Oh, Laney Bug!

A few weeks ago I decided to introduce Laney to puffs and whole wheat cereal. Jareth loved his puffs and I was excited to share them with Laney too. So oof to the store I went to buy some of these yummy treats. I picked out sweet potato and vanilla as kind of a treat for her. As soon as we got home I put her in her high chair and gave her a little cereal and applesauce and a sample of each kind of puff. And boy, did she love them!
About two hours later I went to change her diaper and, "Oh, Laney Bug!" Her tummy and back were both covered in hives. I'm not just talking about those little red bumps kids sometimes get when something irritates their skin. I'm talking huge golf ball sized, swollen circles. I looked at her face and she was happy as a lark but her skin was bright red and just looked terrible. I'm proud to say I didn't freak out and rush her to the ER or doctor's office. I decided that since she didn't seem to be bothered by this reaction and didn't have other signs of ailment, I would just watch her the rest of the day and see if they would go away on their own. After a day or so, without any wheat, they had lightened up a lot so I decided to test it out again. I think I gave her three puffs and within an hour her skin had flared back up and even her head had broken out a little. I called the doctor and they said not to give her anything else with wheat but that they couldn't see her for another week.
A few days later Jareth was eating some scrambled eggs and Laney got a hold of a small piece. Her face immediately broke out in streak like red marks. Great... No wheat and no eggs for Laney Bug. When we finally got to see the doctor he assured me that she wasn't under any immediate threat and suggested we do an allergy test. I opted out, worried about how invasive it would be. So we decided to wait until she is one and if she still shows allergic symptoms we will do one then. He also said if it seems like the hives are reappearing without wheat or egg exposure we could go ahead with the testing.
Her skin is still flaring up almost everyday but I'm not sure if it's because she has gotten into something with wheat traces (Jareth drops crumbs constantly) or if it's due to something else. I don't know what to do. Her skin looks awful. However, she doesn't seem to mind it and I do have some peace in that. Oh, I hope she grows out of this!

Thanksgiving Trip

Or as I like to call this particular trip, "57 Oysters and a Bottle of Wine." You'll hear why in a moment.
We usually go to Florida for Thanksgiving. The first time we decided to do this was in 2004 and Jon chose to propose to me Thanksgiving night on the beach. My grandmother put this trip together and decided to make it a tradition. She passed away in 2008 and we have tried to keep it going. This trip holds a very special place in my heart and I want to share this tradition with my kids.
This year we went to Panama City Beach and stayed at Grandview East. The weather was amazing all week long. We played sand volleyball and paddle boarded one day. We also got to celebrate my uncle Chad's 40th birthday! Our Thanksgiving meal was amazing as always and we ate some really yummy seafood. I really liked Dee's and Schooners best. Breaking Dawn part 2 came out over the weekend so we got to go see that. We usually go to the movies once or twice when we go. It was a super fun trip. We only had one incident. And it was a big one. For our first dinner out we decided to go to Dusty's Oyster Bar. Jon had decided before we came that he wanted to see how many oysters he could eat. You know where this is going. I cut him off at five dozen (and $30). Everything was going fine for a while. The next day we played on the beach and we had a mexican fiesta for Chad's birthday. It wasn't until 36 hours later that it started. Food poisoning. Poor Jon was sick as a dog for the rest of our vacation. He didn't even get to eat at Thanksgiving. I felt so bad for him. He stayed in the condo most of the rest of the vacation. The only upside was that when the kids napped we didn't have to decide who had to stay with them and who got to go to the beach. : ) It took him four days to get over it.
Anyhoo, back to the fun part. My favorite activity of the trip (besides playing games which is always my favorite) was paddle boarding! Two of the people we went with rented paddle boards for the day and we all took turns using it. I went twice and didn't fall down once. I loved it. It was fun and so peaceful once you paddled out pretty far. Of course the gulf is super clear so it was really cool to go out and watch the fish underneath you. I had a school of sting rays riding with me at one point. I'm going to have to start renting paddle boards on vacation. I looked into buying one but they are mucho dinero!

Here are some favorite pictures from the trip

For the love of Finnick

It occured to me that Ariel and Finnick are eachother's dream girl/guy. : )

Our Humble Abode

I realize that while I've been blogging all about the things we've been doing here in Minnesota, I've neglected to blog about our temporary home. I've mentioned before that we live in a duplex on what we lovingly refer to as "Fed Row." Federated owns the duplexes and their trainees have the option to ren them during their stay in Owatonna. There are six duplexes, 12 units. They all look roughly the same with slight differences in layout. They all have a living/dining space, small kitchen, two bedrooms, one bath, and a decent sized unfinished basement with garage. While there are a few families that grace Fed Row each training period, most of the people who come through are couples and single guys. These accomodations are pretty sweet for them. Rent is cheap and the units are nice, but for a family of four. . .

 



Let's just say, we play outside ALOT. It's going to be a long winter. But I can't complain too much. Less square feet means less cleaning and more playing. However, a new stove would be nice, a garbage disposal would be great, and a dishwasher would be flippin awesome. That's right dear friends!    ALL.  BY.  HAND.

  

Okay. Enough with the witty plug ins. While it does feel a little cramped in here some days and I'd love some appliances made in this decade, I have to admit that it's going extremely well. The closeness is kind of nice and honestly, things are perfect.

 

 

 





 

The Fine Art Gallery















Jareth's and Laney's Room



 



Closet Overflow





More Closet Overflow



Reminds me of our first apartment in college, except there were only two ppl sharing it.

Bedroom Chamber
 

 



 

Growing Babies

Someone please tell me how this.....

turned into this

in just a few short months?

Dear Jareth

Tomorrow you will be three years old. Today we woke up to a rainy, gray, Minnesota morning so I asked you if you wanted to watch a movie. You of course said yes and chose Toy Story 3, dragging Woody and Buzz out from your bedroom. Toy Story 3. You would choose a movie that makes me cry from start to end. You see, while you see Andy on the tv screen, I see you. You growing up, letting go of your toys, moving away from home. Your'e only three and I'm already emotional about you leaving. That's how much you are loved, kid. At least I have 15 more years to get used to the idea. I'll tell you one thing though when that time comes I'm going to be a wreck. And I assure you that between now and then there will be many emotional moments from your momma. When that happens just give me a hug and let me have my moment. You'll get it one day.

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead,
And you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said,
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You got troubles,
and I got them too
There isn't anything
I wouldn't do for you
We stick together, we can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
but none of them
will ever love you
the way I do
it's me and you, boy

And as the years go by,
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
"Whatever happens, at least we will be together. To infinity and beyond"

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

So, I've mentioned before that Jareth is completely obsessed with baseball thanks to the movie, " The Sandlot." Every day we play catch and work with him on hitting the ball. There have been many a morning in which the first words he utters is , "mommy, play baseball?" He even wants a baseball birthday party this year. Being so close to Minneapolis we decided we should go to a Twins game. We kind of waited until last minute but were able to catch the last game of the season.000+50102 (Those numbers would be Laney's contribution to this post) This game also just happened to fall on Kids Appreciation Day so Jareth got to get on the field and run the bases! The word "excited" doesn't even begin to describe his expression that day. He was pretty upset that he couldn't go play with the players and we came very close to a major meltdown. Fruit snacks helped and when the fruit snacks failed, there were mini dough nuts.

Target Field was really nice. It is a super clean stadium and it is 100% smoke free. The food was what you would expect at a ball park but I believe I found the best deal in the stadium. I found a kids meal for $5.25 which consisted of a regular hotdog, chips, and small soda. Pretty good for a baseball game if you ask me! Also, since it was the end of the season all the souviniers were on sale so I was able to scoop up a helmet for Jareth for just $12. Sweet! We had such a great time. We are officially Twins fans now but don't worry Braves, your'e still #1 in our hearts.

 

 





Our future Big Leaguer!

 

Busy, Busy!

Obviously I have not been doing a great job keeping my blog up to date. I can't believe it's been two months since I've written! We have been so busy here in Andersonland and to catch you up completely would take more time than I have to type and more time than you have to read. So, here is the condensed version of what's been going on around here.
In August we got to go home to Tennessee for a week. Jon had his first "field trip" back to Knoxville and  at first we talked about sending just Jareth with him but thanks to a man we all know as "papaw" we all got to go for a visit. It was really nice to have help with the kids for a week and of course it was wonderful to spend time with family and friends. The week after we got back we got to experience the Steele County Free Fair. "The Biggest Reunion in the State of the Union!" (Like I need a reminder that I'm in a Union state...) It's kind of a big deal around here. It seemed like everyone we met when we first moved up here mentioned that the fair was coming up. We had a blast and Jareth absolutely love it. He got to ride his first fair rides and pet his first llama while Jon and I were busy consuming way too much fried food! They had fried everything; snickers, cheese curds, pb and js, pickels, etc. And I love, love, love fried pickels! No shame here. The fair was pretty great.
Also, we decided to make a day trip to Duluth. It's about four hours north of Owatonna on Lake Superior. The lake was beautiful and it was freezing! There were people swimming in the water and it was some of the coldest I have ever felt. Jareth got in it a little too but I couldn't stand it. We also visited the Aerial bridgs, Enger Tower, and the Light house. After we had lunch the kids fell asleep in the car so Jon stayed with them while I went walking around. While I was doing a little shopping he texted me that he got us a room for the night. It was super sweet. We ate at a couple of really good places. Grandma's Saloon and Grill had awesome sandwhiches and Vitta's pizza was delicious. Duluth is really nice. I recommend going there for a long weekend.
September has been really fruitfull as well. Jeremy came to vist for a long weekend. We went to the park and showed him around Owatonna a little bit. Then on Saturday we went to Minneapolis. We walked around Lyn-Lake and had lunch at a little Greek place and we watched the UT game at the Marriot where we stayed the night. We had an amazing brunch at Hell's Kitchen. Seriously, it was amazing! Go there! Eat the peanut butter and try the lemon ricotta pancakes. I wish I had brought a jar of pb home with me. It was really nice to have some family up here with us for a weekend. We miss our family and friends back home.
So, the condensed version is getting a little long but I did want to mention that I'm meeting more and more people here. We've made friends with another Fed couple who have two little girls that are Jareth and Laney's ages. They are super sweet and we get along great with them. Also, I joined MOPS and put Jareth in an ECFE class on Wednesday mornings. But I will have to write more on that later....the kids are waking up!

Milestones

My sweet babies are growing like weeds! Jareth will be three in just three short months and Laney is now four months old. They are getting bigger, stronger, and smarter everyday.
Jareth is finally speaking (mostly) in complete sentences and on a good day can count to 15. Recently, Jon introduced him to the movie, Sandlot, and now he has a little obsession with baseball. Yesterday I got him a real baseball and that's all he has been talking about today. I need to find him a glove but gloves for two and a half year olds aren't easy to find. He has also hit a couple of developmental milestones. He can put 35 piece puzzles together easily, he has been caught playing make-believe with batman and spiderman, and he understands the concept of counting. Another concept he has learned is that daddy comes home from work for lunch and then has to go back. He's not a big fan of that. Jon has to wear a badge to work on a lanyard and as soon as he puts that on, Jareth has a mini meltdown. But we are working through it.
Laney is getting so big! She now weighs 13lbs and is 25 1/2 inches long. She is in the 37% for her weight and 83% for her height. She loves being in the excersaucer along with the bouncer. She can stand really well with a little support and prefers standing to sitting or lying down. She also likes to reach out and grab our noses, or in my case, my hair. Also, she is loving rice cereal and sweet potatoes!
Jon and I are doing great also. He is doing an amazing job in class and we are still enjoying our time here. Family time is plentiful and fruitful and we are blessed.

Oh yeah, I had a Birthday!

Well folks, we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of me getting my driver's license last week. For some reason I think that sounds better than saying, "I turned twenty-seven last week". Twenty-seven sounds soooo old to me. So, happy anniversary to me. And yes, that means I was seventeen when I got my license. You see, I had a boyfriend with a Jeep so I wasn't really in a hurry to start driving myself around quite yet. I mean, check this stud muffin out. Can you blame me? And please ignore the hair-do....

Can you believe we have celebrated 12 years of birthdays?! That's nuts. Anyhoo, the day of was a Tuesday so we celebrated at home with some Tacos, since it was Taco Tuesday of course, and a big slice of chocolate cake from the Hy Vee. Jon brought me flowers and a card and he even put trick candles in the cake. I don't think he realized they were trick candles when he bought them. But it was fun and Jareth got a kick out of it. And let me tell you, Hy Vee chocolate cake is the bomb.

On Friday we had the neighbors watch the kids so we could go out to eat. We drove to Rochester and ate at Newt's. Jon was excited that I chose burgers at a pub as my birthday dinner. He should know by now that I love a good burger just as much as the next guy. I picked Newt's because we had seen it on the Travel Channel. I had the Jucy Lucy and he had the Mike D's. Mine was a burger with cheese in the middle and his was a burger with onion straws and bacon pitted between two grilled cheese sandwiches. They were awesome. This picture just doesn't do it justice.

After our amazing burgers we walked across the street to yet another pub and sat outside and had a cocktail. It was the first time in over a month that we had been out by ourselves. It was pretty great. Happy 10 year anniversary of getting my driver's license to me!

Just a Day in the Life..

Here are a few photos to see what most of our days look like. Yes, there's cleaning and cooking along with errands and naps but you don't want to see photos of that. We are having a great time. : )

<---Check out Jareth jamming! That face is priceless!

Never a Boring Moment!

We have really enjoyed our first three weeks in Owatonna! There has been so much to keep us busy that time is already flying by. The area has a lot going on and great things for families to enjoy. There are several public parks and playgrounds to go to, many of which are within walking distance from "fed row" where we live. The kids and I have been walking a lot since we got here. Even the Hy-Vee grocery store is just a short walk away.
Our weekends so far have been full and fun. Last weekend we had "Breakfast on the Farm." We walked to the fairgrounds and were shuttled to Clover Glen Farm for a $3 breakfast which was held to promote National Dairy Month. It was really fun and the breakfast was delicious. (I am in love with fresh butter now!) Other than the pancake and sausage breakfast that was served, there were a ton of fun activities to do. Jareth had his picture taken with a cow and put on a button and he got to go on a lawn-tractor train ride. He loved it! There was also a bounce house and a petting zoo. He had a great time. The farm was beautiful and it was neat to see Jareth excited over all the cows.

 

This past weekend we decided to venture further north to Minneapolis to visit the Mall of America. We decided to take Jareth to the Aquarium and found discounted tickets online. He was facinated by the jelly fish and the sea horses but his favorite part was the underwater tunnel experience. We saw several different types of sharks, fish, and sea turtles. We ended up buying a membership by the end of our tour. It will be something fun to do when it gets cold and it was only an extra $10 per person for the membership and Jareth and Laney were free! Pretty good deal, if you ask me! The Mall of America is huge. Huge and overwhelming. Huge and overwhelming and time consuming. Huge and overwhelming and time consuming and pretty neat. We were there for about 7 hours and didn't even see the whole place. Suprisingly the kids did really well with the trip. We found a nice bench area outside one of the restrooms at Macy's to take break at and after that they both fell asleep in the stroller. My advice to anyone going to Mall of America is to get there when they open. It was really nice early in the morning but by lunch time it was crazy! Oh, and try the fish tacos at Kokomo's. They are yummy.

Our week days while dad is at work have been filled by trips to the park and playing in the backyard. The neighbors on either side of us are fantastic and Jareth plays well with their kids. He is having ball here. Jon is doing great at work. I guess I should call it school. He is in class from 7am-3pm and then does homework until 4 or 4:30 each day. Most days he comes home, plays with the kids, eats dinner, and goes back to the ATA building to study for about an hour or so. He comes home for lunch everyday and I keep busy while he is gone. I actually feel like I'm going to see him much more now than I ever did at his old job. All in all it is going well and I'm looking forward to the next several months.