staying cool

I went and bought a little pool for Connor the other day when it was over 100 degrees and he had a blast. I just bought a cheap 'pop-up' one as I didn't feel like blowing one up, worked out pretty well and took like 2 seconds to get it up. (well, longer than that to fill it of course)

 

jump!

mall of america

On Sunday we ventured up to the cities to take Connor to the Nickelodeon Universe park at Mall of America. I wasn't sure how many rides he could or would want to go on, but at least he knew all of the characters. He went swinging with the Backyardigans, flying with the Wonder Pets, on a bud adventure with Diego and more. We even saw a real live Dora...but of course he refused to pose with her :) The mall and park were deserted (it was beautiful outside) so therefore there were absolutely no lines, it was great! Connor is very excited to go back, and will quickly tell you what rides he didn't like, ha.

Grayson did great, chilled out in the stroller the whole day. I promise that I finally filed his nails instead of just trying to cut them. Hopefully we'll avoid additional injuries to his little face :(

The log ride. This would be on Connor's list of rides he doesn't need to do again...I found it hilarious. I absolutely should have purchased the pro photo of them coming down the final hill...the look of sheer fear on Connor's face was pretty priceless. I'm so cruel.

Shocker, he LOVED this one.

 Bryan and I were both shocked he wanted to go on this one. We watched the batch of kids ahead of us do it, and he still said he wanted to go. It's one of those where you lift up, then bounce yourself down, little free falls in a way. I don't think I would have even liked it...he didn't either, but he kept the tears away! We were proud that he tried it :)

Had to do the big rigs a few times.

We'll definitely be back, and once he grows about 2 more inches, there are a few other rides he'll be able to go on.

Grayson: Twelve Weeks

Grayson is 12 weeks old today. Yes, I can say the standard things about it goes too fast, they change so much, but, it's been a really good 12 weeks. The weather has sucked, from rain to gale force winds to now 100 degree heat, but, it's been good. I probably worked too much, and not even that I worked that much, but, hard to stay away.  I go back to work on Monday and however much I'll be sad, Grayson has semi-become a little mama's boy so I think he'll be sad too, I know he'll be fine and they'll be much better at tummy time than I have been, ha. And, I'm ready to get back into it. Little worried how our mornings will go to get everyone out the door in a timely fashion but we'll figure it out. So, a little bit about Grayson these days...

-eats his hands and fists like there is no tomorrow. I guess I'm thankful he hasn't found his thumb?
-While eating his hand and laying on the floor, he rolls over onto his side (well his upper body is on his side), arching his back. I don't know why, but I think it's cute. And he's generally talking up a storm while eating his little chubby wrist.
-Speaking of talking, definitely getting more vocal, which is fun
-Nicknames still consist of Chunga, and of course all the standard ones like peanut, buddy, etc. Connor will repeat what we call him, but on his own he calls him "bud" and always "hey, bud!". "Hey bud, you want to look at this dump truck?", "Hey bud, you want your milk?"
-is hungry. I think he eats around 30-35 ounces a day, something like that. And I really only know that because I pump about 45-50 in a day, and freeze anywhere from 15-20 daily.
-Speaking of pumping, I hate it, but I do it. I'll have about 250-270 bags stored by Monday when I go back to work, and I'll keep at it, but not sure I'll last as long as I did with Connor (7.5 months). Obviously the ultimate goal is to never have to buy formula, but probably not going to happen.
-only real fussy times are if he gets overtired, which we obviously try and avoid
-loves hanging out in his bouncy chair, generally sucking on his wrist
-doesn't love the nuk, which we are 90% on board with, but there is that 10% that sometimes it'd be really handy if he liked it, not going to lie.
-cradle cap is way under control. Thank you to everyone for your suggestions. We've been using Cetaphil (sp?) body wash on his scalp and brushing with a baby brush.
-I think his face itches like crazy. I try and apply lotion a few times a day, but he is constantly rubbing at his face or when you're holding him on your shoulder he leans in and does a full facial itch into us. At least I finally started filing his nails, hopefully the cutting decreases.
-wearing 6 month clothes. I had been trying to stretch his 3 month clothes (probably quite literally) so he could wear them a few more times, then I go to an outfit I'd been saving, or something, only to find out it doesn't fit, or really could only get one wear out of it. So, we're comfortable in 6 months clothes right now and I must say he looks a little less like a stuffed sausage. Ha.
-rocking the chubby baby look. I did notice his white onesie he was wearing yesterday had a little blood around the neck which means the skin in his neck folds is getting very sore :( So, we're going to try a few things and obviously be more diligent about keeping it clean and dry. Any suggestions on what would work best to heal it up are welcome!
-is an okay sleeper. And, he's probably a pretty good sleeper, but by this time Connor was sleeping through the night. I think the biggest difference between the two is Connor was a night owl (still is) and Grayson would be content going to sleep at 8, which is fine, but that means he's up anywhere between 4 and 8 hours later. Not very consistent this little man.
-has toxic poop. Meaning, I swear every outfit he poops on, I literally have to soak in oxi-clean, scrub with shout, spray with stain remover and then wash, at least two times. No lie. I honestly think Connor had like two blow outs (I'm sure I'm blocking this out...) and I don't remember it being this difficult to get out.

Okay that got a little long for a little man so young and that really doesn't do anything... :) But, we love him oh so much and I'm trying to capture the memories, to be overly cliche.

Oh, and I finally got around to posting his birth story, I just back dated it so it would be in the right order for the most part. Not that many of you care, but I'm sure some of you will read :)

it's official...the nuk is dead.

I've been waiting to post this, in fear of jinxing us, but I think it's been well over a week now with no nuk. We went to the dentist early last week (or maybe two weeks ago?) and his bite is a little out on control, all due to the nuk. So hopefully, everything will shift back in place before his permanent teeth come in, which the doctor was pretty positive it would, but just stressed we needed to ditch the thing soon. So, we talked about a nuk fairy coming, but a few days after the appointment, he had had a bad day in terms of #2 accidents so I told him I had to take it away. He sadly looked at me and just said, "okay, mom." I was of course shocked, expecting a massive meltdown. He DOES ask for it now and again, saying if he poops on the toilet can he have his nuk back, which, I wrongly tell him yes, he can have it back if he doesn't have ANY accidents. Sadly, this just doesn't happen, so I knew it was safe to tell him that. Obviously we're desperate to get to a day with no accidents, but, it was good to get rid of the nuk.

Obviously we've cut his hair since this photo :)

boat ride

We took a quick trip out to the lake after church on Saturday for a spin around the lake. It was a beautiful night and the boys had a great time, well Grayson slept or ate the entire time, but I'm sure he thinks that qualifies as a good time :)

buds

Grayson is generally full of smiles...however I think he seems to have a huge fear of my camera...

baby gemma

My friend Aleta had her baby this past Sunday so Angie and I headed over there this afternoon to meet her. She is ADORABLE and so tiny! She's only 6 pounds right now, less than half of what Grayson is :) Of course we had to do a little line up, starting with giant, then normal, then the little peanut. Big congrats to Jeff and Aleta, she's beautiful!

I've been trying to make Grayson's clothes last, so if it still fits, or it's a little snug I try to get a few more wears out of it. Then when I finally cave and try something on that I thought looked 'big'...ha, I find out I was wrong, see exhibit A above. Should have busted this outfit out weeks ago. So, we're going to stop trying to reuse Connor's clothes if there is something new and cute to wear hanging in the closet :)

Ha, Grayson and Miles are trained already, they knew it was Jeff's turn to take the photo (he was positioned to my right), however it must take too much effort on my little Chunga's part to move his head.

Twins Game 2011

Although the Twins are terrible, it's become an annual traditional to go to a game over Memorial Day weekend for Bryan's brother Aaron's birthday. We get everyone that wants to come from the Muesing side and make a day of it. We lost, shocker, but it was still fun! Only had to get our of our seats for the rain once :)

Our view from section 201. 

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a great weekend, from fishing at the lake, Connor and Ashlyn's first sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa Loula's (my parents' idea!), Twins game celebrating Uncle Aaron's birthday and a trip to the park. Even though I'm on maternity leave, holiday weekends are still great :)

My little man is growing up so fast.

This might be the only time they actually were watching the bobber.

I'd love to say the joy on Connor's face is due to catching a fish, but he probably just attempted to cast, nearly taking Bryan's ear off and thinking it was hilarious.

The babes, Grayson carefully positioned so that Kaelyn doesn't roll over him.

The start of the 'sleepover'. From the sounds of it, it went really well except it took a little extra time getting everyone to bed, which I would say was expected. Thanks to my parents!

Fishing with Grandpa Tim.

pics from the rest of the weekend coming soon

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.