look what I missed

Aunt Susie and Cousin Drake are home watching TBL today while I'm at work. We have decided over the past few days that TBL is bored laying around all the time. He will sit in his bumbo for a few minutes but we thought it was time for him to graduate to the exersaucer. This is actually a walker that we borrowed from a friend and TBL tried it out for the first time today. We are going to acquire an actual exersaucer as well this week so he'll have plenty of new toy options. Where would we be without such great friends loaning us stuff their kids have grown out of? Apparently he needs pillows under his feet b/c he's not tall enough to touch the ground and he can't reach many of the toys but Aunt Susie said he spent about 18 minutes in it content and happy. He is just too cute. I am so thankful that he has such great care while Daddy and I are away and so grateful that Aunt Susie sends us pictures from her phone. She has her hands full today as Gabby and Nile are home as well. She shuttled Gabby to and from a tooth extraction appt in the pouring rain. She might just need to get paid extra today.

He just looks so cute in this.

big boy
I just love him so. Don't worry Bug, mommy will be home soon!

Our Iowa Games Cross Country Adventure

Well the three of us had quite the adventure. Bill and I signed up to run the Iowa Games Cross Country Race in Ames (home of our hated rival school Iowa State). I really didn't want TBL's first out of town overnight trip to be to Ames, but we shall never speak of it again. We left about 4 pm yesterday and he did fine in the car until about the last 30 minutes which he screamed most of the time. Another reason cancelling our family roadtrip next week was such a good idea. We did get to the hotel, he felt better out of his car seat and we got him ready for bed. He got his pjs on. We set up the pack -n- play and then he went to sleep. The rest of our evening Bill and I spent huddled near or in the bathroom reading and whispering. How come the 3 mo old got the whole room to himself and the adults were relegated to the bathroom? We didn't stay up long and fell fast asleep before 9 pm. TBL woke up twice last night to eat (ugh) and was wide awake at 6 am when we were getting ready to leave.
We put him protective gear for the morning breathing the air in Ames. 'Lil Hawkeye stocking cap
and a black and gold blanket.
We hung out with Daddy while he was warming up and then when he started his race, the 8K, TBL and I headed to the car for some milks. The race was on ISU's cross country course. The weather was very un-July-- overcast and probably not even 60 degrees... perfect for running.

Bill is coming up to the finish. He did great and beat the time he set out for himself.

Crossing the line in 34 minutes and 18 seconds.

Then it was my turn to run the 4K. I started out in last place but slowly started passing a few people. Here is a shot of me running so fast I'm blurry :-)

Barely moving at the end. The course was really hilly and tough and I decided I hate running on grass.

Here we are after the race. We took plenty of these shots last summer of when Bill and I ran races. I can't believe we have a baby... crazy what difference a year makes. TBL kept his pjs on b/c they were warmer than the clothes I packed.

Bill got 2nd in his age group

Nice grin!

Right before the first water stop after a huge hill, two gals in front of me stopped. Not this girl, I kept running and ended up 2nd in my age group-- one of the gals I passed got third. I was so proud of myself. It was my first race back after baby.

Nice hardware!

The winning successful family. TBL did a fine job being out in the stroller all morning and managing the hand off between races.

It was a great trip! I am very proud of us... we packed up, drove about 2 hours, stayed in a hotel, woke up at the butt crack of dawn, ran two races, won some medals, had breakfast at McDonalds, drove home all with a 12 week old. We are getting this parenting thing under control :-) Next week, me and TBL on a plane to NY!

Blueberrry Picking

What a difference a year makes. Last summer I went blueberry picking several times, just me and few friends and my sneakers and my sunglasses. Today I went blueberry picking with the bug and our friend Fran and a stroller, sling, burp cloth, random toys, extra blanket, bug's favorite blanket, diaper bag... I am already looking forward to next year when 15 month old bug can walk with me picking berries as he goes. It will be like Blueberries for Sal which was my favorite book when I was a kid (I mean just like that book minus the bears).

Bug got to wear his super cute pony outfit today because it is kind of cool out.

thanks Diane and Laura!

he's so big
happy and ready for the blueberries

hanging in his stroller

self portrait of us

mulitasking mom - breast feeding and picking berries

i felt kind of like a 18th century farm worker feeding the baby and still doing

the picking fran took a great pic of herself getting ready for a post berry picking nap

I only got 3 lbs but that's a good start - the first pan is freezing as I type. Next Friday when Daddy is home, Fran and I are going to go back without bug to ensure I have enough for winter. But nonetheless it was a successful outing.

I'm a big boy now!

New pics

I just love my little boy. Today I was sad that he is becoming less of a little baby. Maybe I'll need to have another baby someday... shh! don't tell my husband that :-) How quickly pregnancy, delivery and the first 6 weeks pass from your memory. Well I'm off to work tomorrow so here are some shots to keep me going through my shift.

Getting better at tummy time

Playing with his toes... his first actual non-forced toy interactio
More playing

Smiling after a nap

More smiles

Peacefully sleeping today

Smiling during this nap

He's just so alert and happy

update

It has been two days of no Famous Amos so I thought I was ready. I bravely brought down the bin from the attic with my 'regular' pants in them. Here is the update... fat pants need a belt, inbetween pants fit and skinny jeans are still out of reach... but that's progress.

Also we have decided to chuck the wet/muddy couch from the new basement. I was coveting my sister-in-laws new couch when we were there for 4th of July complaining that we never get anything new (can't you just hear me whining?) when Bill reminded me that we haven't paid a cent for our new addition and we have plenty of other unpaid expenses right now and all I can talk about it getting a new couch when the ones we have are fine and we are getting Uncle Tom's old couch as our 'new' couch for the new room when it is done. Ok I said, you're right, I don't need a new couch. Well Bill was going to try to salvage the wet muddy couch but last night at supper Uncle Tom said we should chuck that old couch. So his old couch will go in the basement as a new couch and I'll get a really new couch for the new room. YIPPEE! It will be my first piece of new furniture ever!!

now it makes sense

Ok after I got home I finally understood what the problem was with the sump pump drainage and got some great shots of the mud. yum! Bill now has two dehumidifiers and a fan running-- thanks to the GPs and the BGs for the extension cords.

Footprints in the mud

our poor couch
the water line on the wall. one thing to be thankful for is that this happened before the new drywall went up.

the new black tubing leading the sump pump water away from the house to the front yard

the sump pump coming out of the basement was just the little white tube and it was dumping the water back into the hole below it and then back into the basement. the workmen put the black tubing on it.

aaaahhh! lessons in home ownership and construction. to me houses and cars are the same. i love them when they work fine but have no patience at all for when they are broken.

a muddy mess

so our backyard is already a muddy mess because of our addition. the sides of our house already slope the wrong way because we get water in our basement every time it rains. yesterday morning it rained quite a bit, our new sump pump was working in the new basement and it stayed dry. our contractor was so impressed he had to say, "i am so impressed that it stayed dry with all this rain." last night bill turned the sump pump off and we all went to bed. we had a torrential thunderstorm last night, thunder so loud that it made us jump in bed (strangely bug slept through it... we are back on the 'he's deaf' theory- it did take him three times to pass his hearing test in the hospital). this morning i got up and went to work. bill is home with bug. bill calls. there is a foot of water in our new basement. he turns the sump pump on and it is just pouring water out right next to the foundation which is not filled in yet on the addition. he somehow reroutes it but then it started pouring pouring pouring into our existing basement. bill calls the contractor, he sends some guys, they reroute it farther out into the yard or something. i am having trouble understanding without seeing it. all the water is gone. the couch we smartly put in the basement before it was framed in is now really wet and bill reports an inch of mud in the new basement. tasty. bill did get a dehumidifier and we will spend our evening shoveling up mud. double tasty. we are going to need a TON of yard reworking when this addition is finally done to reslope stuff. i am at work irritated by being here, feeling helpless that my house is wet and muddy. our sweet friends, ty and jenn and zuzu, had their house HIT by lightening last night and totally fritzed their electricity so i guess it could be worse. i'll try to get some pictures when i get home.