Road Trip Return

We had a wonderful visit to Wisconsin.  I'll fill in the blanks with some of our exciting happenings soon.   Thankfully, our return road trip was equally smooth sailing.  Annabel road so well, even in her car seat where she is reaching the limits.  She still seemed quite comfortable and slept slightly more than a normal day.  Towards the end of the second day (13 hours day one, 9 hours day two...including rests), she was crying a bit when she didn't want to sit in the seat again, but calmed quickly and off we went again.
 

 
We entertained ourselves with the license plate game, finding 16 states and provinces.  Eric also was doing an alphabet IPod game to choose the next artist (Adele, Beatles, Cory Chisel, Deep Dark Woods, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Grace Potter, etc).  This drive is mind-numbing...we have to do something!  In the past we have also done scavenger hunts.  We did, however, pass through the complete center point of North America, Rugby, ND, so that is something most people can not say they have done, right?!  We also saw a double rainbow so another win. 

At the mall in Fargo, Annabel spotted this and pointed to get in it.  She was so cute hanging onto the sides or driving the steering wheel.

She thought this was the greatest thing!!  Maybe this would be fun any day, but I suppose it was especially better than her car seat on this day.

After a stop in Menomonie for coffee, bathroom break near St. Cloud, lunch at Culvers in Alexandria, visit to the Fargo mall, and a roadside, standing diaper change somewhere in ND, we arrived in Minot very late Monday evening.  We noticed the pool was open until 11pm so at 1050pm we quickly put on our suits and headed in.  Annabel was so cute crawling around the kiddie pool.  The water was up to her shoulders and she was working hard!  Eric and I each dipped (for about a minute each!) in the hot tub.  We all wished we had more time but it was closing and we needed to get to bed.

This sign at our hotel in Minot showed the water level of the flood of 2011. 

We took off a little late in the morning, stopped at Target to check out their travel strollers and get a few items we can't find in Canada (like sliced black olives and packaged tuna, ha ha) and arrived in Saskatoon about 7:30pm.  So thankful for good driving conditions and safe travels.  The night after our return, we had a cook-out at Eric's department head's house and tonight we are having a couple friends over for burgers for Canada Day weekend celebration.  Good opportunities to continue to be surrounded by others, like we were in Wisconsin.

Road Trip!!

Saskatoon to Wisconsin. Just shy of 1,000 miles.

We decided to take the most direct route to Wisconsin this trip, stopping in Bismarck, ND and Highway 94 the rest of the way.  We’ve gone east across Canada and we’ve taken Minot to Duluth in the past.  Seems like any route we take there is not much to see or, depending on how you look at it, there is lots to see with nothing to block your view.  We were fortunate with clear roads, minimal construction, and fair weather.  We hit light to moderate rain the entire first day, but it was manageable. Second day just a couple hours of light rain.  We didn't see a lot of wildlife on the way; just a couple herons and a bald eagle as we came close to Colfax.  But, we did see the country's ugliest state capital building in ND.

 

Annabel took an hour nap in the morning and a two hour nap in the afternoon both days.  For entertainment, I bought one new book to go along with 7 familiar books (Eric questioned while packing if that was too many books, but I asked him if he wanted to read the same three books to her over and over) and some musical shakers.  The shakers were a big hit.  I bought them as a novel road trip item, but Eric was excited about them and got them out the day before we left.  Annabel crawled everywhere with them in hand and even ate three meals holding onto one.  Luckily she still thinks they are cool on the trip.  I also got a cheap harmonica, but Annabel is frightened by it.  It took a little while to figure out why, wondering if it was too loud.  But the person playing it looks like a monster; it looks like they no longer have a mouth.  I don’t blame her for being scared.  Eric figured out that if you play it how it is supposed to be played (by covering the outside with your hand) it is less scary.  

 

Sunday night, the day before we left.

We sang a lot of songs until Annabel literally covered her ears to make me stop singing!!!  Rhymes, books, and a few toys have kept her fairly busy.  She became restless a couple times, but thankfully no long stretches of crying, and we've made sure to stop and rest before she got upset.  Overall, Annabel managed the trip better than expected.  We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings in Bismarck, which allowed a little stretch, but we had a hyper baby once we arrived at the hotel.  We took advantage of the late pool hours and went swimming at 9:45.  Annabel loved it, playing with a ball and splashing and kicking.  It was a perfect way to wear her out. 

This toy was nice to have along.  It's a soft elephant that holds about 20 small toys.  She enjoyed taking them out one by one.  We did this multiple times until towards the end of the trip when she looked at me like "don't you dare show me that elephant one more time."

Normally I don’t walk barefoot or even put my suitcase on the floor at a hotel, but there we were having Annabel crawling around and emptying out suitcases, so most of our belonging ended up on the hotel floor at one point.  After a 12 hour day, we had to let her loose.

 

Bathroom stop for Annabel and a break to look at some cows. If you couldn't tell by the topography, this is in Saskatchewan.

We took our time in the morning, not hitting the road until 10 am.  We tried to keep in mind that we are not in a race and to just enjoy our ride.  We arrived Tuesday evening, making good time (for traveling with a baby), at 7:30.

It was 75 and sunny when we left and it had been for a couple weeks.  We never thought we'd need to bring our winter coat to Wisconsin in June.  Every day we've worn the one pair of pants and socks and sweatshirt we brought.  Who knew we were traveling to colder temperatures?

Since then, it's been a busy couple days visiting in Ridgeland and a shopping trip to Eau Claire.  Eric is traveling to Las Vegas and Atlanta for a few conferences, but Annabel and I are staying back to see family and friends.  We are so thankful to have this opportunity.

Now, off to our first fish fry!

11 Months

This month really seems like she is moving from a baby to a big girl.  As much as I want her to be a baby forever, she is really fun at this age.   It's perfect that spring is here right when she is very interested in her surroundings and is becoming more mobile.

She is currently dealing with her first respiratory cold.  It appears to be a common cold with runny nose, congestion, and cough.

We've been joking that she may not have taste buds because she still thankfully eats about anything.  By the speed at which she downs raspberries and blackberries, I think it's safe to say she loves them.  She also seems to like beef, chicken, bread and loves, loves, loves cheese!  I suppose she can't help it, having two cheese-heads for parents.  She is doing better with taking bites of food (well, the best you can "bite" with no teeth!) rather than just shoveling in all she can fit in her hand.

My grandma said my mom didn't have any teeth until she was after a year old.  I have heard teething can be hereditary, so maybe Annabel is taking after my mom.  Supposedly there is a decreased chance of cavities for babies who get their teeth later; that would be great!

She absolutely loves to have us smell her socks or shoes and respond with "pee-ew" or "stiiinky."  It never gets old.

One morning I opened her door and actually jumped a little when I saw her standing in her crib!!  She hadn't even been pulling herself at the couch much, so I was quite shocked to see her standing there proudly!  The first time she attempted pulling up by the couch, like it was in slow motion, she put both hands up and then bit the edge for a third point of stability....so funny!  She's not furniture walking yet and really doesn't seem to enjoy standing in general very long, but is up on all fours crawling and up on her knees to get to things.  Occasionally she gets into a bear-crawl position.

We've had gorgeous weather the past couple weeks, so we've walked the river a few times.  Conveniently there are a couple ice cream places along the walk.

This past week my dad was talking to her on Skype and asked her about her shirt and pants and she was pointing to them.  I had no idea she knew what those words meant.  Since then, we've been asking her about her hair, toes, belly, and ears.  She also seems to know who her cat Pierre is, what toy is her chicken, what a bib is and some of the basic things like change diaper and eat.  I think one of the neatest things is having babies reveal what they know.  It's especially cool to see the things they just pick up on by listening and through observation.  

I like this stage because although we are teaching her what to touch and what not to touch, there isn't discipline.  Although, it appears we may be on the edge of that or maybe not quite yet. I don't know how this all works!  All I know is that part does not sound fun.

Eric and I have been laughing at her level of excitement lately.  At church, she really bobs her head, waves her arms and claps to the music.  At a local elementary school play, her favorite part was the end when everyone clapped for each cast member.  She loved that we were clapping multiple times and she was yelling "yea" while clapping herself.  We were at a dinner the other night and everyone was introducing themselves and Annabel was clapping after each person said their name!!  She really knows how to show her support! 

Her latest sleeping position has went full circle back to the fetal position.

This week she has LOVED looking out the window onto the busy street.  She enjoys this for 15 minutes at a time.

She started swimming lessons and she seems to really enjoy the water.  This has been her first time swimming and I'm glad I didn't take her earlier, especially with the work of packing up and undressing, dressing, etc in the winter.  The younger babies do just fine, but of course get tired, hungry, and cold sooner.  

It's hard to believe that next month Annabel turns one!  We are really looking forward to celebrating with family!   

Happy Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day was quite different than last year.  I was 8 months pregnant, wearing a sundress, wedge sandals and heading to church.  Eric and I were talking as we walked in the dirt parking lot and I lost my balance as I stepped in a pothole.  Down I went and caught myself with my hands and then on my way up, I went down again landing on my knees and hands and even hitting my chin a little.  Eric said it happened so quickly and he tried to catch me on my second fall, but I wasn't entirely very "grab-able."  Hardly anyone saw it, but I was embarrassed and mad at myself for wearing the wedge sandals.  I was all shook up so we went straight home, I laid down, and made sure everything was okay.  I never hit my stomach with the fall, but at that stage in pregnancy, I didn't want anything to risk early contractions.  After I rested, we decided to go to the next service, where they ended up handing out carnations to all of the mothers.  I stayed seated (in the back row, like a good Lutheran) when an older man in the congregation told me to go and get one.  I said, "Oh, that's okay, I'm not a mother yet" and he kept insisting and others joined in insisting, so I went up to get a carnation.  With heightened emotions from the earlier event, I started tearing up on my way there and was bawling to the point I had to leave the sanctuary on my walk back!!

This year I made it to church with no falls, had a successful bake sale for our church mom group, and enjoyed a sweet baby.  My emotions were a bit more in line this year and I accepted my carnation with pride!  I really, really enjoy being a mother and can't wait for many more days to celebrate the privilege!  Eric has been working to try to get Annabel to say 'mama,' but so far she just looks at him and responds with 'dada' or looks at him like 'who is this person that you speak of?'   

I really wished we could see family today, especially to be with my mother on Mother's Day.  I know that is my least favorite part about living far from family; not seeing people on holidays.  We had gorgeous weather today, so Annabel and I went for a walk to the store (our family's third trip to the store today---geez).  I was able to take a nap and Eric is making barbequed ribs, red potatoes, and coleslaw for supper.

Happy Mother's Day to my mother and to Eric's mother!  And, Happy Mother's Day to all of our friends and family members and a prayer for those who wish to be mothers.  It really is a blessed gift.

Mom and Baby Trip

Hard to believe it's been a couple weeks ago when Annabel and I traveled to Wisconsin for a week-long visit.  Eric had a work trip with students to Kansas City, so Annabel and I flew to see family.  She did great on the 2 hour flights and in all of the airport time.  She slept for half of both flights and played the other half.  We read a few books, she played peek-a-boo with the flight attendants, and we had an empty seat next to us both ways which was really helpful.  I traveled with her in a front carrier, which worked great and I checked my luggage, which was necessary.  I learned a few things for future trips, one being that upon landing and the plane braking, the middle arm rest can fly down.  It hit Annabel right in the head, not hard, but enough to make her start crying.  There are a few hidden dangers, sharp edges and areas fingers could get pinched.   

Grandma with her two grand babies, Annabel and Ava

 We had a great visit, despite terrible weather.  It was 32 degrees and had been freezing rain with reports of cars in the ditches, so our initial drive to Wisconsin from Minneapolis was not the most fun.  My mom did an excellent job driving, but we were exhausted by the time we arrived and we all slept a lot the next day in stress recovery.  A lot of the week we were at my parent's house with bad travel conditions most of the days.  When we planned an April visit, we thought for sure it would be full of walks and the park.  We had lots of family visitors and got to enjoy a supper at Eric's aunts Jan and Jean's with Eric's brother and wife and their new baby, Annabel's first and only cousin.  Ava is so cute; it was so great to meet her!

She must have been predicting that Annabel's next move was to pull Ava's hair

Cousin Ava, about 7 weeks old

Cuddles from Grandma

Aunt Chelsea graciously took a few days off work to spend time with us.

Grandpa made a fort to play under one day and Grandma taught her pat-a-cake.  Both Grandmas showered her with Valentine's Day and Easter gifts of clothes, dishes, books, and a little quilt.  She enjoyed playing with the dancing, singing, egg-laying chicken Grandma June gave her and learned how to put the eggs back in the hole. 

Fun to have a little backyard scenery to look at during meals

She was still recovering from a stomach bug though mid-week of our visit

Sitting in an old family rocking chair.

She was really going to town on those keys!!

Grandpa Terry showing her chords 

 

Playing with a truck with Great-Grandpa Schwegman

10 Months!

Last week, Annabel turned 10 months.  I think this 9-10 month period has shown the biggest changes of all the months with huge process in mobility, balance and understanding.

So proud to be balancing by herself.

I love when she looks really intently at me.

 Long wet hair.

Her army crawling is getting faster and faster.  She has developed a quick way to get from crawling to sitting by doing the complete splits.  It's really something.  She is just starting to show some interest in pulling herself to standing.  She claps almost every time she sits up.  It's so cute how proud babies seem to get over their accomplishments.  She has a new little piano/xylophone and she looks up at one of us after she hits a few keys, like "did you see what I just did" or "what do you think of that?"

Loves to empty mom's purse.

All of a sudden she is demonstrating associations; it's really neat to watch.  She is responding to the words 'clap,' 'dance,' 'hug,' 'kisses,' and 'wave bye, bye.'    She looks over at the stack of books when I say "read books," and the other day she crawled over to the phone when I said "should we call Grandma?"

She really is enjoying dancing to any beat or song.  It is so cute to watch her little torso move like a little worm; she'll even dance in her bucket car seat.  I've been having her make decisions by offering a choice of a couple books so she will tap on the one she wants....so cute!  I'm working on teaching her to sign for 'more drink' or 'more eat' but she is not grasping that yet.  Hopefully that would help cut down on screeching at a restaurant.  She has started sucking her thumb when tired, but I don't think she is using it to sooth herself back to sleep at night.  Diaper changes are now most similar to wrestling a raccoon.

This month she caught onto using a straw, so she can now use a little water bottle.  That has been handy for in public, especially if she has a snack and wants a sip.  The nurses encouraged trying to skip the sippy cup, so we tried the straw and after some practice, she got it.  It's suppose to help strengthen their muscles that will later be helpful for speech.

She had her first illness.  We have been so fortunate with her health, having made it 10 months without even getting a cold.  She caught a stomach virus and was really down for the count for two days and just less active for about 3-4 days after that, but recovered well by mid-week of our trip to Wisconsin.

Baby Cabin Fever Cures

I don't have to announce that the winter has been long, cold, and windy.  I think everyone is aware.  In an attempt to keep things interesting without buying new toys, I've made a few objects to explore.  Here is a collection of a few things we've done at home this winter.

Discovery Bottles:

I found this idea a website called The Imagination Tree.  I've kept them in a corner under our island area, so when she cruises into the kitchen there is something interesting to look at while I'm cooking supper.  To be honest, I think she thinks they are okay.  But, they were minimal in effort and basically free.  Soap, water, food coloring, popcorn, rice, straws, and pipe cleaners.

 Rice:

This idea came from my friend Lindsay.  I copied it exactly, with the Rubbermaid container top and all.  This excellent sensory activity is a little messy, but quick to vacuum up.  It worked well months ago when she was unable to pick up little pieces, I'm not sure how it would go now.  Most likely would try to eat it. 

Pulling out Fabric:

Great use of a diaper wipes case.  Filled with socks,  fabrics, bandana.  At almost 10 mo, she just started becoming interested in pulling the fabric out.

We've also tried finger painting, but she's maybe a bit young and it was so, so messy!  At one point she sprawled out on her stomach on the paint and paper!  There was paint on the floor, her hands, her feet, my leg....I just started laughing and quickly halted that project. 

We've blown bubbles in the bathtub.  She also thought that was just so-so; she's a tough audience!

Her favorite indoor activities are actually the more basic ones of reading books, riding "airplane," singing songs and rhymes, and just recently, dancing! She also loves emptying out any container, especially her diaper bag.  Next project is to teach her to fill it back up.

Baby's First Easter

This year we were the greeters at church, with Annabel all dressed up in her Easter best. 

She received this dress from her baby shower from my mom.  Her first dress.

There was less people in church than I expected, but since a lot of people have Friday and Monday off, I think many go out of town.  The general school spring break (the entire week) also started, so possibly some go on vacation.

 

First Easter basket.

This cute Easter bunny is from Grandma June. 

I'm going to enjoy assembling Easter baskets in years to come.  I always really enjoyed searching for my basket and receiving bubbles, jump ropes and candy.  My mom was quite sneaky, as we often received some of the same things as our cousins, which really instilled the idea of the Easter Bunny.  My mom said she didn't even think about that helping us really believe, she just had more fun shopping for items with her sister.

We were unable to make time to get a picture with the Easter Bunny this year, but I have yet to see a non-scary Easter Bunny costume anyway.  With all of the Disney character costumes, you'd think it would be possible to make a cute Easter Bunny costume.
   
It's unfortunate that we again were unable to spend Easter with any family, which has been the case for many years running now.  We made the weekend special in other ways.  We took a nice wintery, Easter walk through the park near our house.

She looks just slammed in there, but the snowsuit adds some bulk.  I assure you she is nice and comfy.  She fell asleep on our walk home.

Crawling in a snowsuit is not the easiest.

For some reason I suddenly felt like I was going to just fly down this 10 ft slide. (Note the tight grip to the side!)  Hang on Annabel!!

Trying to take off Dad's glasses, but failing without the use of fingers.

We still have quite a bit of snow here in Saskatoon.

Taking a much needed rest on this handy park bench.

I wanted to take a photo of a huge snow drift, so I stepped off the trail, falling through up past my knees!  They should have had a "Stay on the Trail" sign.

We didn't go too adventurous with the meal.  Simple tends to be the way we have to do things these days with an active baby.  We made Eric's Aunt Jan's pork and beef meatballs, green beans and mashed potatoes.   Eric has greatly improved with his gravy making skills, as this round was not floury at all.  

I attempted to make marshmallow Rice Krispies bars for the first time, but messed them up.  How do you mess them up, you might ask?  I have no idea, but I did it twice.  

Hope you all had a nice Easter too!