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.