18 Months

18 months-wow! Just think-I started this whole blogging thing when I was pregnant with Emmitt...Parker was just 18 months old then. I have a love/hate relationship with 18 months. I love the independence of an 18 month old, but hate the demanding do it myself actions (not words) of an 18 month old. Just last night I gave in to him putting his brothers way too big crocs on all by himself because he would squeal like a stuck pig if I even moved a fraction of an inch towards helping him. It took him a good 5 minutes to get them on, but the concentration on his face was worth the wait.

Emmitt still isn't "talking" real words. At least when anybody is around. We are fairly certain that he can talk, he just chooses not to. He was at Auntie Tammy's last week and clear as a bell, pointed out her window and said Park! But when you ask him to say Parker? He replies with Bro-oh!

Even little things like-cup or light or please or even help me...nothing. He will repeat a sign back at you immediately and then use it, but just doesn't want to talk. We really don't mind-once he does start talking-we'll want him to be quiet, so no hurry bud! But when the whining sets in and he is screaming for something he wants and refuses to use his words (or signs for that matter) to ask for what it is-that is making us all c r a z y!

I am really trying to decide between the above and below pictures-which 18 month old shot do I hang on the wall? I have baby pics of all of us hanging in one part of my house. Bear and I are closer to around a year old and Parker is 18 months old in his. So...what you do for one, you do for the other right? It is one picture that I never change out of the frame, so I gotta really love it....

Last Friday-I kept the kids home from daycare and we went to the beach. It was 60 degrees and super windy. They were dressed accordingly and I couldn't let those Easter hats go unused! Parker actually wore his hat again the next day out on the golf course with me and Auntie Tammy. The boys had fun throwing rocks and sticks into the water. Then we were frozen and decided to head to the Wharf, as promised, for ice cream! We attempted to sit outside but everything was swarming with hornets, so I popped the trunk of the SUV and let them drip with their ice cream there.

Someday, I believe that Emmitt will get used to the camera and actually start smiling (even a little) for a picture...but for now? He's just not that into it.

The boys can play so well together-sometimes. I have officially thrown all of the toys down the basements stairs and given them free reign of the whole space...in return I got a living room back! Yippee!! It is not uncommon to come home after work and start making dinner and the boys just go downstairs to play until I call them to come up. Gone are the days of setting one of them in the exersaucer in the kitchen and feeding them endless amounts of Gerber Puffs while I scramble to make dinner for two. We are officially making dinner for four. Most meals are still too much for us, but someday I know they will eat the whole pan of lasagna and a gallon of milk in one meal. Other times they absolutely cannot stand each other. Parker is at a very imaginative age and has things like, puppy houses and bear caves set up all around the house-Emmitt just likes to come "wreck" them all. You will hear Parker repeatedly tell others here comes the wrecker. Parker has recently taught Emmitt how to give an Eskimo Kiss-all you have to do is ask him for one and he comes at you with his head shaking.

They actually do love each other-they are both leaning in here for a very sticky kiss.

Boys Playing

I was feeling good enough this week to get out back with the boys and take some updated pictures. Emmitt has just turned 18 months! He is growing taller by the day. It takes some time away from the kids to see the subtle changes...after being gone a couple of days, I definitely noticed the growth spurt.

Parker has been a big help to me. He is really willing to get something for me if I need him to. He plays nicely by himself sometimes too, if I need him to. The weather hasn't been that great lately so the inside playing changes his mood daily. Some days he is content to play nicely with toys or coloring or stickers but other times, there is nothing that is going to hold his attention and he walks around complaining.
Sniffing some daisy flowers...momma's favorite.

He is such a big boy. I am lucky I can even get him to turn towards me to take a picture of his face. And this is about the best smile I'm gonna get.

Both boys are infatuated with riding on the lawn tractor. Bear can hardly drive with any speed holding onto both boys and steering the massive thing! It's cute to see them cover their ears when they are on it but grinning the whole time. It is inevitable, when they are forced to get off, that we will see the tears.

The boys are starting to fight a bit more when playing together. Every 5 minutes Parker is running up to me saying but mom, I had it first and Emmitt just take it away from me and that's not nice...I think what Parker isn't realizing is that Emmitt is finally starting to fight back!

The looks I usually get from both boys...

Happy 8th Anniversary

I pulled this post from last year...but added a year! Wow 8 years since we got hitched...it's fun to go back and look at those pics. Tonight when I get home from my trip, I am going to force him to watched the video of our wedding. I should have that thing converted to a DVD before it's gone. Maybe we'll whip out the scrapbooks too...Happy Anniversary Bear!

08/18/01

Here is our marital blessing


A favorite of my sweet hubby-I love the looks of the guys from behind him


Because you all know my husband does not dance...this is a great pic-I am fairly certain it was his one and only "fast" dance...EVER


My Milo walking me down the aisle


Sweet newly wed kiss...

I will never forget this great poem that gina wrote for us and had the girls read during the dinner...it was truly a hit with everyone there...people still talk about it 7 years later!

Here it is~

We want to tell you about how they met,
Something neither us nor them will soon forget-
Becky looked at me not so long ago, pointed at Barrett and proudly said,
I’m gonna marry that man one day-someday, somehow, we will be wed.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, please understand,
Regardless of her master plan
We had plenty of work to do,
For who Becky was, Barrett hadn’t a clue!
We did things we won’t mention
In order to attract Barrett’s attention…
We followed him from practice to class
And giggled each time he passed

Then Becky called me late one night
Her voice full of excitement and fright
And said,
You’ll never believe what I just did!
Guess! No, wait, I’ll tell you instead!
I just called Barrett and asked him on a date…
For Becky just could not be patient and wait.

And so the fairytale goes,
How it really ended up here, Lord only knows,
We remember hearing all about that first date
That love-filled dance in the driveway,
We all knew that it was fate
And from that they’ve never strayed

May the tears your cry, be tears of joy.
May you grow old on one pillow
May you change looking in the same direction
May “for better or worse” be far better than worse.
May you never forget what is worth remembering
Or remember what is worth forgetting.

May your love be like the wind-
Strong enough to move the clouds
Soft enough never to hurt
But always never ending.

As you sit side-by-side through this roller coaster of life-
Remember to scream from the peaks,
Hold hands through the dips,
Laugh through the upside-down flips
And enjoy every turn and twist-
For the ride is better,
because you share it together.

Here’s to love and laughter
And happily ever after
As Mr. and Mrs. start their new life
Join with us in toasting the new husband and wife!

I spoke too soon...

So the other day when I posted, I was all "things are moving in the right direction" and "I'm feeling better today"...blah, blah, blah! Well Friday night, Saturday and Sunday were some of the worst days I have had. Granted-day 2 of the surgery post-op was pretty darn crappy. But I really thought I was doing better and by the weekend, I would be feeling pretty good. I think it was mental. I knew that I had a business trip Monday (today) and Tuesday that I had to go on for my corporate job and I think it psyched me out a bit. Everytime Bear looked at me this past weekend, he would just shake his head and say "I don't think you are gonna make it, I don't know how you are going to be able to travel"...well by Sunday afternoon, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I slept off and on all day Sunday while my children played nearby basically unattended. Bear was working. I let Parker watch movies all day long, one he watched twice! Then by lunch time (a late lunch) I made soft tortilla shells with melted mozzarella cheese in them for the boys. I took a tiny bite of Emmitt's and could swallow it! Hallelujah! So I made myself a taco shell surprise and could almost eat the whole thing. Super slow going though, but it went down fairly easily. A call to my mom for advice and we came to the conclusion that the "scabs" (I am so sorry, I know it's gross) are starting to come off and that fresh new skin underneath is creating a different pain. Holy COW! Sometimes water hurts going down?! I took a nap Sunday with the boys ate 500 freezie pops, packed my suitcase, said a prayer and went to bed. Monday morning I woke up bright and early, got ready and headed to the airport to catch the 7 am flight. Slept on the plane, drank a can of apple juice and made it through the flight. The guy next to me was a talkative one, so I told him my deal and he was cool with it. By the time I got my rental car and my ginormous smoothie from a coffee shop I was good to go. I drove the 45 minutes through Monday Morning Traffic in the Metro Area and made it to the club's Open House...just in time to meet the mayor and participate in the ribbon cutting! I only drank water and tea all day. Amazing what you can get used to without eating. But I don't feel just right-not crabby-but not happy go lucky Becky by any means. By 1 pm I am wiped out. I have a few slices of cheese-I think it's a new staple-I love cheese! More water and by 5:30 pm, I am heading out the door. More rush hour traffic, but I check in to my hotel...told the guy at the counter my sob story (usually it's because I talk soft now and they ask their question again...I apologize, say I had my tonsils out last week and say my answer again...) and he bumps me up to a king jacuzzi for no extra charge! You just gotta ask. I think I cried a little when I saw the tub! I head down to dinner, order water, a 7 up and soup...then I try the fettuccine alfredo...explain my story to the server...sprinkled some salt in my 7 Up to make it "non-bubbly". Manage to get some of the broth and veggies down...then some noodles! Ahhhh...food! Not feeling so crabby anymore. Rip the inside of my toasted bread out and soak it in the alfredo sauce-which was probably low cal right? I ask for a go box for the 3/4 of the food I can't eat. Get back to the room. Fill up the tub. Watch The Women movie I brought along on my laptop, in the tub, wearing ear buds and ahhhhh relaxed! Maybe this trip is also-meant to be....

on the road to good health...

Well I am glad the worst is probably over with. This whole tonsillectomy really sucks! I am a true believer of things happen for a reason. First Bear didn't think he could drive me, so my sister and mom stepped up to take me down to Duluth. Then Bear thought he could, but I said I would stick with the girls. Then while I am in surgery, Bear is at home barfing his guts out with the flu! I mean, can you imagine him being 160 miles away from home sick at the hospital waiting for me to come out of surgery??? I know! Then, since he is home sick, I have strict orders to not go near big crowds or people with the flu...I cannot even fathom the idea of throwing up on these sore tonsils-or what used to be tonsils. So I stay at my mom's house. Her hubby is out of town for the 2 days, so it's just her and I. Who better than to take care of you while you are sick than your momma? I know! So she gets me up to par as best as I'm going to be and gets me delivered home to Bear who is feeling a bit better after 3 days. I have great daycare who kept my boys overnight at a sleepover and a sister who kept them another night. I have spare bedrooms and a cool basement to quarantine myself to and a freezer full of Popsicles. It all just turned out the best that it could. It definitely is sore to swallow, but I think each day is getting better. I had to quit the pain meds...yuck, for one. And two, they make me dizzy, give me a headache, make me nauseous and soooo tired. So I am only taking ibuprofen for the pain, but am handling it well.
The doctor said it was time to have those tonsils out. He came out to tell my family that I was out of surgery and that I actually had bacteria granules harboring in my tonsils! Ick! They were just in there waiting to get me sick again. I am hoping that after this is all over with, that I am not sick all winter. Another (funny) thing the doctor said was about the adenoid. I had told my mom and sister that if he wants to take that out too once he is in there to tell him to "go ahead". Well they asked about the adenoid when visiting with him and he replied with "she doesn't have one"...Well where did it go? Apparently once you become an adult your adenoid just disappears and your body absorbs it. You only have one when you are little! They were dumbfounded and a bit giggly after that! That story brought a smile to my face immediately.
The weather has been so hot that it is easy to put the boys in their swimsuits after daycare and let them play outside. So it's safe to say that I am on the road to good health. I have been able to eat some eggs, jello, lots of water and juice, Popsicles....I tried the Girl Scout Thin Mint blizzard last night and that didn't go so well...the dairy products don't go down so easy. So the whole "eat lots of ice cream" doesn't really apply to me.
Thanks to all of the "get well" wishes! I appreciate it...off to go take a nap!

scrappin' the weekend away...

Well I am heading south in about an hour...Pequot Lakes here I come. We are headed to the ICU (Intensive Crop Unit) for our annual, well I guess it's our bi-annual, scrapping weekend. There are 11 girls heading down. We get caught up on our friendships and scrapbooking. We loaded a truck with a topper right to the top last night and that was just 4 of us! I've learned over the years to pack it all in a rolling suitcase (or 2)...but my hubby was quick to point out that I still can't lift it in the back of the vehicle unassisted! "That crap is heavy" I heard him grunt as he shoved it in my car...oh well. I plan to have a great time this weekend with the girls. We come home Sunday evening.
I did get a surgery time for Monday-they want me to the hospital at 9:15 to get registered and prepped...surgery time itself is about 30 minutes. My mom and sister are driving me down and hanging out with me. It's outpatient, so I'll be home about the time all of you are getting off of work. Bear is staying with the boys and keeping them on their schedules as best he can. He isn't too busy to take me, we know now, but I wasn't going to wait until the last minute to find somebody to drive me to surgery...and then Tams and Mom volunteered and I figured I will get more sympathy from them than from Bear...he seconded that!
I'll post more through the twitter account at the top right of the page...I can do that from my phone while laying down...such a baby aren't I?

Summertime Fun with Shelbster

Well we said good-bye to our Shelby this weekend. After the Twins game, Grandma Audrey and Papa Dave delivered her back to her mom. It was a great summer with her. We are lucky we got to have her for the time we did. She was a big help. We had a few episodes where the kids all got sick of each other like only family can do. She got to do a few things she hadn't done ever or in a really long time. I was lucky enough to get her hooked on Potter. We read Twilight together. I took her to the Potter movie way past both our bedtimes and had great girl times! I got to paint her nails-which apparently Emmitt likes to have done at Stephies-what is something that I won't get to do with my boys. We had a memorable camping trip that none of us will forget any time soon. She rode in the 4th of July parade. Oh my Shelby Lynn, how we all miss her so much already...

freaking out here

so the pre-op is done with. I am officially on my way to having my tonsils out and I am scared out of my mind. I think the scariest part is always the anesthesia. I would like to wake up from this experience alive. I am preparing myself for the pain to come afterwards but am sure they give pretty good legal drugs. I plan on taking them. I have had two kids naturally, I should be able to handle having somebody cut half my throat off. Okay I am exaggerating a bit, but geesh, am I freaked out. I do at least have 2 weeks off of working my own business-which is a miracle in itself. I am looking forward to reading, sleeping and catching up on Days of our Lives. I do however have my corporate job that I can't really take off from. The sucky part is that job is all done on the phone where I have to talk to people and tell them what to do. Hmmmm, that may be an issue. Normally I could just have them wait a week without talking to me, but they are all coming to an end and the end is the biggest part of the program they complete with me?! I did get time off from The Spot for 2 weeks also, so that is taken care of. Now Bear is freaking that he has a huge bid due like 2 days after my surgery and is actually saying he isn't sure if he can take me. Well I am sure I'm not driving myself buddy! We'll just have to take it one day at a time and see what happens. I am in Pequot scrappin' this weekend with the girls. Which, ironically in February when I was scrappin' I came home to take Parker to his tonsillectomy. So apparently after a great weekend away, we come home to have our throats cut out! I know dramatic...

Let's go Twins!

The Twins played the Angels...and lost. But we had a great weekend with family.

My boy Parker in my boy Mauer's numbers.

Birthday Boys-Bear the 29th and Tim the 23rd
Tams and Scott enjoying the game.Derek and Nick actually enjoying something they both like!
Mom and Dave chillin' at the game. My husband ordered the Chicago Dog "loaded". He paid $7 for this thing and couldn't finish it! We were quite a sight to see walking through the crowd. Him carrying this monster and a glass of beer, me carrying a glass of beer and 2 dome dogs in one hand and Parker's hand in the other. People were pausing and staring more at the loaded dog than the Griswold's at the game.That would be number 7 my boy is showing you. Mauer who I don't think ever got a base hit and didn't catch during the game.Shelby showing you a smiley with her pretzel.Hyped up on Swedish Fish, a snow cone, cotton candy, chips, dome dog, a whole bottle of Sprite and peanuts! You get the picture right?

When asked what his favorite part of the game was? His answer: the WAVE! The wave went on for 20 minutes and momentum built each time it came to our section. This kid was giddy with excitement and sugar, did I mention the sugar?

That would be Tammy and her 33 for her boy Morneau! Who she will not let me forget-hit the only homerun. Even though the Twins lost we cheered like they were winning the Series.

Shelby and Parker enjoyed the hotel pool at 8 am. We parted ways with Shelby at the hotel this morning and tonight during bedtime prayers, Parker says "...and I miss Shelby". 7 Weeks with his cousin is something he won't soon forget.

We always make it part of our trip to call a food order into Applebees ToGo and take the food to the Cloquet park to stretch our legs. We have been stopping at this perfect midway point since we had Parker. He was able to stretch his legs as we sat at a picnic table and ate our food like baboons-since Applebees forgot the little silverware/napkin packets. We managed and were thankful there were no other patrons around to watch us.

We loaded up the car and finished up at the park. Parker had to be a tiger on the big hill back to the car and then started rolling down it. We buckled up, put a movie in the car and headed home to get Emmitt.

Emmitt stayed with the Cann family this weekend. We dropped him off on our way out of town and picked him up tonight. He had a blast with their two boys and they assured us that he was a great kid! He even sat quietly through church for them! They truly said "anytime" we need them to watch the boys they would...they keep trying to get us to use our baby gift from them...a gift certificate to the Thunderbird...I think we may just need to do that.

The whole day we were gone we kept saying, "thank God we don't have Emmitt". The game, the hotel, meals, the long car trip in just 2 days would have put us all over the edge had he been with! Thank God for great people, great family, a safe trip and a memorable weekend...