Getting ready for the Boundary Waters!

The past two years over Labor Day weekend, I have had the incredible opportunity to go to the Boundary Waters with some fabulous women for a little retreat. We have had great experiences every year...including bears at our site my very first trip! This year, I was lucky enough to be invited again. Nate is busy with work every Labor Day as students are moving in, kick off weekend, etc, which means that Isaiah will be heading North to the Boundary Waters for his first-ever canoeing experience with me and the group of women. Lucky for us, all of the women are moms (plus one doctor and a physical therapist), and some of them took their kids as infants to the Boundary Waters...so this is not new to the group.

We met last night to discuss our weekend and we will be heading out early Friday morning for a three hour drive to the Gunflint Trail and take off in our canoes by 10:30 AM and will arrive back Monday afternoon. I am super excited, and I admit, a tad nervous, to bring Isaiah on this adventure. I'm unsure how he will do in the canoe, but know he'll do great on the portages and in a tent. Although, the cooler evening weather may be an interesting twist. And, with the cool temperatures of the lake up north, I don't know that he'll be joining in on the skinny dipping. :) In preparation for our trip this weekend, Isaiah spent part of the weekend in his life jacket getting used to it. I hope he's as happy this weekend in the life jacket as he is in these pictures! :) Stay tuned to next week to hear how the adventure goes!

Measuring up!

Isaiah had his four month appointment a little late, but the measurements are in:

weight: 18 lbs!!!
height: 27 3/4"
head size: 17"

Unfortunately they were unable to share his percentages with us, but by the sounds of it, he is still either off the charts or at least in the 90th percentile. He continues to grow each day, but is also just getting cuter and cuter. Friday we discovered that he can sit up by himself for about a minute before falling over! It's really cute because his facial expressions do not change as he's falling over; this realization was a huge hit with friends over the weekend. :)

Isaiah's first day of day care!

Nate began his 5th year of work at St. Scholastica a week ago. He was excited to be back, but that meant that Isaiah would begin child care! Last Monday was a big day for our family!

Nate and I walked Isaiah the four blocks to Moon and Stars Child Care and dropped him off for his first day. With it being so close to where we live AND work, I was able to stop in for lunch and feed him. Luckily he will only need to attend Mondays, Tuesdays and some Fridays, which means I will be home with him on Wednesdays and Thursdays and Nate will be home with him on Fridays. We are so lucky to have this schedule and to both be able to spend so much time with Isaiah. His first two days went well; although, he is not quite used to the noise and is not eating or sleeping much at at child care. We hope things get better, but hear that this can be pretty typical for babies beginning child care. We are thrilled about Moon and Stars as it seems to be a great fit for our family and for Isaiah. Deb is a really neat woman and does her child care very much in line with how we are raising Isaiah. In fact, her motto is "Growing Organic Kids for the Future!" How cool is that? :)

Isaiah the Camping King...

South Dakota--We spent the first two weekends of August camping with our families. The first weekend in August we made the long haul down to South Dakota for the 34th Annual Deacon Family Reunion. This was officially Isaiah's first camping trip and he did GREAT! The weather was perfect...cool in the evenings, not many bugs and clear each evening. He was the perfect camping companion, which was exciting because we had already lined up another camping trip for the next weekend. :) Isaiah met three of his five new baby girl cousins (all born within 10 months of each other). Family reunions should be a blast for Isaiah as he grows, as long as he enjoys playing with girls! :)











Minnesota--The second weekend in August we travelled to Motley, MN to camp with Nate's family. It was the first time all 11 of us have been together since Easter as Nate's sister, Stacey, just completed the bar at the end of July and had been busy studying. We had a great time despite the rainy weather (it rained Friday, Saturday and Sunday!). Even through the rain, Isaiah did great camping; it looks like camping will continue to be a summer staple for us! Stacey just purchased a boat so we even spent some time tubing. We thought Isaiah would have his first ride in the boat, but he was sleeping every time we had the opportunity to go.

The Girls are growing!

The girls are growing bigger each day! Hard to believe they are already seven weeks old! Their combs are coming in, and luckily, we haven't heard any cock-a-doodle-doing yet. :) So, maybe Erika is a female after all. Someone mentioned to us that she may just be the Alpha Female. We'll hope for that for now. Nate just finished up a big paper for class that has been cosuming his days and evenings and now he can begin digging and fencing in the run (outside portion of the coop). They will be happier chickens once they have a little more room to roam around and can see some real sun instead of a light bulb. :)

Its Hard Work Being a Grandma!

Note. Same blanket different chairs.