A Year's Passing

 

Happy Birthday Laney Bug!

My sweet girl,

The past year of my life has been nothing less than amazing all because of you. You have brought so much happiness and joy to our family. Your sweet smile lights up the room and your sassy attitude keeps us all on our toes.
When I found out I was pregnant with you we were a little suprised. We had decided that we wanted to have another baby just the month prior. We were so happy you came to us so quickly! My pregnancy with you was wonderful. You and I had a special bond from day one. I found myself having silent conversations with you while you were in my belly.
While I was pregnant with you I imagined what you would be like. As with your brother, I pictured blonde hair and blue eyes, fair skin and freckles. I hoped you would look like me. I imagined you would be so sweet and bright and loving. I knew no matter what you looked like, you'd be perfect. And you are.
Your silky, strawberry hair glows in the sunlight. It came from your great grandmother and uncle on daddy's side. Your blue eyes are deep and beautiful. They are your father's. You also have his long face and pouty, pink lips. When you grin you remind me of myself. Your facial expressions are all mine. Your ability to wrap a person around your finger with your love and tenderness and then knock them backward with your sass...well, that comes from your mama too. You remind me of sunshine. I've never seen a more beautiful little girl.
Thank you for coming into our lives. You've showed us so much in just a short year. I hope you always know how much your mama, daddy, and brother love you.

And I Miss My Tennessee Home

Ever feel like certain songs are written just for you or that you could create a playlist that would go along perfectly with where you are in life? I definitely do. There is a song out right now by Brad Paisley called "Southern Comfort Zone." The song is about getting out of your comfort zone and exploring the world in order to allow yourself to grow. Leaving home makes you appreciate different ideas, cultures, and people. It also makes you appreciate home.
Believe me, "I miss my Tennessee home." But moving to Minnesota is one of the best things Jon and I have ever done together. We appreciate eachother more than ever and we've figured out what the important things in life are. We learned that anywhere we go, we are always at home if our family is together. Yes, we miss the sweet south and we are ready to go back and be able to order sweet tea at restaraunts but I admit I will be a little sad to leave. We have had a great time up here. It's been simple and it's been boring and our life has slowed down tremendously. We never dreamed we'd be so happy off all to ourselves. Moving away has pushed me to get out more with the kids and I've become more independent. Jon hasn't had to work those long and late hours that we were so accustomed to and we've gotten to spend more quality time together as a family. With all this time on our hands we've fallen in love all over again. It kind of feels like our first year of marriage but with kids this time.
If anyone were to ask my advice on whether or not they should leave everything they've ever known behind and search out something different, I'd say to do it. But I'd also tell them to remember their roots and appreciate that the place they are leaving made them who they are today.
Tonight we find out what part of Tennessee we are moving back to. I'm nervous and excited and ready for yet another phase of life to begin. A part of me will miss Minnesota though. I've made some good friends here and I hate to tell them, "goodbye." Plus, although I definitely prefer busicuits and gravy, cheese curds are pretty good. Wouldn't have had those if it weren't for the "biggest free fair in Minnesota!" But I'm really looking forward to being able to buy Martha White flour again!

Oh, Laney Bug!

A few weeks ago I decided to introduce Laney to puffs and whole wheat cereal. Jareth loved his puffs and I was excited to share them with Laney too. So oof to the store I went to buy some of these yummy treats. I picked out sweet potato and vanilla as kind of a treat for her. As soon as we got home I put her in her high chair and gave her a little cereal and applesauce and a sample of each kind of puff. And boy, did she love them!
About two hours later I went to change her diaper and, "Oh, Laney Bug!" Her tummy and back were both covered in hives. I'm not just talking about those little red bumps kids sometimes get when something irritates their skin. I'm talking huge golf ball sized, swollen circles. I looked at her face and she was happy as a lark but her skin was bright red and just looked terrible. I'm proud to say I didn't freak out and rush her to the ER or doctor's office. I decided that since she didn't seem to be bothered by this reaction and didn't have other signs of ailment, I would just watch her the rest of the day and see if they would go away on their own. After a day or so, without any wheat, they had lightened up a lot so I decided to test it out again. I think I gave her three puffs and within an hour her skin had flared back up and even her head had broken out a little. I called the doctor and they said not to give her anything else with wheat but that they couldn't see her for another week.
A few days later Jareth was eating some scrambled eggs and Laney got a hold of a small piece. Her face immediately broke out in streak like red marks. Great... No wheat and no eggs for Laney Bug. When we finally got to see the doctor he assured me that she wasn't under any immediate threat and suggested we do an allergy test. I opted out, worried about how invasive it would be. So we decided to wait until she is one and if she still shows allergic symptoms we will do one then. He also said if it seems like the hives are reappearing without wheat or egg exposure we could go ahead with the testing.
Her skin is still flaring up almost everyday but I'm not sure if it's because she has gotten into something with wheat traces (Jareth drops crumbs constantly) or if it's due to something else. I don't know what to do. Her skin looks awful. However, she doesn't seem to mind it and I do have some peace in that. Oh, I hope she grows out of this!

Thanksgiving Trip

Or as I like to call this particular trip, "57 Oysters and a Bottle of Wine." You'll hear why in a moment.
We usually go to Florida for Thanksgiving. The first time we decided to do this was in 2004 and Jon chose to propose to me Thanksgiving night on the beach. My grandmother put this trip together and decided to make it a tradition. She passed away in 2008 and we have tried to keep it going. This trip holds a very special place in my heart and I want to share this tradition with my kids.
This year we went to Panama City Beach and stayed at Grandview East. The weather was amazing all week long. We played sand volleyball and paddle boarded one day. We also got to celebrate my uncle Chad's 40th birthday! Our Thanksgiving meal was amazing as always and we ate some really yummy seafood. I really liked Dee's and Schooners best. Breaking Dawn part 2 came out over the weekend so we got to go see that. We usually go to the movies once or twice when we go. It was a super fun trip. We only had one incident. And it was a big one. For our first dinner out we decided to go to Dusty's Oyster Bar. Jon had decided before we came that he wanted to see how many oysters he could eat. You know where this is going. I cut him off at five dozen (and $30). Everything was going fine for a while. The next day we played on the beach and we had a mexican fiesta for Chad's birthday. It wasn't until 36 hours later that it started. Food poisoning. Poor Jon was sick as a dog for the rest of our vacation. He didn't even get to eat at Thanksgiving. I felt so bad for him. He stayed in the condo most of the rest of the vacation. The only upside was that when the kids napped we didn't have to decide who had to stay with them and who got to go to the beach. : ) It took him four days to get over it.
Anyhoo, back to the fun part. My favorite activity of the trip (besides playing games which is always my favorite) was paddle boarding! Two of the people we went with rented paddle boards for the day and we all took turns using it. I went twice and didn't fall down once. I loved it. It was fun and so peaceful once you paddled out pretty far. Of course the gulf is super clear so it was really cool to go out and watch the fish underneath you. I had a school of sting rays riding with me at one point. I'm going to have to start renting paddle boards on vacation. I looked into buying one but they are mucho dinero!

Here are some favorite pictures from the trip

For the love of Finnick

It occured to me that Ariel and Finnick are eachother's dream girl/guy. : )

Our Humble Abode

I realize that while I've been blogging all about the things we've been doing here in Minnesota, I've neglected to blog about our temporary home. I've mentioned before that we live in a duplex on what we lovingly refer to as "Fed Row." Federated owns the duplexes and their trainees have the option to ren them during their stay in Owatonna. There are six duplexes, 12 units. They all look roughly the same with slight differences in layout. They all have a living/dining space, small kitchen, two bedrooms, one bath, and a decent sized unfinished basement with garage. While there are a few families that grace Fed Row each training period, most of the people who come through are couples and single guys. These accomodations are pretty sweet for them. Rent is cheap and the units are nice, but for a family of four. . .

 



Let's just say, we play outside ALOT. It's going to be a long winter. But I can't complain too much. Less square feet means less cleaning and more playing. However, a new stove would be nice, a garbage disposal would be great, and a dishwasher would be flippin awesome. That's right dear friends!    ALL.  BY.  HAND.

  

Okay. Enough with the witty plug ins. While it does feel a little cramped in here some days and I'd love some appliances made in this decade, I have to admit that it's going extremely well. The closeness is kind of nice and honestly, things are perfect.

 

 

 





 

The Fine Art Gallery















Jareth's and Laney's Room



 



Closet Overflow





More Closet Overflow



Reminds me of our first apartment in college, except there were only two ppl sharing it.

Bedroom Chamber
 

 



 

Growing Babies

Someone please tell me how this.....

turned into this

in just a few short months?

Dear Jareth

Tomorrow you will be three years old. Today we woke up to a rainy, gray, Minnesota morning so I asked you if you wanted to watch a movie. You of course said yes and chose Toy Story 3, dragging Woody and Buzz out from your bedroom. Toy Story 3. You would choose a movie that makes me cry from start to end. You see, while you see Andy on the tv screen, I see you. You growing up, letting go of your toys, moving away from home. Your'e only three and I'm already emotional about you leaving. That's how much you are loved, kid. At least I have 15 more years to get used to the idea. I'll tell you one thing though when that time comes I'm going to be a wreck. And I assure you that between now and then there will be many emotional moments from your momma. When that happens just give me a hug and let me have my moment. You'll get it one day.

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead,
And you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said,
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You got troubles,
and I got them too
There isn't anything
I wouldn't do for you
We stick together, we can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
but none of them
will ever love you
the way I do
it's me and you, boy

And as the years go by,
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
"Whatever happens, at least we will be together. To infinity and beyond"

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

So, I've mentioned before that Jareth is completely obsessed with baseball thanks to the movie, " The Sandlot." Every day we play catch and work with him on hitting the ball. There have been many a morning in which the first words he utters is , "mommy, play baseball?" He even wants a baseball birthday party this year. Being so close to Minneapolis we decided we should go to a Twins game. We kind of waited until last minute but were able to catch the last game of the season.000+50102 (Those numbers would be Laney's contribution to this post) This game also just happened to fall on Kids Appreciation Day so Jareth got to get on the field and run the bases! The word "excited" doesn't even begin to describe his expression that day. He was pretty upset that he couldn't go play with the players and we came very close to a major meltdown. Fruit snacks helped and when the fruit snacks failed, there were mini dough nuts.

Target Field was really nice. It is a super clean stadium and it is 100% smoke free. The food was what you would expect at a ball park but I believe I found the best deal in the stadium. I found a kids meal for $5.25 which consisted of a regular hotdog, chips, and small soda. Pretty good for a baseball game if you ask me! Also, since it was the end of the season all the souviniers were on sale so I was able to scoop up a helmet for Jareth for just $12. Sweet! We had such a great time. We are officially Twins fans now but don't worry Braves, your'e still #1 in our hearts.

 

 





Our future Big Leaguer!