stay cool so I can really embarrass her.) We saw Juno, which I really liked but it is definitely not appropriate for kids... or probably teens either. It was pretty funny in a little crass and a lot sarcastic sort of way. We followed up the movie with a great meal at Texas Roadhouse (they have the BEST bread). At dinner we were reminiscing a little, in between plays in the hockey game on the tv behind my head. (Sigh) We realized that the next day was the date we met 9 years ago... WHAT? We are approaching our 3rd wedding anniversary and have been together for 9 years. I guess time flies when you are having fun.

A photo to remember this date... just in case it's a very long time before we get to do it again. Jordyn took the picture and she told us, "I'm going to take a close up" and Kevin being funny said "oooooh" which is why he has that look on this face. She did take another picture, but I have a funny face in that one.

This past weekend I started training for a half-marathon. I'm not yet convinced that I am physically capable of doing it, but I'm going to try. My best friend is flying up from Arizona to do the half-marathon during the Fargo Marathon on May 17th and she thinks that just because she is coming all the way here that I should run it with her. I've been trying to talk her out of this plan for months, but she seems to be pretty set in her plans, so I decided I better get started. So I jumped on the coat hanger/elliptical machine and I ran one mile on Saturday and one mile on Sunday. I am sad to admit how out of shape I am and how painful each of those miles was for me, but I guess that just reinforces the point that I need to do this. So, I guess this is my official announcement that I am training for the half marathon in the Fargo Marathon. Now that I have announced it, I am fighting the urge to delete this entire paragraph so I can back out of it without enduring the public humiliation.

Finally, the last topic in today's update is the Superbowl. I really don't have much to say about the actual game (I was cheering for the Patriots... and they lost). We went to our friends Bob & Lori's Superbowl party. There was a lot of food, a lot of visiting, a little tv watching, and a lot fun. Addyson enjoyed having all the kids to play with. Jordyn and her friend Kayla did a lot of squeeling and giggling (I think they had a little crush on a boy who was there). I brought puppy chow for the kids and it was gone before the 2nd quarter was over... and we didn't even get there until shortly after kick-off. So the kids all informed me that I should have made more. Now I know for next time.

Addyson playing cards with Olivia and Kayla.

She has that annoyed look on her face. I bet I'll see more of that as she gets older.

There is my sweet girl with a big smile on her face. She felt like a big girl sitting up on the stool.

"I don't want to take a picture with our matching jerseys!" Unfortunately, this was my only picture of the girls together. I figured I'd get one later when Addyson felt a little better about sitting with Jordyn, but then we had a blow out and needed to change clothes. So, this is the only picture that I get of the girls in their matching pink jerseys. I bought Jordyn's a couple years ago and Uncle Matt & Ashley gave Addy's to her for Christmas.

Brandon brushed Jordyn's hair for 20 minutes or more... I think they both enjoyed it.

1/26/2008

Happy New Year!

It's been awhile since our last post... do I start a lot of posts that way? As usual, we are staying very busy with Awana, Girl Scouts, church, work, and school. Since I haven't updated since before Christmas... here are a bunch of pictures.

At Brook's Aunt Velvet's for the Ista Christmas celebration

Addyson took her first steps on Christmas Eve... and then she decided she wasn't ready and she pretty much refused to walk again. However, the last two days she has been walking all over the place, so hopefully this time it will stick. I'll try to capture a new video soon.

Jaycee testing out her new digital camera... we were fortunate to have the Spaulding crew up to Dilworth for a day during Christmas. The weather outside was definitely frightful so we were relieved when everyone arrived safe and sound.