Have you heard?

We think we announced it to everyone around the world, but in case you haven't heard: we are expecting a baby!!! He or she will arrive at the end of the summer, a birthday gift for Oliver's 3rd.

We are thrilled about the new arrival and pray for protection and safe growth for the little one. According to the ultrasound, everything looks fine with the baby. We even saw and heard the heartbeat! Amazing!!!

Melinda is doing relatively well and Oliver talks about the baby quite a lot (he even says there is one in his tummy and sometimes when "his tummy hurts" he lays down with a blanket). :)

Thanks for rejoicing with us!!! 2006 looks like an exciting year for us! :)

Matthew, Melinda, Oliver and Baby

Waning Winter

It has been a long winter here in Hungary. For weeks it has been hovering around the freezing point, but we have had little snow. We like winter and all, but winter without snow is like pie without apples.

But this week it snowed a little every day. It is in the process of melting as I write - so I thought I'd better post this photo before it's too late. Spring will be here soon - so it's rumored.

When Oliver is bundled up, he is capable of outlasting both father and mother. Thursday Melinda went sledding with him and yesterday I was able to teach him the word, "icicle." He loves to be outside.

Staying warm, ~matthew

Daddo, What Doing?

Take a close look at the photo. I know it looks like superman standing on the window ledge, but it's actually me. Last weekend I had to put on my superman cape to save our son in trouble.

Let me set the story up. We were visiting our friends Apri & Andi in Pecs, having a wonderful time catching up after years of being away. (It was all the more wonderful because they shared their Starbucks coffee with me!) We decided that Oliver should take a nap before we made the long drive back to Erd.

Oliver should have been taking a nap in the spare room/office, but he was not. I was going in to strongly encourage him to sleep for the third time when to my amazement, the door was locked.

If you look at the picture, the two windows on the right belong to the bedroom, the two on the left, the sealed prison our toddler was unknowingly trapped in. While Arpi was at the door, trying to coach Oliver to reinsert the skeleton key and twist it I looked for a phone booth.

The roller binds on the spare room were down and only one of the windows was tilted. So, while standing on 8 inches of ledge, I somehow pulled one roller up, opened the second window and pulled its roller up as well. All the while, Oliver asking the question, "Daddo, what doing?" I tumbled through the opened window and asked some questions of my own.

Because Oliver had no nap, he fell asleep in the car on the way home. Check out Melinda's creative resourcing to keep Oliver's head in place. Funny.