I'm Baaaaaaaaack!

Oy. It has been a heckuva few weeks. Sorry for the lull in blogs, Ladybug fans. Let's just say someone (not naming names, but she's about two feet tall) was very very sick for two weeks, including a double ear infection, bronchiolitis, fever and vomitting. There was little time to sleep, much less blog. But - said person is feeling MUCH better now. See?

Since my last post, our house has become newly divided. Do Mike and I have a fundamental difference of opinion? Does it have to do with the upcoming elections? No, sillies. Our house has been LITERALLY divided. In the form of - yes, say it with me - baby gates.

Celia is taking it pretty well, though. Considering that she is extremely mobile right now and we are basically cutting her off from unexplored territory, she doesn't seem to mind.

In fact, she kind of likes it, because the baby gate is just one more thing she can chew on.

Last weekend we went to St. Croix Bluffs Regional Park to celebrate our friend Kaarin's birthdeay. Kaarin turned 40 on February 1st, and we decided we had to do SOMETHING to celebrate. So, we rented the conference cottage at the park and had a blast hiking, eating, and sitting by the fireplace.

Jen, Mike and Celia

The Tiara'd Birthday Girl

Um, I don't know about you, but Kaarin looks like she should be turning 30, not 40. Sheesh. Kaarin loves spending time outside so this was a perfect day for her. We had a blast, too.

Our friends Jen and Andy have a baby, Lauren, who is just over a year (so, about three months older than Celia.) The borrowed a pulk for the day - it's like the sled form of a Burley. It was big enough that we could get both girls in there. They liked the idea . . . .

but then weren't quite so sure . . . .

Let's just say it worked for a while. And then it just didn't. As John Wayne would say, the pulk wasn't big enough for the both of them.

These last couple of weeks I also have been feverishly at work on a present for a baby shower that is being held tomorrow, March 2nd. I had to get the present done and shipped off in time for the shower, so there was a bit of scrambling. As soon as I know the shower has been held and the present opened, I will post pics of the gift, because I am quite proud of my handiwork!

So Much to Update . . . .

Okay, so first things first - I am sorry, Nicole, that I haven't posted recently! My sister, Nicole, can be a bit, ahem, pushy if I don't blog regularly, so I wanted to start out with a sorry. You should meet her - you would be a little scared of her, too! :)

So, there are so many new things! First, Mike and I went to the land of Oz last weekend . . .

This is done in ice, people. We went to see the winter carnival ice sculptures. Man, they are impressive. I can't imagine that ice is the best medium to work with. And cold. Damn cold.

One more - this was a circus theme. Do you see the elephant with a peanut on his trunk? It is right in front of the green tree . . . .

After the ice sculptures, we went to the St. Paul Grille to celebrate Mike's birthday, and it was really fun. I don't think we talked about the baby once. Well, maybe once, but really, only once! It was very nice. We have decided it is HEALTHY and NORMAL to be without our child, and are going to try and do it more often.

But speaking of our child - we have TEETH!

No, you can't really see them in this pic - maybe if you look REALLY close and SQUINT a little bit . . . .and add a bit of imagination . . . .

Okay, so just take my word for it - we have two bottom teeth coming in. She is doing pretty well with it, besides having a minor ear infection that the doctor thinks is tied to the teeth. They are very cute and VERY sharp. No more muppet baby!

And speaking of changes in The Girl, now that she has begun to crawl she is doing all sorts of big girl things, including pulling herself up on furniture, or laundry baskets, or humidifiers - really anything she can find.

Her favorite game, as Mike pointed out to me today, is pulling up on the basket, then sitting back down, crawling over you you and gumming your leg, then going back to the laundry basket, repeat ad nauseum.

WHAT FUN!

Lastly, I have a little video. This video starts out with Celia doing one of my favorite things. We have a toy that has a squeaker in the nose. She likes to chew on the nose, so it squeaks every time she bites down. In this video, she is also talking while chewing, so it creates a lovely song.

I think next weekend I will try to give a little update on Mike and me. We are doing well, though quite exhausted (I'm sure you can't imagine why). He's been busy, I've been busy. With what, you might ask? Stay tuned . . . .