Welcome home!

On July 1, Mom and Dad (Grandpa and Grandma Bertasso) came home to the states! They had been in Brazil (Sao Paulo) for the last three years as mission presidents for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Before that, they spent over three years in Singapore working for Heinz.

We are so excited to have them back in the USA. Our kids (and we assume all the other grandkids) are so glad to have Grandma and Grandpa back. All of the kids think they should come live at their respective homes.

It has been funny to watch them start to readjust to America. They are constantly making comments about how "open" everything is. And they are still learning about all the technology and fads they have missed out on the last few years.

This is our ool...

... notice there is no "p" in it - we like to keep it that way.

Jacob and Katelyn are so excited for summer and the chance to go swimming. David doesn't always make it home early enough to get to the pool, so when he does, they love to go. They are both becoming much better swimmers. Jacob is a regular fish!

We also brought Maya for her first time in the water. After a little while in the water, she decided she prefers relaxing in the chain by the pool rather than in it.

Happy Birthday Sharyn

It has taken a while to get the photos posted, but we really did celebrate Sharyn's birthday. (And although we are posting a month late, we celebrated only two days late. )

Unlike Jacob, Sharyn was able to blow out the candles on the very first try. (Of course, this was her 29th birthday, so she has had a lot more practice than Jacob.)

(And no, Sharyn was not working that hard to blow out the candles. She had done running between dinner and cake.)

We are certainly very glad to have Sharyn in our family. Happy Birthday Sharyn!

You can see more photos from the fun, as well as some of Maya celebrating too by looking here.

Jacob blowing out his birthday candles!!

Here is the video of Jacob trying to blow out his birthday cake candles. It is funny because it takes about 15 times before he gets them blown out. Enjoy!!

Happy Birthday Jacob!!

Jacob turned 4 years old on June 4! He has been so excited about his birthday for the longest time. For about 2 months now, every time he saw a toy or object that he wanted, he made sure to tell me to get it for him for his birthday. Of course, there were so many things that I couldn't keep track and neither could he.

He spent part of the day doing his favorite activity- mowing the lawn and "tweeding," that means using the weed eater to edge!! Then we headed to the party store so he could pick out some balloons. After lunch, he helped me decorate with streamers.

He chose to have pizza for dinner. And then we opened presents. He got some underwear, a few Transformers, 2 outside balls, a game called Zingo and a Hot Wheels racetrack thing! He was most excited by the racetrack. Then we let the kids do silly string! They really love that stuff, but what a pain to clean up.

Then we sang Happy Birthday and had cake. We got a little creative with his cake this year because of his diabetes. Cake with frosting is really bad for diabetics!! David found an idea where you bake the cake and then cut out the middle and put in blue Jello, sugar-free of course. Then you frost the rest of the cake with Cool Whip and decorate it like it is a swimming pool. I think it turned out pretty cute. Jacob had a hard time blowing out the candles though and it was really funny. I'll post the video of it later.

End of the Soccer Season

Katelyn played soccer this spring for the first time and now the season is over. When asked, she will tell you that she loved it and wants to play again. I am so glad that her first experience with team sports was a positive one. And she did get better with each game. After the last game, each of the kids got a trophy and she is so proud of hers!! So, I guess we have more practices and games to look forward to in the fall.

This is Katelyn getting ready for a kick off.

Here is her team slapping hands and saying "good game" with the team they played.

Here she is getting her trophy, after the game. She is shaking her coaches hand.

And here she is with her trophy and her soccer ball.

I have video of her playing during some of the games that I will post on the next post. So, make sure to come back and check it out.

First Camping Trip

David took Jacob on his first camping trip this past weekend. They went on the ward's Father & Son campout. It was held in the Metroparks about 15 minutes from our house. Jacob was super excited and Katelyn was sad that she didn't get to go. She wanted to know when the girls were going to get to go camping!!

They had a good time and Jacob loved roasting marshmellows. Although he wouldn't eat them roasted, he just wanted to stick them in the fire!! Such a boy :) They slept in a tent and Jacob actually did sleep, once he fell asleep. The next morning they went for a short hike in the woods and then had breakfast and headed home. Jacob was filthy and they both smelled like a campfire, but Jacob had a great time and that is what is most important!!

9 Months Old!!

Maya was 9 months old on May 1- time has gone by so fast. I am already feeling sad thinking about her turning one. At her Dr. check-up we found out that she weighs 19 lbs 8 oz. and she is 28 1/2 inches long. She can sit up, feed herself small foods, laugh, smile, cry, scream and melt my heart :) No teeth have appeared yet, but it seems like she may get her top teeth in first. She has yet to master rolling over and the doctor said she thinks it is more an indication of her personality, than a develpmental delay!! Mmmm, should I take that as a compliment or be worried!!! She really just has no interest in rolling over or crawling or really moving at all. She likes to just sit and watch, or be held. And she is a mama's girl, which I really love on the one hand and also really hate sometimes. I am sure it is because she is our third, but I have really enjoyed her as a baby. I am in no hurry for her to grow up or roll over or crawl or walk for that matter. It's funny, now that I wish she could stay a baby forever is when I am the busiest and seems like I have the least amount of time to enjoy her as a baby. So I am trying to savor every moment and really enjoy this time, because all too soon, it will be over.

Of course I think she is the cutest baby ever! She is not smiling in the second one, but she makes that serious face a lot and it always makes me laugh!! My neighbor keeps telling me that she looks just like David, but I don't see it. What do you think?

Spring has finally Sprung!!

It has been awhile since the last post, so this one will probably be a long one, just warning you. Spring has finally arrived here...see picture. The temps have warmed up and the kids are outside every chance they get. We have been pretty busy, especially the last couple of weeks. There are many nights where David gets home and I immediately leave for something. It seems like lately all we do is say hi and bye to each other!!




Grandma and Grampa Blaisdell came for a visit and the we had a great time with them. They helped finish a bunch of small projects around the house that needed to be finished and I am so grateful for their help. Thanks mom and dad. We drove down to Amish country for one of the days and got some great baked goods, yummy!! I got to go shopping for ME with my mom, which was a great treat. I even found some shorts, pants and shirts to buy, yippee!!!

Katelyn started soccer and really enjoys it. The games are rather entertaining, but as long as they have fun, that is what is most important. She is not very aggressive and tends to stay outside of the pack. She looks like she is dancing around the field at times instead of playing soccer!! I hate to admit it, but I am embarrassed for her sometimes because she is so funny to watch.

But hey, most of us probably were the same way and I am trying to remember that the purpose is just to have fun for now!

Maya started sleeping through the night (cue the Hallelujah chorus please!!). I have no idea why she chose now, and we have done nothing different, but she finally sleeps all night. Yeah!!!!! Sleep is such a wonderful thing. She has no teeth yet and has yet to roll over, I think the doctor may get on my case at our next appt, but oh well. She just loves to sit up and watch. She hates her tummy. She loves real food and has gotten very good at feeling herself Kix and such.

Jacob loves to be outside and to swing on the swingset. He learned how to "pump" by himself, which gives mom a nice break from having to push him!! He still loves to mow the lawn and said he wants to be a "mow lawner" when he grows up. He recently got a blister on his foot, or in his words a "blizzard that boomed (popped)" He used a lot of bandaids trying to make it feel better. We are currently working on getting him potty trained, ugh, double ugh. I hate potty training. But since he will be 4 years old in about 7 weeks, I figured the task could no longer be put off :) Wish us luck.

Happy Easter....Cleveland Style!?!

So, it was Easter and it is almost April, but it sure doesn't feel like it here in Cleveland!! But we had a good holiday anyway.

We had a storm come through and left us with this Easter treat on Saturday. I think we got about 4 inches of the white stuff. The paper said this has been the snowiest March on record!!

After David finished shoveling the driveway, he left a little message on the front lawn.

We colored eggs Saturday afternoon and the kids had a blast. And I have no idea why Katelyn felt the need to wear earmuffs for the project.

Katelyn had a hard time trying to decide which color to do next.

Jacob was disappointed when we ran out of eggs.

For the last week, Jacob has been asking everyday if it was Easter, so he was so happy when Easter finally came. David had early meetings at the church so he missed the festivities. But Katelyn said they couldn't find all the plastic eggs until the afternoon, so they only found the "real eggs" before church and found the others after, when David was home. A family in the ward invited us over for dinner and I was so glad I did not have to cook,although really David probably would have ended up doing the dinner!! We only had to take a dessert and then we also made Jell-o eggs (like jigglers, but shaped like eggs).

Due to his diabetes, we got the kids more tangible things (i.e. toys) instead of a lot of candy. Jacob had been asking for a new "mow lawner" so that is what the Easter bunny brought for him. He spent all day Sunday, mowing inside the house!! Love the bedhead hair:)

Katelyn had been asking for some new baby dolls. She got twins!!! And she got the movies "Enchanted" and "Charlotte's Web."

I wanted to get some pictures of the kids in their clothes before church, because after church would be impossible. But they weren't exactly cooperative. Maya was not happy (and was looking at her siblings like they were crazy!) and Jacob kept making funny faces. Katelyn kept freaking out because she was trying to keep Maya on the stool and she was afraid she was going to fall. This is the best I got, but when I looked at them all together, they really made me laugh, especially Jacob. He just can't seem to do a "normal smile" for pictures nowadays:) And yes, he does go to church with his tie on the outside of his sweater. He won't let me fix it, but he will let dad fix it when we get to church.

Aftermath of the March Blizzard

For those of you who do not live in Northeast Ohio, on March 7-9 we had a blizzard. It snowed for 36 hours straight. Where we live, we ended up getting 21 inches of snow. The city pretty much shut down!! While it was snowing, it was also very windy, so it was funny to see where the snow ended up. It also made some really cool designs. Here are the pictures, I hope you enjoy them. And of course, it took about 11 days for the snow to finally melt away, but then it snowed again last night.....sigh. But I have heard birds during the day, so spring is on its way!!

Just for Laughs!!

As I have been looking at other people's blogs and then at ours, I realize that I have really only posted about my kids. So, I am going to try to post a few more things about me and David. The inspiration for today's post comes from a book we are reading with Katelyn. We have been reading the Junie B. Jones series with Katelyn at night and they are hysterical! I know a kids book isn't that intellectually stimulating, but every time I read it to her, it just makes me laugh so hard. The way things are described is absulutely hilarious and I actually look forward to reading it to her. The other night, I thought the chapter I read was so funny, I brought it down and read it to David!! He didn't laugh as much as me, but if you want a good laugh and something quick and fast to read, try one out. The pic is the one we just finished reading.

Isn't She Lovely.....

I never wanted to be one of those parents that went on and on and gushed about how cute and how great their kids were, but I just can't help it!! I just think these pictures of Maya are so darn cute!! I know, every parent thinks their own kid is the cutest and I am no exception (except for those days when Katelyn dresses herself and uses her oh-so-unique sense of fashion!! Or when Jacob won't let me comb his bed-head hair).

Chatting with Maya

Maya is always doing this thing where she opens and closes her mouth, but no sound is coming out. In person it is really funny. So, I took this video the other day when she was doing it and then she babbled a little bit too. And since I think she is so cute, I just had to share it!! Enjoy!!

Playing in the Snow

Jacob and Katelyn love to play outside, whether it is hot or freezing cold, they love to play outside. They really love to play in the snow. I am always amazed that they can stay out there for so long playing without getting too cold. So, of course during the lastest snow dump, they wanted to go out and play. Jacob was pushing his mower, just like he always does. He loves that mower and never misses a chance to go outside and mow!!

March came in like a Lion...

February ended with bang here in Ohio, with a huge snow storm and now March has come in like a lion. On Monday, it was really nice and sunny. We got up to about 55 degrees and almost all of the snow melted. It was so great to see the sun and feel some warmth. It was only a little taste of spring though. Because on Tuesday, it was a different story- there was lots of freezing rain and ice and then snow to top it all off. Here are the pictures from the latest storm (you might have to open the pics bigger to be able to really see the layer of ice that was coating everything). It looks really cool, but it was sure yucky during it. They even cancelled school on Wednesday. In the last month, we have had 5 snow days!!! It is crazy and now as I look out the window.....it is snowing again. I think we are supposed to get 6 more inches today!!