Our adventures with our great visitors continue!
Here are a few pictures of my baby in his blessing outfit.
On Tuesday, we drove out to Lake Michigan. It is big enough that you'd think you were at the ocean! It was a very windy day, but Abby loved playing in the sand with grandma and grandpa.On Wednesday, we visited some gardens that had an indoor bulb show (and banana trees and goldfish).
Today we went back to see the butterflies (and to the MSU dairy - yummy ice cream). I am guessing that Abby was not aware that a butterfly was on her head right then.
We've had some nice weather the past 2-ish days for going outside. (Please, Utah, don't send us your storms.)
And Briton just keeps growing and smiling.
Thanks, grandmas and grandpas, for coming to see us. We love you and look forward to July!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
More pictures
Posted by The Wessman Family at 9:59 PM 2 comments
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Many pictures
We have had grandmas and grandpas visiting!
On the day my parents arrived, Abby was so excited to take the cushions off the couch and ran up to me with seldom seen amounts of enthusiasm asking for sheets for the hide a bed. We couldn't understand why the excitement for bed making until it occurred to my mom that she expected to sleep in that bed with grandma and grandpa. (She got to lay there for "a couple minutes".)We went to MSU's butterfly room. Not too many of the butterflies had emerged, but fun, nonetheless.
Briton was blessed on Sunday. It was a great day!
This is a silly picture of our family posing in front of some delightfully delectable pies from a local bakery. They are so pretty!
Our baby can stand up...
Monday night for FHE we went to the MSU bug room. Abby enjoyed shining the black lights on the scorpions to make them glow. (It was pretty cool. I've never seen that before.)
My parents have gone home and we have had some fun adventures with grandma and grandpa Wessman the last few days! I'll post some of those soon...
Posted by The Wessman Family at 12:57 PM 2 comments
Friday, March 20, 2009
2 babies with the same mom and dad
We are loving grandparent visits and will have lots to report on soon.
Posted by The Wessman Family at 11:37 PM 6 comments
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
One more story
Last night when I was writing the post, I knew there was something I was forgetting. Here it is:
The weather has been so beautiful! (I hear it's been nice in Utah too for those of you out west.) Abby was riding her bike in the driveway and slid into the grass. I am not sure where this came from, but, as her bike slid into the grass, she said, "I sorry grass. You OK?" Wasn't that considerate of her to not want to hurt the grass?!?
Posted by The Wessman Family at 9:46 PM 1 comments
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
A couple little stories and stuff
Tonight before bed, Mike was reading an ABC book to Abby. (I was sitting nearby.) She's heard this book hundreds of times so Mike was letting her fill in the blanks (i.e. A is for ..., B is for ..., etc.) When he got to O, he waited for her to fill in the blank. She hesitated and said octopus. That's great because octopus does start with O. The only "problem" is that it was a picture of an orange. I was impressed that she knew that octopus does start with an O. (She has other ABC books...still I'm impressed.)
The other night we were driving home and Abby pointed out that Mike was driving mommy's car. I told her that although I usually drive the Santa Fe, mom and dad are a team and that we share cars. Mike said, "Team Wessman! Are you part of our team?" (Abby thinks: If mom and dad are a team and they get to share cars...and now they are inviting me to join their team...BINGO!) Abby then said, "Abby drive!"
Abby was making silly faces so Mike made silly faces back at her. They kept exchanging the faces and Mike was leaning in imitating her until their foreheads touched. Abby chuckled as their faces got closer and said, "almost kisses". Cute girl!
Cute kids:
On a different note, here is a recipe for some cookies that I made the other night. Mike and I thought they were a huge hit. The Andes mint idea comes from my in-laws who melt Andes mints on brownies. Mmmmm...
1 1/2 sticks of margarine or 3/4 cup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon peppermint
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Nuts
Andes mints
Directions:
Cream butter, sugars, beat in eggs and spices. Add dry ingredients. Stir in nuts. Bake 12 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees on greased cookie sheet.
While the cookies are cooking, unwrap as many Andes mints as you have cookies in the oven. As soon as you pull them out, put a mint on top of each cookie and let the warmth of the cookie melt the mint. (You may need to put the cookie sheet back in the oven for 20-30 seconds to encourage the melting.) Take a knife or fork and spread and swirl the green and brown colors in the mints.
Posted by The Wessman Family at 9:04 PM 5 comments
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wedded bliss
Today is our 5th anniversary. Life has been very good to Mike and I! Marriage has been a joy! I stole this off of Anne-Marie's blog. (She had her anniversary this week as well!)
Posted by The Wessman Family at 12:15 PM 7 comments
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Briton's Story
Here is a bit of a birth story:
Briton's birth story would not be complete without a small snapshot of the preceding couple weeks.
- We (Abby, me, Briton in utero) arrived in MI on January 10.
- He couldn't be born before January 31 because I really didn't want him to come "home" to a hotel and at least by then we'd have closed on our house.
- But, he also couldn't be born before February 6 because we wanted decent insurance.
- He really should be born before February 10 though so that my mom would be in town, but when that didn't happen...
- We requested that he wait a few more days until Abby and I were over our colds.
After that the story is not too long or complicated...
On February 18, we went in to the hospital at 7 am to be induced. It was really quite simple. I was in my room by 7:05 and my nurse was waiting for me there getting everything ready. She put me on the monitors and realized that there was already some pre-contraction stuff going on. She says that I was definitely ready to have this baby. By 8 am, the Pitocin had been started and I was progressing. At around 9:20, my water broke on its own and I got an epidural within the next half hour. All along, the nurse was telling us that she predicted this baby to be born before 1 pm. That really surprised me since I was in labor with Abby from 5 am until 6 pm. At around 11 or 11:30 I noticed that I was feeling some mild pain with the contractions. The mildness (stress the word "mild") felt just fine, so I didn't say anything for a while. I learned a lesson there. I got a little "boost" to the epidural at around noon, but that wasn't in time so it never caught up. I think there was very little of the numbing stuff left (there was probably more than I think - wimp!) for the rest of the time. There were several times over the next half hour that I entertained the thought that he might just need to stay in for a while and that everyone else could just figure out a way to get him out. (It really, really hurt, but I survived.) I pushed from 12:07 until he was born at 12:33, and, yes, he is worth it!
Posted by The Wessman Family at 3:15 PM 6 comments
Thursday, March 5, 2009
I got tagged on Facebook
1. Marinda
2. Mom (what Abby usually calls me)
3. Minda (what Abby calls me on special occasions)
Three Jobs I have had in my life (try to share your most interesting ones!):
1. A janitor at BYU
2. A "whatever they asked me to do that day, but usually Accounts Payable" at my uncle's garden center
3. Sales clerk at Express
Three Places I have lived:
1. Del Rio, TX
2. Osorno, Chile
3. DeWitt, MI
Three Favorite drinks:
1. OJ (it's cheap here - I drink gallons)
2. Sprite
3. Water, no ice
Three TV Shows that I watch on a regular basis or when it's in season:
1. American Idol (but I'm not into this season...yet)
2. The Office (but I get irritated...)
3. PBSkids (no complaints yet)
Three places I have been (other than where you currently live):
1. Scofield, UT (my favorite place for a cabin)
2. Yellowstone (my favorite camping destination)
3. Some scattered int'l Air Force Bases that made for some pretty cool teenage family vacations
People that e-mail me regularly:
1. Mike
2. Mine and Mike's parents
3. Ebay, Amazon, Motley Fool, etc., etc. (maybe they are not people?)
Three of my favorite foods:
1. Whatever I have tried at this Midwest Italian chain, Bravo! - Mmmm, it is so good
2. Tacos or taco salad
3. Panda Express sounds really good right now
Three Things I am looking forward to:
1. Briton's blessing in a couple weeks when our parents will be out
2. Summer visits to the "beach" on the Great Lakes
3. A fabulous 3 week trip to Utah this summer - Yellowstone, sister's wedding, family, friends, showing off my baby:)
Three places I would like to travel to:
1. England and Wales (Mike's mission) and the rest of Great Britain
2. New England in the fall
3. Another cruise
On a different note, this is my baby. I think he is scrumptious!
Posted by The Wessman Family at 1:13 PM 3 comments
Sunday, March 1, 2009
2 Reasons I am grateful for the organization of the church
1. We have an instant family when we do crazy things like move across the country, start a new job, buy a new house and have a new baby in a 6 week time frame.
That means that we can go from knowing no one in an entire state to having countless meals and babysitters available when the new baby comes.
That also means that when we wanted to paint our house and do some minor projects during the week we owned the house but hadn't had our furniture and stuff delivered (i.e. we didn't have a vacuum, hammer, screwdriver or anything else), we had people we could borrow from and they were OK with it!
That also means that when your kids don't have their grandparents close by, they have lots of people that are willing to fill in as grandmas and grandpas. A slightly related experience: Tonight, I asked Abby to run with me to the home of a fabulous couple in our branch that have always been so kind and loving to Abby so that we could return some dishes. They live less than a mile away, but Abby insisted on packing a purse before we could leave. This is what that turned into. That bag was full. And that was just to take in the car. (She told me that with the teddy bear it was too heavy so I got to carry the purse.)
(If you don't find this picture funny, that is OK. I laugh every time I look at it because I was there while she was packing the purse for the long journey down the street so it amuses me at least...)
2. We have opportunities to serve.
Nearly every day I talk to Mike on the phone while he is at work. Nearly every day he asks me, "What do we have going tonight?" In Murray, we were so busy. There was always something going on. Here, I think I have gotten pretty comfortable saying, "Uh, nothing." We don't have callings. We don't have much going on with friends and family. (We don't have any family around, unfortunately.)
Today we got a sacrament meeting speaking assignments and Mike got a calling. No more sliding under the radar, I suppose:) I have been especially struck by the thought that service in the church makes us happy. We truly love it!
I love this scripture:
Serving in the church allows us to participate in that great work of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world!
****
Another thought: This past week, my step-grandpa passed away. He was a very kind, generous and quiet man. His health has not been good for quite some time. We told Abby that Grandpa Tom had died and gone to live with Jesus. She responded, "In the temple." How sweet of her to know that the temple is Jesus' house.
Posted by The Wessman Family at 9:58 PM 5 comments
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Warning: Shameless bragging about my kids
Boy, do I think I have cute kids.
Briton is doing great. ("Terrific" is the word used by the pediatrician. That is new for us. The first two didn't have the best start.)
We love having him around. And, um, the past two nights I have had to wake him up to eat at 3 am. Call me crazy (for waking him up). Or call him crazy (for sleeping through a perfectly good meal). I am not wanting to jinx myself because two of the first three nights he was home were not fun. He just wouldn't sleep so I am not going to underestimate his ability to pull an all-nighter again.
Briton has gotten a lot of attention the past week, but I sure can't forget about Abby. She is pretty fantastic. She amazes Mike and me with things she says.
Here are a few:
Mike arranged for Abby to be babysat a couple times this week by branch members so that Briton and I could get used to each other and so that I could take naps. At the house of a 21-month-old boy yesterday, she was riding a little trike and put an orange cone on her head. When the little boy said, "Hat!", Abby corrected him with "Helmet!"
This morning Abby was reading a book and I heard her say, "Book up down". I then watched her turn the book right side up. (In Kindergarten, we called that "concepts about print". Abby would've passed.)
We've only been here a month and a half and Abby will tell us the names of the grocery stores, point out the library and recognizes the street the church is on.
This is a wall in our house that has pictures of us as well as all of Abby's grandparents and great-grandparents. She can name them all (even the ones who she never met) and can tell you what state many of them live in!
Here's one more Abby-ism (a favorite of ours). Last night Abby was playing with her stickers. She came up to Mike and I and said, "Sticker go?" (That means "Where did the sticker go?") She started picking (really digging into) her nose and I got concerned. Then she said, "Sticker hiding." She told us a few times that the sticker was hiding before she was able to successfully dig it out. We laughed.
Posted by The Wessman Family at 11:34 PM 4 comments
A few more pictures of our house
The kitchen:I really like this wall in the kitchen/dining room. (It replaced an orange faux painted wall.) I am currently looking for the perfect picture to hang on it.
The living room:
Briton's room:
The plan is to put a shelf across the back wall at the level the color changes (and to put sheets in the crib:).
Posted by The Wessman Family at 11:33 PM 4 comments
Friday, February 20, 2009
I might want your advice, but I am not sure
So Mike and I like the way we chose to spell our baby's name for various reasons. (That is why we chose it the way we did.)
This is the problem. A couple people have asked how to pronounce his name. That is totally OK. We knew when we chose to spell it with one "t" that some people would think it is pronounced like the ski resort (Brighton) instead of like the country (Britain). The correct pronunciation is the short vowel. It could be written as Briton, Britton, Britain. You get the picture. I know that spelling his name with two "t"s would eliminate confusion, but we like our way better.
This is my question, "Is my child going to go throughout his life being called by the wrong name?" When you first read his name, did you think Brighton or Britain (i.e. long vowel or short vowel)? I don't think that we'll change it but I am curious to know if you think that we have doomed him.
Incidentally, a person from Great Britain is a "Briton" so technically we aren't on the wrong track.
Are you sick of me posting daily? Life in the hospital and even recovery life at home lend itself to frequent postings I suppose:)
Posted by The Wessman Family at 10:06 PM 21 comments
Thursday, February 19, 2009
My baby has slept ALL day
We tried to do some family pictures tonight. I am sure that you can imagine how many we took to get a favorite...too bad I forgot to take Briton's binkie out for that one.
But here you can see his face!
Posted by The Wessman Family at 10:47 PM 6 comments
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Welcome to the world!
Briton Michael Wessman
born 2-18-09 at 12:33 pm
8 lbs. 6 oz. 20" (so much bigger than his sisters)
We think that he is fabulously cute!
Posted by The Wessman Family at 3:46 PM 24 comments

