giddy up, it's christmas!

Being that it has been a while since we last wrote, Dawn and Bill both contributed segments to this post

What hasn't happened since the last post?!? Where do I begin? We have concluded why Ella hasn't started staking steps at home. They say that babies (or toddlers) will only take steps in places where they are comfortable. Since she has spent more time at the her daycare provider's house then our new house, she is more comfortable to do it there. Ella had her first McDonald's Happy Meal this weekend. Isn't it sad that in our society I find this to be a milestone?

Ella was greeted on Christmas morning by her gift from Santa: a Rocking horse. Um, Santa thought that Ella would just love this precious horsey from the moment they laid eyes on each other. This not was the case, however. She didn't necessarily mind it, from afar. But she hasn't really taken to riding the darn thing yet - trying to just made for a very upset Christmas girl. Maybe she just needed her diaper changed or a snack, we weren't sure. So we tried it again later on in the afternoon, still with little success. Maybe tomorrow. Ella also got a few more toys for Christmas and some more outfits. Onto North Dakota for more presents and holiday Cheer on Wednesday.

Christmas Eve, as always, a very nice evening, hosted by Rob and Annie. Santa made a quick visit to bring some presents to the kiddos, which was an especially nice treat for them. Ella got some groceries to use in her kitchen, Tristan got a toy truck, and baby Ashton got some new jammies. Ella didn't really care too much that the Man in Red was there, but Tristan was very excited! He was very concerned with where he parked his sleigh :). Which, considering the current weather conditions, that was a very valid concern! We spent Christmas Day at Hugh & Joni's. Delicious munchies were had by all. Dawn scored a new winter jacket, some winter boots, and some cooking utensils. Bill nabbed a new sport coat, and some tools. Auntie Debbie shared the day with us as well.

It started snowing on Wednesday night, the 23rd. It is still snowing and it is almost the 26th. The temperature this Christmas got up to around 35 degrees, so the snow isn't really light and fluffy, it's heavy and soggy. Dad tried to snowblow the driveway but I really think I heard the snowblower laugh and say "Yeah right!". We had a neighbor graciously offer his snowplow to help Dad out. What a life-saver!

song: Billy Mack - Christmas Is All Around

memory: This short memory has to do with the subject at hand...Christmas. When we lived in Richfield (from age 0 to age 14), my Dad always setup an electric train underneath our tree. And year-in and year-out, although we never intended to break it (cause we didn't want to find out the consequences), my brother and I always put little obstacles and jumps on the track. Apparently the train is still in working order in a box in my 'rents basement. Might have to dig that out next year.

As I mentioned before, we are heading to Bismarck and New Town on Wednesday. I am hoping to post at least one more time before the new year. I hope your Christmas was memorable and family filled. In my next post (more as a reminder for myself), I will include of picture of the family Christmas card we sent as well as my opinion of the BS holiday commercials that are flooding the stations today.

times remembered

Sorry for the random notes before, but eventually we recount Ella's birth...hence the title of the post. Well, it might be time for the mutt to get a special Christmas present this year. As I last wrote, I took Charm to the train station on Sunday night. Unfortunately, when we were heading out the door, Gage got a wild hair (or a cold hair as he later found out), to run out the door. And because he is so well-trained, he didn't come to us when we called. So, because Charmy-do had to catch her train, I took off to St. Paul with Charmaine and wished Dawn the best. About 20 minutes later, a neighbor named Sue called my phone, since my number was on his collar, and said he was sitting in the passenger seat of her car! Thanks to the caring neighbor, Gage got home safe and sound, but he wasn't in good standing in Dad's eyes.

It is still up for debate why Ella is sick, but she has had a rough go at it the last few days. It started the day after her birthday on Sunday when she had a funny stomach. Then, last night she actually threw up half way through the night. So at her 12-month appointment tonight, the doc chalked it up as a combination of her new teeth coming in and a a small stomach flu. So after the quick check-up, she is on her way! She is in the 72nd percentile for weight at 22.5 lbs, the 86th percentile for length at 18.75", and the 97th percentile for head circumference (Thanks Grandpa & Uncle Hugh!!). Onto year #2 for baby #1.

I am looking forward to happy hour I will have with my brother Hugh on Thursday and an co-worker of mine, Dan, from Ergotron on Monday. It'll be interesting to see what they have been up to in terms of work and freelance projects. We also are still debating on our situation this weekend for the Springer-side Christmas since bring Gage with us would be a trick if we were to stay at someone's house.

Being that I usually set aside a Memory section in each post, consider this that section. Since I know this will slip from our memory sooner than we know it, I wanted to jot-down how Ella's actually birth day, and night, and day went down. As most things in the past go, Dawn could recall this better than I could. So Dawn (hi!) will be stepping in to help me recall! Dawn's due date was December 14th. And on that particular wintery Sunday, Dawn's water broke at that cold afternoon at 3:15. After watching all the pregnancy shows that Dawn watched, I was banking on a high-speed race to the hospital, running red lights, and possibly a police escort. Well, considering all the other "excitement" we had for the remainder of our hospital stay, I am glad we didn't start off on that foot. We slowly gathered our things and headed off to Fairview Ridges. Even though Dawn wasn't far along, they admitted us early because a bad snow storm was coming in. We got to the hospital at around 4:30pm. As the afternoon and night went along, Dawn slowly went along but no major progressions. They started a pill to help induce at 6pm, with the next dose to come around midnight. And by around ten, Dawn was in quite a bit of pain with the contractions, but we still had to get to a 4 before an epidural was possible. She was given pitosen and a round of drugs the nurses called "the cocktail", or something to that effect (basically to make me woozy so I just wouldn't care about the pain! Not sure I liked it, but it worked; I relaxed alot which made the process go smoother). Turns out I didn't need the second round of meds that would help me dilate, so we waited out the night until we were ready to push. I slept a little bit throughout but was mainly on guard to help Dawn. By 3:30 Monday, the 15th, Dawn was ready to push. She had gotten a epidural around 1am since the anesthesiologist was still on call.

So from about 4:00am till 6:15am, Dawn pushed. We had a precious nurse named Jacee, who helped Dawn along in the process. Although she coached Dawn along saying she was progressing and more dilated, but it wasn't happening fast. Truth was, Ella was not "fitting" quite right, so no matter how hard she pushed, it wasn't going to happen. She had no visible "plates" to afix the vacuum to (said our doctor - are we talking about my child here?) and her head was just a little crooked. Dawn had some slight issues with blood pressure during the labor, and since she wasn't progressing, our doctor, Michelle, thought it would be best to do a c-section. So we got dressed up in our scrubs and headed to the operating room. Before Dawn went in (as the pregnancy shows told me), I needed to wait outside the operating room until they had prepped Dawn accordingly. As we headed down to the OR, the epidural started to fade. Unfortunatley, that wait ended up being longer than I expected. As I (Dawn) entered the OR, they tried to readminister my epidural drugs, with no success. As I contracted, Doc Michele pinched my skin to test my numbness...needless to say, I love my doc but I swore at her worse than my sisters ever heard growing up in girl fights! The doc said they'd try one more thing and if that didn't work, they'd have to put me under. Another pinch, another swear word, and he decided it was time for a little nap. Turns out my line had come out of my spine (I apologize for lack of medical lingo!) and it was a lost cause. I just wanted my baby! The last thing I heard coming from Jacy the nurse was, "You're going to feel like you're choking a little". Great. Next thing I new I awoke in recovery sorer than any awful double track practice day and without voice. Skip to Billy's recollection! Well, I waited in that little room for longer than planned. Jacee ended coming back out of the OR and giving me the scoop on Dawn's situation. Dawn had to be put under completely in order to deliver little beaner.

Between the lack of sleep and excitement, I didn't know what to expect next (and little did I know it was going to be a whirl wind). Jacee came out of the OR about 15 minutes later with Ella in her arms and no word on Dawn. I assumed they would update me on her status when they were ready, so I let it be. After all, I had my baby girl in my arms. Jacee and I and Ella took the elevator back up for the delivery floor of the hospital to go back to our delivery room. Ella was put into the nursery as I moved our stuff from the delivery wing to the postnatal wing. After getting settled and calling Darcy, Keli, and my M&D, I went to check on Ella in the nursery. Seeing her for the second time was unreal. After a short stay and holding her again, I went to check on Dawn's status. Between those unanswered questions at the nurses station and seeing Ella in the nursery, Dawn was finally wheeled in to our room. Dawn got to hold Ella at 10am that morning and we were together for the first time as a family.

To break it down, Ella was born at 6:45 am weighing 8.5 lbs and stretching out to be 21.6 inches long. 4 days were spent in that 'spital room and Ella spent a good amount of time in the bili-bed because of her slight jaundice. We left the morning of the 18th for the apartment at Cinnamon Ridge. Sleepless nights were had by all after that, but it was well worth it! Dawn was a champ during the whole excursion and I wouldn't have survived without her.

Song: NeedToBreathe - Something Beautiful (you can tell we totally dig NeedToBreathe and I like to mix it up when it comes to my music selection, but this was a tune Dawn listened to quite a bit when preggers, so I had to post it.)

To conclude, Happy 1st Birthday Ella Bean! You are such a big girl and we love you very much!

three-hundred sixety-two

Dawn and I had been busy cleaning the house and Dawn making snacks for the party. And there were a few little things we needed to do to the house before Charmy arrived. She got into town at 10ish on Friday morn at the Amtrak station. Dawn had Friday afternoon off. So Dawn, Charmy and beaner spent the afternoon groc shopping and putzing around the house.

We spent Friday night catching up over wine and good stories. Saturday morning was more cleaning and arranging the house. Folks started showing up about 12:15. We ate, opened presents and then Ella dove into her cake. The coolest part of the day was when Ella went head-first into her smash-cake. We were able to have Darcy and Madeline watch the festivities on Skype (you can see Ella and Dawn checking out the Skyping in this picture). Its tough not having Dawn's family close, but thanks to Amtrak and Skype, we are able to still share precious moments from time to time. Thanks to all of the friends and family who shared her big day with us! The presents were very nice and she has been playing non-stop since.

More errands and shopping took up our time on Saturday and Sunday. Ella did have a funny tummy most of the day on Sunday so we are thinking even more molars are comin in! Charm is hoping back on the train back to Minot at 10:30 tonight. We will see her and the rest of the Satermo/Fladeland side soon when we trek to Bismarck and New Town on the 30th.

Now looking ahead on the calendar, we have the Springer extended-side Christmas party this coming Saturday in Moorhead. We are still figuring out arrangements for our stay and what to do with the mut. Details to come once they are decided.

I opened a can of worms tonight by cleaning off the vid camera. Being that we hadn't cleaned it off since we bought it, there were quite a few clips on there. They are pretty big files, so the best route was to upload them to YouTube. So I will be here for the next 2 weeks cleaning off this camera. This YouTube project is one of many that have recently come on my social to-do list. I want to tackle a few more blogs. Not ones that I would update more than a few times a year, but rather more of a source/reference place for stuff! Maybe a project over the Christmas break?!?

Song: Darius Rucker - It Won't be Like This for Long

Even though Ella has only been around for 362 days, so its technically not her birthday till the 15th, an early Happy Birthday anyway to my precious girl!

is that what i think it is?

December 7th and it has finally snowed. Some called it a blizzard, I don't think it was that bad. In the end we (in Burnsville) probably got 7 inches. The roads have been pretty nasty since! And I have decided that all of Ella's college fund money is going to be borrowed and put towards the purchase of a snow blower, otherwise her daddy is gonna throw his back out! Since other things are more important, I imagine it will be a couple of years and a few chiropractor visits until I get a snow blower. Luckily Dave, Granny and the Schiller girls made it to and from the cities before the snow hit! As you can see, Ella loved seeing her and loved the precious baby bracelet she got as a present!

Dawn surprised even herself when she won a chili cook-off contest at Northern Tool on Monday. With the secret ingredient of bacon and quite a few spices, she brought it home! I was pretty stoked for her. But since late last week, we both have been fighting colds that have only gotten worse as the time has past. We are actually both home sick today trying to kick these things so we are ready for the Ella's party on Saturday. Unbelievable...she is going to be a 1 year old.

Dancing is one of Ella's favorite things to do, even if there is no music to jam to. And its funny that some of her toys have come and gone in terms of her interest in them. The music table she is standing next to in this vid has come and gone a few times in the last year, but it always a leg-shaker when its hot!

We are still gearing up for Ella's big bash on Saturday. Charm is taking the train from New Town to come see us and celebrate with us. We are really excited to see her and show her around Minni-happiness. Between the food, the cakes, the presents, the company, its gonna be a crazy weekend but we are looking forward to it! Ella has already gotten a few gifts from her NoDak cousins (as you can see in this picture of her opening them). Can't wait to spend Christmas with the Dooooogies and Madeline.

I haven't mentioned this in the past, but the other members of my fam are battling unemployment for some time now. My sister was the first one to get out of the rut with a part time teaching and now some good news just came down the pipe that my brother Hugh has a real good shot at a job (maybe even before Christmas)!

Song: Rob Thomas - Now Comes the Night

Memory: My dad's old, red, manual, 4-door Chevy Nova. A fun little car. He used to let us steer on his lap, we would play the coasting game (putting the car in neutral and seeing how many blocks we could cost before she stopped)! It all ended when my brother piled it up, but thats a different story. Nothing real specific with this memory, but the fun times we had in the car...R.I.P.

BTDub - Found the toy I want for Christmas! Now they make matchbox cars that are remote controlled! Oh, the things they think of. A cool little toy for $15.

Peace

kiss central

No, we didn't turn a new leaf and become new fans of KISS. Ella has been a kissing machine. When you ask for a kiss, she turns to you and open hers mouth. Precious girl! For the first time in a while, she had a pretty rough night on Friday night. Although she was crying for most of the night, it brought me back to the days of when she was a wee babe and we had to walk her to sleep cause she wouldn't fall asleep on her own. It is true...they grow up too fast. Speaking of baby #2, we don't have any to share, but I imagine baby #2 talk with start sooner than later. Back to my speaking of...we were at a Christmas party on Saturday night and it was quite the hike to get up to the party since it was on the North side of the cities. So Dawn and I didn't indulge at all. My Dad came to Dawn midway through the party and asked her if she was pregnant!

Ella had her 1 year pictures on Saturday...tear! She did pretty well and we can't wait for them to come back! After her pictures, Grandma Evy and Mr. G were in town since Jackie had her Midwest DECA conference to host. So they stopped by...Mr. G delivered some firewood for our fireplace and for the Winter season. Grandma was just content visiting and seeing Ella Claire! Ella got a precious gold, baby bracelet present from her great-grandma. I will post a picture once I grab it off the camera.

Although it meant more work over the weekend, big news came down the pipeline on Saturday night when Concordia's women's volleyball team won their 3rd straight national championship, in front of their home crowd too. It was cool to work on the web-side of things of YouTube videos and news postings to various CSP websites. I am hoping to launch a killer 3-Peat Championship website by mid-week. That, along with all the redesign projects I have cooking, its been a busy week!

Dawn has been quite busy putting Ella's stocking together. She bought a stocking kit off of Amazon. Although its a quite simple project, its still pretty time-consuming. The billions of sequins that are on this thing are amazing! It will look stellar on the mantle when she gets done with it (another photog I will post). I have been busy with those Golden Bear videos, but more importantly, our 2009 Christmas card. They were printed last night and we hope to get them in the mail early this week.

Song: Michael Buble - Just Haven't Met You Yet

Memory: My intention of having this memory section of posts was to recall stories that were slipping my mind, since I am only getting older. Although I love to keep you (all 2 of you) entertained, these memories may be a bit stale. The first home I lived in in Richfield was across the street from a elementary school (Centennial to be exact). This was my parents second home, but is the house I have lived in the longest thus far. All of the teachers, receptionists, principals, school nurses knew that we lived there and new our parents relatively well. On Saturdays and Sundays, I would spend time riding my bike and kicking the soccer ball around in the parking lot and the baseball field of the school. To keep myself entertained, I would kick the ball against the wall of the school. More often than not, the ball had its own plans and it would end up on the roof of the school. For some reason of another, I also became buddies with Scott, the school janitor. At the time I was probably 8 and he was probably in his early 30's. At any rate, once the school was closed in the afternoon he would take me on the roof with him to throw the ball down. Probably something he could get fired for now a days, but something pretty special for me at the time. Ah, memories.

We are stoked for this weekend because of Ella's big party (even though we still have so much to do). Charmaine is coming for the party and to visit us. So it will be a busy week, but an awesome weekend!

We are just catching Robin William's stand-up act on HBO so I gotta run.

hobbycity

Dawn and I have been busy the last couple of days taking care of mini projects and hobbies around the house...some related to Christmas, some not. I was able to nab a family tree book of the Kuehn family from my pops, so I am back on the Geni.com site again. I have over 450 people in the tree and I hope it keeps growing! I need to keep on it to add Satermo, Fladeland and Sheehan relies now.

Ella is funny with her TV selections recently. She is hooked on Sesame Street and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. But she only pays attention to certain parts of the shows. Elmo's World from Sesame Street and the intro song of Mickey's show makes her cheese out like crazy. But once those segments of the shows are done, she is out...moved on to bigger and better things. Silly girl.

My beef that I mentioned a few posts back is still on my mind. Marketing is a tough role to be in. Everyone experiences marketing/advertising/promotions all the time, everyday. Because of that, people think they are marketers in their own right. I didn't go to school for markteting, so Dawn could speak to this subject better than I could, but the point is, there are techniques, concepts, and trends that marketing folk know and see that others don't. Just as surgeons learn about procedures and bone structures, marketers learn about reactions to colors and taglines that sell. But because because of all the marketing others experience, they doubt that knowledge. Or maybe they don't doubt it, but they think they know just as much as you. But the source of the problem may not be the individual co-workers or colleagues, but rather the management and administration. If the general understanding of the organization is that marketing really knows whats it doing (which it always does), I guarantee that products/services will sell better. In that understanding, all other aspects of the organization need to work within that rule. Sales, Customer Service, Upper Management, etc., need to give the power to the marketing department. Taglines and campaigns will flow in harmony because its only marketing brain power that powers it. Obviously I am on a soap box because of the job that I have and I haven't been lucky enough to work for a company that functions in the this way. My dad worked as a marketing manager of cancer drug, Aloxi, for a pharmacutical company called MGI Pharma. The marketing managers walked on water at that place. The knowledge of the marketing team was respected and the company was successful. Enough on that note...

Story telling: I am not exactly sure how this started, but I enjoy "getting" people by making up stories. Let me explain, say you tell me that you are going to the Mall of America to do some shopping...I would quickly respond by saying, "If you walk by the big rotunda, check out the big elevators that are on the West side. Most of the time there are big banners or posters covering those elevators. I actually screwed in the i-hooks in the ceiling of the mall to hang those (and a little FF for ya, they can support 75lbs each)". So you get the point. Leading someone on to believe that I had a hand in something that I clearly didn't. But the trick is being quick and making it somewhat believable. At any rate, I don't want to give away my tricks of the trade. Only my good friends have experienced the power that is a believable story. Hopefully you will experience one in person soon.

song: Uncle Cracker - Smile

Two more random thoughts before signing off:

• 1. How does P Diddy still have street cred in the hip-hop industry? He hasn't released a song in like 10 years. And who the hell would want to work for him?


• 2. Have you noticed that recent songs that have been released have lyrics that focus on friends, family, memories and love? Maybe an effect of the crappy economy?

Looking forward to Ella's 1 year pictures and Grandma and Dave coming to visit this weekend!

I gotta jump!