BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

Holy crap it is cold outside! I always say if I didn't love my family so dang much I would not live in MN. I am not an outdoor winter sports type of person, so I don't find winter and snow all that enjoyable. Especially when it is LITERALLY around -50 with a windchill! But being the home-grown MN girl I am, the cold hasn't slowed me down yet! Teague and I have still managed to get to all of Ryan's games. Today school was 2 hours delayed this morning, which was a nice little perk of being a school employee!

Our weekend was crazy but fun. Saturday morning Teague had water babies, which he loved. Then we went to Ryan's game at SJU and then we stayed to watch SJU vs. St. Mary's and then there was a social for all the SJU alumni. Needless to say it got to be such a long day for Teague. We were gone for about 10 hours on Saturday so he didn't get a decent nap. He did really well with it all and just went with the flow - but by 7 pm he was ready to head home. This weekend Ryan plays in the Cathedral alumni tourney (I am sure he is strategizing already, stretching out and if I have anything to say about - taking some advil now so I don't have to hear about how out of shape or how his calves hurt so bad)! We are going out that night with a bunch of our friends. That is always a good/entertaining time - outtings with the Cathedral crowd!

Work has been hectic. We started a new semester so I am busy changing the kids' schedules. Seriously, I never knew how life ending (more like SOCIAL life ending) it could be to NOT be in the same STUDY HALL as your friends! I like it busy and hectic at work, it makes the days fly by until I can see Teague.

Here is a picture of my big boy sitting up and "reading". I can't believe how big he is getting!

Constant Changes!

Oh how life keeps-a-changing with a baby! Two and a half weeks ago I never believed that I would ever get 8 straight hours of sleep again... And I can now atest that miracles do happen! Teague is sleeping through the night and it is a beautiful thing. I have to admit that I am very hesitant to even write about it for fear that I will somehow jinx it. So I try to refer to it as him "getting his job done" - that is what my friend Amber calls it with her little guy, Michael! We don't like the possibility of jinxing such a beautiful thing! Seriously, three weeks ago he was like a newborn and I wondered how I would ever function being back at work, but daycare has done wonders for Teague. He is a great napper, eater, sleeper, etc. Ryan and I were just commenting on how long it has been since we have actually heard him cry. Now of course he fusses here and there, but even that is a rarity - he is just the happiest, silliest, most adorable baby. He about dies laughing/smiling every morning when we drop him at Tina's (daycare) and looks around to see if there are any kids there yet and then gawks at them. He is trying to wave bye bye and even managed a little wave for me last Friday (I am guessing it was a fluke, but nonetheless super cute)!

Teague has one tooth with the other one on the bottom just begging to come out. His gums are quite purple, but it doesn't seem to bother him. I tried putting Ora-gel stuff on his gum - well he keeps his mouth shut so dang tight that I can't get my finger in there and it just ends up on his lips, so I stopped with that.

Teague is also thinking very seriously about whether he would like to crawl (and I keep begging him NOT to do it)! He rolls onto his belly and gets up on his hands and knees and then plops to the ground as I let out a huge sigh of relief and think to myself "phew, one more day that I don't have to worry about baby proofing the house"!

So all in all, things are good. Being back at work is going really well. Bball season is getting long, but still fun - and it is only half over! I am contemplating cutting back to 4 days a week next school year - but that is if I find someone to job share with me - which I think I have found someone. So now I will need to sit with Ryan and get serious about if I want to do that or not.

Luckily this weekend looks to be a bit warmer. We don't have a lot planned, just a couple of bball games and water babies. Teague and I are trying to decide if we want to go up to Nana and Papa's for the day on Sunday since Ryan has little guy bball. We'll see how lazy I feel!

Have a great weekend!

Seriously, where's the love people?!

WARNING: This post is more of a rant, so if you came to read about how amazing my son is - go to the second paragraph and skip the first!

Okay, so we have all had a call like the following: "Hello, Mollie? Yes, this is so and so from Kirby vacuum. So and so gave us your name and said that you would possibly enjoy having your carpets cleaned...." Anyway, so this is the 4th call I have gotten like that since Teague was born. Everytime I have said no because I have a baby - even though they promise it won't take more than 1 to 1.5 hours and there is NO sales pitch. No, thanks anyway. So I get another one of these phone calls that one of my so called "friends" has referred my name. I give in under the premise that it will take only 1 to 1.5 hours. Oh great they say and they will arrive the next day (Thursday) at 4 pm. I think to myself "...great, by that time Ryan will just be getting home from practice, we can eat and then head to the JV bball game". So Thursday comes and sure enough "Shawn" arrives, being dropped off by his manager who will be back to pick him up. (Red flag #1). So I am assuming he will clean the carpets and I will put Teague down for his evening nap, start dinner and then he will leave. WRONG-O! Not only was I not allowed to go off and do my own thing (I was required to watch his demonstration of basically how filthy dirty my one year old carpet was), Shawn was still there when Ryan got home. And then he proceeded to show me EVERY freaking tool that comes with this magical Kirby vacuum. I can vacuum everything - walls, ceilings, mattresses, draperies, coffee tables, Teague, whatever needs cleaning. It's magical is basically what he is trying to get across to me. In the meantime I am thinking my so called friend "X" (you KNOW who you are) must really hate me and must want to get me back for something horrible I have done to them. Well to try to sum this up - I got home, fed Teague and then watched a demonstration of this vacuum cleaner for 4 - yes you read that correctly - 4 precious hours. Now, you are probably wondering - why didn't you kick him out. Believe me - I would have tried, but remember his manager dropped him off. And he called him numerous times to come and get him but every time he got off of the phone he had a new reason why I should buy this vacuum - remember "no sales pitch"? Well the rest of the story is this: at 7:30 Ryan got home with Teague from the bball game and I was still in my work clothes and still telling this guy NO I DO NOT WANT YOUR VACUUM! And he had the audacity to ask me when I replied that a) I do not want your $1500 vacuum and b) I would never make a decision to buy something for that much without talking to my husband - he says to me "Do you have to ask your husband whenever you want to make a purchase"?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Oh it was a mess. And just so you know, I did not refer anyone to them - I couldn't think of anyone that I disliked that much! So please "friends" don't give my name to any more sales people - I am now bitter!!

Okay, now that my therapeutic rant is over, Boo Boo, I mean Teague is 6 months old! He turned 6 months on Monday and his first tooth broke through then!!! Today he had his 6 month appt. He is in the 95th percentile for everything - not off the charts for height anymore (poor Daddy)! He did amazing and Dr. Heller commented on him being the "coolest looking kid" and he got lots of oohhs and aahhs from the nurses. The sad news is that he will be needing surgery this summer on his herniated belly button. Luckily it is a same day surgery, so it shouldn't be too bad.

Tomorrow we have water babies, then off to Brainerd for a bball game, then to Grandma and Grandpa's for the evening while mama and daddy go out with Auntie Grummies who is home from Seattle and others. Hopefully he is feeling okay and not feverish tomorrow like he was with this 4 month appt.

Stay warm!

Teague is a fish!

I really think that Teague is going to be a little fish and love the water the way his parents love it. Maybe he will even be a swimmer like his mama (don't tell daddy that)! Overall he loved water babies. I really think he found it more interesting to stare at the kids there who were crying. He looked rather confused as to what they were crying about! Like everything, he just took it all in stride and floated around on his back, bobbed in the water, kicked his legs - but he wasn't able to master the blowing bubbles in the water. He like listening to the songs that were being sung (I felt like an idiot since I didn't know the words and all the other mommies knew them - I guess I have some homework)! Ryan was at little kid basketball so he couldn't go with us, but hopefully he will come with another time because so we can have more pictures. These are the only two I have. Sorry for the picture of the pasty, white blimp holding the adorable baby!

Basketball and more basketball...

Well if we aren't at Daddy's games then we are either scouting or watching someone else play! On Monday while Daddy went scouting in Paynesville, Teague and I headed to St. Ben's to watch Kelsey Oja and St. Olaf take on the Bennies. Kelsey did such a great job and had a small little fan club (see pictures below). Teague was finally able to wear his St. Olaf shirt without much ado from his Daddy (see post back in October). He loved it! And great job Kelsey!


And the doings-ons at our house consist of teething (I had no idea - Tina, daycare, told me). Apparently Tina thinks he will have a tooth by the end of the weekend. He is doing exceptionally well with that, I would have never even known! We also all have stuffy noses and coughs. Ahhh, winter in MN. Tomorrow Teague will start water babies to get ready for the swimming pool this summer! I am excited - hopefully he will like it as much as I am hoping! I doubt the water is as warm as he is used to, but since it is only for a 1/2 hour at a time he should be okay!

Work is going well and daycare is going exceptionally well! He is a great sleeper (again - even with that stuffy nose, cough and teeth coming in). Tina says he is quite popular at daycare because he smiles and laughs at all the big kids, so they think he is "cool". So all in all, things seem to be going smoothly! Tonight we are off to watch Daddy's team play. Like I have said - basketball is life.

A Good Start to 2008

Well we have had a good start to 2008. Ryan and I enjoyed the last evening of 2007 out for dinner and a movie and then home and to bed by 10:30. Really it was nice, afterall - somewhere in the world someone was ringing in the New Year at that time, so did it really matter that we didn't stay up until midnight CST?!

On Wednesday night, the night before Teague started daycare for the "long haul" - he did not want to go to bed in his bed all night. It was a tough night - the first night like that in a long time. I suppose he could sense that something was different. So I somewhat gladly handed him off to Tina in the morning and half wished her luck thinking he was going to be a cranky baby. He was great. She said that he is such an easy and happy baby. He smiles and laughs at all the kids there and when it is nap time he napped for close to 3 hours. Then the same thing today - except last night he slept like a pro, so that was great. And he was super excited to see Tina this morning as well. That makes me feel good! And again today he was a good little babe. She said that he didn't want his bottle much today and kept turning into her wanting to nurse. Um, hello - I guess he would take anyone's boob?!

We don't have much planned for the weekend, but that is nice too. We were running all around during Christmas break, so it will be nice just to stay home and relax.

Here are some pictures of Teague playing with some of his Christmas presents. He really loves to sit up and play. It is funny because he can sit in the carts at the grocery store and sit in the high chairs at restaurants - but he looks so little in them! And believe me - he is NOT little!