What a cutie!

Well our little Payton is just too cute with the talking! You swear she is just having this deep conversation with you and I can only understand bits and pieces :) Her big thing now is sit down "it tow", "poopie" for you know what, and "bankie" for her favorite fleece blanket. Of course she says "daddy" all the time and Mama only when she is upset... figures! We actually got her to use her pink fleece blanket last week. For all of you that have seen Payton with her blue or yellow blanket understand what a HUGE thing that was for us! I finally have a backup "bankie" at home! Her yellow one is usually at daycare unless it is home to be washed. She has actually stared into our washing machine and cried when she sees those blankets in there! She is so silly. We brought her to get her photos taken on Saturday. She smiled only once and I was so upset that we drove to Rochester for these photos and she wasn't cooperating, but let me tell you that they took some beautiful shots! I couldn't believe that she was able to get such cute photos. We payed a bundle for them, but they are worth it! When we get them I will post a couple. We also picked up Payton a new sandbox. Our patio will be ready for it by the weekend. Can't wait for her to try it out!

Yeah Memorial Day!

My parents came in last night for the weekend. It is going to be in the 90s by Sunday. Finally a dry and beautiful Memorial Day! We are having our patio done this weekend. The company that we are using (it is going to be concrete) have jobs starting next week and decided that if we are okay with it they will get it done this weekend. I am THRILLED! I really want to put a sandbox for Payton out there, we just bought an outdoor fireplace, Brian built a raised garden bed for me that I really want to get started on, and it will be a much easier place to grill... For all of you who have never been in MN it is SO windy. Sometimes out deck has so much wind whipping through it it is difficult to keep the grill hot! The patio will be between our deck and our garage so it will be sheltered from the wind some. The wind is great when it is super hot out though!

Well, we will post photos when it is done. Happy Memorial Day Weekend to you all! Happy Anniversary a little early Allison and Steven! Hard to believe it has been 2 years already!

Blog Hopping

Its starting to take a lot longer to check everyone's blogs now that even more people have them (and update them!). I wonder how much time could be wasted in a day just blog hopping around from all the links on people's blogs. Checking out links to other people's blogs and their links and so on. Of course there will be some dead ends like hitting Sonja's website if you don't have an account (just got mine this week...whoo hoo!) Maybe I'll try this when I get a slow day...might not be until November the way things are going (but being busy is good).

All Done!

Here is the finished front yard. We put down almost 3 yards of rock yesterday. It looks SO nice! But it was a lot of work! We are saving the back yard landscaping until next year.

They Might Be Giants

Remeber them? They had songs like "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" and "Particle Man". Well, the other day, Payton was watching one of her favorite cartoons, Higglytown Heroes, when I noticed on the credits that They Might Be Giants does the theme song. Its a little better than the usual cartoon song and once I made the connection it sure sounds like them.

Payton is getting so big!

Since I am on a roll with the photos I thought that I would put a couple of Payton. You can really tell how much she has grown since we moved here, which was 9 months ago! She just loves to look out the windows! And now she finally can without standing on something!

Photo update

Here are some photos we have been meaning to post. The first two are our new yard, and the third one is the week we moved in. We now have the yard and driveway finished to our newly paved road. So it looks much nicer! We just need to add one more plant on the side and then the rock in the front. It sure is difficult to work on the landscaping when you have an 18 month old running all over the place! We had fun doing it though. We did come home to a lovely Purple Ash tree in our front yard yesterday too.

Landscaping

We worked all weekend on landscaping the front yard. Got most of it done too! We pulled up the grass, which was the hardest part, put edging in and planted 10 plants. We'll have to get a load of landscaping rock to put in the beds, but that won't happen until next wekend. This weekend we're heading to Milwaukee for Mother's day to visit my Grandmother and my parents. I was able to plant a tree last night before the rains came. Its a Discovery Elm, which is disease resistant, grows quickly and is pretty hardy. Its probably close to 10 feet tall right now but rather spindly. We need it mostly to shade the deck in the late afternoon/early evening, but it'll be a few years before it gets big enough. The city is also planting trees along the street so by the time I get home tonight there should be a tree out front. We will work on the rest of the yard a little at a time from now on...need to plant more plants around the house and more trees out back. The patio might be the last big project for outside this year although I would like to get a few plants in around the deck. I'll get some pictures up when I get a chance.

Soggy Weekend

We had a total washout this weekend! It has been raining for 3 days... Tomorrow is supposed to be better.

Although the weather was rotten we were able to have a good weekend. Brian's birthday was Saturday and we had a babysitter and went out to dinner and a movie. We helped a friend of mine move into her new house and tried our best to entertain Payton knowing that she would have loved to be outside... This coming weekend hopefully will be better weather wise and we can start our landscaping in the front of the house.

I am going to be starting a quilting class with some friends from work. One of our co-workers works at a quilt shop on Saturdays and she is going to do the class for us. We had a ball at the quilt shop on Saturday picking our fabrics. We are all doing the same pattern, but we all are choosing our own color schemes. How overwhelming all that fabric is! I started a quilt a few years ago now and hopefully this will get me going to start working on it again! I am looking forward to it!

Happy Monday!

Tuesday Morning Quarterback

I just discovered that Gregg Easterbrook's Tuesday Morning Quarterback (TMQ) is back on ESPN.com. A few years ago he was abruptly fired from ESPN due to some comments he made on his personal blog and has spent the last few seasons on NFL.com. His comments were about violent movies and Jewish executives, specifically Michael Eisner then CEO of Disney which owns ESPN. I guess now that Eisner is no longer the CEO its ok to bring back TMQ, they even put his archives back. It seemed a little strange that TMQ was removed in the first place since there were quite a few degrees of separation between his comments and his job at ESPN.

Just thought I'd inform yoose guys in case you're looking for TMQ in August. (only 4 more months 'till football starts!!)

Is it Monday already?

We had such a good weekend I am SO sad that the week is starting again! We were able to spend a lot of time outside, Payton did NOT want to come in last night! She climbed into her stroller and would not get out. Two rounds around the neighborhood and a little whining and we got her out! It is nice to be outside and see all the neighbors out and about. Everyone was mowing their grass and playing with the kids. It was great! We went up to the cities to see Jeannine and my good friend Katie who came up for the weekend. Payton had a ball playing with Jeannine. It was nice for Payton to finally meet Katie!

Well our weekend ended sort of strangely last night. Payton has had a runny nose for the past few days. And a little cough, of course. It seems like it may be an allergy thing. Then last night she started to cry around 1am. She wouldn't settle down so I went in there and she seemed fine until the vomitting started! So needless to say that Mom was up for hours. Even after she finally settled down I was so wide awake it is tough to get back to sleep. This morning she is doing great. Who knows... this kid is always sick! That is my only negative thing about daycare! I guess it is now or when she starts school right!?

Bunco...

Ever heard of Bunco? It is this crazy dice game that you need 12 people to play. On Friday night I went with my neighber to play at her friends house. They apparently play once a month on a Friday and rotate houses. They have 12 "regular" ladies that play and then a list of substitutes in one or more of the 12 can't make it. Because of the way the game works, you play with 6 teams of 2, you can't play without the full 12. It was a new experience for me! 12 loud women drinking and playing bunco... it was a great time! I am officially on the "sub" list! Strange, but fun!

We had a nice weekend. As Brian already wrote we have been pricing out things for upgrades in the yard. Sunday we were able to go to Minneapolis and have lunch with our good friend Jeannine. She is our family here:) We went an AWESOME german buffet and stuffed ourselves with some great food. Payton was so pooped out yesterday morning! She didn't want to get up! She has some sort of bug I think. She is working it out... literally! Thank goodness she is drinking a lot! And her appetite returned in full force last night at dinner!

Gasthof zur Gemütlichkeit

Jeannine asked if we wanted to go to Gasthof zur Gemütlichkeit for Easter Sunday brunch. We had been there before with her and quickly agreed that it would be a good thing to do. It was fantastic! Everything on the buffet was great as was the beer. There were accordians playing and people having fun. Payton was entertained by everything around us, at least for a little while. Everyone had a good time and we know what we're doing for Easter next year already!

Here's the menu...
Entree's:
Turkey * Smoked Ham * Sauerbraten * Smoked Sausage * Wienerschnitzel * Chicken Breast in a white wine sauce * Eggs Benedict * Deep Fried Walleye strips

Accompanied by:
Salad Bar * Mashed Potatoes * Gravy * Spatzle
Sauerkraut * Red Cabbage * German Potato Salad

For Dessert:
Black Forest Cake * Stawberry Cream Cake * Open Face Apfelstrudel * Belgian Waffles with all the trimmings

Yard Work

The weather has been pretty damn nice lately so that makes it time to do yard work. I've raked a bit but I don't think I'll get the whole yard done...oh well. The grass is starting to green up so Saturday I'll put down some fertilizer. Fortunately the weather looks good on Saturday with rain on Sunday. That means I'll be mowing the lawn soon. I got a new mower at the end of last season, I just have to remember to put oil in it before I use it (gas too!). We also need to get started on the landscaping. We'll hit Lowe's this weekend to see what's available. I also plan on putting a fairly large tree in soon so I have to decide what to get. This tree is going to provide some shade for the deck but I don't want it to be too dense...just light filtering. We'll take it slowly and get a little done at a time so we don't get burned out.

Back again...

We were in WI over the weekend for our neice's 4th birthday party. Payton had a blast! She loves all the kids and gifts. The first night we had a tough time getting her down to sleep. The dreaded pack n play is not her favorite. And after the 5 hour car ride she just didn't want to settle down. We eventually brought her in bed with us (which we NEVER do) and she slept great. We however slept horrible! The next night she didn't even wake up! Who knows... She is starting to transition into the toddler room at daycare next week. She will spend one week going over there for a couple of hours in the morning, but still spending the rest of her day in the infant room and then the second week she will spend 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon with the toddlers. The third week she leaves her baby friends behind to make the permanent transition in the "Yellow Room". With the toddlers she will have her on cot to nap on. Good luck with that one! I am hoping that she will do good with that and then it will make it easier for us to transition her to her toddler bed. She is ready for the more structured day that the toddlers have. I know she will just love it.

Jamaica Mon!

We arrived home from Jamaica late last night. We had a great time! Apparently Brian and i were "Jamericans" this week because it was our second trip to the island. Although Payton didn't really start to feel better until Wednesday. We were doing the daily phone call to check in, but I was worried about her. That was the only damper on our entire stay. She started eating again on Wednesday night to all of our relief. I thanked Betty for making her all better by the time we got home! She seems to be back to her old tricks this morning!

Home sick again...

Well, I should have kept my mouth quiet! Payton developed a fever and stuffed nose yesterday. I took her to the doctor (we are leaving on Sunday for Jamaica) and she seems to just have a virus. Her appetitie has been poor the last couple of days as well and yesterday afternoon and evening she really ate nothing and just sipped on some juice. So this morning she woke up with the dry heaves (YUCK!). Brian was home this morning with her and I left work to be home this afternoon. She seems to do better the longer she is up. Then after her nap she is terrible again. She just whines and shivers. Thank goodness that she is drinking just great! Hopefully this is just one of those 24 hour things!

The big 3-0

Well, yesterday I turned 30! Brian is teasing me that he is no longer married to a woman in her 20s. Nice huh? I have been busy taking an Oncology class in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic this week and getting up at 4:30am for a couple of days really caught up fast! I guess I do feel older:)

Payton has been just a little stinker eating lately. One day she eats everything in sight, the next night we can't get anything in her for dinner except a yogurt. I know it is normal, but it sure does frustrate mom! Here is a photo of her brushing her teeth before bed... now who could get upset at that sweetie I ask!!??

Playing outside...

Well we were able to take Payton outside to play in the snow today. It is in the mid 30s, but the sun is shining and the sky is totally clear. We still have snow so we had to enjoy it. We pulled her around the yard in her little sled, and she actually only whined for the first couple of minutes. They she seemed to enjoy it. Although I think that mom and dad enjoyed it more!

More snow...

We are currently getting our second snow storm of the week (it isn't too much snow, about 8 inches for each storm). Last week we were in the 40s-50s daily. On friday I pulled into our driveway are realized that we had no snow in our yard. The kids in town must love no school for 2 days in the same week! Lucky for me my 2 days off this week happened to be on the same days as the snow. We get a lot of drifts here in MN with that wind. BRRRR.

I am happy to report that the Stewards (all 3 of us!!) are finally healthy! It has been a couple of months since all 3 of us were without a cough, sniffles, sore throat..... I shoud knock on wood! Brian and I are on vacation in a little over a week!