Buddy the Elf here....

In between all the hustle and bustle that comes before Christmas, I sometimes need a reminder of why I love the holiday season. Last night, I got one of those reminders. We took Ben to see Santa and I experienced the true joy and magic of Christmas through his eyes. What I expected to see was a terrified little boy who I would have to bribe with candy. What I saw was a little boy truly overtaken with joy. I described it to my sister by saying that Ben reacted to Santa much like Buddy the Elf. He turned around and looked at me with this look on his face that said "I can't believe it's really him! Mom and Dad, do you know who that is?!?!" It was just a couple minutes but it was exactly what I needed to give me the energy to finish my Christmas preparations.

San Dee-ah-go (Cruise Part 1)

Although it was over two months ago now, I figured I still better create a post (or two) dedicated to our cruise, so here goes. In mid-October we cruised from San Diego to Cabo San Lucas with our friends Erin and Chad. Although we ended up having a GREAT time, things did start out a little rocky. The first thing that went wrong was that Ben was sick the whole week leading up to our departure, so we were scared to leave him while he was sick. So two days before the cruise we ended up at the walk in clinic having his ears checked. Immediately after setting foot in the waiting room, we reconsidered our decision. The place was like a petri dish for the flu. The room was backed to the brim with people coughing and sneezing. We were sure that if he weren't sick before we got there, he would be after we left. After nearly two hours of chasing him around trying to make sure he didn't touch anything, we ended up learning that he had an ear infection and would likely be okay if we went on our cruise anyway. Crisis #1 averted. Saturday, which is departure day finally rolls around! We are all packed and ready to go, dropping Ben off at my in-laws house and my mom calls and asks if we have noticed that there is a category 5 hurricane headed straight for Cabo. Being the calm and rational person that I am, I immediately thought to myself, we are cancelling this trip! Luckily my husband was able to talk me off the ledge and we decided to fly down to San Diego and see what happens. We did some research online and figured out that they would just reroute our cruise if a monster storm were to hit Cabo. We head to the airport where we met up with Erin and Chad. They were flying United Airlines and we were on Northwest, so we said good bye to them and told them we would meet them in San Diego that night for dinner. Wrong. Crisis #3 reared its ugly head. Our plane had two failed landing attempts in the dense fog of San Diego before our flight was diverted to LAX. I was so nervous to land after the two failed landing attempts that when we finally did land in LA, I immediately ran to a coffee shop, purchased an enormous bear claw and ate the whole thing sitting on the curb waiting for our charter bus. I am sort of an emotional eater. So we finally arrive in San Diego via bus at about 11pm. I was sure at this point that the trip was doomed. Our friends Troy and Kim had driven in from Phoenix to spend a couple days with us in San Diego before we left on the boat. They were still able to pick us up at the airport, so we went out for a drink and some food to try to salvage the evening. (Erin and Chad had arrived hours earlier, and were already enjoying Papa Doug's hospitality at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. More about Papa Doug later.) After a very late dinner with Troy and Kim, we went back to the hotel and crashed. The next day things started to look up. We decided to hit up the famous San Diego zoo to see what all the hype was about. It was just as good as we had hoped it would be. Though we encounted a man who wanted to share way too much information about hippo poop and a woman who was a little too interested in the breastfeeding gorilla, we had a blast. The animals were amazing and the cookies weren't bad either.

So, after a long day walking around the zoo, we headed back to Papa Doug's place also known as our hotel. Okay, so here's the story with Papa Doug. We found our hotel on Priceline.com for REALLY cheap, but we didn't really know anything about it when we booked. The lobby was extremely impressive and overall, we had a great experience there. However, we did have one complaint. The owner of the hotel's name is Doug Manchester and he has pictures of himself ALL OVER the lobby. Literally, you couldn't walk a foot without seeing a photo of him. And they weren't just normal pictures. He had photos of him with Governor Schwarzenegger, Donald Rumsfeld, Mitt Romney, etc. etc. He also had pics of a helicopter crash that he survived among other things. This in and of itself wouldn't have bothered me so much, except that in the caption under each picture, he had them labeled "Papa Doug and the Governor" and "Papa Doug with the Defense Secretary". It was just a little creepy and self absorbed for me. So the rest of the weekend, the Papa Doug jokes were flowing quite freely.

Alright, so back to the actual trip. In addition to the zoo, we also ate some great meals at the San Diego Fish Market and The Broken Yolk. Monday was departure day and we had some time to kill so we decided to tour the USS Midway aircraft carrier. It was pretty cool, but I think Mike was more impressed with it than I was.

So we finished up our tour, spend one final attempt convincing Chad that there were no pirates near Cabo and boarded the ship. That's all I can tell you in one sitting. More to come on the actual cruise portion later.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

My life with an almost 2 year old

Just when I think life with Ben couldn't get any crazier, he proves me wrong. It's crazy enough that he runs non-stop from sunrise to sunset, but the shenanigans that he pulls in between never cease to amaze me. For example, last weekend while Mike was deer hunting in Crosby he pulled a few of his tricks. Night number two without Dad at home, we were going through our normal bathtime routine and he was really enjoying himself playing with toys and splashing in the water. I decided I should let him splash around for a while longer so I sat down next to the tub and started reading a book. I look up when I see him throwing something overboard. It took a second, but it suddenly clicked: He's throwing poop at me, isn't he? Five seconds later, there is poop everywhere. On the floor, on the side of the vanity, on the toilet, on the walls, etc. He then decides he is scared of the few floaters he has left in the tub and begins to panic and trying to climb out of the tub. Once I got him out and got everything cleaned up, I did start to see the humor in the situation. Good story for the baby book, right?

So then I figure that's the worst thing he'll do this week, right? WRONG! I am in a grad school program right now through UND. I take my classes every Tuesday night online. The classes are interactive, sorta like Skype. So tonight I was in my virtual classroom and my mom stopped by. I ran upstairs to see her for a minute and left my computer on. Ben was playing down here, so I didn't really think anything of leaving him down here. I came down a couple minutes later to get back on and Ben's sitting in front of my computer with the microphone turned on speaking gibberish to my entire class. The tech had to disconnect my computer from the class because they couldn't figure out what was going on. Seriously kid, how embarassing!?!? At least it's another good story for his baby book.

Dear Ben

Dear Ben,

I have spent the last two hours looking through old pictures and realizing how much my life has changed since the day you were born. You are only 21 months old, but I truly don't remember what filled my heart and my days before you were born.

There are a few things that I thought you should know. First, the day you were born was the best day of my life so far. Hearing your first cry was one of the most precious sounds I have ever know. Second, I hope that you learn as much from your dad and I as we have from you. You teach me something new EVERY SINGLE DAY. Third, I will love you every single day for the rest of my life. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.

Love,

Mommy

Dancing like no one is watching

Ben has loved to sway to music since he could move. Every time he starts his dancing, I get the camera out and try to capture it but am never able to. FINALLY I was able to get it on video. He loves the Chipmunks so we put it on and let him do his stuff. I love how uninhibited he is and that he just does what he wants to. I wish that we were all so free. Love you, sweet boy.

Cruel or practical?

I have a lot of catching up to do since it's been over two months since I last blogged. But a very busy two months, so lots to think about. The thing that is on my mind this morning is that Ben finally did it. He liberated himself from the prison that is his crib. I knew this day would come and I have been dreading it. Luckily he landed feet first (we think) though he did give himself a bump on the head and a slight black eye. We have been brainstorming ideas of what to do next, because I feel like I am not ready for him to be in a bed yet, and I don't think he is either. Mike was pretty upset by the incident so he is ready to convert the crib to a bed immediately. My sister suggested a net, which brings me to my point. Is this cruel or just being safe?

I can't decide. I am also not sure how it would go over with Mr. Benjamin.... We might just go with a bed rail and spend many nights returning him to his bed.

Wow....

I just took a look at my sister's blog, which she updates so beautifully, even changing her backgrounds frequently and realized that I haven't blogged in a month! I do have an excuse, or several of them.

1. We went on vacation for five days.

2. Work has been super busy!

3. School started for me again. (And Mike, which means daycare for Ben)

4. I went to Atlanta for 4 days for work.

I truly don't know what happened to August. We started out the month with a baptism for our new godson. As a parent, I am not going to put his picture on the internet without them knowing, but I did want to mention the baptism and how special we think it is that they trust us with this very important responsibility for their child. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends, who have such sweet children!

Then a week into August, we packed up the car and headed to East Silent Resort in Minnesota for the Hjelseth/LaQua/Gilbertson family vacation. We had the most relaxing and enjoyable time! It is such a great family resort and we even met some people from Bismarck in the next cabin. Here is a summary of the weeks events:

Swimming:

Playing:

Boating:

Turtle Races:

Zorbaz:

Picture taking:

Drinking:

(Haha, don't worry! It wasn't open! But the adults did enjoy some drinks.)

And as if that weren't enough, we spent the rest of our time napping, updating our facebook statuses to let our friends know how awesome vacation was treating us (Mike, Nick and Nate also spent a great deal of time maintaining their facebook farms in the evenings), playing Wii, participating in resort activities and just enjoying each other's company. Such a great time!

We had such a great time that we were sad the whole day when we had to come home. After we came back to reality, it was back to work for me and back to the daily grind of being a stay at home dad for Mike. I think he has a whole new respect for people who stay at home full time, by the way. Staying home with a one year old for almost three months has been a bit of a challenge.

The rest of August was spent at Mike's parents house in Pick City enjoying Lake Sakakawea, at the zoo, at the park, at the pool and just trying to take in as much summer as we possibly could.
As of last week, it's back to life as normal. Mike is back at school and Ben is back at daycare. We say this every year, but this summer went by so quickly!! I am trying to soak in as many of the sun's rays as I can to get me through the long North Dakota winter. Phew, that was a lot for one post.

Time

Every time I look at Ben I am reminded how quickly time passes and it makes me think about how slowly I thought time passed when I was a kid. I think about it even more when things like my ten year high school reunion creep up on me. It has now been almost ten years since I started college! I also met Mike almost nine years ago, which seems so strange to me. I was only 19 years old! Other noteable milestones that have crossed my mind recently:

- My sister and Nate have been married for 10 years next month!
- Mike and I have been together for 7 years this fall, and married 5 at the end of this year
- My brother will be 16 this year and I still remember the day he was born
- I have known my best friend Margaret since we were 5, so this year will be 24 years
- We have lived in this house for over three years and it feels like we just bought it
- Our nephew Kade turned 5 this summer and other nephew Will turned 4, I can't believe how quickly they are growing!

Before I know it, Ben is going to be graduating from college and Mike and I will be sitting on the couch calling each other "mother" and "dad" wondering if we have enough money to retire! That's why I always try to remind myself not to wish my life away and to try to enjoy every minute with Ben while he's small. There's a Darius Rucker song that I hear on the radio every once in a while on the radio called "It won't be like this for long" and the words always make me cry. Check out the video and you'll cry too.

Summer Observations

I keep thinking of random thoughts that I don't have time to write entire blog posts about, but are worth mentioning:

- I have finished summer school and got an A in my class!
- Ben's Cozy Coupe was named the best selling car in America by USA Today
- Next year, I am just going to buy my nephew Will a birthday gift. I gave him too much freedom this year in selecting his own gift at Target. We were there for nearly an hour.
- We have rebooked our cruise (Which was previously scheduled for November, but had to be rescheduled due to conferences at Bismarck High) and we are now going to spend a week in October cruising the Mexican Riviera. I CAN'T WAIT! I don't even care where we go, I am just looking forward to laying in the sun, enjoying good food and drink and SLEEPING IN EVERYDAY!
- I can't go to my 10 year high school reunion due to a previously scheduled vacation. What is most disturbing about this is that I can't believe I have been out of high school for 10 years!
- Mike and I are going to be new Godparents again in August! Some good friends of ours have asked us to be Godparents to their son who was born in April. I feel so honored that they asked! Clearly they don't know our track record with Will.

That's all for now! Happy Summer!

4th of July

This year's 4th of July holiday was spent in the Twin Cities with our families. We had a great weekend! My sister and her husband welcomed their second child in mid June and it was out first time meeting our new nephew. I couldn't wait to meet him! Surely, you can see why.

This is Thomas and we are all so blessed to have another addition to our growing extended family! I love his name. He was named after my mother's family, as her maiden name is Thomas. I think family names are great and I hope he's as proud of it someday as my mom is.

We started out our trip on Thursday with the long drive down to Minneapolis. After several hours in the car Ben could take no more, so we decided to stop for dinner. We drove past a sign for Charlie's Cafe in Freeport, MN and decided to stop. For those of you Public Radio listeners, Freeport is the town that Garrison Keillor modeled Lake Wobegon after. For Mike, it was like visiting his homeland. And the food was really delicious and cheap! It was a great way to start out the trip.

Friday morning, we had pictures of Ben taken by our friend Jason. I intend to post as soon as I get them. We went to a park and Jason took a bunch of shots of Ben just being a kid. I think they're going to turn out cute!

That night we headed to St. Paul with Leah, Nate, Will and Thomas to the Taste of Minnesota. Mike had been planning ALL week for what we were going to eat so he prepared his tickets for purchase right when we got there.

The main event for Mike was a quest for things he sees on the Food Network. So, we ate a Juicy Lucy from the famous Minneapolis 5-8 Club. It was every bit as delicious as we had hoped! In addition to that we had mini doughnuts, corn, a turkey leg, ice cream, a corn dog, grape leaves... Maybe it would be easier to tell you what we DIDN'T eat. But seriously, it was really good. We also gave Ben his first cheese curds! He loved them!

On Saturday, we headed down to Eagan to join Grant and the crew for the 4th of July festivities. We went to the Eagan parade, and the kids had a great time seeing each other. You can tell that Kade and Syd really love Ben, he is after all their only cousin so far. They tend to forget about personal space when he's around, but it's so cute how much they like him!

After the parade, we headed to Grant and Lisa's where the kids had some time in the backyard kiddie pool. They had a great time, after Uncle Grant hauled about 20 buckets full of hot water outside to warm the pool up. What a nice uncle!

After dinner, we headed back to Leah and Nate's house where we lit off a few small fireworks. Will was so funny about the fireworks! He's almost 4, so he's probably hasn't had very much experience with fire, except to know that it isn't safe. And he doesn't like things that aren't safe. Mike handed him a sparkler and he was okay with it. Until Mike lit it, at which point he dropped it on the ground and bolted. I kept asking my sister how I can make Ben as concerned about safety as Will is. I love it!

Sunday morning it was time to head home, but not before having some more awesome food. We went downtown Minneapolis to Key's Cafe and had a great breakfast before hitting the open road. Overall, a great time was had by all!

Is it really July already??

So, um, I am not really sure what happened to June, but I would like at least a week of it back. The last month flew by so quickly! Largely in part to some big events. My sister had a healthy baby boy on June 18th! We are so happy to have a new nephew to love and another cousin for Ben. We are headed to Minneapolis today to meet him and visit other family. His name is Thomas Geoffrey. My mother's maiden name is Thomas and the baby's paternal grandfather is Jeffrey, so he's got a pretty cool family name. Check out my sister's blog for pics of the little guy.

The other exciting thing (Well, I think it's exciting) is that I finished my summer Administrative Ethics class. It was a whirlwind and a lot of work, but I am glad I took my advisors advice and got it done with. I actually really enjoyed the content and learned a few things, not that I wasn't ethical before, but you know what I mean. :)

Mike also finished up a semester of summer school and is enjoying a life of leisure at home. Well, not really, he does have to chase Ben around all day. And these days, you don't get even a moment to rest when Ben is involved. Other than that, it's just been sumer as usual. We finished up some good sized projects in our yard, which now looks great! I actually like going out there and cleaning up flower beds, watering, etc. I have also started saying things like "Oh, what beautiful perennials!" and "Those are gorgeous irises!" when we drive by other people's yards. It's sad and it makes me feel old. Such is life, I guess.

In other news, I (along with the rest of the free world) was shocked and saddened by Michael Jackson's passing last week. I will be the first to admit that he engaged in questionable behaviors with children in his lifetime and many of his comments were crazy at best, but he was such a gifted entertainer! I also believe he lived a very tragic life, right up until the end. In his honor, my favorite Michael song and video. Not a real original choice on my part, but it'll always be one of my favs and it's a classic.

Catching up!

Where have the last four weeks gone? Oh yeah, we have a crazy one year old who never lets us sit down, let alone spend time on the computer! For the most part this is what we spend our time doing since the weather has gotten nice

Ben can't get enough of the outdoors, which is fine with us because we have been spending every spare minute working on our yard. This is the first year I can actually remember really enjoying working in our yard. The first couple years in our house, my mom would help me do a couple flower planters and clean out our flower beds, but she did the bulk of the work and dragged me across the finish line at the end. This year, I have spent lots of afternoons out there as soon as I get home from work. We have cleaned out three flower beds and done lots of new planting. I put in a perennial garden in the front yard and some new bushes in the backyard. I also did several potted annual flowers to put around the house, and a tiny herb garden. It's lots of work, but for some reason, this year I thought it was fun. We still have lots to do, as we plan to replace the rock in all our flower beds. I''ll post a picture when we're all done.

In between all that, Mike finished up another school year and I finished my semester of grad school AND we also had a really fun trip to Minneapolis to visit my sister and her family, and Mike's brother and family. We had a blast. On Saturday morning we went to the Mill City Farmer's Market and ate WAY too much. Then for dinner that night, we checked out the Town Talk Diner, which we saw on the Food Network. It was every bit as delicious as Guy Fieri said it was. After a couple days in NE Minneapolis with my sister, Nate, Will and my mom, we headed south to Rosemount to see Grant and the crew. We went to to the Minnesota Zoo and out for ANOTHER awesome meal with the Minnesota Gilbertsons. (Are you noticing a food theme? We really do have other interests. I swear!) It was a really great trip and I was sad to see it end. Here are some highlights.

Mike and Ben near the water front at the Mill City Famers' Market

Ben taking a bath with Will (My sister calls this the "obligatory bath with your cousin" picture)


The outside of the Town Talk Diner

Ben being scared of the goats at the Minnesota Zoo


After we got home, I had to go back to work on Tuesday while Mike began his first week of summer vacation. I love that he and Ben are spending so much time together this summer, but I will admit that sometimes it's really hard being married to a teacher. I am jealous of his afternoons with Ben and the freedom that 12 weeks off brings. I sometimes see kids in NDSU or UND sweatshirts at Target at night as I am rushing to get diapers and get back home and I think of my best friend and I home from NDSU making Target runs at 9pm, going to Perkins until 2am and sleeping until noon. We totally had it made and we didn't know it!

Even though I have to go to work, I am looking forward to the rest of the summer. We have lots of fun things planned; including the birth of my new nephew (any day now!), a reunion with some college friends in July and a week long vacation with my family in the Detroit Lakes area. Happy Summer!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I can't believe that today is already my second Mother's Day! I had a wonderful day spending time with my two favorite guys. Brunch followed by the best gift of all from Ben, a three hour nap! Then we hit up Starbucks and the grocery store. Nothing too special, but I always cherish our family time together, even if it's just doing ordinary stuff.

When Mike and I got home from visiting both of our moms tonight, I was putting away laundry and I flipped on the TV in our room and the movie The Sound of Music was on. It was funny that it was on today on Mother's Day, because if there is one movie that reminds me of my mom, that's the one. I have seen that movie more times than I can count and it ALWAYS brings back happy memories of being a kid and spending time with my mom. So, in honor of Mother's Day and and my mom, here are the top five things that make me think of my mom:

1. Christmas Music

2. Elvis Presley

3. Instant Cappuccino

4. Les Miserables (The broadway musical and anything to do with it, including book, songs, music, etc.)

5. Frozen corn at dinner- My mom always wants corn with dinner, but usually forgets to make it until the last minute :)

These are just a few of the many things that make my mom special. :) I hope that today and everyday, she knows how great I think she is and what a wonderful example she has been to me of what it means to be a mom. Thanks, Mom! I love you!

Splish, Splash!

Ben and I started swimming lessons at the YMCA in April. The "Beginning Perch" class that we are in has 7 other little fish and their moms and dads. The first time that I brought him there was one of those eerie moments in life where it feels like things are coming full circle. When I was four years old, my parents sent me to daycare at the Y and I still remember getting into that same pool for the first time with two little white bubble floaters strapped to my back and doggy paddling my way around. When I brought Ben there and we walked through the same door I walked through 24 years ago it felt crazy to be taking my own 15 month old son to the same place where I learned to swim. Sometimes, its a pretty cool thing to live in the town where I grew up and have so many memories. For me, there's something so nostalgic about things like that. Someday, I plan to tell Ben all about it while we're driving past the Y and every other place in Bismarck. He'll sigh and say "I know, Mom. You tell me that every time we drive by". At least that how it goes in my head.

So anway, back to Ben's swimming lessons, he didn't take to swimming as well as I had hoped, and was the only "crier" in his class. Luckily, that was nothing that couldn't be fixed by giving him some toys to hold onto while we splashed around in the water. Basically, his "lessons" consist of all the kids just getting used to the water, playing with some toys and then singing some songs together at the end. He's doing much better now. And he sure looks cute in his swimming trunks.

Winter sucks, Vol. 2

Last Monday we had yet ANOTHER blizzard in Bismarck! The only saving grace was that as a result, I got a snow day at home with my two favorite guys. In Bismarck we got over 17 inches and it took Mike over two hours to clear our driveway, even with the snowblower! We just had to take a few pictures of the snow because the drifts in our yard were unbelievable. Our poor dog, Sally, could barely get outside without getting lost in a snowdrift. This is a picture of Mike standing next to the drift in front of our garage. It was almost to his waist! The other picture is of Ben playing. That's what he and I did while Mike was out playing in the snow. I guess there was one other good thing that came from the storm. Mike helped our neighbor clear his driveway and when they were done, they drank Miller Lite in our garage. That's always been a dream of Mike's and the stars finally aligned and it came true! Lots of work outside followed by beer in the garage. Just livin' the dream.

March happenings....

It seems like there isn't a whole going on at our house, but then I look back and time has flown. Mike has been busy as ever with school, Park Board and Elks stuff. Somehow, after over 6 years of being a couple, you would think that I would have figured out that he is perpetually busy. It's good though. As they say, it keeps him out of trouble. I have also been busy. I am still trying to get my head on straight at my new job, keep up with Ben, our house and grad school and then just for fun, I decided to throw the GRE into that mix. For those that aren't familiar with it, the GRE is something that graduate schools use to test your level of commitment to a graduate degree and to torture you. Actually, it's the Graduate Record Examination and it measures analytical, verbal and quanititative skills. I took it this morning and I think I did okay. I did as well as I needed to do, anyway.

Aside from that life is all about keeping up with Ben! I have been thinking a lot about the fact that he is just not a baby anymore. He's turning into a toddler every day right before our eyes. It always blows my mind that there are instances where you can actually SEE him learning something. Being a parent is truly amazing. His latest "tricks" include dumping out drawers in the kitchen (he has graduated from cupboards), drinking his milk quite well from a cup and actually clapping along to several songs that he seems to be familiar with. One of his favorites is "Be Like a Duck" from the Philadelphia Chickens CD, which I highly recommend. It's not as annoying as other children's music, but you don't have the guilt factor of making your children listen to 80's hair bands like I often do. The CD is a music set to many of Sandra Boynton's books, which Ben loves!

In other developments, Ben celebrated his second St. Patrick's Day, which Mom and Dad used to celebrate with green beer, but now we feel lucky just to get to bed early and enjoy 8 hours of uninterrupted snoozing. We did get him a shirt so that we at least felt festive. If you can't read the writing, it says "I got your pot of gold right here." Mike found this shirt to be hilarious, since the "I got your_____ right here" is one of his signature lines. It's so much fun forcing your likes/dislikes on your children who are too young to protest!


Aside from that, our only other big news is the new furniture we ordered for our family room. It should be here in the next couple weeks. It's a small leather sectional for our basement. We also plan to do some serious rearranging in there to make the TV watching experience more enjoyable for everyone! We also plan to host a Wii party when we get things in order. Here's looking forward to that!

My love of office supplies

So, as you may know, I started a new job about a month ago. With a new job, comes a new office and in order to start in a new office, one usually needs new office supplies. I have learned about so many cool new office products from my co-workers and now feel the need to share them with others. The first is Built computer sleeves. I haven't decided yet, but I think I am going to get this one for my laptop. So cute! I have also come out of my sheltered existence and started using Microsoft Office 2007. I don't know about you all, but I love it so far. I find it to be way more user friendly than any of the previous versions. At first I was mad that I had to relearn where everything is, but I have quickly learned to love it. I am so enjoying a work environment where I actually have a budget and am able to get a few little things to make my life at work a wee bit more enjoyable. Office supplies make me smile.

Winter sucks

So the last few months have been crazy busy for us, just like everyone else, so I haven't been very good about updates, or taking pictures. Whoops. I am going to blame it on the winter. It's that time of year where I would give anything to go for a long walk by the river and just take in an hour or two of fresh air. Cabin fever doesn't begin to describe my feelings this time of year. In an effort to curb my feelings of self pity and negativity, I am going to try to name five things that I like about winter.

1. I like wearing turtlenecks. (though after 5 months of it, it gets old)
2. I like Christmas and everything about it, and Christmas happens in the winter.
3. I like snuggling up next to a fire when it's cold out.
4. I enjoy a nice, hot Starbucks latte when it's cold out.
5. I don't like being hot, and I stay pretty cool during the winter....

There. I think that helped. And in a further gesture of good will, I will post a cute video of Ben to make you smile.

They grow up so fast....

I can't believe that my baby is one year old already! On February 6th, at 12:46 pm, 2008 our lives were changed forever! The last year has been an amazing journey for us as we traveled down the road of parenthood. It's something every parent says, but Ben is the most amazing little boy and we are so grateful that we have been blessed enough to be his parents. Every day since he was born has been an adventure, some days better than others, but we wouldn't trade being parents for anything. I have found strength that I didn't know I had, patience when I didn't think it was possible, and joy that I never could have imagined. I have also filled a place in my heart that I didn't know was empty. Being a mom is the biggest and best thing that has ever happened to me.

In celebration of his first year of life, we had a party for him at my mom's house. He wasn't really into the whole dig into your cake thing, but he liked all the toys that he got. He received so many cool presents, all of which make a ton of noise. We expected that as he grew our house would grow smaller, but I didn't expect it to happen this quickly. We are always so amazed at how wonderful our friends and family are and how wonderful it is to have such great people to share our lives with. It was a great day and Ben couldn't have asked for more.

Take good care of my baby

Everyone always told me that the worst thing about being a mom is seeing your child hurt. This was so true, and a tough lesson for me to learn. A few weeks ago, Ben, Mike and I all got this horrible stomach flu and just assumed that it was a bug that had to run it's course. Well, Mike and I got better, but for some reason, Ben just couldn't seem to recover. He spent one night in the emergency room getting fluids and then two days later he had to be admitted into the hospital until he started to show some improvement. Within a few hours of being admitted, we learned the reason that Ben was so sick, he had apparently developed c difficile. Unfortunately, the reason that he got it, is probably because he was on several different antibiotics for ear infections. Strangely enough, the treatment for this illness is yet another antibiotic. We ended up spending 4 days in patient at St. Alexius so Ben could continue to get fluids and IV antibiotics. During this time, we received so many phone calls, gifts for Ben, and home cooked meals that were sorely needed and so very appreciated! We couldn't have felt more supported, loved or cared about. All the balloons Ben got also kept him VERY entertained! The nurses and doctors took very good care of us while we were in the hospital, but after 4 days and 3 nights of sleeping in Ben's crib with him, we couldn't have been happier to get home! In the midst of all of this, I was supposed to be wrapping things up with my job at the Health Department and getting ready to start my new job at ND Council on Abused Women's Services. What a crazy month it has been! I tried not to get too worked up about it and follow my mantra "Things could always be worse." When I felt really overwhelmed like I might not get everything done, I thought about people who are dealing with children who have long term illnesses, or people who have lost their jobs in this horrible economy, or people wondering where their next meal will come from. I spent many a hospital hour thanking God for our health insurance and that both Mike and I have jobs with paid sick leave, so we could be with our sick baby and not worry about paying our bills. Ben has since finished his antibiotics and seems to be on the path to a full recovery! I also successfully wrapped up my job with the National Cancer Institute and am two days into my new job. Time flies when you are busy worrying that you don't have time to get everything done!

A Tiny Little Christmas

It's been a long time since I posted and I have no excuses for my failures as a blogger. Except the usual: We've been busy! We had a really great holiday season and we packed in a lot in just a few short weeks. We started with Mike's birthday on December 17th, then went right into Christmas break, during which we celebrated Christmas with three families, New Year's and our anniversary. We like to do everything at once! We're lucky that Ben is such an easy going kid because he got hauled all over Bismarck for about a week to hang out with cousins and other family. Ben also got to meet some out of town friends that he has never met before, including my best friend Margaret, who almost cried when she saw him! He went to her right away and I think they bonded. He must sense that she is the one who sends all the gifts that keep him so fashionably dressed. He also met another good friend of mine from high school, Bridget and her beautiful little girl, Ruby. Ben and Ruby are only about two months apart and I think they hit it off. Well, Ben liked her anyway, he kissed her and she gave him sort of a weird look, but I think he's growing on her! We hope to set up another playdate when they visit North Dakota again. We also met Troy, our friend and Mike's old roommate out for coffee one afternoon. It was so much fun to see everyone! I wish it happened more than once a year.

Mike and I also celebrated our four year anniversary. I really can't believe it's been 4 years! We have done so much together in such a short amount of time. I am so blessed to share a life with such a wonderful man! Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas/Happy New Year and Happy Anniversary, Honey!
Here's hoping that 2009 is a great year.