Busy-ness

I've said it before, but THIS is my favorite age for Landon! I know... it's getting laughable because I sound like a broken record whenever I repeat it, but I just adore him more every second. He's awesome. And busy, and an occasional tantrum-thrower. It's all mostly fun.

This week was eventful! My mom and I stopped over at my grandparents' on Monday to bring dinner and dessert to them in celebration of my grandpa's 88th birthday. So nice for us all to live near enough to share important days with each other like that.

Tuesday, my mom and I both happened to win tickets through our work to the Redhawks game, so we went out there together. Landon came with and he loved it! Ate a whole kid's meal (hot dog - cut into teeny pieces of course - chips, and a lemonade. Such a big boy!) Then he and Tony ran around like heck for most of the game. It's nice that Tony is such a willing partner in crime for Landon right now. I'm just getting a little uncomfortable and a lot slower now that I'm in my 3rd trimester.

Box seats.

 Our old neighbors from north Fargo invited us to watch some of the game in their box seats. Totally the way to go!

Tonight the boys had their first parent/child swim class at the new wellness center. It was so sweet! And the facility is amazing. I think they both had a ton of fun and I loved watching them.

My boys before class. Landon was rarin' to get into the pool!

Practicing "kick kick"

The fountains they turned on after class. Might have been the highlight for Landon!

Cleanin' up afterwards. Love the child-height showerhead!

I'm leaving for Seattle before the crack of dawn on Friday. Cannot believe I get to be with my college girls; Blaire, Kat, and Heather for 4 days straight! And that I'm going especially to celebrate the upcoming birth of Blaire's baby, who will basically be twins with my little boy when they arrive in August!

I haven't seen Heather since my wedding nearly 4 years ago - and between the two of us we've had almost 4 kids since then! That leaves some serious catching up to do. I was able to see Kat and Blaire at Miss Blaire's wedding almost 3 years ago, but still - that's a ridiculous amount of time to be away from some of my best girls. I feel crazy-blessed that we've maintained rock-solid friendships all these years without even getting to look at each other when we're talking.

I'm beyond excited but already a little homesick about leaving the boys behind. It will be a whirlwind long weekend, I'm sure, and I will come home rejuvenated and ready to get back to them. Or, I will come back exhausted and in need of a week to sleep off the girls getaway. One or the other!

Summer Projects

... I know! It's absolutely bananas that you haven't seen a single picture of the new house. We are definitely on the last leg of the build now, including stonework, sodding and landscaping, hanging "real" exterior doors, and completing interior paint touch-ups. Then we're done, for real. (And I hope that by now you know when I say "we", I most certainly mean "Tony").

So pics coming shortly.

In other family projects, take a look at this video - LOVE how exciting this news is for us!

Some of you may not have known we were expecting ANYONE... so the news must be extra-surprising in your case! Baby is currently scheduled to arrive on August 30th via c-section unless they decide to come earlier than that. I'd love to give a "real" delivery a chance so have my fingers crossed that we get the opportunity. If not, I had an amazing c-section with Landon so would be fine going that route again if need be. I think the key with babies is that you've got to be flexible (and that philosophy helps me to not have to make any decisions. Win, win!)

Better run - the big brother is looking for some attention from his mama. Thanks for stopping by!

.... And not one picture of the house.

I think about this blog a lot. I really do. But I always feel like there's so much catching up I need to do that I can't even possibly start, so I don't. Then I get further behind, and obviously you know how that goes. It's a cycle, really.

That's the same feeling I get about cleaning my house. And even with this brand new, sparkling, dying-for-some-personalization house, I always feel like if I don't have time to do it ALL, then I shouldn't even start. I'm learning to change that about my cleaning, so now I have to talk myself into the same thing for my blog.

So just a couple of pics of the kiddos. I promise to post house pics when we're a bit more settled in.

I couldn't find Landon's mattress pad so he slept in his pack'n'play in our room for a couple nights. Can you tell they just love each other? (And are you creeped out that they're sleeping identically?)

Landon finally decided to eat after hearing a threat from his pediatrician. She told me that if he doesn't finish his food, clean it up and get on with my day! I feel like I was just so anxious about whether he'd eat anything that he never did... mostly just played with his food. But since THAT DAY, he has turned his eating habits around completely! This whole plate (sausage, tomatoes, and applesauce) was gone by the time I cleaned up his plate. Might it have helped that Sesame Street was distracting him while he ate? Don't worry... that was a one-time thing. But I may have to credit Super Elmo for Landon's change of heart.

You know "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie", right? (I'm just asking because some moms, even those who act like they've got it all together otherwise, have no idea what this book's about! :) ) Barnes and Noble had a toddler book reading and this guy was there for a photo op. Landon loved him. Kept trying to jump back in line for another chance to hold his hands. But Leighton wouldn't even get her picture done the first time! She did decide she was ready after all the other kids had gone through the line, but you can tell she's really still pretty hesitant about it!

Okay. Like I said, it's bananas that I'd do a post after our move without sharing pics of the new house (or changing my header, for that matter!) but I promise you one - sometime. For now, just know that we're loving our new place. I keep telling Tony that I can't believe how sad I was the Sunday before closing when we had to clean up little house for the new owners and walk out of our first home for the last time ever, and then how the next day at closing I was just over it! Totally how I was about my high school breakups : )

Good night - talk again soon.

Quickie

SUCH a short post, but I can't get over the darlingness that is this picture! Tony and I are in the home stretch of the move, so Tina graciously offered to keep Landon at her place today while I packed with Amy. Sarah, Tori, Owen and Bella drove over for the afternoon too.

Tina sent me this picture just a few minutes after I left. Don't they just look like they're in high school, cheering at a basketball game?


I left Landon over there for 6 hours before I came to get him, and I was sure he'd be waiting at the front door with his shoes on; just because he's not used to being away from me that long. But I was surprised and so thrilled to see that when I got there, it was really no big deal! Tina was feeding him in the booster seat, O and Kat were racing through the kitchen with baby strollers, and Landon just casually said "Hi!".


Owen and Landon took turns initiating hugs with each other, and O would say, "Love you!" every time. Melted my heart... toddlers are just too sweet. Then the boys took turns hugging Tori and me. Lots of loviness going on, and you know I can't get enough of that.

Also got to hold baby Bella for the first time! She slept through the whole visit, of course. It's hard to remember my baby when he was so teeny.

Okay, off to bed. More packing tomorrow.... *sigh*. I'll also be back with some sneak peeks of the house. Everything is falling into place at this point. Nice work, Tone.

A real toddler

Landon has morphed into a real toddler over the past couple months. Every day he adds to his vocabulary (he said "breakfast" and "garbage" in the same day last week) and he's constantly displaying new skills and personality traits. He LOVES to put things "back" right now. "Baa. Baa. Baa". He says, and then I have to help him throw a teensy piece of yarn or paper or whatever in the garbage. After I put his Goldfish crackers in a little bowl for him, the box has to go "back" into the cupboard, with his help.

The other morning I unplugged a nightlight from the bathroom outlet so I could plug in both my hair straightener and blow dryer, and he wanted to put the nightlight "back". I didn't know where he was going to put it since it's always plugged in, but I watched him open Tony's nightstand drawer and shut the nightlight inside. Weird! But the next morning as I was getting some lotion out of my nightstand, I saw an extra nightlight that I'd stored away and not noticed before. That pumpkin.  Isn't it so observant of him?

He says "up" at least 600 times a day right now, and I don't think that's an exaggeration. Especially since he usually says it 8 or 10 times in a row like that... "Up, up, UP!". Luckily for him, up can mean up or down, or open or close, or whatever he's trying to do at the moment. I'm getting soooooo good at deciphering the difference.

Here's a cute video from lunch a couple weeks ago. Another favorite word is "ball", as you'll see here:

He still LOVES boxes and climbing and using tools. Tonight Tony was home for dinner because he's fighting a bad cold and couldn't make it to the new house. So the guys were watching This Old House Hour, and next thing I saw, Landon was standing on an overturned toy bin, hammering away at our window seat with two different plastic hammers. What a little copycat! It's a good reminder to teach by action. And to remove those actions from our lives that we don't want Landon showing off to the neighbors : )

We got another new niece yesterday! I was telling my boss Thursday morning that she was up in the birth center, and she looked kind of surprised. I was like, "Yeah. I know. I had another niece up there just a few months ago!" And she said, "Your family is good for business!" Love it. And so true! I did get to visit Tori and our family on Thursday but I only saw Izabella through the nursery window. I've had a really gross cough for over a week now, and even though I don't know if I'm contagious, I'd rather not take any chances with a newbie like that. But she's beautiful, of course. Lots of features that are similar to her big brother's. Can't wait to see her up-close!

Hey. How did I get this far in without mentioning that we have a CLOSING DATE for the sale of Little Fargo Nest? Wahoo! Inspection and appraisal have gone beautifully and now we are waiting for February 13th. And for me to pack more than the one box of cookbooks that I'm sure I won't need between now and then. And for New Fargo Nest to be ready for us! We're hoping that all the details are complete over there later on the week of the 13th, so please keep your fingers crossed and pray for Tony to stay healthy and motivated! He is teaching class again this semester so really couldn't be any busier than he is. Selfishly, it's been nice to have him home the past couple evenings despite the fact that it's because he isn't feeling well. We just miss seeing his face around here!

Okay, you're nowhere near updated, but my daddio mentioned today that he hasn't seen an update since November. Not good blogging, Apes.

For our kiddos

I just got back from a Safe Kids conference in Charlotte, NC so I'm extra amped to educate people about ways to prevent accidental injury in children (or anyone, for that matter - but kiddos most!). It was a great trip, but I was SO ready to get back to my boys and my pup! Thanks to my parents for watching the littlest guy so much while I was gone. It's a relief to know he's in good hands even when I'm not hovering over his shoulder.

It's come to my attention lately that coin lithium or "button batteries" are causing serious injuries to little ones. If they're swallowed and lodge in a child's throat, their saliva can activate the electrical current and cause serious burns in the esophagus - and sometimes even lead to death. I've been obsessing about how to keep them away from Landon ever since I learned about the risk several weeks ago. I remember saying to my boss, "I'm never going to keep him alive, am I?" But she told me that I will. And I trust her.

The problem with these batteries is that they're in so many of our techie gadgets; automatic car openers, remote controls, as I noticed today - my reading light, even in the musical cards that are everywhere right now (for the record... I really don't like musical cards for a million reasons; but the biggest being these dang batteries!). And it's so scary to think that if Landon dropped a remote on the floor and the battery cover fell off, he would absolutely put a battery right in his mouth. You should see him eat dog fur off the couch... it's really disturbing. (I guess "eat" isn't the right word because I rip it from his lips as soon as I see it hanging out like a mini-cigarette. But the intent is there, for sure!)

Anyway, the reason I'm writing this is that tonight Landon and I were in the kitchen and he went straight for the drawer where I keep my dishtowels. We have soft-close drawers, so they're kind of hard for a toddler to open, and when he finally got it open I shut it right away. Then I had a change of heart and thought, "Let him explore. What's going to happen if he throws all your dishtowels on the floor? No big deal, right?" So I opened it up again for him.

When I did, I saw something shining in the front corner of the drawer - the easiest place for Landon to reach. I thought, "What's that? A bolt for something?". When I picked it up, of course it was a coin lithium battery.

What if I wasn't a hoverer? What if he was looking through the drawer as I made dinner? What if the shiny metal caught his eye before it caught mine? It's just too scary for me to imagine.

What's harder is that if you didn't know about it, you might not have stressed when you saw it. There are plenty of things I come across that just make me think, "I guess it would just pass through his system!" (for the record; I haven't seen any non-edibles in a diaper yet. But I wouldn't be surprised with a 15 month old). So for my friends with littles, (and for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other lovers-of-littles), pah-leese keep your eye out for these batteries and store them way out of reach of the kids. You won't regret taking a minute to stash them up high.

Okay. Off my soapbox. But I'll be back soon enough, for sure.

Halloween (and the past 6 weeks)

Boo!

Wait, not scary? More like the squishiest, cutest tiger you've ever seen? Well, we gave it a shot.

Here's Landon the FIRST time he tried on his Halloween costume today. He's dealing with a cough, teething, and general toddler clingy-ness, so he wasn't too enthused. This is the best pic we got (so far... but we'll be trying again, of course).

Here are the outtakes:

... so much fun trying to get a good pic of a 15-month-old. Sheesh!

Speaking of outtakes, Jenna and I took the boys to the Buffalo River Pumpkin Patch a couple weeks ago. Naturally, we wanted darling pictures of our boys in the "fall landscapey-ness". Here's what we're working with there:

See? It's just soooo easy to get a nice shot!

I'm not posting pictures of our friends because I haven't asked Jenna if it's okay. And because then she'd know I have a blog and she might read it... And then I might have a total of 12 readers and it would make me self-conscious. But I'll have to check in with her because the boys are so funny together. And she's just the cutest. You'll like them.

ALSO since my last post, my dad (and his twin, but that goes without explaining) turned 60! Their wives and kids planned a perfectly-themed Minnesota Twins party for them, and it was really and truly a surprise to both of them! We had family in from as far away as Virginia, Missouri, and Arizona. What a fun weekend. Here are the twins and their families:

Ryan is good at everything... I even had to hand over the cupcake decorating!

Aw yeah, big drinker!

Things are moving along beautifully with the house right now! I can't even remember what the status was last time I posted, but this week we're just waiting on sheetrock taping and texturing. Tony spent the weekend free-eeezing while he stained and varnished all the window jambs (we're planning on having stained jambs but white trim) so that they'll be protected during the mudding process. I guess the sheetrock mud consists of a lot of water, which would be absorbed into the wood window jambs without the finishing on it. Makes sense to me. (It actually does this time... not like the times I just nod while Tony tries to explain what's going on over there!)

looking from the kitchen to the main entry and garage entry

Looking from the kitchen to the living room and main entry

Grandma, Landon, and I stopped by on Friday to visit as he was starting his work. Here's Grandma in the kitchen:

Looking from the living room/entry to the kitchen

The boys in the master bedroom

Self-portrait in Landon's bedroom

Detail shot of the jamb stain. Love!

 Alright. Time to wrap it up. L is losing patience with me. I'll write again soon(ish).

House Updates, and other Tidbits

This will be a quick-ish post, full of random details about the past couple weeks at our place. Time is moving too fast right now... feels like I just turned around and now it's nearly mid-September.

Last week Tony and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. We took our annual photo at Fair Hills to commemorate the day (although the pic was actually taken on September 4th).

I didn't know that Landon could get any sweeter than he is during his "nose-blowing" sessions, but last week as I walked up the driveway to my house, he and my mom were pounding on the window to greet me. I waved maniacally in response (for real... I look nutso but I just am so excited to see them!) and then with no apparent prodding, he blew me a kiss. He's been doing it regularly since then, making a gigantic smooching sound on his hand and then tipping it towards whoever he's admiring at the moment. Lots of times it's me, but I've also seen him blow kisses to other friends and family... including Amy's dog. Love it.

Speaking of love, Landon smooched the bathtub today after he got out. Made me realize that I don't show enough appreciation after my showers and am dedicated to changing that.

Here's the West Fargo house as of yesterday:

Why yes, those are shingles! Thanks for noticing. Amy and I swung by there today to see that the whirly things are spinning away on the roof. (You might have noticed that I'm on a need-to-know basis with a lot of the construction process. I'm kind of refusing to learn some of the details, including the whirly things' real names).

In our current nest, we had a helluva week trying to get the basement spruced up. We hired a handyman to paint the floor and walls and ran into a few several snags along the way. Long story short, Tony was way more involved than he intended to be, the fumes forced all of us (including Sabie and our baby who is in the middle of his second anxiety-inducing fever!) out of the house for a couple nights while the literal and metaphorical dust settled over here (Thank you to my grandparents and Jam-amy, who took us in!). It's finally looking - and smelling - nice, so we're one step closer to listing. Yay and sad, of course.

Happy birthday yesterday to my favorite father-in-law, today to my fabulous aunt Jill,  happy Grandparents' Day tomorrow to our our grandparents and Landon's (cards are sitting on our dining room table, naturally).

Please remember to do something nice for someone tomorrow. Can you believe our world changed forever 10 years ago already? I still vividly remember the tiniest details of that day in 2001. And I will never forget.

Zootown.

Just a quick post because it's getting late, but I wanted to share a few pics from our trip to the Chahinkapa Zoo this afternoon. My mom, Ryan, Kristin, Leighton, Zoe, Landon, and I spent a couple hours enjoying the beautiful day in Wahpeton. Leighton is the world's biggest animal lover so it was no surprise that she had a great time, but it was also fun to see Landon notice and enjoy the change of pace as well. And I always say, "a tired dog is a good dog", but I'm learning that it applies to kiddos too!

Zoe, on the other hand, didn't care she was at the zoo. But she's about the cutest little bug ever, isn't she?

We cruised around a bit...

... fed the ducks and cowered from the bears... (I mean, he's a little close, isn't he!? And he ran at us, then stopped short, shook off a bit, and walked back the other way several times. Scaaaaary. That reminds me - Jill, didn't you see a bear on a walk in NY? I'd faint on the spot, I swear).

... we ate ice cream... (pics 2 and 3 for GG June specifically. See? I'm loosening up the old strings on Landon's diet, don't you think!?)

... rode a carousel, a wagon, and admired our teeniest family member. And with zero breakdowns between 3 kids, it was a totally successful trip.

Then on our way back to town my mom, Landon and I swung by Arby's to grab dinner for the guys at the new house. How lucky is it that we pay for manual labor with food? BIG thanks to Jamie and my dad who helped Tony get this done today:

Moving right along, aren't they? (Notice Tony's bandaged duct taped hand. In regards to hiring free labor, once in awhile they'll shoot you with a nail gun. Not that either of these guys did it, I'm just saying that sometimes it's bound to happen. Hey - you get what you pay for).

 Can't wait to be all settled in over here! (But will miss you and adore you forever, Fargo Nest).

Out for a Stroll, and the Rest of our Week

It's been a fun week over here at our nest! Kelly and I finally did something I'd been talking about doing since I moved back to Fargo. We walked Historic 8th Street and admired the gorgeous houses found up and down the blocks. LOVED it! It was even better than I'd expected because it was topped off by a visit from the ice cream truck. How lucky are we?! 

I owe Sable a HUGE thanks because she was a dream-dog on the whole trip. She deserves regular exercise and it's way more fun when she behaves the way she did on Saturday. Love the way she graciously posed for photos:

Do you recognize that VW bus? It's the same one featured here, in my maternity pics! (Pretty soon they'll realize that I keep posting pictures of their car on the internet and will charge me royalties... lucky I don't have a huge blog-following!) 

Had such a great time that I talked my girlfriend and her baby (Landon's buddy K) into going again yesterday. Except that it was 94 degrees and I was crazy-sweaty. So it didn't feel quite the same.... in fact, it mostly felt wet. But I'm sure we'll go again in the fall, which is just around the corner. Yay and ugh.

Finally, here's a quick video of Landon. He's just so cute! On Saturday, he was unrolling toilet paper in the bathroom while I brushed my teeth, so when I put my hand on the roll to stop him and said, "No", he tore off the TP he had in his hand, and "blew" his nose. Totally out-of-the-blue, like he was saying, "Geez mom! Can't I even take care of my runny nose without you in my business?!" If you can't tell in the video, he's just blowing with his mouth. That makes it even cuter.

Tony is still hard at work on the house! I was actually "in the basement" a few times this week. Was the most exciting time for me this far, as I can actually visualize the layout with some of the walls (as in, 2x4's) up.

The Week in Pics

Big week over here at our nest! First, we got a really fun call on Tuesday evening that our sister-in-law Kristin was headed to the hospital with contractions (not unexpected at all... things had been moving along for the past couple of weeks). She got settled in around 6 pm and our niece Zoe was born at 10:42 that night! She didn't waste a whole lotta time in the hospital, that's for sure! I am anxious and excited to see how Leighton adjusts to her new role as big sister. I'm sure it's pretty confusing for a two year old.

Leighton offered to let us "pet" her baby several times that night. Maybe she was hoping one of us would get attached take her home with us! The nurse couldn't get over how verbal Leighton was; saying things like "This is my baby Zoe", "I love little babies", and "She's adorable!" It's always fun to watch Leighton impress a new audience.

We stopped by the mall this evening to meet Tony's mom, sisters, and our niece and nephew for dinner in the food court. Such a good idea - Tina and I are both at a stage right now where restaurant dining is anything but fun, so Tori suggested we try this and it worked perfectly. Here's our "best" photo of the three cousins and their parents (the siblings).

After dinner, we swung by the new house to check on the dirt (See?! Couldn't you just drool over the beauty of it? I had to ask Tony, "now what were they doing with our dirt today?" and he said they'd removed a gigantic hill of it behind our house. Besides that, it still just looks muddy and, well, dirty to me. But I looked on in appreciation anyway. You gotta do that for the hubs once in awhile!).

I am truly impressed though, by the progress on the rest of the house! It's moving more slowly than Tony had hoped, but he's doing a ton of the work single-handedly (and with the help of some friends and family) so he's literally invested his blood and sweat (tons of sweat... you should smell see his laundry!) into the project. He works from 6:30 or 7 am until 9 pm pretty much every day right now. Anyway, Tony - you are appreciated, big time. Funny to give him a shout-out on this blog because I don't know if he ever reads it!

Get serious. Don't you think this guy's eyes are to-die-for?! I think he got my Grandpa Al's baby blues. Lucky little guy. And lucky mama.