Memorial Day festivities

We started our Memorial Day out by taking some time to honor our veterans.  To be honest, I have never been, (at least not that I can remember) to a Memorial Day parade or celebration of any sorts.  So, as a family, we headed in to Fort Atkinson to pay tribute. 

It was quaint and cozy.  The parade consisted of the band...

and veterans.

 

We all marched to the bridge,

where they tossed the wreath in the river and payed tribute to all our servicemen and women.  The birds went crazy and it brought a tear to the eyes of most everyone.

A big THANK YOU goes out to all our veterans!!

Quack, quack

This past Saturday, we took a road trip. Jeremy, Landon and I picked up Grandma Debbie and Mike and headed to Mason City to pick up the new crib. I will post more on that later! On our way back, we stopped in New Hampton to have lunch at Klunders. When we pulled up, we spotted the large chicken in the parking lot and tried to convince Landon to hop on. He was not as excited as we were. After we eat and were heading back to the car, Landon thought he was ready to take the chicken for a spin! Good times.

What's happening in the world of Landon?

I've been asked lately, "How's the fish?  Is he still alive?"

 Yes, Mr. Fish is still alive and is very active.  Landon could really care less about Mr.s Fish, and I think he only fed him for the first couple days.  Don't worry, I have been feeding him.  He seems really happy for a fish.

That leads me to the next question I was asked.  "Is Landon sleeping in his new room."  Not exactly.  The plan was the fish would stay downstairs, in hopes Landon would want to sleep in his new bedroom.  Landon slept downstairs in his new room with Nolan one night about a month ago.  After sleeping down there the following night, Landon refused to sleep down there again.  We have not pushed the issue at all, but will occasionally ask him if he wants to sleep in his big bed.  The answer is usually, "Tomorrow." 

 Much to my surprise, when I asked Landon last night if he wanted to sleep downstairs, he said yes.  We went downstairs, laid down in bed and read a book.  Before I knew it, he had fallen asleep.  I on the other hand, could not leave him.  Fearing that I am abandoning my baby, I slept with Landon downstairs all night.  I know, issues, right...Oh well, I have no shame, and will probably do it again tonight...

Happy Wedding Day...

On Saturday, we attended the wedding for some good friends of ours, Joe and Kristine.  The day started out rainy and gloomy, but around noon, the clouds parted and the sun reared it's beautiful face!  It turned out to be a picture perfect wedding day. 

The wedding was originally scheduled to be outdoors, but after seeing the forecast the night before, they decided not take any chances and set up inside. 

The groom did not appear nervous in the least bit.

The happy couple.  They look so perfect together!

After the ceremony, it was time to kick back and have a good time. The food was out of this world, and the desert bar, well, I could have ate it all!

My beautiful sister-in-law and I.  She gives me inspiration, as she looks amazing after having three children, with my youngest nephew being just six months old.  And, she is just awesome!

Then it was too perfect not to be outside.  Me and the hubs (and baby), pose for a photo op.  Thank you humidity for making my hair flat and my ankles swollen.  I spared you the full body shot. 

Once the dance got kicked off, I was pretty well spent.  Jer decided to stay and hang out with some friends while I went home and enjoyed the comforts of my bed.  Congrats to the happy couple, we wish you a lifetime of happiness!

My Friday afternoon date

Because we have company staying at our house for the weekend, I took Friday off.  I brought Landon to daycare and then hurried through my chores of cleaning and doing laundry.  I had a date with Landon and I was so excited.  I picked Landon up from Bernice's and asked him where he would like to go for lunch.  Where else would a three year old chose to go for lunch, then McDonald's. 

I think Landon took about two bites before he was off to play with the games.  That's ok though, we rarely go to McDonald's so if I were him, I would want to soak in as much in as possible as well.  

After a few other errands, it was time to head home.  If I thought Landon was going to take a nap, I was wrong, dead wrong.  Our guests had arrived and have a little dog named Buster.  Buster is a definitely a lap dog, and Landon was loving that. 

On a totally unrelated note, it's a bad shot, but I wonder what kind of bird this is?  For the past two days, it has been trying to get in any window it can find.  Upstairs, downstairs, front of the house, back of the house.  I think it is a goldfinch, but it looks too big.

34 weeks

I honestly can not believe how quickly this pregnancy is going.  Only 6 weeks left!  I would say give or take, but let's face it, I'm pretty sure I got 8 weeks left.  Baby Merrill is kicking and moving around a lot.  (Thankfully not enough that I can't sleep through it.) I am not use to this much movement, as Landon was not very active at all.  To this day, Landon has a pretty mellow personality.  Does this mean that this baby is going to be the wild child?  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Weekly recap

I am really hoping to pick up some extra energy and am ready to begin nesting any time soon.  Right now, I am completely lacking in the motivation department, and someone did tell me the other day I had the waddle down.  I may disagree with that one, and work very hard not to waddle.  I have been super tired, but I also have a doozie of a cold. More of that to come, here's our weekly recap:

Monday:  Landon had a cold, but it didn't seem to be bothering him too much.  Bernice called me around noon and said Landon had a little break down during lunch and complained his ear hurt.  Landon does not normally complain of an ear ache until his ear drum has already ruptured.  So in to the Dr. we went.  Landon had double ear infection, strep throat (although she didn't test him because she was already prescribing antibiotics), and she was going to treat the cold in his eyes as pink eye.  As soon as he walked out of the Dr.'s office, he said he was all better.  Funny, because we hadn't even made it to the pharmacy yet.  Once again, this little guy shows me the super high pain tolerance he has.

Tuesday:  Jeremy stayed home with Landon to prevent spreading anymore germs.  Landon played and helped Daddy with chores.  Not acting sick at all.
Wednesday:  We spent the evening baking up a storm so we could send treats with Daddy.  We then watched Daddy load up the jeep and helped him pack. 
Thursday:  Daddy took off early in the morning for Iron Randge, MN to go on a jeep excursion.  I had a Dr. appointment and appear to be retaining a lot of fluid in just one ankle.  Yes, it looks about as funny as it sounds.  Apparently, it has a lot to do with how this little guy is laying.  I have also been having some major pains in my stomach.  This is due to a herniated belly button.  Not going to have any relief anytime soon.
Friday:  Landon and I spent the day together as Bernice took a day off.  We got groceries and went out for lunch.  Landon fell asleep on the way home and took a 4 hour nap.  Yes!!  In that time, I did some baking, laundry and cleaned the house.  That was awesome!
Saturday:    My Mom, Landon and I headed to LaCrosse to do some shopping.  Going through Landon's summer clothes, I realized he has 25 pairs of shorts and 5 tee shirts.  They have an awesome children's consignment store up there that is worth the drive.  Landon brought along some money and found a new toy.

Sunday:  I got Landon's cold and am pretty sure I have strep throat.  Landon and I spent the day watching movies and then Daddy came home!  We sure missed him!

Happy Mother's Day

I'm a few days late, but I had a good excuse.  I had a sick little boy (although he didn't really act like it.)  That's a whole other post.  Mother's Day, right.  

What a perfect day.  The temps were spectacular, finally!

The day started when we went to church.  We headed back to Stone Ridge Community Church.  Can I just say that even though it's only been two weeks, we just love this church!  Everyone is so nice and so inviting.  There were crazy amounts of people there and the message was like it was meant for me.  You probably noticed my post below.  I found that the other day and posted it up on Sunday morning because I was was really feeling like I was so blessed that morning.  We got to church and Pastor's Ed's message was on complaining.  What a godwink.  I have nothing to complain about.  Life is pretty good right about now.

When we got home, the boys headed outside.  This was my view from the living room.

It's getting just a little difficult to get down and pull weeds, and my oh so wonderful husband decided to do it for me.

I even snuck in a quick little nap.  I woke up just in time to get my Mother's Day present from Landon.  

So I really got a beautiful hanging basket of flowers, which I haven't taken a picture of yet, but I will soon.

I was then able to work on some sewing projects while the boys continued to work outside.  Later in the afternoon, they got cleaned up and we headed to my parents house for supper.  Once again, love was shown for Mother's as Dad and Jeremy prepared supper.  I enjoyed sitting on the bench by my parents pond.  There are some really big fish in there!

After feeding the fish, Landon hit up the tire swing.  This thing is classic.

Elke enjoyed the evening as well.

What a fantastic Mother's Day.  I am so blessed to have a wonderful Mother and Mother-in-law!

Lucky

A...B...C...D...

Landon's version of the ABC's.

32 weeks

Can I just say, it is getting harder and harder to take these pictures.  It would be one thing if I felt it was just my belly growing, but everything else has to too don't it?  That's ok, it is all for our little peanut who will be joining us in about 8 weeks.  (I say I will go 2 weeks late, so I am banking on being pregnant for another 10 weeks.)

This next photo was taken courtesy of Landon, so please disregard my hair, it was early in the morning, and my day off.

So this little guy has done most of his developing and is going to spend the next few weeks bulking up - putting the pounds on.  He is estimated to be about 3.75 pounds and about 16 1/2 inches long.

I continue to feel really well and being pregnant has not slowed me down much...until this past week.  Fatigue at night has been setting in and I have been wanting to fall asleep as soon as I get home from work.  Obviously, that does not happen.  The past week I have also been having what I think may be braxton hicks.  I never had them with Landon, so I'm not sure what they feel like, but I have been feeling something out of the ordinary.  I will see what my Dr. says next week.

Landon sat on my lap one day this week.  Searching for a spot to sit, he turned to me and said, "Mom your tummy is too full."

And don't judge the toes, today was the first day I could even think about wearing sandals in the past 6 or 7 months.  A pedicure is in my very near future!

One more Easter celebration

On Sunday afternoon, we got together with Grandma Debbie, her friend Mike and his family.  We had a nice dinner and despite the chilly temps, the kids got outside to search for Easter eggs. 

 

 

Then it was time to head back inside and check out what the Easter bunny left inside the eggs.  Landon was so excited to find dinosaurs, cars, treats and money.  What else can a boy ask for? 

After such an exciting weekend, Landon crashed on the way home.  He fell asleep around 5 pm, and woke up somewhere around 8 pm.  After a bite to eat, and jammies on, it was back down at 9 pm.  I carried Landon downstairs to his bedroom, and there were quite a few tears.  We decided we were not going to push the idea of him sleeping downstairs, so I carried him back up to his bed upstairs.  Landon cried some more and said he wanted to sleep downstairs.  So it was back downstairs, where I layed down with him until he fell back asleep and slept until 5:30 am.  Whew!  We'll see what tonight brings...

Stone Ridge Community Church

I probably owe this blog post a lot more time and thought than I am going to give it, but here it goes anyway.  Jeremy and I have really been searching for a place to worship.  A place where we feel welcome.  A place where we can learn.  A place where Landon can learn.  A place that feels right.  This past week, a coworker of mine told me about a church a friend of hers was going to.  It is called Stone Ridge, and it is located in Decorah.  I told Jer about, asked another friend about it, and did some research on line.  Stone Ridge is a bible based, non denominational church.  We (or maybe Jer) decided we should check it out.  

To be honest, in my head, I was trying to think of every excuse under the sun not to go.  I didn't want to disappoint Jer, so I bit my tongue and went.  It's not that I didn't want to go, it's just that I don't love trying new things.  I am a total creature of habit.  So, we went this morning, and literally from the second we walked in the door, we were welcomed with open arms.  So many people.  So many kids.  A live band.  An incredible message from the pastor.  It was an experience like nothing I've ever experienced.  We are all, including Landon, looking forward to going back again next week.  I'll share more then. 

Our Saturday with Nolan

On Saturday, we had the pleasure of having Nolan over to play.  Landon was so excited when he woke up on Saturday morning because it was the big day!  Nolan was going to come over and he knew they were going to have a good time.  

The boys played for most of the morning, and then we headed off to the movies.  We saw Rio, which was super cute!  After the movies, we made a quick stop at Wal-Mart for some groceries and headed home.  Time for some spaghetti - spaghetti at any age is messy, but oh so good!

I know Landon was super tired, so Saturday evening was pretty low key.  The boys played for a while and then got ready for bed.  We then settled in and watched Scooby Doo.  We started heading to bed around 9 pm, and it took about 1/2 an hour for them to fall asleep.  By then, Landon was a train wreck.  Super tired and super emotional.  After trying to sleep downstairs, then upstairs, then back downstairs.  They both slept downstairs in Landon's new bed.  

Last night was also the first night in 6 years that Elke did not sleep with us.  She chose to sleep downstairs, right outside the bedroom door.  Was she guarding, maybe.  I think it was more that she was in too much pain to climb the stairs.  Yes, we were back at the vet yesterday morning.  She had three nails fall off this past week.  I wish I knew what was going on...

Back to the boys.  I heard Landon on the monitor at 6:30 this morning.  "Nolan, wake up.  Let's play."  I'm not sure Nolan was ready to get up, but they got up.  It didn't take long, and they were back at it wrestling.  

 

 

We had such a good time with Nolan!  I have a feeling they are going to be good friends growing up, and may get in a little trouble from time to time.