Martina's Visit | 2016

We were so excited to have Martina visit this past weekend! We haven't seen her since her wedding last June, so we had some catching up to do :)

When she arrived on Friday, we took her to the new Surly Brewery...

A quick stop at Lakes and Legends...

We took the kids to their favorite park to burn some energy...

We spent our mornings drinking coffee, just chilling and catching up...

We had a bonfire Saturday night...

Played in the driveway...

And had some time out (sans kids - thank you Nana & Bumpa!) in Minneapolis...

LynLake Brewing & Hola Arepa

Thank you for coming out to visit, Martina! We have missed you!!

Friday

Flirting with 90 degrees today...loved my walk around Lake Harriet with my two littles. After a busy week of working 10 hour days (and some nights), this is just what I needed :)

Something about being by the water is sooo relaxing...

180's on his skateboard (I did not encourage this...)

This kid is all about skateboarding lately. It's all he wants to do everyday after daycare. 

And this kid is his usual chill :) 

Brecken | 7 Months

Brecken - you are 7 months! Actually, you are almost 8 months, but it's a good time to write about what's been going on this past month.

You started sleeping on your tummy this month. We lay you on your back, but you almost always roll to you belly.

In general, it has been a tougher month for you. You have still been a very happy baby most of the time, but you have been getting 6 teeth - pretty much all at once since 6 months. I think this has led to minor, but consistent congestion, which led to consistent ear infections and almost 40 days of antibiotics (rough on the tummy). So we are super excited for these teeth to finish coming in and the warmer weather to hopefully help you feel better.

At one of your doctor appointments this month (lots of ear checks)

Buuut, all that said, you are so content most of the time. You do well playing on your own in your car or highchair or on the floor.

You roll both ways and are starting to sit. You rotate on the floor to reach your toys. You are a great sleeper. You nap in the morning (for maybe an hour) and in the afternoon (for 2 hours). You have pretty much dropped the evening nap. When you don't nap in the evening, you go to bed at the same time as your brothers (7:30ish). While I'm bummed I don't see you as much in the evening, it does give me time to get things done around the house and I get to hang out with your dad. 

You eat 2 meals a day for sure, sometimes all 3. You started feeding yourself broken Gerber puffs. We have also tried diced bananas, but it's hard for you to get them into your mouth. You eat anything I feed you. 

You love to watch your brothers play and enjoy our family runs as well. You are very tolerant of your not so gentle brother. He thinks he's being friendly when gives you a big squeeze of a hug and taps you on the head.

You continue to be the easiest kid in our house most of time! We love you Brecky and have loved getting to know your chill personality!

You are also into grabbing everything!

Shawn and his mini-me ;)

Arizona | 2016

This was our first vacation with all 5 of us! And our first time taking all 3 kids on the plane! The plane ride went really well considering Logan & Brecken had just come down with a cold (the day we flew...go figure) and Brecken has had his first couple ear infections back to back (his first cold, too) and it was 3 1/2 hours. (The highlight was when Shawn lectured the lady infront of Logan - she had used her seat to try to 'smack him back' for bumping her seat when he was digging in his backpack under her seat. In our defense, he was super quiet a and three other people told us how good our kids were as they were getting off the flight).

Of course, the kids had matching Arizona travel outfits ;) And, of course, I made them last-minute the night before :)

Our first morning, the kids woke up pretty early (2 hour time change). But we took them in the backyard where they played for a short time before wanting to get in the pool. It was in the low 70's around 7am, but that didn't deter them. The day was filled with swimming, backyard playtime, more swimming, a visit to the local playground, walking along the canal, lunch at a Mexican restaurant, awesome salmon dinner by Grandma Sue, and a pretty smooth bedtime. 

Poolside matching games

Day two was a little rainy on and off, but we still had plenty of warm backyard playtime, ate lunch outside at Mudsharks, went bowling (Logan's first time!)...

My happy boys

Backyard fun (and Logan's first bee sting - at least we know now that he's not allergic!)

I always love a good sampler - Mudsharks

The last few days continued with more good fun:

Watching the jet ski competition at the boat show - we sat close until one jet ski was on the loose! 

Lots of time in and out of the pools 

Down to the waterfront a couple times

Another awesome thing we did was hike at Sara Park. We hiked through 'the crack' - 7 miles! There were a couple hairy areas for having a baby in tow, but Ryder and Logan loved it. I think this was their favorite activity of the trip :)

Instead of using the rope to get down, Logan, Ryder, Brecken and I slid down into daddy's arms!

A huge thank you to Grandma Sue and Grandpa Roger for being such great hosts! They really made our trip down as easy as it could be with three little ones! We loved all our outside time, all slept great, and most of all, loved visiting with G&G!

Warm April Weather

We are in a warm streak for April! Yesterday was 78°, and today's shaping up to be the same.

The kids are so much happier outside. Brecken's asleep in the stroller for morning nap, the big boys are playing by the water, and I'm enjoying my coffee with a view :) Happy Sunday!

First Tooth

Just as Brecken's first baby teeth are coming in, Ryder's first baby tooth fell out! 

In the bathroom at College Street Brewhouse in Lake Havasu, I yanked that first little tooth out. Even though I am not ready for my first 'baby' to be losing his teeth, the thing had been dangling for over a week. It was time to come out. He was sooo excited. Even though I'm missing my delicious restaurant lunch and had to slam my beer sampler so I could take the [impatient] kids outside, things like this are what make parenting the best...and worth eating your meal boxed up at home during nap ;) Such excitement. Such a memorable moment for us :)

So much happier outside ;)

Thank goodness for to-go boxes and growlers ;)