Merry Christmas Everybody

Our family has made the most of 2009. There has been a lot of work, plenty of camping, many new experiences, and all the fun and craziness that come with having children aged 2 and 5.

The girls are both a head taller than they were when we moved into our house last summer. Audrey started kindergarten this fall and is doing well, making friends and impressing her teacher with her maturity and good behavior. She saves all her wiggles and attitude for home. Audrey played on her first soccer team this fall – the Magnificent Mermaids. It was a thrill for us to watch her play, but she was not always sure she enjoyed it because she got tired and sweaty and the other teams scored too much. She definitely loved her coach and her purple uniform and the great sack lunches provided each week by other parents. We will do soccer again next year, but tap/ballet and Daisy Scouts are up next for the winter months. Anything that requires a costume change is fun for Audrey – whether it’s cleats or tutus. She is a sweetheart with an exuberant personality and tons of energy. Kindergarten has definitely enhanced her sense of humor, negotiation skills, and determination to assert her position as the older sister. Audrey likes to talk and discuss whatever is on her mind or whatever event occurred on the playground earlier in the day. She is a little hugging machine, and we are told, very generous with her kisses during Sunday School. No matter how old she is, she will always be our first, and we never quite know what to do with her – we just try to keep up.



Now that Audrey is in school Claire finally got to be in a Mommy and Me group. She loved going to her “beautiful school” where we sang songs, fine-tuned her climbing, balance, and bouncing abilities, and had a snack. She was pretty out of sorts when Audrey started school – kept walking around asking Audrey questions or inviting her to play and then, realizing her sister was not in the house, redirecting to me. She has adjusted and likes choosing her own TV shows and not having any competition for my attention. Claire is remarkably independent and as self-sufficient as a two and a half year old can be. She talks very well and people are always surprised when they hear her saying full sentences. Claire loves food and likes to layer whatever she’s eating into a sandwich (sammich). We try not to spend much time arguing with Claire because even though she is easygoing, she is also two, and still does not take much instruction. She knows what she wants to do and what she doesn’t want to do, so we choose our battles carefully. Claire loves to entertain us with song or dance and funny faces. She doesn’t just walk, she sashays, and she does a pretty realistic pretend belch, often at the dinner table. Claire has beautiful curly blond hair that everyone wants to touch and makes her look like a little cherub, but even though she is very good she’s too stubborn and silly to be angelic – adorable, but not angelic. We are enjoying every minute of this stage knowing how quickly she will grow from toddler to little kid and be lots of fun in totally different ways.



Our girls play well together but there seems to be a 20-minute window where goodwill prevails and after that all bets are off. Audrey is more vocal, but Claire is more physically assertive, and eventually I have to intervene. It is always sweet to hear them playing and laughing before the interval goes south. Then the wrath of Melissa is incurred and time outs, spankings, and consequences are threatened. That starts the clock over again, and they go back to playing nicely.

I grew a garden this summer with lots of tomatoes and peppers, some radishes and peas. It was an adventure every day to take the girls outside and see what was edible. Audrey loved to pick but couldn’t be persuaded to eat any of it. Claire ate as much as I would give her. I am looking forward to next summer and working on my herbs in the meantime, trying to figure out which side of the house has the most sun and most convenient water supply. In August I met my wonderful high school girlfriends at the beach for our 5th annual girls’ weekend – three days of great company, huge laughs and a refreshing break from adulthood. I’m still doing lots of freelance and happy to enhance our budget to fund projects like new windows and wiring for the garage – which was so full of junk from the previous owner that no one, not even the inspector, noticed the improvisational electrical work.



Mark is working hard at Samsung, traveling to Korea and Seattle sometimes, and spending a lot of his free time working on the house. He and my dad got our back fence up this spring and now Mark is in the trenches, literally, putting sprinklers in the backyard. Mark showed he’s true blue by flying up to Utah this fall to see a BYU game. The Cougars lost, so it was a serious disappointment, but he hasn’t totally given up on his team, and I predict another trip to Utah next football season. Mark teaches the young men at church and is much loved for his short lessons and steady supply of candy.



Our house is coming along as fast as Mark can go, but not as fast as I would like, because real life has a way of interfering with home improvement projects. I am always working on something, buying furniture, hanging pictures, making curtains, planting flowers, and organizing cupboards. Mark is stuck with bigger and more dangerous jobs like installing light fixtures, trying to dismantle the useless antenna welded to our roof, and calming his wife when she’s made curtains that are 2 inches too short. We have a bathroom to finish and many other things to do on our list, and it seems the house, like our children, is trying to teach us patience.

Our blessings are greater than I can say. Having a home and family have always been my idea of success and we are wallowing in our success these days. I’m sure international recognition and swarming paparazzi are imminent. I’ve already won the awards for Most Calgon-Take-Me-Away Moments in One Day and Outstanding Garden-Fresh Salsa. Claire wins the Biggest Poopy Diaper and Most Beautiful Giggle awards. Audrey wins Best Torture by Rapid-Fire Questions and Sweetest and Most-Ear-Piercing Scream of Happiness. Mark gets the Longest-Suffering Husband and Best Daddy/Horsey Rides.

We update this blog regularly, so there's always plenty to read about our highly accomplished family, including pictures. We hope you are also enjoying success like ours. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love, Mark, Melissa (Bean), Audrey and Claire Sterzick

Happy 6th Birthday, Audrey

It's all birthdays this time of year. Audrey is turning six this week and we are all set for her "Princess Party," but not at all ready to admit she is really growing up. Last week the public relations people at the Little Company of Mary Hospital, where Audrey was born, called us and invited us to the grand opening of their new Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and asked if we would mind taking questions from the press about our experience in the "old" NICU six years ago.

All the doctors and many of the nurses there remember us and Audrey. We were happy to say good things about the hospital, but it tough to relive those first few weeks of Audrey's life. We were happy to have a baby, but so afraid for her life and health that we couldn't exactly celebrate. It's all over now and we are blessed with a healthy, lively daughter, and rarely have a minute to remember the difficult times.




But there are some good memories, like Audrey being nicknamed "Scrappy" and "The Ringleader" by all the nurses. It took us so long to name her they had to improvise and called her by the names that suited her most. "Scrappy" because she was so strong it took two nurses to put an IV in her tiny ankle. "The Ringleader" because they said once she started to cry every baby in the NICU started to cry - if she was quiet, they were quiet. When we finally decided on the name Audrey it was because it means "noble strength." Audrey is still a very strong, dynamic personality. The intensity and energy she showed during those first weeks is still evident.







We are trying to channel all the energy to positive pursuits. Audrey has tried a little bit of every sport and several kinds of dance. She just loves to move. Some of the things I say the most these days is "Walk!" or "Don't climb on that, we are not at the playground." She's getting taller and, I think, not used to her height and that makes the mishaps more and more frequent. One day when her coordination equals her energy we are going to have a real contender - for anything and everything.







Audrey has taken to kindergarten pretty well. We are all adjusting to this new life of responsibility. She has made some sweet little friends and loves her teacher, Ms. Schrank. Our first season of soccer went pretty well, too, and I have to admit it was dream come true to be the mom on the sidelines at her games. She was not always thrilled with the outcomes of her games, but she liked her coach and teammates and kicking the ball and what more can you expect?



Audrey is a typical kid in many ways: rejects vegetables, loves pizza and macaroni and cheese, postpones bedtime as long as possible, wants to watch TV all day, can't blow her nose, isn't sure how to stand up to her little sister, and has a lot of questions about how the world works.






On the other hand she is extra special to us and we notice the things that seem so unique: the way she sings all the time, her boundless energy and pursuit of fun, her expressiveness and affectionate nature, the way she seems to have inherited Mark's artistic skills and my descriptive abilities.

And we think she is just beautiful inside and out. We can't believe she's been in our lives for 6 years now - we're so lucky and so grateful she's ours. Happy Birthday, Audrey.


December 2003




December 2004




December 2005




December 2006




December 2007




December 2008

Happy birthday to me!

I've been celebrating all month buying myself clothes, flowers and candy - but today's the actual day. It's been tons of fun so far - I guess turning 36 isn't so bad. M

Happy Birthday, Nanie!

Happy birthday, Nanie. We love you! Thank you for all the fun and love you share with us.

October is a long month

A few more shots of our activities during October. Halloween dominated the last week of the month with parties and games and candy and so much more. We had lots of fun.

Audrey enjoying soccer.



Sisters playing together sweetly.



Tantrum time.



Tantrum time, take two.



Sprinklers - Mark's labor of love/hate.



Claire midair.



After dinner antics (and dress up of sorts).






The day before Halloween - on the way to Audrey's school costume parade - our really cute, really sulky, ladybug-ballerina (the tutu was her addition - very creative).



Audrey before costume parade with her sweet friend Angelina (who looks a lot like Aunt Jolie!) Interestingly enough, every Disney princess was represented in Audrey's class.



Claire in the ball pit at Mommy and Me - from cute lady bug to ball pit camoflage.



At the school carnival in their alternate costumes: pirate with chocolate face and dragon with chocolate face.



Pumpkin patch - with a bounce house and giant slide.





Audrey testing her "fairy princess" wings on Halloween night.



We want candy!



We got candy!

Oatmeal is sticky

Mark makes good oatmeal and the kids suck it down like candy. The trouble is it sticks to everything - clothes, floors, chairs and curls. Here is a little piece that stuck itself to Claire's hair. She was partly playing with it and partly trying to get it off.

October so far

We are enjoying fall. School, soccer, rain, and visits with family have filled our month so far.


Saturdays are for soccer. Audrey is hot and sweaty, mom is pretty comfortable, Papa is riveted by Redondo current events.




Claire in between excursions to the nearby park.



Audrey won the "Best Player of the Day" award two weeks ago. We were very proud.




Cousins Kayla and Alexis came from Idaho for Disneyland and the beach and lots of quality time together. Grandpa Rick and Grandma Nancy brought them.



Audrey's portrait of the Minnie doll Grandma Nancy bought her.




Claire and the allure of the pitted olive.



Just hanging out at home.



Rainy day.