Sweet Relief

Tomorrow at this time I will be thousands of feet above the ground on my way to Vegas! What a wonderful thought after this long-seeming week with some crazy children! And it was only a three-day school week for us! I am SO ready for this break! This week has been tough because I've been thinking how stressed I'll be with trying to get the family ready to go; how I'll be sad about leaving my son; how I'll be nervous about the plane ride until we actually take off. However, a co-worker reminded me that if I keep projecting negativity, that will be the outcome, so I've been trying to turn it around. I am even trying to have a positive attitude about being away from Jackson - I am not worried about him in the least and I know I will be having so much fun that I'll hardly have time to miss him. Saying goodbye will be hard, but I have some time tonight and in the morning to play with him first. And packing will not be that much work as Curt is at home right now getting started on it. And once we're off the ground tomorrow and all the waiting is over, I'm gonna love being on that plane! VIVA LAS VEGAS after all!!!

P.S. Don't look for many posts over the next week and a half or even longer. We probably won't have much down time at the Tahiti (although I'd like a little), and I'll be working over-time to prepare the childrens' conferences when we get home. Hopefully I'll be all caught up with pictures and info by the end of March! (I'm only half joking.)

Viva Las Vegas?

It is five days and counting until I leave my little boy behind for a week. Yes, we are leaving Friday for a week of fun in fabulous Las Vegas (YAY!), but I'm already getting sad about being away from Jackson for so long (and doing most of the work required to get ready to go!) . Don't get me wrong; I'm very excited for the trip. It's just that the days beforehand will leave me feeling blue before I even get on the plane. Wouldn't you be, too, if you got to look at this face sitting next to you at the dinner table but knew you'd be missing it for 7 straight days and nights?!

However, once we're taking off for a week of vacation - food, fun, sun (we hope), and no picking up a messy house or cleaning up the remains of a toddler's dinner - I know the blues will start to lift and I'll be anxiously anticipating the getaway! My parents gave me a week at their timeshare for a college graduation present and we hadn't used it, so when our friend Cody mentioned last year that he and his girlfriend, Sara, were thinking about going to Vegas, we said "Let's go!"

We'll have to wait and see how long I hold out on the actual tears this week... not counting the two I actually let fall today...

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!! I think!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I have been marveling at how much time has passed since the best Valentine's Day ever: we brought Jackson home from the hospital one year ago. I've also been reflecting on how much has changed over the past year, how much more fun and exciting life's been, and how lucky we are. When I had my newborn baby in my arms, I didn't think things could get any better and I never wanted it to end. Now he's growing up and showing so much personality and joie de vivre and it's so much fun. I guess as a mother you enjoy each phase for its own special reasons; there are also many things to be grateful for at each new transition when you look back. You know, healthy growth, milestones reached, and leaving the days of postpartum diaper-like pads and granny panties behind! Seriously, I was so miserable for the first couple weeks. New mommyhood is such a strange mixture of joy and emotion yet pain and discomfort. When I think back to where I was physically a year ago, I am so relieved that it's one year later - I feel so bad for that girl! Of course I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat, and I'd never trade any of it for anything in the whole, wide world.

Happy FIRST Birthday, Jackson!!!

The birthday ham!

Unbelievable as it seems, our little boy turned one yesterday! (I only cried a little bit at night.) We celebrated his birthday at home Tuesday night since it was Curt's night to work on Jackson's birthday. My friend Katie sent him this awesome blue birthday hat complete with a polka-dotted letter J and blue fuzzies, so I got him into a matching outfit and put him in a big-boy rocking chair that was a gift from his birth. We've had the chair out for about a month now and he never pays any attention to it, but he actually sat very well for almost five whole minutes of pictures! He was just eating up our attention.

The official birthday hat

Isn't it cute how he held the arms?! :)

Then Mommy made Jackson a chocolate birthday cake with vanilla frosting, star sprinkles, and a single candle. We sang to him as I walked the cake over, and he looked like he had no idea what was going on. Why are Mommy and Daddy singing while she brings this funny-looking toy to my high chair, and what is that bright flickering stuff coming out of it? Ooh, I see - it's pretty. I want to touch it. Aww, why won't Mommy let me touch it?! He has been learning how to blow on his hot food, so I tried to get him to blow on the candle, but he just kept looking from the cake to me to the cake to me to the cake. (Daddy was videotaping, so I don't have a photo of him going after the candle.) Once he realized it was food - and sweet dessert at that - he was in heaven. He absolutely devoured that cake, right down to licking frosting from his fingers! He hasn't had much for sweet treats in his life - a cookie once, a bite or two of ice cream - so it was pretty adorable. I gave him a pretty generous piece of cake, but you should have heard him shriek for more when it was gone! Mommy let him indulge on his birthday and gave him a little more. :)

Here goes nothing...

First taste - mmm!

I LOVE CAKE!!!

Boy, this stuff makes you feel strange but so good!

Once it hits your lips...

...you just can't shovel it in fast enough!

Uh-oh, the sweet goodness is gone. I'm kind of smiling but I'm
not really sure how I feel about this... Mama...

Man, that was a long walk away from the cake into the tub. I guess it's back to life as usual from now on... until I get more birthday cake tomorrow at daycare. (Shh, don't tell my mommy!) Turning one is the coolest!

Thanks to everyone for all the sweet cards, gifts, and well-wishes! We have had the most wonderful year and we love you all so much!

It's Almost Here!

Some little boy has a birthday coming up! It is really so hard to believe that he's not a baby anymore! He is walking all by himself now! A couple weeks ago he started going short distances between Curt and I with a little help, and this week at daycare he took off on his own and hasn't stopped. He uses whatever he can get his hands on to stand up, and then off he goes! People always marvel about how fast time flies, but you really feel it so much more intensely when you're a parent. It is just ridiculous. It is so heartwarming yet sad at the same time to watch your child grow up. I had to pull out a bunch of clothes yesterday again and put in the "outgrown" pile. I had better not say any more than that right now or the waterworks will start! I'll save those for his first birthday on Wednesday (check back later this week for a hopefully cute picture of him in his special birthday hat, pending his cooperation).


On a side note, I want to give a special shout-out to my good friend from college, Sara, and her husband, Luke, who gave us the good news this week that she's pregnant! Things are going well for Mommy and Baby, who is due to arrive in August. Sara, you two are about to experience so much wonder, joy, and more love than you've ever known, and it's going to be wonderful! You'll make awesome parents! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

P.S. That's three posts in one day if you're keeping track! Two boys napping gives me time. I hope this makes up for my procrastination, Sarah B. :)

The Wojos Visit the Wojos

Last night Curt's cousin Jim brought his family up for a quick overnight stay. If you follow the blog you've read about them before; we have a lot in common with them and really enjoy hanging out together. Curt and Jim love to drink beer and BS, and Liz is just the sweetest girl you'll ever meet. We also get a kick out of watching their four kids together (they are now 6 years old and under). They have some pretty good stories, as you can imagine. The kids were busy watching movies, getting something to drink/eat all the time, playing with Jackson's toys that were new to them, fighting with each other, coloring, and staying up late. They spent much of their time banished to the basement while we helped Jim and Liz stuff maple beef sticks at the kitchen table (it was either do it at our house or they couldn't come over!). After that the adults sat around for a while as the boys had beer after beer. Eventually us wives went to bed. Well, tried, anyway. Liz had to come up with the kids for drinks of water and potty breaks, and Curt gets quite loud when he's drunk, so he kept me up through the walls between our room and the kitchen. He never realizes how obnoxious he's being, though, so I always gently remind him. :) Finally, after 1:00 in the morning and five children in the house, us girls convinced our men that it was time for bed. Jim was a good listener, but Curt felt the need to finish one more beer and laugh at me while he stumbled around the living room. I knew it was going to be bad when, a few minutes later in bed, he laid there moaning and groaning while flailing his legs all about. That's usually one of the tell-tale signs that something is about to come up, and come up it did. Fortunately, he made it to the bathroom in our room in time. Unfortunately, he forgot to close the door while he hacked up his late-night snacks. Fortunately, it didn't last too terribly long. Unfortunately, he was still drunk and thought it'd be funny to brush his teeth and gargle right next to my side of the bed. Fortunately, I ended up throwing a pillow at him when he tried to come out and told him to stay put until he was sure he was done with the hiccup-burps he gets and rattles the bed with after drinking. Unfortunately, he didn't listen to me, but fortunately, he fell asleep the instant he hit the pillow after that and slept like a log until all the kids were awake playing upstairs this morning. He had a long morning complete with more sickness and trying to manage eating and a bit more visiting before the other Wojos headed home. Thankfully, Curt only gets like this about twice a year, so I try to manage my best, but as you can tell I'm not the most sensitive wife towards this kind of stupidity. But as Jim said, "You can't put a price on having a good time." Now both of my little boys are sleeping at the same time. :)

Mini Reunion

Last weekend we had a little college reunion at our place. Our friends from Duluth/Superior (Curt's college buddies) came up along with Andrew & Brea and our friend Jared from high school. They stayed over for a night and we had a good time laughing, playing games, eating, and boys drinking. Some of the highlights included playing spoons (above photo); our random smorgasbord of crab legs, venison steak, venison hamburger, and potatoes; playing a couple nerdy games that Cody couldn't stand; talking about our upcoming Vegas vacation (more info in a later post); and a friend who shall remain anonymous wetting himself all over our couch because his phone alarm didn't wake him up to pee when he was super drunk. Curt and I thought it was a joke when he told us about it, but he spent the next morning cleaning my couch while we got breakfast ready. The good part is that he cleaned it well and was able to laugh with us about the whole thing.

Even though it was kind of a last-minute thing we had a good showing, and we always have a blast when we're together. We wish we could do it more frequently. Thanks, guys!

Brendon in serious thought over his next move

Jackson and Chee watching the nerd game

Cody and I getting dinner ready

Cody making fun of nerds