Monday, November 22, 2010

Stress Test

We passed!

And the truth be told, the past 2 weeks weren't overly stressful, they were fun. OK, fun and exhausting. Within 10 days, we closed on a new house, moved, painted, cleaned, celebrated Gus' 3rd b-day, my 33rd b-day, Nora's 3-mo b-day (does that count?), did both kids' doc check ups, and I started back to work which means Nora had her first few days at daycare. I don't think we'll try to pack that much into a 10-day period again for quite awhile.

It was a whirlwind, but we cannot complain. We love our new home, and we are very grateful that we had our families in town to share in the excitement with us. They helped paint, clean, entertain kids, fix stuff, lift heavy objects, etc. You name it, they did it. THANK YOU!

So here's your invitation: swing by or stay if you make a pit stop in Fargo. Nora wants to smile at you, so come on over.

I love this stage, the smiley-baby stage. All you need to do is glance in her direction and she grins from ear to ear.

The big 0-3!






Monday, November 8, 2010

That deserves a medal

Nora slept from 11pm last night 'til 6:20am this morning. It's never too soon to start rewarding good behavior, right?


Please don't let this be a fluke. Please.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Typical second child

No, I'm not taking as many photos of Nora as I did of Gus. But I'm still taking them.

A Minnesota Halloween

We spent Halloween in Minneapolis again this year. We couldn't miss our god-daughter, Gabby's 2nd b-day party! It was a Halloween-themed party, which was an absolute hit for the kids.

Gabby took a swing at her pinata.


So did Gus. But neither of them were strong enough to unleash the candy. Michelle finally resorted to attacking the thing with a scissors, and then ripping it to let the candy loose. Those things are tough to crack!

Happy 2nd birthday, Gabrielle Marie!


And so we've come to one of my favorite photos of 2010. In between the birthday party and trick or treating, Michelle turned on a movie in Gab's playroom. Gus said he 'didn't want to take a nap', so I told him, 'fine, you just need to rest'. About 20 minutes into the movie, I checked on my spidey:

After their naps, they were ready to hit the streets.

You ready? Yep. You ready? Yesss. Let's DO this!


Gabby was Minnie Mouse.

They did pretty good!

Thank you, Goins, for hosting us and for a fun b-day. Gus loved every second of our visit.

West Coast, Represent!

Uncle Chad was in town last week, visiting us all the way from his warm home in sunny LA. Gus loved playing with him and did his best to wear him out.

He also enjoyed spending another weekend with his Gma and Gpa Vickie and Dave. And Nora just hung out, as usual, and didn't say much. She's a good girl!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Proper Halloween prep

It was bound to happen. Whether it was this year, next year, or in 2012, Gus was going to be Spider-man for Halloween.

We went to a Zoo event to give him some trick-or-treating practice before the actual Halloween weekend.

The rules were pretty simple: take 1 piece of candy from each animal.

The best part of our quick trip was when Gus won the prize for the best Spider-man costume of the day.

Feel the power, Spidey! But don't flex too hard, ouch, watch the wedgie. Guess he will not be wearing this costume again next year.
The next day we went to yet another Halloween prep event. This time it was at NDSU. Aunt Christy and Cousin Will met us there.



Will is a horse. Adorable. Although he couldn't play the games, he could get his face painted.


After all this practice we should be good and ready for Halloween next weekend.

20 years ago

Did we see this coming? That we'd meet up at the Fargo, ND Holiday Inn so our kids could swim? Maybe not, but I like it.

Lindy and I have been friends since way back in 4th grade. That makes it over 20 years, wow. It was great to catch up with not only Lindy and her 2 boys (Gabe and Andrew), but the whole Schaefer crew! Thank you for the invite, it was great!

Lindy with Nora

Kristi with Nora
Sydney (Kristi & Eric's daughter, 8), Gus, and Gabe (3 1/2).

The Holiday Inn is the best, as far as Gus is concerned!


Thanks again, Lindy, Kristi, Gary, and DiAnn!