Daddy's home!

What a perfect summer evening: warm temps with enough of a breeze to keep most of the bugs away. So, for dinner, we grilled steaks and ate out on the patio table.

Of course, what really made it perfect is having Daddy home from Ft. Ripley. Part way through dinner, AJ set down his fork and sat quietly. I asked him if he was okay. He answered, "I'm just looking at my family."

Sydney, meanwhile, just kept shoveling food in her mouth. She's so happy to eat like a big girl. Our once finicky eater has gotten far less picky, just as long as she can feed herself. For example, Sydney used to refuse any kind of babyfood vegetable. Tonight, we put corn, peas and carrots on her tray and she gobbled them up! Daddy's mashed potatoes were also a huge hit.

I haven't gotten a close look inside her mouth in the last few days, but can tell more teeth are pushing their way through.

I am woman, here me roar!

I'm taking a little departure from writing about my kids, because I'm so darn proud of how we've done these two weeks while Jeff was gone.

(AJ took this picture while we were waiting for the Whipper Snapper races to start last Friday. I was quite surprised to see that it's fairly straight, centered and with no fingers covering the shot.)


On Sunday, I survived a "low tire pressure" light coming on during the drive back from the Twin Cities to Duluth. Monday, I conquered the grill, which usually only Jeff touches. Tuesday, I managed to mow the lawn and weed the garden while Sydney napped. Roar! Wednesday night we hosted a playdate with NINE kids between the ages of 1 and 3-1/2. Thursday, we biked to the playground. It's just over a mile away, but that's 65 pounds of kids I had to tow. And did I mention I've picked up three freelance writing assignments, all for different publications, in just the last week? Roar some more!


Giving credit where credit is due, I have to say that AJ has been a huge help. He has entertained Sydney in the bathtub, in the sandbox and at the dinner table, each time giving me just a few, brief, precious moments to relax. He even stopped her (by grabbing her leg) from crawling toward the stairs one day. He is a good big brother, and great Mommy's helper!

Our busy weekend

Whew! It's Tuesday and I'm finally getting caught up after our whirlwind of a weekend, which included running a race; hosting Eric, Sarah and their dogs; visiting Daddy; and then heading to the cities!

AJ ran in the Whipper Snapper races that are held in conjunction with Grandma's Marathon. He had a blast and was very excited to tell everyone he got a ribbon. (Never mind that ALL the runners get a ribbon.) A photographer from WDIO tried interviewing him after the race, but AJ was far more interested in holding the mic than to say anything that would have worked as a soundbite. Oh well.

On Saturday, we got to visit Jeff at Ft. Ripley during their Family Day activities. Climbing in a helicopter and wearing a helmet was a huge hit. AJ also got to have his face painted Army style. But the biggest hit, of course, was getting to see Daddy.

We drove from Ft. Ripley to Grandpa and Grandma Larson's house, where, on Sunday we belatedly celebrated Father's Day. AJ loved getting to play with his cousin Jessica for most of the day, plus seeing Jonathon at dinner.

The big ONE

Where'd my baby go? She's turned into a toddler! I can't believe how quickly her first year of life has flown by, and how much she has changed. For comparison sake:

6/20/07: We heard Sydney's first cry at 1:28 a.m. Our beautiful little girl weighed 7 lbs, 13 oz. She slept almost the entire day. We had to wake her just to get her to eat.

6/20/08: Sydney's cries sounded out at 12:15 a.m., and again at 5 a.m. Both times she woke me up wanting to eat. By 7 a.m. she was rarin' to go, and I've spent the rest of the morning just trying to keep up with her. She's still not walking, but gets around just fine by crawling, climbing and cruising. Our beautiful little girl now tips the scale at 24 pounds.

What a wonderful and blessed year this has been!

Can't wait for the weekend!

AJ is so excited to visit his Daddy on Saturday. He told me this morning, "Let's go right now!" We've got so many exciting plans for the weekend, he can't keep them all straight.

Several comments on AJ's appearance this morning. He picked the shirt he's wearing, saying he wanted to wear his "blizzard" shirt. (It's a lizard on the front.)

When he saw his messy Grandpa hair in the mirror, he told me to comb his hair so that he "can turn back into AJ."

Lastly, note the large road rash on his right knee. We got a "band-aid report" at daycare yesterday. But clearly it couldn't have been too serious.

I asked AJ, "How did you hurt your knee?"
He answered, "I fell down."
"What were you doing when you fell down?"
"I don't know. I don't remember."

Love that toothy grin!

The big smile is nothing new. Sydney's been giving us that awesome, light-up-her-face smile since she was about two months old.

It's the teeth that are showing when she smiles. That's the big accomplishment! Her teeth seem to be making a big push (literally) to pop through before her first birthday.

Sydney's first two teeth came through a week apart when she was seven-and-a-half months old. Then nothing for three months. Now, in the last month, all four of her front top teeth have made an appearance. Thankfully, she doesn't seem too pained by it.

I'm sure there's an interesting story here

We had chicken quesadillas for dinner Sunday night. I liked them. Sydney liked them. Clearly, AJ did not.

After experimenting with every stall tactic he's figured out to date, AJ was left at the table to clean his plate. I, meanwhile, started giving Sydney a bath. A short time later, this is what I found. A plate of half-eaten quesadillas. Milk spilled all over the table. And AJ - holding a snorkle in one hand, and (you can't see it because the bowl of watermelon is blocking it) a small vacuum nozzle IN his glass of milk.

I asked, "what are you doing?"

To which he answered, "Um... this?"