Merry Christmas 2012

The big news from us in 2012 was of course the birth of our third child, Reagan Sophia Minnich.  Reagan was born on March 15 and tipped the scales at nearly 10 pounds, just like her brothers did before her.

With now three kids under 5, Marshall and Aimee don’t travel like we once did.  We have no gorgeous mountaintop photos to share anymore.  Instead we get to make exciting announcements like “Andy and Liam are sharing a room now!”  Yes, that was a big moment for the boys this year.  The love and friendship they share is really heartwarming to see.  That is, when they’re not wrestling or jumping off of furniture.

We did get to visit the Andersen family at their Beaver Lake house in July.  Both Andy and Liam had fun being pulled on the raft, and Andy got to go out with Daddy on the wave runner.  Liam loves dogs and so one morning the house was woken to Liam feeding the Andersen’s dog Rosie while yelling, “Eat dawbie, EAT!!”

In the fall, Andy (who will turn 5 right after Christmas) started pre-school.  He is advancing quickly, learning to read, and loves to sit at his desk in his room and do ‘homework’. He is a really good big brother who loves to dote on his brother and sister, as well as boss them around once in a while.

Liam turned two in September and is our bundle of cuteness right now.  Words can’t describe some of the outfits he conjures using daddy’s earmuffs, his safety goggles, and shoving every possible tool he can find into his little jeans.  He is a smart little boy who figures out multiple ways to say the same thing when we are struggling to understand him.  He is our early-riser too, up every morning at the crack.

In October, Andy got to go with Daddy to Stockton Lake with a handful of Daddy’s friends and their sons.  It was bitter cold and wet—perfect for a father-son outing.  Andy especially loved the potato-launcher:

Also in October, Marshall and Aimee did manage to take their first trip away without the kids!  Granted it was work-related, but we had a blast just hanging out at a nice hotel in Atlanta.  It was the 30-year anniversary of National Christian Foundation.  On our first night there, Aimee texted our nanny back home to say that we were available to talk by phone if Andy was available.  We got the following response: “Andy says you’re only gone three days and he’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

That little comment was a hit on Aimee’s Facebook page.  And speaking of, if you care to keep up with us throughout the year, ‘friending’ Aimee on Facebook is the best way—we don’t update this site but once or twice a year now.

In November we had a scare.  Our nanny, Faith, was driving the three kids somewhere when another driver pulled in front of and struck her car rather violently.  All were shaken up considerably but no one suffered major injuries thanks to seat belts, air bags, car seats and of course God.  Faith’s car was totaled though—pray for her as she seeks to replace it.

And so that about wraps up the story of the Minnich’s in 2012.  We again are grateful for the wonders God has shown us this year, and grateful for those of you who are a part of our life.  May your Christmas be merry and your new year bright,

Marshall, Aimee, Andy, Liam and Reagan

P.S. We did post some new photos from throughout the year here.  You can also see them on the sidebar.

P.P.S. One other development this year….Marshall’s Uncle Lee has written a memoir about Marshall’s grandfather and is shopping it to publishers.  Robert Matlack Trimble had some fascinating experiences during WWII, most of which were kept secret until his final years.  Among other things, we learned he was the last commander of the American/Russian air base in Poltava, gathered intelligence at Auschwitz shortly after liberation, and was honored for rescuing hundreds of POW during the war.  Lee has started the following blog with excerpts from the book—he would be blessed if you added a ‘hit’ to his counter:  http://fightingbastardoftheukraine.blogspot.com/

"I won't drop you for anything..."

"O-o-o-oh, oh Lord my God, oh Lord my God

Baby sister baby sister

I won’t drop you for anything

I won’t drop you for anything

--What was that--

Oh, oh, oh

Baby si-i-i-ister, Baby si-i-i-ister

I won’t drop you for anything."

Hope you enjoy the video above--turn the sound way up to hear Andy's sweet lyrics.  It aptly captures the love that he has for his new little sister Reagan, who is two months old at the time of this post.


And since you're here viewing our site for the first time in a long time, we'll catch you up on a few things.  First of course, Reagan Sophia Minnich joined us on March 15 weighing in at 9 lbs 6 oz and one week early.  And thank goodness for that!  Another week and we might have had another 10 pounder...


Liam is 20 months old now and is getting over the worst case of hand-foot-and-mouth disease our pediatrician has ever seen.  It never seemed to slow him down but he looked like he took a roll in a field of poison ivy.  He and Andy just moved into the same room together and are loving it.  Liam doesn't have many words but of course those he has are pretty cute, like "BB" for his blanket, "Deedee" for Andy, "Up me" for "pick me up", "dawbie" for his doggie Virginia, "doo" for two, and my personal favorite "poop me!" for "I have a poopy diaper".


Four-year old Andy, as you can see in the video above, is a very loving big brother.  He recently had a 'date' with his friend Zoe--he and their moms went together to the Kauffman Center to see Mr. Stinkyfeet. He and friend Eden will begin gymnastics together soon.  And yet another little girl keeps climbing our backyard fence and asking for Andy. Signs of things to come??  Andy still loves helping Daddy with all projects, and loves climbing just about anything, including Reagan's crib (no, we didn't put him in there ourselves!)

If you haven't already joined Facebook and friend-ed Aimee there, doing so is a much better way to keep up with us.  She frequently posts photos of us and shares the many cute things we encounter daily.  Here's some sample of what you might be missing:

“Andy: "Liam, you get to go with me to Nana Faith's today!  So you don't have to do boring things with Mommy."”

“Two new ones for the list of things I shouldn't have to say: 1) Don't drill your baby sister's face; (2) Don't lick the baby's spit-up.”

“First night of boys sharing a room and they're still talking to each other. All I hear is Liam saying "Hi Deedee (Andy). Hi Deedee. Hi Deedee. DEEDEE!!"”

“In my bed this morning: two adults, two boys, a baby, a dog, a toy full size chain saw, and one or more cold viruses. Life is full and blessed.”

And posted from a friend: “After a long talk about cow’s milk and people milk, Zoe of course wanted to know where babies come from. I told her the 3 year old version, "When two people love each other very much they get married and God blesses them with babies." After a few seconds of thought she says "I really love Andy and will have his babies"!”

“Within 5 minutes of Marshall leaving for work, I had baby poop on me, my bed, and two of my kids. As soon as I got that cleaned up and the children bathed, the baby spit up on me, her, and the bed. In all seriousness, I love my life.”

“After watching his older cousin throw the javelin, Andy made himself a javelin out of a wooden stake. Then he asks, "mommy why doesn't Zoe have a javelin?" yeah, Kim, why doesn't Zoe have a javelin?”

“Andy describing his lunch: we had egg sandwiches...on real bread because Passover is over. But we can still celebrate Jesus.”

“I'm not sure how to explain this except to say instead of giving the boys a bath while the baby slept I ended up sitting on the hall floor feeding the baby while a naked toddler cried and clung to my right arm and a naked four year old tried to help on my left. Marshall was only gone 15 minutes. How does this happen?”

“"Why did nana say Jesus is bigger than us if he's the same size as these other guys in the picture? Does God have a body? Why doesn't God have a body? Why does Chapstick make our lips better?” I love the nighttime musings of a four year old.”

“Andy thought he overheard me telling Marshall I couldn't drink coffee anymore. His concerned response: "Mommy, that's not good. You need coffee in the mornings so your words make sense." Pretty astute observation.”

“"Daddy, will you help me make my reciprocating saw this morning?" I feel like maybe this doesn't happen at other houses.”

“Me: "Andy, time for dinner."

Andy: "I'm not hungry mommy. I just flossed my breath and I don't want to make it stinky."”

“My four year old just used the word "accommodating".”

“I'm going into the office again but I'm wearing shorts as my protest against working on maternity leave.”

“Comment I received this morning at Starbucks: "Your children have gorgeous eyes. Do they get them from their father?" Let's rethink how we give compliments.”

“Today someone asked a guy in our office how his secretary was doing with her new baby (referring to me). Ironic since a senior partner at my old firm once vehemently told me I should never be a secretary.”