Summer Fun

While I'm on a roll here, I'll post another catch-up entry (who knows when I'll get back to the computer when everyone else is sleeping?!)



We went to the Carlon County Fair, and Bean met some goats and "Baaaaas". For some reason, his first recognizable animal sound (when looking at books, etc) is Baaaa. We were slightly traumatized by a really LOUD BAAA, but later were OK with visiting the real sheep. Bean was very quiet when we visited the cows, but later pronounced MOO while looking at a picture of a cow. Genius!









Other recent fun includes visiting the cabin and using the special Bean-sized beach made by Grandpa, riding on the pontoon boat (even though the life jacket was objectionable) and picking raspberries. Yep, we're puttin' him to work picking his favorite fruit; he's got a good eye! We've also recently been out in a kayak for Bean's first very quick ride.. maybe more pics soon!

Walk before you can run

In my combination of busy, tired and now Lymes excitement, I neglected to post about a BIG milestone for our little (big) Bean! For just over 2 weeks now, he's been officially walking!


Just after he turned 15 months, something clicked. Now he walks everywhere, cruising over tall grass, rocks and hills! The first day he figured it out, we were all up till 10:30, watching the gleeful demonstration. I got a few choppy videos, but no official pictures... but it's hard to tell the new motion in a picture, eh? He impressed his daycare provider the next day, weaving through the room around the other kids.

He's quite confident by now, but he did take his time working up to this... like all his earlier milestones. An email I got from Babycenter said 90% of kids walk by 15 months, but I wasn't worried. Apparently I walked at 15 months. He's been walking with help for a long time. He took his first solo steps about a month earlier, but mostly stuck with crawling; a much faster way to get around if you plop down on your diaper-padded backside every few steps. I took short videos of the crawling, because I knew it wouldn't last. So now, he walks. 2 weeks later, we're even quite used to it. He's even started walking and drumming; it's old hat by now!


Welcome to the walking world, Bean. Now that you're upright with the rest of us, you seem so much more grown up. Adulthood, here we come!

Easter Weekend

We made it through a busy weekend of car travel and visiting...Both sets of grandparents, Aunt and Uncle and even Cousin A! Lots to see and do, and Bean did very well with the long drives.

It was fun to visit, but we caught a first little glance at jealousy when Bean was sad that his daddy was holding Cousin A too much. HIS daddy!


Cousin A is catching up a bit, but Bean definitely has a head start!


Easter basket time... bunnies? Bah! Let's get at that fake grass instead....



And Bean continues to be a charmer, even with the grandparents he doesn't see as much.




We are so lucky to have such a cheerful little bean!

Road Trip

I'm a bit behind on posting. But here's some catch up:

So, the weather's been pretty gray and icky lately. It makes one yearn for a place that serves something warm and spicy, like maybe "Rasta Pasta"... so we joined a couple of friends and hit the road! Nope, not a tropical island, but tiny Gilbert, MN, the home of the Whistling Bird Jamaican restaurant.


Susan and Alexis enjoying the Rasta Pasta.

My "date" kept throwing his spoon on the floor, but overall was a great dinner guest.




He got to come along on the "girl's day out" and did seem to have a good time. It was nice to explore a few places on the Iron Range that I had never visited before. Just a tiny bit of traveling, but still good for the soul.



We made it back before any bad weather. The ice storm hit Monday, but amazingly, we didn't lose and trees and the timing was nearly perfect: the roads thawed enough for safe driving, and the "enchanted tunnel" that was our driveway only kept the car at the end of the driveway overnight. It was impressive! We didn't get many pictures because the camera cards were full and night was coming, and by morning it was all gone, melted by warmer rain.


More blessings! And more posts soon.

Snow Snow Snow!

We have a rather astounding amount of snow. We're on our second snowstorm of the weekend, the second weekend of snowed-in-ness. Last weekend it was also really cold with driving snow, so we didn't get out that much. This weekend, we had a little window this morning before the next storm came in, so we got OUT a bit. My first snowshoe of the season.

Here is the "snowshoe eye view" of the house... from the crab apple orchard, a side not often viewed. Yep, huge-looking house. Not as huge inside, somehow.


Our neighbors gave us their nice tot-backpack, and we've come across other good used winter stuff with help from family and friends. So, here we are providing a good outdoor napping location for the Bean!





The rest of the weekend should include some cooking, baking, cleaning and catching up with various projects. I've been feeling more than a little overwhelmed by all the little details of life lately, but I'm hoping I'm feeling a little rebound. We can do it! The fresh air and snowshoing today helped. Onward...

Kazoo for Yoo

We have a child prodigy, it seems. 7 months old and playing his first instrument.... a kazoo! Indeed. It was adorable. Grampa played for Bean, Bean laughed with delight, then tried to buzz his lips. Eventually Bean got Grandpa's harmonica for his own and started playing! Well, sort of. But still, I say he's a genius!

It was a fun weekend with lots of family visiting. Bean did well as usual; we're very lucky. And grateful!









Superbaby does his flying trick on the carpet, then shows off his push-up skills; the tummy is a good pivot still, no real movement on his knees yet. Not sure I'm ready for crawling; the house sure isn't! Books continue to be a fascination, but he learned a few card tricks, too. Good to be well rounded, eh?

It's good to remember it all while I sit here in the cold dark when I should be in bed; Bean either caught a cold on the way back home or is more allergic to our house than we realized. Snot galore and not enough sleep since our return: I'm sure a wake-up call will come soon from the bedroom. We're really hoping it's not the cats. Fingers crossed.

I am already officially tired of germs, and I suppose we're not too far into the season. Pinkeye last week, no fun. I think I need to start thinking healthy, positive thoughts to "attract abundance" instead of more germs... yes indeed. Universe, I ask for your help in staying healthy and being productive; we have lots to do before the end of this big year. Many thanks...

Adventure, Complete

Things I learned (or was reminded of) last weekend:

Even babies are required to remove their shoes at airport security checkpoints.

Singing familiar songs out loud on a crowded plane may be a bit embarrassing, but works wonders for calming and distracting a certain Bean baby.

A 22+ lb 6 month old is MORE than a lapful, but this particular 6-month old can still manage to nap there if needed.

Bean is a shameless flirt with people on planes, subway and city busses; piercings and dubious looks make no difference.

Cousins are lots of fun!


One should make sure the camera battery is charged before heading into a beautiful fall evening in the Boston Commons.

It’s fun to say “Train to Maine”… and you can even get clam chowder while aboard!

WF is a superhero: a hilarious, helpful daddy, even while waiting for me to attend a work conference at a smarmy hotel.


Yes, indeed, we managed our first plane/train/subway/bus adventure with Bean-tot! We flew to Boston for our yearly visit, then "trained to Maine" for a work conference for me (much of the adventure financed through a work project; whoot!) The weather was great; still so many fall leaves out there.

Bean was amazing; a born traveler. We figured out that he gamely rode with us on 6 different forms of tranport. And as he's not very mobile yet, we were able to get away with wearing him in the Ergo carrier most of the time. No stroller! WF was, as always, great at making Bean laugh to distract him. Makes me want to quick fly out and travel the world! But alas, reality calls. Now we're back to regular life and some semblence of routine, with good memories of Bean's first big trip!

Hikin'

We finally got out onto the trail on Sunday to enjoy the leaves and views before the real Fall weather hit!




This weekend is historically beautiful up here, but now! Rain, cold... I think the leaves have already peaked and are starting to fall...

Weekend Catch-up

Whew! We're still here, finally now getting to last weekend's posting. We've been trying to do a bit too much, I think, but it's been fun. Just tired now, in the midst of the regular week. Need more hours in the day!

Here's a sampling of what we've been up to, told in pictures:



Some friends "bought the farm" (literally) and so we shared in a little welcome celebration there. Very exciting intentional community plans in the works; more on that soon.


Bean turned 4 months old, and I turned 36 years old. Ugh. We're both getting to be so mature, eh?

Bean has definitely discovered that hands are useful, especially for bringing things up to one's mouth to chew on. Toys are a necessity now, and grumping can happen simply because he's bored and wants a toy, not just the old standbys of hunger or wet diapers. Our little boy is growing up!



He also loves to stand up, putting those extra-pudgy knees to good use.



We attended a family reunion on my side and then saw WF's parents. All 4 grandparents in the same day! Bean is the star attaction, with a few smiles for all...




We then ventured out to the Rennaisance Festival, a big sunny day. We were a bit rushed, but still had a good glimpse of that "otherworld"... there is a nice feel to the place. We hadn't been there in years; looks like a fun place to go back to with an older kid someday.





So, life is full and colorful, just like this post. But also sometimes TOO full, also like this post. Off to go try to catch up with the house chaos and the sleep shortage!

Top of Mind

Wow, those weekend adventures DO wear us out. I'm finally through my shortened work week, and zzzzzz. I think I have a sinus infection, and milk production is down (at least when pumping -?!?) The house is a mess; life gets too busy. Back home now for a few days, but for an upcoming journey in time this weekend.

I finally got my hair cut yesterday, with the person who actually did a good job about 2 cuts ago, which was 2 years ago. Not sure if it was an off day for her, but the cut is rather odd and very short; it got past my cardinal "long enough for a ponytail" rule while she was trying to fix it up. Ah, well... as I've learned from many bad cuts over my life: it'll grow back.

It was quite a production to get in to get a haircut; where would Bean be? WF walked him around the neighboorhood while the stylist took a looong time trying to figure out my odd hair (neither of us could really remember what she did last time). I was happy to be done with some of the length and had been planning to get it cut for a long time; top priority was not getting in my way at night or during diaper changes, etc.

It wasn't until leaving that I remembered that I am due to peform in 1912 garb this coming weekend, and this haircut will NOT work very well for that. Phooey! I used to consider my infrequent but much-enjoyed living history appearances when choosing glasses or haircuts, or at least the timing. If only I'd waited till next week!

But I'm not too upset; we'll make it work. Just another example of the new baby-mind taking over former priorities, I guess!

A Berry Nice Weekend

Another weekend of firsts (and seconds) for the baby bean! We headed over the Bayfield on Saturday with plans to attend a Chautauqua show, the Wailin' Jennies this time. We try to get there about once a year, even in this year of new baby adventure.

We are lucky in that we had some willing babysitters living nearby, friends from my long-ago Park Service days. So, it was a date for WF and I! I even drank some beer... after feeding and after the Bean was asleep. Bean did OK; apparently had a bit of unhappy time right after we left, but my friend has 3 kids and knew what to do.

The show was fun, and we ran into a few people we knew (a very small world up here, really). We then returned and slept in our tent in their backyard... Bean's first time in a tent! He's such a champion sleeper that he never noticed, I'm sure. Here's a morning picture... looking very well groomed, aren't we? Ug.



Then we ventured out to the local organic berry farm, Blue Vista. Bean snoozed away in his carseat in the rows while we picked and picked. Blueberries and raspberries; such fertile abundance, and we didn't even have to plant them! I love pick-your-own places. It was not Bean's first trip to a berry field, however; we went strawberry picking a couple weeks ago; the snoozing in the seat amidst the rows worked well there, too.



(We forgot our hats, hence the odd headgear. But we remembered baby's hat!)

We're pretty much just eating the berries (ie no jam making), but I'm trying to squeeze a few containers into the freezer among the mommy-milk. Local fruit for at least a little while longer. Mmmmm!

Snowshoe Cedars

We're big fans of showshoeing (haha).

We made it to the sacred Cedar grove and year-round running spring just across our property line. It was stunning, as usual. An ancient cathedral, within shoeshoeing distance!




Baby-to-be enjoyed the ride, and I did better than my current level of fitness might indicate. Thankful for the sun and a day off to enjoy!