Where are the days going?  It’s already Thursday, and I’m finally getting around to posting about our big last weekend.  Since I last wrote, Abby and I survived the summer school stretch…I taught for 2 weeks, and she spent a few days each week with both sets of grandparents…Rochester one week and Albert Lea the next.  I picked her up in Albert Lea last Friday morning, and we headed down to Iowa.  First stop:  Story City to pick up my grandma.  We took her to Ames to have lunch with my aunt Lori.  Unfortunately, we got there a little late, so Lori had to take her meal to go, but Grandma and I enjoyed our meal at Hickory Park.  Afterwards, we went to visit my grandpa in the nursing home.  Abby especially enjoyed all of the nursing home pets…cats, dog, fish, etc.  It was naptime, so we spent some time back at the farm before Relay for Life.

Friday night was Relay for Life up in Webster City.  We met up with everyone at the track and had a nice night.  Abby and I stayed until about 8:30 before heading back to the farm.

On Saturday after morning nap, we went into town for the Watermelon Day parade.  Abby enjoyed watching it all, and even got some parade candy.  She, my dad, and I went over to the park afterward for some games/rides.  Abby picked some ducks out at the duck pond, then we rode the train with my aunt Mara and cousin Connor.  There happened to be 4 adults on the little train at the time…so, when we stopped after once around the track because the front had derailed, we were kind of thinking it was because of all of the adults…who knows?  After successfully finishing our train ride, Abby and Connor rode the airplanes together.  Connor was such a good sport!  The rest of the day went well…lunch at Lori’s, nap, more duck pond, another train ride (this time she got to drive the train!), supper at the park, and of course…free watermelon!  That was definitely Abby’s favorite part, since she LOVES watermelon!  After a busy day, Abby was ready for bed.

On Sunday, we went to church in Stanhope, then after nap/lunch went back into town for my cousin Lynsey’s bridal shower.  Fun times were had by all, even us cousins who were somehow talked into singing (and wearing animal hats).  Lynsey and Kyle looked like they were having a lot of fun opening all of the gifts in front of everyone.    Abby and I had to head out early to get home…after stopping in Albert Lea for supper and to pick up Madi, then sitting on I-35 for WAY too long because of road construction, we finally made it home.  I think Abby was glad to be home!

Abby had a fun 4th of July last weekend.  We went down to Rochester for the weekend, and spent some time with my family.  Friday afternoon, my dad and I tried to take Abby biking in Lanesboro.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find a Burley to rent, so weren’t able to take Abby biking.  We did still manage to have some pie in Fountain, though!  On Saturday, we all went to the kiddie parade downtown.  Abby enjoyed the (quick) parade, and got lots of parade candy.  After the parade was over, Abby and Dave were taped by the local news and ended up being on the 10:00 news.  Abby also got to enjoy her first McDonald’s ice cream cone after the parade (they don’t make kiddie cones anymore–what’s up with that?).  My dad and I went to see the fireworks, and unfortunately Dave worked all weekend.  Dave got to enjoy a night/day off with his friends doing some camping and fishing Sunday-Monday.  I started up at summer school this week, so Abby has been spending the week with my parents.  Definitely looking forward to picking her up tomorrow afternoon!  Here are some pictures of our fun this weekend:

Abby turned 15 months old today!  After yesterday’s doctor visit, here are the latest stats:  she now weighs 21 pounds (25th percentile) and is 31 1/2 inches tall (about the 80th percentile).  She had two shots (chicken pox and polio), which she has recovered well from.  We got to spend the morning at the dog park with our friend Kristina and her dog, Mya.  Madi and Mya enjoyed a nice walk around the loop and got to swim for quite awhile, then we took them hiking on the trail that goes behind the dog park.  Abby just hung out in her backpack carrier, although she got a little break to play on the playground equipment and go for a swing.  Afterward, we enjoyed a picnic lunch before naptime.

Tomorrow, we head down to Rochester for the 4th of July weekend.  Dave has to work, but Abby and I will enjoy doing some biking in Lanesboro.  Then Abby will get to stay in Rochester with my parents while I come back up to start teaching summer school this week.  This will be Abby’s longest stay away from home without us, so we’ll see how it goes!

Well, we are back from Ely and heading toward July already…crazy!  We had a great time in Ely, spending time with my family and enjoying the gorgeous scenery and weather!

We headed up last Saturday, and got to the resort mid-afternoon.  We spent some time paddle-boating on the lake when we arrived.

Later that evening, some of the crew went out on the pontoon for some fishing and a boat ride.

On Sunday, we spent some more time on the water (kayaking, paddle-boating, pontooning) and playing games.

Abby also enjoyed being pushed in the swing by her great-aunt Miriam.  This was fun until we discovered that the gnats we thought were harmless were actually biting us and taking chunks of skin!  Abby also went for her first pontoon ride that night.  Her favorite thing to do on the boat was stand in the front holding onto the bar.

Late Sunday night, Greg and Carmen arrived from Sacramento.  Everyone was excited to see them!

Monday was our only cloudy/cool day, and it rained a couple of short times.  We decided this was a good day to see the International Wolf Center.  Abby couldn’t sit still for the show “Canine Cousins”, so she and I hung out in the “Little Wolf” kids area.  We did see some wolves in action, though.  During the show, they have some trainers and dogs in an area right by the wolves, so they get to be very active.

On Tuesday, Miriam, Sarah, and my grandma Carlson had to head back to Iowa after lunch.  Abby was able to sneak in a quick photo with both of her great-grandmas.

Abby also played some more with the bubbles…this time she liked them!  On Saturday, she was terrified of them.

We attempted to go swimming in the afternoon, but Abby wasn’t too interested.

Later that night, we enjoyed a feast cooked/grilled by Greg and Carmen.

On Wednesday and Thursday, my dad, Greg, Carmen, Dave, and I paddled three canoes out into the BWCA.  We traveled across Farm Lake, through Kawishiwi River, across Clear Lake (where we attempted to find a campsite, but failed), and then to another lake where we found a campsite right away.  The first portage was longer and buggy, but both were really well maintained.  As soon as we claimed our campsite, we decided to go for a swim.  It felt amazing floating around in our lifejackets after a long afternoon of paddling.  We also found a “hot tub” on a part of rock at our campsite, where water had collected and was warmed by the sun.  That night, we enjoyed a meal of freeze-dried lasagna and spaghetti, with s’mores for dessert.  We played card games in the tent and enjoyed a nice night camping out.  In the morning, we took off after our breakfast of pancakes.  The trip back was fine, although we had some minor adventures.  I slipped on a rock and fell in the water trying to load our canoe, my dad’s canoe floated away as he was trying to get in, Greg tipped and fell in the water as Carmen was trying to get out at a portage, and we were eaten alive by mosquitoes at the first portage.  All in all, though, we had a great time out in the wilderness!

We did some swimming on Thursday afternoon (Friday, too), since it was so warm out.  We put Abby in her floating crab, which she hated at first.  After a minute or so, though, she got used to the water and didn’t mind floating around (especially when she was watching Madi swim).

On Friday, we went to the “Root Beer Lady” museum.  It was interesting to see her cabins and learn more about her life living in the BWCA wilderness.

We ended the evening with one last campfire and some games.

Saturday morning was spent packing up.  We were on the road by 9, and FINALLY made it home at 4!  We stopped for lunch, dropped Greg and Carmen off in downtown Minneapolis, but then got stuck in really bad traffic on 35W for a LONG time.  We were definitely ready to get out of the car by the time we got home!  We were sad, however, to have left such a beautiful place.  We couldn’t have asked for better weather and company the whole week.

I’m having trouble getting to sleep lately.  You’d think now that school is out, a great deal of stress is (temporarily) gone from my life and it should be easy, right?  Not so much.  I keep thinking about everything I want to get done this summer:

-paint the walls in all/most rooms of our townhouse

-get the carpet cleaned

-organize the garage

-organize our files

-transfer banks (yes, I have lived in New Prague for 5 years and still bank in Rochester…)

-get my hair cut (seriously, I can’t even remember the last time I had this done…)

-get caught up on Abby’s baby book

-print digital pictures and put in albums (or just make digital scrapbook on Shutterfly and order)

-clean out the car/get both cars vacuumed and washed (this will probably have to wait until after Ely next week)

-go to school and finish going through my files/organizing

-take Abby swimming, to the zoo, to the Children’s Museum

-go to at least one Twins game

-take Abby camping for the first time

-work up to running a 5K (doing okay on this one…week 1 of 9 completed)

-give up pop (this one not going so well, especially up in Frazee)

Looking at this list is overwhelming, but it does help to see it and not just think it.  Sigh…  In the meantime, I also want to enjoy the time I’m lucky to have with Abby and try to make summer last as long as possible…

Well, we’re back from a week in Frazee…and now it’s June 13th already?!?  Is it just me, or is summer already going too fast?  Anyway, we are finally unpacked and working on getting the laundry done so we can turn around and do it all again next weekend.  Last week was Dave’s family, next weekend is my family–we’ll head up to Ely for a week of fun with my parents, brother & his girlfriend, sister, grandmas, and the rest of my dad’s side of the family (minus an uncle and a cousin).  It’s my family’s first attempt at going “up north” and staying in a cabin for a week, so we’ll see how it goes.  I’m excited to canoe out into the BWCA a little bit and camp overnight in the wilderness.  Also excited about doing some touristy things like the wolf center.  Anyway, back to last week…

We had a great time in Frazee, even though the weather was a little iffy.  It started off in the 40s last weekend, and finally progressed to low 70s by the time we left last night.  Abby stayed awake for the ENTIRE 4 1/2 hour car ride to Frazee (well, except for falling asleep 15 minutes before we stopped for breakfast).  Thankfully, she’s a good car-rider and was pretty mellow (only spilled an entire bag of Cheerios in her lap).  Each day kind of blended into the next…we had a pretty good routine down by the end of the week.  Abby would wake us up somewhere between 5:45-6:45 a.m. and we’d bring her over to Dave’s parents’ room to play.  Dave and his dad would head to the other cabin to go fishing, while I stayed at Eagle Lake to give her breakfast and let her play and take her morning nap.  Somewhere around 10ish, she’d wake up and we’d head over to the other cabin.  We’d stay there until afternoon naptime, then go back over to Eagle Lake.  I got into a bad habit of taking a nap each afternoon…but it was so warm and snuggly in the sleeping bag in the room with the heater!  After naptime, we’d head back to the other cabin to play/fish/have supper.  Back again after supper to get Abby to bed by 7.  A couple of afternoons and nights, Dave’s mom was in charge of naptime/bedtime so I could fish.

All Abby wanted to do this week was be OUTSIDE.  She wanted to walk (holding onto our hands, of course) everywhere and got a lot of good practice in.  She went for a few boat rides, loved looking at and trying to touch the fish, and played in some sand and in her tent.  She also loved mealtime (mmm…fish!) and was quite the comedian at supper every night.

We left after supper last night, in hopes that it would coincide with Abby’s bedtime.  She did sleep for the first 45 minutes/hour, but then was awake for the rest of the drive once again.  She was hilarious when it got to be almost 10:00, and she must have just been loopy from staying up too late.  You’d think the late bedtime would mean sleeping in, but no…7 was the latest we could get this morning.  The later bedtime definitely caught up with her tonight.

Here are just a few pictures from the trip:

We are having an absolutely GORGEOUS weekend here in Minnesota…Abby and I met up with Kristina this morning at the Como Zoo (after picking up a picnic lunch at Nelson’s Deli).  We had fun walking around the zoo amidst tons of other people who had the same idea.  Abby’s favorite animal today was the giraffe.  It was the perfect day for a picnic, so we sat out on the lawn and enjoyed our chicken salad sandwiches from Nelson’s.  This was Abby’s first taste of chicken salad, and she liked it!  She also enjoyed her cantaloupe, peas, and cheese.  Here are a couple of zoo pictures of Abby and Kristina enjoying the zoo:

Here are some older pictures that were on our big camera…a couple from visiting Dave’s grandma, too:

Sorry it’s been so long!  Life has been moving at a fast pace as the end of the school year draws near…7 more student days!  I think I can do it!  I’ll try my best to recap the past month or so…

In April, we made it over to Canby to visit Dave’s grandma for her birthday (the pictures are on our other camera…will have to be uploaded another time…).  We spent the day visiting, playing some poker, and eating out with Dave’s uncles, aunts, mom, dad, grandma, and cousin at a local small-town bar and grill.

The first weekend of May, it was finally nice enough to try out the backpack carrier.  Abby, Madi, and I met up with our friend Kristina and her dog, Maya, at a local dog park.  The dogs enjoyed running and swimming, then we joined in on a humane society walk that was going on on the trail we were planning on hiking anyway.  Afterward, we had lunch with Kristina at Applebee’s.

The next weekend, we came to Rochester to “house-sit” while my parents and sister were visiting my brother in California.  It was nice to have some family time.

Abby and Dave did some finger painting for a Mother’s Day project.  I don’t think Abby enjoyed it very much…

Our ECFE baby class ended mid-May also.  It was weird “graduating” from the 0-12 month class…next fall, we’ll be ready for the one-year-old class.  It’s time, though…the other babies were all much younger (besides her friend Mitchell, who is also 1) and less mobile.  Abby was pretty excited to hear that at the one-year-old class, they have a snack time!

Dave did some garage-saling during the New Prague citywide garage sales.  He was so excited to find this never-been-used wagon for $45 at a local garage sale.  He also brought home lots of great clothes for Abby, even a pair of Nikes that were in great shape.

Last weekend found us back in Rochester again (not planned) as we came to visit our friends Tim and Katrina and their new twin boys in the hospital.  We also got to see Ben, Betsy, and Esther for a short time at the hospital.  Abby loved playing the piano at my parents house (and in this case, pant-less–diaper changes are becoming more and more of a hassle lately, and this time she escaped before the pants were put back on).

Which brings us to Memorial weekend…not a lot going on for us, as it’s a big camping weekend and Dave worked last night, tonight, and again tomorrow night.  Abby and I are just hanging out in Rochester to keep from getting too lonely at home.

Here’s what Abby is up to these days:

-She’s developing a bit of a sassy/stubborn side (we say it comes from Dave’s side of the family… ).

-Still no walking independently, but getting those legs stronger by holding onto our hands and attempting to walk (she hates when we put her behind her toy stroller/walker to make her try)

-She now can climb up our first flight of stairs by herself (with a spotter)

-Her new favorite thing to do in the morning is to sit in the big recliner/rocker (by herself–pushes us out) and read books before we have to go to daycare

-She LOVES being outside, and will request to go out as often as possible.  Going outside can fix almost any problem/complaint.

-Abby now recognizes many words…Madi, Daddy, Mommy, outside, hug, kiss, bye-bye, hi, wave, clap (or yay), nose, ears, mouth, belly button, teeth, bunny, etc.  She’s not quite to the stage where she is saying any of these yet, but her favorite “word” to say is “bop”

-Abby is quite the big eater (except when new teeth are coming in).  She still loves her fruits and veggies.  Watermelon has become an addiction…we’ve learned to never give her watermelon first at any meal–nothing else will get eaten and she will want more and more watermelon…

-Another love of Abby’s is her babies.  Her dolls are definitely her most favorite toys, and she will cuddle them like a real mommy.  According to our daycare provider, Abby also loves to make sure Isabelle (8 months old) is always being taken care of.

-We successfully got rid of the bottle and are now saving a ton of money by not having to buy formula!  Abby loves milk!

The new big thing with me is that I am recovering from a staph infection in my leg…  It started off as a few cuts while I was shaving my legs, which then became infected.  I had strep throat at the time, so don’t know if my immune system was just down or if I had a staph infection on my skin that just got into the cuts or what.  Anyway, after about a week or so of the cuts getting more infected and extremely painful, I went into the minute clinic to get an antibiotic.  They prescribed me for one, but recommended going into my regular doctor to have the infected cut drained.  I went in last Friday and got it drained and a wick put in.  Not sure what was worse–the novacaine in the leg to numb the spot or the shot of penicillin in the rear end to help fight off the infection.  Anyway, I had to go back in on Monday to have the spot rechecked, and my doctor informed me that the bacteria was resistant to the antibiotic I was on.  So I was prescribed a new antibiotic (which on the informational papers says it’s for prevention of anthrax…) which seems to be working well.  My leg is a little scarred, but hopefully those will fade with time.  In the midst of all of this, we also were without a computer for about a week…5 viruses later, all is well.  Are these good enough excuses to not have blogged in so long?

So, that’s that…soon, summer will be here and I hope to be a little more consistent about updating the blog.  We have a busy June with a couple of family trips.  Looking forward to lots of fun and relaxation!

Abby had another fun-filled and busy weekend…  On Friday night, we enjoyed hanging out with a friend of mine from school and her husband.  They actually live just a few rows over from us in our townhouse development, so it was a quick walk to visit.  Abby had so much fun chasing around their cat and “playing” guitar with my friend’s husband.  On Saturday, we took off for Albert Lea at Abby’s morning nap time.  After lunch, Abby got to meet two different Easter bunnies and have her picture taken.  The picture below is from the sort of creepy-looking (but free!) one at Wal-mart.  We haven’t gotten the pictures back from the one at the mall yet, but it was a little more friendly-looking.

After Abby’s afternoon nap, Abby got to open presents from her grandma and grandpa Olsen before heading over to Ron and Betty’s for the big family Easter egg hunt.  Abby found lots of Easter eggs, and had fun meeting the horses outside.

We ate supper, then Abby got to celebrate her birthday once again.  She received lots more fun presents, and enjoyed some birthday cake.  Her cake was pretty fancy–Dave’s mom ordered this Little People Noah’s Ark cake.  Abby’s favorite part was the colorful frosting!

Abby had to quickly make an outfit change, so she could help play the Easter bunny and deliver candy bags with her aunt Tracy.

We left after this, and didn’t get back home until late.  Abby went to bed without a bottle for the first time Saturday night!  She talked herself to sleep, but didn’t get upset.  We have just about 2 bottles worth of formula left, and then the bedtime bottles will (hopefully) be gone for good!  Today (Easter Sunday), we got up and Abby checked out what the Easter bunny brought her.  She was a little disappointed that some eggs contained candy she couldn’t eat.  Luckily, there were a few eggs with Little People inside and a basket with two new books.

After breakfast, we went to church.  We intended to bring Abby to the nursery, but it was dark…  Luckily, she made it through the service okay (with plenty of distractions).  For lunch, my parents came up and took us out to the Fishtale Grill, then came back to our house for a little while.  Later in the afternoon, Dave’s parents stopped by on their way home from dropping Dave’s sister off at college.  Abby is quite the popular little girl!  After such a busy couple of weekends, I’m looking forward to some rest and relaxation in the upcoming weekends…  Just have to make it through the school weeks now. 

Abby turned one last week…April 2, 2009.  One whole year has gone by since she was an 8 pound, 1 ounce little baby who liked to be up all hours of the night.  Now she is seeming more toddler than baby–sleeping just fine at night, but starting to develop a little sassy and independent side.  On Thursday, her actual birthday, Dave and I both had to work during the day, so it was a day at daycare for Abby.  After daycare/work, we enjoyed a supper of grilled cheese (one of Abby’s favorites!), broccoli, and peaches, then Abby had her first cupcake (licked all of the frosting off the top) and opened a couple of cards and gifts.  She and I had “baby and me” class at the ECFE at 6, so it was a quick little celebration.  The big celebration was on Saturday with my side of the family.  The party was held in Rochester, where there was a lot more space than our little townhouse.  Both grandmas and grandpas were there, as well as two of Abby’s great-grandmas, two great-aunts, Greg, Jenny, cousin Sarah, neighbors Dave and Jane, and friends Vicki and Sarah.  Lunch was grilled out burgers, brats, and hot dogs (and tons of other yummy food!).  Abby had plenty of presents to open (she especially enjoyed her two dolls) and then enjoyed some cake.  We spent the rest of the weekend in Rochester, and today came back to New Prague for Abby’s 1-year check-up with Dr. Mark.  All is well, except for another minor cold…can’t get rid of it.  She’s now 20 pounds even (30th percentile), 29 3/4 inches tall (75th percentile)…still long and thin.  She had 2 shots today, which went quickly but were still painful.  Here are some picture highlights of the birthday celebrations: