Loving it!

How can anyone not love playing in the snow! We spent over an our hour playing one day last week! And Colton went for his first snowmobile ride. He was quite nervous at first, but after one trip around the yard he thought he was pretty cool! I hope the snow amounts keep up well into March.. it is about time we get a real Minnesota Winter! Anyways, hope everyone had a great Christmas and have a Safe and Happy New Year. Bring on 2008 and more snow!

We even used the swingset in the middle of winter, although he didn't fit quite as good with all of his snow gear on!

Merry Christmas

We just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! And you all know that I couldn't post without adding a few pictures so here they are! We celebrated Christmas at my parents on Saturday night. And it was so much fun. Colton was ripping open presents left and right! Tonight we are going over to Frankie's brother's house to celebrate with his family, which is always a good time especially with the little ones (Colton has a cousin who is only 9 month younger than him!). And then tomorrow we are heading to the farm to spend Christmas day with my my dad's side of the family. Also always entertaining... there are 21 grandkids (plus spouses) and 5 great-grandkids! So it is always crowded and loud and I wouldn't miss it for the world. Anyways, hope you are all enjoying the Holidays.
Colton and Putsy (my parents dog) are becoming great buds (as long as Colton isn't trying to ride her)!!

This is Colton's Favorite present (so far). My sister, MaryBeth, got him this ball pit and he thinks it is the greatest thing ever! And it has 300 balls... so you can imagine what my parents family room looked like after he was done playing! Good Times!

We LOVE snow and the MN Vikings!!

We finally made it outside to do some sledding today! Colton loved it, the faster we went the more he smiled! He is such a little rough neck. We put him in the sled just to see if would even like it and he liked it so much he cried when we stopped to go inside to get dressed warmer. But after 10 minutes of getting all bundled up we went back out to do some real sledding. It was tons of fun, we can't wait to head out and play again! Although next time we are taking the bigger sled so I can fit in it too!!

And one more thing... the Vikings are the best football team ever. All it took was the Packers beating us really really bad, and now we have won 4 in a row! I hope this keeps up, SuperBowl here we come! Anyways, hope everyone is having a great Holiday Season and be sure to get out and enjoy this great Minnesota weather we are having!!

Making the best of it....

Are you enjoying MN yet? We were planning on going to Iowa over the weekend for Gabe's 1st Birthday but we decided Friday night that it wasn't worth the risk to be out on the icy roads so we stayed home. So we tried to make the best of the weekend being stuck at home. We made cookies all afternoon on Saturday, Colton was such a good helper. Actually he only helped mix up the battter and then he was off to nap while we did the baking. But as soon as he woke up we let him be the official Cookie Taste Tester and I am pretty sure he approved, he was on a sugar high all night long. Then last night before dinner we decided to take him out to play in the snow. He loved it! Although he had a very hard time walking in the deep snow with his big snow boots (which we bought 2 sizes too big hoping that they would fit him at least last half the winter)! So to say the least we made the best of the First Big Snowfall of the Winter. We are hoping for lots more. This wasn't quite enough snow to get the snowmobile out, so Colton will have to wait a little longer to take his first ride! Now we are just getting cozy on the couch waiting for the Vikings to Kick-off... hoping to keep the play-off run alive.

Family Fun

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope everyone had a great day, we sure did. We spent the day with Frankie's Mom and Nyle and my Mom and Dad and MaryBeth and Brad. It was a very relaxing day filled with great food and games! I think Thanksgiving is becoming my favorite holiday. And then last night we decided to put up the tree. Colton was such a big help, he helped string the lights, he attempted to put the star on, and him and daddy put the first ornaments on the tree. Actually the tree still only has 2 ornaments on it, we are going to finish trimming the tree tonight because it was getting pretty late last night. I still can't believe how fast the holiday season is going. I am glad I got a jump start on my shopping this year... I only have a few presents left to buy! Anyways, hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.

I wish weekends were longer!!

We had a really nice relaxing weekend this weekend. And after the last week we needed it. Let me give you an idea of our past week. We took Colton in last week because he had a really bad cough and we found out that he had Bronchitis but it was in the very early stages so we were lucky. And then Thursday evening he screamed for about an hour and we couldn't figure what was wrong until I stuck my finger in his mouth and found out that he got one is molars in on the bottom. So after a popiscle and some hugs we were better. Then on Friday night the exact same thing happened and he got the molar in on the other side on the bottom. NO FUN LET ME TELL YOU. Anyways, Saturday we decided to get out the house so Colton and I went to the MN zoo and we had a blast. He is starting to realize that there are animals in all the exhibits and he gets really excited when they come up to the glass to see him! It was so much fun. Saturday night Frankie, Angela and I decided to have a SAW marathon. We watched Saw I and Saw II and even though I had seen them both before they still scared the crap out of me. We still need to watch Saw III (even though we saw is in theaters last fall) and then once we are all caught and refreshed we can go the theater and see SAW 4! I don't know why we enjoy watching these movies.... I didn't sleep much Saturday night! Then Sunday we were all excited to watch to the Vikings, but the game was a complete embarrassement.. even Colton was upset... I think the picture explains it quite nicely!
So after the game we decided to head out and play in the leaves and it was a blast. Although after watching a game that bad anything would have been a great improvement! Colton was a little unsure about it at first but once I threw him in the pile a few times he thought it was alright! And the weather was perfect today, I wish this weather would last for a few days but it sounds like it is going to turn bitter cold in the next couple days.

Isn't he the cutest kid ever? Okay maybe I am partial!

AP- All Day!

I just had to put this on here! After the game on Sunday I will say that Adrian Peterson is hands down the best player the Vikings have seen in a long time. We may be only 3-5 but with Adrian on our team there is no way I am going to miss a game. You never know what kind of record he is gonna break! And he is only 22 years old! Amazing. I hope he runs all over the Packers this weekend!

Happy Halloween!

Our Little Teletubbie! And he picked out the costume so I don't want to hear any smart comments!
All that hard work and candy can really wear you out!

Happy Halloween Everyone! I hope you had as much fun as we did. Colton was so much fun this year. We went to my parents neighborhood and walked around with my dad. Colton was such a trooper. He was running from house to house; as soon as they dropped the candy in his bucket he would wave goodbye and then take off for the next house. He did so good. Although I think he was happy to go to sleep tonight, he could hardly stay awake long enough to eat any of his candy. Anyways, Happy Halloween! (And I am still working on getting the pics from the Pumpkin Carving Party on here, maybe this weekend.. no promises!)

It's a good day!

It's a good day to be a Viking Fan, even more an Adrian Peterson fan. For those of you who are not football fans... you should be. Today's game was unbelievable. Adrain Peterson set a Vikings record for rushing yards... and this was only the 5th game of his career. He is going to be amazing. And don't even get me started on Longwell... WOW! Anyways, I am happier than anyone could imagine... if they keep this up I see a super bowl in store for sure! I recorded the game and I think I am going to watch it again tonight.. it was that good.

Other than football, and the Vikings finally getting their act together. Not much new here. Staying busy with work. And I am also picking up some extra hours on the weekends at Red Wing so life is a little crazy. I look farward to January when the holidays are over and things slow down at work and we can just relax. Colton goes to the doctor on Wednesday for his 15th month check-up (even though he will be 16 months on tuesday). He has to get shots again and I do not look forward to that. But I am sure he will be a good little trooper like always.

First Haircut!

Well, we finally did it... we cut off Colton's curls! It was starting to get pretty bad. He was beginning to have a mullet! So tonight his Auntie MaryBeth cut his hair and he looks like such a handsome little boy now. He was so good while she was cutting his hair, she gave him his own comb to play with and he was happy as can be. Me on the other hand.. I almost cried when it was all over. He got his first hair cut.. he is growing up way too fast.

BEFORE:

DURING:
AFTER:
Also I should mention that his new favorite thing to do is play Guitar Hero. He would always sit on Frankie's lap when he played, and then he had to sit in MaryBeth's lap when she played. So a couple nights ago auntie went and bought him his own guitar, and he loves it. He will stand in front the TV when someone else is playing and he will act like a little rockstar. And when they cheer at the end of the song... so does he. It is so cute!

The Apple of my Eye!

We went to Aamodt's Apple Orchard yesterday with my sister and Grandma and Grandpa!! It was my first time picking apples and of course it was Colton's first time as well! He started out by picking them off the ground, but it didn't take long for him to catch on that he should pick them off the trees! And it wasn't much longer and he realized that he could eat them! This was his first time eating an apple.. well one that was wasn't cut up for him! We had to so much fun, and the weather was perfect to be outside.He sure loved his apples!
What a cute little family.... Me and Colton, taking a break from picking apples!
Colton and Grandma Yvonne and Grandpa Nyle

Colton and Auntie MaryBeth... off and running!

Water Fun!

This has been a very long week already and it is only Wednesday! The new job is going great, although I am still feeling quite overwhelmed and overloaded with information! I have been in Maple Grove for training all week and I will be there the rest of this week and 3 days next week! The drive sucks! It takes me about an hour and 15 minutes every morning to get there. But the training is very helpful so I guess it is worth the trip. Other than working we have been spending some time at the hotel swimming. Oh did I forget to mention that my parents are living in a hotel! Their house is in shambles! All the carpet downstairs is gone, the ceilings and walls are being tore down and it is just not possible for them to be living there right now. So they are staying in a hotel here in town, which is nice for us becuase we can go over there and go swimming when ever we want! Colton loves being in the pool, and after a long day of lectures and stand still traffic the pool is quite relaxing for me too. MaryBeth has moved in with us... we aren't sure how long she will be here yet, it depends how long it takes to get her room done! And even then she probably won't move back home becuase they will be working in the hallway and family room downstairs causing lots of dust! And one more thing, the Vikings won on Sunday!

Catching up...

This has been a crazy week. Last Wednesday I decided that I was brave enough to watch Colton and my 5 month old newphew at the same time. Well let me tell you that is not as easy as it sounds but it was fun becuase I didn't have to share Isaac with anyone else! Colton was so jealous. Everytime I picked Isaac up he would start screaming and pulling on my shirt. He didn't want me to have anything to do with anyone else. Which makes me realize that daycare really is going to be a good thing for him!

Then on Thursday we took Colton to his first Vikings game and he loved it. He was so amused by all the loud noise and people yelling. I think we had more fun watching him than we did watching the game. Colton even got up on the Jumbo Screens! I have been to many games and I have never been on the screens, he goes to one and he got up there! It was so cute. And my dad and my sister were also at the game although they had seats in the opposite endzone.. but at least they got to see him on the big TV! He was such a trooper, and it was a late game which means we didn't get out of the Dome until almost 10:30pm. He is such a good little Viking Fan. Then we spent Saturday and Sunday at the lake. It was perfect weather as usual when we are up there. Colton got to go swimming (probably for the last time this summer) and he loved it. He is going to turn into a fish one of these days. He also got a chance to try out his new hat that his grandma bought him at the Amish Auction! We had a great weekend.And then today I started my new job. It was quite overwhelming! There is so much to learn and so much new vocabulary that I feel like they are speaking in another language! But I know after my 2 weeks of training it will all make sense... or at least that is what I am hoping! It was wierd to be away from Colton but it wasn't as hard as I expected. And tonight all he wanted to do was cuddle with me so I guess I can't complain.

Anyways, I think that covers my crazy week. I am off to bed, becuase now that I have a real job I actually have to get up early (YUCK)!

I just had to throw this last picture in becuase it makes me laugh! He is such a little monster, but he is my little monster and I love him!

Finally!

Well after almost of year of searching and applying and interviewing I have finally been offered a job. And it feels great. I will be working as a Life Specialist at The Hartford in Woodbury. I am so excited. The pay is great and the hours are even better (8am-4:30pm)! And starting out I get 7 days of vacation, and then on January 1st 2008 I will get 19! That is crazy.... most places it would take forever to work up to the many Paid days off! Anyways, I am very excited about this position... I start on September 4th! But now we have to find a daycare that has an opening and more importantly one that we trust. It is going to be so hard to leave Colton with someone I don't know. But I guess I should be Thankful that I was able to stay home with him for this long. And I think it will be good for him to be around other kids, he is starting to show the signs of a spoiled only child (none of which is my fault of course)!

Go Twins!

Well we took Colton to his first Twins game last night and he loved it, even though they lost pretty bad. We received two free tickets and the seats were great! And Thanks to a great friend we were able to park right on the Metrodome grounds so we didn't have to walk far at all! It was perfect. Colton loved watching the game... although I think he like watching TC Bear (the Twins mascot more). And we knew we couldn't go to a game without having a Dome Dog (a quarter pound hot dog), yummy! It was so much, hopefully we will be able to take him to more games now that we know he will sit there and watch them.

Minnesota Zoo

We spent all day yesterday at the zoo. It was a perfect day to be outside, it was only in the 70's and cloudy so we didn't have to deal with the sun! Colton loves going to the zoo, and I think his favorite part is the farm because you actually get to touch and feed animals. He loved feeding the goats... he thought it was so funny when they licked his hands. And the chickens were very entertaining to him, until one tried to peck him! We had a good time. And Colton started walking last week. It is so much fun to watch him take his first steps. He is still a little unsure on his feet, but everyday he is getting better!

Dog Days of Summer

Do you like the new way Colton crawls? He is still determined not to walk so he crawls on all fours! Yup, that's my boy! We spent a couple hours at the pool today and it was perfect. We couldn't ask for better weather... mid 80's and no humidity! We have been going to the pool a lot lately... it is so close to our house and we don't have to deal with sand in places that it shouldn't be! I think we are going to Leprechaun Days in Rosemont tonight... I have no idea what it is all about but I will let you know. For now I am off to take a little nap!