Bedtime Struggles

This is a picture of our little girl who has figured out how to sleep through the night in her bed for us again which is lovely. 

However it is not lovely that she does not fall asleep until 10pm. And she does that only with us laying right by her bed on the floor. We have tried letting her cry, we have tried checking in on her every 10-15 minutes, we have tried skipping nap, we have tried getting her up early, we have tried earlier in the day naps, shorter naps...it doesn't seem to make a difference. She asks so sweetly if we will be sleep by her until she falls asleep. So for our own sanity we do. It is harder to listen to her scream for an hour or so than to just suck it up and lay by her for an hour. 

We will continue to remind her and she will continue to remind herself that if she can go to sleep without us by her for at least 3 nights in a row she will get a day of rides at Como Town...so we will see if that eventually works. 

I am told by many friends that this or sleep issues in general are very common and hopefully it is just a stage. Here is to hoping the stage ends before baby number 2 arrives. 

We don't mind helping her fall asleep but it sure is hard to not have any Chris and Amy time at the end of the day.

Linnea and Mommy's First week of summer fun!

Linnea's last day of preschool til the end of August was this past Friday since it was my last day of working summer school. We know Linnea will miss her preschool friends and the routine she has there, but our wallets cannot afford to send her there while I am not working, plus I LOVE finding fun things to do together, soooo that means I get her to myself for just over a month! We had a great first week and are looking forward to the upcoming weeks as well! There is so much fun to be had! Monday started out with an attempt to see a Juggler at the Maplewood Library...well we got there right on time but that was still too late for a spot. Bill the Juggler is a popular man. Linnea tried to squeeze in and watch but only lasted about 5 minutes cuz she really couldn't see that well. So we just played in the library a bit, checked out some books and then headed to the Maplewood Community Center. I had some passes from Living Social that were going to expire the end of July so we decided we better use two of them, I hope to use the last one this weekend and get a swim workout in. They have a nice low depth swim area there with a splashing submarine and little slide so we spent most of our time there. Again, with swim lessons I think someone would have enjoyed this more. She did finally go on the slide with right before it was time to go. 

Monday night we went to our usual family storytime at the Roseville Library with some neighbors so that was also very fun. Tuesday was raining so we headed to a discounted movie theater where Chipwrecked just happened to be playing! One of our favs! We met some friends there too. We then had lunch with my mom at her house before heading home for nap. 

Wednesday we went to a puppet show at the Sun Ray Library near Woodbury and afterwards visited GG for lunch and visiting. Linnea was so sweet to ask her how her foot was doing. You may remember she had fractured it and has been in a cast for almost 6 weeks I think. Linnea has such a good memory. When I told her we would be visiting GG, she right away said, "Oh I will ask her how her foot is." GG was going in to hopefully get the cast off right after we left. Wednesday night we celebrated Chris bday with his fav meal and a trip to the choo choo park with the neighbors. 

Thursday we took advantage of the library program again and saw a magician. It was a very good show! Linnea was definitely surprised and amazed at some of the tricks! Since it was finally not 100 degrees we played at a playground before heading home.

 Thursday night we went to DQ with daddy to get Blizzards and donate money to Gillette Childrens Hospital. This hospital helps so many of the students I work with and our nephew so we couldnt pass it up!

Friday we finally checked out the new Como Pool/Waterpark! Linnea and I took a quick trip to the Como Zoo first since Linnea was dying to see the lions, polar bear and zebra. 

 Both were fantastic! The kids slides were so much more gradual than others we have been to so Linnea wasn't as intimidated by them. There is also a lazy river which we LOVED! We met up with my friend Brooke from High School with her baby Annabelle who just turned 1. We saw her when she was just a few weeks old so it was nice to see her again. We definitely should not wait so long in between our visits. Everyone had a ball! It was too hard to get many waterpark pics since we both needed to be so hands on with our kids so we will try harder next time.

time for an ice cream treat break!

getting sleepy.

watching the lazy river.

We will be going back for sure!

Happy 34th Birthday Daddy/Chris!

Someone sure does love her daddy:
(there will be a video of Linnea serenading daddy here soon.)

We made Chris one of his fav meals in the crockpot (pork tenderloin) and scalloped potatoes for his bday and also made some cheesecake to put our homemade strawberry and blueberry sauce on. 

Linnea answered a cute little survey about her daddy to put in his homemade card and we also bought him a balloon and a book. A couple of Chris and I's fav questions/answers were:

what is daddy's fav food? hot dogs and buns

what is daddy's fav tv show? baseball game

what is your fav thing about daddy? his funny faces

She answered them all herself and was right on!

He said it was one of  his fav bdays together so far. 

On Friday night my parents had Linnea overnight so Chris and I go out with Chuck and Deanna for Chris' birthday. We went to a small Chicago style restaurant that I had a LivingSocial certificate for. We tried the pizza...delicious! Chuck and Deanna approved of the Chicago and Cheese dogs as well.

We proceeded to the Roseville AMC to see The Dark Knight Rises. 

Chris has only been waiting since at least last year to see this! 

We LOVED it!

July Birthdays!

I have three nephews, a grandma, an uncle, a Father in Law, a brother, two neighbor girls and a husband all with a July birthday! I maybe even am forgetting some...it's a busy birthday month! And it has certainly gotten Linnea excited for her birthday! We told her that her birthday and mine come when the snow and Santa comes..she probably doesn't completely get that but it worked for now. She enjoyed all the bday parties and singing of Happy Birthday. She is very helpful picking out gifts and drawing on the cards we give so that is fun. Sooo...the bdays started Saturday night out in River Falls for Dylan and Jacob's 4th and 2nd birthday party. You may remember they share their birthday! Erik and Lisa had their friend party during the day and then had family out for pizza that evening. It was another hot one but we enjoyed ourselves and the boys enjoyed their gifts! They have no shortage of Lego and Cars things! 

Dylan opening his Cars tent from us.

Jake's very own headlight from grandma and grandpa Henjum!

Sunday morning we celebrated Dylan and Brian's birthday over at Brian and Megan's. They grilled up some chicken legs, hamburgers and hot dogs and family members brought over some yummy sides. The cake was of course Jello Cake made by my mom! It was nice chatting with everyone and seeing the excitement in Dylan while opening all of his gifts...he enjoyed getting cash and plenty of things to build. 

me and Baby Kaylan.

enjoying her lunch in her undies.

make a wish!

money!!!

Linnea loves jumping in their jump castle and on the trampoline and playing on their swingset. 

We headed home in hopes to go to a neighborhood bday party but we got stuck in traffic and we all were pretty tired so after a quick stop at Home Depot to pay a bill and buy some chalkboard paint we just went home and relaxed/cleaned.

NPC Playdate

After Linnea's dance recital we once again had a "New" Parent Connection playdate. This time it was at our friend Sarah's parents house who have a pool. Only 4 of us could make it but we had a very nice time! 

Linnea and I have missed almost every pool party Sarah hosts in the summer so it was great to be able to make it to this one. We all packed our own lunch, ate that on their nice deck and then hit the water! The more we go swimming, the more I want to get Linnea into swim lessons. She would have so much more fun I think if I didn't have to carry her all over the pool!

Dance "Recital"

Linnea had her final Saturday morning dance class of the summer and Chris and I were able to go together this time and see what they have been working on. It was very cute! It was a "Creative Movement" dance class taught by her dance teacher who came to her preschool every Wednesday. Her name is Fran and Linnea sure likes her! The kids did lots of running in a circle, clapping to the beat and making up their own moves. Again, it was pretty adorable!

Linnea and her Teacher Fran

Hang time!

Sound of Music

Friday the 20th we took advantage of another wonderful free summer event Minnesota offers. We went to one of many music and movies events. This one was at Lake Harriet, however, you could probably find a free outdoor concert and movie just about every night of the week somewhere in the Twin Cities Area. Friday was also my last day of working summer school so it was fun to go and celebrate that.

Posing by Lake Harriet and all the sailboats!

Family of three...obviously soon to be 4.

Linnea and her naked baby and grandma and papa.

As I was looking this Spring for things to do this summer I saw the Lake Harriet Bandshell was showing the Sound of Music. There are many other movies being shown outdoor this summer that I would love to go to but with a job, being pregnant and having a 3.5 year old it's hard to find time to hit them all. However, I knew I didn't want to miss this one. I have always liked the SOM but ever since March this movie will hold an even dearer spot in my heart. This past March I lost a very close friend, Carolyn, to domestic abuse. The Sound of Music was Carolyn's favorite movie. She could probably quote it word for word and for sure sing all of the songs. Probably out of tune just like me but we would do it anyways. This was a fav movie of my grandpa's too, whom I was also very close with. 

I don't think I blogged much about losing my friend because I didn't know where to start and it always made me so sad. It still makes me sad and makes me so angry but going to this movie with my family and dear Carolyn's mom and some of our mutual friends was a good thing all around. Carolyn's mom made her favorite Austrian cookies to share and brought lemonade. 

We also had a picnic beforehand and enjoyed popcorn during the movie. Linnea and Chris headed home before the movie started since it was so late and such a long movie that we didn't think Linnea would like a whole lot yet. 

I know Carolyn would have loved an evening like we had Friday night. She loved so many things about life and it is a shame hers was taken so young. Carolyn will always be remembered for her love of life, children, art, friendships, family, camping and her compassion for everything she did. You will never be forgotten Carolyn.

Sabina's Bday Party!

One of our neighborhood friends celebrated her 3rd birthday this past Sunday! Her actual bday is Wednesday the 18th (exactly the same as two of our nephews and plenty of my friends! What a popular day for a bday!)

Anyways, after our naps and recovering from blueberry picking we headed over to Sabina's house and Linnea got in the pool with her friends while I watched and got to chat and eat with the moms. 

All was fun and well until I looked down for a split second and then looked up and saw my daughters arms flailing about....I quickly ran to the side of the pool and pulled her out. It was a very scary moment for us both, but not one we haven't been through before. I handled it how I did before and did not make a big deal and just kept telling her she was okay and that is normal to go under water. All the other parents there were very supportive and had similar stories. The pool is about 32inches so not over her head but I'm sure when Linnea slipped and went under she forgot she could touch and was trying to swim but doesn't know how. We will get her some lessons this fall or winter depending on how we are doing with the baby! We also need to find a life jacket she likes! We go to another swimming party this weekend and I am hoping when she sees the other kids wearing their life jackets she will give it a try. I know she isn't too traumatized from this because she did want to get back in the water after watching the other girls swim and go under, in fact she said, "see mommy, they're going under water and them okay!." Unfortunately when she decided she wanted to get back in, it was time to go.

Free Music at Como Lake!

Last Tuesday night we finally made it over to the Como Pavilion to listen to one of their free music concerts.  It was a youth band and I thought they were very good!

 The park has a show just about every night starting at 7. We packed a picnic dinner and drove to a parking lot a little ways down from the pavilion so we could get a walk in before and after the show. 

We met up with some neighborhood friends too and the little girls had a great time dancing!

Blueberry Picking!

We all slept in a bit on Saturday morning but made sure to be up and on time for Linnea's dance class and so I could go grocery shopping before heading to Chris' mom's house in Bay City. It had been a while since we visited Bay City and Red Wing so we hit both places. We got going around 2 hoping Linnea would nap in the car, well she didn't, but we still had a good evening. We visited with Sarah until about 4:30 and then headed to pick up Chris's grandparents who wanted to take us out to McDonald's for supper while Sarah went to a pottery convention. It had been far too long since we visited grandma and grandpa Bremer so it was great to see them. We stopped at Chris' cousins house on the way back to Sarah's to get me some more maternity clothes. Back at Sarah's we got squirt ready for bed, watched a little Horton Hears a Who and then Sarah was home in time to say goodnight to Linnea. We slept until about 8 and then got ready for the blueberry patch! 

I have been apple, raspberry and strawberry picking. Even corn picking but never blueberry pickin. It was very fun and we got loads so I have been making lots of blueberry treats! Speaking of which I am going to go make some blueberry sauce and muffins right now. We lasted about an hour picking and then got way too hot and felt we had enough so we headed home. But couldn't make it back to Sarah's without stopping for some ice cream at Flat Penny's again. 

I'm telling ya...I can't go to visit Sarah and not get any Flat Pennies Ice Cream! It is just so delicious! We didnt get to see Dave and Allison this time since they were on a mission trip but we hope to see them the end of July.

River Falls Days Parade

We found ourselves at yet another parade on Friday night! It is becoming a tradition to head out to River Falls and have dinner with my brother and sister in law and their boys and then watch the parade. This year we decided to eat down at the River Falls Days event at the parade. Erik and Lisa's church always has a bounce house set up and makes hot dogs, pop corn and root beer floats so most of my family ate that but I tried some yummy chinese food from the food tent and had to get some kettle corn! 

 The weather had been pretty hot all day (or all week/summer I could say) but right as we got our food it started to downpour!

 It let up though and the parade carried on and we were happy we stuck it out!

  The kids had so much fun together and it was nice to watch the parade in cooler temps! 

It was pretty late by the time we got back to Erik and Lisa's so we gave Linnea a bath there with her cousins and got her jammies on, Lisa read a story and we headed home.