Happy Halloween!

Scary Skeleton!

Here's the thing...

I'm busy, all the time. But I promise an updated post tomorrow. Here's how I spend my day, in picture format, to tide you over:

First there's a little playing and laughing:

Then Emily says "Come on Mom, let's get real. Feed me!"


Then we do a little tummy time, which either frightens or delights Emily. We're not to sure yet.

We have a few more bottles, and try to get in a few more cute picture ops. Lesson #1 in taking baby pictures: try not to use the flash...
"Whoa Mom! Are you trying to blind me!?!"

Then after a long hard day, we all curl up for bed time.

The End!

Happy Fall!

It's official, Fall is here! The weather is much cooler, all the leaves have changed and are starting to fall off the trees. That means eventually Travis is going to have to get out there soon and bag them up!

Fall is my absolute favorite season. I'm such a geek for pumpkins, candy apples, hot apple cider, corn mazes. You name it. So last weekend we decided to take Emily to the pumpkin patch. I know she won't remember it, blah blah blah, but we have to start family traditions at some time!

So we went for about a half hour :o) They had a corn maze, a hay ride, a little petting zoo, and lots and lots of pumpkins. Of course, you had to pay for it all, so we decided to wait until next year for that stuff. We took pictures with the pumpkins, walked around and watched everyone else, and enjoyed a hot cup of apple cider.
You can't really see it, but Emily and I are holding a tiny pumpkin - just her size!
We tried to do a photo op with her sitting against the pumpkins, but she wasn't having any of that! Those pumpkins are scary! She was happy as long as I was holding her and she could see what everyone else was doing. Any time I attempted to sit her with a pumpkin, big or small, the waterworks started! Oh well, at least I'm trying to create some good family memories!

Two Months!

Here we are, just chugging along past two months old! Some things we've accomplished this month:
-smiling all the time, recognizing mom and dad
-a half laugh. Not quite a full thing, more of a "har!"
-the start of babbling
-sleeping through the night consistently! Usually between 9:30-6. Mom loves this!
-we started daycare this month. Mom hates it, but you seem to be doing just fine.
-you're still drinking 4oz bottles, but I have a feeling we'll be bumping that up to 5 in a few days.
She's getting so big! We have our official 2 month appointment this Friday so she'll get weighed (yay!) and her first set of shots (boo!). Emily has also started flirting with rolling over. I think she might go back to stomach first because she's started to do this:
"Just hanging out on my side!" The TV is behind her, and it is quite tempting apparently. But then she can see it sideways so she stops and lays on her side. Well, she'll get there!

In non baby news, I'm back to work full swing and will be seeing clients again starting November 1st. We just heard that the national exam is being held in December, which allows representatives to qualify for direct pay from Social Security. Our company doesn't let reps go to hearings unless they've passed the exam, because trying to bill clients once their awarded is just a big headache. This way we get our fee directly from SSA with out any issues. So it's study time! I've got study materials, and the other junior reps have started a study group so that we can all work together.

The best news? The test is being held in St. Louis! Ok, well New York and L.A., as well, but that's not quite as exciting. Hopefully we'll go to St. Louis since that's the closest city to us. Then maybe I can get a visit in!

Other than that, not much is going on in baby land. The weather is turning cooler, the trees are changing, and it's officially my favorite season. Happy Fall!

Murphy's Law

I am dead tired, and Emily is finally napping. You'd think I could nap too then, right? Of course not! Sometimes the brain just won't shut down, so here I am, updating you on my life.

Why am I so tired? Well, I'll tell you. Yesterday Travis and I drove down to Baxter, MN, about 2 hours away. Again, you ask, why?

To buy this:
A new car! (say it like on the Price Is Right). This is my new (to me) 2008 Ford Escape. It has tinted windows, cruise control, all wheel drive, yada yada yada. Last weekend we were perusing autotrader.com and found the add for this little gem. So after talking to the dealership this week, we went down this weekend and scooped her up. Since we just paid off my car, we got a sweet deal and my payments are lower than on the Kia. Yippy! I figured it was time to have a more "family" vehicle to fit all our stuff in. Hey, babies come with a lot of stuff. And this way, when we go to Florida next time, my mom has even more room to cram full of Christmas stuff for the drive back :o)

Travis had a benefit gig with the band last night, which happened to be down that way. Since I wasn't ready to leave Emily overnight, I drove back and he stayed down there for the gig. Grandma babysat for us during the day. Boy am I glad I came home.

Last night Emily was a lot more fussy and noisy in her sleep than normal. She's been great at sleeping through the night lately. Last night was no exception, she was just getting a really unrestful sleep. I had to go in her room twice to turn her Sleep Sheep on (google it), to help soothe her.

I went in again around 5:30 this morning, and she was awake in her crib. I thought she needed to be changed and fed, so I went to pick her up when I noticed bubbles of spit all around her mouth. It literally looked like she was foaming at the mouth. I immediately picked her up and began pounding on her back because I wasn't sure if she was choking on her spit or what, but I knew she wasn't breathing evenly and I was scared out of my mind.

I got the suction bulb and started sucking all the foamy spit out of her mouth, which helped a little. Then I could tell she was super congested and snotty, so I sucked out her nose too. Our heat has been on for the past few days, and I think it's a lot drier than she's used to. She threw a fit, gagged a lot and cried, but I got it all out. When I picked her back up she immediately passed out on my chest.

Scariest moment of my life.

I spent the next two hours with her sleeping on my chest so I could make sure she was breathing. She got more sleep, but needless to say I didn't. She's perfectly fine today, probably doesn't even remember it. It was a little traumatizing for me though! I guess we'll be breaking out the humidifier tonight.

Here's a few cute photos to leave you with:

Sucking on Mr. Teddy's ears and nose. Yummy!

Sporting the skinny jeans. She's so stylish!

Have a great week!

6 weeks!

Emily is 6 weeks old today! How did we get here so fast? She continues to amaze us daily, especially now that she seems much more interactive. She recognizes us and smiles at things we say. We haven't seen a repeat of the laugh yet, but she definitely tries. Here's a good picture of her laugh face:
This was the first time we sat in the Bumbo. She loves it! I originally didn't want to get a Bumbo because I thought it was pointless. Basically it's a little rubber seat for, well, sitting. But we had gift cards to burn and nothing else to buy, so we brought Bumbo home. It's actually really cool because she can sit in it on her own, can't escape, and it has a little support for her still-wobbly head.
It provides a nice alternative to the swing or play mat for entertainment. Emily also seems to be pretty interested in the TV. I think she likes the colors, and it's visually stimulating. Now, before anyone gets on a soapbox, I'd like to state that I am not sitting my child in front of the TV to occupy her while I do other things. But she will look at it while she sits in my lap for a few minutes, just like she stares at the ceiling fan, the curtains, and other random things in the house. We've also started a Saturday morning cartoon ritual apparently.
She looks asleep here but she was just blinking. She was also very interested in sucking on her hand at this moment. Ignore the mess that is my living room right now. It is what it is.

When my parents were here in August, my Dad planted some rose bushes in our yard. Travis couldn't find a florist that was open to buy me roses the day after I had Emily, so he went to Lowe's, bought rose buses, and cut off all the flowers to bring to me. Dad decided not to let them go to waste, and spent a good chunk of a morning planting them in our backyard. Then he spent a good chunk of time trying to keep them alive, watering them, spraying them with grow formula, and tending to all things roses.

Well Dad, your effort paid off!
Aren't they pretty? We've been having great weather lately, so they popped right back up. We'll see how long they last though, since we're supposed to get our first cold front next week. Boo!

One month

Well, this is a few days early, but Emily will be one month old on Tuesday. Where does the time go? Seriously, I feel like we just came home from the hospital. And considering that we're not getting much sleep, I'm definitely spending way more hours conscious than I normally do.

Speaking of which, all of you non-parents out there take your sleep for granted. Big time. Now, Travis and I are extremely lucky in that we have a baby that sleeps, for the most part. There are very few nights where we're up every hour or two. Emily has been a sleeping champ since she was born, really. But there are far too many nights for my liking where she doesn't go to sleep until 11:30 or so, and then is up again at 1 or 2, and then again at 4:30. The 4:30 am waking is really the pits, because by the time she's changed, fed, and burped then I only have about 20 minutes left until the alarm goes off. So then I lay in bed thinking "I should just get up. But I need these extra 20 minutes!"

The lack of sleep leads to some very zombie like moments during the day, and occasional conversations at night where I'm not sure Travis is really awake, and I'm not even sure if I'm awake for that matter. However, things are getting better. We just had two nights, in a row, where she slept through the night. TWO NIGHTS! Hallelujah!

Here's what Emily has been up to this month:
. Holding her head up and looking around all the time.
. Eating over 4 oz between formula and breast milk. What a little piggy!
. Making and holding eye contact
. Smiling! She's even starting to laugh a little. So far Aunt Stefanie is the only one to get an intentional laugh. But she's trying!
. Going longer during tummy time and pushing with her legs.
. Sleeping through the night on occasion. She loves napping in her swing, but she's napping less and less. Normally I'm lucky if she naps once a day for a few hours.

This is a "give me food!" face. And yes, we have to use the bib because she is a messy little dribbler.

RAWRRR! I'm Queen of tummy time!

In other news, last weekend was the 100th Bear River Fair. We decided to take a trip up there with Emily and take part. There were soft ball games, bingo, a photo booth, lots of exhibits, pony rides, karaoke, and two dinners. We actually didn't do all of that, but we did watch a lot of softball! Emily slept through the entire thing. Oh well, there's always next year!

Travis is taking another week off to help me out since I'm working and watching Emily at home full time. This excites me like you wouldn't believe! Emily is a much more active baby than I would have ever imagined, so working and taking care of her is actually a lot more difficult that I expected it to be. I'll leave you with a sweet photo from his last "vacation" to watch Emily.

Rough life!

Introducing...

Emily!! This is what I've been working on in my absence. Emily Faith was born on 7/30 at 3:02 pm weighing in at 9lbs 2 oz and measuring 22 inches long. She's a big girl!

I was officially 9 days late on her birthday. The night before I went to the fair again with my in-laws to watch Trav's band play. We ended up having to park really far away, and I think all the walking did me in. My water broke at home around 4:00, so we went to the hospital and got settled in there. Labor progressed pretty fast until I got the pain meds at 11:30, which seemed to slow everything down quite a bit. They started me on Pitocin to make my contractions stronger and I started actively pushing at noon. 3 hours later, Emily finally made her debut!

We've all been settling in and adjusting to life with baby. Thankfully she's a pretty good sleeper, and we've only had to get up once or twice with her every night. Of course, I check on her a lot more than that but that's what new, paranoid mothers do!

Going home! I'm still looking pretty tired here, even after two days of resting!
Here she is getting a little burp time in with Daddy.

Not to sure about hanging out on her boppy.

So that's what we've been up to lately. Hopefully I can keep up with my posts during nap times!

Twiddling my thumbs

Just patiently waiting. I was hoping to have baby news, but no such luck. I'm officially past my due date at 40 weeks and 4 days. Yayyyy....

I've tried walking, eating spicy food, eating fresh pineapple, being really energetic and cleaning my house, driving down a bumpy road (not intentionally, just got lucky with that one). Guess what? Old wives tales are just that, tales. Basically they suck and are always wrong. Emily is going to come whenever she wants to. Maybe she heard me say that I don't like rubies, so she wants to be an August baby for the peridot?

In other news, our weather finally cooled off. We sent that heat packing east and enjoyed a weekend of under 70 temps. Yep, you read that right! Today has actually gotten up to 80, but it's breezy and beautiful. This is more like Minnesota summer!

Travis had a gig with the band Friday night. Everyone was worried about me being all by myself, so my mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to keep me company. I kind of find this amusing since I spend every day by myself (well, with the company of Maya), and Trav works about an hour away. But whatever, we had a good time and that's what matters.

The one part of Friday that was not fun at all: getting stung by a bee. How the heck did that happen, right? Me and my big old pregnant behind were out watering my flowers on the front deck when one snuck up on me from behind and stung my foot. Seriously, it was like a covert sting operation. The scariest part: I've never been stung by a bee before.

So imagine this if you will: I'm 40+ weeks pregnant, and I just got stung by a bee. I'm home alone. This is my first bee sting ever. Commence irrational panicking. First off I ran into the bathroom and started filing up the tub with cold water, because that mofo burned! As I sit there, I try to remember what I've learned about bee stings. Which really equals about zero. I assume if I'm allergic that there would be some swelling. Well, my foot is swelling up anyway, I just got stung by something! So once the radiating burning has numbed by my ice cold bath water, I hobble over to my computer to do a little research. Here's a hint if you're ever in my situation: don't Google images of bee stings. Stick to the "web" search. Thankfully I found some helpful information to inform me that at this point, 20 min after the initial sting, that if I wasn't in anaphylactic shock already then I am likely doing ok.

Of course I sent my hubby a text to let him know what happened, just in case something serious really did come out of this event. And then my brother called me. Cue me missing Trav's phone call, his mind naturally going to the scenario of me being passed out somewhere, and getting repeated phone calls until I finally switch over and tell him I'm fine. Hey, if I have to have a heart attack for no reason, so does he.

So this weekend he did his husband-ly duties of finding the bee's nest, buying insecticide, and killing them. But not without taking a picture first:
This is underneath our front porch steps. As you can see, the little buggers had one nest and decided at some point that it wasn't good enough, so they made an even bigger nest next door. Seriously, how did we miss this? How the heck hasn't my mailman been stung every single day by these buggers? One will never know I guess, but hopefully they're good and dead now.

So that was our big excitement this weekend. Here's my latest (and hopefully last!) bump picture at 40 weeks:

Are we there yet?

Baby yet? No baby yet, and it's starting to feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever! Really I'm only 38 weeks pregnant, and we have 11 days to go until my due date. But trust me...those 11 days seem like way to long! I'm hot, my feet are swollen, I have some bizarre hip pain making it difficult to walk.....so yea, I'm done being pregnant. I'm ready for Emily to make her appearance!
I know you don't believe me about the heat thing. We live in Minnesota, how hot could it get? Well, let me tell you - upper 80's when you live in a house with no A/C might as well be 100 for all I care. There is no way to get cool. I've seriously contemplated filling my bathtub with cool water to go "swim" in.

In other news, we finally got the quote back for our flat roof and signed the contract to get it redone. It came back a little higher than I expected at $3600, but we're biting the bullet and getting it done. Hopefully that will happen this week, or at least before Emily arrives. They have a few others to do before ours, apparently it's replace-your-roof-season. But then it'll be done and we won't have to worry about it for another 10 years or so. So we can get back to our regularly scheduled programming of replacing windows, installing garage door openers, etc, etc. Ah, home-ownership. AKA: "money pit that you can only hope will repay you in equity 20 years from now." Ain't it grand?

Happy 4th of July

Errr, belated!

We were blessed with beautiful, if not a tad warm, weather this weekend for the 4th. Hooray for no rain! So we all piled in the pontoon boat for cruise around the Side Lake chain and did a little BBQ'ing for dinner. Since it gets dark so late in the summer (around 10pm) we decided to forgo the fireworks. A day of sun can really wipe you out, you know!

Here's part of the lake we were on. I believe this is Big Sturgeon, which I normally get confused with Little Sturgeon. It's easy to do!
Even Maya came along! I think she liked boating way more than laying out on the beach, but she's such a busy-body that it's hard to tell. She was all over the place, sniffing the wind, checking out other boats and looking for shady spots. Of course, being next to mom is always good too.

Most of our crew got in and swam. I thought that getting on and off the boat might be a little too difficult for me so I just dipped my toes. The water was only 4 feet deep where we anchored, so it was shallow enough to stand and see if there were any creatures swimming around. Say hi Trav!
But no drowning!

Of course we didn't get any pictures of the picnic, because we were eating! It was a great day out for a boat ride though. Despite using 50 spf, I still got some sun and so did Travis. His is already starting to turn a nice shade of tan, while I just look like a lobster. Oh well!

Here's my 37 week picture. This was one of our hottest days yet and I didn't do my hair or make up, hence the "from the neck down" photo. Apparently Emily has reached the "small watermelon" size, and it sure looks like it from this shot!

Happy Summer!

I'm drowing

No seriously. One drip at a time.

We've had rain for over a week, with only one day of reprieve. So naturally my family room roof has to start leaking. Right? Is it too hard to expect my roof to do it's job - stay dry and keep us dry? I guess not.

We had a leak a few weeks ago that Travis was able to fix. Now we have a new leak. Joy! The very special home owners that used to live here had a wood stove in our family room, which apparently was a bedroom at one time. They took the wood stove out, but left the stove-pipe opening and the whole pipe stack that sticks out of our roof. There is a bucket over it, but apparently there is some cracking going on down farther that is causing it to leak. The side that we actually see from the family room was filled in, so it looks like an upside down top-hat sticking into our family room. This is where the leak is.

Let me tell you: this makes our "special" house just that much more special.

So we're coming to grips with getting the roof replaced. At least it's only part of the roof, and not the main one. Plus it's a flat roof, so it should be relatively easy to replace, re-tar and throw some rock down. We had some guys come out last week to give us a quote. We asked about some different things, like even re-trussing it to put a slant on it and then put shingles on. The hard numbers? $4,000 to do that. $3000 to put rubber down. So I'm hoping when we get the actual quote, it's like $2000 just to re-tar. Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Oh yea, did I mention that my due date is less than a month away? Replacing a roof is exactly what I wanted to do one month before having a baby. So here's hoping that the bid comes in lower than I expected, they get it done quickly, and we figure out a way to pay for it!

Here's proof I'm about ready to pop!

36 weeks down, 4 more to go!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is the day that we all thank our Dad's for being who they are. My Dad is pretty awesome, I have to tell you. He's always there when I need him, even when he's 1500 miles away (give or take), with a shoulder to cry on, an ear for listening, and good advice when I need it. One of my favorite things about my Dad is that he kind of thinks he's Superman, and he's ready to do anything or help out in any way he can. But honestly, he's always been my hero so maybe that Superman thing is true. Here's one of my favorite pictures of us:
Love you Dad!

The other hero in my life, dearest Hubby, has been hard at work this weekend since it's Outside Project Weekend 2011. We do have plans to grill burgers and go see a movie, and he has yet to see the present on the dining room table for him. All in good time...

So here in northern MN, the hardy green thumb ladies usually start rolling out their flower beds and whatnot sometime in May. This year has sucked for weather though, and we've had cold and rain for more months than I care to count. I think we've all decided "screw it. I'm planting anyway!" Today was a balmy 63 degrees, and although the weekend has been overcast the rain has held off a bit so we went ahead with our plans.

We have a window well in between the house and garage that we cleared out sometime last year. Our intention was to fill it with rock and some landscape lights. These were very good intentions for upwards of a year or so. Well this weekend we finally decided to go for it! So we went from this ugliness:
To this!
Looking good! The lamps kind of blend in, but there are 4 on this side of the fence and 1 right on the other side. I originally wanted white rock, but the multicolored river pebbles were not only $1 cheaper per bag (x30 bags = saved us $30!), but they also got a little better with the overall "brown-ness" of our house. I did my part by weeding out most of the longer bed, which I have to tell you - not so much fun at 8 months pregnant. I also held the weed tarp (that goes underneath the rock to keep weeds from sprouting up), and I was an integral part in positioning the lights. Not to shabby when I'm feeling like a blimp! I let Travis do all the heavy moving and lifting of the actual rock, naturally. :o)

I also took the opportunity while at Lowe's to pick up a few flowers to dress up our front porch a little. It looks a little drab, and we really need a bench out there or something. But honestly, I think my true Minnesotan neighbor wives are ashamed of the lack of flowers our house has. So I needed to do something! Here's what I came up with:
Some hostas and impatients
and a pretty, red Salvia with some white impatients. There's also some "dusty miller" mixed in which is like a white, furry fern. I thought it looked pretty cool, so we'll see how it fares. Actually, I'm no green thumb at all, so fingers crossed that all of these do okay!

Here's my latest bump picture at 35 weeks:
Have a great week!

change, change, change

If you know me, there is one distinct thing that always presents itself first. I am a redhead. Classic redhead with freckles, light skin, the whole nine yards. And you would also know that I have long red hair. I've flirted with short hair now and then, but most people know me as the girl with long, red hair.

Until yesterday!
That's right folks
I took the plunge and had it all chopped off! My Dad said that now Emily can't pull my hair. I guess that's a plus as well. My main intention was to be quicker in the mornings. This hair cut definitely takes less time to wash and dry, although I'm still working with styling it with the straightener. One thing I love: it's abundantly cooler than the mop of hair I used to have. Lighter too! No more hair headaches!

Summer is slowly starting to peek out here. Our high today was a balmy 70 degrees. We're also having more sunny days that rain, so the weather is looking up! I'm looking forward to a few days at the lake before Emily gets here, big belly and all. Or at least getting a kiddie pool for the back yard. Our backyard is wide open for the whole world to see (putting up a fence is on our 'to-do' list), but no shame here! I'm carrying around 30 extra baby pounds, I will swim in a kiddie pool when it's hot if I want to! Travis may or may not be on board with this idea, so far he doesn't have much to say on the issue. But I think a pregnant, happy wife definitely equals a happy life!

Here I am at 34 weeks pre-haircut:

6 more weeks to go!

Not much of an update

I just have to complain and whine for a minute. On June 1st our heat was still kicking on. Today, June 6th, it was 85 degrees. I'm not sure why we went straight from winter to summer, but I'd like a little bit of spring! Having no A/C and being 8 months pregnant in this weather is a little like purgatory. Just waiting for whatever comes next, but you know it's not good!

This weekend we had glorious weather. It was only in the low 70's and sunny. A friend from work invited us over to their house on the lake for dinner and a "booze cruise" around the lake. Obviously I passed on the booze, but we had a great time! They have a very pretty house that sits up on a hill from the lake, so they have a very pretty view of the lake. Definitely convinced me that we need to buy a house on a lake....some day!

The only downside is the mosquitoes that come out at dusk. Between those suckers and the heat, my ankles are a little...larger...than normal. So I'll just keep them propped up for the time being!

My hubby the rock star :o)

Unfortunately this is one of the best pictures I got all night. It was dark and I was sitting closer to the back. You'll notice that there is a microphone in his hand - that's right, Travis sang! Well, sort of. He sang the Beastie Boys song "Fight for your Right". I did have a funny video of Trav making his big debut in the band, but Blogger doesn't want to upload it.

The guys did great and we all had a great time. They're playing at a lodge on the Lake Vermilion that brings in a lot of local talent, and a fun crowd! I managed to make it all the way until 1am when they stopped playing on Friday night, but I definitely paid for it Saturday! Another friend who is pregnant came, so I managed not to feel like the only bump on log. Last night was a black light party, but this Cinderella has had enough of one night turning into a pumpkin!

Yesterday I went to a shower for one of our cousin's that is getting married this fall. They had it at a local Italian restaurant with awesome food. It was actually really nice going to someone else's shower and just being able to enjoy myself! The bride is the sweetest person ever and is going to look gorgeous on her big day. I can't wait!

Here's my latest bump picture at 32 weeks from today. Only 8 weeks left!

When it rains, it pours...

But inside my house? I'm not so sure about that. Last night after Trav went to band practice and I made myself dinner, I went to close the curtains in our living room and what did I see? Water, pouring down my family room wall. Two walls actually, since it was in a corner. Just. Freaking. Great.

So there I stood, for an hour, wiping drips as they came through the ceiling. Since Travis wasn't home, I didn't really know what to do! Eventually it stopped though. In the light of day, once Travis was home, he discovered that some of the tar had cracked (it's a flat roof, so just tar and peat gravel, no shingles here). Thankfully that was an easy enough fix for him today, but we'll definitely need to look into replacing the whole thing pretty soon here. Just what I wanted to deal with right before having a baby!

I was the lucky recipient of a second baby shower this week, hosted by a few of my real estate friends. It was amazing to see all the hard work they put into the details, such as mini-candy bars labeled "Alison's Baby Shower", balloons with Emily's name on them, hand-made invitations, and even hand-made thank-you's complete with stamped envelopes! It was amazing!
Here I am with the awesome diaper cake they made. It was decorated with onesies, wash cloths, socks, rattles and toys. So cool!
My amazing hosts - they even dressed in pink to keep the theme going!
Here's my 31 week picture. Only 9 more to go! This looks like I'm still carrying pretty high, but I know she's in the right position with her head down because she's been getting the hiccups every now and then, which always feels lower. Typically she pushes her butt out against my stomach, so the bulge is likely a little baby hiney! Travis has started getting worried that I can go into labor at any time now. If I make a weird noise or rub my belly, he gets a little nervous look on his face. It's kind of funny! So for his sake I started packing my hospital bag - which is a little ridiculous since we only live two blocks from the hospital. He can always come home to get stuff! But if it makes him feel better, then we'll just be prepared!

Spring has finally decided to show up in our neck of the woods. Last weekend Travis mowed the grass for the first time, just to see if the mower worked. Well, in a weeks time our grass has nearly grown a foot! Plus our chive bushes are growing like crazy!

In other news, I registered for my first two classes for my MLIS degree. I tried to only take one, but found out that I needed 4 credits for my financial aid so I found a 1 credit genealogy research class to go along with my core intro class. I start the first week of September - so here goes nothing! Next weekend is Trav's big gig with the band - stay tuned for pictures!

Sweet Freedom

If you know my husband, you know that one of his passions in life (after me of course!) is music. He plays guitar and loves to jam out whenever he's given the chance. Such a chance came along a few weeks ago when a friend from work invited him to come jam with their band, and maybe be the sound/lighting guy. Through a succession of events, Travis became a member rather than being behind the scenes. The name of the band is, you guessed it, Sweet Freedom. They're a local country band that plays quite a bit around here.

*Crickets*

Uh, yea, that's right - I said country. Yes, I'm still talking about my husband. Being in a country band. Does anyone else think this is funny? I sure do! For the entire time I've known Travis, he has always hated my country love affair, saying that country music puts him to sleep. But hey, when opportunity calls then you answer, right? So he's been having fun going to practices, and they're having their first gig on Memorial Day weekend at a lodge up north from here.

Of course that means that they needed to take publicity photos, right? Of course! Actually they'll be playing at the local fair this summer and the fair people wanted a photo to put in ads. So that makes a little more sense. Since they did this on a Sunday afternoon, I decided to go along and meet everyone. The lead singer also happens to have a bunch of horses and we were going to his house - bonus!

Lead singer's wife was actually doing the photographing, but I figured I'd bring my camera along to take a few for our own personal use. I got a bunch of shots, but it was so bright and sunny that a lot of them were washed out or just poor lighting. Here's a favorite with decent lighting:
And a great blackmail photo if ever I need one:
I have no idea why they were making smoochy faces at each other, but this is hilarious! That's Sonny with Travis, he works with us as well. He can be quite a ham!

The idea was to take pictures of them by the waterfall that we went to, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately not many of those came out, but here's the waterfall.
It's hard to see, but there is a big one in the back left that is original. The falls on the right were created by a log dam.
And here's me in front of them! It was quite windy, and this was after traipsing all over the area to get good shots. I was a little pooped at this point!

In other news, today is Trav's 27th birthday! I can't believe he's that old, considering we met when we were 20! (I know 27 is not old, just go with it) It feels like just yesterday we were celebrating birthdays in the typical college style - a la a cheap dinner and too much booze! Instead we BBQ'd and had his family over. Tonight we're just going out for dinner. Here's Trav with his new video camera for lots of baby videos!
Thanks Mom and Dad!

So that's all the fun and exciting stuff we've been up to lately. I leave you with my 30 week bump picture. Only 10 weeks left!