Miles First Road Trip

Well we did it!  Our first trip home to Tulsa with Miles was a total success.  Taking a 12 hour car trip with a 2 month old baby could have been a disaster but our Miles was a champ.  He had a pretty good attitude most of the way!

We had a wonderful visit this time around and I was able to see, even if only for a brief visit, almost everyone I wanted to see.  Miles went to MANY a Ladies Lunch while Ava enjoyed lots of relaxation and Oma time!  

Even though it was extremely, especially for these Minnesotans, hot outside the pool was freezing cold.  Miles tried to take dip but that was bust; Ava, however jumped right in and swam with the mermaids!

It also happened to be Easter and we had a great time dying eggs and celebrating with the family.  Ava had a bit of a rough time at the Neely Easter gathering when she fell and cut her knee and then fell off the play house, but she picked herself up and hunted those eggs!  And of course, we had a great time at Uncle Allen's place.  Ava even got to wear her new high heel shoes which was possibly the most exciting part of the day for her!

  

 

First Fire of the Season

The weather here in Minneapolis has been so lovely lately and we have been out enjoying it as much as possible!  We had our first BBQ and Fire of the season this weekend with the Larson-Bursham family (sadly, the Wagners were nursing sick kiddos).

I love the Spring here and am very much looking forward to many more days on the patio with our friends.  I know Ava is excited to get outside.

Confessions of a Craftaholic!!

Hello my name is BJ and I am a Craftaholic!  The staff at Micheal's practically know me by name.  I go shopping and think, "Well that is cute, but I could make it myself for less!"  I have several projects always going at one time and about 5 more that I am planning.  I crochet, sew, make hair doo dads and jewelry.  I decorate cakes,  paint and am trying to learn to be a better photographer.  My kitchen table often looks like this...

 

Now that I am home with the kids, I am hoping to turn this obsession into something more useful to the family.  So I am going to try and sell some of my hair doo dads and whatever else I make on Etsy.  I'm thinking even if all it does is to bring in enough money to support my addiction, it will be worth it.  And who knows... maybe I will get rich and Ben can quit his job and run my online empire!!

So here are some of the most recent things I have made and plan to sell.

Now I have to actually set up the Etsy site and see what happens!

What a Difference an Ounce Makes

Life has been chugging along and Miles is 5 weeks old today.  Up until yesterday, I was still debating if I wanted to keep him or not, but Ava and Ben were against giving him to the Goodwill, so he is still here.  However, yesterday I began feeding him four ounces at a time, a difference of only one ounce.  That one ounce created a miracle attitude adjustment!  The poor guy must have been starving because he is clearly so much happier and so is Mamma...so I guess he can stay after all.

Miles reaction to the thought that I might give him to the Goodwill :)

I have recently joined a couple of Playgroups.  It is a little strange to take a 5 week old to a play date but I guess he won't be 5 weeks forever and I am enjoying getting to know some other moms in my area.  This whole new way of meeting people online is still a bit strange to me.  I feel kind of like a stalker as I look through the list of who has already RSVP'd to decide whether or not to attend an event based on a thorough judging of the profiles.  Oh well, I suppose they are doing the same thing to me...I hope my good looks and charm are well represented in my profile!

At our first Meet Up I met several other mothers that I think I am going to very much enjoy getting to know.  Ava happened to be out of school for that event so she was able to go with us and had a great time at the Williston Treehouse.

Miles, on the other hand, never woke up!

It was pretty much a perfect day!

Mile Keith is here and check out that hair!!

It may have been easier to move mountains but Miles has finally arrived to complete our family!!  He was born at 9:00 AM on Thursday, February 2nd, 2012 weighing a measly 7 lbs 12 oz and a head of hair to make is daddy jealous.  He had an amazing welcome to this world from Ben, Ava, Abbie, Keith, Anthony, Gail, Hans, Dad and Shirley and many other beloved friends.  We  were quite a rowdy bunch and on more than one occasion I feared the hospital staff would kick them all out.  However, the nurses were all quite accommodating in the end and I rarely had to eat hospital food (major bonus points to the family for treating me so well!)

Ava wasn't quite sure what she thought of having a little brother at first and she was not at all happy with seeing me in the hospital.  It was great to get so much attention from the rest of the family though and I think that helped with the transition from a pregnant mommy and the idea of a baby to the reality of a screaming, pooping blob that everyone says she is supposed to love.  However, she has quickly settled into being the best big sister ever and has lots of plans for his future education.  Although she still does not like it when he cries and she can't hear her cartoons...can you blame her :)

Although my hospital stay was nice, by Sunday I was climbing the walls and ready to get home.  We managed to ask enough times to be discharged early that it actually happened and we were home by 11:30.  Abbie, Keith and Anthony brought a wonderful lunch and some delicious cheese and we had one final meal together before everyone but Gail headed home.  I was sad to see everyone go, but ready to start trying to work out a routine with my new family.

Gail stayed for the first week and I was very happy for the help.  Although I felt okay rather quickly, it has taken me longer than expected to start feeling normal again...in fact I am still waiting on that to happen.  Being the mother of two is hard but I am quickly getting used to it and we are settling into a routine.  If I can just get him to sleep for more than two hours at night I might actually make a success of this yet :)

Last weekend as 3!

We are wrapping up our final weekend of being a family of three.   

On Saturday we watched the crazies jump into the water at the Polar Plunge on White Bear Lake.  It was amazing to see group after group of people dressed in crazy outfits jump into the near frozen water all to raise money for the Special Olympics.  A great cause, but I think I will just make my donations and stay warm.

On Sunday we had lunch with our good friends the Wagner's and finished up all the last minute stuff in the nursery.  It is incredible how much calmer we are this time around as we wait for Miles to arrive.  So much of the anxiety that goes along with being first time parents is gone.  At least we know that we probably won't screw him up any worse than Ava :)  

We are looking forward to seeing all the family later this week to join us for our big day!

I have heard that this blogging thing is popular so I decided to give it a shot.  With just days to go before the birth of our son, it seemed a good way to keep in touch with our family and friends all over the world.