It feels like Christmas (mostly because it is really cold)

Veronica and Isaiah went out to cut a Christmas tree on Saturday (Nathan had class). Boulder Lake has a great event where you can go up there and cut a tree down in the woods for a small fee. So Veronica and Isaiah drove there with our friends Kristin Michael and Noah to find some Christmas trees. It was a wonderfully festive environment with hot chocolate and loads of cheerful people. It felt like a scene from a Christmas movie. :)

Below is a picture of Veronica and Isaiah with the tree that was chosen before it was cut down. We will have to get a picture on here soon because the tree is beautifully lit up and full of ornaments.

There's something in the (blog) water

So, I realized one day as I was catching up on blogs, that every blog I follow has a friend that is pregnant (in one case, a friend just had her baby). Pretty funny considering that I follow five blogs and considering that I, too, am pregnant!!! We are finally making the announcement after hearing our little baby's heartbeat on Tuesday morning!! It has been a long 13 weeks to hold it in and not tell many people, but now that we've heart the precious heartbeat and know that things are going well, we can spread the news!

The first trimester went really well. I was really only nauseous for one week(thankfully) and found myself going to bed pretty regularly by 9:30. We joke that Nathan is also pregnant because he, too, was in bed and sleeping by 9:30, wasn't feeling great, was always tired and lacked motivation. Similar symptoms to what I was experiencing. Funny. Thankfully, it appears that Nathan has also moved into the second trimester! :)

So, baby #2 (also known to us as Mimi) will be born in late May or early June. Should be awesome timing as Nathan has summers off so we'll be home together for two months. We'll both be supported as we care for two kiddos!! YAY!!!

First Snowfall

We had our first real snow fall last Sunday and got to try out Isaiah’s snow gear. We ventured outside and played; Isaiah’s getting used to gloves, which makes playing a little tricky. He didn’t seem to mind the cold all bundled up, so we played, went for a walk and hung out while Nate kindly shoveled the snow.  If we get all the snow they say we are this winter, it should be fun sledding, playing and of course shoveling. YAY!!!

Fun with Cousins

The women in Nathan’s family got together over hunting weekend (along with the kiddos) and we had a great time. We gathered at my sister-in-laws house and enjoyed a weekend of hanging out, relaxing, cooking and some baking. Isaiah had a blast playing with his cousins (3 and 6) and was zonked out by our car ride home (YAY…it made the 3 hour car ride so much more bearable!). It was a great weekend to connect as family and as women…we made it to the church to play bingo, sang some karaoke, played S-P-O-O-N-S and then S-P-O-O-N-S-I-E-S just so we could keep going! Lots of fun was had. Looking forward to next year already!

Halloween 2010

Our little munchkin was a dragon/dinosaur this year for Halloween. He was adorable in his costume, as all kids are, and had some fun with friends and a couple Halloween carnivals. It was fun this year because he was old enough to play some of the games and seemed to have some fun. We didn’t go trick or treating; he took a 3 hour nap that day, which pushed all our afternoon activities back and left no time for trick or treating. Instead, we hit up a carnival at our Co-op and had some yummy treats.

Little Swimmer

The fun thing about your grandma working at a hotel is that you get to go swimming when you go visit. J When we were home for the hayride, Isaiah had a great time swimming in the pool. It took a little bit to warm up to the water, but eventually he got in and had fun. It helped that there were some other kids in the water too that played with him and made it more fun!

Amazing

I find myself often awe-struck by what a wonderful and beautiful child Isaiah is. Nathan and I will be sitting in the living room and Isaiah is just running around, being himself and we'll just look at each other in amazement and say "that's our kid!" It's still amazing that 19 months into this parenting gig, we have this great child and often still can't believe that he's our kid!! He is such a joy to have around and to watch figure things out. He is saying more and more words and using more signs as well. He's really becoming a little boy and it's SO much fun!

Hayride

We’re home in South Dakota this weekend visiting my parents. They had their annual hayride last night, which is always fun to come home to. Many of my family come out for the hayride, so it’s fun time to catch up with people. We eat wonderful food all prepared by my mom (four delicious soups were served this year) and a campfire at the end of the night with homemade baileys and s’mores! YUM!! The hayride this year held a record 39 people (adults and kids) and my dad drove the tractor. It was a warm day and around dinner time it began to rain. Lucky for us though, once we were done eating, the rain stopped so we were able to go on our hayride! The moon and stars even came out! A beautiful night with wonderful people. :)

Eating

Isaiah has become a wonderful eater; it’s been so much fun to watch him try new foods and to see the foods that he has developed a fondness for. His new favorite type of food is soup…he’s learning to eat it on his own, with or without a spoon! J He’s taken after his daddy on this new way of eating! Ha!

Bayfield, WI

We had a beautiful Saturday last weekend in Bayfield, WI, along the South Shore of Lake Superior. Nathan and I have spent a couple anniversaries in Bayfield and time at many of the apple orchards. It’s one of our favorite fall destinations, and it’s not far from home! We decided to take Nathan’s parents there for the day and had a great time going from orchard to orchard and walking around town to the little shops. It’s always amazing to see the variety of apples that are grown and to taste-test so many!!

Over hunting weekend the women in Nathan’s family get together with the kids and this year we decided we’re going to make apple pie. So, Nathan’s mom bought a variety of apples for our delicious pie-making! Can’t wait!!

Fall 2010

We have had a beautiful fall, with wonderfully warm weather! Who can complain about fall days that are in the 60s and 70s? We’ve been able to go for plenty of walks and enjoy the colors while playing in the leaves. Duluth has beautiful trails that we’ve enjoyed exploring and Isaiah has enjoyed taking in the wonder as well. Our walks can last a long time as he loves stopping at every log to feel it or pick up every stick and wave it or throw rocks into the woods. So much fun to watch how his mind is thinking about all the things right at his fingertips!

Children's Museum

Our library has a program where you can receive free passes to the Children’s Museum. So, we decided to take a Saturday with some friends and go to the museum. Isaiah is finally getting to the age where he is able to interact and play with other kids and do activities, so it’s been really fun to take him to things like the Children’s Museum. They had a room full of the perfect size activities and fun for Isaiah. We’ll definitely be back, especially thanks to the free passes!



Of course, Nathan had his share of fun too! :)

Boundary Waters

Isaiah and I enjoyed another wonderful trip to the Boundary Waters with four wonderful women. We left Friday morning during rainy, windy weather. By the time we paddled for a few hours and set up our tents at our first campsite, the rain had cleared up and we had beautiful sunset and a wonderful display of stars to watch in the sky.

The next morning, we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast before packing up camp. We paddled to our next campsite through a lot of wind, but luckily no rain. Isaiah and I had a lot of fun venturing around our campsite and checking things out. Another highlight was wonderful food. Why is it that food always tastes SO much better when camping? Isaiah agreed with me here and indulged in wonderful, yummy food.

We stayed at the same campsite for two nights, which meant that Sunday we had the chance to go on a day trip, check out some other lakes nearby and paddle without any wind (yay!!). Isaiah was a trooper through it all and even found the canoe to be a nice resting place. He cried just about every time we put the life jacket on him and put him into the canoe, but by the time we pushed off from land and sang a few songs, he was good to go. And, throwing rocks and sticks from the canoe was a favorite pastime!

The trip wasn’t nearly as relaxing this year for me as it has been in the past since I was chasing a 17 month around the campsite, keeping him away from the water, keeping sticks and other wonderful things out of his mouth and trying to help out around the campsite. So, maybe next year I’ll go alone…we’ll see what next Labor Day brings.

Bubbles!

We had a fun family afternoon at the Annual Bubble Fest at the Duluth Children’s Museum. Isaiah enjoyed sticking his hands in the bubble pools and playing with all the fun bubble wands. My guess is that next year it will be a whole new experience!

Playhouse

Nathan managed to find a large refrigerator box for us to turn into a playhouse for Isaiah. We cut a door and window into the box one afternoon and Isaiah has enjoyed going in and out of the house as he wants. It’s super cute to see him playing like this and we love it when he sticks his head out the window to say hello!

Fun in the Sun

Isaiah and I enjoyed a sunny, warm day by Lake Superior. What a perfect day to do a mini photo shoot of Isaiah at 17 months old! Here are some cute pics from our day together.

Swimming

We had a gorgeous day yesterday. We went for a 10 mile bike ride and then cooled off in the grand Lake Superior. The water has been much warmer this summer. Being such a big lake, it often doesn’t warm up enough for my blood. However, yesterday was a gorgeous day for a swim. Isaiah seems to be enjoying the water more and more and we are all having SO much fun!