Scotland Reunion: 6.75 Years

It only took us 6.75 years to get together, and unfortunately it still wasn't 'complete' (we were missing Brittany), but it was SO fun having dinner with these ladies last night and reminiscing. We laughed. A lot. We cried (because we were laughing so hard). And we got all caught up on each others' lives. We're all married and between all of us have six kids. Hopefully it won't be another 7 years before we get together again, but we know that even if it is, we'll still have a great time catching up and remembering the crazy things we did that we would NEVER want our own children doing, ha.

The 'la la' girls of room 103. Wisconsin in Scotland, Fall 2004.

From left: Anne, Marissa, Megs, Lindsey and myself.

day at the lake

Days at the lake still involve hats and sweatshirts around here (well, not that I'm expecting swim suits already, but yeah), but last Sunday it also involved a mini backhoe, much to Connor's delight. We went out to my parents to help my dad plant some trees (not little trees, hence the need for the mini) and hang out a little bit.

Connor helping Bryan get the mini off of the trailer.

Mostly posting this for Connor's benefit, as he's a big blog reader when using the iPad. Ha.

Grayson chilling in the fish tent.

This guy is ALL work when he's on equipment.

four years

Happy 4th Anniversary to us!

2nd Annual Golden Heart 5K Fun Run/Walk Photos

This past Saturday was the 2nd Annual Golden Heart 5K. It was 40 degrees, windy and sprinkled on and off however despite that, it was still a great turnout so we were very pleased. Looking forward to next year :)

We couldn't figure out how to get the tent any taller...(Angie came in and saved the day) but we didn't have any stakes to keep it down anyways. Thanks for nothing, Trish. :)

Matt getting pumped to lead the race.

Our sweet sign that Angie's husband, Jay, got for us.

Ashlyn admiring her balloon animal.

Connor showing me his

it was just such a nice photo, I had to share

 Kate proving how freezing it was

The boys getting ready to start the race. Jay is such a natural behind the megaphone, we let him do all of the talking.

Trying to stay warm

Ashlyn getting her ribbon for finishing the kids 1/2 mile run. Connor didn't want to participate. I'll give the kid a break tho, he was shivering.

Thanks to everyone who came and supported Golden Heart, volunteered and/or donated to the event. We were thrilled with the turnout and look forward to planning it again next year.

Grayson: Two Month Stats

We had Grayson's two month checkup today. It went great, other than we need to work on him turning to his left, more. He definitely prefers looking to the right and has developed a tiny bit of a flat head on that side. Vickie (Nurse Practitioner) isn't too concerned yet, just prescribed some dedicated tummy time and helping him look that way (ie, push his head in that direction :)). We'll work on it and she'll revisit at his four month check.

Everything else looked good, and to no surprise, we have a little chunker on our hands.

Weight: 14 lbs, 10 oz, 99%
Length: 23 3/4", 80%
Head: 16 1/4", 81%

Connor was exactly one pound lighter (90%) and 3/4" shorter (50%) with the same size head. The percentiles must have adjusted so I'm not sure it's entirely apples to apples, as Connor's head was only 75% vs 81% for Grayson. Connor was two days older at his appointment, but can't imagine it makes that much of a difference.

happy monday

Here's how we started our morning today :)

The boys sleeping while I showered.  I pretty much just cross my fingers and hope that Connor doesn't roll over Grayson or push him off the bed...

We have a new neighbor coming in so lots of activity including a backhoe, skid loader, dump trucks, etc. He sat here while I pumped, and we could probably just leave him there all day.

Hope you have a great week, it's finally going to be nice here!  I have to work three days so I'll miss some of the sunshine, but it's still just great to see the sun :)

tigers at daycare

 

Bryan said he didn't even recognize Connor when he came running up to him at school. Not surprisingly he came right up to me when he got home and was like 'take it off'. 

I made him take a few pictures first. 

Grayson: Eight Weeks

Grayson was eight weeks this past Tuesday, and I'm beginning to realize that I barely take any pictures of him. I knew this would happen, we're busier and...we're not crazy first time parents. Not that we're not cherishing the moments...but yeah. You all get it. But, I looked up at Connor's three scrapbook albums from his first year (yes, THREE, and they are overflowing, barely able to close) on the shelf and thought I should snap a few of Mr. Grayson today.

Things are going well here. He teased me with four nights in a row of at least 6.5 hours of sleep, and I think three of those nights I was asleep for at least 6 hours. A-mazing. However the last few nights he's been back to 3-4 hours at a stretch and HUNGRY. Man oh man.

I've self-diagnosed him with a blocked tear duct in his left eye...we'll see if I'm right next Monday at his two month appointment. Hopefully it's not something that has needed drops or medication. Connor had one until he was six months old so I of course thing I'm qualified to diagnose. Ha.

Still looks like Connor, but bigger I think. I put one of my favorite little outfits of Connor's on him the other day and it was too small :( Boo. Guess I need to look ahead to the clothes to make sure we get some use out of them before this Chunga (his nickname for the moment, Chunga Munga to be exact) outgrows everything. I do have everything of Connor's hanging in Grayson's closet up to about 9-12 months in size. I'm hoping to just have a smooth process, Connor outgrows something, into Grayson's closet it goes, Grayson outgrows something, into a tote it goes.

He also has a nasty case of cradle cap. So gross. Connor never had this and I swear every store I go to is out of baby brush/comb sets. Walgrees, Target, etc. Any tricks for this stuff, please pass them on. I feel bad for his head and you have no idea how hard it is to resist from picking at it...

Loving the smiles lately, pretty easy to get out of him if you do the whole baby talk jabbering or if you're Connor and you make silly faces at him. I keep telling Connor to tell Grayson some jokes. Connor then leans into Grayson and goes "a joke backhoe'. Ha.

Otherwise things are really good! Now we just need spring to show up!

flat tire

literally.

Friday night Bryan's parents awesomely took both boys so that Bryan and I could go on a little date night. I REALLY wanted to see Something Borrowed (yes, I'm a sucker for cheesy romantic comedies...however I was a little disappointed, won't lie). We got right into the restaurant before the movie (being a party of 2 on Mother's Day and MSU graduation weekend was key) and had time to spare so we of course had to go check out Bryan's job sites (our date nights are SO romantic).

Warning: Don't drive normal vehicles on job sites.

I will say, it was a great learning experience. I've never changed a tire, so I'm glad Bryan was there to do it and I could watch :) And even with the unforeseen delay...we still made it to the movie on time.

fresh air

The sun made an appearance today so we gladly spent some time outside after supper. It was unfortunately still a little chilly, but not raining, snowing or 50 mph winds.

Connor did great riding his bike most of the way. He was very impressed with the marks he could make on the sidewalk if he braked really hard, he had to get off his bike and inspect the mark EVERY time he did it (every 20 yards). He got a little tired (ie naughty and stubborn) near the end.

Yes, he should probably have a helmet on. I realized this when we were on our way home.

Little Schmo enjoying the view from the stroller.

grayson's baptism

Last night we had Grayson baptized at Hosanna Lutheran Church in Mankato. The service went great, no blow outs or screaming :) Well other than Connor being a terror.

Connor was back and forth from being up by us, back to our seats, back to us. 

And I desperately need to get the kid some dress shoes.

Pastor Andy introducing Grayson and a little girl who was also baptized to the church. She hated it, Grayson just stared at Andy. The pastor in the background is Pastor Dan. We weren't expecting him to be there (he's retired) and even though he didn't baptize Grayson it was nice to have him there. He married us and baptized Connor.

Ashlyn and Connor sitting for the children's message.

Clearly we need to work on their listening skills. Connor was showing Ashlyn his latest battle wound from daycare, even pulled up his pant leg past his knee to show her.

Grayson's sponsor/Godparent, Krystal. Jeff (Bryan's older brother) is also a sponsor, but lives in California.

Yummy cupcake cake. Picked it up on our way to church only to have it read 'Grayson Thomas'. Thankfully there was a cake decorator still there to quickly fix it :)

Thank you to both of our families for a great evening! 

We appreciate you all coming to celebrate the event :)