Snow Day

This is our 3rd day home bound. Not only due to the snow and our neighborhood roads being covered in it, but the baby and I are both sick. Joe hasn't gotten it yet, thank goodness.



Today, this is what the men of the house did:


As long as the popcorn was flowing, Gus loved the movie. Otherwise he played while Joe watched "Cars".

Breakfast for Beginners

He has learned to feed himself oatmeal, with a spoon, and only gets moderately messy.

He also points at the computer saying, "Buh, Buh, Buh, Buh" and would watch this all day if we let him..... The B Song

A room with a view

It may not be the ocean/lake/river/any water view we someday would love to have, but maybe the next best thing.

The back side of our house faces a wonderful green belt/forest area, right in the middle of the city, (sort of).

This is the view from our kitchen window, master bedroom/bathroom, and the 2 downstairs bedrooms.

Sometimes it feels like we live in a tree house.

More pictures and a tour to come.

Not a baby anymore - Merry Christmas

It's finally happening. I think Gus is growing up. Not only did he start walking on Christmas Day, he also started signing 'more', 'eat', and 'please'. We have been working on this for awhile, but it all happened in the same week. He just seems so grown up all of a sudden!

Also, he got quite the haul this Christmas. We had wanted to make the "3 presents rule", that a few families we know do, but when we went to do our shopping..... well, maybe we will do it next year.

It's a good thing we just moved into this huge ol' house, because the toys need their own bedroom.
Sippy cup in the stocking should have come with water. He was a little upset it was empty.

Our mantel, without a mantel..... My favorite picture, even more wonderful at Christmastime.
I am not one for little nick-knack things, but Gus loved all those little things on the fire place, so that is where they stayed.

A mini-sized man on his own personal couch from Gramma and Grampa.

The non-toys are often more fun. He loved throwing himself onto the plastic trash bag fill of wrapping paper.

Super cool tractor and trailer.

Super cool new play hut

Playing at Nanny and Papas on Christmas Day, where he officially started walking.

Uncle Dan is so funny.

Future profession, and a birthday

Perhaps he will be a baker, someday? He now knows how to frost a cake.

Happy Birthday, Joe! We love you so much!

Gus Chronicles -- 13-14 MONTHS!

Gus, you are such a fun little man. You have a great little personality that is growing every day. You laugh at anything we do, smile if anyone pulls out a camera and you say "cheese", you get grumpy if you are tried or hungry (who doesn't!), and are a great sleeper.


In the past 2 months, here is what has been going on.

You have 12 teeth now. 4 molars have come in, 2 on top, 2 on bottom. You handled it very nicely, were a little cranky, but over all, the same good little fellow.

Meat is your favorite food. All meat is eaten before a veggie is even touched. You have trouble feeding yourself veggies (you don't like them), so we still give you a lot of pureed veggies and you don't seem to mind those at all.



You are so tall, not sure how tall (we will find out next month), and seem to be very muscular. You don't have any chub on you, but are SOLID. You have this thick barrel chest and a very sturdy core.

Walking? not on your own yet, but you cruise all over the house with your walker, or tractor, from couch to chair to toy to table. You stand on your own for long periods of time, but haven't made those 1st steps on your own yet. Take your time, baby!


Any and all music is your favorite. When you hear just a few notes of a song, you start to bop and shake your head and body to dance.

Wearing mostly 24 month clothes, a few 18 month still. Still in size 5 diapers.

I have a cold and have been blowing my nose a lot. You now pick up things that look like tissue and pretend to blow. You also make the noise along with it. Good boy!

You (still) like to play with anything that is long and in the shape of a stick. Towel racks, toilet paper rolls, paper towel roles, curtain rods, Q-tips.

I love to watch you sit and flip through a book on your own. You talk to the pages, point to the pages, turn them one at a time ..... I hope you love reading as you grow up.

We are so glad to be your parents!

Things have been busy ...

... to say the least.

We haven't been around here much, and just so I don't forget what things were like at this moment, here are a few notes.

Joe is still is grad school. We are used to that busy.

I recently became certified to teach the Creighton Model System of Fertility Care. More on this later, but if you want to learn a great natural way to monitor your fertility, let me know!

Gus is wonderful, hit the one year mark and learns something new every day. He is such a joy and keeps us always smiling.

We bought a house. It needed a few things done before we moved in, and a few things turned into a few more things ..... we are still at my parents house (which has been wonderful), but are excited to get in to our new house and make it our home! Everything has been painted, carpets are clean, there is almost all new plumbing in the bathrooms and kitchen, floors have been redone or are in the process of being, kitchen cabinets are painted and clean ..... all the wall paper has been removed (that was a horrible process), and we are on our way to living there! We are moving everything from storage to the garage this weekend and then start to get settled!

We are in a parenting class every Monday night. Love and Logic. I plan on writing a whole post about it. I would say over all, it is mostly good. One of the main presenters (it is a video series with a moderator) is so awkward that it is hard to listen to and take seriously. More on that later.

Still doing the youth ministry thing at St. Pats and its going well.

Not sure if we will set up a Christmas tree this year with all the moving, but I just might cave and do it on the 24th? That's how people used to do it right?

I have a feeling Advent is quickly passing me by. It is already the 2nd week? Maybe I will finish strong....

That's all for now!