in the middle of yellow dent

2010-10-10T16:11:00.000-05:00

Pumpkinland!

2010-10-10T16:09:00.002-05:00

sometimes sad

mostly happy

Fall

2010-10-10T16:06:00.001-05:00

I'm pretty sure they are sisters

Amalia's new bf from Canada

Baby!

2010-07-30T20:16:00.002-05:00

We are pleased to present the newest addition to our family: Marielle Beth Visser. 7lbs, 12 oz, 22inches. Everyone is great!

2010-07-28T21:09:00.004-05:00

people drawing

as you can see, Amalia is excited for the new baby...

2010-05-14T21:11:00.001-05:00

2010-05-09T20:31:00.000-05:00

2010-04-10T14:04:00.000-05:00

2010-04-10T13:38:00.003-05:00

I've been delinquent... hopefully this catches me up.

2010-03-14T14:32:00.000-06:00

2010-02-26T20:58:00.000-06:00

Sausalito

2010-02-12T07:37:00.003-06:00

2010-02-01T21:30:00.001-06:00

2010-02-01T21:26:00.000-06:00

2010-01-16T15:46:00.001-06:00

My 2340 hours per year view.

A year of photos...

2010-01-14T08:20:00.003-06:00

Perhaps it's time to update this again. I'll be trying to post at least one photo a week this year. Let's start with a real doozy:

Ripped From the Headlines

2008-12-14T14:56:00.005-06:00

Vissers Endure First Year in OC
Daughter Becoming Little Girl: Walking, Running, Talking, and Singing
Twin Cities Housing Market Forces Renting Process
Part-time Professors: She Completes Semester, He Begins Semester

From Fall Foto Shoot '08

Unexpected Adventures

2008-08-08T20:21:00.004-05:00

Wow its been a while, but I suppose it's summer.

So ... it seems like every once in a while you end up doing something during your day that you never would have thought you'd do when you woke up that morning. I would say "goat chasing" falls into that category for me. I know some of you may have a goat chasing habit you just can't kick, so goat chasing is a daily trial for you. Not me. Oddly enough, goat chasing is a rare occurrence, even since we've moved to Iowa.

We decided to go for a bike ride this afternoon. It was a gorgeous day, so we both took off a little early from work and headed down a trail close to town. Halfway down the trail, we noticed a bunch of goats in a pen near the trail, so decided to introduce Amalia to them. We were petting them and heard a scared "Maaaaaa" coming from further down the fence. Yes, it was a "scared"Maaaaaa. Anyone who knows nothing about goats would know it was a "scared" Maaaaaa. Also, yes, it was a "Maaaaaa," the stereotypical goat sound. There's no better way to describe it. So by now you realize it's a goat ... we looked toward the sound and saw a baby goat (those of you who have graduated from the third grade might call the baby goat by its scientific name: a "kid"). Anyway, the baby goat was outside the pen and "Maaaaing" longingly for his mother inside. What were we to do? Clearly this baby goat needed his mother and was separated from his family by this unforgiving, impenetrable, Berlin-like wall (actually, the goat was still able to nurse through the gaping holes in the wire fence). Should we try to find out who owns this goat? No. Should we call the police? No. Should we chase this goat around until it's scared out of its mind and then grab him and throw him over the fence? Absolutely ... what else would a decent passerby do?

This little goat was smart and agile. It's not that we're dumb and slow - he was smart and agile. We must have chased him around for 45 minutes. We were dodging, running, hiding, and cooing, trying to corner this little creature. Every once in a while we'd have to remind ourselves to check where our daughter was, but honestly, there were more important things going on than making sure our daughter was still alive.

Finally, the little goat made a grave mistake. He thought he'd be safe by running between a building and the pen, but together, with one mind and lighting fast reflexes, we went on each side of the building to trap him. The goat had been beaten, and he knew it. We could see the shadow of defeat creeping over his face, but suddenly, unexpectedly, he made a last desperate run for an opening near Ang. Knowing what kind of small spaces he could squeeze through, Ang quickly grabbed a nearby rusty wagon and slid it across the opening. Meanwhile, I sprinted after the goat. When he reached the wagon, he leaped to clear it, but I (with the agility of a small goat-like creature) grabbed him by the waist ("in mid-air, mind you") and wrestled him into my grasp. The goat let out a loud "MAAAAA." I quickly found the nearest spot to place him over the fence, holding him away from my body like he was wet dog. I placed him over the fence, and all the other goats surrounded him, hugged him, and prepared a feast in his honor.

The baby goat was reunited with his mother and family ... our work here was done ... I really hope no one was watching.

The Cabin

2008-06-22T11:49:00.006-05:00

For a few weekends now, Amalia has been experiencing some of the same experiences I had as a child by "going to the cabin." Our family has a little A-frame on a lake about an hour away, so we've been spending some weekends there. I think she likes the water - she hasn't gone in the lake much since it's still pretty cold, but she definitely likes the sand and being outside.

2008-05-22T20:11:00.004-05:00

The past few weeks have been busy ones for us. First was Amalia's birthday complete with a small party. It is really hard for me to believe that she is a year old already. Time goes really, really quickly these days and it seems like she changes so fast. She is walking quite well these days and we often laugh at her waddling around on her little legs.

It was Festival time again this past weekend. I very much enjoyed spending time in my costume again, and Amalia enjoyed wearing hers for the first time. Thanks to her Oma for her sewing ability and willingness to try what ended up being a little more complicated than I thought. You can't tell from the pictures, but the little apron has lots of fancy stuff on it!
Ryan is not wearing a costume which is entirely my fault. I was tasked with finding one for him to wear and failed my assignment.
Bridget came and spent the day with us on Saturday. She entertained Amalia while we were posing for pictures. This is pretty much the only shot we have with a nice smile. She smiles quite a lot but never in front of the camera.

I'm "sick" of it

2008-04-24T20:43:00.001-05:00

Okay, 2 stomach flus, 1 actual week-long flu, 4 ear aches that we're sure about, 2 sinus infections, the chicken pox, and countless colds over the last 4 months. I honestly don't know if this is a lot for one 1-year old or not, but it sure seems like a lot to me. Amalia is now sick with her 2nd stomach flew and I'm not sure if I can take it anymore. She seems surprisingly resilient, but I'm not that optimistic. Just when we think we're almost out of it (it IS Spring...) she gets the chicken pox, an ear ache, and now the stomach flu within a week. I HATE daycare.

Suggestions Please

2008-03-27T19:37:00.002-06:00

Any suggestions for a new title for this blog? We no longer reside in frogtown, so the current title doesn't make much sense. I am seriously struggling with demonstrating any shred of creativity and I don't want to leave it all to my dear husband - so any suggestions would be most welcome.

Today at work I witnessed one of our educators at work in the classroom. 9th graders are really funny. I almost laughed aloud a few times, but thought that might be slightly rude. The educator and I discussed it afterward and she is of the opinion that 8th graders often act more mature than 9th graders because they feel like they need to act like the oldest in the school. 9th graders, on the other hand, realize that they aren't and so don't even try. Like I said, they are funny. The teacher told me that their seating is completely voluntary, and yet, it was completely segregated. There was a space in the middle of the classroom for the projector and a couple of rows of seats on either side of the central aisle. It was girls on the right and boys on the left. Apparently in one of his other class periods there are two more boys than can fit on the left side, so it is a race to get to the classroom since the last two boys in the room have to sit on the "girls" side. Did I mention that the topic today was sex, as in reasons not to have sex when you are a teenager? Like the fact that you don't even sit on the same side of the classroom!

March is a tease

2008-03-22T09:24:00.002-06:00

I've noticed how pretty much everyone I talk to around here is talking about the weather. I know how people talk about the weather for small talk and to talk about something, but this is more than that. I think winter this year has been a little too long and a little too snowy and cold. Worse yet, March is just a cruel tease. We'll have 50 degree temperatures one day, then in the low 30s the next with sleet and snow. That's why March is the worst month of the year. If I were to hate one month above all other months, March would be it, and I wouldn't even care if March felt bad about it. March offers glimpses of Spring, and then snatches that hope away with its cruel, icy-cold fingers. Maybe that's a glass-half-empty mindset, but really, this is just an excuse to post another picture of Amalia - looks like she's ready to get outside too.

Recovery

2008-03-12T19:40:00.002-06:00

This week is a week of recovering from the flu. Last week, Amalia and I were both home sick from the week. As much as it was really awful being sick, it was really nice to spend an entire week home with her. Recovery means that this week we are readjusting to life at work and daycare as well as catching up on sleep and generally getting back to feeling normal.

For those who may be wondering, we still haven't sold our house in SP, so we are still in an apartment in OC waiting more or less patiently for someone to decide they'd really like to buy our house. So if you know anyone...

Check out these moves

2008-03-02T19:59:00.005-06:00

We've been neglecting the blog a little too much lately and hope to remedy that. Life is pretty busy, and Amalia's growing a lot. Hopefully we'll take time to get more pictures and videos. Until then, couldn't help showing off our future soccer star's moves (not that we're putting pressure on her:).

Futbol from Ryan and Angela on Vimeo.

Settling In

2008-02-10T08:07:00.000-06:00

So it's been awhile since we've posted. We're settling in to our "new' existence here in IA. It doesn't seem completely normal, but not so strange either.

Amalia has been lots of fun the past couple of days... after being sick off and on for a couple of months (must be the Iowa air), she is finally feeling better, and it shows. She smiles and giggles much more readily, and has recently discovered that she can do things to amuse herself. One of her favorites yesterday was stretching my headband and letting it go and waiting for it to snap back. Giggles ensued. That makes life really fun.

There has been a request for updated pictures, so I'll comply.

Just in Time

2008-01-04T21:14:00.001-06:00

We arrived in Iowa just in time because I got to do one of my most favorite things in the whole world: help decide who the next leader of the free world will be! I just wanted to rub that in a little - especially to my favorite Sioux Falls friend who decided to live just a few miles away from being able to do this. The caucus was great. I went about 8 years ago with my Sioux Falls friend to the Democratic caucus in Sioux Center and there were maybe 20 people there. Last night, in OC, the Democratic caucus had two huge rooms packed full. It was weird. Part of it, you have to admit, is that "my" candidate has inspired record numbers of independents, republicans, and democrats alike to turn out for the caucuses this year (especially young people - listen to the news), giving him a pretty large victory. Maybe for some, this is the only time where they might be a little jealous of those living in Iowa! Maybe not.

In other news, since we're starting to get threats for not updating this thing, things are going well with us. I've been working for about 3 or 4 weeks now, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's not really a position I ever thought I'd be in, but it's challenging, I'm learning a lot, and there are a lot of plans for me there. Ang is enjoying her job as well, although I don't want to speak for her. We're both pretty busy learning and adjusting to our jobs. We're finally in our own apartment now after staying with my parents for a few weeks. It's working out pretty well, but we're really praying for our house in St. Paul to sell soon. That will be a big burden off our shoulders. One thing we've noticed after living here is that life is still pretty busy and full, but everyday things and errands are just so much easier in a small town. Having family around to help with Amalia and other things is also wonderful. Having family around no matter where you live probably makes things easier in a lot of ways. I'll posted a picture 'cause I can. It's a Christmas picture, so Merry Christmas.

Changes

2007-11-15T19:44:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I know it's been awhile but we've been busy. I'll just get right to it then. We've both been offered jobs and we're moving! It's been falling into place amazingly quickly, almost too quickly. It's all happened within the last couple of weeks, and we're moving in a couple of weeks. We're moving back to the OC, or thereabouts. Ang will start her job the first week in December and I have yet to decide when I'll start if I take the job. Just writing it sounds kind of crazy, but we've been thinking about moving back to where we grew up for awhile now, and things just seemed to work out so far. It was a difficult decision, but it will be nice to be closer to family, especially now that they have a grandchild to watch grow up. Our house is currently on the market, so if you know anyone who needs a well-cared-for house, let us know. Selling our house is probably our biggest concern right now. That and putting Amalia in day care soon. We still need to find a provider, so any good suggestions would be great. Back to packing!

Fall Colors

2007-10-22T12:30:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday the weather was simply gorgeous, the kind of day where I wore a sweatshirt and regretted it. In our second attempt of the season to see the fall colors, we went to Minnehaha Falls Park in Minneapolis and enjoyed part of the afternoon. A few weeks ago we headed north in hopes of catching some beautiful leaves, but were disappointed by the dearth of colored foliage along the St. Croix. Apparently the colors changed much earlier just a few miles north.

There are a couple of pictures of our day in our public album to the right, but unfortunately none of them capture the best of the leaves. Today is another beautiful fall day that makes me wish I wasn't sitting in my office starting out the window. But at least I have a window so I can't really complain.

35 feet of tinned bliss

2007-09-22T21:17:00.000-05:00

What is this new addition to our house you might ask? A new flag pole? No. A new smokestack for our coal power plant in the basement? Close. A phallic symbol? Maybe. It's actually about the third and final attempt at putting a proper cap on our chimney. No, that's not the cap. My parents came up for the weekend and we finally had to remove the existing pipe going from our boiler out the chimney because attaching a cap to it never vented properly. So yeah, that's sticking out of our chimney a good 35 feet. I kind of wanted to keep it like that because we would have the tallest house around, just like how they measure the tallest buildings in the world. I pulled the attached rope to bend it out of the chimney and let it fall. Actually, I took off at a full sprint with the rope in hand so that the pipe wouldn't crash onto our roof and hit our neighbor's house. It's a good thing it was removed because we found out that the existing pipe actually slid down the chimney and covered the vent from the boiler and water heater. Who knew we've been living on the edge of carbon monoxide poisoning or our house burning down for the last 3 years... huh. Another treasure from the day was finding a well-preserved, yet very stiff bird, looking somewhat pidgeon-like (hard to tell by now), plastered against the inside of the chimney in the basement. I don't think he had a very pleasant death. I should have a picture of a finished product, but I didn't take one yet. I don't like to show off my skills (or more accurately, my Dad's) anyway. So that's what we did this weekend.

My turn

2007-09-16T14:29:00.000-05:00

I suppose it is my turn to post something, although I don't have much to say. Nor do I have any good stories... so this is bound to be a dull post. Let's see. What's going on in my life? - There are two firsts over the past couple of weeks:

1. I have joined the facebook craze after Ryan was invited to join by one of his high school classmates. It surprised me how many of my own friends and former classmates were already participating. Not that I take advantage of many of its features, but it is kind of addicting finding out what people are doing and looking at pictures, etc. Kind of like looking at blogs, except blogs are usually more about what is written than about connection.

2. Finally, after all these years, I have begun to read Harry Potter. I am about half way through the fourth book - it is what I do after Amalia goes to bed. It annoys Ryan a bit, because as anyone who has ever been around me when I am in the middle of a book knows, I don't pay attention to anything else going on around me. As for the books, I am enjoying them very much and when I finish one I can hardly wait for the next one. Good thing I didn't start reading them before they were all done, I could hardly have stood the suspense.

Keep Your Dam Hands of off

2007-09-06T10:37:00.000-05:00

To pass the time, I've been walking to a coffee shop that's probably about 5 or 6 blocks from our house. I don't just walk there, I also usually get coffee since it is a coffee shop. Amalia likes the trip in the stroller, and seems to be happier getting out of the house. I've gone so much lately that I've officially become a regular - the manager christened me as a regular about a week ago. On my way back, there is an apartment building that I pass with a fence in the back. I walk past that building and laugh pretty much every time at a sign posted for all the tenants. The picture is of the sign. Sorry it's not very clear, but I had to take it over the fence and do it quickly so that "Rich" wouldn't see me and come after me. My first favorite part about the sign is how it's seems so polite with the "Please" and "Thanks," but then says "keep your dam hands of off stuff." My second favorite part is that he misspells "Dam," has an "of" and an "off" in there, and "its" doesn't have an apostrophe. Oh... the semi-illiterate. Gotta love 'em. Maybe that's cruel, but if you're going to post a sign yelling at all the other tenants, don't give them a reason to laugh at you.

(By the way, if you find anything misspelled or any incorrect grammar in this post, don't laugh at me - I should know better, so it's just sad).

internet schminternet(?)

2007-09-01T07:03:00.000-05:00

Oh internet, how I love thee. I've been without the internet for a week. I know it sounds crazy, and some of you may be wondering how I lived to tell the tale, but I did manage to get a few fixes in at the local coffee shop - if Amalia would allow me enough time to at least download some email. Not surprisingly, I kept pretty busy with normal household chores as usual, but didn't have my email, blogs, news, and job search calling me at the end of the day. The internet was down because we finally broke our third modem so far. It has been pretty sketchy for months now, but I finally brought myself to get a new one. The picture shows that of the many tasks I occupied my time with, I finally decided to hang a hammock we've had since we got married - that's 7 years without a hammock!.

Amalia's Baptism

2007-08-19T13:37:00.000-05:00

It's been a week since she was doused now, so I figure we'd better finally post about it. The whole ordeal went very well, and it was pretty humbling to think about the promises both we and the congregation made to raise her as part of God's family. We were fortunate enough to have all members of our immediate families there, and even all the great-grandmas. We decided to do a picnic at a park near our house after the service, and the weather was spectacular. It was in the 70's and low humidity, which was amazing considering the previous days were in the 90's and humid. A couple nights before, a lot of tree's fell from a storm going through the park, so we dined amidst piles and piles of fallen trees. Also, due to popular demand, there is a picture of me with her in her moby wrap. No, I'm not trying to experience pregnancy myself.

Back to work week

2007-08-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

This was my first week back to work. It's hard for me to say how I feel about it, because my feelings are kind of all over the place. It was good, hard, awful, sad, guilt-inducing, rewarding, exhausting, energizing all rolled into one. If Ryan were not staying home with Amalia, I think it would have been much harder. As it was, I knew that she was fine so I didn't worry about her - I mostly felt sad about missing out on her day. The first few days were the hardest, I cried every time I came home when I looked at her smiling at me and realized that I had missed out on that all day! But being at work is good - I felt very appreciated. And there is lots to be done so I was quite busy. And I like what I do, most of the time. I really wish that I could be split in two and half of me could go to work and half could be with Amalia. Probably what mothers working outside the home everywhere wish. I've loved this weekend and dread tomorrow morning. But I also am looking forward to having to the work that is to be done. So I guess I will be living with really mixed emotions for a good, long while - and I just have to learn to be okay with it. Here's a picture of Amalia doing what she loves most... standing up.

More big news

2007-08-02T09:57:00.000-05:00

By the way, the Sioux Center explosion made the news in Kazakhstan! It must be pretty big: http://www.inform.kz/showarticle.php?lang=eng&id=154010

2007-08-02T07:52:00.000-05:00

In case you may have heard about the bridge collapse in Minneapolis and were wondering about us, we are all fine and as far as we know, everyone we know is fine. Pretty crazy!

Res Ipsa Bar Exam

2007-07-27T13:28:00.000-05:00

I hope this is the last time I will have to utter the words "Bar Exam." I finished it this past Tuesday and Wednesday and the only description that comes to mind is a swear word, so I'll stop right here. Did I pass? They torture you with the results until October, so I can just lie awake at night preparing myself for the possibility of taking it again until I know for sure.

The worst part is that I still have one more test to take before I can be admitted in MN. It's a professional responsibility exam, and I should have taken it right after I took the class in law school. You see, there are some people (me) who seem to think they will get some kind of magic job after law school where no one judges you based on your race, religion, or professional authorization. Then there are others (everyone else) who realize while they are in law school that preparing for these exams ahead of time, and even taking the professional responsibility exam during school after taking the class on it, are important and necessary parts of being gainfully employed afterwards.
Thus, while everyone else who took the bar went home (or more realistically, to the bar to get "wasted") with the satisfaction that their days of being scrutinized by the likes of standardized test examiners has finally ended, I went home saving a little lump in my throat for the only thing that keeps me going anymore: self-pity.

Jewels on Craigslist

2007-07-14T07:10:00.000-05:00

Lately we've been looking on Craigslist for a lot of things we've needed for Amalia, as well as a lot of other big things we need generally. We generally like to buy used items not only for the price, but to keep it from going in a landfill somewhere. I've been using it for quite a while now and sure, we've found some great deals, but that's not the best part. Sometimes the best part is just being witness to the pathetic human drama we all take claim to at some point. Check this link out: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/tls/373294240.html (warning: may contain inappropriate language).

More on the fantastic 4th

2007-07-11T09:10:00.000-05:00

We have returned to MN from our week in IA. It was very nice to spend time with both sets of parents / grandparents. Over the weekend we were at Ryan's family's cabin - it was really hot! Even Amalia got to spend some time in the water to cool off.

Yesterday was Amalia's 2-month appointment. We've known all along that she was a healthy, growing girl and that was confirmed:

Length - 22 3/4 inches (50th %ile)

Weight - 12 lb. 13 oz. (90th %ile)

Head circumference - 15 inches (15th %ile)

At 1 week she was at the 50th %ile for both length and weight and at the 10th %ile for her head circumference. How things change.

She is smiling quite often and giggles and 'talks' to us as well. Most of the time if she is fed and well rested she is a pretty happy girl. Lately she has also discovered her hands and likes to put them in her mouth. I am continually amazed at how much changes in just a couple of weeks. I hear her waking up from her nap, so I guess that's all for this post.

The Fantastic 4th

2007-07-05T07:01:00.001-05:00

We again made the four hour trek to NW Iowa so the grandparents could get their Amalia fix.

It's nice to go home and relax a little for the 4th of July - it makes it feel a little more like summer that way. There's something about the fresh Iowa air (don't laugh) that makes it feel more like summer than in the cities. It's an especially welcome holiday for me (believe it or not, the male contributor to this blog is actually posting) because I've been studying everyday for the bar and just did a mock bar exam last Saturday and Sunday. Amalia was amazing on our drive down since she slept for 3 hours and played by herself for the last hour. The drive really could have sucked if she was unhappy the whole time.
This morning was breakfast at one of OC's three?! coffee shops now, and tonight is hot dogs, conversation, fireworks, and plain good times with the extended family. I'll just try to enjoy the respite, for tomorrow brings more studying.

The kitty likes her!

2007-07-01T17:20:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted anything for awhile because I've been trying to think about what I could post about other than Amalia. But let's face it - right now my life is pretty much centered around her. Not that I mind, but there really isn't much else exciting to tell. So this is another post about Amalia complete with pictures. You'll find below a lovely perspective shot comparing her to the size of my feet. She is still growing, and yes, her legs are now round enough to use the cloth diapers!

You can also see that the cat likes to be near her... or at least he likes the cushion that is near her and her bassinet. Yes, he's tried several more times to sleep with her in the middle of the night and has gotten kicked out of our room as a result. Not permanently, but for the rest of the nights he's jumped in. At least he sticks to jumping in on her legs and not her face.

As for the cat, we are considering renaming him. His name is currently Ellie - actually Elanor - and he was named before we got him by a family that though he was a she. We don't really call him Ellie, we call him Kitty or "the cat" so we thought we could give him a more masculine name without doing much damage to his ability to understand us. We'll probably continue to use Kitty most of the time, but we're shopping for a new official name if anyone has suggestions.

An evening at our house

2007-06-25T08:56:00.000-05:00

More pictures

2007-06-23T08:48:00.001-05:00

It is Saturday and I am home with Amalia - Ryan is at class. We had beautiful weather the last two days, finally a break in the heat... but it is coming back. Today it is supposed to warm up and get humid, followed by a 90 degree day tomorrow and a mid-90 day on Monday. Yuck. I'm sick of summer weather already and it is only the 3rd day of summer. I really hate sweating all the time.

Here are a couple of new pictures of Amalia. As you can see, she is getting quite chubby - what can I say, the girl likes to eat! I am curious what her weight will be at her 2 month check-up in a couple of weeks.

Plans

2007-06-20T11:28:00.000-05:00

So April commented that I have given an update on what Ryan is up to, but not what I am planning to do for the rest of the summer. Here it is. I have another six weeks off of work to spend all of my time with Amalia. Then I will return to work at Uroplasty where we currently have one study under way and another one that is getting started. I've actually done a little bit of work this week - mostly just discussing with folks there a couple of issues that have come up with the study getting under way. It is kind of weird to be so distant from the project that was pretty much mine from the start. I care about it, but not that much - although it is nice to be kept in the loop so I won't have to start from scratch when I return. I am in some ways looking forward to going back, but in most ways I am not. It will be really hard to leave Amalia with a care provider that is yet to be determined. This weekend I talked with a couple of friends from school who have kids in daycare and are working and they both had a few resources that they promised to share with me.

On a completely different note - last night at 4 I woke up to find the cat in the bassinet with Amalia, nicely curled up by her feet. Until now he's really not shown much interest in her... hope we can get him to stay out of there!

Failure

2007-06-16T13:05:00.001-05:00

Our trial run of the cloth diapers failed miserably.

Number of times I got pooped on? Twice. And once was in bed, so lots of laundry.
Number of times the diapers successfully held in the poop? Zero. They were fine for the wet ones, but that's all. Unfortunately Amalia still poops quite often so there is way too much risk.

Our week

2007-06-15T12:05:00.000-05:00

So not that this is intended to be a baby blog... but that is pretty much what I have to write about these days. Our most fun thing this week is that Amalia started smiling. We've been doing our best to try to capture it on camera, but somehow she knows what we are trying to do and always stops whenever we get the camera out.

Let's see, what else to tell you about Amalia. She is getting to be quite a little chunk except for her legs (guess she didn't get her mother's legs). We've been intending to use cloth diapers and have quite a stash of them ready to go, but because he legs are kind of skinny it leaves quite a gap, which makes for a big mess. So up until now we've been sticking to disposables most of the time. We might be at the point where we will use the cloth ones at home regularly, but I think if we go anywhere it might be dangerous. I'm testing it again today.

Otherwise we are just pretty much hanging out most days. Ryan is busy studying for the bar and is gone most mornings at bar class. Next week he has class every day except Wednesday including Saturday. Kind of crappy for the middle of the summer. And it definitely feels like summer here. We've pretty much been at about 90 degrees most days this week. We are trying to keep things as cool as we can without constantly running the air conditioning, but it isn't working very well. We are VERY happy that we do have the option of running the air when we need it.

Okay, here's a random thing I just was thinking about... does anyone else smile, frown and otherwise interact facially when you are typing? I catch myself doing it all the time... or Ryan catches me and makes fun of me. Like now, I'm making facial expressions just as if I am speaking rather than typing. Anyone else?

Pictures

2007-06-12T11:12:00.000-05:00

Here is Amalia at about 1 month. This is a short post due to the one handed typing ... there is a baby on my lap who doesn't want to nap today.

Four weeks old

2007-06-04T13:06:00.000-05:00

Amalia is four weeks old today - and neither Ryan nor I has posted anything in the last four months. It's not that we haven't had the chance, but more that we haven't known exactly what to post (or at least that is true for me). Our lives have changed so incredibly that it is almost hard to remember what we spent time on before Amalia arrived. I was just thinking today that it usually takes at least 30 days for something to become a habit... the same might be true for getting used to an infant - although probably more than 30 are required because things change so much from day to day. My typical day is spent feeding, changing, trying to get Amalia to sleep, trying to take a nap or get a few things done and then feeding Amalia again. Then repeat. She has been a pretty content baby most of the time, although she had a couple of crabby days this week which was no fun at all. I'm not sure I'd survive if she were a really fussy baby. The last couple of days have been good and we've been able to do a few more normal things like rent a movie, go on walks, and have some friends over for wine and cheese. It also helps a lot that she had a couple of good night of sleep. I love sleep - it makes me happy.

Introducing...

2007-05-09T15:06:00.000-05:00

Introducing... Amalia (Ahmahlia) Grace, born Monday night at 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long! We are blessed to have both mother and baby girl doing very well, resting and eating a lot. I'm sure we'll post more later.

Full term baby!

2007-04-21T08:51:00.000-05:00

As of yesterday, the little one is officially a full-term baby, which means that it is grown enough to be born! Chances are we've still got a few weeks to wait. Lots of folks have been asking me when I am going to stop working. So far my plan is to keep working until I don't think it is a good idea anymore. I don't have that much maternity leave to waste and I don't think it would be so good for me to sit at home just waiting. Of course this all could change if my blood pressure increases much (it has been somewhat high at the last couple of visits to the midwife). This week the midwife commented that we might have to have the half-day talk. But all of the other tests came back okay, so it is still full-time for now and trying to take it easy and take lots of breaks throughout the day.

Ryan is busy finishing up his last few weeks of law school. I keep reminding him that this should be exciting, but he just sees it as a sign that exams and the bar exam are getting closer. It will definitely be a big change for us to have neither of us in school... there has been only one other year this has happened in our 7 years of marriage. I think it will be a nice change.

Finally - spring is here!

2007-04-14T08:50:00.000-05:00

It is finally really spring. Today looks to be a sunny, wonderful day. Already at 9:00 am it is warmer than it was all day last week Saturday. Time to get outside and take a walk.

Ready.... or not

2007-04-12T17:14:00.000-05:00

So yesterday someone at work said to me "so you've got about a month left" and I realized that yes, May 11 is just one month from April 11. He continued " So are you ready?" I said I could use a couple of weeks. Technically in about one week the baby will be full-term and could be born any time, but it's probably unlikely. In fact, the average for first timers is about 41 weeks. But back to the question of being ready... I really do need a couple weeks more. I thought we were doing pretty well getting prepared - we have most of the essential items. But there are those things that I jut haven't gotten around to yet including hanging the pictures up in the baby's room. Not a big deal, I know. It would certainly not matter much if the pictures didn't get hung up, but it is one of those things that really should get done. Then there are things at work that I've been aiming to complete before I leave - and things are conspiring to make it nearly impossible to get them done. Like other projects that keep creeping in or meetings here and there that end up taking up way too much of my time. And let's be honest, I procrastinate. So I'm doing it again, waiting until the last minute. Well, the last month at least since chances are nothing will happen for at least another month. But it was a little scary for me to have someone ask the question and realize that no, I'm not ready. Not quite yet.

2007-04-08T17:36:00.000-05:00

Another picture

2007-04-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

My mom thought I should have a picture with the same shirt as the one a few months ago... so here it is. This is me on Easter Sunday. Happy Easter!

Lazy Saturday

2007-04-07T12:53:00.000-05:00

I don't really have anything terribly interesting to blog about today, but I have decided that I should try to update things a little more frequently. So if you are bored with it... just don't read any more. Since I live in Minnesota, I must discuss the weather. It is really sunny out today, but absolutely freezing outside. It has been that way for the past couple of days and it is really frustrating because it looks so nice - and it should be nicer, it is April after all. I want spring to be here! I am hoping for a few nice weekends before the baby arrives to do some work in the yard - I'm hoping to be able to get some plants from the Friends School plant sale again this year, although it is being held the very weekend the baby is due so we'll see. The Friends School (which is in our neighborhood more or less) puts on a giant plant sale every year as their major fundraiser. For the past two years it has been big enough that they use a hall at the state fair grounds. The plant selection is excellent and includes a fair number of native plants, which we've tried to take advantage of. The plants are also very reasonably priced compared to what you'd pay at many other places. I make it sound like we've got a great yard and I love to garden, which isn't entirely true. I'm still very new at it, and don't have much of a green thumb. But I do love the look of a well-gardened yard, so we're doing our best to give ours some landscaping as opposed to none (which is pretty much what was here when we moved in). I'm hoping that even with a new baby we'll be able to add a bunch of stuff this year.

I'm now beginning the baby countdown in earnest. It is now between 2-7 weeks til it arrives! Someone was telling me this week about an acquaintance who is expecting and is already calling the baby by name... to me there is such anticipation in not knowing yet exactly who the new person in our family will be. Not knowing even whether it is a new he or she. Over the past week I've had more desire than before to know which pronoun to use, Ryan has too. I think as it gets closer, I want to be able to know just a little more, to plan a little more, to have a little more sense of control. But I think it is good for both of us to have the mystery, to be unable to plan any further than we have - to be reminded that we're really not at all in control.

Visual update

2007-04-02T20:15:00.000-05:00

End of March

2007-03-30T11:03:00.000-06:00

As March draws to a close, I am looking out my window at work and it is raining (I'm on my lunch hour). It has been a pretty rainy couple of days.

So this is the post I began last Friday... today is Monday and not much has changed except that it is the beginning of April. It is still rainy-looking outside, although there is no actual rain (yet). They are predicting snow for tomorrow - I hope that it isn't anything much because we are just starting to see some hyacinth and tulip bulbs peeking out of the ground. There are weeds too, but since all the snow melted I haven't had a chance to get out in the yard and pull them. I am hoping for a nice weekend someday soon.

Joel is asking for updates, not sure if talking about the weather counts. So I'll update on the baby, since it seems to be what is most often on my mind these days. In fact, Ryan complains that it must be all I think about. Hey, if you've got someone poking you in the ribs periodically you tend to think about them. So I'm feeling pretty good although a bit more tired than I was and considerably more big and awkward. Yesterday at church someone patted my belly and said "oh my, but you've popped, when are you due?" When I replied that I was due in 6 weeks, she said something to the effect of "that's good because you are really getting big." Thanks. Just what I wanted to hear. So six weeks to go until the due date... but I usually try to make myself think of 3-8 weeks to go, just so I don't get too committed to a specific date. We have a newly painted upstaire (thanks mom and dad) and a crib with bedding and diapers and some clothes thanks to the generosity of friends and coworkers who threw us a couple of baby showers. So I think we're getting prepared. We're also mentally preparing as much as is possible when you have no idea how your life is going to change but you know that it will. We both have our moments of freaking out about it, but today isn't one of those moments. Right now I should really get back to work.

Getting there

2007-02-24T10:25:00.000-06:00

In my last post (yes, a couple of months ago) I promised pictures of the ultrasound if they were good. We didn't get a really good profile shot or anything but did get some pictures of the feet and mouth and nose. But I decided not to post them since it is kind of hard to tell what they are. I thought I'd post a pic of me instead. So here I am a few weeks ago - definitely pregnant but still not huge. I think I'm a little bigger now than I was then. It is kind of strange to think that in a couple of weeks I and the baby have both grown considerably. I'm feeling quite good (the question everyone always asks is 'how are you feeling?' so I thought I'd answer it for all of you).

I am also going to post a funny picture of the cat - Ryan caught him napping on his favorite spot on the heater next to the window. Apparently he was pretty much smashed up against the window and then woke up and stretched. Isn't he cute!

Christmas goings on

2006-12-17T16:22:00.000-06:00

This is the last week of work before I get a two week break. Yeah! It proves to be a pretty busy week, full of last minute stuff before the Christmas holiday. I think I only have one party to attend, at the home of our company's COO. It should be an interesting time with a mix of people from our company, consultants, and who knows who else. Next weekend we head to OC for Christmas celebrating, then we're off to Hawaii for more celebrating and relaxing. I love the idea that on Friday I will leave work and not be back for two entire weeks. It really hasn't been that long since we went to Europe, but somehow it seems like a vacation is really necessary. I've been checking out the weather forecast and it looks like it has been in the 70s and 80s over the last week. Sounds fabulous!

In baby news... we have our 20 week ultrasound this week. I am looking forward to seeing something that looks more like a baby than the last couple of ultrasounds we had. I've felt the baby moving on occasion for the past week and a half, but I hope that he or she is wide awake at the ultrasound so I can see the movement. If we get a good picture I might have to post it. It is starting to be a little more real now that I can see my stomach growing and feel movement. Hey, there is really a baby in there! Seems a little bit nuts that the next time Ryan is busy studying for exams we'll either be parenting or waiting oh so patiently.

16 Weeks

2006-11-27T10:37:00.000-06:00

As promised by all pregnancy websites, I no longer feel the need to sleep every four hours. I have a normal amount of energy (which for me still means falling asleep on the couch at 9:30 most nights).

We enjoyed a lovely Thanksgivng weekend back in OC spending time with both of our families. I also got to see Bridget (yeah!). I think snow is coming this week, which will be good in time for Christmas. Tonight I must get all of the Christmas decorations out of storage and then maybe it will feel like the right season.

Today a couple more people at work found out about the pregnancy. They both asked me how long we've known and I said ' quite a while' but didn't quite know how to explain that it wasn't a secret or anything but that I just find it very awkward to tell people. It isn't something that comes up in conversation easily and I'm not a big announcement kind of person. I was hoping the news would spread on its own, but apparently until today the right kind of spreader people didn't know.

It's official

2006-10-21T10:22:00.000-05:00

Okay - I suppose that its been official since the beginning, but now we are officially sharing the news that I am pregnant! I am now 11 weeks along and have had two ultrasounds due to some spotting. The ultrasounds have shown that the baby continues to grow as expected and there isn't any evidence of any problem. Of course there is always still a risk of miscarriage, especially before 12 weeks, but we decided that we'd share the news anyway because at this point if we did have a miscarriage we'd want to share that too. So here's hoping that the next weeks go well and the little one continues to grow like it is supposed to.

I've been feeling pretty good, very little nausea and no vomiting (yeah!), but I have been more tired that usual - Ryan is getting a little sick of having to wake me up to go to bed after I fall asleep on the couch.

Apparently in the second trimester (only two weeks to go) I should be expecting my energy to pick back up. It will be lovely to not feel like I need a nap every four hours.

Kitty kitty kitty

2006-08-31T19:27:00.000-05:00

Ellie is doing quite well and adjusting to her new home. Ryan spoils her and worries about her a lot. He accuses me of not playing with her or holding her enough. I keep telling him that she is a cat - and she'll do her own thing (which happens to be following Ryan everywhere and sitting by him wherever he is). I don't think she likes me as much... maybe because I don't play with her or pet her enough.

In other news, I've been quite busy at work lately. My duties now include essentially managing the day to day details of the clinical research study on top of my usual Regulatory Affaris duties. I'm enjoying it, but the stress level is a little more than I've grown accustomed to. I may actually start taking work home one of these days. The horror!

Elanor

2006-08-29T08:08:00.000-05:00

The Cat in the ...

2006-08-28T19:16:00.000-05:00

KVisser house. So, after a brief hiatus there is something exciting enough to post to this blog. We are getting a cat. I'm not sure that Ryan is terribly excited about it - he is really more of a dog person, but he said that it was up to me. A cat is a better pet for us than a dog at this juncture. Our dog experience last year taught us that dogs (and puppies in particular) require a lot of time and attention. It is cruel to leave them alone for an entire day and they require walking and going outside to the bathroom. Cats on the other hand are perfectly content to be by themselves for the day and can use an indoor 'bathroom'. You can also leave them for a long weekend without having to find a dogsitter or kennel. Ryan has also pointed out that you don't get to go for walks with them or play fetch. True. But I suppose you could take a cat for a walk if you wanted to. Hmmm. So in conclusion - we're getting a cat even though it might not be quite as much fun as a dog. I think it will still be very sweet and cuddly and like to play. The cat is from another family at church and it is named Elanor - Ellie for short. We've been given permission to rename it, but I think we'll keep it. I'll post pictures after we pick her up.

2006-07-11T12:48:00.000-05:00

The Gardens at Versailles

2006-07-11T12:45:00.000-05:00

On holiday

2006-06-26T21:11:00.000-05:00

I love the term holiday - in Europe it refers to a vacation and is usually about a month long. One of my coworkers overseas likes to rub it in during conference calls by casually mentioning that he won't be in during July. Nice.

For me and I imagine for most of the U.S. the term holiday refers to a single day set aside by the government and/or your employer and which you may or may not get off of work. I had a holiday today for my birthday. No, today was not my birthday. Our comnpany gives all employees a birthday holiday to be taken within 30 days of your birthday. It is really quite nice - and today was a lovely day off. There is something really fun about having a regular old weekday off. It feels different than a Saturday and definitely different than a holiday that many people get off of work, like 4th of July. Today Ryan and I finished painting our kitchen cabinets (which is really more of a Saturday thing to do, but we were finished by 9:30 so it can be overlooked). Then I spent some time on the computer, began reading a book, went for coffee with my friend Erika and went for a run. What a lovely holi-day.

Tag

2006-06-22T21:20:00.000-05:00

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, and find line 4. Mine says
"of God's earth is clearly a question of Christian ethics. Truth telling is also a"

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch? My green, painted paneling wall.

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV? The Office

4. Without looking, guess what time it is. 9:15

5. Now look at the clock. What is the actual time? 9:18 pm

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? A fan in the window.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing? At 7:30, eating dinner on the patio.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at? My e-mail

9. What are you wearing? Shorts and a t-shirt. Comfy clothes

10. Did you dream last night? Not that I can remember

11. When did you last laugh? Watching The Office with Ryan - mostly I was laughing at him laughing at the show.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in? Sadly, nothing yet...

13. Seen anything weird lately? Some people around here are into tall, strange looking bikes. I think they are pretty weird.

14. What do you think of this quiz? It's long...

15. What is the last film or video you saw? X-Men in the theater. Loved it... and stayed for the special scene at the end.

16. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy? A house in a more enjoyable neighborhood - where we could walk to everything.

17. Tell me something about you that I don’t know. I left the house tonight with my shirt on inside out - we were in the liquor store before Ryan noticed it.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or
politics, what would you do? That is an impossible question for me to answer. Give every kid at least one great parent?

19. Do you like to dance? Yes! But I only rarely do it in public.

20. Comment to George Bush: I think I'll pass.

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Grace or Anneke

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him? Boy names are harder... Noah maybe.

23. Would you ever consider living abroad? yep!

24. What do you want God to say to you when you reach the pearly gate? Come on in!

25. 4 people who must also do this quiz on THEIR blog: Jacob, Andrew, Kelly (I know that's only three, but I doubt even that many will read this one... so if you are reading it, you're it).

For love of technology

2006-06-19T20:33:00.000-05:00

Technology has really come a long way. I was just sitting outside on our patio with my computer on the table reading the blogs of friends and family. Do you remember when MS Windows was a new thing and everyone was still wondering what use the internet would really be? It might be that people my age are really the in between generation... the last generation to remember what things were like without computers. And I myself hardly remember what it was like. In fact, I find it so much easier to use a computer than any other information source. By contrast, my mom would much sooner pick up a telephone or a telephone book for that matter. And encyclopedias. Crazy that we ever thought you could summarize a topic in a single set of volumes. Well, okay, wikipedia attempts to do kind of the same thing. I guess there is always a need for summary information - but I am continually amazed at the amount of info you can find on any topic imaginable. Now instead of teaching kids how to look up information in books, we need to teach them about finding reputable sources because the looking up part is as simple as googling a topic.

I am grateful for the fact that I can sit here, outside, with my computer and be linked to a world of information. But I wonder what I'd be doing otherwise.

Gossip

2006-04-27T19:18:00.000-05:00

I am realizing more and more that I have a tendency to gossip. Not a good quiality, I know.

There has been some very juicy gossip at work this week. Mostly speculation, but things just keep coming up. There are a couple of co-workers who, I am inclined to think, are having an affair. I learned today through the gossip mill that both of them are getting divorced from their respective spouses. It is really quite sad if it is true. Another terrible part is that one is the other's boss. Like I said, it is only speculation... but something just doesn't feel right. And there was a little suspicion even prior to learning about the divorces.

So although this probably counts as gossipping, I felt the need to share. And I'm not sure how to react to the two of them anymore. I've done my best to avoid them lately when possible.

That's the juice for today. And maybe now that I've shared it with the virtual world I can stop thinking about it.

2006-04-17T19:30:00.000-05:00

Last month Ryan and I took a weekend trip to the North Shore. We stayed at a nice place a few miles north of Duluth and visited Split Rock State Park and Gooseberry Falls State Park. We had intended to use our cross country skis, but thanks to the warmish weather it was quite impossible to ski. There was still enough snow on the ground for us to slosh around the hiking trails. I was very glad I was wearing my winter boots!

Monday

2006-04-17T19:13:00.000-05:00

Hey Bridget - hope you haven't been checking this blog too often. Apparently e-mail isn't the only mode of communication that I fail to follow up with. I've definitely got to get into the habit of posting or it will never happen. But once it becomes a habit you can bet it will be hard to break me of it :-)

Today is Monday, April 17. This week Friday half of my office is moving to a new location across the Twin Cities. Thankfully, I won't have to move until the second round - and no one really knows when that will be. The upside of the move is that the office feels like the end of the school year. No one really is getting much done and people are giddy - the weather in the 70's helps as well. Anyway, it's a Monday and despite the giddiness it is always hard to go back to work on a Monday.

This one's for you

2006-01-29T20:54:00.000-06:00

Since deciding that I was spending way too much time watching tv, I've decided that I should start reading books again. I will still watch tv, but I must at least read one book a week. This week is off to a good start - I just finished reading Elenor Rigby by Douglas Coupland. I enjoy his storytelling and am fascinated by the fact that he chose to write a novel from the perspective of a 36 year old lonely woman. I don't really know what to say about it - I'm still mulling it over in my head.

A sad day

2005-11-01T20:54:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a very sad day. Our puppy, Baron died during surgery. He was supposed to be neutered and have a hernia repaired. Ryan called around noon to tell me that the vet had called and said that Baron hadn't made it. I don't think either one of us had really ever thought that any of the risks associated with surgery were anything to worry about.

It's really amazing how much we bonded with Baron in such a short time (we had him since October 1). It is terribly sad - we even miss the annoying stuff like having to get up in the middle of the night to take him out to pee.

So here we go...

2005-10-30T15:28:00.000-06:00

I've officially joined the world of blogging. Recently I had a conversation with a friend about blogs and said that I wasn't sure I wanted to start one for the following reasons:
a - It may be too trendy for me. I'm not really that cool.
b - I'm a little nervous about having others read my writing. As of late, most of my writing is professional writing and not 'personal' or 'creative' in any way.

That said, I love to read a blog to catch up with someone I rarely talk to. My favorites are from friends who are great story tellers - I get a good story and get to catch up at the same time. I'm no story teller (just ask Ryan), but my goal with this blog is to allow folks to catch up with me without e-mail or a phonecall (since I'm lousy at keeping up with both). So, if you're curious what the Vissers or Kroeze Vissers are up to, drop by.