MinnesotaGal

HO HO HO!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 23:43:00 +0000

It's officially Christmas season! Tas and Isla have turned in their wish lists to both St. Nick and Santa Claus. Tas's was "a guitar and trains" - more specifically he wants a mandolin to round out his stringed instrument collection. I guess I can be thankful that at least he's not asking for a base... Still wondering how to temper the disappointment if he ever doesn't find what he asks for under the tree. How do all of you parents who have forged the way deal with that? Not sure we're going to swing for a mandolin this year - definitely not going to swing for a base any time soon! Trains, however, trains we can do - thank goodness! I mean Santa ... Santa can do trains!

As for Isla, I think she'd be happy with an extra helping of sweet potatoes or the ability to walk. Thank goodness there's at least one thing on her list Santa can help with too!

*** And for the record Macy's Santas are AMAZING!! We had a great experience last year but this year takes the cake, We went first thing this morning and there were zero people in line ahead of us. Isla freaks within seconds of being in a strangers arms - especially a bearded one! In fact, she hasn't even quite warmed up to some of our family yet. So I was expecting the worst. I was waiting until Tas was situated before plopping Isla on his lap but Santa asked for her first. I warned him - ready to snatch her up at a moments notice. He cooed at her and amazingly she didn't cry! She got close once (see the top picture) but he settled her like a snake charmer. Even Tas sat on his lap willingly and told him what was on his wish list. The photographer snapped at least half a dozen pictures until he got a few he liked and offered us a selection. And they don't hand out sugar! You get a Santaland button instead. Tas has been wearing his proudly all day. Score one for corporate America. This one they got right!

7 months!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 09 Dec 2013 04:41:00 +0000

Oh my goodness this girl is getting big!!

She's got three teeth to her name, sits unassisted, went from scooting to butterfly crawl to full on - chasing her big brother - speed crawl in just a month and just today pulled herself to stand. The object of her determination is usually one of big bother's toys. Tas and I are spending lots of time brainstorming ways in which they can play together without frustrating Tas. Today he decided on separate-but-equal train tracks. One he could run his trains on and one she could take apart and gnaw on. There's also a big box of Isla's toys close at hand so that Tas can trade her one of hers for a swiped one of his. They're working it out...

Quick before it snows!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Sat, 30 Nov 2013 04:46:00 +0000

Oh man! It's cold and about to snow any day now - so let's dispense with the fall leaf pictures before winter officially hits!

Oh yeah! Hours and hours of fun were had by all! This from my former leaf hating baby boy. Oh my how he's grown!

Seriously - iphones deliver amazing pictures these days!

6 months!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 02:41:00 +0000

Almost caught up. Here she is a mere month ago and she looks years younger to me than she does now!

******

This summer, my cousin and her family came to visit from Germany. A last-minute re-schedule of our church's baptism date made the timing perfect for her to be Isla's god-mother.

A new pastor brought a new tradition and this year's August baptismal service was actually performed in the Mississippi river. After a sermon in the park, the whole congregation made their way down to the banks of the Mississippi for

In an absolutely fitting twist, we ended up at a bend in the river just below Fort Snelling, where my dad is buried, and across the river from where Kyle's grandma's grave site is. This little girl has some amazing souls watching over her!

5 months

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 20:31:00 +0000

We're rapidly approaching the seven month mark - so it's high time I get the five and six month pictures posted!

During month five she learned a new trick!

And all of a sudden the world became that much more interesting! No more boring white ceilings, now there's a floor - with toys! Woah!

And Tasman gets more and more interested in her every day too. Now she laughs back when he makes funny faces and hooting noises and flaps his arms and...

He's getting to be such a big boy!

It seems like for every ounce of baby fat that Isla gains, he looses two. There's only one baby in the house these days. And she's working on quickly outgrowing that title too!

Trick-or-Treat

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Fri, 01 Nov 2013 02:37:00 +0000

The two best treats a Mama could hope for!

And we're back!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 03:45:00 +0000

Oh how time flies! There's a whole lot of this going on at our house these days:

And since, miraculously, both my kids nap - at the same time - from 2-4pm, I'm living by my mantra of "sleep when baby sleeps." The rest of the time I'm cooking, cleaning, nursing, cleaning various body fluids off of various body parts and furniture, nursing, singing, reading, nursing, comforting, playing and nursing. Needless to say, there's not much time for blogging these days. But I don't want to short-change Isla, in the way that many second kids get short-changed when it comes to baby books and pictures, so I'm making time and hopefully she'll have at least a slim volume of documented memories.

One thing I have been good and faithful about this time around is the monthly birthday picture. Can't wait to see what the year-end montage will look like. To me she looks the same as the day she was born - until I step back or see a picture. Then she looks like she's ready to take her driving exam!

And for the record she's almost seven months old but I'm just a bit behind on pictures. They're all sorted and ready to go for (near) future posts though - so stay tuned!

Gold Mill Park and Other Musings

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 05:18:00 +0000

Oh man have we been soaking up the all too brief summer this year! I can't believe I've lived here nearly my entire life and I'm still finding new corners of the city to explore and fall in love with. Our new favorite is Gold Mill Park. It's next to the Guthrie theater - "right by the farmers market" as Tas correctly noticed. It's also home to the new Minneapolis location of Izzy's ice cream shop. Gads! I'm a goner - as the distance to St. Paul was about the only thing keeping me from regular trips. We've made two evening trips in the last two days. For Tas, M&M with a root beer Izzy (tiny extra scoop on top - an amouse buche if you will) and Late Night Snack with a salted caramel Izzy for me. Then we make our way across the park and up the giant hill on the far side to catch probably the best view of the city that I've ever seen!

Tas gets to run and jump and roll downhill to his heart's content.

While Isla and I soak in the settling calm of a city winding down from its frenetic work day.

This girl is chill and happy and growing like a weed! I don't remember it going this fast with Tasman. Perhaps it's because I'm busy with two, or more relaxed as a mother the second time around or more nostalgic about each milestone as I know it will be the "last first" I'll get to experience from my own children. It seems like every day she's doing something new! This week it's reaching out to explore her world. Her tiny fingers are uncurling like the arms of a sea anemone. Winding themselves around objects that drift into her reach. My hair, my fingers, her car seat toy and teething ring. So gentle and yet so determined. "Though she be but little she is fierce."

And then there are these two. He'll be running around like a baboon in a thunderstorm one minute and then pause to gently stroke her head the next. Ever so slowly they're waking up to each other. Tas can make her laugh like no one can and I'll catch her staring, mesmerized by his every movement when he's within eye shot. Up until now, she hasn't been as interesting in return but the more interactive she becomes the more curious he gets. I think each of her new developments catches him off guard as much as it does me.

I'll never know how this brown eyed, chestnut girl birthed two blue eyed blondies but my heart and soul is forever locked in their eyes. And before I start sounding any more like a sappy 80's love song, I'm off to bed to nuzzle up to one of them. More on that and other parenting surprises in upcoming posts.

3 months

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 06:07:00 +0000

Happy birthday to you...

Happy Birthday to you...

Happy 3 month birthday dear Isla...

Happy birthday to you!

First born

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 08 Jul 2013 05:09:00 +0000

While it's been all Isla, Isla, Isla around here and at home, my sweet little firstborn has not been forgotten or neglected.

He's busy as ever, entertaining us with his guitar stylings and teaching me a thing or two about playing: "See Mama, for G-chord easy form you put your third finger on the third string like this!" He and Mel Bay (from his Learn to Play Guitar CD) are fast friends. He's quite set on the fact that Isla will play someday too.

He's even moved into his own "Guitar Cave" in the crawl space under the stairs, where he happily plays for hours with music blaring from his amp - nee: dehumidifier.

When he's not strumming his uke or Fender (yes, he has a red 3/4 sized fender just like the other famous leftie Jimmy Hendrix) he's pickin' at his banjo.

And recruiting family play-alongs - no musical skills required.

And a puppet audience will do in a pinch.

Or a very obliging, napping Isla.

Sister never woke - girl's got sleeping skills I'm envious of!

We look for, and find, guitars all around town! At the farmers market.

At the stationary store...

He's been looking for guitar stamps at every craft store we've been in for the last year and a half. Score one for Paper Source!

And his favorite day of the month is the day that the Musician's Friend catalog arrives!

In other big news, he's graduated from his first year of pre-school.

Teacher Tracy and Miss Betty were beyond wonderful in helping him acclimate and were generous with cuddles those first few days of separating. By the end he wasn't even looking my way as I headed out of the classroom. Too many interesting things to see and do!

And he graduated from the Supper Beasts at the Little Gym and got his very first (participation) medal.

He's learning to strike out on his own, however brief and tentative those moments are.

He was ever so patient during the long weeks of bed rest before I had Isla.

Note the guitar close at hand...

And got his wiggles out by jumping off the couch into pillow forts.

But these days he gets to run free!

At least until he poops out.

Thankfully the stroller has a "piggy-back" attachment and now our excursions have no bounds!

This year, on his birthday I asked him a series of questions that I'll repeat and expand on as he gets older. Oh the mind and heart of a three year old!

Q: What's your favorite color?

A: RED! (He will volunteer this to anyone and everyone. Woe is me if all of his red clothes are in the wash!)

"Look Mama! I have red rock and roll pants!"

Q: What's your favorite thing to do?

A: Play guitar!

Q: What's your favorite food?

A: Ham-a-burger! And beets. And peas. And corn. And sweet potatoes. And hot dogs! Mama can I have an ice cream?

Q: What's your favorite animal?

A: A cat.

Q: Who's your best friend?

A: Elena

These two together a riot!

Q: What are you going to be when you grow up?

A: I'm going to be four!

Q: What do you want to do for a job?

A: Be a guitar player!

My first born. I love him so much it hurts!

Water, essential oils and Tas at my birth.

2 months

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 06:21:00 +0000

The 3 month post reminded me I had forgotten to post these.

Quick before she grows up!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Wed, 26 Jun 2013 21:38:00 +0000

Time flies when you're having fun! It seems like just yesterday we were bringing Peach home and here we are already two and a half months in! And I still haven't posted her one month shots! So quickly, without further ado, here they are... (two month shots to follow, as I just took them today - a few days late)

And here are some more first-months shots.

Next up: an ode to my first-born. He's still around and as delightful as ever and calling to me that "I want to get up!" from his nap. So I'm off...

Lost in her eyes

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 05:05:00 +0000

This girl's eyes captivate my soul!

And her smile is pretty darn sweet too!

The Early Days

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Thu, 30 May 2013 05:16:00 +0000

There are a few moments in life that I regret not having on film. One is our wedding - we have amazing pictures and a CD of the music we played but I would love to have the ceremony on tape. The other is the moment Tas met Isla for the first time.

I wasn't sure how he would take it, seeing her in real, live, human form - instead of just a theoretical entity inside Mama's belly. I thought it might go the way of seeing animals at the zoo for the first time. They were all well and good in inanimate form in the pages of a book but he was wholly unprepared for walking, grunting, moving, chirping, live animals and wanted nothing to do with the real thing.

I suspected once he saw a live baby he would want as far away from it as he wanted from the animals in the zoo. I wasn't even entirely sure that he understood that the Peach we had been talking about for months would be a baby human. But he burst through the doors and scanned the room breathlessly asking "where is she?" until his eyes rested on the little bundle swaddled in my arms. He jumped up on my bed, full of curiosity and wonder and immediately asked to hold her. I didn't even need the Mama hormones to help open the flood gate of tears at that moment.

He has since become decidedly less interested in her every move and wants well away from her when she cries - except to let me know that she's crying and that "maybe she wants some milk." But he still won't go to sleep without Isla in my lap next to him when I sing his goodnight song. If for some reason she isn't there he insists I "go get her!" There were some tears the time that I had to explain that she was sleeping and I couldn't go get her.

I've tried, as much as possible to keep life fairly normal and consistent for Tas. It's hard because a crying, hungry baby cannot be put off or ignored and some days I have to say "not right now" more often than I would like but he's been an amazingly good sport about it and is gracefully accepting siblinghood.

Thank goodness for babywearing! I didn't really become adept at baby carriers until Tas was well over a year old. But I popped Isla in the ring sling (a gorgeous Sakura Bloom I got at a very deep discount) from day one and by day three we were getting our stir crazies out at Sky Zone!

All told I have three ring slings, two Mei Tais and an Ergo so we are MOBILE!

Day 3 was Sky Zone. Day 5 was Burgers and Beer with Dada downtown.

Moments where we wistfully stare out the window and wish we were outside are far and few between and more weather related than anything.

With Tas I stayed in and "cocooned" for nearly three months - in my defense it was January and H1N1 season - and as a result quite nearly went crazy! Ask Kyle and he might tell you that I actually did go crazy and if I'm being completely honest I would have to agree. I was determined not to let post-partum insanity set in this time around and as much as I could do to improve my mood (fresh air, movement and other human contact) I was bound and determined to do it. Besides, I preceded Isla's birth with 6 weeks of bed rest so I was done with confinement!

It helps that girlfriend has an easy going temperament and love to nuzzle in to sleep.

Not my beautiful Sakura Bloom, this is the utilitarian brown "house sling" that I don't mind cooking and cleaning in.

From day one she has slept long stretches at night and for all intents an purposes sleeps through the night now. I drove myself crazy in the early days thinking that there was something wrong and that she was sleeping way too much (only having sleepless and high energy Mr. Nurse-for-an-hour-and-a-half-every-two-hours-all-day-and-night - aka Tasman - for comparison). Now I embrace it, make sure people know that I payed my dues with Tas and embrace the fact that this girl loves to sleep! (Not that she doesn't have her moments of freak out and growth spurts and general crankiness - but overall she's a mellow chick)

Still sleeping...

Getting my sleeping baby picture fix since I have almost none like this of Tasman - since he never slept (or at least that's how I remember it...)

And while I'm not in most of these pictures, by far and away her favorite places to sleep involve close proximity to me - either on my chest in the sling or nuzzled into me in bed.

She does actually spend some time awake - lest you think is all sleep, sleep and more sleep around here.

Yes, it does get crazy around here.

And we have a first smile!

Girl's got some spunk in there too!

She's here!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Tue, 21 May 2013 05:21:00 +0000

I vividly remember dear friends (that's you Mal and Jo) sitting on our porch telling us about their children and how much they felt like a family after they had their first child. And then how they realized, after they had their second, that their family hadn't been complete and it wasn't until they had them all that they knew they were truly a family now. I come back to that thought again and again these days. I know! Isla was always meant to be with us. And now she's home!

Isla Anneliese Peterson. Isla is pronounced eye-la. Anneliese is after my Oma (Tas is John which he shares with Kyle's grandpa, dad and brother).

Her entry into this world was a much faster one than Tas's - 11 hours of labor instead of 60 and 4 pushes instead of 3 hours of them. Thankfully, it is indeed easier the second time around. This time around, the post-partum euphoria I had with Tas was replaced by an overwhelming sense of calm. I felt, and continue to feel, at peace. Isla apparently has similar sentiments and spent her first night outside my body tucked into the crook of my arm sleeping. She was in no hurry to voraciously feed or endlessly cry. She just cuddled and slept and has, much to my delight, continued to do so ever since.

We weren't sure how Tas would adjust to abdicating his only-child status for that of big brother, so we talked about it endlessly before Isla arrived. I let him pick her nick-name while I was pregnant - "Peach" is all Tas's idea (and I love it!) - and we talked about the fact that babies cry and nurse and need lots of attention. We got him a special "big brother" shirt and I had a whole bag of goodies (books, crayons, snacks, toys) packed in my hospital bag so that there would be something special just for him when he visited us. Well, we never needed to break into that bag. It was love at first sight for him too!

One of my favorite pictures ever - snapped with my phone! He was so proud!

Of course, I did give him his big brother gift - even if he didn't need it. A Tasman doll - complete with red Fender guitar just like his at home!

Doll from Pink Cheeks Studios. She also made a custom family mobile for Isla's room that I will probably hang in the living room someday.

More to come soon! I have finally downloaded and edited all the pictures and now I just need to add our story bit by bit.

To be fair to Dada - who was my rock during all of this this and is sorely underrepresented in the hospital pictures since every single one with him also has one or another unmentionable and unpostable body part of mine in it - here's a Dada and Isla shot just so you can see how in love he is too!

May Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Thu, 02 May 2013 03:33:00 +0000

Another post-dated blog. We're catching up!

This was the first year we finally made it to the May Day parade! I've been wanting to go for years but nap schedules somehow always got in the way. This year we finally made it and boy did it deliver!

We came early to stake out our spots. I had packed blankets and snacks and water but somehow in the bustle of an outing with a two-week old Isla, it all got left in the car. By the time we found our spot I was too buggered to try to hoof it back so we decided to settle for the grassy knoll on the other side of the sidewalk and the generous offerings of snacks from the strangers next to us instead. Just as well, since it provided much needed entertainment while we waited for things to get going.

In between a chorus of, "when is it going to start?" my little guy entertained himself and our no-longer-strangers neighbors with a dizzying display of hill rolling.

It was Tas's first parade and once things got going he wasn't entirely convinced that this was going to be the cat's meow.

Then the giant puppets came and he was intrigued.

But when a lady came by handing out suckers he was sold and settled in for the remainder. All the while, making sure I didn't forget his score: "Look Mama! Look! I did get a sucker!"

Happy May Day!

A perfect start to spring! (Although I'm not sure the pleas for sun and warmth were met with much enthusiasm by Mother Nature this year.)

Anticipation

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 22:57:00 +0000

I feel like all I'm doing lately is posting other people's pictures. I will get to the ones on my camera from Easter soon. BUT since Peach will likely make her arrival any day now - I thought I'd best post our maternity pictures before they become obsolete.

I've been spending nearly every sleeping and waking minute horizontally these days - I will not be sad to leave bed rest behind! But we did allow ourselves (with the doctor's permission) an upright maternity photo shoot. Tas loves the pictures of "me in Mama's belly" on his wall and I wanted the same documented memories for Peach.

So, without further ado - our maternity shoot. Thanks again to the talented Natalie Fox from Bellasaluti!

Of course, Tas had to bring his guitar and hammed it up for the camera. I think these may make it onto his first album cover!

We all can't wait for Peach to make her appearance! Stay tuned...

Easter re-cap

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 02:58:00 +0000

Long overdue Easter post. I might have skipped it all together but it's the day that Tas got his banjo and if he ever becomes a famous player (which he just might) then I don't want to have missed the occasion!

As we do every year, we marked the occasion by coloring Easter eggs. Still wooden this year, to prevent the frustration of crushed eggs.

Easter morning itself started a bit slow with a cuddle in bed.

But the minute he hear that the Easter bunny had left some presents he was all "ears"!

There was chocolate.

And eggs (a red one by special request).

And the best one of all: his very own (uke) banjo!!

And a monogrammed pick to go with it.

The it was off to see if maybe the Osterhase had come by Oma's as well. He somehow managed to make it through all the snow drifts and left behind a trail of goodies.

A little different from last year's balmy celebration but no less memorable for it. (And given that at the time I was days away from my due date, we didn't quite do it up to the bar set by last year's celebration but there's always 2014...)

Oh baby, baby!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 22:46:00 +0000

Well, blood pressure issues have reared their ugly head again. Much later and not as severe as with Tasman but bad enough that it's bed rest and close monitoring (read: weekly labs, ultrasound, fetal heart monitoring and twice weekly doctor visits - so much for rest!) until delivery. Luckily we're just weeks away from our due date and I have a saint of a husband and an amazing mother who has gone above and beyond. Bed rest is infinitely more complicated with a toddler running around than the last time.

The first half of the pregnancy flew by and I hardly had time to reflect. Now that it's just rest and more rest it's also everything baby, baby, baby around here.

From the start we've been including Tas. I asked him what he thought we should call the baby in Mama's belly. He thought for a good long while, "Ummm... Ummm... Maybe... Peach?" And so, Peach it is - at least while she's in my belly. The official name is top secret until she's born.

We've been reading and talking about what to expect so that it hopefully won't be too big of a shock for Tas when we bring her home.

He knows that babies cry and can't talk yet. He talks daily about teaching Peach this or that - especially how to play guitar. He's already asked for a banjo - "so that I can teach Peach how to play banjo!" She's become a regular topic of discussion and curiosity and I am over the moon about his love for her already.

Playing guitar for Peach and feeling for her kicks. "Peach likes it when I play quietly!"

I can't wait to see how their relationship will develop outside the womb! I have a feeling Tas is going to be one awesome big brother and Peach a very luck little sister!

Baby Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:46:00 +0000

Kyle had to spend a few days in Sacramento on business last month and after tossing around the idea of a little get-away for just the two of us, we decided to do just that. Oma graciously volunteered her babysitting skills for the weekend and off we went. A quick three day, two night trip to Napa - a bit ironic with me being pregnant and all but a fabulous get away none the less.

I felt a little melancholy on the flight. Kyle was already in California and so I flew solo. The first time in over three years, which made it such a strange experience. For once I had minimal luggage, time to sip a latte before boarding, actually read a book during the flight and looked out the window and thought of all the interesting conversations Tas and I could have been having about the shapes and colors below.

Irrigated fields over the Great Plains.

I've spent a few nights away from my baby since he was born but never nights separated by hours of cross-country travel. It actually took a while for me to settle down and relax.

I have a feeling Kyle knew this was going to be hard for me so he booked the perfect spa-hotel. I traveled quite a bit before I met Kyle and was a little overly controlling about the details of our trips at first. Over the years I've come to trust that the man knows how to book us an amazing vacation and I left all the travel arrangements up to him this time. He didn't disappoint! Awakening, on my own time, to tea and a lit fireplace and nothing to do but sit in bed and relax - heavenly!

Despite the irony of a giantly pregnant lady in Napa, we actually found a lot of non-wine things to do and most of all enjoyed each others company and long - uninterrupted - conversations that eventually revolved around something other that raising a child.

Spring in Napa is glorious!

Time away was deeply relaxing. Coming home to our sweet boy after the end of our trip and a long day of travel - priceless! It was good to get away - it was good to come back.

Post-view blog filler

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 21:06:00 +0000

I'm still here! Just sleeping significantly more these days. The countdown is on - T-minus 7 weeks and counting! Hence, most of my photo-updates are via Instagram these days. Click, edit, post.

I finally downloaded all the recent camera pictures and am in full-on sorting and editing mode. Which may still take weeks based on my current napping patterns. In the meantime, here's a preview - or should I say post-view of our Fall photoshoot - which never did make the blog. Thanks to our fabulous photographer Natalie Finazzo-Fox at Bellasaltui Photography for these!

"Love Sandwich" - still one of Tas's favorite games!

The big oh-three!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:25:00 +0000

Time with a toddler never stands still and nothing reminds you of how quickly those minutes and days tick by than celebrating a birthday. THREE YEARS!

If anyone knows where to find a guitar charm for his birthday ring let me know!!

For the first time Tas had ideas and opinions about how his fête should go down. Namely, the answer to any question from cake to party favors was "maybe a guitar!" His brilliant stroke of genius, however, came when he decided that his cake should be "chocolate AND strawberry." After some Goggling, I found the perfect cake recipes and a tutorial on how to marble them together. Yumm-o!! Kid knows his desserts, that's for sure.

Everyone who entered our front door was immediately shown to his guitar cake. "Come! Look at my guitar cake!"

When everyone was finally assembled, Tas doled out the musical instruments for a birthday serenade.

Tas's Mama-made guitar. A perfect travel companion when taking his real guitars isn't practical.

And then it finally came time to cut the cake! (Thank you Michelle for the saw cake cutter!)

Then on to the gifts.

Anything and everything musical. A hands free harmonica from his friend Elena, so that he can be a "one-man-band" without Mama's help!

And a microphone from Oma so that he can give bonafide concerts.

I marvel every day at what an amazing human being I pushed into the world! On my birthday no less. I found out I was pregnant with Tas on Mother's Day and 9 months later, two days before my birthday, I went into labor - but Tas decided to make the fairytale complete by waiting until my birthday to make me a Mama. He's gone from a squishy bundle mewing helplessly on my chest to a ~~walking~~ running, talking, guitar playing charmer. Happy birthday Tasman! I can't wait to see what wonders and adventure await you this year!

Winter Escape

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 19:56:00 +0000

Dada's back from his second (business) trip to Florida and I haven't even blogged about our first!

For the first time ever, we decided to get away after Christmas. The nature of Kyle's work means that when we're on vacation he's still working. So he usually logs a full day of romping around with us, followed by a full night of work time in the hotel lobby or business center or, if all else fails, in the car. Vacations are always more relaxing for me and Tas than they are for Kyle.

But the European patent office is closed for the two weeks around Christmas and New Year and even things in crazy, always working USA slow down - so for once we ALL got to enjoy our vacation!!

Great-grandpa Frank is 94 - a full 91 years older than Tasman - and half a continent away. Yet, we make it a priority that they see as much of each other as possible. So, rather than plan for some exotic holiday get away, we opted for the sun and warmth of Florida's east coast.

Just down the block from Great-grandpa's house is one of Tas's favorite playgrounds.

"I like Florida because they have really cool playgrounds!"

Last time we were here, much of the equipment was still too big for Tas. Not this time! We let him loose and he went to town!

And the slide - oh man the slide! "Look how fast I can go Mama!!"

Like father like son.

And of course there was the beach and the ocean. Ask Tas about Florida and he'll tell you, "they have beaches with sand and oceans with water!"

And, of course, we built "iguana holes."

Even Peach enjoyed the seashore.

This time next year we'll have four sets of shoes lined up...

Kyle and I both surprised ourselves with how nostalgic we were about our last vacation as just the three of us!

All in all, one of the most relaxing and enjoyable vacations to date. Proving you don't have to go to far off, exotic locations to get away from it all. But going someplace warm and tropical doesn't hurt...

A farewell dinner and New Year's Eve concert at the Tiki bar. Just the way Tas would have planed to ring in the new year.

Happy New Year to all!

Happy Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:45:00 +0000

Leading up to Christmas we filled our days with as many snowy adventures as my glove-hating son would tolerate. He really, really wants to use his hands and gloves just drive him nuts! So we went out in short bursts until his hands got cold - and when that wasn't enough we brought the snow inside.

We were busy indoors too. Playing and crafting. He's finally developing enough patience to sit down for a short art project.

And every now and then the stir-crazies just get the best of him. I went downstairs to do a quick load of laundry and left him playing in the sink. I came back 3 minutes later to this. Smart and sweet little boy that he is turned and said, "Can I give you a kiss Mama?" Love that boy so!!

And then we cleaned up together. Given his love for "work", at least he's just as happy to clean it up as he is to mess it up.

I grew up celebrating with presents on Christmas Eve and since we had a full calender (Christmas Eve at Oma's, Christmas Day at Grandma and Gradpa's) we decided to open our presents on Christmas Eve morning. Besides, I really couldn't wait to give Tas his present! It's all he talked about for months leading up to Christmas...

He is now the very proud owner of his own shiny, red 3/4 size Fender guitar! Santa brought it without an amp - thank you Santa! - but that's ok since everything from boxes to wine corks can act as amps.

He rarely takes it off these days. So so very fun to see the joy in his eyes!

Next stop was Oma's house for Christmas Eve - guitar in tow of course!

And then Grandma and Grandpa's - where this was Tas just minutes before his usual nap time...

This year we decided, for the first time ever, to take time off between the holidays. We headed to Florida to visit great-grandpa Frank. Since the patent office was also closed, for once Kyle got to go on vacation without having to take work with him. Most every other vacation he usually logs a good 3-5 hours of work at the end of every day. So, to have him all to ourselves felt like such a luxury!

But more of that in the next post... Now, off to bake Tas's birthday cake: chocolate and strawberry marble as per his request, "Chocolate AND strawberry!"

Happy New Year!

The season's magic

noreply@blogger.com (Minnesotagal) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 05:58:00 +0000

A quick December re-cap post before the onslaught of Christmas pictures begins. I am so excited about giving Tas his Christmas present. If ever Santa Clause existed his spirit is certainly alive in my heart tonight! You'll have to wait just the same as Tas for the reveal though...

Earlier in the month we had our first epic snow storm. It's definitely not fun to sit in rush-hour traffic after such a blizzard but in every other respect I love a good dumping of snow. The world gets still and quite. Everything slows down. Events and the "busy" that fill our daily life are canceled. We gear up and head out and for a minute there is just peace and wonder. Even Tas was in awe, but it wasn't long before he got busy. "Mama, I'm working hard with the snow shovel!" The boy loves to "work"!!

Dada's snow blower was impressive, if not a little too loud.

And not nearly as satisfying as clearing snow the good old fashioned way.

The wintery wonderland outside put us in the holiday mood. Luckily "Snowmagedon" was no match for our 4-wheel drive and we decided to brave the roads - they were all empty anyways - to get our Christmas tree.

The guy at the tree farm presented Tas with a candy cane within minutes of our arrival and after that there wasn't a tree that could hold a candle to the minty freshness... Case in point, the series of "our tree" pictures wherein Tas proudly displays his - candy cane!

Tas's best friend is Swedish and also celebrates advent in the European tradition. I love advent coffee and this was the first year in many that I got to do it up real! It was a preview of Christmas morning as Tas jumped around the table hardly able to contain himself. He wanted so desperately to dig in!

Catrin and I were both floored when Tas and Elena spent the morning playing together - peacefully! They shared, they told each other stories. As two only children they are each very used interactive play with their Mama's and previous playdates have consisted of Catrin and I trying to piece together conversations between solving problems, admiring creations and endless "Mama look!"s. Not today, at least not for a good long while.

The Holidazzle is a holiday must. We thought we'd hit Macy's Santaland before the parade but after being told the wait was over a half hour just to get in, we decided to nix that plan and it turned out Tas had a hundred times more fun riding the escalators up and down the 8 floors.

Since the night was bitterly cold and we were still a good half-hour early, we decided to stake out a window view from the Barnes & Noble.

And then the fun began. Tas had surprisingly more fun than I thought he would (especially after last year's trauma of opening fireworks...) The magic of the season is in the air!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our family and friends around the world. We miss you and can't wait to see you again!