May 23, 2001

Now that all key family members have been notified, we can finally share the news... sometime in November Katie's going to become a big sister!
Yes, we decided to just get it all over with for fear that once Katie's out of diapers we won't want to start over again. The new baby's official due date is November 20, but hopefully the C-section will be scheduled before that (I'm developing an insidious plan to shower my OB with bribes for the next six months).
We had the first ultrasound April 12 at nine weeks. We had another one last week for our peace of mind after I was in a car accident (more on that later). The baby's starting to look less like a bean, which we were relieved to see. We're looking forward to having another one done in early July to make sure the limbs are all coming out from where they're supposed to, and also to find out the gender. No way can I stand not knowing this time!
Some other excitement came May 4 when Grace Catherine Croft was born five weeks early! Lonnie and Sherrice are the proud and happily surprised parents of a 5-pound baby girl! We met her last weekend at the Mother's Day shower thrown for them in Walla Walla. She's beautiful (of course), and Uncle Jason is finding she's also quite the chick magnet!
Debi visited earlier this month, and as always, we had a great time. We mostly shopped and ate (at Pasta Veloce, of course). We did go to a surprise retirement party for our PAA history teacher--Mr. T-Bury--at the Convention Center. Saw a few classmates and college friends there.
Last Monday night I was in a car accident on my way home from work. A guy was driving by sound--not by sight like us smart folk--and busted up my Jetta! A benefit of Vic's job: he called in a favor to a co-worker in ultrasound so we could get the baby checked out. Something strange showed up right away, but eventually disappeared, thank goodness. All is well, with us anyway. The Jetta's on its way to being repaired and drivable again--there was damage to every panel on the driver's side.
Then Saturday morning I broke my foot doing something heroic like rescuing orphans from a burning building (not anything clumsy, as my husband might try to make you believe, like running into a kitchen chair). The doctor said to stay off it and keep it elevated and iced, which any parent of a toddler knows is next to impossible. I'm just glad it doesn't throb as much anymore, although it's still very bruised and tender. I'm also glad I don't have to use crutches, since...
We're leaving for Europe this week. We'll be flying into Belgium, which will be our home base, and then while Grandma and Auntie Sonya watch Katie, Vic and I will fly to London. We'll spend a couple days there, then take the train to Paris, spend two or three days there, and then take the train back to Brussels. We're also planning to visit Amsterdam and hope to get to Germany too. And we've heard that Belgium is worth exploring, so we're looking forward to that as well. It'll be a fast-paced two weeks, but we're really looking forward to it.
There are new pictures on Katie's 13-month, 14-month, and 15-month pages. Check out the Voss page updates too.
Got a surprise phone call from Barry and Becky Curtis the other day, who were in town for some meetings. They came over for dinner that evening and we had a really great visit. I love friends who, even though it's been years since we've spent any time together, make it feel like no time has passed. They are such fun people and we felt privileged to share their time in Portland!
River Neil's first birthday was yesterday and he had a rousing birthday party last night! I had great intentions to take bunches of pictures but didn't. I'll try to nab some copies from Jenny and Linda to post on the web site someday.
Well, that's enough blabbing for now. Must get packing... au revoir!

May 1, 2001

I know, I know. Shut up, Deanna.
Yesterday was a day that will live in infamy, for me at least. I got stopped by a cop for the first time. He said I drove three blocks on a sidewalk and hit a mailbox or somethin', but all I remember is I was tired of waiting for that idiot in front of me to turn left. Besides the screeching of my tires, it's all a blur. The super-nice policeman guy let me off with a warning after verifying I wasn't a convicted felon. (Convicted? Nah.) I've only told two or three people about this so far, but each time the story's gotten better and more interesting. Wow--soon it'll be worthy of a Movie of the Week!
Katie news:
Got her first haircut a couple weeks ago.
Climbs on top of her toys, regardless of their height. Today she tried to climb the piano. This is quite the gray-hair-inducing activity.
Yells "Mama!" from her crib when she wakes up. She yells other stuff too, which we're pretty sure is baby profanity.
Just tried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the first time. LOVED them!
We enjoyed a visit from Deanna a couple weeks ago. Debi is coming this next weekend. Both of these visits are supposed to make up for all the hard work they did while visiting for Katie's birthday weekend (soooo sorry to put you on diaper duty, Deanna!).
Some other exciting stuff to brag about is our trip to Europe at the end of the month! We're looking forward to visiting with Sonya and her family, and taking short trips to Paris, London, Amsterdam, and a German city yet to be determined. Since my history of international travel is (ahem) Tijuana, I'm still pinching myself that it's really going to happen. And while we're looking forward to the trip with great anticipation, the flight over and back is something we're just trying not to think about. If anyone has suggestions on making a 15-month old sleep for a 13-hour flight, we'd love to hear them.
Otherwise we're keeping busy with the same old stuff. I'll try to write more before we leave in a few weeks.