Josiah's started playing roly-poly on his bedroom floor. He no longer just flops around on his blanket. He rolls until he can't go any more. Just a little while ago he bonked his head into the bottom of his little rocking chair. It left a red mark but it's already gone. So now there is a blanket in front of the chair.
is every other vehicle a SUV or bigger and can you go to a Mexican food restaurant and have the waiter ask if you want tea, water or Dr. Pepper!!! Man, I missed Texas!!
Josiah and I just spent 10 days down in Texas. We flew down the Tues before Labor Day and came back last Thursday. We had a great time and he did really well flying. I'm sure all the business men and women on our morning flights were excited to see me walk in with a baby, but thankfully he slept the whole time!!
The first few days we spent time in Abilene with my grandmother, Dad and Lauren. During the weekend we spent time with our Labor Day crowd (all of mom's college roomates and families, who we've gone camping every LD weekend before any of us kids were born). This time we stayed in a hotel which I didn't mind since it was hot! I've been spoiled by being up north already...
The last few days we spent with my mom in Dallas. My good friend Bethany also got to meet Josiah, we had a good visit with her!
And were able to see my Aunt, Uncle, cousin and her family. Here's some pictures from that visit:
Josiah, Lisa and cousin Ben
Cousin Ben was nice enough to let Josiah use a swim diaper, it worked even if a little big!
He didn't like his first time in the pool but...
he adjusted, you know he doesn't mind if he's chewing his fingers.
Josiah, Ben and Ben's older brother Kyle.
During this busy but fun month, Josiah started rolling from his back to his stomach and grabbing his feet!!I'm not even sure where to start but I'll try to catch you up on everything we've been doing! I'm at Panera enjoying ME time and catching up on this blog.
The first weekend in Aug. we got together with Mike's college friends and families at a cabin north of here. It's seems everyone has cabin up north in MN, they even have a weekend cabin weather forecast on the evening news. There were six families that came from Minnesota, Wyoming, Illinios and Iowa. We slept outside in a tent and went to sleep to the sound of loons and people talking around the campfire. The weather was absolutely perfect, warm enough to swim during the day and cool enough at night to wear pants and sweatshirts! Josiah went on his first boat ride around the lake, he didn't say if he liked it or not? I already new most everyone or had at least met them once, but it was really nice that two other mom's had little guys too. We had a mini la leche group! I didn't have to hide away while I was feeding Josiah, instead got to talk to the others a lot.
The following weekend went camping again with one of the couples from the previous group. They where one vacation the whole time and we met them up in Bayfield, WI. We went berry picking at a farm up there. Bayfield is right on Lake Superior and by the Apostle Islands. It's a beautiful area that would be great a great place to live if you could stand the harsh winters! Funny thing is this time last year we were pregnant but didn't know it yet! So technically, this is Josiah's second time to be there. 
This is us last year!!
Full moon coming up over Lake Superior and Madeline Island
Blueberry bushes
Some berries where the size of quarters!!
Blue Vista Farm.JPG)
Our happy little guy!!
Josiah in Mike's hat...
Wyatt in Mike's hat.
Stillwater is the birthplace of Minnesota and is on the St. Croix river that is the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Back in the day lumberjac
ks would float logs down the St. Croix to the mills there.
So each year the have a festival with concerts, lots of good fried fair food, inflatable toys for kids and competitions. This started on Wednesday and ended tonight with a big fireworks show that we did not stay for. And silly me took our camera but didn't think about getting out to take pictures, I'll see if I can get some from our friends.
The competition for the lumberjacks consisted of sawing, chopping, running and climbing on or up logs. It was very impressive! The Outdoor Channel was filming it and will be airing it the fall.
They also had dogs competing on distance jumping and retrieving and vertical jumping. We saw mostly the dog competitions which where world championships. The dog that won the distance jumping beat his world record twice. The highest jump for the vertical was 7ft 8in.
At the end they had a dogs and logs competition. This involved the lumberjacks and dogs doing a relay in two teams, it was a lot fun to watch.
As far as the food was concerned we did pretty good only spending $20 on 5 things: 2 drumstick icecreams, a corn dog, cheese curds and a big refillable cup of root beer. The drumsticks were a deal at $1 each. Since I didn't grow up in a land that sold cheese curds, I've always been skeptical, but really it's just fried cheese. And we all know anything fried is generally good, but I'm not going to try the fried snickers.
(Side Note having nothing to do with Lumberjack Days...Sonic just opened up their first one in MN a few weeks ago and plan on opening 35 more in the twin cities in the next 5 years...How can they be the All American drive thru if they aren't ALL over America??...But none the less I am excited about this hope to go visit Sonic soon...after the 30 min wait to get in the parking lot is over!!! I believe the Minnesotans knew what they were missing.)
Josiah was a trooper the whole time, as long as he can eat, sleep and poop he doesn't mind were we drag him to!!
Last week my mom came up for a visit. We had a good time running errands and playing with Josiah. The last day she was here we tried to take pictures with Josiah smiling. We really should have done it in the morning since that's when he's all smiles. 
Josiah's starting to grab things more and I think it's intentional. It's more like if it is by his hands he grabs it but he's not reaching for things yet. He's making all sorts of sounds now too. It's great. We have a video camera so maybe I can catch him giggling. He usually just stares at the camera so maybe I'll have better luck with the video camera.
That would be me!
in that big ol' cotton wood tree?
Yes there are cotton wood trees up here, tons of them!!
Yup, that's what Josiah was thinking last Friday night. A park near our place had an all day celebration for the 4th. Mike's family was here for the weekend. We met some friends from church at the park for a picnic supper and listen to two community bands play before the fireworks started. Since this would be Josiah's first experience with fireworks we had a backup plan to head to the car if he didn't like it. Fortunately he fell sleep shortly before they started and slept right on through. Of course I was holding him with a blanket and my hand over his ears just in case, but he did well.
We had a busy and fun weekend with Mike's family. While Grandma and Grandpa were watching Josiah, Mike, Matt and I went for a swim at the lake across the street. I wasn't planning on going under since I thought the water would be freezing but it was actually very nice. I guess the summers up here in MN don't start until July, June was very cool and the first day it got into the 90's was the end of June. We also all went and played disc golf while Grandma carried Josiah around in the Baby Bjorn, then we ended the evening by stuffing ourselves at Maggiano's. All of which Josiah slept through.
This is a late post, so I'll play catch up for a little bit.
We went camping the weekend Josiah turned two months. He did well but we didn't. I don't know what I was thinking camping in the summer in Minnesota. It did not even cross my mind that the mosquitoes would be bad and boy were they!! We were so worried about him getting eaten up that we weren't having fun. Camping is meant to be fun, so we stuck it out for a night and then went home.
Mike and I have camping gear but it's all for backpacking also, so our little two man tent was nice and cozy with the three of us. Granted Josiah is 1/5 of a person right now but he had the best spot, all nice and snug between us. He slept all night which tells you how comfortable he was!
Backing up some, at 6 weeks he started smiling more than just the random smirks. And everyday since then the smiles have been getting bigger and better!! Around week six we went in to weigh him and he was at 8lbs 7 oz. We get excited to see how much he is gaining. He started out slow but we are filling him up as much as I can.
A few weeks ago we started switching Tues nights babysitting with another couple who had a boy four days before Josiah was born. Right now it's easy since they just lie around. Mike and I could only think of a few things we like to do but can't take him with us, so we went canoeing on the lake across the street from us. Oh, we also took a pizza with us and ate it out on the water. Every third Tues, we'll all do something together. The dads held the boys up to look at each other and they started grinning!! I'm sure those grins will lead to a lot of mischief if a few years!
Here's few things Josiah's been doing (with me of course):
Nothing consumes your time like a newborn right? Amazing how fast someone else eating, sleeping, pooping and crying can pass the hours.
I can't believe he is already 1 month old. Everyone says the time will fly by and it has. But I'm looking forward to seeing facial expressions he purposefully makes and him being able to recognize us with his eyes.
He's spent this past month visiting with a lot family and friends, going on walks and even one disc golf outing. He's made it to church twice and gone on a few shopping trips with me.
This weekend we are heading to the Grandparents, it's a 3 hour drive. It's a nice test of traveling with Josiah, here's hoping he'll sleep the whole time!!
I am officially a Mom as of April 28!!! And am learning to type with one hand as I hold J!!
This is how things happened the weekend before he arrived...
Friday night we get last minute tickets to the theater to see A Midsummer Night's Dream from a friend. We took them figuring this might be the last chance we get to do something like this. We rush to get there just as its starting, so there's a lot of fast walking and stairs involved. The next day we do some more unpacking and get things put away. That evening we go visit our friends who just had their baby that Thurs. Going home that evening, Mike calls his mom and tells her we're leaving the hospital just to tease her. Off and on during that day I feel things happening but not too sure if they're contractions. Sunday the things happening get more severe and frequent. So we stayed home from church and Mike was running on adrenaline getting last minute things done. We go shopping for stuff we have to have before baby arrives. Sometime that weekend we finally decided on a boy name and girl name plus middle names. Monday comes and I'm not having fun. I had been having contractions starting some on Sat and getting worse. My next appointment wasn't until Thurs and I did not want to wait until then to see what was going on. So I called the Dr office, I went in and was dilated at a 3. So they gave me something to help me sleep while I could and said the baby's probably coming in a few days! (before Sat, the due date) Mike stayed home the rest of the day just in case. Around 8 that evening the contractions were getting worse but not always that frequent so I paged the midwife and they told us to head to the hospital to get checked out. We got there at 9pm, I was dilated to a 6 and they said the baby was coming tonight!! It took about an hour to fill the tub and for the midwife to show up. At 10:15pm I got in the tub and at 11:30 J was born!!
I had him by water birth without any drugs and it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Towards the end I asked about it being too late for drugs and the nurse and midwife kind of laughed saying the baby would be out before they could get me the drugs. Mike thought I was joking....
Mike was great during the whole thing and he got to cut the cord. It all happened so fast, I can still see them pulling J out of the water and handing him to me but I had to ask Mike if he cried. I couldn't remember any of the sounds. He didn't cry but just lifted his head up and looked around with eyes wide open. It was amazing!!
He's a healthy little guy and the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Mike's family has been here to visit and my mom and sister are here right now. My aunt and cousins stopped by for a short visit and my dad and grandmother are heading up here next week.
Tomorrow will be our first trip out as a family and I'm anxious to see how he will do. We're just going to church but I'm excited to show him off and to see our other friend's newborn, a boy J also. He was due two weeks before my J, but ended up being born only 4 days apart!!
I added a link on the side bar to a photo album the will be updated as we get more pics, enjoy!!
I remember back in social studies class each week we had to read the newspaper and present a current event to the class. Well this is similar but I didn't have to read the newspaper to find the events:
Baby news: Everything is going right on schedule and I'm officially in the 9th month!! After having an ultrasound today that my mom got to sit in on, the baby is healthy although a little on the small side. So that means I will be pounding the water, food and getting more rest.
House-hunting news: We've had our eye on a particular house for a few months. We'd go back and forth on deciding if it's too much work or not and how cheap is cheap enough. So with some family advice we've cut it loose. It probably will get cheaper but not what we need in the long run. We kept our eyes open for 2 br apartments just in case we didn't do this house thing and found a much bigger place for a smidgen more than what we are paying now. It's a complete God thing since the owner is a Christian, the location is better, and we can move in now. Now is imperative since Baby will be coming within a few weeks. One great thing about the new place is it's across the street from a public swimming beach on a nice lake. One potentially hazardous thing is across the street from this beach is a DQ, which means it's basically at the end of our driveway!!! Thankfully it's not open year around or I'd not be loosing my baby weight!!
So all that to say we will be making our annual move but not cross-country, more like 5 miles to east. How do you even pack for a 5 mile move?? Will paper bags work instead of boxes?
Family news: Mike's dad has made it back safely from his second and final tour in Iraq. We were able to meet him at the airport and spend a relaxing weekend with him.
My mom has made it back safely from Kenya and Philippines. She has been up here this week visiting before Baby comes and helping clean the new place.
And now for the weather: Whoever came up with April showers bring May flowers, I hope was talking about MN. We still have some sort of snow falling even though it isn't sticking and nothing budding or blooming!! And did you know it can be snowing during a thunder and lightning storm?
When we lived in Idaho, I was amazed that it snowed during Easter! We helped hide eggs in couches and house plants.
Here in Minnesota, it started snowing Friday night and didn't let up until yesterday afternoon. Forget wearing any cute Easter dresses and white shoes! Some kids down the street made a huge snow Easter egg and even decorated it! If it's still there I'll try to get a picture. We also saw a few snowmen/families decorated in spring colors and hats instead of gloves and scarves.
My sister came for a visit this weekend and I had been telling her it should be nice, no more snow. Shows how much I know about Minnesota winters!!!
Is spring really coming??? Today our high was at least 42 which is the highest it's been since November!! Yea!!!!! I even opened our sliding glass door for a little bit while the sun was shining in. I don't think I've ever been more ready for spring!
I was worried about not having enough warm weather maternity clothes, HA! I'll be lucky if I can wear my chacos before baby comes. I may have to pull out the sock and chaco combo after all the snow and slush have gone.
This week starts month 8! Most people don't believe me, but we'll see if I'm on target as far as weight and such is concerned. Tomorrow is my last four week visit, from here it's 2 two week visits and then down to every week. We can't believe it's come this fast and probably should really work on the whole name thing!!!
This weekend we participated in an informal parenting exercise: we babysat some friend's kids Friday to Monday. Matigan is 3 and Wyatt is 2. We've watched them for an evening before, but never this long. Also, they've never been away from their parents for more than a day. We stayed at their place since our one bedroom apartment is hardly the place to keep two toddlers entertained for a whole weekend!!
Overall it went well. They were both a little under the weather, which curbed their energy level some but also curbed their desire to eat. I was able to reminisce of when I was little and was left seated at the kitchen table, not wanting to eat my food while mom was cleaning up.
Our main activity for the weekend was to go to the "Surprise World," otherwise known as the Como Park Conservatory. In the Surpise World, it's sunny, warm, humid and full of all sorts of plants and flowers that smell really, really good! Oh, and the occasional frog, snake, bird, fish and local variety of toddlers. This day the conservatory was doing an exhibit with frogs for leap year, so I'm sure there were more toddlers around than usual. Another great thing about the Surprise World is that it's FREE, but donations are accepted! There's also a zoo attached that we'll have to check out once all the white stuff outside is replaced with green stuff.
This place does wonders for the winter blues, which I never experienced before now. The room in the first and last picture is the sunken flower room where every few months they change the flowers around. Right now it's winter flowers like amaryllis, lillies and cyclamen. Then for Easter they'll do a big lilly show I'm told. This room smells amazing!! What I want to know is what do they do with these flowers when they change the room out, I'd be happy to take a few!
Mattie and Wyatt did a great job themselves being away from Mom and Dad for the whole weekend. They only really got sad on Sunday night. Wyatt provided us with some nasty diaper changes for us parents-to-be! Mike did a good job on diaper duty, and once we had to tag team to get the job done. Looks like we just got in the diaper practice in the nick of time since the word on the street is that potty training is just around the corner!
So that was our fun Parenting 101 class that skipped a few years, so now we are furiously reading to know what happens before this age!
