The move

We're going back a couple weeks to recap (in photos) our move from MN to ND.

Day 1: Grandpa Steve took the train from Minot to St Paul, arrived at 7am. Turns out he couldn't sleep very well so by the time we made it back to our house, he was beat. But he stayed awake just long enough to feed Gus and rock him to sleep while I packed some more boxes.


The best part of the weekend was the surprise arrival of Steph! She was a life saver the whole weekend. We are so happy she was here, it wouldn't have been the same (or as easy) without her. Neighbor Dave made this pic, too.

Gus was impressed with the UHaul.

One last family pic at 2006.

Peace out Stahlke Way.

And when we arrived in Fargo, Grandma Debi was waiting for us in the driveway of our new home! She almost fell over when she saw Steph jump out of the car. Steph has surprised all of us like a million times and it never gets old seeing everyone's reaction.

Merry Maids

Manpower
We took a dinner break at the Mexican Village. Muy Bueno.

There was a jumper emergency but the repairmen were all over it.

When we put his Tigger hat on he feels like he gets more spring. He almost jumped out of Steph's arms.

Practicing walking with Aunt Christy (now our neighbor).

He wanted some cake!

A b-day pic with Grandma Debi.

And the view from the back. It really doesn't take that much to get him to smile but maybe it was for Grandma Debi, too.

Our first pic in our new home and city.

Waking up on his first day in Fargo and trying on Grandma Debi's glasses. He was thinking, 'where the heck am I anyway?'

Grilling with his dad.

Days go by faster in ND

It seems as if time flies by extra fast in ND and one way you can tell is by our lack of blog entries over the past 2 weeks. Or maybe that is just due to the fact that we've both returned to work and we are still trying to unpack in the midst of yard work, hooking up utilities, a road trip to Minot, and daycare hunting. Whatever the reason is, the blog entries will become more frequent as we continue to settle into our new home and jobs.

One thing is for certain, we like it here so far. Ross' job is going good as of day #2 and I feel like I'm starting to catch on in day #9 of my job. We are especially happy this week because Grandma Vickie is in town watching Gus during the day while we are both at work. She barely finished up her school year and we were already asking her to come. It's so nice to be closer to family! Next week Gus will start daycare and we know he will do just fine.

Our trip to Minot for the long weekend was great. We saw family, friends, and all of our family and friends' pets, too. It's so nice to be close to home. Thanks to everyone who stopped by or cooked us food and/or treats while we were home. And we can't forget to mention how much we love the drive. It's a piece of cake compared to what we are used to.

I will get the pics off my camera and up here just as soon as I can. You won't even recognize Gus at this point, he's practically walking, so maybe a video is in order just to make up for lost time. On second thought, hold on the video because I'm not sure where the cord to the video camera is packed.

Hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend.

Fargo

We made it! We will have our internet connection on Friday and will update with pics, stories, etc., at that time.

Gus says hi.

So long, neighbor

Our best neighbors, Dar & Dave, invited us over for food and fun before the big move. They have 2 grand kids of their own but act as the neighborhood grandma & grandpa to Gus and a couple other little boys across the street. They are a hoot and we will miss them!


They gave us a very creative gift - a treat bag for the car ride - which included chips, granola bars, waters, M&M's, and baby crackers for Gus. He's got a couple months before he can dig into these but he was happy just playing with the box for now.

Stand in the place where you live

On the verge of his 6-month birthday, Gus is proud to say he can stand on his own....with the help of the coffee table.

Adventures in packing

We've been packing like maniacs this week! The closets and rooms are looking bare and the garage is getting close to max capacity. I'm predicting a lapse in postings so until then, Gus says peace to his peeps.

Oh, and a late Happy Mother's Day to all the moms we know. Now I understand why it is a holiday! Motherhood is a wonderful thing.

Don't worry, I will replace this UHaul shot with an actual picture of Ross behind the wheel of this monster. I can't wait to see him rolling down I94.

Never thought we'd attend our own going away party

Saturday night was both happy and sad.

Our good friends Mike and Michelle hosted a going-away party for us and it felt just like a regular old delicious dinner party like we usually have at their place until we opened a couple cards and shed a few tears. We are actually moving!

The party was just perfect. Good food, good friends, and a very creative cake. Mike & Michelle decorated it themselves. It is great.

We've been spending weekends together for over 10 years. I had to snap this photo because it illustrates just how much things have changed in the past 10 years.

Now instead of wine glasses & cheese trays, Michelle has fruit snacks on hand.

Here's Gus with his new buddy, Grady. Grady is the adorable baby son of our friends Brian & Erica. He is 1 month older than Gus so he was giving him a lesson on how to sit up.

Gus thought he was super cool.

Holly, Gus and Tara.

Mike, Michelle & Gus. Thank you for the delicious party! We will be back soon (3 hours isn't that far away).

Check out the chair

I swung through the baby section of IKEA yesterday and found this sharp looking high chair for Gus. He loves it! Here he is posing all proper.


Even if he's not eating he enjoys sitting up to the table with us when we eat. We load the tray up with toys and he's happy.

Today was a busy packing day. We cleaned out the storage space under the stairs - only like 5 more rooms to go!

Not your typical Friday

Today wasn't our average Friday but we were happy because it was WWAAYY more exciting than it usually is.

First we headed downtown to visit Ross at his office. I can't believe he will only be making the monster commute down there and back for 1 more week! Gus loved his office and his co-workers, too.

We weren't sure if he liked the fast elevator ride or not but on second glance, he appears to be smiling in this shot so it must not have bothered him. He really liked all the nice ladies who told him he was sooo cute and paid tons of attention to him.

He could have sat and watched the hustle bustle of downtown all day. He was impressed that the trucks and cars were driving underneath us.

After seeing Ross's office and spending some time people watching, we headed to the Target Casting Call. He was a little nervous but once he saw his agent he was fine. Here they are discussing strategy.

And here he is with his legal counsel. Everyone was out today! It was good to see Bjorn, especially all dressed up in a tie. Hey isn't it casual Friday? Just joking Bjorn. You look sharp. Thank you for walking down to say hello.

He had butterflies in his tummy as we approached the door.


I think he was a little intimated at first by the kids who could walk. I told him they were in a different age division so he shouldn't worry but he kept staring at them anyway.

Sporting his Target guest pass and getting his focus in the director's chair.

When they called his name we had to strip him down to his diaper. Now would have been a good time to have him in a Target brand diapie. Shoot.

Here we are walking out of the studio after the shoot. Nothing to it! Luckily he has had his picture taken plenty of times over the past 6 months so to him, this was just another day with his mom. He loved it! He even sat up on his own for at least 15 seconds and had only one wipe out (I caught him before he fully tipped over so he wasn't embarrassed).

After we got him dressed he was all pumped up and wanted to do it again!

He was pleased with this session so the post-shoot conversation with his agent, Brett, was short. A quick handshake and we were on our way.

We love Target. Who doesn't?

One last glimpse of this cool city. Take it all in, Gus, because Fargo's skyway system isn't quite the same!

Birthday today

Happy B-Day Grandpa Dave! Nice hat.

Gus' agent

After tomorrow you might have to call Gus' agent if you want to pencil in some time with him.

Yep, it's true - his agent is cousin Brett who works very hard at his sweet job at Target. It just so happens they recently put out a call for infants to be photographed and appear on some of Target's new baby products. Brett emailed me and said 'why not give Gus a shot at it?'. I thought it sounded like fun so I sent a couple photos to Brett who submitted them to the proper folks. Low & behold....yesterday we got the email. Gus has been invited to the casting call!

Friday morning we will rise early, have a healthy breakfast, comb his hair real nice, and head downtown for the photo shoot. He's pretty pumped up and has already completed the required questionnaire which included the following: Clothing size, diaper size, weight, and nap time. Ahh, gotta love it.

Thank you, cousin Brett! This will be so fun. Stay tuned to see how it goes.