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We went to the Red Wings prospects game last night and we finally downloaded our pictures onto our computer...  Here are some of those photos.

Smashing Idea - washingtonpost.com

Smashing Idea - washingtonpost.com

A well-written article that sums up the whole Large Hadron Collider news in a palatable fashion.

Arden Pictures and a big update!

Well, the job situation is settled which means the housing situation is getting settled.  This allows us to go downstate so we can get the other car registered and therefore we get to pick up some more of our stuff from storage in Kalamazoo.  All this is happening in the final week of summer.

Bryan is starting his orientation into his old school district, but this time he will be on the other side of the battle lines (in the trenches).  Michelle, Arden and Sydney are getting through the days with the help of many random happenings in town.  They could, on any given day and time, be at the park, out for a quick bite, at the chiropractor or a breast-feeding or mommy group.

Arden is growing bigger and holding his head up well.  He also "coos" like a pro and he makes a funny laugh sound when he inhales after a good "coo."  Sydney is getting more accurate with his yeses and noes.  He is still very thoughtful but losing some patience when it comes to being the other brother.  He had a big night tonight because he wore his big boy undies and went number 1 in the toilet (also know as going number "e to the (i)(pi)" in the Boettcher family).

Click on the title of the blog or click here to see more Arden pictures.

New photos from new camera

We are in TC, living with Bryan's Grandparents while we wait to hear about a job.  Two teaching prospects still exist, we'll keep ya posted.  Bryan is painting with his step-brother to earn some extra cash, Michelle is exploring local parks and catching up with old friends when she can.  We have been enjoying family outings on the weekend with Bryan's family (see new photo album, Summer back in TC).

We hope all is well, e-mail us your photos or just say hi.  We miss all or our friends in GA and NV.

Sydney visits the Atlantic Ocean

We took a family trip to Savannah to visit the ocean before we set sail for the inland lakes, so to speak. We will be leaving on June 30th, but as of now we are uncertain as to where we will land for good. We know we will be in TC for the first few weeks of July, but after that we are still looking.

Bryan had a brief phone interview to be continued next week at the high school in Mattawan, MI that looks promising. Packing has hit some speed bumps lately, namely being tired and the mental effects of such condition, so we are looking forward to having some help arriving starting the week after next. We are hitting the home stretch and getting excited, nervous, anxious, etc, but enjoying life with two boys. Here is a new photo album of Sydney's first visit to the ocean.

Arden Ellis Boettcher Photos

A new photo album on Facebook that is open for public viewing.

Facebook | My Photos - Arden Ellis Boettcher

Birth Story

Michelle is on the phone again telling the birth story to a friend. It is 9:45 pm so fortunately we will not pay for these cell phone minutes. However, we will not be to bed for quite a while longer... The birth story is very exciting, but it takes a while to get the complete description of the magnificent day. Michelle will surely post the story here, eventually.

I am posting this to confirm that the new baby's name is Arden Ellis Boettcher. Here is the whole family the morning after Arden was born. Sydney loves his new little brother. He constantly wants to hold him and pet him and give him kisses.

Our New Baby Boy

His name is not 100% decided. He was 6 lbs. 7 oz. and 18.5 inches. He was born at 9:33 pm on May 21st, 2008. And here he is.

We Have Baby!

Born at 9:33 PM on May 21st, 2008.


More details to follow...

Don't Believe Hollywood

Labor is not really exciting for the first few hours. We have been timing contractions, but so far none have been really intense. They're coming every few minutes, but Michelle hasn't had to stop what she's doing during them. We have been doing housework, sweeping, and doing laundry to keep moving and keep busy, but that is winding down. If you know Michelle, we're running out of things to clean.

This morning we went for a walk to get things going. It was so nice. The sun was coming up, everything was clean and green from the rain last night, and we laughed at everyone who was on their way to work. Now we are expecting our chiropractor to show up and adjust Michelle, as well as the midwife's assistant, who lives down the street, to check the baby's heart beat and make sure that all is well. In the meantime, Sydney is trying to avoid falling asleep. He was up with us at 5:30 this morning, so it is definitely time for a nap!

A Birthday Begins

Michelle's water broke this morning at 5:10 AM. I will try to keep the blog updated when Arden is born and post pictures here in the next day or so. Thank you for your well wishes.

Thank you birthday well-wishers

Sydney enjoyed his presents and cards. He was especially excited to see that Elmo wanted to wish him a happy 2nd birthday. BTW, I will keep the blog updated ASAP when the baby arrives and have some pictures here first. Stay tuned!!!

My son rocks!

My son is the greatest. Not only does he now say some colors (blue and orange) but he is digging the nighttime routine. I'm proud of it because I came up with it (this is Bryan writing this, BTW). After dinner we wash our hands then head to the sun room. In the sun room is our hammock and we sit there playing with finger puppets and reading Richard Scary books ("big books" Sydney calls them). When he is done with the hammock we brush our teeth together and then head to the changing table to put on pajamas. Then we will read a book on his couch if it seems necessary and I put him in the crib before too long. Tonight the whole process took about 35-40 minutes and he didn't make a peep after I left his room.

The reason this is so great is that five days ago he cried himself to sleep from 8 until 8:30 or later. We started this routine the next night and he has been in bed before 8pm almost every single night... Tonight he went down at 7:40 with no fuss at all! I love my son, he has been trained well by his Mom and knows how to follow a routine.

As for Michelle and I, we are ready for a baby to be born. I'm ready for school to be done (3 weeks and two days) and hoping to hear from TCAPS soon for an interview. I will keep all posted on the details, but as it stands we plan to move back to TC in mid-July. Love all...now for some Sydney pics...

Inspiration from a Friend

A co-worker of mine just started her own blog (check it out here) devoted to life with her 3 children. As you know we are expecting our second child on or around June 4th. We will of course be keeping details posted here. For now, we are getting ready for our home birth. We have all the necessary supplies minus a big tub for a planned water birth.

I really wanted to post a recent picture of Sydney today as my friend posted several pics of her kiddos playing on her new blog. So here are some shots of Sydney in action. Click on the picture to see a larger version that you can save if you like.

A weekend for Barack

We drove to Orangeburg, SC on Saturday to help get out the vote for the primary. Michelle was calling registered voters until 10 minutes before the polls closed. Then we found out immediately after 7 pm that he was the projected winner. It was very exciting and caught on tape by Michelle standing on a chair.

Obama in Atlanta

We stood outside Ebenezer Baptist Church this morning in sub-freezing temperatures for two hours, but it was worth it to shake Sen. Obama's hand. He gave a wonderful speech (see full text) and took time to greet all of us shivering visitors who waited outside. He looked us in the eyes and shook our hands, even Sydney's. He commented on how "bundled up" Sydney was (yes, that is an actual quote from Barack that you won't get anywhere else, a Boettcher's on the Web exclusive). After he shook my hand, then Sydney's, he know there was a momma for this child and he found Michelle standing behind me and reached in to connect with her for a moment. We believe that he is sincere in his words and we got to see how sincere he can be in person even when he has been on the trail for over a year now.

Funny note: we shook hands with Barack Obama exactly one year before the next presidential inauguration. No prognostication meant here, just thought it was worth a mention.

See the picture of where we were standing this morning to see Sen. Obama.
Obama addresses overflow crowd at Ebenezer Church | ajc.com

Who’s Afraid of Barack Obama? - New York Times

Who’s Afraid of Barack Obama? - New York Times

This article really breaks things down beyond next Spring. Gave me some things to think about. Tip- it gets good towards the middle.

Saturday

Our morning could have turned out a lot worse. Sydney picked up another cold from his last day at daycare and is starting to get sniffly. That means that he doesn't sleep well. This morning he woke up at 6 am, and we exhausted all of our tricks before we surrendered and got up. Luckily he was in a completely silly mood and let us gather our whits around coffee while he ran around the house squealing like a loony toon. We just finished our breakfast (banana-nut pancakes!), and he is still full of energy even though we didn't let him have any syrup. Banana pancakes are soooo good. I have a recipe I'll share with you from a vegan cookbook because this is the stuff that world peace and brotherly love are made of.

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 very mashed banana
1 1/2 c (any kind) milk plus 1 tsp vinegar (let it sit for 5 minutes)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c pecans (or any kind of nut)
Canola oil or cooking spray for pan

mix dry and wet ingredients separately, then pour wet into dry and mix (not too much). Fold in nuts. Let mix set in fridge for 10 minutes to thicken up. Grease pan, make pancakes.

These are soooo damn good! Bryan demanded that I blog about banana pancakes and is holding my breakfast hostage. I have finished my assignment, so I'm gonna go eat now.

Blue skies up ahead?

Holy moly, folks! I'm feeling sicker than a dog these days. Where did that phrase come from anyway? Most of the dogs I've known were pretty healthy most of the time, and were only too happy to clean up after themselves when they were sick. Not me! This morning breakfast ended up in the kitchen sink, and I couldn't stand the house after that. Sydney and I spent the day out and about, even napping in the car in the driveway, because I didn't want to smell the house. (It's an old house, and I think it has a smell.) So, that's all I'm going into about morning sickness because most of my old tricks from last time (Sydney) don't work too well, so I'm going to try ignoring it and see how that works. From here on out, in case you should inquire into my health, I'm doin' great and feeling gorgeous! My theory is that if enough of us put that thought out into the universe, it has to manifest itself sometime.

Ennon ma unohda, Siiri, minun email osoite on michelle@bryanandmichelleb.com. I didn't check the dictionary again, so I hope I'm not inventing new Finnish words like "pissapussi". Remember that one? Good times. Well, email me because I have to tell you about my dream in Finland and many other things to catch up on. I really enjoy that part of pregnancy. The awesome dreams. They're crazy and exciting and intriguing and emotional and a good excuse to sleep. I think I'm going to sign off now because I'm starting to "talk" for the sole purpose of "hearing my voice". I'm a little bored because Bryan is doing his homework. Good night!

Hyva Suomi!

Kiitos, Siiri. Menneme Scandinavian Festivalille huomenna. Paljon suomeen kieli, ja makkara, ja pulla, ja olut (ei oo minusta :-(, ja Suomalaiset! Ihana!! How was that? I didn't even check the dictionary once. I bet you can tell. I still view Finland as a koti to me, and one day, I'm actually going to have enough money to go back! When I'm done having babies and going to school. I still remember Mixu telling me that I'd never come back, and I have a deep desire to prove him wrong. I'm still that stubborn about some things. Well, I just wanted to say, Ma rakastan sua. really.