Chris, Heidi, Nixon and Ruby

Here are some pictures to sum up the past 8 months 

Wow, has it really been 8 months since my last post!  I can't believe it!  My "little" guy is getting so big!   He started army crawling around June and then suddenly in August decided to really crawl, and then walk a couple days later!  And HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT!! (no, I am not pregnant) He is sleeping through the night and has been for a few months now!  It is so nice!  He still has his nights where he wakes up, but it is usually just a matter of changing his diaper and he goes right back to sleep.  We put him down at about 7:30 and we usually have to wake him up to go to "Grandma Laura's" at 7.     That' another thing that has changed since I last wrote.  I have started teaching again.  I am teaching 5th grade math and science at Spooner Middle School. I love the ladies I work with and the kids are pretty sweet!  The district has its share of problems, but every district does.  Working definitely makes time fly by super fa...

Ok, I have so many pictures and I hate to flood FaceBook or family text messages with pictures of Nix but wanted to be able to share them for people who want to see them! So this post is going to be just pictures. The pictures go from newest to oldest.  Nixon's coming home from the hospital outfit and his jammies he wears today. He's grown! Big boy jammies Just need a newsies hat! Handsome church fella Nixon is happy because mom actually got ready for once! Out for a walk. Does it look like we are in the middle of nowhere? Well we kind of are but this is right in front of our house.  The Bostrom side babes All the Lapray side kiddos The flight home from Utah. He did AWESOME!!

It has been a while since I have posted and I have been wanting to for a while but the longer I have waited, the more there is to write, so the longer it will take. So I put it off. Then there is even more to write about. It's a terrible spiral. Now, as I write this I think to myself "You live in Spooner, Wisconsin. How much is there really to write about?" Good point. Well, I have caught myself getting a little discouraged and down about things and decided it was time I write a new post.  Just an update, Nixon is getting so big and changing every day. He is rolling from his tummy to his back and laughs all the time. He is getting a pretty good routine down and I have now transitioned him to his crib and today I even took his pillow away since he is looking like he will start rolling from his back to tummy soon. I gave him a pillow a while ago hoping it would help with the spitting up. It didn't but I didn't want to take it away at the time. He still isn't sle...

I can't believe I have kept a kid alive for 11 days! I wonder how many people have lost money on that bet. Mom, you can admit it. :)  One huge positive lately is that we have a good routine and that has made bedtime so much easier. He still isn't sleeping through the night, but we aren't having the hour of incessant screaming like we were in the early weeks. Even nap times are easier. I can easily tell when he is getting tired, and I hold him for a couple minutes and he is out. I love it! Another positive today was meeting Chris for lunch. I know it is hard for him to leave for lunch since he doesn't have long but it is so nice for me to get out of the house.  Finally, I have made two good friends here: Dr. Phil and Ellen. Sounds silly maybe but it gives me something to look forward to in the afternoon and by the time they are over Chris is almost home! Dr. Phil makes me feel better about my life and Ellen provides me with some laughs! (I have made some other real life ...

I took a little recess from the blog while my mom was here. We had so much fun! We went up to Duluth one day, worked on Nixon's baby book, reupholstered a window seat cover, played lots of Sudoku matches, went to scrapbook and thrift stores, watched some good Ellen and Dr. Phil, and had some great talks! I took her back to Minneapolis yesterday and that was hard. I wasn't as scared for her to leave, but, holy cow, driving away about killed me. Literally. I think I started having an anxiety attack on the freeway. My heart was racing and I felt completely lightheaded to the point that I felt like I might pass out. I got really nervous so I pulled off the closest exit, which ended up being a weigh station. I just drove very slowly through it until I felt like I would be ok. After that, I just couldn't think about her leaving or the idea of turning around and getting on the next flight home. Those thoughts would get my heart going again. Fortunately, Nixon was a trooper there a...

Snow day today! It snowed all day! We got 3-4 inches. I decided it would be best if I stayed in all day, which means I was able to get lots done! Most of that was laundry.  I also had time to work on Nixon's baby book, which I have been wanting to do for a while. It is so much fun to go back to that time and write down some details that I probably wouldn't remember otherwise.  So we have a pretty good routine with Nixon during the day. It is to the point where I can predict when Nixon will get hungry and then when he will be tired. The only problem I am having is with his naps. He rarely sleeps longer Than a half of an hour. I have tried lots of different strategies but nothing has helped, unless I hold him the whole time. Then sometimes he will make it to an hour. All the books a have looked at about schedules talks about hour or even hour and a half naps. I finally decided to google my problem. I found out that there are a lot of other moms with the same concern. The most he...

UHoly cow, it's freezing cold here!! It hasn't gotten out of negative temperatures this week, and with the windchill it is usually between -20 and -40. That is cold!! I can't wait until it gets warm enough to go outside.  Nixon has had a little bit of a rough couple of days. He spits up like crazy. I feel like he is spitting up a good portion of what he eats. I think it frustrates me so much because I feel like it's my fault. I feel like it's something I am eating or drinking. So I go without chocolate or caffeine or onions. Nothing helps though. We had his 2 month check up today and since he is gaining weight they said we should just keep an eye on it. He is still happy for the most part.  Last night he was trying to kill me I think. He woke up once an hour from midnight to six. At six Chris could tell I was at my wits end so he took him and gave him a bottle. They were up until 7:30. After that he slept until 9:30, which was so kind of him.  Finally, today, like I...

Less than a week until my mom gets here!! Yay! Combine that with the fact that Chris took a middle of the night feeding, which allowed me to sleep for a straight six hours Friday and Saturday night and I don't think that I need any more positives! Oh well, I have plenty anyway!  Chris and I cleaned the whole upstairs yesterday! I'm talking dusted, vacuumed, swiffered (dry and wet), dishes, bathrooms and laundry! It feels good to have all that done!  Last night we went on a drive and saw three more towns: Hertel, Siren, and Frederic. Even though it was dark out and hard to see too much, you can tell they were cute towns and it got me even more excited for summer!  I have found a new way to get Nixon to sleep. I just lay him on me and tickle his back. It works most of the time and beats jogging laps around the kitchen! Plus, I love the snuggles!  Friday I was able to get the storage room and downstairs bedroom closet organized.  We got Nixon's bumbo chair in the m...

One 2015 day down, 364 to go...unless this is a leap year. And so far we are off to a good start!  1. The Kildows invited us over for chili. Such a small act of kindness but it means so much to us! We love getting out and we love their family! 2. I got Christmas put away. This is maybe only half of a positive. It is positive in the sense that it was a big job that needed to be done but I am always sad when Christmas is over.  3. Nixon slept in today and tonight he slept on me for a while while we watched football. He hasn't done that since around the time we brought him home from the hospital! I do love to snuggle this kid! That's pretty much it. We took it pretty easy today, which is always nice. Let's hope the second day of the year goes as well as the first! Here is Little Man at about 10:30 this morning, still passed out!

2014 has been a whirlwind. The funny thing is, the first 9 or 10 months didn't seem that crazy. We started the year on a boat between Hawaii and California. Just like the difference between that and sitting on a couch in Spooner, WI (the temperature with the wind chill was -37 last night are so different from one another, I feel like our lives are completely different. I don't work anymore (as far as official employment goes) Chris is an official Physical Therapist, we are no longer childless, we live in a different house in a different state, Chris has a new job, and a new calling (more to come on that later) and we even have a new car! I think it is funny that just in September we talked about how we would stay in that house for at least two more years. At that point, the thought of moving to a new house wasn't even on our radar. If we only knew! We have been blessed so much! Even if I have to keep a blog of the things I am thankful for to remember that this is a blessing...