A Wilder Summer

Rock + WBL water = Happiness

Love dumping water out of my pool

Sitting in my lawn chair like a big boy!

I've got to hang on somehow!

Enjoying the July 4th parade with mama

Coming out of our shell

Well, it's been a quiet couple of months in Lake Wobegon, my hometown. Winter seemed to drag on and on and we fell into the warm embrace of home and solitude. The next thing you know it's May and it's beautiful. The birds are singing. Leaves are leafing. Flowers are well, you know. So it's time to get out...out of the house and out of our ruts and experience spring. Not that the work and book reading and beer brewing that's occupied our time in late winter into spring weren't satisfying, they just weren't very noteworthy. 

What has been noteworthy has been of course Wilder's progress. He's walking, running, and dancing. He has 3 distinguishable words amongst his toddler vocabulary: mama, dada, and his favorite food nana (banana). He eats with his spoon, until it just isn't fast enough then it's back to grabbing and stuffing. I also like to think that he's stacking blocks at 2 year old + level! (see below video for current sample of additional physical skills)

So here's to spring, coming out again, and the summer to come.

For the love of Tupperware

We've granted Wilder free reign with the tupperware cabinet and he's taken full advantage.

Some Winter Fun and Some Winter Not so Fun

We're pretty well settled in for the remainder of winter here. Only six more weeks right? I think groundhog's day is right around the corner... Anyway, we've been doing our best to get outside whenever possible, which doesn't seem all that often given the averageness (i.e., normal temps) of this winter.

Since the holiday break we've had a few highs and lows. Highs include: increased Wilder strength/mobility (ranges quickly between rooms, kicks balls, intermediate stair climber, etc); more talking (I swear every once in awhile he says Ma-Ma and/or Da-Da and actually means it); and he moved up to the next car seat size. We were also able to visit Angie's brother (Jeremy), sister in law (Mandi), of course their son Luka last weekend in Austin (MN). Good times were had by all: Wilder and Luka had play time, Angie and Mandi got in a yoga session, Jeremy got some time with the boys, and I got out for a ski at awesome (not being sarcastic here) Forestville State Park (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/forestville_mystery_cave/index.html). To cap it off, we met Angie's folks at the Owatonna Holiday Inn (where they were attending a conference) for some time at the waterpark. After some initial shell shock (the place was absolutely packed with kids!) Wilder had a bunch of fun splashing in the water. I'm getting pretty excited for White Bear Lake beach days next summer.

Of course, what comes up must come down. Like domino's, this past week we all came down with the stomach flu. We've been trying to pick up the pieces since. First Wilder, then Angie, then me. On Wednesday I was at a meeting and joked with a friend how it would be as it would strike at like 3:00 AM. I was sooo wrong. It came at 7:30. We're pretty much back on track now. However, Wilder had been acting inexplicably squirrely for the last 3 days until Angie checked his mouth and found that he's breaking 3 more molars in simultaneously. Poor guy's mouth must be really bugging him.

Well, here's to the rest of winter and may this be the last of the really brutal cold snaps (current temp = -6, forecasted low = -15).

No really, I don't want to go outside

ok, it's getting better

now that was fun

Splashing at the waterpark!

Thanks grandma & grandpa for taking us to the waterpark!

If I'm stuck inside I might as well have some fun with Mom

The world is a completely different place through the Tupperware lens

There are too many captions for this one:

1. You can watch as much Barak Obama as you want!
2. Now you know where you were on that historic day
3. The president now speaks in complete sentences so this is educational TV
4. Nothing soothes the troubled child as the smooth delivery of Barak Obama

Finally, something that we can all listen to

If you're like us and have eclectic taste in music and find there is a limit to how much Raffi you can stomach check out Wonderground Radio. It's a kid and parent friendly HD channel offered by MPR. You can get it by live streaming from the link list or if you actually have an HD radio it's an alternate channel with The Current @ 89.3 on the FM dial. I've been hearing ads for this for a couple weeks but hadn't had the wherewithal to check it out until now. Glad I did

Year #1

Wilder's #1! Well, here at B3 we knew this all along. Anyway, it's been quite a year to say the least. From the original Boxing Day Miracle, to your first sugar buzz (see the Pictures-Pictures-Pictures! link for birthday pics), to this very moment as you lie sound asleep: everything has been a first. Now you get to have 'firsts' even though your first year has passed. A privilege granted to all that inevitably becomes more infrequent as time passes.

It's been amazing getting to know you this year and watch you grow. You cannot imagine how excited we are to see what happens during year 2! Happy birthday sweet boy.

Christmas

Wilder had a fantastic 1st Christmas! It's very convenient that his most favorite thing is to rip pieces of paper into smaller pieces of paper. He probably would have been even happier if (under the layers of wrapping paper) his actual gifts were more paper.

Thanks to all the family and friends that made it special.