Boboo

We've got a new friend with us this holiday season. Our new pint size house guest is Boboo (BAA-boo.) He doesn't have a last name, like Cher or Madonna.

Anyway, Boboo is an Elf on the Shelf.  Meme, that's what Blake is calling my mom these days, got him and I was skeptical. I didn't think that she'd get too into it this year. I was soo wrong.

If you're not familiar with the Elf's story, let me fill you in. As soon as you get your elf, you have to give him/her a name. As Santa's helper, the elf watches you and makes a mental note on whether you're being naughty or nice. Every night he/she reports to Santa Claus and then zips back to be in a new spot the next morning all before you wake up. Remembering to move the little guy is tough, but so worth it.

I didn't think Blake could get her head around the story and I definitely didn't think that she'd name him. Again, so wrong. I got him out and asked Blake his name. She gave me a look like I was ridiculous for asking and said, "Boboo." I thought it was a fluke, so I tested several other times that night. Boboo IS the name.

She doesn't care for the story of Boboo, but every elf on television or in a book is him. I can't wait until she understands about the naughty list, it could really come in handy. Blake loves finding him every morning and we love watching her search. I tried and tried, finally I caught a little video with her and her new bestie. Enjoy!

I Almost Forgot To Be Thankful

During this Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve been ripping on all of the, "I'm thankful for," posts on Facebook. I threatened to unfriend some frequent offenders. After all of my griping, I got a reminder of what I have to be thankful for, so now I'm sharing.

Josh woke me up at 3 a.m. on Saturday to let me know that the NBA lockout finally ended. He rolled over to go back to sleep and I was suddenly wide awake thinking about how drastically our lives are about to change.

There is a big part of me that is ready for him to get back to work. I know, bad wife! The sound of his chewing is starting to bother me, which means we've had too much time together. I am certain that

It hasn't all been bad. In the past 149 days. I've enjoyed family breakfast in bed, date nights & dance parties to name a few. We even got an entire holiday weekend. Every morning I wake Blake up and she asks for Daddy. We take a quick trip down the hall to say hello. It's going to be pretty tough when I can't deliver her hero first thing in the morning.

I am so thankful for the extra time we've had with Josh. I know that we'll never have another time like it. I have no regrets; we took advantage of every second.  I shared, are you happy Facebookers!

Let’s play some hoops!

Pepere's Birthday!

Boo!

"Boo" and "Whoa" are two of Blake's favorite words right now.  The one is very festive, but the other is a little too Joey Lawrence, it's an old television reference. Conversation is really getting interesting. I’m sure I’ll have more on this in the future.

We had a wonderful Halloween. It was a busy day. Blake had school in the morning and then Halloween festivities in the evening. Blake's school doesn't celebrate Halloween, but they did have a Spirit Day. Since Blake has no football allegiance, she wore her best Pacers gear. She didn't go trick or treating, but she helped hand out candy and she had a few friends stop by. It was a great night.

I've decided to keep this one short. Enjoy the pics!

Until next time

I Have A Confession

Blake started going to school one day a week. I know what you're thinking. It is great, for me and for her. Why am I having such a tough time accepting it?

1st Day Of School

Every Monday Blake will be making crafts, learning colors and numbers. She's there from 9:15 to 1:15, which means she even eats lunch with her class. I'm not sure that she's old enough for school lunch, seriously.

This past Monday was her first day. Her teachers said that she did great. She didn't cry once. I can't say the same for me, but you'll have that. Thankfully I had Justin to take my mind of Blake and how she's all grown up. He took me for sushi, which is always the best medicine.


I have to say that I'm a little shocked at my response to Blake's new adventure. Blake gets some much needed social/learning time and I get some time to myself. I want Blake to be independent. I don't want one of those kids who's stuck to their mom's leg. I don't know what my problem is, but I hope to be over it by next Monday. I'll let you know.


I mentioned that Justin was visiting this past weekend. We had the best time. We ate way too much and laughed a ton. It was a much needed visit. I wasn't the only one laughing. Justin kept Blake in stitches the entire visit. I think she was a little sad not to see him this morning.

We took a little visit to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect Halloween pumpkins on Sunday. Grandma and Grandpa Tellstrom, as well as Aunt Lauren decided to meet us. We plan on carving this week, so I'm sure those pictures will make the next post.

Because You're Over 30 AND Have A Baby

Last week I had the worst headache of my life. I've never been a person with headaches, so imagine my surprise when I woke up Monday morning feeling like someone was drilling into my skull. I tried everything to get rid of it, wasn’t happening. I went to bed with a headache and I woke up Tuesday with the same mind numbing pain. By Tuesday Josh was over it, so he took me to the doctor. The doctor gave me some medication and that took care of the problem.

My doctor wasn't in on Tuesday, so he asked me to come in on Wednesday to follow up. After patiently listening to all of my self diagnosis, he informed me that I have migraines. He explained, "This happens to a lot of women in their 30's that have had babies." I told him that I didn’t want migraines and I couldn't accept that answer." He wrote me a prescription for migraine medication. End of conversation.

What I really want to talk about is caring for a child when you feel like you might die, it's rough. This is one of those things that they don't tell you about before you have kids. There are no sick days. If someone would have told me that I would have brushed them off. I probably would have said, "That’s no problem, I'm never sick." I guess a woman in her 30's shouldn't make those kinds of bold statements.

Josh had to work the Fever game Monday night, so Mom came over and bathed Blake and put her to bed. Thankfully Emily and Zach came over and played Tuesday afternoon so I could go to the doctor. We are lucky to have so many helping hands.

There is a new development in our house. Blake now has a blankey. We have several different blankets for her crib and I change them around all the time. I realized this one was her favorite when she got it out of the dirty laundry, more than once. She likes to carry it around until she finds the perfect spot where she lays on it, with the fingers in the mouth.

We went to the Highlander Festival at Apple Works on Saturday and had a great time. We walked through the orchard and went through the petting zoo. We left with some yummy apple treats. The week didn't start out so good, but it ended on a good note.

Until next time

Without Acessories We're Just Animals

Big news! Blake is walking. A few weeks ago we went to Florida to visit Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Allie & Uncle Rory. Blake wasn't going to make the trip without a new pair of shoes. On the advice of a friend, I decided to try a pair of Keens. I wasn't sold on them, then the saleswoman put them on Blake's feet. She went crazy, kicking and giggling. I bought the shoes. This confirms that Blake is smarter than me. She knows a sucker when she sees one. Off to Florida we went new shoes in hand. As soon as we got to our condo she was walking everywhere, turning around and picking things up. It was amazing.  She's spent the past 15 months watching and taking notes on how to do just about everything. All she needed was the right shoes. My girl.

It doesn't stop with the shoes. On that same trip she started caring around her changing pad like a purse. When we got home I gave her a little purse with an old cell phone in it. Loved it. Every toy that has a hole in the middle is now a bracelet.

Since she was born someone was always asking if she looked more like me or Josh, then telling me that she looks like Josh. Why ask? Who cares who she looks like. She's got my sense of style. The importance of accessories should never be underestimated. I taught her that.

The trip to Florida was really great. We spent a lot of time with Allie and Rory before their big move to Oregon. We had family pool time and even went to see Mickey Mouse. Josh and I made a parental decision that Grandma and Aunt Allie can take Blake back to Disney while Josh and I go on our own vacation.

Blake got quality time with Grandma and Grandpa too. Josh's parents are really into games. Many of those games involve cards, which I hate. but with this trip came a new game. Dominoes. I love this game. I'm going to force Josh and whoever else is around to play. Brian, if you're reading this, it's on. Family travel season is over and I would say it was a success.

Since we've been home I've been trying to pack a few exciting outings into the end of our summer. The entire family has done the State Fair and the zoo. The most interesting thing about these outings is that Josh had never been to a state fair, crazy. I made sure that he visited all of the important barns and ate all the right fair food. Blake seemed to enjoy everything but the full grown pigs. Their size and all of that noise was a little intimidating. We’ve also been visiting the local park as much as possible, which is a lot more exciting with my little walker.

For anyone that is interested, the lawn is back to green. I caught and removed one chipmunk. Things are looking up.

Until next time

Greener Pastures

Originally I wanted to write a sweet, heartfelt post about our recent trip to Attleboro. Although I will get to that, I need to discuss something else first. I'm mad, really angry, about my yard. I know, I know, I've mentioned it before. I'm not done discussing.
It didn’t start this way.  I was all bright eyed and bushy tailed, just had a baby, trying out this stay at home mom thing. In my head I had images of a grassy bliss. I had dreams of a yard full of  hydrangeas and rose bushes, a patio with quirky pots with brightly colored flowers spilling out of them. I imagined that my husband and I would go out at night and sit by our fire pit and enjoy all of the wonder that was our yard.

Let’s get to my reality. Dead trees, four to be exact, a sea of brown grass. All the plants in my urns have drowned, which is incredible since we are in the middle of a drought. Weeds seem to flourish in my yard. Chipmunks also seem to do well, even with my attempts to drive them away.

You got the picture. I don't think I'm lazy when it comes to the yard. I water. I pull weeds. I go to the nursery and buy new plants to replace the ones I’ve killed. I also consult with my mother, who has an incredible green thumb. Those of you who have been to her house know that this is an understatement. I have her looks, but none of her gardening talents.

My yard makes me so unhappy that I just want to quit. Do I hire a gardener? I’m pretty sure you have to be named Mitzi and have onsite tennis courts to require a gardener.  I'm embarrassed that I'd even think of such a thing. I'm a stay at home mom; I should spend my time trying to perfect my gardening skills. I'm just not sure I have the patience.

I'll get off of all this gloom and doom. Let’s talk about the trip to Attleboro. We had such a great time. Blake was not a good flyer this go around. I guess those easy nappy flying days are over. She screamed a lot, we got a lot of looks. On the up side, I think that I'll be a lot more patient with travelers who have unhappy kids.

We stayed with Pepere and Pop Pop, so Blake had a lot of time with them. Grandma Lennartz and Memere got everyone together for a brunch, which was so great. Josh and I really enjoyed catching up with everyone. I think my favorite part were our evenings around the fire, mosquitoes and all. Chris and Ric have achieved grassy bliss. Thanks guys for a great trip.

Until next time

Respect The Seat

We had a great 4th of July week/weekend. My little brother is in town, which is fabulous. We had a ton of fun at the 4th of July Jamboree. To wrap it all up, Josh and I had a killer date night.

I'll start with the date night. On the 4th Josh and I saw Florence and The Machine, amazing show. If you get a chance see them, you won't regret it. We had a few beers with friends and saw a some fireworks after the show. I learned something new, so I thought I would share. The show was at an outside venue. If you've got to use the facilities, it's port-o-pot all the way. For the past 13 months bathroom habits have been a huge conversation piece in my house, why stop on date night. Josh informed me that when men use the port-o- pot they always use the urinal portion. Josh said, "you always respect the seat." I applaud Josh's parents for giving him good manners, but I don't think that everyone was given the memo. I would say most traveling toilets have not been treated with much respect.  Stimulating conversation plus incredible music equals an amazing date night.

The annual golf outing was a ton of fun. I didn't get to go to the actual outing this year, but I was around for the rest of the festivities. Josh won the award for longest putt, yeah!! I got to see Ethan for the first time, beautiful. I fed him, he was perfect.

Blake has moved on from pulling herself up. She's standing on her own and she's cruising around furniture. It's starting.....

Until next time

I'm Still Standing

Yeah yeah yeah... It's an Elton John song, if you didn't catch that. As always, a lot has gone on since we last chatted. I had a girls weekend, a death, a few births, a holiday and a milestone. So enough with the eighties hits, lets get down to business.

The second weekend in June was our 1st big girls trip. We had been planning a trip to Louisville, Kentucky for a few months. We were crossing our fingers that the kids wouldn't get sick and our husbands could handle one night without us. Katie, Emily and I packed out bags and headed out . We had a great time. We listened to live music, ate, laughed and we danced. It was just like the old days except that we only lasted until 1 a.m. I had to buy flip flops from the bathroom attendant because I just couldn't take it! We're already looking forward to our next trip. We're hoping by next summer we'll feel comfortable with leaving our little ones for a couple of days. Maybe the beach, we shall see. Turns out that the husbands didn't miss a beat. Thanks for all the fun girls, you're the best!

The next portion of this post is going to get a little deep and sad. If you can't take the heat I suggest you move to the next paragraph. My grandfather past away last week. The funeral was on Saturday. You learn so much at a funeral. You talk to people you haven't seen in years. You hear stories that you've never heard. I learned a lot about getting older and the power of friendship. My mother is tough and I felt helpless in helping her cope with her loss. Mom's closest friends drove up to Fairmount to attend the funeral and support their friend. I know that they probably know how much Mom appreciated their presence, but I'm not sure they know how much I appreciated them that day. I saw how truly sad they were for all of us. I know that many of them have recently lost a parent and it made me feel sad and unprepared for that day. Sometimes I really hate being an adult.

Ugggh... lets shake that one off. On a much happier note, Heidi had her baby on my birthday. Ethan Douglas was born on June 15th at 12:09 p.m. He weighed 8lbs 1 oz. Mom and Baby are both doing well. Did I mention that the 15th is also Heidi and Hannah's birthdays. Next year we will be eating cake off the floor with little Ethan! Baby Nies isn't the only baby news. My friend Brandi finally had her baby. Myles Alan was born June 22nd, 2:23 a.m. 7lbs. Mom and Baby are doing well. Blake and I are ready for some play dates!

Ethan Douglas

We probably need to discuss Father's Day. Our day was very low key, but that's how Josh wanted it. We had a family breakfast and went out to dinner. We spent the rest of the day just hanging around.  Blake got Daddy a fire pit, which he was very excited about. I am sure some crazy fire pit story will come up in the near future. One day probably isn't enough time to celebrate this man who gave me this incredible little girl with her incredible personality. If it weren't for him I wouldn't even know her. He makes up for all the time that he is on the road 10 times over in the time we have with him. We love you.

Father's Day 2010

Father's Day 2011

Speaking of standing, that's what Blake is doing. She pulls her self up and she's starting to get good. She doesn't like to do it when I'm looking. I turn my head and turn back and pop... she's up. Today she's got a little more daring. She really wants to stand up in the middle of the room on her own. She gets her self in a crab walk position and tries to get up from there. She's getting close. I'm pretty sure that she's going to skip the crusing stage and go straight to walking. 

This was a lot of talking and my wine glass is empty.

Until next time

There Is No Point

The point to this post is that there is really no point. We've had a lot going on the past few weeks, so I thought I would catch everyone up. Since Blake's birthday there has been a lot of activity.

My dad and Marsha came to keep the birthday extravaganza going. We spent the day together playing, eating, napping etc... Blake loved it. They got her this amazing tent. I think I am more excited than Blake. We had a great day.

The Wednesday after her birthday she had her one year check up, which means her last shots until kindergarten, yeah! She was so brave, she hardly even cried. My big girl weighs 20 lbs.7 oz. and is 28.5 inches long. She is a little below the 50th percentile, which is consistently where she has been since she was born. Did I mention that one of her top front teeth finally came out! She's been showing it off with this scrunched up face she's been trying out, take a look.



Since her appointment we've been slowly getting Blake off formula and onto milk. It's going well and she's done with the formula completely. I'm thrilled. We've also been trying to go to all sippy cups. I thought it was going well, but there has been a change. She used to love her cups, but now she drinks less and throws the cup more. I'm trying to make sure she gets enough milk by the end of the day, but she's giving me a run for my money. Josh, Monica and I've been trying a few different methods. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Monica and Brian came for Memorial Day weekend and the following week. We had a great time. There knees are probably totally skinned from following Blake around. Gramma and Grampa got to experience a first, which I loved. Blake got in the swimming pool for the first time on Sunday. We went to the neighbors for a pool party. Blake was so happy in her little float, she even put her face in the water. I think I've got a little water baby. I'll need to get her in swim lessons asap.

Ok, you're caught up.

Until next time.

One of The Good Ones

It's been a while since we talked. I've been busy planning the party of the century. Blake turned one year old today. I can't believe I've already had an entire year with my beautiful, smart, funny little girl.

Every step of the birthday party planning was more fun than the next, which surprised me. It didn't even seem like work! I know it was because when it was over I was completely exhausted. The party was a little over the top considering she won't remember it, but I wouldn't change a thing.  I'm not alone in my over-doing-it with the party planning. I visited the party store, more than once, with a whole new perspective. I noticed all the other moms going up and down the isles filling their carts with every birthday/graduation knick knack you could image. I've entered the big league. I've fasted my seat belt because I know that the ride is just starting to click up that giant party planning hill!

The theme of the party was the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle. Blake and I both love the book.  We had burgers and hot dogs along with an amazing caterpillar cake. Thank you Hannah! Blake's buddies Quinn and Zach came to play, it was great fun.

Today was Blake's actual birthday. She and I enjoyed an afternoon at the park. This evening we had a nice family dinner and ate left over cupcakes . After dinner Blake opened Mommy and Daddy's gift. We were so excited to give her her first little kitchen. I'm curious which one of us will enjoy it the most.  

These years are going to go by so fast. I am going to do my best to cherish every minute. I love you Wingnut. Happy Birthday.

Until next time