Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
Baby Maxwell has arrived!
Our sweet baby Maxwell Johnn arrived on Friday, October 10th! October 10th happens to be his namesake's birthday - Grandpa Johnn Sterzer. Isn't that perfect? Today marks his 4-day birthday. :)
I was three days overdue by Friday morning. I always take a before shot. It just blows my mind that this perfectly formed little babe was stuffed inside my tummy!
My OB stripped my membranes at my appointment in the morning and that afternoon I went into labor. Although I was having contractions from the early afternoon, they didn't get HARD until close to 7:30pm. I labored at home until I knew I was starting to go through transition, and then we headed to the hospital. We arrived at 9:10pm and I was dilated to a 7. I started pushing at 9:31pm and baby was born at 9:47pm! It was the best delivery I've had, mainly because it was fast and over with quickly! :)
Maxwell was 8lb 1oz and 19.5 inches long. And believe it or not, he has hair! And not just hair, he has DARK hair! Finally a baby that has his daddy's dark hair! I think that's so great!
The next morning the kids came to meet their new baby brother. They were excited, but in a reverent, awe-filled way. It was so sweet. They gathered around my bed and gazed at their new baby brother and touched him softly.
2-year old Charlotte could hardly contain herself for wanting to hold him. She got to have him first because she was literally crawling over me to grab him. :)
Sammy (4-years old) and his new little brother.
My wonderful mom came from Utah to help out this week. This makes 19 grandkids for her, 15 of which are boys!
On Sunday the kids came to the hospital to bring us home. Here's 9-year-old Ben with his new baby brother.
And 6-year-old Eliza with baby Maxwell. Eliza is so nurturing and motherly, she will take great care of our baby.
Proud daddy!
Here's 2-day old Maxwell just before leaving the hospital.
Once we got home, Ben held Maxwell in his lap on the couch and everyone gathered around to look at him. Charlotte is giving him a kiss, and Sammy is laying across the top of the couch to gaze at our new baby with the rest of the kids. We are so happy to have Max in our family!
I was three days overdue by Friday morning. I always take a before shot. It just blows my mind that this perfectly formed little babe was stuffed inside my tummy!
My OB stripped my membranes at my appointment in the morning and that afternoon I went into labor. Although I was having contractions from the early afternoon, they didn't get HARD until close to 7:30pm. I labored at home until I knew I was starting to go through transition, and then we headed to the hospital. We arrived at 9:10pm and I was dilated to a 7. I started pushing at 9:31pm and baby was born at 9:47pm! It was the best delivery I've had, mainly because it was fast and over with quickly! :)
Maxwell was 8lb 1oz and 19.5 inches long. And believe it or not, he has hair! And not just hair, he has DARK hair! Finally a baby that has his daddy's dark hair! I think that's so great!
The next morning the kids came to meet their new baby brother. They were excited, but in a reverent, awe-filled way. It was so sweet. They gathered around my bed and gazed at their new baby brother and touched him softly.
2-year old Charlotte could hardly contain herself for wanting to hold him. She got to have him first because she was literally crawling over me to grab him. :)
Sammy (4-years old) and his new little brother.
My wonderful mom came from Utah to help out this week. This makes 19 grandkids for her, 15 of which are boys!
On Sunday the kids came to the hospital to bring us home. Here's 9-year-old Ben with his new baby brother.
And 6-year-old Eliza with baby Maxwell. Eliza is so nurturing and motherly, she will take great care of our baby.
Proud daddy!
Here's 2-day old Maxwell just before leaving the hospital.
Once we got home, Ben held Maxwell in his lap on the couch and everyone gathered around to look at him. Charlotte is giving him a kiss, and Sammy is laying across the top of the couch to gaze at our new baby with the rest of the kids. We are so happy to have Max in our family!
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Girls' Reunion in Tennessee - May 2014
I just got back from an amazing trip to Tennessee with my sisters and mom. The four girls (me, Brittany, Mindy, Amy) and mom flew into Chattanooga on May 28th, 2014, to surprise Melanie, our oldest sister, for her birthday. Her husband took her out to dinner on the pretense of having a couples date when really her five sisters and mom were waiting at a table for them! It was a very happy and tearful reunion! :) (Above: Amy (our sister-in-law who we love!), me, Mom (holding Mindy's baby, Ririe), Melanie, Brittany, Mindy.)
The next day we chatted and played in their backyard pool and then went to visit Red Clay State Park. This is where the Cherokee Trail of Tears really began. Here we are standing next to the Cherokee's sacred Blue Hole (spring).
Happy Birthday to my sweet sister, Melanie!
That night the five girls chatted until 3:30 in the morning! This was by far my favorite part of our little trip. This is what being a sister is all about. I love these girls so much!
The next day we spent in downtown Chattanooga doing perfectly girly things. First we stopped off for a snack at Rembrandt's Cafe. We sat in a quaint garden with beautiful, tall Crepe Myrtle trees around us.
Then we went to the Hunter Museum of American Art. Something our husbands wouldn't be very interested in, but we relished it together! This painting, Burning of the Philadelphia, by Edward Moran, was my personal favorite.
We went to dinner at Tupelo Honey Cafe where we enjoyed awesome Southern cooking! (in order: Amy, Mindy, Erin, Melanie, Brittany, and Mom.) Afterward, we wandered around and looked through the little shops in the area.
I had such a wonderful time with my favorite women ever. I love you ladies!
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
April 2013 - random pictures
When we got back home from Tennessee on April 4th, we had a whole month ahead of us without Daddy. We tried to make the best of it and here's some snapshots from the month.
The weekend after we got home, we got to watch General Conference. Yay! Between sessions, we went on a walk around the neighborhood. It was chilly!
Wow, Eliza, it looks like you dressed yourself this morning... :)
Eliza made herself a grated swiss and bread sandwich. And ate it. I know if I had served that up she would not have been so eager...
BAD NEWS. We got a case of the dreaded lice. ICK. I wasn't too worried about it until after I had treated their heads with the medicine and then, while combing out nits, found healthy and spry lice still on their heads. Now read: FREAK OUT. I realized I had been too stingy on the medicine and this time I put gobs and gobs of it in their hair (even though the box said not to reapply). But first, I gathered Eliza's hair at the back of her neck and sawed it off with a pair of scissors. (She didn't care. I realized later, to my surprise, that my rash haircut formed a nicely shaped A-line.) After that, we spent hours and hours (and days) of combing meticulously through their hair. Ben and Eliza held still and watched kid movies for hours. (I was so glad that I don't turn on movies or TV for them much, because instead of being miserable during the long combing sessions, they were thrilled!) Sam, however, refused to allow me to even touch his hair, much less comb it. So, his hair came off. Buzzed right to the skin. Good as Bic'd. What choice did I have? When I told Jed that I was going to (over the phone), he did not want me to. He thought surely there must be another way! Not the curls! But, since I couldn't comb through his hair to get rid of every remaining lice or nit, the curls met their end. I was not about to have this drag on because I was too attached to some curls that will grow back. I know, I was hard-hearted and on the end of my desperate rope. So here is the bald little man, after the sad hair cut. Handsome as ever.
Eliza with her new short do.
And as for this bald head.... well, it has never looked more beautiful to my eyes!
One night in April we had a "Walker Restaurant" for dinner. (Leftover night.) My kids do not like leftovers. No sir. But I had a lot accumulating in the fridge. So I divided them all into thirds (which made tiny portions) and then served the kids course after course. With lots of formality (calling them 'sir' and 'madam') and a flourish with each dish, I offered them their 'appetizer', filled their glass goblets with water,and asked if they would like something to 'cleanse their palate' between courses (a cucumber slice or some such tidbit). It was so much fun! They loved it, and it was fun for me to interact with them in a playfully formal way.
Jed's sister was SO SWEET and sent us a little survival package. She sent me a big bag of gourmet chocolates and sent the kids a set of Magformers. Holy Cow. This toy was a HIT! Seriously, it was played with constantly. (And even 6 months later it was STILL being played with every day.) It was so kind of her to think of us.
Little Charlotte was sick for a while there. She was not feeling well at all and needed lots of cuddles.
After I took the picture of sick Charlotte, I took a picture of little Sammy in front of me. Gotta love that face. He always loved this yellow blanky, but now he drags it EVERYWHERE with him. This is a case of simple attachment gone obsession. :)
Apparently Sam is following in Eliza's footsteps because he made himself a PBJ and raisin sandwich. Well, I made the PBJ and he added the raisins. And then he ate it. What is it with my kids making themselves gross sandwiches?
Ben has always loved playing adult games, and this month Ticket to Ride became his favorite. We didn't play with the destination cards at first, but over the next few months we added all the rules in.
Ben and Eliza decided Charlotte had to be contained because she kept interfering with their toys and games on the carpet. They discovered that she could not climb over the library book tote, so they cornered her with it. Not without giving her a pile of toys to play with first, though. But she preferred to just watch them cheerfully from her prison. She didn't realize how unjustly she was being treated! After a while, she would start to fuss until she was rescued.
Charlotte really is starting to get into everything. She particularly liked to ransack the craft cabinet and the linen cabinet in the kitchen.
One night we went to Eliza's preschool openhouse. She has loved preschool this year (2012-2013). She goes every Monday-Thursday for 3 hours in the afternoon. Her two teachers, Miss Bonnie and Miss Alex, are absolutely the SWEETEST. They really love her, which is the most important thing for a student, I think. Anyway, we had a fun time.
Jed spent his 34th birthday in the Shock Trauma Unit, working like crazy, like almost every other day in April. :( But some of the fellow residents assigned to his pod surprised him with a big cookie for his birthday. That made me really happy. We also sent him a couple packages through out the month.
Ben sent a cute letter to Jed in one of the packages we sent:
It says, "Dear Dad, I hope you have some sleep. Please say a prayer to have enough strength. I think you are awesome. Remember it is what you think about yourself, not what other people think. Love Ben. I love you." I don't know why he wrote that, but it was adorable. We remembered Jed in all our prayers, and I'm sure I prayed aloud asking that He would support Jed and help him endure the long hours. Maybe Ben picked up on that, or maybe we talked about it. I can't remember now. Anyway, it was a cute letter.
I was expecting Jed to come home late on May 1st, but he surprised me and walked in the door the afternoon of the 30th! It was very exciting to have him home again! I can't believe I didn't take a picture of our happy reunion. We must have been too excited! We love him so much!
The weekend after we got home, we got to watch General Conference. Yay! Between sessions, we went on a walk around the neighborhood. It was chilly!
Wow, Eliza, it looks like you dressed yourself this morning... :)
Eliza made herself a grated swiss and bread sandwich. And ate it. I know if I had served that up she would not have been so eager...
BAD NEWS. We got a case of the dreaded lice. ICK. I wasn't too worried about it until after I had treated their heads with the medicine and then, while combing out nits, found healthy and spry lice still on their heads. Now read: FREAK OUT. I realized I had been too stingy on the medicine and this time I put gobs and gobs of it in their hair (even though the box said not to reapply). But first, I gathered Eliza's hair at the back of her neck and sawed it off with a pair of scissors. (She didn't care. I realized later, to my surprise, that my rash haircut formed a nicely shaped A-line.) After that, we spent hours and hours (and days) of combing meticulously through their hair. Ben and Eliza held still and watched kid movies for hours. (I was so glad that I don't turn on movies or TV for them much, because instead of being miserable during the long combing sessions, they were thrilled!) Sam, however, refused to allow me to even touch his hair, much less comb it. So, his hair came off. Buzzed right to the skin. Good as Bic'd. What choice did I have? When I told Jed that I was going to (over the phone), he did not want me to. He thought surely there must be another way! Not the curls! But, since I couldn't comb through his hair to get rid of every remaining lice or nit, the curls met their end. I was not about to have this drag on because I was too attached to some curls that will grow back. I know, I was hard-hearted and on the end of my desperate rope. So here is the bald little man, after the sad hair cut. Handsome as ever.
Eliza with her new short do.
And as for this bald head.... well, it has never looked more beautiful to my eyes!
One night in April we had a "Walker Restaurant" for dinner. (Leftover night.) My kids do not like leftovers. No sir. But I had a lot accumulating in the fridge. So I divided them all into thirds (which made tiny portions) and then served the kids course after course. With lots of formality (calling them 'sir' and 'madam') and a flourish with each dish, I offered them their 'appetizer', filled their glass goblets with water,and asked if they would like something to 'cleanse their palate' between courses (a cucumber slice or some such tidbit). It was so much fun! They loved it, and it was fun for me to interact with them in a playfully formal way.
Jed's sister was SO SWEET and sent us a little survival package. She sent me a big bag of gourmet chocolates and sent the kids a set of Magformers. Holy Cow. This toy was a HIT! Seriously, it was played with constantly. (And even 6 months later it was STILL being played with every day.) It was so kind of her to think of us.
Little Charlotte was sick for a while there. She was not feeling well at all and needed lots of cuddles.
After I took the picture of sick Charlotte, I took a picture of little Sammy in front of me. Gotta love that face. He always loved this yellow blanky, but now he drags it EVERYWHERE with him. This is a case of simple attachment gone obsession. :)
Apparently Sam is following in Eliza's footsteps because he made himself a PBJ and raisin sandwich. Well, I made the PBJ and he added the raisins. And then he ate it. What is it with my kids making themselves gross sandwiches?
Ben has always loved playing adult games, and this month Ticket to Ride became his favorite. We didn't play with the destination cards at first, but over the next few months we added all the rules in.
Ben and Eliza decided Charlotte had to be contained because she kept interfering with their toys and games on the carpet. They discovered that she could not climb over the library book tote, so they cornered her with it. Not without giving her a pile of toys to play with first, though. But she preferred to just watch them cheerfully from her prison. She didn't realize how unjustly she was being treated! After a while, she would start to fuss until she was rescued.
Charlotte really is starting to get into everything. She particularly liked to ransack the craft cabinet and the linen cabinet in the kitchen.
One night we went to Eliza's preschool openhouse. She has loved preschool this year (2012-2013). She goes every Monday-Thursday for 3 hours in the afternoon. Her two teachers, Miss Bonnie and Miss Alex, are absolutely the SWEETEST. They really love her, which is the most important thing for a student, I think. Anyway, we had a fun time.
Jed spent his 34th birthday in the Shock Trauma Unit, working like crazy, like almost every other day in April. :( But some of the fellow residents assigned to his pod surprised him with a big cookie for his birthday. That made me really happy. We also sent him a couple packages through out the month.
Ben sent a cute letter to Jed in one of the packages we sent:
I was expecting Jed to come home late on May 1st, but he surprised me and walked in the door the afternoon of the 30th! It was very exciting to have him home again! I can't believe I didn't take a picture of our happy reunion. We must have been too excited! We love him so much!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Easter in Tennessee - April 2013
Jed was scheduled to do a month-long Shock Trauma rotation in Baltimore, Maryland, during April. Pretty much they work him to the bone, 24/7, for a whole month, poor guy. I decided to drive the kids down to Chattanooga to spend Easter with my sister's family since Jed would be gone. So the day before he left, we packed up the car and I headed out on my first road trip alone! It was supposed to be 9 hours away, but I unwittingly left on Good Friday and the traffic was Horrendous! So it took us 12 hours instead. But my kids are AMAZING passengers and they watched movies and listened to books on tape and ate snacks happily the entire long drive. And, boy was it WORTH IT! We had so much fun with Melanie and Brad and their five boys. It had been a year and a half since we had last seen them. They had never met Charlotte. Connor, TJ, and Coleman were absolutely the sweetest with my kids, and totally doted on Charlotte. She got a lot of love during that trip! Well, all my kids did. My nephews are honestly the sweetest boys.
Easter morning! TJ has Charlotte in his lap; she got to wear cute bunnie ears! She is holding the Les Miserables movie that Jed bought me for my Easter basket. :)
Connor is letting Eliza show him the light-up flip flops that the Easter bunny brought her.
Coleman getting a turn with Charlotte. Seriously, it was like this the whole time - Charlotte was like two novelties in one: a BABY and a GIRL! No wonder she stole the show!
Ben got an awesome pop-up book about dinosaurs. Really, this is the king of all pop-up books.
When Ben saw the policemen driving their car to the Easter candy hunt, he asked if he could have a ride too. They were super nice and let him hop in with their own kids. Of course leave it to Ben to have the courage to go ask them!
Sam did the little kid's candy hunt,
and the big kids got to do their own candy hunt.
While we were in Tennessee we also went to the aquarium in Chattanooga. It was very impressive! There was a butterfly house, a penguin area, a place where you could touch stingrays, etc, etc... It was awesome!
My brave kiddos descended into the great unknown in a SHARK CAGE!
Aah! Watch out - behind you! :)
Those are real Japanese crabs walking around the bubble where they are standing.
Sam was posing in front of the tank where fish and sharks were swimming, and when this huge shark passed right next to him, he made the cutest, "WOW!" face!
My kids liked the rock area surrounding the tanks as much as the fish swimming inside of them...
We went into an auditorium to watch a man give a presentation on snakes. Here is my sister Melanie holding cute Charlotte (11 months old).
On Easter Sunday morning we took a picture to send to Daddy who was working in Maryland.
I snapped a picture of Connor teaching Eliza how to fold a paper airplane. Seriously, what 15 year old would do that?! He was SO CUTE with her.
TJ holding baby Charlotte.
Bridger and Ben are the same age cousins. They had a lot of fun together.
Uncle Brad was tickling Charlotte's tummy and getting sweet smiles from her.
Connor is used to having little boys around, being the oldest of five boys. I thought it was cute that he let Sam and his little brother, Bridger, sit in his lap.
One day Melanie took us to The Incline. It is the steepest train ride ever! We went straight up the side of the mountain. Here's Aunt Melanie with Eliza.
Of course Ben wasted no time in finding a friend. :)
We took a picture at the top of the mountain. And then we walked around the historical sites before heading back down the mountain again.
See how steep it is? You can see the city out the roof!
One afternoon TJ and Bridger took us to to the pond in the neighborhood and we fed the ducks.
Ben, me, Sam, Bridger, and Eliza:
I was nervous Sam would get attacked by the geese if he chased them too much...
Brad and Melanie sweetly treated me to dinner at Taco Mamacita one night. It was delish!
We stayed for a whole week and had such a great time with them. I wish we lived closer to my sister and brother-in-law and their sweet boys. On our last night, Brad, Melanie, Connor and TJ took me out to their favorite icecream shop.
I had such a great week with them. I love them all so much!
Easter morning! TJ has Charlotte in his lap; she got to wear cute bunnie ears! She is holding the Les Miserables movie that Jed bought me for my Easter basket. :)
Connor is letting Eliza show him the light-up flip flops that the Easter bunny brought her.
Coleman getting a turn with Charlotte. Seriously, it was like this the whole time - Charlotte was like two novelties in one: a BABY and a GIRL! No wonder she stole the show!
Ben got an awesome pop-up book about dinosaurs. Really, this is the king of all pop-up books.
On Saturday we went to the park and a policeman came over and told us the PD was doing an Easter candy hunt in the grassy lot next to the park. That was fun to stumble upon the local Easter festivities!
When Ben saw the policemen driving their car to the Easter candy hunt, he asked if he could have a ride too. They were super nice and let him hop in with their own kids. Of course leave it to Ben to have the courage to go ask them!
Sam did the little kid's candy hunt,
and the big kids got to do their own candy hunt.
While we were in Tennessee we also went to the aquarium in Chattanooga. It was very impressive! There was a butterfly house, a penguin area, a place where you could touch stingrays, etc, etc... It was awesome!
My brave kiddos descended into the great unknown in a SHARK CAGE!
Aah! Watch out - behind you! :)
Those are real Japanese crabs walking around the bubble where they are standing.
Sam was posing in front of the tank where fish and sharks were swimming, and when this huge shark passed right next to him, he made the cutest, "WOW!" face!
My kids liked the rock area surrounding the tanks as much as the fish swimming inside of them...
We went into an auditorium to watch a man give a presentation on snakes. Here is my sister Melanie holding cute Charlotte (11 months old).
On Easter Sunday morning we took a picture to send to Daddy who was working in Maryland.
I snapped a picture of Connor teaching Eliza how to fold a paper airplane. Seriously, what 15 year old would do that?! He was SO CUTE with her.
TJ holding baby Charlotte.
Bridger and Ben are the same age cousins. They had a lot of fun together.
Uncle Brad was tickling Charlotte's tummy and getting sweet smiles from her.
Connor is used to having little boys around, being the oldest of five boys. I thought it was cute that he let Sam and his little brother, Bridger, sit in his lap.
One day Melanie took us to The Incline. It is the steepest train ride ever! We went straight up the side of the mountain. Here's Aunt Melanie with Eliza.
Of course Ben wasted no time in finding a friend. :)
We took a picture at the top of the mountain. And then we walked around the historical sites before heading back down the mountain again.
See how steep it is? You can see the city out the roof!
One afternoon TJ and Bridger took us to to the pond in the neighborhood and we fed the ducks.
Ben, me, Sam, Bridger, and Eliza:
I was nervous Sam would get attacked by the geese if he chased them too much...
Brad and Melanie sweetly treated me to dinner at Taco Mamacita one night. It was delish!
We stayed for a whole week and had such a great time with them. I wish we lived closer to my sister and brother-in-law and their sweet boys. On our last night, Brad, Melanie, Connor and TJ took me out to their favorite icecream shop.
I had such a great week with them. I love them all so much!
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