Six Month Update

Miia is now six months old. She is no longer just a baloney loaf that eats, poops, and cries (she still does these things, but she does them with a certain flair and style now...and she does lots of other stuff too).
She is now 13 lbs 13 oz and 26 inches long/tall. She is in good health, despite a brief cold that she had. Luckily for us, she sleeps through the night without any trouble. Over the past few weeks we have introduced solid foods, which she enjoys (some more than others). What she really likes is spreading the food far and wide with her hands. Typical baby behavior.
She sits very well now, but has yet to figure out how to roll over. No teeth have appeared so far, but we are waiting for the day when they will come.
The baby is much more exciting than the rest of our lives...Mark has applied to graduate school and we are keeping our fingers crossed...we will be leaving Utah at the end of July in any case. We've been here long enough.

Miia at four months!

Miia is now four months old!

We went to the doctor's office yesterday and got the new stats. She is now 24.2 inches long (62 cm) and 12 lbs 1.5oz. She is a little on the small size overall, except her head, which she obviously gets from her father.
She also had some more immunizations yesterday. She howled a bit when they stuck her with the needle, but she recovered and wasn't fussy that evening.
She is learning new things very quickly. She loves to chew on her fingers and reach for toys above her. She hasn't quite figured out how to roll over, but she is getting there. When she is on her tummy she holds her head up and looks around.
I've included a video of her laughing that we made today. She had a major blowout while she was with Kristiina in the university Bookstore so we had to give her a bath, hence the scandalous clothing. Cheers!

Lots of Changes!

It has been a while since we have posted on this blog, and quite a bit has changed. We moved at the end of August into the basement of a house. Our new neighborhood is fairly quiet and there are some parks nearby where we go for walks. The basement was renovated just before we moved in, and the first few days that we were here they were putting on the final touches...like the front door...but it all worked out and its a pretty nice place to live now.

Kristiina gave birth to a baby girl on October 1st. The birth went well and the baby is great. Her name is Miia, and she looks like a baby. People like to tell us that she looks like one of her parents, but the jury is still out on which one she will look like. She has lots of dark hair, but it is starting to turn more and more blond.

Mark graduated from BYU at the end of August and has been working since then. He has been working at the same job that he did as a student, and has been looking around for other opportunities. We hope to move back to Europe soon, so he is also looking at jobs and graduate schools in Europe.

Kristiina was on maternity leave for most of the fall. In December she returned to work part time at JC Penney's. When she is gone to work in the evenings Mark and Miia get to spend time together. Kristiina is working on finishing her last few classes through independent study and will graduate soon.

We had a good Christmas together. Miia seemed to enjoy all of the lights and sounds of the season. We've had a cold and snowy spell the past few weeks (nothing compared to what we endured in Finland) but we've been snug here in our little home. Happy New Year to all, and we hope the 2008 brings you peace and prosperity!

Recent Events

It's been quiet here for the past few months. We found out earlier this summer that we are expecting a girl, which is quite exciting. Kristiina is doing OK, and the baby is doing OK also as far as we can tell. The baby kicks a lot, which is fun to feel.

Mark is taking classes this spring and summer to finish up, and Kristiina is finishing up her classes through independent study. Mark will graduate at the end of August.

Mark has been doing some work on the side for a Pyrotechnics company, and he'll continue doing so during the summer. This is mostly loading fireworks shows and then putting out fires after the shows. Kristiina is continuing to work at JC Penney, and Mark is still working part-time for BYU.

At the end of June we had to go to Los Angeles and spent the day there. The weather was great and we had a good time. We weren't really able to see much of the town, but we had a good time and we were able to visit a good friend that we haven't seen for a while.

It's been a pretty quiet summer here. It has been very hot here, and very dry. But that's Utah for you. We are planning on moving to a different apartment at the end of the summer, after Mark graduates. We will be staying here in Provo until after the baby is born, and then moving on. For the time being Mark will have to get a real job, and Kristiina will be able to take care of the baby.

The story so far...

We've decided to keep a blog, since we have such interesting lives. Actually, we have really boring lives, and we wanted everyone to feel sorry for us. In any case, to start the blog we wanted to tell our story so far...

We got married 17 December 2005 here in Utah. After spending Christmas in Oregon (wet, wet, wet) we got on board the big Lufthansa Airbus and made our way to Turku, Finland, via Frankfurt and Stockholm. We were going to Finland because Mark was attending an exchange program at the University of Turku, and the added benefit that Mark was also able to meet and get to know Kristiina's family.

We were in Finland from January until the end of May. We lived in a small apartment near the centre of town and the university. Perhaps small is a little generous. Minuscule, tiny, and closet come to mind. Pictures can't really tell the tale accurately. This picture is from one corner to the other. It is actually taken from under the bed, which was like the top half of a bunk bed. Under the bed there was a desk, which was nice. On the left in this picture is our kitchen, in all of it's wonder and glory. Unfortunately in this picture you can't see our oven. It was really an interesting device. It had two heat plates on top, but only one would work if the oven was on. It took us some time to figure this out. The oven itself was about the size of a small box...like a large shoebox.

We did enjoy our time in Finland. It was cold. And rather dark. But that was just for the first few months. For the last few days it was great! Actually, despite the fact that at first it seemed like the sun was never up, Finland was great. Mark was attending classes at the University of Turku, and he had a pretty good time. We were able to spend a lot of time with Kristiina's family, which was really fun. It wasn't really as cold as it could have been, and towards the end of out time there the weather was really beautiful. We really want to go back during the summer, which is the best time of year there.

After Finland we spent a week in Frankfurt, Germany with Mark's sister, Annabelle, and her husband Dave. We had a fabulous time with them, and they showed us some great places. Our favorite was probably the boat trip up the Rhine river, which was beautiful. But we loved the entire week, especially the bratwurst! They gave us the grand tour, all over Frankfurt and to a couple of really cool towns. We even went on top of a building, as you can see from the picture.

Upon returning to the States we made our way to McCall, Idaho, where we stayed with Mark's Grandparents while working in the area. Kristiina was working for the local Holiday Inn, and Mark was working for Tamarack resort during the day and for the local supermarket in the evening. We had a great time there, although we spent most of our time at work! This is a picture of Mark's grandparent's ranch, which is where we were staying.

After working in McCall for the summer we moved back down to Provo to finish school. We will both graduate in August. Mark is going to school full time and working part time for BYU Dining Services as a cook. Kristiina is finishing her last few classes through independent study and working full time at JC Penney. She started out as a sales associate in the Men's department, and she is now the manager in the Men's department.

Not a whole lot has happened since we came down here last fall. We're just living life as it comes to us. We are making plans to get out of here soon after we graduate.

There has been one thing that has happened since we came here...Kristiina is pregnant! The baby is due October 3, and everything is going along nicely. We got an ultrasound yesterday, and the little kid looks great.