Nora: Three Months Old

Pretzy Pie is three months old! Time flies when you're having fun and that is just what we're doing. Erik and I are so lucky to have such good, fun kids. We just put Thomas down for the night and we've been talking about all the funny things he does and says ever since we tucked him in. Nora is such a smiley, happy baby and she brings us so much joy. These last three months have been pure bliss.

 

Eat: She eats every 3-4 hours and I'm guessing she gets 5-6 oz per feeding. (this is how much I can pump at a time) She takes a bottle 2-3 times a week but I am going to make pumping a priority so we can try and give her one bottle a day plus put milk in the freezer.

 

Sleep: Nora is still a great sleeper! She gets up once a night usually between 5:00-6:00 but on occasion 4:00. During this time she is awake for 30 minutes. Nora wakes up for the day around 7:30.

Play: Patty Cake always makes Nora smile, especially when we "throw it in the oven!". She still likes her play mat and much like her brother, she loves books. Nora learned to roll over (front to back) which really cuts down on the length of time she spends on her stomach.

Measurements: No well baby appointment this month and our scale is broken so we don't have any measurements but Erik guesses she weighs 13lbs. 8oz. If I think of it I'll have to weigh her at the gym this week.

Brother: Thomas is doing great with Nora, for the most part. Tonight in the tub he said something about his "pretty sister." I have a feeling years from now he'll be bumming when he realizes HIS friends are coming over to hang with his little sis. He loves kissing her head and lately he wants to give her high fives. I'm waiting for the day he misses her fist and high fives her face. :/ The other day while she was doing tummy time I heard him say "Good job, Nora Mae! Keep it up."

Daddy: "It's fun to see Nora smile back at me and stand up so tall. She puts up with a lot of her brother's shenanigans. (hitting, stomping, pushing, etc.)"

 

Mama: I am so in love with my little Pretzy Pie. I think she has the sweetest little voice, and her dimples melt my heart. Watching Erik and Thomas interact with Nora brings me so much joy! Our family is so blessed to have her.

I hope month four brings more giggles and more hair. ;) We love you, Nora Mae!

Neighbor Boy's Birthday Party

This week our neighbor boy, Kevin, celebrated his fourth birthday! Kevin and Thomas have become good friends and I thought we should do something special to celebrate the beginning of his new year. We invited the other neighborhood kids and their parents over for birthday cupcakes.

Thomas and I spent much of the day preparing for our little party. We baked cupcakes and went to the party store to get balloons and a special candle.

Kevin is an only child and lives with his single mother, Emily. When we first moved in to our place Kevin spoke no English. He has started going to school and his English is improving but his mother still has to interpret most of our conversation.

The kids were very excited to get into the cupcakes. I think the two older boys were the only ones to actually eat the whole thing.

 
Thomas licked all the frosting off...

 

 Kevin did too!

Katherine is happy to have another girl in the neighborhood. She loves playing with Nora.

Thomas loves playing with the big kids and they are so good and patient about letting him tag along. He sometimes has a little trouble keeping up, this is what happens when his little legs don't go as fast as he'd like them to. Poor baby.

How I Survive the Day

Before Nora was born I had anxiety about how I would survive the day with two very young kids. I know millions of people have done it and I promised myself I wouldn't act like the first person to ever have two kids, but I was secretly very worried. When I pictured my future I saw bags of fast food, piles of laundry, a counter full of dirty dishes, Thomas with applesauce in his nose, ears and hair, and me in an oversized t-shirt saturated in breast milk and spit up. The first two weeks after Nora was born I was so lucky to have the help of family. We made it through the day just swimmingly. I was happy, Erik was happy and both kids were happy. Then the day finally came for me to face my two precious babies on my own, we survived but I had never been so happy for Erik to get home from work. As the days went on I quickly learned what was going to work and what wasn't. So, what can I do to make sure our days go somewhat smoothly???

1. Before I even open my eyes in the morning I say a quick prayer for patience. Not just patience for myself but for Thomas too. We are both going to need it.

2. I must wash my face and brush my teeth before Erik leaves for work. If I need makeup for the day this must also be done before he leaves. I never know when one of the kids will poop, bonk their head, or when the washer will leave me with a load full of soaky, soapy towels. It is too stressful to try and get myself ready and deal with unforeseen incidents while trying to get to story time on time.

                            

3. My diaper bag is always packed and prepared. When I return from an outing I immediately replace any item I used while we were out. Getting myself and two kids out the door is a chore. I need to be able to grab the bag and go.

4. I plan a weekly menu. I don't care to venture out to the grocery store on my own with two kids. I go to the store once a week on my own (or with the kids and Erik) and get all the groceries I need for the week. This means I know what we are having for dinner every night for the next 6 days. I have the menu displayed in the kitchen so when I'm fixing breakfast in the morning I can look up and see that we're having chicken for dinner which means I need to take the chicken out of the freezer now!!

5. I do not say "no" to avoid a mess. If Thomas wants to empty the bag of 100 plastic Easter eggs then Yes! he can. By saying Yes! we will avoid a tantrum and those little eggs will provide maybe five minutes of entertainment which means I have five minutes to read to Nora, empty the dishwasher, or catch up on Facebook. ;)

6. I will not wake up to a messy kitchen so I wash all dirty dishes, counters and start the dishwasher before going to bed. Breakfast is much more enjoyable when I can sit down and visit with Erik and Thomas rather than clean up.

7. If both the kids are sleeping I sleep too. (most of the time) If I get even 20 minutes of rest I am less likely to snap later in the day. I will say another prayer for patience before getting up. :)

8. Plan to play. If I have no expectations for the day other than to play with my kids I will not be disappointed if I don't accomplish anything else. Plus, the kids NEED my attention. This is why I choose to stay home with them. "Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work."

9. We get out of the house. If its raining we go to the library, if it's nice out we go to the park. This gives Thomas a chance to interact with other kids, the fresh air tires him out and I don't go crazy cooped up inside. We get outside every day, even most days in the winter.

10. I must shower before bed. There is no chance I'm getting a shower during the day and I am not waking up early to do it so it must be done at night.

Being a stay at home mom isn't an easy job, no matter how many kids you have. These are just a few tips I have learned along the way. I'm sure there are more experienced moms that have many other ideas on how to make the day more peaceful and I'd love to hear that advice! To my friends preparing to bring home baby #2, try not to worry about HOW you'll make it work because you WILL make it work. 

Turkey Days 2013

The last weekend in July is always Frazee's annual city celebration, Turkey Days. (because Frazee is home of the World's Largest Turkey!) Turkey Days isn't quite the same when you have young children but it was still a very enjoyable weekend for us.

 

We arrived just in time to catch the water fights, which is probably the most exciting event for our family. For the last 10 years or so my male cousins, the DBC, as they call themselves, have been involved in the water fights. For them it started out as a fun summertime tradition resulting in nothing more than a participation award. About seven years ago they decided to take the water fights a little more seriously and they showed up with a more competitive edge, which paid off as they were crowned (or mugged) Champions of the Turkey Days Water Fights. They went on to be undefeated four years in a row. After live interviews and newspaper articles featuring the DBC: Water Fight Champs, the fame got to their heads and their winning streak came to a screeching halt. It has been a few years since they have taken home championship mugs but they continue to have a fighting spirit, showing up every year with the drive and determination to take home the winning prize. Unfortunately, this year was another "off year" for the DBC. They were able to take down their rivals, the Bristlin Boys, but ended up taking 2nd place to a bunch of hot shot rookies. I have faith that the DBC will persevere through these hard times. I admire them for never giving up and I look forward to watching them take back their title of Frazee Turkey Days Water Fight Champions.

On a much more positive note, there is a team in the women's division that goes by the name of the DGC. They consist of my sister Hannah and a few of our female cousins. This team has also been involved in the water fights but in the past have taken home nothing more than a participation award.


But, much like the DBC, they never give up. They show up every year with a different team, expensive gear (sunglasses), and the wrong type of foot wear (flip flops). However, this year was different, they had their team in place, they were properly outfitted and they were mentally prepared to put up a good fight.

 
 


They found success and were named Champions of the Turkey Days water fights! We couldn't be more proud and hope their winning streak continues into the next decade.

I believe the DGC's success is due to a team made up of highly competitive individuals. In fact, these gals are so competitive that they asked water fight officials if they could take on the men's division champions. The hot shot rookies had beginners luck and defeated the DGC in the first two matches.

 

Thomas watched in agony as the DBC fell to the hot shot rookies. He expressed great disappointment in the performance of the DBC's nozzle guy.

 

Thomas has decided he is the missing key to the future success of the DBC and has taken it upon himself to hire the best nozzle coach in town. He will spend the next 11 months training for the 2014 Frazee Turkey Days Water Fights.

The following day was spent on the farm visiting with family and playing with farm toys. Thomas is absolutely in heaven on his daddy's lap driving a real, blue, big, heavy, noisy tractor!

I followed them around the yard with camera asking them to "slow down," "look," "smile," and "wave." Thomas finally told me "all done." He was ready for me to put the camera away so he could keep his eyes on whatever was ahead. I wish I could have captured the look on his face when Uncle Bruce and Auntie Mary pulled in with their bright red, super duty pick-up towing a brand new camper, a boat and two four wheelers.

Meanwhile, Nora Mae is inside resting with Great Grandpa Dennis...

and Uncle Bruce.

Later in the morning while the boys were helping with a project in the basement, I came across this beautiful piece of artwork on the basement fridge. "To: Family From: Erik. Thanks for helping Grandma" Erik's grandma Rosie is a very talented artist. This must have been a project she helped him with many many years ago, so sweet.

Fast forward to Sunday, the Turkey Days parade. It was a beautiful day for a parade, especially Thomas' first parade. First up, the Color Guard.

Followed by Grandpa Fred's new wrecker towing the old wrecker. I know nothing about wreckers but it appears to be quite an upgrade.

Thomas enjoyed the fire trucks, but boy oh boy were they noisy. I'm so glad sleepy Nora was able to snooze through all the commotion.

Thomas strategically placed himself between grandma and grandpa knowing they would unwrap every piece of candy thrown his way. Lucky little guy!

I love and appreciate the parade entry that threw bottles of water! And I am grateful Grandpa John gave up his hat for Thomas. Bad Mama forgot a hat and sunscreen.

 

Onto the final Turkey Days event, the Demolition Derby. This is an event I would typically choose to forego, but not this year! My brother, Mathew has spent most of his summer working on his first derby car and the day has come to smash it all up (even more than it already is). Get a good look at the before picture; this car is about five feet shorter at the end of the derby.

I think Mathew had a mighty fine lookin' pit "crew." Erik has never driven in a derby but he is quite knowledgeable when it comes to the "insides" of a car and has worked on a pit crew on more than one occasion. Mathew was lucky to have Erik's expertise and support.

And they're off! I was so nervous for my little Bubby. I hope Thomas was distracted enough not to pick up on any of the language Hannah and I were using as we watched our baby brother get demolished.

This was after the hit that tossed Mathew around like popcorn.

I was relieved to see him put up his orange stick. This car was a great summer project. The derby was a learning experience, Mathew had fun, he walked away without a scratch (only bumps and bruises), and I hope he has decided this was his first and final derby. :) (I know, I'm such a Debbie Downer)

Thomas has been talking about the derby ever since. I hope hope hope he forgets about it by the time he is old enough to participate. :/

A Morning at The Arboretum



Today was a perfect day to finally check out the University of Minnesota's Landscape Arboretum.  We've lived about two miles away from the Arboretum for almost a year now, and we finally made it a point to swing by (with the help of a LivingSocial deal).  It was an overcast morning with no wind and a temperature right around 70, and with nothing else to do with a couple of little stinker-butts, we decided today was the day!

 

We started the day off by "getting our bearings," as I would say, or "wandering aimlessly through an outdoor restaurant and private party while getting nowhere," as Elise would say.  I let her take care of the navigating, since it was obviously too much for me (as gauged via nonverbal communication).  Elise led us through some beautiful rose gardens and landscapes before Thomas started losing interest.  There were only so many fountains we could pass without touching before a gasket was bound to blow.  Luckily he was able to maintain composure until we were able to get to the Learning Center.

 

The Learning Center was filled with fun things for kids.  Thomas liked playing on the downed tree, but it was tough for him to get up and down without scraping his bare legs.

Thomas has really taken a liking to baking with Mama in the kitchen.  I think he was whipping up some cookies here for us.

Tunnel!!!

One of the attractions was a sand pit, but Thomas didn't last in that very long.  He's pretty anal about getting sand in his shoes.

Bridge!!!

I don't think Nora opened her eyes once at the Arboretum.  Elise carried her most of the time in her ERGO Baby, but when Thomas gave up his stroller to play, we decided to let Nora relax in it.  She's a trooper!

Getting a ride from a friend.

Thomas' turn to drive again!

Some of the scenery at the Arboretum.  We would need the help of Grandma Janice to identify some of these.

Thomas is quite the copy-cat these days.  Here he is mimicking how his mother was walking after a morning of carrying Nora.

One last attraction before we hit the road...Thomas was apprehensive about going up without holding hands.  It was a perfect morning for a new adventure!