Nice Thanksgiving

We had a great trip to Ohio to visit Jon's family this past long weekend. Adelyn did well on the flights and had a great time chatting with her grandparents, aunts and uncle. It was a relaxing trip. We ate a ton of tasty food thanks to Grandma Sherry, got in a few days of successful shopping, and spent some time catching up over some dessert and coffee--mmmm. We even got to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my Hibbing friends Kelly and Mike. We decided against getting up at 4 am for the after Thanksgiving sale shopping but kudos to those who did.

Adelyn officially has her first tooth and has another one right behind it. By this weekend I'm guessing her two little bottom teeth will be visible. She has been handling the teething well except for the runny nose and sleepless nights. But we can't complain as she is a joy during the day anyway :)


playing 'hungry catepillar' with Grandma

Uncle Nick and Aunt Rebecca are SO fun

What good Genes

Awesome Weekend

Stacy and Nick came to visit this past weekend and we had a great time. The ladies did some shopping on Saturday while the boys, I mean men, worked dilligently in the garage. Cliche I know, but it's true. Stacy and I spent the evening baking Christmas cookies and listening to some great tunes while the guys watched football. Sunday we (including my mom) had an early Thankgiving feast which was quite tasty. It was a ton of fun having them visit!

Adelyn got her first tooth this weekend. It is still pretty low in her gums but definitly there. She also slept a record breaking 7 hours straight in her crib last night which in turn has made me feel like a human being again. I'm not going to get my hopes up but it was heavenly. Maybe it was a combo of the cold and teething that made her sleep such short hours. She is pretty much over resisting bed time so I am crossing my fingers that does not end with our Thanksgiving travels.

We are off to Ohio tomorrow morning which will be a great time I'm sure! Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels.

Adelyn helping with the food prep--notice anything funny Stacy?

Homemade Apple Pie

Grandma would be so proud--mostly anyway

Thanks to my good friend Pillsbury I have successfully made two apple pies already this fall. Not having to make the dough enables the project to not be an all day event. I was feeling quite 'Betty Crocker'esk today as I spent Adelyn's naptime baking the pie and getting some chicken parmesan all ready for when Jon got home. It was a scene straight out of the 50's. I must say I am quite pleased with myself :) Sometimes it really is the simple things in life.

A new milestone in progress!

Doesn't Dad dress me in fun outfits!

Adelyn has been working on her sitting skills. She still needs her hands to keep her up most of the time and balance is a work in progress but she's getting the hang of it! I tried to mimic the way she bends in half (she can kiss her toes from the sitting position) and nearly pulled a muscle. It doesn't look painful, but try it and you will see what I mean.

The Dr. said she is just fighting the common cold--no ear infection or anything that needs antibiotics. I'm glad we had it checked out anyway. Plus we got a weigh in...13lbs 9oz with clothes on and I was able to ask the doc a few questions regarding sleeping and introducing food (a sneak preview of our 6 month check up). I'm hoping her and Jon will be back to full strength by the weekend as Stacy and Nick are coming to visit--yay!

Fun times at the office

Helping Dad finish up before the weekend

Adelyn had a mostly fun time visiting Jon at work this past week. He worked late one night, so Adelyn and I stopped by for dinner and playtime. She enjoyed sitting on Dad's lap and typing on the keyboard. Both Jon and Adelyn are fighting a nasty cold. We're not sure who passed it to who, but Adelyn showed symptoms first. We have had a restful weekend trying to recover and beat the bug.

Friday, Adelyn and I went downtown to have lunch with the Macy's ladies. She wasn't quite her usual playful self due to her cold, but we had a great time none the less. Laura spent the afternoon with us doing some Christmas shopping, which was nice. It was a fun day in Minneapolis.

Quick sleep update. The past few nights Adelyn has fallen asleep in her crib without much resistance (record 6 minutes last night). She needs to work on staying asleep through the night, but we'll blame the cold for now.

Praise the Lord!

Bedtime is more fun with a friend - good times in AK with Carter

Day 5 and finally some serious progress. Adelyn fell asleep in a record breaking 16 minutes! What a difference from last nights hour. Maybe it was that I put her to bed later then we have been since Jon is at hockey and I was selfishly snuggling her. Or maybe Aunt Stacy brought good luck as I was talking to her on the phone when the cries ceased. Either way, I hope this is a trend that continues.

We had a fun day out and about. Tuesdays we Stroll and Stride at the mall with some friends from class. Today we had lunch at Panera afterward (that makes sense right) and ended up chatting until after 2. I'm sure we were quite the sight--5 ladies, 5 babies, and 5 strollers all parked around a table. At least we were in the back so I don't think we disturbed anyone.

I stopped at the Library on the way home. When I pulled into the parking lot my thought was "Wow! This is becoming a popular place" but that thought was over once I read the 'Vote Here' sign on the door. Duh. Our neighbors watched Adelyn this evening while Jon and I ran to vote so that was nice! There wasn't even a line so we were out pretty quickly. I think it counts as a date though :)

Day 3

waiting for the nights to be this precious

Well we struck out on the 'easy third night' deal. Adelyn put up a 1 hour battle compared to the 20 minutes I was hoping for. We are going to stay strong though because we have come too far to start this over again. I can't wait until she realizes what a fun place that cute little crib is. She doesn't mind being in there at all during the day but at night she gets ticked off! It was a rough night. Even after she fell asleep she decided to wake up every 1-2 hours crying. She flips onto her belly and then gets mad. I am looking forward to the day she realizes she can get back over without my help! Its supposed to be easier to go from tummy to back but I guess you have to try it first to realize that. I will keep my hopes up that tonight will be the magical night :)

Day Two

Hopefully the worst is over. I'm really holding on to the idea that it is supposed to be easier from here on out. We'll see tonight I guess but I must say I think its working. Miss Adelyn only cried for 55 minutes last night before falling asleep. I checked on her many times and resisted the feeling to scoop her up and love her. I think it was extra hard on me because I had spent several hours away from her yesterday. The neighborhood ladies had a 'girls night out' in which we went to a bead store and then out to dinner. I made my first piece of jewelry. It was fun! Anyway, she slept longer before waking up and when I put her back in the crib she just rolled onto her side and kept sleeping. I think she's figuring it out and realizing its not so bad :)

Day One

OK. We're back at the sleep thing again. Today was the day we designated as "move to the crib day." It was a rough evening for the now 5 month old, but went suprisingly better then I expected. She is peacefully sleeping after 1 hour and 10 minutes of crying, 25 minutes longer then 'average'. I'm not so sure I would prefer above average in this case but I guess its not my choice. Amazingly we did not cave in and pick her up from her crib once. Jon checked on her once, prior to being sent to bed about 20 minutes into the deal. We know he can't be trusted to not take her out :) I proceeded to check on her every 5 minutes or so until the end when it was obvious she was losing steam.
Then suddenly, silence. Of course then I thought "ohh my gosh, what if she can't breath" or something to that effect. But since we baby proofed the crib I resisted the need to rush in at least until she was a little deaper in sleep. I just peaked and THANKFULLY she is all snuggled up snoozing. Praise the Lord!
The book I read said to expect tomorrow to be worse as she will really test us. But then the third day is supposed to be much easier. Lets hope so!

Too early for Christmas music?

AK gang after enjoying a pre-Thanksgiving feast coutesy of Linda

Now that the Halloween decor is on clearance and the Christmas isles are quickly expanding, is it acceptable to break out the Christmas CDs? I put one in on the way home from Jon's hockey game last night and it was truely music to my ears. I tend to go through a period of denial that the summer is really ending but now that we have seen the snow in AK and the stores are beginning to look more festive, I am ready to embrace WINTER! I found myself already plotting what weekend is best to set up the Christmas tree and decor. I think Adelyn will get a kick out of the lights and ornaments. She was petting the trees at Target today and looked excited :)

I could do without the ferocious wind that accompanies our winters though. I tried taking Murphy and Adelyn on a walk this afternoon and I seriously had trouble pushing the stroller the wind was so strong. Plus I almost froze my fingers and bunz off. That's just not right. What would it take to get a few mountains around here to block the wind???

Linda (the mom of Jon's good friend Sean--who lives in Hawaii now) made us a dinner one evening in Alaska that spared none of the Thanksgiving/Christmas feast staples. She went all out--turkey, potatoes, stuffing and even cranberries. It was delicious and already I am dreaming of November 23rd. Mmmmm!