State Fair 2011 - Part Two

So our second trip to the State Fair was a blast. While there was a 30-40% chance of rain forecasted for the entire day, I think it only sprinkled on us for about 2 minutes, and was nice the rest of the time we were there. It certainly is a different ballgame going to the fair with four kids; while it is a lot of fun, I think next year we'll need to add a third trip and go without the kids one time. We hardly went into any buildings at all this year because just the thought of going into them with the strollers was exhausting enough!



We had to see the butter heads!

And of course you can't go in the dairy building and not get a shake!

Getting a good photo of the girls together proved difficult....

Bumper boats!

The boys

A wanted her face painted like Gene Simmons from Kiss. The butterfly was her second choice.

Callen was mezmerized by the marionettes

Mmmmm....Pickles.....

State Fair 2011 - Part One

It is no secret that I am a little obsessed with the Minnesota State Fair. Or, as it is more appropriately (and lovingly) called, 'The Great Minnesota Get-Together." I can't put my finger on one thing exactly that makes it such a big deal to me. I love everything about it. The people watching, the animal watching, the rides, the food, the music, the experience! When I started going to ASU, I had to miss the fair 4 years in a row because school starts in Arizona at the end of August rather than after labor day like it does everywhere else. The fifth year, I actually skipped my first week of school so that I could go to the fair. Because I missed it that much. One of the many reasons I listed to move back to Minnesota is so that we could go to the State Fair every year. Just a little obsessed. So, needless to say, I am thrilled to be able to share this experience with my children. Proud to make it a tradition to go (at least) twice; once with my parents, and once with our friends N, D, A, and M.

So, part one is the trip with my parents, which we did yesterday. The weather was perfect fair weather, in my opinion. Mid-to-upper 70's and partly cloudy, with periods of clouds and sun. We got there early, as we always do, and stayed for about 5 hours. I think that's pretty good considering we were with a toddler and a 2.5 month old! Speaking of which, both kids did super well. Callen was a real champ, just taking in all the sights, smells, and sounds, and napping in between. Audia had a couple of minor meltdowns towards the end of the day, but in her defense, we had gotten up about 2 hours earlier than she's used to and she skipped her nap! Overall I would call the day a success.

So, here's a little photo journey of our trip with my parents. Stay tuned for Part Two, which will take place on Friday!

Gotta get our cream puffs!

When Audia saw the piglets nursing, she asked Chris "So, are those boobies?"

Audia loved petting all the animals!

Bacon on a stick! And it was goooooood.

Waiting to get on the Carousel

So excited for the ride to start!

Hooray! It's starting!

(one revolution later) Aaaand she's done!

Scared of the Carousel but loving the Big Slide!

Eating. It's what you do at the fair.

Callen at 2 months

Callen's 2 month appointment was a couple of days ago. At 15 lbs, 3 oz and 25 inches long, he is in the 97th percentile for weight and off the charts for height! It is crazy to think that at 2 months, he is the size of the average 5 month old!

Doctor S was very impressed with his neck control and ability to hold himself up/steady. He's definitely a strong little boy; when he's on his belly he is already able to push himself forward with his feet like a little rocket.

In other developments, we had to move Callen from the basinette into the crib because he reached the weight limit for the basinette we were using. The transition has been a little rough; The mattress on the crib is quite a bit more firm and apparently our little dude doesn't like firm mattresses. The first few days, he refused to sleep in it at all during the day and at night was waking up every hour to two hours. Thankfully he's now sleeping a little better at night, for 4 hours and then waking every 2-2.5. But he still will only sleep in it during the day some of the time. Thankfully he will snooze in the bouncy seat or the swing, unlike his sister who napped in my lap for a whole year.

Callen is also now not only smiling all the time but also babbling all the time. It is so funny to hear him "talk." Check him out below. Isn't he just the cutest??

A day without a toddler

I will be the first to admit that life with a newborn is hard. However, as of Thursday I am also willing to say that life with a toddler is (in some ways, at least) harder. Or at least more chaotic. Less productive, perhaps? I used to be so eloquent. I suppose I'll find the words I'm looking for at 3:24 am next Tuesday.
Anyhoo, my mom took Audia on Thursday in order to give me some time to get some stuff done around the apartment. It is not a common thing for me to spend a day without Audia. I honestly think that since she was born, I've had maybe a total of 7 days where the majority of the day was not spent with her. When I say it out loud, it sounds ridiculous. But, as a stay at home mom, it also makes sense.
Point is, I got more done on Thursday than I've gotten done in most full weeks! I did four loads of laundry, one load of dishes in the dishwasher, 5 loads of dishes by hand (yes, five!!), washed all the counters/surfaces in the kitchen, vacuumed the living room and dining room, re-organized some of the stuff in our dining room, organized some of the random stuff that's accumulated in our bedroom since Callen was born, and rearranged the furniture in Audia's room. All while still tending to Callen's needs. And I even managed to watch an episode of Arrested Development and eat lunch, too! Needless to say, I was amazed at what I was able to accomplish. I've heard that "Good moms have sticky floors, dirty ovens, and happy kids." It might be too early to tell how well Audia is turning out, but I'd like to say that she is happy 98% of the time, and, for the record, if the floor is sticky, it does get cleaned. But after seeing how much I can get done when she's not here, I feel a little less guilty about what doesn't get done when she is. ;-)

Smiley Boy

A few weeks ago, right around the time Callen turned one month old, I noticed him smile at me while I was changing his diaper. It was a pretty quick thing, so I figured it was just gas or something along those lines. Then, a couple of days later, he smiled at me while I was playing with him in his bouncy chair. When I smiled back and cooed at him, he did it again. Since then, our little squeaker has been smiling up a storm! I can't even begin to put into words how heart-melting and exciting it is, even weeks later, every time I see that goofy, gummy grin of his. And I can't get over how quickly he's already growing up!

 

Visits to MN

The hardest part about moving back to Minnesota from Arizona was leaving our friends there. Luckily, we have a couple of friends who visit Minnesota at least once a year thanks to having family that lives out here.

Janice was the first friend that I made when I moved to Arizona back in 2000. We became fast friends and even though we don't talk as often as I'd like (we both have two kids.....phone conversations are rarities for both of us!) we always pick up where we left off when we do talk or see each other. She is absolutely the sweetest person I know. She was out here visiting family a couple of weeks ago, so we met her, her kids A and J, her sister-in-law K, and K's kids L and G at the Mall of America for rides and lunch.

L and Audia

Audia, A, and L

Chaos

The girls

Chris met Brian when Chris first moved to AZ in 1998. Chris lived with Brian for a while when Chris and I were first dating, and I spent a lot of Wednesday nights bowling and drinking with them and a bunch of other friends back in 'the good old days.' Brian married Sarah, who has family that lives about 15 minutes from Chris' family's cottage in Wisconsin. We went up to the cottage this past weekend and met up with Brian, Sarah, and their two girls E and S.

S, Audia, and E

E and Audia hit it off pretty quickly :-)

Ice Cream!

It is so fun to be able to see some of our AZ friends at least once a year, and to watch the kids grow up!

1 Month

One month. Really?! Where it felt like time flew before, it now feels like it's going so fast that I must be missing something. Like maybe I've suddenly developed narcolepsy and am sleeping through half the day and not realizing it. Time is being sucked into some vacuum somewhere, I swear.

The first couple of weeks of Chris being back at work have been quite a roller coaster ride. There are days where it's a breeze; Callen wakes to feed and for a little playtime, but other than that sleeps a lot in his basinette. Other days, he's awake quite a bit more, and refuses to sleep anywhere but on my shoulder. These days are rough. Imagine trying to do everything with one hand. Or setting down a sleeping baby only to rush to get as much as you possibly can done before he wakes up screaming again. Ahh, life with an infant. The good news is that regardless of how the day has gone, Callen sleeps in his basinette just fine at nighttime. He still is waking every 2-3 hours to feed, but when he's full, he sleeps. So we are getting a decent amount of sleep, albeit in 2 to 3 hour spurts.

Callen is still pretty laid back overall, regardless of his clingy days. And, I of course do not blame him for having days where he wants to be held all day. They call it the fourth trimester for a reason! I just wish he would take a bit more liking to being in his sling and/or moby wrap. Or that I could grow a third (and maybe fourth) arm.

Callen is taking bottles without any problems whatsoever, which is HUGE for us (Audia took one. Once. And that was it.)  That combined with his still being 'carseat friendly' makes him a lot easier to get out and about with. I even was able to leave for a few hours this weekend to get manicures with my mom! It was wonderful :-)

As Callen gets older, I think he is looking less and less like his sister did. Here are some photos for comparison. What do you think?

Audia at 1 month

Callen at 1 month

Audia's still adjusting suprisingly well to having a brother. She is still so sweet with him. If he starts crying and I'm in the middle of making lunch or doing dishes or whathaveyou, she will, on her own, go to him and sing him a song or talk to him until I can get to him to pick him up. She still has her moments of wanting me to put Callen down right now so that I can play with her or hold her or help her with something, but the vast majority of the time she is very good about waiting until I can set him down to do what she wants. I am so excited for them to start being able to interact more.