Family : M&M Holzmann

Category : Family

Fatherhood

Filed Under : Child, Family, USMC by MixMasterMatt

Jan.24,2009

In the words of Joey Russo, from Blossom, “Whoa!”

Every day, I fall more in love. Every day, she develops. Every day, I wonder if she can wrap me any further around her finger. And, every day, she does.

Today, we received a letter from my commanding officer. While I’m sure it’s the same letter every other father in our unit receives, it was still special. As I read the letter aloud to Maira, I was brought to tears by the weight of the message. The letter was addressed to our daughter, and it expressed a sense of import regarding our mission as Marines, the role I play in our unit, and feeling of loss every deploying parent feels during our times away from home and family.

Reading that letter was sobering. The thought of Sequoia reading that dispatch some 18 years from now, when she goes off to college, was profound. It made my role in the Marine Corps feel substantial, my role as a servicemember feel essential, and my role as father feel incredibly weighty. All of which, I feel duty-bound to meet and exceed expectations.

Birth Story

Filed Under : Family, Friendly Visits, People & Places, Photos by MixMasterMatt

Jan.17,2009

MMommy is healthy after giving birth to our daughter, Sequoia Rae. She is also healthy. She weighs in at 6 lbs 10.5 ozs & is 19.5″ long. Pictured below:

UPDATE: Had a great message from “Aunt Jackie”, “MATT AND MMommy, YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN A GIFT, A BEAUTIFUL BALL OF CLAY FELL TO EARTH TODAY AND YOU TWO ARE THE SCULPTORS.”

Tags : baby

37 Weeks and All Is Well

Filed Under : Family by MixMasterMatt

Dec.31,2008

Here’s the heartbeat from this week’s pre-natal appointment. All is still well, MMommy’s belly is growing as expected, and the baby still sounds healthy. The heartbeat can be heard from the link below:
20081231_week-37-heartbeat.wav

Tags : pregnancy

Get Off The Couch

Filed Under : Family, People & Places, Videos by MixMasterMatt

Dec.24,2008

We reconfigured our couch to make things more comfortable – read bed-like – for MMommy. However, the configuration makes getting up MUCH more difficult for her. Below, is a link to the video.

20081221_2017-getting-mommy-off-the-couch

Tags : couch, pregnancy

Baby’s Heartbeat, Week35

Filed Under : Child, Family, Technology by MMommy

Dec.18,2008

Here’s the latest installment of Baby’s heartbeat. This is nothing earth shattering, but it’s for the grandparents out there. Enjoy. (I’m posting as MMommy to pad her stats.)

20081218_35-weeks-baby-heartbeat

Tags : baby, ultrasound

Photo Gallery is Working

Filed Under : Child, Family, People & Places, Photos, Travel, USMC by MixMasterMatt

Dec.17,2008

Finally, I have a photo gallery function on this blog. That should make it MUCH easier to share pics with all of you. To get to the gallery, simply click on the “View more photos” link in the right sidebar, in the Recent Photos section.

The next trick is to get a link in the top navbar. Just gimme some time on that one. Wifey and I have a few other priorities right now.

At this point, I’ve posted photos from the Marine Corps Ball, a trip to the Encinitas Meditation Gardens, and Thanksgiving.

Immediately below, you can play a clip of our child’s heartbeat from the 27 week prenatal checkup.
20081028_27-weeks-baby-heartbeat

Rebuilding…

Filed Under : Current Events, Family by MixMasterMatt

Dec.15,2008

Today, I started the rebuilding efforts necessary for my long neglected blog. While I’m sure few are checking this site, I figured I’d let you know that I am slowing getting all my posts back onto the site, as the export didn’t work properly on the last product I was using.

Moving forward, this will be a site on which my wife and I post updates about our new baby, due 20 Jan 2009.

Thanks for your patience.

Times They Are A Changin’

Filed Under : Family, Friendly Visits, Travel, USMC, Work by MixMasterMatt

Aug.23,2007

It’s been a LONG time since I’ve written, and since then MANY things have changed quite a bit.

I’m married (to the wonderful woman I used to write about – 3 July)
We’ve our respective in-laws
I’ve ’sold’ my Vespa to Jonathan, for safe keeping
I’ve been to FL to visit my mother, and up to NoCal to visit my father
I’ve purchased a Mac
My wife will be moving out to San Diego this weekend
I’ve been in the field* since 3 Aug
I’ve turned 30

**Field: Currently a hellish part of the Mojave Desert known as Ft. Irwin. We sleep in refugee style tents, work in a portable command center, enjoy temperatures in the 110’s, fly kites (namely us) in the nightly windstorms (a.k.a. sandstorms that coat EVERYTHING in a thick cloak of sand), go without bathing for weeks, and try to maintain network connectivity over several satellites and through several hops of another force’s gear (ahem). Oh yeah…and our battalion plays GI Joe everyday in a ‘notional’ campaign against desert-going insurgents. This is practice for some desert-like place, in which we may be expected to perform our duties. Gee, wonder where that could be?

Getting married was great, but I’m really looking forward to our ceremony in San Diego, 27 Oct, 2007…yes VERY soon. Turning 30 was kinda a non-event, but I was fortunate enough to live the day for 39 hrs before finally getting to sleep – we moved our unit out of the ‘rear’ and into the field the day after my birthday.

Currently, I’m typing through a satellite connection w/ downloads of glacial speeds, which seems to impact the loading of pages to the point that simple buttons, like Reply and Delete, often don’t work. So, if I haven’t replied to your email, it’s b/c I haven’t been able to do so.

I love and miss my wife. I miss talking to friends and family. I can’t wait to take a shower.

THIS WILL BE THE LAST ENTRY CATEGORIZED UNDER ‘DATING’!!!

Engaged

Filed Under : Family, Friendly Visits, Recreation, Sports & Leisure by MixMasterMatt

May.29,2007

I’m engaged. MMommy and I have chosen to get engaged with one another, this past weekend. As part of the engagement, we are working through the process of Imago Therapy, which we both feel is bringing us into a far more mindful relationship.

During the weekend, we went sea kayaking around the La Jolla Caverns (Hike, Bike, & Kayak Tours – great military discount available) where we saw sea lions and seals at play, to the batting cage at North Island Naval Base, ate great food at Fogo de Chao with my future sister-in-law – MiRo, enjoyed the Japanese Tea Garden, and found a wonderful engagement ring made by a local artist (pics soon).

All-in-all, a wonderful weekend.

Thanksgiving 2006

Filed Under : Family, People & Places, USMC, WestPac '08, Yum-Yum by MixMasterMatt

Nov.23,2006

Things for which I’m thankful:

My wonderful and supportive parents.
My wonderfully loving extended family.
My brilliant, beautiful, and accepting girlfriend.
My infinitely patient friends, thanks for putting up with me.
My new life in the Marine Corps.
My health – the mere fact the I’m still alive to see this Thanksgiving.
The Denver Broncos for the deep and endless emotional swings they cause – reminds me I’m alive.
All the things I’m too lazy to type, but still appreciate.

Thank you to everyone in my life for making me who I am today. Thank you for your support!