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.

Summer Round-Up

Hey there! So you still check in on my blog? You're pretty loyal, aren't you?  Here's a quick run-down on the summer at our place:

We decided to go ahead on the construction of a new home - exciting and nerve wracking! By the end of November, our blog will officially be about Our (West) Fargo Nest. I'll make sure to post photos as things move along. Right now we've got all of our concrete work finished (basement, garage, driveway, and walkway to the front door), and Tony has begun some of the framing work. Just wait... I think you're really going to like it. But there are a ton of decisions to be made between now and then, so I may have to run some of my ideas by you.

Which reminds me... we'll have to sell our sweet north Fargo house around the same time we move into the new one. If you know of a buyer who will love our first home as much as we do, let me know! I'm happy to send them pics and information or put them in touch with our Realtor. We don't have it listed yet so our friends' friends can have first crack at it!

In early June, I accepted a part-time position with our local hospital; working with education in child passenger safety, fire and burn prevention, pedestrian and wheeled sports safety, safe sleep for infants, poisoning prevention, etc. We basically cover accidental injury prevention for children from birth to 14. I'm having a ton of fun, feeling productive, and contributing a little money to our family. So far it feels like it's a win-win. And lucky Landon gets to spend 20 hours a week with his Grandma Denise, so he's super-lucky too!

Although, let's be honest; Grandma Denise is the lucky one!

Landon celebrated his first birthday a couple weeks ago. He's since taken a few steps and finally cut a tooth! I felt a teeny sharp bump yesterday for the first time. Love that he was over a year old when the tooth broke through his gum. (Tony and I were both about this age when we got ours, too!)

 We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of another niece, who should make her appearance any day now. Can't wait to meet her and hear her name for the first time! Despite my best efforts, I haven't been able to crack either of her parents - they won't tell us her name until she's born. (Really though, it's a fun secret and I can't wait for the surprise to be revealed!)

Okay. Have to take advantage of L's nap and get some cleaning done. I'll be in touch again soon - I promise!

Long time, eh?

I have a habit of starting journals, then skipping an entry or two a few weeks in. Then the next thing you know it's been so long that I don't know where to pick back up. So I quit altogether and a few months later I come upon the journal - 12 entries in all - and throw it away, because it feels like starting again would create a book with chapters missing.

I'm trying not to let that happen with this blog. In the midst of a computer virus, issues with our router, and expired antivirus protection on my laptop, I just didn't have the energy to work through it. So, here's a quick update of our life "nowadays"... missing chapters and all:

Tony has finished the last of the big projects on our house; and we're just completing a few landscaping tasks, organizing, and cleaning before we put our home on the market. I'm so sentimental that of course I'm having a hard time with the idea of leaving the house we became a family in; but I also know that we'll make the best new memories in our next home too. Fingers are crossed over here that we are able to build in West Fargo this summer. (All is looking really good... just now finalizing the details of a possible lot!)

He also completed his first semester of teaching at MSCTC. I think all-in-all it went really well, but of course he's glad to have his evenings back (if only to work on previously mentioned landscaping, organizing, and cleaning tasks!).

Landon started crawling on Sunday, which is a real game-changing milestone! He makes a beeline for cables, cords, doors and drawers. All "favorites" of his that I didn't know he felt so strongly about until he was able to get to them himself! Makes me wonder if all the hours I spent reading to him and playing peek-a-boo he was really just hoping I'd get the heck out of the way so he could eye - and map out an attack plan for - an electrical outlet. Motherhood, right?

I'm still home with Landon all day while "casually" looking for part time employment. We are so happy with this arrangement that I know I won't accept a position that isn't the right fit, so the process is admittedly taking longer than I'd ever imagined it would. But days like today - including a leisurely stroll through NDSU campus with our friends Jenna and Keaton - remind me that I am LUCKY to be a stay-at-home-mama for now, and to just enjoy this while the moment lasts. I know something will come up soon enough too soon.

Our weather has finally started resembling summer (or what I remember as summer, it having been so long since our last encounter!), and we have heaps of things to look forward to; Landon will be taking his first swimming lessons with his buddy Jaxen, we'll be attending a Twins game in the cities with a big group of relatives (first time to Target Field for all three of us!), Landon will celebrate his first birthday, and we'll have the chance to enjoy plenty of lazy days at the lake. I heard there are 99 days from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and I want to soak 'em all in.

Sneezing is funny... and other insights from a baby.

Kathryn turned one last week, and we celebrated with a pool party at a Fargo hotel. Not surprisingly, her mom planned the day perfectly from the color scheme to the party favors. Tina even made an owl-shaped cake from scratch to accompany the owl theme that has been Kat's entire life so far. And Kathryn was the cutest birthday girl!

Landon appreciated the opportunity to give swimming a try! First time in a pool took a little getting used to, but it ended on a good note!

Owen will be the birthday boy in exactly 4 weeks! I think he spent some time during the party figuring out what's expected of the guest of honor. He's going to rock it when his turn comes around.

And so that the title of this post makes sense, check out this video. I think we could have gone on like this for hours:

Oh little boy, you are too funny! He's been on a strict food strike for over a week now. Still nursing fine, but something must have happened that soured his interest in solid food. It came the day after trying applesauce for the first time, (obviously a traumatic experience!) and we're just now getting back on track. He has the sweetest way of refusing food though, all smiles and talking until he sees the spoon, then his mouth becomes an impermeable straight line. So the video above was my attempt to trick him into opening his mouth for a second.

Yesterday and today I did get a few spoonfuls of rice cereal and oatmeal through his lips, so I think I may be talking him back into trying again. I'm positive that he'll be eating regular food by kindergarten, so sometime between now and then it'll all click.

Landon has been increasingly amused by Sable lately, and I think she can sense that. She puts forth a little extra effort when he's around to appreciate her!

And finally, we had Landon's photos taken at the Plains Art Museum on Monday, and we LOVE them. He is just so pleasant and charming. I have to assume he gets it from me! (Okay, I'll share the credit with Tony. 60/40 and that's as much as I'm giving him).

Tony has still been super-busy with work and teaching, and I've been able to assist another Realtor a couple days a week the past month. It's been nice to get back to the office a little bit, and easier knowing my mom is watching L. I can't believe it's been over 7 months since I was working full-time. It's amazing how quickly the past months have gone. Now if we could only make it to springtime, right?

El Profesor.

Have you ever tried to picture Tony with a monacle? Me neither. Until he started teaching a class at the local tech school; and now I laugh about it all the time!

In the midst of my job-search, Tony was offered yet another gig. Isn't that totally how it goes? I'm the one applying for dozens of jobs, and he was offered a great position - no application necessary! His former construction management instructor recommended him to the college to teach a class in the construction management department. After some re-arranging of schedules (his and the students'), he's now teaching 32 people in an evening course on estimating principles.

I've worried about him sometimes because it feels like he was kind of thrown to the wolves. He observed the former teacher lead one class, then took it over since then! Crazy to think that licensed teachers spend at least a semester - if not an entire school year - student teaching on top of their 4 year education in order to prepare them for this role, and Tony got exactly 2 hours and 50 minutes!

Not surprisingly, Tony has adapted really well. It's keeping him busy - two evenings of teaching each week and at least two nights of lesson prep - but he's getting more confident with every class, and I'm sure the students are feeling that too.

So thankful that he's as marketable as he is, since my job search is turning up few leads at the moment. I'm temporarily working with another Realtor at Coldwell while his assistant is out of town, so will be there two days a week for 5 or 6 weeks. Then who knows!

But honestly - I don't mind having this guy as a boss for the time being!