That is a lot of Cousins!!!

We decided this year to take a picture of all the cousins! On my mom's side there are 28 (including spouses and children) and two more on the way! On my dad's side there are 32 (although we were missing 11 for the picture which was probably good because I don't think we could all fit in one) and one more on the way (which we just found out about on Christmas Eve). Let me tell you Christmas with my family is NUTS! I think you can tell from the pics, especially the fact that everyone is looking different directions in both pictures. But it was a lot of fun! I can't believe Christmas is over. That is kinda sad, although we haven't had Christmas with my immediate family yet. We are getting together on Saturday. Just my mom, dad, my siblings and of course husband and boyfriends and Colton!!! That should be fun, the guys are going to order the UFC fight and the girls are going to play board games. I can't wait. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and hope the New Year brings lots of happiness.

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe Christmas is only 3 days away! It came so fast. I am looking foward to the next couple days. Tomorrow we are going to my cousins for Christmas with my mom's side. Sunday we are going to Frankie's brothers for Christmas Eve. And on Monday we are traveling to the farm, for Christmas at Grandma's on my dad's side. It is going to be a lot of time in the car but I am still looking forward to it. Most of my family has not seen Colton yet, so that is going to make it even more fun. Colton gets to finally meet the rest of his crazy family. Anyways, I just wanted to wish everyone a Safe and Merry Christmas!

Crazy Week... again!

I love this time of year, but it seems like there is always too much to do and not enough time. Although I must say this is the first year ever that I have all my shopping done before Christmas Eve! I am so proud of myself; everyone's presents are bought and wrapped!!

We have been very busy again this week. For starts my brother's basketball season has started and we don't miss a game! So every Tuesday and Friday night we are cheering him on. Colton loves going to the games, he is mesmorized by all the movement and loud noises. Tonight we are off to Maple Grove to watch him play!

Last Sunday we spent all day baking Christmas cookies and candies! It was a blast. We went to Frankie's moms house, and his brother and his family were there as well. We had so much fun, and now we have enough sweets in the house to last us until Easter! Well unless my brother comes over then they will only last a few hours.

Colton is 6 months old on Saturday, which of course means doctor appointments again. Yup we went to the doctor on Wednesday. He weighs 20 pounds 7 ounces and is 29" long. He is the 90th percentile for boys his age... not too bad if you ask me! He of course had to get shots again, and for about 30 seconds I was his worst enemy but he got over that pretty quick. We had pictures taken again, his 6 month pics. They turned out so cute. This time we did family ones as well and they are awesome. All three of us wore Viking Jersey (no surprise right!), and they turned out so good. We also did singles of Colton in his jersey and we did some Christmas/Winter pics of him in a little snowman sweater vest. I get to go pick them up today, although we have already seem them becuase they are all digital and you get to see your pics about 15 minutes after you sitting.

Last night I went to a dinner theater with my mom, my sister and some of my mom's girlfriends. And it was a blast! We saw "A Don't Hug me Christmas Carol". It is a Minneasota-Hill-Billy version of the Christmas Carol, and let me tell you by the end of the show my jaw hurt from laughing! It was awesome. It was at the Hudson House in Hudson, WI. It is a very small little theather. Only seats about 100, maybe 150! I think we are actually planning on going again. I think Frankie would love it. We are going to try to get tickets to go on Thursday Dec 28th. If anyone is interested in going with us I can send you the info. Tickets are $45 but that includes dinner.

Other than all of that not much is new. I am still searching for a job, and I think I may finally be on the right track. I am trying to get a job where my mom works. They are hiring for a full time Administrative Assistant, so keep your fingers crossed for me!

White Christmas

I saw White Christmas last night at the Ordway in St Paul. And it was amazing. I am still in awe over how amazing the dancing and singing was as well as the sets. It was unbelievable. The best part of the entire show was the end. Of course they end the show with the whole cast singing White Christmas, and before you know they had snow falling from the ceiling all the over the audience. It was amazing, of course it wasn't real snow if some of you were wondering, but it was the coolest thing I have seen in a long long time! If anyone was thinking of going, but decided not too becuase of money, I would say that it is totally worth the money. I have never been to a show like this and I can honestly say I am hooked. I wish I was rich so I could afford to go to more shows like this. I am really considering getting tickets to see Chicago if anyone would be interested. I believe the show comes here in February and stays until the beginning of April. If anyone is interested I will look into prices and availability.

What a Crazy Week

Happy Thanksgiving
Watch out for sharks!
Santa is the Coolest Person Ever

This past week has been crazy! It all starts with Thanksgiving. We went to Frankie's brothers house for Thanksgiving. They made two turkeys... yup you read that right two turkeys! One was baked in the oven and other one was deep fried. And I must say they were both awesome! I ate so much turkey, and of course everything else that goes with that great meal. Then that night we headed to my parents house where we played a little Texas Hold'em and ate more turkey! I am starting to think that Thanksgiving is the best Holiday ever!

But then came Friday. I of course had to work on the Nations biggest shopping day. I worked 7am-5pm. And let me tell you the mall was crazy... but my store was pretty quite, imagine that people weren't buying work boots on the busiest shopping day of the year. But I had it easy, becuase back at home Frankie and my dad were beginning another home remodeling project. Yup that's right another one. When will it end? They started to install the new windows. We got all new windows for the main level (except Colton's room, those were done before he was born!). They worked on the windows all day Friday, all Saturday and finished up on Sunday. The one that took the longest was our big bay window in the living room, but it is all worth it. The windows look awesome. We just have to put the trim around them and they are done!

Monday I worked again and then I tried to get the house back in order. Let me tell you, there was sawdust on everything!

Then Tuesday we decided we needed a break so we went to the Mall for most of the afternoon. We went to Underwater World. Which is awesome if you have never been there. Colton loved it, you are in a tunnel with fish and SHARKS all around you. He just layed in his stroller and starred! Then we decided to go see the World's Largest Gingerbread House, which was okay but not worth a special trip. Then the best part... we went to see Santa. We were a little worried that Colton would cry, but instead he just laughed and smiled the whole time. It was so much fun.

So that covers my crazy week. Today I am just sitting at home doing nothing and it is kinda nice. Although I do need to do some laundry. Frankie started his new job today. He is back at the Crowne Plaze in St Paul. He is the Executive Sous Chef. He was pretty excited so I hope his first day back is a good one. They are putting in a new resturant at the hotel, and once the new one opens the Carousel will be history. So if you want to go you better hurry, becuase by May it will no longer exist!

Other than all that craziness, I am going to see A White Christmas at the Ordway on Sunday and I am so excited. I have never been to the Ordway, I hope it is good... which of course it will be .

Halloween Pictures

I know it took me a while, but here they are. Halloween is hands down my favorite holiday. I am already counting down the days until ScareFest 2007. I hope you enjoy the pics.

http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=43571869&ver=102906

Other than that, not much new here. I printed out all of Colton's pictures from birth through 4 months... 300+ pics. So now I really need to get scrapbooking. I was thinking maybe Saturday, I think I am just going to go sit at the Scrapbook store if anyone else wants to join me. I was planning on the one in Woodbury, but I would be willing to go the Mall of America if that works better!

My Little Man...

Isn't he the cutest little man you have ever seen? I love this picture! I am working on getting our Halloween Party Pics on here, but there are a ton of them so I am trying to pick out the best ones. Happy Halloween, I hope you don't get beat up by any little goblins tonight!

I hate Projects!

We have been busy working on the house and I hate it. Everything is a mess, nothing looks complete and it won't be over for quite a while! Last weekend we redid the roof. It looks so much better. We put on new shingles, vents, and facia. We also put in some recesssed lights in the kitchen, computer room and Colton's room. It was easier to do it once the roof was open, that way my dad could get in the attic. We also insulated the attic as long as we had it open! It stays so much warmer in the house now, so hopefully our X-cel bill will be much much lower this winter. Anyways that project is done, but there is more to come. We ordered all new windows for the house last week. They will take about 3 weeks to come in and then that project will start. It will be nice to have all new windows becuase the ones that we have now are horrible. I can feel the wind right through them. Anyways, once that project is done that should be it for this winter. But next Spring we are residing the house! The projects are never ending, but it will all be worth it in the end! This picture was taken in July 2006. Next July you won't even recognize this house, at least I hope it looks better!

Colton is 4 Months Old!

Hey there everyone. Can you believe it Colton is four months old already! We took him to the doctor last night for his four month check-up. He weighs 17 pounds 6 ounces and is 25 inches long. He is quite the little chunk. The doctor said he is very healthy! Yeah, she also said we could start feeding him cereal... so tonight we gave that a try. Colton was not too excited about the cereal but I am sure the more the eats it the more he will like it. Colton sleeps through the night, yeah for me! He sleeps for about 10 hours straight at night. He is always smiling and giggling. It is so much fun, although I have no idea what we used to do in our freetime, becuase now it is all about Colton. Other than that not much else new. We are looking forward to Halloween, because we all now that Halloween is the best Holiday of them all. That is all the news I have for now.

Here is a link with pics of Colton. Most of them are recent pictures but some are a little bit older, they are just so cute I had to include them.

http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=41736548&ver=060913

Hope you like the pics!

What is going on?

I have been watching CNN all morning and it is so disturbing knowing that someone would walk into a school and shoot 10 innocent little girls. What is going on in this world? The man obviously was very disturbed. But what really bothers me is this.... they keep saying that he lost a daughter 9 years ago. She died 20 minutes after she was born and he said (in a letter) that he hasn't been the same ever since. He stated that he is mad at God for taking his daughter from him, but yet on Monday morning this same man that was so hurt stormed into a school and took 5 little girls from their families. So if he was so hurt by losing his daughter why would he want to put so many other families through the same thing? I am at a loss of words, and I look at Colton I couldn't imagine what I would do if someone took him from me. I can't even pretend to imagine that I know what those families are going through, but I do know that it makes me appreciate every minute that I get to spend with my family and friends. I guess no matter who you are or where you live you are not safe, and it is sad that we have to live in a world like this.

GO VIKINGS!

Colton Loves to stick his tongue out just when you try to take the picture. And you have to love those man boobs!

Hello again, I am not doing so good at keeping this updated. I will try a little harder. Anyways, things have been going great. The Vikings are 2-0, what more could you ask for. We went the home opener game on Sunday and it was a blast. We tailgated all morning, and even though it was cold it was worth it. Frankie made the food, he made rid eye steaks, grilled shrimp and stuffed pork chops. I think everyone around us was jealous... nobody else had food like that. Then it was off to the game, and if you watched it you know that the game was close the entire time and ending up going into overtime, but of course in the end we pulled out the win. We are going to the game this next Sunday too, and of course we going to tailgate again. And don't worry we are gonna beat the Bears! I love this time of the year!

Other than football, not much exciting here. Colton turned 3 months old on Saturday. He is getting so big. He smiles all the time when you talk to you him, and he giggled yesterday for the first time. It was so cute. He is so much fun now. I took him to get his 3 month pictures taken today. They turned out really good. I ordered lots of wallets so I will send them out once I get them, if you want one! Well I better going, I need to get cleaning and then I am going shopping. We have a wedding to go to on Saturday, and I want a new dress. Take Care and I will talk to you all soon.

Wow, it's been a while!

Colton is two months old already, and yes he is our little thumb sucker!
My brother was trying to confuse the poor kid but Colton knows the only team worth cheering for is the Minnesota Vikings.
Colton was a little worn out after all the screaming he had to do at his baptism!
Isn't that a good family picture? We went to my cousins wedding in Fargo and it was a blast.

Wow this summer has flown by. Colton is already 2 months old. He had his 2 month doctor visit last week and he is now 23" long and weighs 10 pounds 9 ounces. He is getting so big already. For his weight he is in the 45 percentile but for his height he is in the 65 percentile. I guess he is gonna be a tall beanpole (poor kid). We have had a busy month. We went to Fargo the first weekend for my cousins wedding. It was so much fun, and I got to drink for the first time since last October. It was fun, but I don't recommend drinking a lot and then sending your husband to Little Ceasars for pizza... just the smell made me want to throw up! But it was still a lot of fun. And then last Sunday was Colton's Baptism. He did really good, even though he was the only kid who cried. I guess I would cry too if someone dumped water on my head. He looked so cute; he had on a little white tuxedo, but we changed him into his little onsie with a cross on it as soon as we got home so that he didn't get the tux all dirty (we borrowed it from a friend and didn't want to ruin it).

Other than that not much is new with me. I am trying to find a new job and I hate it. I don't like interviews but what is even worse is waiting for a response on whether or not you got the position. So wish me luck, becuase I really need a new job and hopefully one closer to home becuase with gas prices so high I am going to have to start riding my bike to work and it is a long trip all the way to the mall. Anyways, nothing else new here. Just looking forward to the state fair so I can go eat lots of deep fried food and then feel bad about it for the couple weeks. Take Care and Keep Cheering on those Vikings!

Gallbladder! Who Needs It?!

Well as you all probably remember I had tons of problems with my gallbladder when I was pregnant. Well not anymore, I took care of that problem. On Thursday I started to have gall stone attacks again so I contacted the surgeon and went to see him on Friday morning. He said he was gonna have his nurse call me to set up a time for the surgery as soon as possible. Well I couldn't wait. I had another really bad attack Friday afternoon and ended up in the Emergency room at St John's Hospital. I had an ultrasound and found out that I had several stones in my gallbladder and one large stone stuck in my bile duct. So they admitted me for the night and then on Saturday they did an ERCP to get the stone out of the bile duct. They shoved a tube down my throat, through my stomach, cut the bottom of the bile duct to open it ip a little and then moved up into the bile duct to pull out the stone that was stuck. That sucked, I was awake although they had me very drugged up so I don't remember it real well. Then one hour after that procedure I was off to Surgery to have my gallbladder removed. It was a laparoscopic surgery, which means no large incision. I just have four little insert points on my stomach so I should heal quick. I had to stay in the hospital again last night becuase they couldn't get my pain under control. They were giving me shots of morphine and I was still in pain. But finally today we got it under control and I got to come home. And the worst part of it all was being away from Colton. Frankie's mom brought him to the hospital for a little while before my surgery so I could see him but I still missed him very very much. But all is going okay now. I am still very sore but I am at home and hopefully the recovery will be quick and I won't have to ever worry about a gall stone attack again.

Other than all that not much is new. Frankie and Colton are doing great. Colton is getting so big already, he is one month old today. I can't believe how fast it is going. I am trying to enjoy every minute of it becuase soon he will be running all over the place and talking back!

Colton's First Vacation

Well we went on our first vacation over the weekend. We went to my parents trailer out at the campground for 5 days. It was a lot of fun. Colton went on his first golf cart ride. He also got his first taste of fireworks, and they didn't bother him at all, he slept right through them every night! It was fun but we were glad to be back home too. It is a lot more work to go on vacation with a baby. We had to pack the bassinet, the stroller, about 100 diapers, plenty of blankets (he likes to spit on them), 10 changes of clothes, breast pump, bottles and of course Colton! Not to mention clothes for ourselves and of course fishing poles for Frankie!! But even though it was more work it was a great way to spend our first Holiday together.

Other than that not much is new. Colton went in for a check up yesterday and he now weighs 7 pounds 6 ounces. Yes he is our little pig, all he wants to do is eat and it shows with the weight gain! He is also spitting up a lot now, more than normal, so next Wednesday we are going to Childrens Hospital to have him checked for Reflux problems. But his doctor said he is probably just eating too much at a time so he throws it up. I will keep you posted on how the appointment goes, hopefully everything will be fine!

Well I think that is all I have to say! Take Care and try to stay cool with the hot weather that is in store for us over the next couple days.

Pictures of Colton!

Sorry it has taken me so long to get these on here for you all to see.

http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=30049001

Well, Colton is already a week old. It is amazing how fast the first week went. We are doing great. Tuesday we were went back to the doctor to make sure that he wasn't Jandice and he was a little but not enough that we had to go back to the hospital which was a big relief! He was having some troubles eating at first, he didn't understand how to suck real well, but now he is eating really good. He sleeps most of the time still, although everyday he seems to be a little more awake. We lay him down about 10:30pm at night and he gets up between 2am and 3am and then again around 6am. Not too bad if you ask me! I can handle getting up two times a night... and everytime he is back sleeping within a half hour. Other than that we are just enjoying our time with Colton, it is hard to put him down. Frankie is back to work already, which was really hard for him! And let me tell you as soon as he gets home I have no chance of holding Colton for about an hour or so! Well I will keep everyone posted on how we are doing, but for now things couldn't be better.

IT'S A BOY!!

He has arrived. Colton Riley was born Friday morning at 5:08am. He weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and is 19 inches long. Not too bad for being 3 weeks and 5 days early. He is doing great! The delivery went very well, it took me almost 20 hours to dialate to 10 cm but then it only took about 20 minutes of pushing and most of that was waiting for each contraction, it really only took 5 pushes. Not too bad if you ask me, and yes I did take pain medication, anyone who can do it without is a hero in my book. We are still working on the feedings, becuase he is early he is still trying to figure out how to suck real well, but he has already made huge improvements since Friday. We got to come home yesterday afternoon, which was perfect being it was Father's Day and all!

Our first night at home went great. We put him in his crib at midnight, and he slept until 4am! He was only up long enough for me to feed and change him and he was back sleeping until 7am this morning. If every night is like that I will be the luckiest person ever! Other than that not much else to tell you right now. We are at home enjoying our first days together (Frankie has a week off which is a blessing becuase I am still a little sore and can't move too fast sometimes!).

I am working on getting the pictures together and on here, hopefully tonight I will get them posted otherwise for sure by tomorrow. I will keep you all posted on how things are going and Thanks for all the good wishes in the past few weeks.

I am 36 weeks along!

Yeah I am 36 weeks pregnant today! Which means my doctor will no longer stop me if I go into labor. I went to my doctor today and she said everything looks good. I am still dialated to 2cm, the baby is very low, even lower than he was on Friday and my cervix is already thinning out. She said I no longer need to be on complete bedrest but I am still on modified bedrest, which means I can get up and move around, I can run to the store but then I need to sit back down and rest. I go back to see her again next Wednesday and providing everything looks good she will let me go back to work! Something I actually want to do, I think I am just that bored at home. Today I washed all the baby's clothes and bedding/blankets. I also decided that I should go outside and water all my plants. I was kinda hoping the extra moving around would cause me to go into labor, no such luck! Oh well I guess I can wait a little longer but come next week I am going to be jumping up and down until he comes out, hehehe. Don't get me wrong, being pregnant is great, but not being pregnant is even better! We are ready for our baby to arrive, now we just have to sit and play the waiting game. I will keep you all posted. Maybe my next post will be pictures of the baby, I know wishful thinking again, but hey I can dream!

Bedrest!

Well this week has been a crazy one so far! On sunday after noon I started to feel a lot of cramping and lower back pain. I waited about 3 hours and then called my doctor and she said to go in and get checked out. Well sure enough I was having contractions already! I was dialated to 2 cm which really isn't anything! They were able to give me a shot and stop the contractions, and I was discharged a couple hours later... with one restriction COMPLETE BEDREST. It is horrible. Don't get me wrong I love to lay around and do nothing but when you are told that you cannot get up, expect to go to the bathroom, take a shower or eat a meal it is not fun! So that is why I am writing now, I am eating lunch which means I can sit for a few minutes, so I am double-tasking. I go back to see my doctor on Friday and I am hoping she says everything is fine and that I don't have to be on bedrest. I have my baby showers this weekend, and I would really like to go to them. Actually I am going either way, but they will be more fun if I am not on restrictions. Well my time is almost up, I am back to the couch to hang out with my best friend the remote. I will talk to you all soon and I will keep you posted.

Baby's Room

Here is a link so that everyone can see the pictures of the baby's room. I know that some people were not able to open them in their emails so hopefully this will work better.

http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=26134146

For some reason it doesn't just let you click on the link, but if you copy and paste into the address bar it will bring you to the slideshow.

Bye-Bye Smokey

Well, it's official we are no longer the proud owners of one crazy cat. We gave Smokey to a new home on Tuesday, and I never thought it would be hard but it was. It is very wierd getting up in the morning and not hearing him cry by his food dish, as if he was starving (yeah right he is an 18 pound cat)! Frankie had a friend from work that took him, hopefully Smokey is nicer to them than he was to us. We will miss him, although I know everyone else is happy to see him go!

No new baby news, I had my 32 week check-up on Wednesday and everything is perfectly normal. The baby's heart rate is up from the last visit, it was at 160 this time and was at 148 all the other times, but my doctor said that is perfactly normal and we have nothing to worry about! Less than 8 weeks to my due date, it is going fast and yet not fast enough. Well I think that is it for now. I will talk to you all soon.

2 Months from Today!

Well only 2 more months! Can you tell I am excited to have this baby out. Don't get me wrong being pregnant is wonderful but I am looking forward to holding him just as much. He has kinda switched his schedule this last week. He seems to be moving all day now and not so much at night, although I do wake up at about 4 am every morning from one good kick to the ribs, but then it is right back to sleep. I also look foward to not having to go the bathroom every 2 hours, that is getting real old! You can see him moving now, which is kinda cool and at the same time very wierd. It looks like a little creature is trying to crawl through my skin! We are going for one more ultrasound next week. My sisters roommate is going to do the scan for us which will be fun. I will post one of the pictures if any of them turn out really good. Other than that nothing else new with the baby. Happy Mother's Day to all you moms, and to you moms-to-be! Take Care.

First Official Blog

Okay I am going to do my best to keep this thing updated. I think it will be easier than trying to email everyone individually. This way if you want to know what is going on with me and the pregnancy you can read it and if you don't care then I won't have to bore you!!

My pregnancy is going great! I am officially 30 weeks along... which means the real count down begins. Less than 10 weeks and if I am lucky it will be even less! I know wishful thinking! The baby is moving around all the time, and I get no sleep at night, I guess he is just getting me prepared for when he arrives! We do know that we are having a little boy, and we are very excited. Frankie can't wait to take the little one fishing, although I told him it is not happening until he is at least 2! But I am sure I will lose that battle. We have the room almost totally ready, we just need to put up the new closet door and we are ready. I will post pictures soon so that everyone can see it.

Other than that everything is same old same old. I am still working at Red Wing Shoes. But Frankie did just accept a new job at the Park Plaze Hotel in Bloomington, as an Executive Chef. He couldn't be more excited. He is one of the youngest to hold this position, so I am very excited for him. His official first day is May 22nd. I will keep you updated on how he likes it.

Well I think that gets you all caught up to date. I will try to post once a week, or when anything interesting happens. Which for me is everyday with the pregnancy! Take Care.