grandma's visit

we had a great weekend. dan's mom came to town and spent the weekend with us. dan and i both had to work friday, so she spent the day with griffin. they went to the park, played around and had a great time.
over the weekend we managed to color easter eggs, go to the library, get our new bed delivered (yes!), go out to dinner, buy some frames for all the artwork we have for our living room, dan ran a 10-miler, and just generally have a nice, relaxed weekend.

griffin learned a new trick...hanging a spoon from his nose.

i'm so proud. that trick will come in handy, i'm sure, down the road.

in other GREAT news...our friend lee is cancer-free! we are so relieved. he had a scan a couple of months ago that showed enlarged lymphnodes, so he had to do some further tests to make sure his cancer he had 2 years ago hasn't come back. there was a stressful waiting period for them...but in the end...he's free and clear! excellent.

here is a collage of g photos grandma lawrence put together..

updates

we have had a great few weeks here.
griffin and i have managed to pass the same cold back to one another though. he still has a bit of it and i do as well. i'm sure the changing of the weather isn't helping at all.

this past weekend i met up with some high school friends for dinner on friday. great catching up with them and fun to hear what they are up to. hopefully we'll keep in touch now!
although when i got out to my car after dinner (it was kinda late) someone had sprayed shaving cream all over my drivers side door. LAME.

saturday dan did his long run and g and i spent the morning outside playing. he's getting really good at riding his trike...he loves it. although when i pulled out his little bike to try riding that, he didn't like that so much. he got really mad and kicked it and said, "i can't do it!" awww -learning new things is never easy.
we spent the rest of the day just hanging out, playing, napping and then went to the park and rented movies. we were supposed to go out with some neighbors but it was cancelled, so we cancelled our babysitter. i felt crappy anyway, so it worked out fine.

yesterday we bought a new mattress. i can't WAIT until we get it. it's like sleeping on clouds. it better be for how expensive it was. then ran some errands and i did a workout over griffin's nap.

last monday i went to get my foot looked at. after rollerblading i had horrible pain shooting up my foot/leg. last winter a doctor told me i had a bunion which required surgery (god, i'm like 90 years old). i decided to go into another doctor after i was in such bad pain (all stemmed from wearing tall boots.) anyway - he tells me it's hallux limitus (which is basically arthritis in my toe) - so, i guess i really am 90! i don't know what is worse - a bunion or arthritis! this procedure also requires surgery and he says it won't get better and will only get worse.
i'm just having a really hard time bending my big toe, which leads me to walk on the side of my foot to compensate. It's making exercise a pain.
i know i should get it fixed, but it's starting to feel better this week, so in typical fashion, i will probably avoid for awhile.
basically - i have to accept that i can't wear shoes that are cute.
my extra wide hoof can't hack the trendy boots and heels anymore.
i'm going to have to start buying these:

or these:

or these:


my friend commented last week when we were walking that i sounded like her grandma...because i was telling her about a great deal i got on a whole bunch of clothes and i told her that this pair of pants was only $4! i told her that i didn't know if they fit me, but for $4, they'll fit someone i know. she's like..."ummm...you are totally like a grandma...buying random clothes for people, because it was such a good bargain."

pretty soon i'm going to start wearing sweatshirts with puppies on it, and polyester pants. at least that will look nice with my new shoes i just ordered above....

february and march in pictures..

finally updating with photos! here is what we've been up to in february and march...

getting his valentines for his friends ready


bowling in the dells


waterpark


MOA aquarium (waste o' money)


birthday train cake.


steam engine on the train cake


cousin sammy and griffin posing by the cake!


still staring at the cake...he loved it.


different day...still staring at it.


finally eating it!


fun birthday weekend visit with grandma and grandpa teeter


the 3 year old!


showing off his hat (wishing it would warm up!)


present from grandma lawrence! of course he loves it...it's trains!


finally warm enough to get outside and ride his trike!

to griffin...

today our little boy is 3.
3 years ago today, we were at the hospital, about ready to be wheeled in for our c-section surgery. you were breech, so we had a planned c-section, as we didn't want to go through the process of having you turned. sounded too painful and the outcome didn't have great odds.

It was a thursday. we sort of got to choose the day. it was dan's spring break from grad school, so we wanted to have it earlier in the week so he could spend more time at home, but that is the earliest they would do it.

around 10:25 a.m. you were born. you were the sweetest little thing. you had this really dark hair and a LOT of it. we were both in such awe that we had a little baby!

the funny thing from the delivery room...our doctor is irish and he plays in a band. the next day was st. paddy's day and he was chatting up the nurses telling them he played out the next day at keirans. they were asking what time they should get there so they could have good seats and he was just flirting away telling them the best food on the menu, etc. i'm thinking to myself...."ummmm...you have a sharp tool that your cutting me open with...and there is a human in there. pay f__king attenion!!!" for him...this was just another day at the office. but he did great, and he would later comment how awesome the scar was. he kept saying..."this is the smallest scar...it's just beautiful!" (even at my 6-week post pardum appt. he brought someone in there to show them what a great job he did..)

anyway, back to my baby.

i can't believe that 3 years has gone by. to think of all of the things you have learned, how much you've grown and how much happiness you have brought us. we are in constant amazement over things you do and say. you are the happiest little boy, you listen, you are sensitive and sweet and you make us smile and laugh all the time.

the first few months seems like a blur. dan was finishing grad school, we were trying to figure out life with a little baby, and we had to start jobs or go back to jobs that we didn't like...and leave you with miss yvonne. that was so hard.

but, we got the hang of being parents, you started growing more, smiling, laughing and becoming more mobile. we loved you so much that very first moment we laid eyes on you, but as the months passed and things became more of a routine, we realized how much we had fallen in love with you and how you seemed like you were a perfect fit to create our family of 3. we can't remember what it was like before you were here. nor do we want to.

it's an amazing feeling to be your parents. we learn so much from you. we have learned patience, understanding, sadness, happiness and how to enjoy the small things. the best times we have is when your telling us a story, or pretending to be a lion, or telling daddy to drive fast because the polar bear is chasing us!
the funny things you say makes us happy each and every day.

you are really into pretending right now. it is so awesome to listen to you craft your story and use your imagination. you have great manors (probably a lot of that is thanks to miss yvonne), you are always considerate, you love to snuggle, and you are a very sweet and sensitive little boy.
the other day you told me that you just wanted to be sad for a little bit because mommy had taken away a piece of paper you were playing with and you needed to feel sad. then when i felt sad about it, you hugged me and said, "it's ok mommy, i'm happy now!"

you love reading books, you love trains, you love giving hugs and kisses, you love music, dancing (or shaking your booty as you like to say), you love pretending, you love helping us cook, snuggling and being outside.

we are so proud of the little boy you have become and all of the amazing things that make you happy. you make us so happy to be your parents and we wish you a very happy 3rd birthday. we love you.

cake overload

so yeah...i have to obsess about something.
first it was taking a trip. every night i scoured every travel website looking for the ultimate deal. i would spend hours researching and comparing prices from site to site. then i would cross reference with trip advisor where there are unbiased reviews of the hotels. it got to the point that taking a trip wasn't even exciting anymore. i felt like i had already been to ixtapa, or puerto vallarta or riviera maya...just because i had researched the hell out of it. anyway - my trip dream was put to rest when dan's work has taken on reduced hours (and pay) in hopes of pulling through the economy.

so...what the hell do i do with my time after griffin goes to bed now???? clean? no. exercise? pfft. write letters, read books, start doing some of the hobbies i enjoy that i don't make time for anymore? or update this blog? no. i decide that i have to put all my efforts into making the perfect birthday cake for griffin.

what is our sweet boy into these days? trains - of course. so, i will build a train engine cake for him. but - it doesn't stop there. i have morphed my train engine idea into the full island of sodor. i think i'm biting off more than i can chew. but - my baby NEEDS a tunnel, a circus train car, an oil tanker and a mountain (all made of cake and candy). i have a vision. and tomorrow night - dan and i will be turning it into reality. unless we drink too much wine while decorating and wind up f'ing it all up. then we will go get a dq cake.
so, yeah. that's what i've been researching, thinking about and sketching each night. i hope i don't let myself down..i have such big ideas in my head!

other than my cake obsession - we have been keeping busy. we had our last night of music class this past week. it's been fun, and we will miss it...but i'm good and tired of all the songs. i hope we still get together with the group now and then for fun nights on tuesdays.

this past weekend dan and i celebrated his birthday with a great dinner out on friday night. it was fantastic. saturday dan went to see the watchmen at the imax with his friends. i had wine club (i mean - book club), and did a workout with my friends.

sunday we had a family day and went to the midtown market for lunch and to walk around. there was a woman playing her guitar and singing and g was dancing up a storm. she had a tip jar out so i gave grif a buck to put in her jar. he walked up there so cutely and kept turning around looking at me to direct him where to put the dollar. i was pointing and he walked right past the tip jar and dropped the dollar in the large garbage can. it was pretty humorous.

dan continues to train for his 1/2 marathon and i continue to barely make it off the couch for my training. but - it's going. i have had a bit of a cold off and on for the past couple of weeks, so that tends to be my excuse for my lack of energy. (couple that with the fact that i'm up till 2 in the a.m. thinking about my cake and i'm tired!)

this weekend my parents are coming to visit for griffin's birthday. he turns 3 on monday! my brother and family will come over for dinner and the train cake (or DQ cake...i guess we'll wait and see).

i swear we are going to finally take some photos and post them. we would be the worst parents ever if we didn't take picts for his birthday - so for sure we'll have some picts next week.

ok - gotta go get the mountain cake out of the oven...

fun weekend

we had a great weekend. friends bridget and shane came to visit with their kids (kallie & wyatt)
we had a great time catching up and we managed to do quite a bit.
we went to a timberwolves bb game on friday night. the kids enjoyed it. griffin liked watching the mascots and all the lights. the game itself was pretty unmemorable and boring.
saturday we went to the moa. it was SOOO busy. i have not seen it that busy before, even at christmas. but, it was still a good time and the kids liked going on rides.
that night we just hung out at our house, had some drinks and food and enjoyed the company.

griffin loved hanging out with their kids. they were so good with him too. dan and i barely had to lift a finger all weekend...they kept him pretty entertained!

yesterday what i thought were allergies has now turned into a full-blown cold and i feel like shit. hopefully i can shake it soon!

this week is dan's birthday. wednesday night. he's looking forward to a night watching Lost. (not much different than any other Wednesday night). his request is to have one of his comfort foods from his childhood....$5000 casserole. Not sure of the exact ingredients, other than it has cream of mushroom. of course. all caseroles have that.

nothing much to report. griffin continues to be funny and sweet.

dan and i have started our running training. he's got a 14 week program for his half-marathon he's running in may. I've just got my "couch-to-5k" program. the couch is way better, in my opinion.

finally updating!

wow, it's been awhile since i've posted.
i'm super busy at work, and then after g goes to bed, when i typically would update this blog...i've been obsessing about taking a trip, so pretty much spent every night looking for deals.

so, what's been up with us...we've been really busy and having lots of fun.

a couple weeks ago dan had his work party at the office. g and i came and ate our way around the party. the fish head with the eyeballs didn't appetize us, but plenty of other junk to eat! his parties are always great. we spent another weekend evening at pete/kims house having s'mores and watching the kids play. g, haugen and burke are becoming quite chummy.
i was able to go out one night to my friend myra's party. she had just gotten back from a 2-week trip to africa and she had her photos. it looked to have been an amazing experience...helping be part of an orphanage clinic being built and also climbing mt. kili.
last weekend we got out of town. we went to THE DELLS! it was a nice little valentines day get-away. and it was just what we needed to feel a bit more rejuvinated! we spent a lot of time in the waterpark. griffin is pretty timid of the water still..but he loved watching others splash around. there were a few things he was comfortable doing and he had a great time with that.
we had a new experience for him as well - we went bowling! he liked that, and it was nice to be able to do something fun, and he kept himself entertained.
in addition to that - we saw family, spent time with our super friend, and just had a great long weekend.

oh, a couple of concerts have also highlighted our past few weeks. we saw michael franti and spearhead...which has to be one of my top 5 concerts of all times. it was amazing...a totally positive vibe and lots of energy. dan saw some metal show, which i can't really report on...but he's been talking about it alot since then, so it must have been good. i have no idea how to spell the name...but it sounds like more sugar. i think it's meshuggah. on a positive note - he was worried he'd get forearm acne from all the mosh-pitting and that didn't happen - so score one for dan!

the past weekend we took g to the aquarium at the moa. he liked it...i thought it was a rip-off. luckily we had discount tickets!
saturday night dan and i had a babysitter and had a date! we went to a great restaurant in sw mpls - la chaya. it was GREAT. after dinner we were able to see our friend steve from london who was in town visiting.

yesterday griffin got a cute new haircut and then we went to choo choo bobs. he loves that place, and always has so much fun watching the electric trains going around and around. he could sit there for hours.
last night i rounded out the weekend by going to a concert at the varsity with some work friends. we saw gary louris and mark olson (of the jayhawks). it was a fantastic show and i love that venue. luckily it was an early show, so i was able to get home and get some sleep!

griffin has been a lot of fun lately and he's really articulating what he wants to say and saying the most adorable things.
he did say "poopyhead" yesterday - so dan and i had to let him know that wasn't funny to say. ooops. all of our "poop talk" from his younger days must have caught up.

he's been so much better in the eating department. he's trying at least a bite of everything so we are thrilled about that.

music class has been fun...he seems to enjoy having all his little friends over. i'm getting sick of the songs, but i'm trying to come up with new stuff to do each week (the kids don't always like doing new ones, but i can only stand to hear some of these songs so much)
last tuesday at class he and haugen were jumping on his bed after class and it was funny to hear them talking to one another. it's so crazy how quickly time has flown by. they are carrying on conversations! i called griffin out to the living room to tell him something and i heard him tell haugen: "haugen, i'll be right back, my mom needs me. ok, haugen? stay here, i'll be right back".
he comes running out and is like "yes, mama?"
i doubt he'll be obeying like that in a few years from now! but at least for this moment dan and i the most important thing and he will come a-runnin when we call him. he's a sweetie for sure.

i got some new running shoes and am going to really try sticking to a training program. this is my last ditch effort at running. i think i hate it...but i want to be sure. i know it's mostly mental - so if i can get over that hump, i really WANT to like running - it's easy, convenient and a good workout when your crunched for time. but, if i REALLY try for the next couple of months to stick to a program and still hate it at the end - i think i'm going to just accept it and do other things that i do enjoy.
dan has been AWESOME at running. he was a runner in high school, so i think it comes naturally. he's been going regularly and saturday he ran for an hour straight. wowza. his goal is to do a couple of half marathons this year, as well as a duathalon. i'm amazed at how motivated he is. now if some of that would rub off on me...

i will post some photos one of these days. i don't think we took any photos since christmas - so we really need to get the camera out.