Thank heaven . . . for little girls

Hello everyone,

Glad to hear you are feeling better Elissa! Thank you for the pics of Taylor by way of blog and mail. You take some fabulous candid shots! Our family blog is full of lovely ladies. I have a few more to contribute, if I may please.

The annual 2010 Girl Scout father / daughter dance; oh, the things Marty does for his girls. Maria and Shaylee playing in the snow; this is a pastime that has long past its time! Millard West Band and the Rose Bowl Parade 2010; what a way to cap Erika's senior year.

Lovingly,

Gigi

P.S. Remember the date: Saturday, 6/19/10 Bull Family Picnic and Strotman baby shower.

Having babies and being tired!

Well, it's been forever since my last post! Congrats again to Niki and Matt and yes, she's hot on our tails in this baby race :)

Sorry this is such a long post, but I tried to hit a few highlights over the last 6 months...first up being Taylor will be a big sister beginning of August! This was Matt's early Christmas present. We shared the fun news with our families at Christmas by giving them the picture of Taylor below (I won't mention who took the longest to figure out what it meant - yes, that would be Grammy, Janice, she apparently didn't take notice the first time we tried this trick :) The pregnancy is going well, except I've had lots of nausea this time around compounded by being sick (hazards of having a toddler), but I'm almost over this last cold and haven't thrown up or felt sick for 5 days straight so I'm optimistic that I'm over that stage. Taylor was inspecting my belly the other day and I told her that I had a baby in my belly. Taylor loves babies and thought this was nice and gave my belly a pat and a kiss! Hopefully this does not cause any confusion because she was then looking at her belly and talking about a baby...I was quick to tell her that only Mommy has a baby in her belly.


Going back a few months...Taylor celebrated her 1st birthday in August and had a great time! We had lots of family and friends join us for Taylor's Big Bird Bash, and thanks cousin Cassi for dressing to the theme :)

Taylor had her first taste of cake and it went something like this:

hmmm...what's this? Let me give it a lick! Delicious! Let's lick all this frosting off, give Sampson a taste and tada, it's all gone!

In September we visited Aunt Kelly and Uncle Paul and their dog, Lily. Lily and Taylor were fast friends...or let's say Taylor loved Lily when she was fast enough to catch her! We also got a chance to see great-Grandma and Grandpa on our trip. As you can see, Taylor can be a little squirmy for pics!

This October we went to the pumpkin patch with Matt's family. The day was cold, but Taylor had fun playing with Baleigh and picking out the perfect pumpkins!

November brought one last warm, sunny day, perfect for playing in leaves!

Thanksgiving was spent at Grammy and Granddad's (Ed & Janice) with Uncle Zac. Taylor posed for pictures and was captured by the baby highchair Grammy found for her. Grammy even found the old baby doll whose hair I cut one fateful visit at Grandma and Grandpa Stamp's for her to play with!

Grammy made a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, but unfortunately, Taylor was just too pooped to enjoy it!

Christmas was spent with Matt's family and Taylor partied 'til 9:30 that night! She got lots of gifts and some favorites were/are a shopping cart and play food and her big bouncy horse (her feet just barely reach the tops of the stirrups now, but that doesn't stop her from rocking the heck out of it!). Taylor also acknowledged baby cousin Landon for the first time that night and tended to him by sweetly wiping his mouth.

February has flown by and Taylor is 18 months now! Taylor and I made a quick visit to Grammy, Granddad and Uncle Zac in the beginning of February and had a nice little trip. Well, the actual trip getting there was, let's say "challenging," but once we were there we had a great time. Unfortunately, the weather was not so good that weekend so our trip began with flight delay, flight delay, Taylor's bedtime at takeoff, full, hot flight, squirming, crying (mostly Taylor), circling before landing (to clear off the runway) and the grand finale of Mommy puking! Yes, I was the pregnant lady flying with small, fussy child and throwing up on the plane...don't worry, I found the little bag in time :) Flip side, this was my worst travel experience and all the other can only be better! Taylor had fun reconnecting with her old pals, Michaela and Nick and I managed to snap one of her and Michaela both looking at the same time.

Taylor's been growing hair and I can just manage a little ponytail in back. She's the ultimate little girly girl and I have no idea where she got that from....must be Daddy :) She loves necklaces, rings, bows, sunglasses, babies and helping Mommy put on makeup.

Taylor has pretty much had a cold since Thanksgiving so her nose has looked like this for a while, but she keeps her sweetness even when she's sick and I can see the end with March coming!

Taylor is talking constantly now and I can't even count all of the words she has. She even has phrases and it's lots of 'Where's Daddy?', 'I poop', 'What doin?', 'I need cracker' and things like that. Her cutest new thing is giving Sampson (our dog) commands. He doesn't quite pick up on it, but I'll repeat it and it gives her such a thrill to see him comply! She still loves music and now loves to "sing" songs like "head, shoulders, knees and toes," "ABC" and "ring around the rosy." My favorite is when I sing the ABCs I also sign the letters so she sings and tries to sign as well, it's very cute!

I'll try to post some videos soon...Love, Elissa, Matt and Taylor

sorry, i'm going to whine, moan and complain...along wtih some good news :)

Sorry all. It's my turn to crash the blog. But I have some whining, moaning and complaining to do. But I DO have some good news. Please bear with me, as I am currently frustrated with work (which I'll get to in a few), trying to find a new job and getting rejected each and every time and last but not least, FEELING LIKE CRAP! Okay, so I'll start with this EVIL job.

So I'm getting sick and tired of the inconsistencies at work. Long story short, there is no communication with staff and we're supposed to be team players. However, there is NO teamwork!!!! Management is JUST as bad as they tell the youth things, but NOT US! So here we are thinking they are trying to manipulate us, when it's the truth. Plus we have NO say in our jobs and are the "babysitters". YC's (Youth Counselors) undo everything we say, so why even bother making a decision? You know, it's just VERY frustrating. Okay, that venting session is over. Sorry. Had to get that off my chest. I know, the blog isn't for this, but I'm about to S-C-R-E-A-M!

So about the job search. Well, I've applied for so many jobs and have been rejected each and every time! I interviewed for a Protection/Safety Worker job in Omaha (Hotline/Intake) but did not get it. I have been unsuccessful in applying for them. BUT the Watson-Glaser test was VERY hard and sucked. It took me CLOSE TO THREE HOURS to complete it! It was supposed to take 1-1 1/2 hours! LOL! Multiple choice testing your critical thinking skills and reasoning DOES NOT WORK for me! LOL! But the writing portion was really good. But I have a mind that can look at every answer and say that from each angle they are all right. That's one reason I'm horrible at tests! I also applied for a DDS Adjudicator position in Lincoln. I thought they were sending me a rejection letter, but they asked me to submit a writing sample with my responses to their questions. They were supposed to have people informed by Friday (the 19th) if they got an interview or not. I didn't get a call :(. So once again, REJECTED! I called Mr. Willman today and left a voicemail to confirm if he got my package or not. *sighs* That was a glimmer of hope--but it's faded. I REALLY want to give up looking for a new job and be tortured at HRC FOR LIFE! ARGH.

So now the GOOD news :). I recently completed my senior seminar (extension until the end of January). I did my project on adult adoptees from Korea and how their life was impacted by adoption. I surveyed over 1,500 members of a Facebook group, but only around 39 responded. I was disappointed, but happy in a way, as I didn't have to weed through TONS of surveys. But it well overall, minus the EVIL statistics I had to do. Thank goodness my old stats teacher was willing to help me. He suggested which stats I do and that helped. He had to help me like 3 DIFFERENT times! LOL! He wouldn't let me pay him either, but I got him an Eileen's cookie in the end to thank him. But I presented my research to my adviser and my former adviser. They were impressed with what I did. A 15 minute presentation was about 45 minutes. I'm sooooo good at being long-winded :P. My report was supposed to be 8-10 pages of my steps and what I did. Well, that narrative was 36 pages in the end (overkill--yes, but I wanted to be PERFECT). lol. Oh and I procrastinated it also--but with the stress of my other class and my teacher pissing me off, I REALLY was thankful for the extension. But my grade was posted like a few days after, and I got an A! So now all the requirements are done for my second bachelors degree. This one is in Human Relations. I will receive it in May, but am DONE! YAY!!!

That is the good news. So hopefully I'll be able to find jobs now (yeah right!). I feel like crap and I don't know who gave it to me either! I woke up feeling fine, but started to develop a stuffy nose today and the hint of a sore throat. The nurse looked in my throat at work and didn't see it turning red and no puss! But mom looked and said it was starting to get red. So now I have a sore throat on my right side pretty bad. I have a feeling it'll be the cold. Karma has come back to bite me. I brag about how I NEVER get sick and BAM! I'm getting sick. Ugh. Good news? I can be sick all this week and weekend and not go to work! I hope *crosses fingers* I work Wed and Fri and then the weekend. Maybe I'll be sick enough to stay home. I can only hope right??? At least it's not strep throat.

Well, that is all for now. I guess my venting session is over and I should go to bed. I'm tired, have a headache and don't feel the best. But at the same time, I need to find some drugs that will help this sore throat. I'll be surfing the net a little bit longer.

BTW, Nancy, do you know of anyone OTHER than Palmer-Wilson that will work with me??? I think you told my mom there is no one else, but just double-checking. Thanks! For those of you who don't know, I have been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. No wonder I see the world differently than you all and never understand where you're coming from! LOL! it sounds scary but it's really not. If you do some research on it, it just talks about how the brain has developed differently than a normal brain. Very interesting but at the same time--SUCH A CURSE FOR ME! Oh well. At least I know what it is finally and will STOP getting misdiagnosed!

Okay, now I'm off. I'll be back later when I have better news (like getting a NEW job) or feeling better or needing to vent about work again. Toodles.

Can't wait, can't wait!

Double the fun! The annual family picnic will be held on Saturday, June 19th in the home of Marty and Gigi. Also, we are excited to inform you a Strotman twin baby shower will be incorporated within that celebration.

Please mark your calendars.

Cassidy Says Go USA from Vancouver!

Hi!
Yes, the kid is living the dream in BC for four days at the Olympics. She'll post more later, but thought I would share this photo sent from her phone. I see she's already been shopping. Go USA!

And thanks Mary Jo for your sweet note about Niki and Matt's double exciting news. We're tickled pink..and blue...or pink and blue. The girls are sure giving me and Steve something else to think about besides this stinkin' cold weather!

Love to all,
Suki

How Exciting!

What exciting news from Niki. I guess that organic food really packs a punch! Thanks for the pictures of little A and B and for sharing your good news with all of us. Love, Mary Jo

Here we grow again!

One more bit of news to add to the Team Strotman mix: We're having TWINS! Twice the work, but twice the fun! Thanks to everyone for their well-wishes along the way.

It was very shocking when we found out. Well, actually I was freaked while Matt stayed relatively calm. (Pretty much our reactions to everything. It's a good balance.) I already have a million questions for Nancy since she managed a long, healthy pregnancy with two good-sized, fantastic kids.

My mom was squeal-out-loud, teary, over-the-moon when we told them. My dad sat pretty stunned and colorless since he worries too much anyway and now has twice the stress. I've been assured he was splashed with cold water when I left and has joined the confetti cannon parade. (I know they both worry like crazy, and that's just one of the many reasons they're going to be the best grandparents we could ever hope to have for our kids.)

A few questions I've been getting quite a bit:

• Yes, we are extremely excited. A little scared, but thrilled.



• Yes, these are fraternal twins, not identical.



• No, I can't feel anything yet, but hopefully in a month or so.



• Yes, we will be finding out the genders in about six weeks. (We're hoping for one of each.)

I got to call grandma again and tell her she was going to go from one great grand kid to four in a couple week's time. The race is on between Elissa and me!

Below is a couple of ultrasound pictures from last week when they were roughly the size of peaches. It's so very very strange what all you can see at this point while they squirm around. We have two heads, four legs, four arms, plenty of ribs, and so much more. It's pretty amazing.

Love, Niki & Matt

Hello from Hastings

So good to hear from the younger generation. Thanks for the pictures, Heather, and we hope the tubes work well.

And Niki, congratulations on your news! My husband, the organic farmer, says you are sure to have a well-nourished baby with your healthy diet. By the way, was the pasta machine you described for us in honor of a "decade birthday"? If so, what a great way to start the next one (I mean the baby, of course.)

Short post today...I fell in my kitchen, slammed my arm into the wall and ligaments pulling cracked the bone in my upper arm. 6 wks in a sling, then an MRI to be sure the rotator cuff is OK, then 6 wks of phys. therapy. My typing is "restricted". MJ

Hello from the Talbott's in Lincoln

I hope everyone is doing well, I apologize for not posting sooner. It seems like time just get's away quicker everyday. So here it is now February.

Things in Lincoln are going great. Ben has been working alot, all different hours of the day of course and really no schedule but we are thankful he has a good job with good benefits.

I'm continuing to LOVE my job at Madonna. We've made some headlines with the Git-R-Done Foundatino donating 1.2 million dollars for our pediatric program. So there is lots of excitement and lots of changes coming. I love working Monday thru Friday and am loving my weekends!

Carlie of course is keeping us busy, she's a little wild. This past month she has been battling ear infections and has had several rounds of antibiotics, finally we decided to get tubes, which was done this am. It was a very quick procedure. By the time she went back to the OR, I was able to get a glass of water and ready the local section of the newspaper and they came to get me because she was done. All went well the physician said she had a "ton" of fluid in her ears and she would be feeling so much better. She did have a bit of a post anesthesia fit, throwing animal crackers and slapping her mama in the face. The post-op nurses assured me this is very common for kiddos coming out of anesthesia. This afternoon we've taken it really easy but she is going full speed ahead and is very happy dancing and singing. She is quite the entertainer. I hope everyone is doing well and I hope you enjoy the following picutres.

Love, Ben, Heather and Carlie