Family Reunions Fun?!

Here we are at Old Muskego Church on/near the UofM campus. It's a church that ties back to Hood roots. http://www.exploreminnesota.com/listing.aspx?EntityID=8481


Keir's aunt Carol and uncle Ben organized a weekend of festivities at their home in Shorview. I was a bit skeptical going in as I didn't know many of the "Hoods", but everyone was great and full of personality! Thanks for the great weekend!

August is nearly here!

Only 2.5 weeks until we meet our baby! We're so excited. I've been easing Griffin into the idea of being a big brother & what a baby means. I put the bassinet in his room today and told him, "You get to share your room with the baby!" and he nearly laughed for half a minute. I must have had a funny expression on my face or he thought I said something different, cuz I'm not sure he's going to think it's funny all the time. I'm starting to think he'll love being the center of attention for this little one. He's always pulling on my legs trying to get me to look at him. It's hard to get a meal cooked. Also, I've bought some gifts for Griffin for the week of the birth, but just had the though to have him bake a cake for the baby's birthday (with a little help) and maybe buy it a birthday gift. Griffin is big into birthdays as we sing "Happy Birthday" for a week when it's someone's birthday. So I think he'd get a kick out of celebrating the real birthday. However, I'm afraid too much fun at the hospital might cause him to not want to leave... which will be hard on him and I. Any ideas?

I can feel the baby is getting bigger. It's estimated at this point to be around 18 inches long and 5.5 pounds. It supposedly gains 1/2 to 1 pound a week near the end! So it hopefully will be a healthy weight when it's born (c-section is why I'm not concerned it'll be too big).

Keir has been working hard on the basement. Much of the electrical is now in place and we now have a fireplace! I'm looking forward to a nice glass of wine in front of it! A big THANKS to my dad who's come up a day the past three weeks to help out and Keir's friend, Tyler for helping.

I'm looking forward to seeing my friend, Becky on Friday. Her due date is a day away from mine, so we'll see who has the baby first. She has been having contractions and thinking she's going any day, so she may beat me to it. I'll be sure to post a picture of the two of us and our 37 week bumps.

Ahhh... vacation

Gracie & Griffin chillin on the beach


Over the 4th of July we went on our annual vacation to Leech Lake with the Nickel clan. Yes, 15 of us in one cabin for a whole week! It's amazing we can get along so well for the entire week. Griffin had a great time playing with the cousins and aunts/uncles and of course Grandma and Grandpa. He loved the sand, lake, pool & to our surprise, he loved shuffle board. I guess he does like anything with a stick and something to push or shoot (hockey, baseball, golf). Mama and Dada had a good time too. It's always nice to spend quality time with the family. Mama was however feeling the 8 month of pregnancy along with worrying about a toddler next to the lake. She was happy to see her fenced in backyard when we got home.

A beautiful day of motherhood

I just realized, it's lunch time and we've had a perfect day thus far. We woke up at 8 and layed in bed for a bit babbling and talking... yes, I say layed in bed because Griffin kept on waking up every hour or two, so finally after 6-8 trips to his bedroom during the night I succumbed to bring him in our bed at 4:30 hoping for a couple more hours of uninterrupted sleep. So, waking up an hour to an hour and a half past the usual was a treat. We started the morning off in the usual way- changing diaper & clothes, getting Luci & Greta (which reminds me I didn't hear Greta begging me out of bed at 6:30 either) and feeding them, then having breakfast (no oatmeal on the floor or in hair!). Playing nicely while Mama made some Rice Crispy Treats until 10 upon which I decided we should head for a walk before the day reaches the high temp of 81 degrees. A perfect walk in which we saw a backhoe digging a house and a skiddy... a couple of Griffin's favorite things. We stopped to play in the park and he was ready to walk back home (Mama didn't have suggest it). So he walked almost the whole way home with me pushing the stroller and Luci and Greta by his side. When we arrived home we played in the backyard and enjoyed the umbrella shade and breeze. He played in his 2" of water in his pool, getting his shorts wet, so ran around in his muscle short onsie that reads "king of my castle" and hat with no shoes the rest of the time. Quite cute I must say. Lunch time came and we went inside (I had run inside to pop in a pizza w/ Cook Time on so it would shut off when time was up) and ate broccoli from the garden & pizza... no fuss. Ah, that's what motherhood should be about... no stress. I guess if I wasn't rushed here and there and didn't have to calm a crabby kid, I wouldn't appreciate the wonderful mornings like today.

Happy Dad's Day!

A snapshot of Keir being an awesome dad. As you can see, Griffin perfers Daddy's rides in a wagon.















Griffin loves his papas... Here's Papa Nickel making him giggle.



















Keir and his dad working on the computers... surprise, surprise. Like father like son!

Happy Father's Day, Dads! Everyone deserves a dad like you!

Griffin sees the animals

We talk and talk about animals and their sounds, now he got to see/hear it for himself. Griffin sure did smile and laugh watching the animals at the MN zoo. Keir and I had a great time too. Meg and the girls met us there to add to the excitement! The kids enjoyed the farm animals and the dolphins and Discovery Bay. Keir and I enjoyed the Tropics Trail especially the gibbons. They are fun to watch swing around. See them here on the webcam.
http://www.mnzoo.com/animals/animal_cams/gibboncam.asp

Here are our pictures of the day!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=39jrqtwn.67cg99vn&x=1&y=jcyou&localeid=en_US

Summer is here! Here as some of Griffin's favorite things to do outside: play with the dog's water dish, swing, wagon rides, push his lawn mower, play in the pool (or any water), go to the park, send the trucks down the hill and he giggles his head off when he rolls down the hill. Enjoy your summer! We're taking a trip to the zoo this week, look for pics to come!

Baby Progress!

We're at the 29 week mark and have set the date for scheduled c-section August 18th. The baby's birthday will be 08-18-08... yes I am a number person. Keir's born 11-1-74, me 5-25-77, and Griffin 1-11-07.

Baby now weighs about 2.5 lbs. and is 15" long... feels like he/she's bigger than that when it does it's tumbling routine daily.

This little one will have many friends close in age. Here's who's expecting and what they're having if we know or have had him/her!

Erika & Matt Esterby: it's a boy! Kasen was born March 30th.. Congrats! Kyan is now a big brother! That makes 7 boys-0 girls from 4 families of the Mankato group!


April:Carrie & Jerome Brown had a girl April 24 & named her Joslynn.

June: Sara & Nathan Brown had Parker William on June 13th. Sophia is adjusting well!
Lee & Chris Edberg (surprise)

July:
Kari & Dave Henry (girl)

August:
We will go in for a c-section August 18... is it a boy or girl?
Becky & Eric Bishop (girl) on the 25th!

September:
Shannon & Jason Beal (surprise)
Doug & Kim Woodgate (surprise)

Fav best of cd

Griffin just got a new set of cds that aren't the regular old kids tunes... they are something I like too! Keir and I both like #2 better than CD #1, but they are both good!

Is it a girl?

I tell ya, I can't get enough sweets. Keir says, "Where did those peanut m&m's go?" Did he forget he has a pregnant wife? I don't know if the sweet tooth was this bad with Griffin, but if it's sweet, I want it! Rhubarb crisp, carrot cake, ice cream... the more sugar the better? Is it a sweet (toothed) little girl in there? Ladies with daughters... did you notice a need for the sweets when prego?

Underwear Model

Have you seen the newest male underwear model? He thinks he's pretty cool when he gets to trot around in these.

Here are some pics from Mother's Day

Emergency Exit

Griffin loves being out on the deck, and if the door isn't open, he'll find a way!

Earth Day- Every Day

In honor of Earth Day I thought I'd write a post about what changes I've made around the house to help reduce waste... and help save the Earth. I'm surprised at how easy these changes have been! Try them or others out yourself and let me know how it goes.

1. Recycle more: I checked what could be recycled and realized there were things I was throwing in the landfill that could be recycled (cereal boxes, junk mail, etc) Everything that goes in the trash is condensed to be flat as possible.

2. Cleaning with safer products: I switched to vintager and water and Melaleuca Ecoscence products (www.melaleuca.com)

3. Saving rain water: under our downspouts we're in the process of getting rain barrels

4. Composting: All those fruit & veggie scraps go in the compost bin instead of creating Methane in the landfill.

5. Unplug: I never realized how much energy is wasted by leaving unused appliances and such plugged in. So every morning after I make coffee, the maker gets unplugged and the coffee goes in a thermos to stay warm, after that I unglug Keir's laptop computer cords.

6. Shut the shades: this winter we shut the shades at night to keep the cold out and warmth in and will do the same once the sun starts beating in during the day.

7. Reusing: we try to think of other ways to reuse the containers that go in the trash/recycling (egg cartons- give to chicken farmer, milk jugs- home-made bubble mix, rain water for indoor plants, etc)

8. Buy groceries from local farmers and the farmers market to cut down on fuel emissions, etc.

9. Carpool! Keir carpools with 4 other guys to work only driving one week per month.

10. Reuse clothes; Griffin uses many hand-me-downs which not only saves money but uses the clothes for their lifetime. Thanks Molly & Meg!

11. Air out: open the windows to better the indoor quality of air (esp. when cleaning and vacuuming!)

12. Save a dish: I eat my ice cream out of the container (and that saves A LOT of dishes!) I usually eat the container b4 anyone else gets a dish anyway. And I have a new one waiting just for company.:-)
Any other ideas you do? Please share!

Ruff & Tumble

Let's see what doesn't Griffin do? Sit still. He is on the go playing hockey, climbing, bouncing balls, reading books, digging in the dirts, ect. A normal boy I guess. He LOVES being outdoors and we were finally able to get outside with the warmer weather this weekend. You can see him helping daddy planting a tree in the backyard. He's also giving the baby some love and doing one of things he likes best... climbing up on his rocking chair and rocking.

Dare Devil!

Griffin finds fun in climbing and standing on top of things... do girls do these tricks too?

Tummies

Who's tummy is bigger?

February Freeze

Slow down Griffin! He loves walking around in his new frog galoshes, but being big for him, he can't go as fast as normal.

All of the sudden he started signing (eat, milk, please, thank you, more, etc) and talking (hockey, stick, papa, etc). Wow, we can communicate without screams and pointing! Great! This makes life much easier.

We celebrated Hockey Day Minnesota by hosting a boot hockey game. It was really windy and cold, so only the very brave ventured out. But once we got playing, we were sweating and didn't notice the cold as much... except for eye lashes freezing, right Meg? And those not sporting snow pants suffered with frozen pants... but they did protect a bit from the pucks, which Lora and I could have used.

Happy 1st Birthday Griffin!

Griffin turned 1 on January 11th. I can't believe he's one already... although I've felt like he was a toddler since he's started to crawl, checking everything out and into everything. He daily rearranges my cupboards and is busy playing with his new toys from Christmas and his Birthday. I think we're set until next Christmas! He has been sledding down the hill across the street and taken two spills without crying. He likes to be pulled around on the sled and take a stroller ride to the park where he swings with a permasmile. We love to be outside, but my limit is 20 degrees and depending on the day even that feels to cold to be out.

He has been walking everywhere for about a month now and thinks everything is to be tested for climbing. We started a toddler play group on Mondays in Mankato and continue to have Sophia here Tuesdays and Fridays and every-other Wednesday. This is a nice social time for all of us! They have started to take toys and run, while the other chases to try to get the toy. That is about the extent of our "playing together" besides games of peek-a-boo and babbling back and forth. I have to admit one is a great age. He is so fun... although I can't remember an age I didn't like thus far... although I do remember an age around 3 months when there was a lot of crying. I guess there is good and bad to every age?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Some our favorite moments this year include; hearing the baby's heartbeat, going in to "have a baby", seeing our baby for the first time, holding Griffin for the first time, watching baby Griffin sleep, spending time with family & friends, hearing Griffin's voice and seeing his smile, seeing the Stanley Cup come to Mankato, watching Griffin's hustle crawl to go see another in the next room, watching Griffin gingerly walk across a room, seeing him look at Keir and say, "DADA", feeling little hands on your leg, hearing Griffin laugh, seeing his excited face, having a laugh just the two of us, sharing these moments with each other.

We hope you have many favorite things this year too! Wishing you a Happy 2008!

-Tricia, Keir & Griffin






Picture #2: Grandma Mary & Grandpa Gregg Asher (sharing their enthusiasm for the Mavs hockey w/ Griffin... see the clothes?)



Picture #3: Grandma Janis & Grandpa David Nickel with the grandkids: Hallie, Maya, Taylor, Derek, Grandpa, Gracie, Grandma & Griffin

9 1/2 months old

Griffin & Keir meeting the newest Huettl! Welcome Claire!




Griffin and Grace









All dressed up for the Halloween Party!


Griffin is now playing with trucks, cars, and anything he can crawl around with on the floor. He can now stand by himself for close to a minute and is eating people food. We don't know where our baby has gone! He's now turned into a true toddler. He had his first "hunting weekend" down at G&G Nickel's. We stayed for 4 days and had a lot of fun playing with the cousins, dressing up for the Halloween Party & eating Grandma's cooking.