End of January 06

Wow! Has it been another month already! It’s hard to believe that it was almost 2 months ago that we were in China. (And I promise this is the last time - until it’s been a year - that I’ll say that!)

Here’s the latest: Maylie is a real sweetie, though she has earned the nickname “Screamin’ Mimi”. We figured Maylie will have a ton of nickname options as she grows up – “Emmy” (M.E.), “Mia” (M.E.A.), “Mae-Mae” (Chinese for “little sister)…. but for now, she’s “Screamin’ Mimi”

She now is sleeping through the night most nights. She’s definitely a morning person, as she likes to get up at 5:20 every morning. And Rachel and I are not morning people. I often tell people I’m mostly a ‘middle of the day’ person.

Naps are another story altogether. If we get a half an hour per day we’re doing good. That’s a BIG “If”. We’ve tried the “crying it out” approach hard enough to impress the pediatrician (won’t even tell you how long we’ve let her scream) but she will not bend. We have even checked out “The Strong Willed Child” from our church’s library. If you’re reading this and are a pray-er, please pray for us. Some days are really rough.

We celebrated Maylie’s first birthday and had fun watching her with her ‘smash’ cake.


She’s starting to wave, she’s eating everything and calls me “Papa” when I kiss her forehead. She can pull herself up to standing and let herself down. She’s starting pre-calculus …or maybe not.

Elijah continues to be a great big brother – helping us to not only keep an eye on her, but he also loves to make her laugh (and scream… did I mention her nickname?)
Elijah is doing great in school and is getting GREAT marks on his “report card.” He is also enjoying his new reading group where he reads with a group of first graders.

Since Maylie still isn’t used to many people yet, finding time to do a date without the kids can be a challenge. Some good friends of ours came over and watched them one night and we stole away. I surprised Rachel by decorating the van before we left. Cheesy? Yeah, maybe… but it was fun to drive around Point with Coke cans tied to the bumper, balloons flapping in the breeze and “10 YEARS, 2 KIDS + STILL HAPPILY MARRIED” written on the back window.


Thankfully, grandma and grandpa have agreed to watch the kids soon. Aaaaaah!


And, in the completely-random-and-not-family-related aisle, (Aisle 9) there’s this: Coke’s “Surge” is sort of coming back as “Vault” tomorrow. I guess some of the ingredients are a bit different, but some die-hard Surge fans have said its pretty close. savesurge.org or vaultkicks.org for more info. I am thrilled – I used to be a BIG Surge fan – huge. I think it’s cool too especially since it’s also coming out in a “Zero” version as well. Wahoo!!!