8 things

After reading my sister's blog entry I found out that due to previous mentions that I have received on her blog, it is my blogger responsibility to post 8 things about myself that people might not otherwise know. Apparently this is common practice in the world of blogging. I have lots to learn, but here I go:

1. When I was in high school, I taught CCD at St Anne's Church.
2. During my second year of college, I got my tongue pierced! Gross, I know. The ring fell out a couple years later and I accidentally swallowed it!
3. The best job I ever had was answering the phone at Target. It was super low stress and I met lots of fun and strange people at the fitting room!
4. My all time favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz.
5. I check my curling iron at least 5 times before I leave the house everyday.
6. I was deathly afraid of childbirth until the day I had my son. I didn't even like to talk about it or read about it. I had to look away several times during our childbirth class. I now think that having my son was the bravest thing I ever did.
7. My husband and I are five years apart. That means I was in 7th grade when he graduated high school. Creepy!! :)
8. My sister is my hero and my best friend. She's the one of the strongest and most generous people I know. I try to be more like her everyday.

This was kinda fun! Thanks, Leah!

And so ends the strike!

After four long days, Ben's terms have been met and his nursing strike is over! I am so happy! It's so much easier to nurse him in the morning than listen to him cry while I get a bottle ready. Aside from that it requires way less dish-washing, which I am sure Mike is grateful for! I sure wish I knew what caused the strike? I guess we'll never know. It must be an early Christmas present for me. Thanks Ben!

Nursing Strike- Day 3

Ben decided on Wednesday night that he no longer wants to nurse. We think it's because his front teeth are coming in and that must make it uncomfortable, but it sure is annoying! I have researched "nursing strikes" in my mommy books and from everything I have read, there are three main causes.
1. Teething pain
2. Congestion (which may include ear involvment)
3. Baby is distracted
It is also worth noting that he did get his first cold last week, so it could potentially be congestion. Who knows! I just hope that he goes back to nursing very soon! I have put in so much time over the last year with my commitment to breastfeed for one year. I hope that he gives me the chance to finish it out! Oh, and if you're wondering, he is taking milk from a bottle right now. I think my mom was worried that we were starving him. :) He will take expressed milk from a bottle, so you can just call me Bessie for the next week or two, because I will pretty much be hooked up to my pump 24/7!

Poor Baby!

My poor baby got his first cold over the weekend! He started coughing on Thursday night and has pretty much gone downhill since then. He went from a throat clearing little baby cough a few days ago, to sounding like he smokes a pack a day this morning. I feel so bad for him because there really isn't anything I can do besides a humidifier and some saline spray. Luckily, he's the most easy going baby EVER. Besides the coughing and drippy nose, you wouldn't even know he's sick. He's been sleeping like a champ and still manages to smile all the time. Nothing is worse than watching your child suffer through sickness and being completely helpless! Today we're going to go to the walk-in clinic, just to be on the safe side. Hopefully my little bug-the-boo feels better soon!

We call him "Fang"

Please don't be alarmed by the photo! We are not torturing our child! We only wanted to get a picture of two of his latest developments. Eye teeth. Most children get the two bottom front teeth followed by the top two. We like to think that Ben is special. He got the two bottom front teeth very typically at six months in August. Then, a couple weeks ago, we noticed bumps where the eye teeth are. He was pretty crabby for a couple days, and shortly thereafter, his fangs appeared. I think that it's payback for me. Why you may ask? When my sister was a wee baby, she also got eye teeth first and when we were kids I relentlessly mocked her baby pictures and said that babies with eye teeth looked weird. I am now, of course, a convert. I now believe these babies to be extremely gifted and beautiful.

And life will never be the same

Ben started crawling on Sunday, November 2nd. I knew things would be different with a crawler in the house, but I didn't realize how different! Of course, at this point, we still think it's cute and are impressed with his new talents. Give us a week or two to realize the full impact. Until then check out this super cute video of him crawling to me.

Hard to say good-bye

I went to Madison this week for my Cancer Information Service Staff Retreat at the University of Wisconsin. Normally, we have two of these retreats every year and I always enjoy getting together with my colleagues from across the region. This retreat was no exception for the laughter, ideas and good times that we shared. This time was even nicer because we stayed at a great little bed and breakfast in Madison called the Arbor House. (It's environmentally friendly and way cool, definitely check it out) We had a great time like we always do, but it was definitely bittersweet. We got word in early October that our program won't be funded beyond the next year, so this was our last time to get together. I have been working with these amazing women for the last three years and saying good-bye to them today was much more difficult than I thought it would be. We have shared not only work with each other, but we have shared our lives. I will miss these incredible women dearly and I know they will all be successful in whatever paths they choose for themselves. They are all destined for great things. Take care, girls!

Happy Halloween!

We celebrated Ben's first Halloween in the traditional way on Friday. We dressed him up to amuse ourselves and then paraded him around town. I must say, my child was the most adorable little chicken I have ever seen. We started the afternoon at my office at a little Halloween party that we put on to show off costumes. Then, we spent a couple hours greeting trick or treaters at our house. After that, we start receiving strange phone calls with 'Cluck Cluck... Bawk Bawk" noises, and I knew that my mom was anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Chicken Little at her house, so we then took Ben on parade to visit his grandparents. Overall, a very fun night! I think that even though he had no idea what was happening, Ben had a good time too!

It's time to grow up Peter Pan

During the last summer my mom and stepdad completed a total remodel of their house. In the process, my mother has been periodically bringing random boxes of my old memorabilia over to my house. Apparently she has better use for her storage space than my old junior high yearbooks or 1985 Holiday Barbie, who knew? I have been dreading this for a long time. Number one, I have no where to put all this stuff, but more importantly, it's kind of one of those signs that you really aren't a kid anymore. I mean, I figured as much. I have a baby of my own, along with a husband, a dog and a mortgage. But still, there's just something about my mom's house that will always have me calling it "home". I will admit, though, that it has been fun going through my old boxes of stuff. A list of my favorite long lost "finds"
1. My nametag from Target (I used to answer the phone there and I loved it!)
2. The veil from my 1st Communion that my grandmother made for me.
3. A scrapbook that my sister made for me one summer when I was gone for a couple weeks at my Grandma's house.
4. A strip of pictures that my sister and I took together in one of those cheesy photo booths.
I hadn't thought about any of these items for years, but it was like I hadn't even been away from them when I picked them up. I recognized everything immediately. The pictures of my sister and I were particularly heart warming to me. I remember the exact day and where we took the pictures. It was the summer of 1993 and we brought my sister to Iowa City for her first semester of college and we were at the mall. This was during a time when my sister still didn't want to admit that we were related, so I was thrilled when she agreed to actually be photographed with me. We tore the strip in half when we were done and each kept half. Although it's hard to be reminded that just like everyone else I, too, am getting older, it really is fun to be taken back every once in a while.

My failure as a Godparent....

This morning my sister had some interesting news for me about my nephew, Will. Apparently he asked her last night if he could look through a toy catalog to pick out all the things he wants for SANTA'S BIRTHDAY. If my memory serves me correctly, I think that holiday falls somewhere around Jesus' birthday and New Year's Day. I would have to check with Will for the exact date. It is yet another example of my failure as a Godmother. Last year, Mike and I bought him a Noah's ark "Little People" set. He thought it was Santa. On a boat. With a zoo. What a poor confused little being. He's getting a Bible for Christmas. And we're going to church everyday.

So much to say....

It's been quite a while since I updated and a lot has been going on! With the school year back in full swing, things have definitely picked up at the House of Gilbertson. Mike started his 8th year of teaching at Bismarck High School! I can't believe it's been that long! Those of you that know him, also know that he is perpetually busy. Check out this article in the Bismarck Tribune for info on his latest project; contributing to the creation of a textbook about North Dakota history. Aside from that he also continues to serve on the Bismarck Park Board and has recently started a leadership position at the Bismarck Elks.... There's more to write on him, but that's all I can fit for now.

Benjamin is clearly following in his father's footsteps and is also a very busy little man. Some new developments in the last few months include solid foods, which you can see he clearly likes from his picture, rocking on his hands and knees (almost crawling) and starting daycare. He is doing so well at daycare! His daycare companion, Zachary, has taken such a liking to "Baby Ben" that he cries on days when Ben stays home! I am so happy that we have somewhere to bring Ben where we don't have to worry about him!

As for me, my life consists of working, hanging out with my boys and grad school. Though, I did spend the last weekend at Maplelag scrapbooking with my sister and her in-laws. It was so beautiful and peaceful. You'd think after two days of scrapping that I would be done with my book, but alas, I am a slowpoke! We are looking forward to attending Jamestown College's Homecoming this weekend. Mike is celebrating 10 years since his graduation and will be singing in the choir reunion concert. I haven't been to homecoming before, so I am looking forward to hearing some fun stories about my husband from his younger years. Happy Fall!

Happy Anniversary, Russ and Jane!

Tonight we had a party for my in-laws who are celebrating their 40th Wedding Anniversary on August 31st. The party was a huge success, and we didn't even end up with that much left over food! Nowadays it seems like people put a lot more thought into their weddings, than they do their marriages. Russ and Jane are such a shining example to me of what it takes to be married to one person for 40 years. They are committed, loyal, loving and devoted. I think everyone could learn something from this happily married couple! Congrats on 40 years, Russ and Jane, and here's to the next 40! We love you!

Bink Link

The days of a pacifier dropped on the floor are over at our house! I looked for weeks for a cute clip to attach Ben's pacifier to his clothes. I bought one at Target but it was too big and I didn't like it. My sister knew about my plight and found me this super cute "Bink Link" at a baby boutique in Minneapolis. They are so cute! Check them out. http://www.binklink.com/

Ben is photographed... yet again!

We took a trip to Minneapolis in June to visit my sister and family and Mike's brother and family. While we were there, a friend of Mike's from high school offered to take some pictures of Ben and his cousins. Like any good parents who can't get enough photographs of their children, we happily accepted his offer. He got so many great shots of Ben! I had a hard time deciding which ones to post. Here are a couple of my favorites. The family photo in my profile is also from this shoot. A BIG thank you to Jason Wermager for capturing such great photographs of the kids! Check out his website at http://www.jshots.net/

Our vacation and Ben updates

The last week has been busy for us, but in a good way. We spent 4 days with my family at East Silent Resort, near Pelican Rapids, MN. I didn't realize how much I needed a vacation until I actually got there! It was 4 days of complete fun and relaxation. We spent our days napping with Ben, sitting on the beach and cruising the lake on a pontoon. Ben wasn't crazy about his life jacket, but with a safety freak of a mom, there was no other option. He also got his first dip in the lake and wasn't very happy about it. In typical Ben fashion, he didn't get too worked up about it, but he wrinkled his nose enough to let us know that he didn't like it. He's such a laid back little guy. Speaking of Ben, he turned 6 months old this week. I can't believe it's been half a year since the day he was born. Everyone told me it would, but I still can't believe how fast it's all gone by. Turning 6 months old also means that he can no longer come to work with me. He had a cute little going away party at my office on Wednesday. Having him at work with me was such an amazing experience and gave me time with him that I could never get back. I couldn't be anymore thankful for the extra time that I was allowed with him. I have posted a couple pictures. One of Ben saying thank you to my co-workers for letting him be part of our office, and one of our family on the dock in front of Zorbaz at Little Pine Lake. We only ate there three times! What a great way to wrap up our summer!

It's about blogging time....

About a year ago, my sister told me how much bloggers annoy her. "Why would anyone want to read about the life of a stranger?" she wondered. Due to the unexpected writer's strike in the early months of 2008 she began reading several blogs, in an effort to replace "good" tv. She now believes that she was misguided in her ways, and really didn't understand the art of the blog. In the words of her husband, "she's a total bloggie." She finally decided to start her own blog a couple of months ago and encouraged me to do the same. After some consideration, I figured, why not? It will be great way for me to capture things that happen to my family from day to day. So here it is! My first entry! I was really hoping for something groundbreaking to write about this week, but I don't think that's going to happen. It was a pretty run of the mill week at the House of Gilbertson. Work, eat, sleep, repeat and pray that the weekend comes quickly. The only thing out of the ordinary was that we had an extra dog at our house. I was bound and determined to not watch my mom's dog Hugo this week while they were on vacation, (let's just say he has a little bit of a "going" problem) so they made reservations for him at a kennel. On Sunday when it was time to bring him to the kennel, I couldn't do it. I asked Mike if Hugo could stay for one more day. We both agreed, that would be okay. So then Monday rolls around and it's time to bring Hugo to the kennel. Today is Friday and Hugo is still at my house. I'm such a sucker.