Busy weekend

It's been a busy time in our house. Last Thursday was Jake's last day of swimming lessons. He took them in Melrose, every morning at 8am for 9 days. I didn't think he was going to like them because the only lessons he was used to were at Jack Splash in Sartell (one class in a 90 degree pool). I was wrong, he LOVED lessons and he did great.

Waiting for lessons to start on his last day.

Doing some push offs from the wall. All through lessons he thought the gutter was the greatest thing. It was pretty funny after the first lesson, he was telling me what he was doing and kept saying 'gutter' as I was listening patiently and then he says, "Well what Mom, that's what it is called." I laughed, I guess it is a funny word.

In the train with many of the other Level 1 students. Jake had been telling me for a week that he was going to pass and get to go to Level 2, well he was right! Great Job Jake! He really wants to go again so I'm thinking about sending him to session 3.

Thursday night me and the boys stayed at Big Birch Lake with my parents. Curt has been out of town some and it worked out great to visit. The boys got some fishing in, some swimming and some tubing. Ben gave tubing a try but he did not like it. I had to go with him, so we had to drive a bit faster to get my butt out of the water and it was too fast for Ben. Jake loved it and can't wait to go again. The weather chased us off the lake earlier than he would have liked.

Saturday we spent another day at Big Birch but this time with our friends the Middendorf's. It was a fun few hours. Jake and Jacob play together great and Ben and Gavin gave it their best. Sam played on shore.

Jake and Jacob giving Ben and Gavin a ride. Jake loves the paddleboat and wanted to play in it the whole time we were there.

They took the paddleboat out to the raft. I'm pretty impressed with Jake - a year ago he wouldn't have been nearly so brave.

Sam chillin' on shore with his Mama.

Giving the raft a try.....

Ben and Gavin giving teamwork a try. Once we convinced the big boys to let the 2 year olds have a turn, these two played together for a long time in the boat. They played with it like they were out in deep water. Throwing in the anchor, taking it up, paddling....

Having fudgecicles. What a treat. Thanks for the great time!

Sunday we went to the Great American Air Show. It was a good time, got pretty long in the hot sun but it was all worth it. The boys really liked the kid's area with all the inflatables and enjoyed watching the planes too. Curt was amazed by every plane but the Blue Angles really were the best. Wow, what a show. We found out that even a big jet can sneak up on you. We were watching one of the Blue Angles in front of us when another came right over head from behind. Wish we would have gotten Ben on tape - he jumped in Curt's lap so fast - he wasn't the only one surprised, it caught all of us off guard. When they do their diamond formation, they said the wings of each plane are only 18 inches apart - pretty cool.

This week is back to reality and getting ready for camping this weekend. I'm debating whether or not I might try skiing. Hummm... the extra 30 pounds that I am still carrying around might get in the way (at least that will be my excuse if I can't get up!).

A crawler

In our house one might think I am talking about night crawlers or snakes or some other slimy creature but not this time!

Sam is crawling!!!

He's been moving in the forward direction for about a week. The last few days he steadily improved his skills for being on all fours and today when we were downstairs on real carpeting, he was cruising right along.

So up went the gate and out went the comfort of knowing one of my kids will be where I left him.

Father's Day at Big Birch

On Sunday we were able to spend some time with G & G Bergmann at Big Birch Lake. It was a beautiful day, no rain, warm AND sunny! After brunch on the deck grandma took the big boys out to dig worms for fishing. After a few tries off the dock, Curt and Ben went out in grandpa's fishing boat. (He's been wanting to sit in the big chairs.) Jake chose to stay and do some swimming. Curt and Ben caught 4 and then came back to the dock to do some swimming too.

After an altercation with Attitude the clan headed back home for some naps. We had an extremely busy day on Saturday (lawn mower pull, great grandma's birthday party and the Wild West show) and it had caught up with us. After some rest we went back to the lake and had a pizza party, minus Curt, he had to work.

It was an eventful day and night. We were able to see a mama duck and her ducklings, we watched two small birds chase a hawk away, Jake caught a chipmunk in the live trap (the chipmunks are crazy, constantly zooming from place to place), saw the turtles sitting on the log in the pond, and lots of fish under the dock after supper. Oh one more - when we got home Curt had brought the boys two toads from the shop (Jake LOVES toads, we are constantly catching a releasing).
Jake enjoying the water.

Jake gave Ben a pull around the dock. It was the first time Ben trusted going out past where he could touch.

Sam LOVED the little John Deere Buck. Ben was awesome and took turns with Sam.

The mama duck and her ducklings on the pond near grandma and grandpa's.

Grandpa and Sam relaxing on the deck while the other boys were busy down by the dock.

Ben showing off his fish - caught right off the dock!

The crazy chipmunk. I think Jake only had the trap set for about 3 minutes - he thought grandma was crazy when she told him he better check it before we left.

Sam's First Haircut

I finally broke down and got Sam's hair cut. I loved his baby hair - all wild and crazy - but it was starting to hang in his eyes. He didn't exactly think it was great as you'll see by the pictures. He was sound asleep when we got there, I plucked him out of the car and within minutes some strange lady was buzzing his hair. He'd forget about crying once in a while and then remember he didn't like it - she was quick - I think he was done in about 5 minutes.

Wondering what his mother has gotten him into!

Taking it pretty cool - watching all the other kids.

Not that happy about it anymore! Time to get going.

Safe and sound back in the car.

Sam's First Boat Ride

I didn't catch a photo of it, but Sam had his first boat ride last night. It was in the same boat with the same driver as both Jake's and Ben's first rides. It was a gorgeous night on Big Birch Lake so Grandma and Grandpa took Sam, Ben and me for a cruise. He enjoyed it pretty well, never complained once. He did have a life jacket zipper to chew on a keep him busy!

Ben Ben Ben

What to say about Ben. The best way to describe what Ben’s been up to is to tell a few stories. He’s 2 ½ and living every minute of it.

A few weeks ago we were finishing up supper and Ben had already escaped to the garage. After a bit I hear a strange noise and immediately I think, “Oh man, Ben’s driving the 4 wheeler around the yard.” You might wonder why I would think that, well he had gotten into the habit of jumping on the 4 wheeler and starting it up. We knew that he knew how to shift and that the throttle makes it go. So, a little scary for a mom in the house thinking her 2 year old is driving the 4 wheeler around the yard. I hurry to the garage and realize it is not the 4 wheeler after all – it is my car! I had also known he could start the car, he’d done it a few times before. This time was a little different – he was revving the engine! Oh how I wish I could have videotaped what happened next. So, I’m trying to be upset, telling him to get out, not to ever do that again. Ben is so excited that he isn’t listening to me at all. For those of you that know Ben, you know that when he’s excited, telling a story, he’s a hoot to listen to. He takes breaths between almost every word and his face and body all tell the story together. He goes on to tell me that the car is stuck and he’s spinning the tires to get it out (the previous day he had been with his uncle Cory in the tractor, stuck in the field). He was so excited that I couldn’t get too angry. He called Curt to tell him all about how mom’s car was stuck and he spun the tires to get it out. Luckily he can’t actually get it in gear (yet!) otherwise he would have done a nose dive down our concrete steps.

About a week after the car episode, we were camping. He’s a busy kid to keep up with because he is usually very willing to take care of what he needs by himself. We were all by our camper preparing lunch. Curt was grilling and I was going in and out of the camper. Hummm, wonder where Ben might be? He thought something needed to be ‘fixed’ on the top of our camper, so up the ladder he went. His response, “Dad, I’m fixin’”.

These are the days with Ben. He’s cute as a button, feisty, loving, a bully, smart and definitely in his 2’s! He adores and looks up to Jake, copies everything he says (much to Jake’s dismay). He gives great bear hugs (usually after contemplating whether or not he has any left), he’s in constant motion and loves to be outside. He’s also busy watching Jake do all the things that he’d like to do – T-Ball, swimming lessons, pedal pull… He’s pretty awesome and we love every inch of him.

1st Place (again)

Saturday was Munichfest and Jake participated in the Pedal Tractor Pull again this year. He got another 1st place! He was determined he would get first place (he told me so before we left home) and well I guess he was right. As you can see from the pictures, the weather was anything but ideal but it certainly didn't get any of the kids down. It was a good time - my boys loved the puddles afterward and luckily dry clothes weren't far from town.

After the pull we stayed for the parade - the rain was timed just perfect, I think it quit about 3 minutes before the parade started. Lots of parade candy (let me know if anyone needs some).
The boys and I headed home after the parade to change clothes and let Sam catch a nap - he really is a trooper - hardly fussed at all through the rain and cold weather.

Curt and his team competed in the Fireman's Water Ball fight again this year. The boys really wanted to watch so we cut Sam's nap short and went back to town. It was fun to see, they took 2nd (1st place last year). We had some more burgers, hotdogs and tacos in a bag, played the cake walk and called it a day. Curt and I enjoyed the night out while the boys stayed home with sitters.

Jake giving it his all - might help a little that he pedals everyday and Grandpa Ken has a similar ride!

Receiving his trophy.

Proud Man!
Cory and Curt standing ready.


For those that aren't familiar with this sport... The goal is to push the keg to the other side of the middle line and keep it there. 2 out of 3 wins the round, double elimination.

More on Sam

Sam enjoying a bottle before bed while relaxing in Dad's recliner.

In the last blog I said Sam was getting big, well that hasn’t changed, but a lot of other things have.

He’s an accomplished sitter now and would LOVE to be a crawler but he just isn’t quite there yet. He tries but it always turns into a beached whale event. Oh he still manages to get around, just not by crawling. He wants everything that everyone else has and already enjoys taking Ben’s tractors when he isn’t looking.

He’s been eating well. All my babies were chubby and Sam is no exception. He does really good with some finger foods but I haven’t been very good about giving them to him. Baby food really is easier – no cutting and chopping. He’s slowly losing his interest in baby food so I think I’ll have to get going with the real stuff.

He’s holding his bottle all by himself. I don’t really remember it being a big deal when Jake or Ben starting doing this but it sure has made things easier around here this time. He’ll sit in his highchair and have his bottle while I get things ready in the morning, he’ll lay back in his stroller having a bottle while the older boys are busying doing one thing or another, he’ll even lay next to me in bed and drink one while I catch a little break. He still demands some snuggle time, so all isn’t lost.

Sam made it through his first school year. He was one week old when we starting hauling Jake into and home from preschool two days a week. Preschool is over and Jake may miss his friends but our little Sam doesn’t miss all the running around. He can take a nap and wake back up in the same place.

He also has 2 teeth now. I think the first one broke through about 2 weeks ago and the second about a week later. They are so cute. Doesn’t look like any of the others are even close yet.

Big brothers are really great. They make Sam smile all the time and often fight over who gets to talk to him. Jake can really get him going – they usually enjoy some play time together while Ben naps. Ben loves his brother too but also loves to plow him over and throw things at him. I’m sure one day he’ll get his payback.

Sam is such a good baby, we couldn't ask for anything more (well Curt still thinks he should sleep better but I don't complain since the rest of the time is really pretty easy). He spends hours in his stroller while the rest of us are doing things in the yard and when we're camping. He hardly ever complains. If there are people to watch and puffs to eat, he's happy.

That’s all till next time.