9/20/04 - Wow, it's been a really long time since I have last written! Something like 6 months have gone by - I can't believe how time flies. I have at least tried to keep up with the photos (which I have been doing a decent job of), but writing has been a different story.

Unfortunately, part of the reason for delaying my updating is because it's been a very tough spring and summer for Jeff and I. Our ferret Natasha died in June, she went peacefully; was an old girl and had a wonderful life but still very difficult to let her go! She has been an important part of our lives for many years & she is very missed around here. A month later as most of you know - we lost our dear sweet Elisheva on July 19th to an auto-immune disease called immune-mediated thrombocytopenia. It's was an illness that attacked her platelets and caused her to initially bleed from her mouth (gums) & nose. The platelets act in the clotting of blood so without your platelets, a small bleed quickly becomes a large bruise and you run the risk of bleeding to death. She started this back in April and it quickly became worse until she was having many bleeds in her body and on top of this she got an infection in her foot due to the fact that her immune system couldn't fight off a simple cut. The vet had to put drains in her foot - she got a very high temperature & was been doing quite poorly. Ultimately, Jeff and I had to make the hardest decision in our lives - to put her to sleep. We took her to the vet on a monday afternoon to speak with the vet and probably have her put to sleep when Eli had a seizure on the front steps and died almost instantly. Ok - I need to stop writing about all this now, or I will never stop crying. I want to thank everyone for all their love and support they have given us, it's been tremendous! We are finally moving on a bit & looking forward. Both Eli & Tasha will always be missed and have special places in our hearts FOREVER.

On to happier news - we have an offer in for a puppy this Spring (after the melting of the snow), we'll keep you updated on that front, it will be a newfoundland again, probably a boy this time around.
Griffin Toby is doing wonderful - he is 9 months old and crawling around like mad. He is already trying to figure out the walking thing, but we are not encouraging that! He is 16 pounds - just a peanut but super strong. I'm sure you all have been keeping up with his photos, i've been much better about updating that part of the web site. Grif just got to meet his cousin Ailish from Ukraine - what a great time that was. Unfortunately, he caught a cold while they were here & he was not his usually perky self but still had a wonderful time. I will write more about Pat, Olga & Ailish's trip soon and post photos as well. I'm off for now...

1/9/04 - OK, so when we last wrote we had no idea that Traci would wake up two days later and give birth! Griffin Toby surprised us all and arrived over a week early. Long story short, her water broke at 3:30 AM Tuesday December 9th and she had a C-Section later that day and he was born at 11:57 AM. All worked out great, Jeff's mom and dad got in the car and drove in from Idaho and stayed a week to help out. Griffin and Traci stayed in the hospital for two days and were home on Thursday afternoon. Her recovery has been great - she instantly lost 30 pounds and has not felt better in months. She has been walking everyday with Griffin strapped to her in a pack and Eli at her side. As you may have seen on the home page we have gotten lots of snow so it's been a regular winter wonderland around here.

So, it's all been a whirlwind and definitely does not feel like a month has already gone by. Our dear friend Bonnie from Cincinnati has come and gone for a visit and we really enjoyed having her here. She got to spend quality time with Griffin and also spent Christmas time here and she experienced a real Tahoe snow storm. She has decided to start playing the lottery so she can afford to move out here permantely! :-) But seriously, we wish she could have stayed longer than a week, we already miss her. Traci's dad is next on the visit list - he is coming mid-January and we are looking forward to his visit. Her sister Cheri is coming after that, and then it will be quiet for a while.

We also have another thing to brag about, we have the best looking niece around! As most of you know, Jeff's brother Pat who lives in the Ukraine has a daughter Ailish who will be turning one years old on January 15th. He and his wife Olga are visiting the states right now - they are currently in Idaho with Jeff's parents and we are hoping we may get to visit with them as well, plans have not been made yet. We really want Griffin to meet his cousin Ailish. Anyway, please check out a few photos of Ailish HERE!

We are thoroughly enjoying parenthood, Grif is a pure delight. He is a very happy baby, wakes up only once during the night to eat and is a joy during the day to be around. He is very active and alert as you can probably tell from the photos. We have to again say thank you to everyone for all the generous gifts you have been sending - it's been overwhelming! Thank you, thank you, thank you! We will do our best to keep you updated with his progress and new photos on the site but as you can imagine we are very busy so forgive us if we fall behind a bit. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday and please come visit us in Tahoe and meet Griffin. Love to everyone. Traci, Jeff, Griffin Toby, Elisheva, Natasha and Panda Too!

12/7/03 - Hi All, Happy Holidays! Well, Jeff and I have entered into the count-down to the birth of our first born son. We are officially 10 days out from the scheduled c-section and we are both very excited and anxious. Traci will be very happy to give birth and get rid of some of the water weight she has gained as well as getting some space back in her belly so she could breath again!

Our Thanksgiving was great, Jeff's parents and Traci's dad came out to celebrate with us. Jeff's mom did all the cooking and so Traci got a nice break from that. We spent a week eating and watching football - it was great. It was nice to see everyone but it's also nice to have a break again before the baby arrives.

The baby shower was a great success and we want to thanks EVERYONE for all the great gifts we have been receiving. You have all been very generous and we really appreciate it. The nursery is complete and now we just have to wait for him to arrive. We've made plans for his bris on December 24th - we have invited our congregation to celebrate with us since we live so far from family and friends. If you want to attend, let us know and we will get you the details.

All else is good, Jeff has been a bit slow at work since our weather has not really turned to true winter yet. Tahoe got an early snowstorm in November and then it warmed back up. All the ski areas are open but we are still waiting on a good snowstorm. Should be coming soon, once this happens Jeff will be very busy fixing broken bones. In the meantime, it's great to have him around helping with the house and pampering me a bit. GRIN!!

Well this is the last update of the year and of course next time I update, Jeff and I will be parents. We will keep everyone updated and send photos as soon as possible. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah to everyone - may the year 2004 bring happiness and good health to everyone!

Some friends of Traci in Reno are throwing her a baby shower on November 15th - wish everyone could be there to celebrate with her, if you think you might be in or around Reno around that time, let us know and we'll get you an invite. We have been asked frequently about a baby registry so ask no more - you can find it HERE.

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, Jeff's mom and dad and Traci's dad are all coming to Truckee to celebrate with us. It will be great to see everyone and Traci is looking forward to not having to cook herself this year, Arlene will take charge! Traci plans to kick her feet up and "milk" being pregnant for a few more weeks. GRIN!!!

Since the original ultrasound said it was going to be a boy, we have begun thinking about plans for a bris. Since most of our family and friends are so far away, we are not going to make a very big deal out of it. We are thinking to have it at our Temple and invite the congregation to celebrate with us. We would love if everyone could come but since he is arriving right at the Christmas/Holiday season it's not very realistic. If you are interested in attending, it will be held 8 days after he is born - on Wednesday, December 24th. Let us know and we will give you more details.

So besides decorating the nursery (you can see photos off our home page) and buying lots of baby gear, we are both keeping busy otherwise as well. Jeff's new job continues to go super well, he is busy and getting busier everyday. He enjoys working with his new partners and the staff that runs his office are all wonderful. Traci is diligently working on a freelance project back in Cincinnati and is trying to get it done before the big D-Day!! It's a fun job and she is enjoying the distraction from her belly. The other big news is Jeff bought the truck he always wanted. He's been driving a small front-wheel drive car for 10 years now and that just won't make it in this mountain town. He bought a Dodge Dakota 4-door truck and is very happy with it. Now if we can only get our home in Cincinnati sold things will be running very smoothly. Anyway, that is it from here - thanks for stopping by.. We look forward to hearing from all of you.

Our going-away party was great fun - we took some photos and will do our best to get those posted soon. We had a great turn out and had a lot of fun. Jeff's graduation was nice - it was in a fancy Country Club - black-tie event. Jeff's parents were in town as well as Traci's father Ron. Jeff will begin work at his new practice mid-August, until then Traci is cracking the whip and putting him to work around the house.

The other big news in our lives is we are expecting a baby. Traci is 5 months pregnant and due in December. We are still in shock ourselves but very excited and anxious to start decorating the nursery. :-) We will keep you updated on her progress. We recently found out we are having a boy, so help us name him by voting HERE. Traci is feeling good, her first 3 months were a breeze and she felt great - since our move out West she is experiencing some sickness but nothing too bad. We are sure it is due to a combination of stress from the move and the new elevation we are living at. It should pass soon. On another note, we've been asked several times now if we are registered anywhere so we went ahead and did an online registry. You can find it HERE.

So this is the news from the Kutler-Dodd home. We hope everyone is enjoying their summer and we look forward to hearing from you all and maybe seeing you too!! Love to all.

We are planning a celebration in June for all our local friends since it will be a while until we see most of them again. We have rented the upstairs game room of a local restaurant and attempting to hire a band as well - should be fun. If you are interested in coming just let us know and I can get you the details - the party will be June 20th.

Everything else is going well for us, I hope this update finds all of you happy and healthy and enjoying the spring weather wherever you are. When we know where our future home will be, we will make sure to update all of you. Until then, Happy Passover and Easter!

We are looking forward to leaving January behind us and begin planning our move to Lake Tahoe in July. Traci will travel to Tahoe in March to begin looking for a home, wish us luck with this! The other big news in our life right now is that we have become an Aunt and Uncle. Jeff's brother and his wife Olga have given birth to Ailish Patrikova Dodd in Kiev Ukraine. We wish them many many years of good health and lots of happiness!!

That's the news from here, we hope everyone is doing well and keeping busy and wish everyone a wonderful holiday season no matter what you do! Drop us a line when you get a chance to let us know how things are going! Talk to you soon.

Before we left for Tahoe, Traci's great friends from New Jersey came for a visit. Traci knows Stacey and Jill since before she was born - actually! Her mom and their mom were the best of friends.. Anyway, Stacey brought her daughter Julia Rose and they had a great week of visiting the zoo, children's museum, aquarium and lots of eating! Here is a photo of them by the riverfront.

Our next vacation will be in November when we fly down to Florida to check out Disney World. Jeff has never been there and we decided that this might be the last time we live on the East Coast (GRIN) - so we better go now. Also, Traci's sister Cheri lives about 1 hour south of Disney and we are going to spend some time with her. Cheri is in the midst of building a new house and it should be done by the time we are down there. We are excited about the trip - it's always great to get away from Cincinnati.

That is the news from here - we hope this note finds everyone doing well. To our Jewish friends we wish you a happy and healthy new year and we look forward to hearing from all of you.

Traci's feet are healing well - we hope in the next few weeks, she'll have perfect feet for the first time! Since returning from vacation, Traci has been busy preparing for two big canine events here in Cincinnati. She is going to be a vendor (for her homemade dog biscuits) at the Third Annual Pooch Parade and Picnic on May 19th and the DogFest 2002 on June 9th. Other big news, Traci just got a job with a computer company called ReTech Computers here in Cincinnati. She will be the e-bay programmer for them - wish her luck!

Jeff has heard back from a clinic in Reno, NV who would like to fly us both out for a visit - we are finishing up the details now and will let you know how it goes. Jeff also celebrated his 33rd birthday at the end of April, we celebrated with some good friends and a homemade german chocolate cake. Some big news in Jeff's life right now is his success with his Thesis he presented a few weeks ago at the hospital. He won the "Best Thesis Award" and was personally congratulated by the Chairman of the Orthopaedic Department. If you are interested in seeing a small section of his paper - you can view it HERE.

One last comment for anyone out there that likes to play games on their computer. Someone introduced me to a web site called GameHouse - that allows you to play their games through your browser (they are also available for download if you want to buy one). Anyway, they are very addicting and I highly recommend trying a few. My favorites are Nisqual and GemDrop. I have been playing both games for about a week now and I guess I need to buy them. Let me know what your high scores are so I can know whether I am doing well on them or not. Here is a snapshot of my high scores so far.

Jeff has been contacting Orthopaedic Groups out West about a potential job when we are finished here in Cincinnati. He has been getting some great feedback and response, we are very excited. We hope to fly out to the Tahoe/Reno area in June to visit with two groups. He has also been talking with a few groups in Spokane, Washington - hopefully we will plan a trip out there as well. Jeff is also getting ready to celebrate a birthday this month (4/29) - we don't have plans for the celebration yet so if anyone has a good idea on how to spend a birthday, let us know!

Traci is recovering from foot surgery she had a month ago, she had Hallux rigidus (arthritis of the big toe) on both her feet and decided to have surgery to help with the pain it caused. The surgery went smoothly and she is slowly recovering, it will take about 6 months to know the full outcome of the surgery but she is already very pleased with the results. Jeff's mom flew out from Idaho to help take care of her immediately after the surgery. We are so grateful for her help and it was also really great to visit with her as well.

Jeff's folks will be coming back to Cincinnati in May for a vacation. We plan to take a camping trip to the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, we hope to rent a cabin on a river or lake for a few days and then find a nice campground to do some camping at as well. Jeff's parents have a black lab named George and we are excited for Eli to meet her cousin! (GRIN)

Anyway, that is the news from here. I hope this note finds everyone doing well and please drop us a line to say hello - we want to hear from you!!

2/12/02 - Glad you stopped by. I hope to keep everyone updated with what is happening in our lives. I will try to update this page as often as possible.

As everyone knows, on November 11th - Jeff and I celebrated our 12 year anniversary by getting married. The wedding and celebration were really great and we are so thankful to everyone that helped with the details and the celebrating. Visit our wedding web page to get more details about the "big event."

For those of you who do not already know, Traci quit her job at MFM after 4 years! It was a huge decision for her but one that has been a great decision. She had a great experience with MFM as a web designer, programmer and manager but after 4 years, she decided to move on with her life. Currently, she is still designing web sites through her own company - TKO Creations AND (are ya sitting down?) she is also selling, baking and working as a Gourmet Dog Bone Chef. This is a huge change from her job behind the computer but she is having a great time with it and is beginning to see much success. She built a web site that you can visit, called Ellie's K9 Barkery and is also selling the bones in local stores here in Cincinnati. She recently had an article published about her and the business in the Dog Owner's Guide newspaper - read the article HERE.

Jeff is doing great, he is healthy and very excited about the fact that he is down to 16 months more of his residency. That is right, just over a year to go and he will finally be free to begin a practice of his own. The first thing we want to do is leave Cincinnati. We cannot believe it but we will have lived here 10 years by the time all this is done. We are both looking forward to moving back out West - in order to enjoy the mountains, fresh air and benefits of a smaller town. We currently have 3 locations in mind - Spokane, Washington, Bend, Oregon and the Tahoe/Reno area in Nevada (where we both went to college). We are leaning towards Oregon but the move will rely on job opportunities. Jeff is diligently putting his CV/Resume together and is trying to make contacts out west. We will keep you posted with the progress!

In his spare time, he has been working on some wood projects, his latest build was a pair of speakers for our living room. They are very impressive. :-) Check out a photo of them HERE.

Eli just turned two and we threw a big party for her and her closest furry friends. It was a great afternoon and everyone had a blast. You can see some photos from the party on Eli's second birthday web page. Eli also have some big news to tell everyone, she is now represented by a talent agent and is hoping to land some jobs doing commercials and print ads! We are currently trying out for the Iams Company - in order to be their spokesdog!! Wish her luck and we will keep everyone updated on her success.

We hope everyone is doing well and keeping busy, drop us a line when you get a chance to let us know how things are going! Talk to you soon.