I'm going to be an aunt?!

Whatchu talkin' bout?
Here are a couple of photos of Lucy in her camo outfit she got from Auntie Pam. You may not be able to see her in the photos due to the camoflauge!
So, from the title of this blog you may be questioning, and you're right - Lisa's sister Sam is going to be the mother of a baby girl around Christmastime this year. That will make Grandma Val a grandma two times over in a year! Although the news was very unexpected and I'm still kind of in "shock", I promise to be a good aunt and hey, Lucy will have a cousin her age to play with!

It feels like fall outside, and this is my favorite time of year. Time to get the pumpkins out and go to the apple orchards! Lucy walked with me to bible study at church today, it was a fabulous morning to take a walk. Dad was even in the mood to make chili for lunch!

Other than that, not much to report on from the home front. Going back to work hasn't been too tough to get back into the swing of things, but I do miss Lucy a whole bunch when I'm gone! Troy is also getting busier at work with school being back in session.

I know it's officially a couple weeks away, but, "Happy Autumn Everybody!"

Labor Day Weekend

What a busy weekend/holiday for us! On Friday afternoon the Trautman families came to Baldwin for the weekend, some staying with us and some staying over at Vicky and Paul's. Did we take any pictures while they were here? Nope. Ugh! Troy's usually very camera-ready but we were very busy all weekend! We did see some videos that Paul took of the water balloon antics, though!

Friday night was appetizers next door. When it was time for Lucy to go to bed, she was assisted in her bathtime ritual by cousins Olivia and Kate, who just couldn't get enough of their little girl cousin. Saturday morning a few of us headed 'downtown' to the Hazelnut Tree for coffee. Everyone gathered next door for lunch and the great water balloon launchings (250 balloons!?). In the evening, Troy made a bonfire and we roasted marshmallows and laughed and talked about our 'dream' jobs.

Sunday we all headed to church to hear Paul's sermon on "weiner gravy", followed by a delicious brunch and then the Trautman families departed back to Lake Benton and Eden Prairie. We all napped.

Today (Labor Day) my dad's side of the family (the Duffy's) came over for a late luncheon and lots of paparazzi picture-taking of Lucy. Most hadn't seen her since she came home from the hospital and others were meeting her for the first time. She charmed everyone; it's amazing how much she's grown in the past few months. Here are a couple photos from today:

Grandpa Randy and Lucy:

Lucy with Great-Grandma Blanche:

The Great MN Get-Together 2007

Troy, Lucy, Mom/Grandma Val and I headed to the State Fair today. There for a good 7 1/2 hours, 7 of which we spent on our feet, thankfully I guess, so we could work off some of the calories we consumed. Would you like a list of what we ate? You would? Here's the rundown, mind you the majority of this was SHARED - pork chop on a stick, mini donuts, pronto pup, french fries, cheese curds, gelato (this was a new find for us this year and very good!), sloppy joes on a stick (this was new this year at Axel's and it was the only food we've ever thrown away at the Fair!), hawaiian ice, luigi fries, a variety of beverages, hot dish on a stick (first time any of us had ever tried it), Sweet Martha's cookies...that can't be it can it? Troy and Val spotted a bag left by a woman sitting next to us, turns out it was 4 uneaten homemade salted nut rolls, so of course he took them, pigger :)

Val eating hot dish on a stick:

Lisa and Lucy, the new Don and Amelia:

Taking a breather outside the Grandstand:

But enough about food, what did we do besides walk and eat? Well, shop of course. I (Lisa) am proud to say I did not buy a single thing for myself. I did get a couple Christmas gifts purchased (I'm sure everyone loves a handblown glass flamingo, right?). Troy got himself the kitchen sink - a KFAN shirt (of course), some jacket that he swears is $100 in the stores, a choadish Gophers outfit (we had worn jeans to the Fair thinking it would be cool today and as you can see, it was not, so Troy went to the U of M booth to buy some shorts and came out dressed in a gold t-shirt and red shorts so we could see him from a mile away!), and both Troy and Val purchased the Kitchen Plus 2000 because they're going to make salsa every day apparently!

And besides shopping we meandered through the Grandstand and Coliseum, totally missed half the Fair really and missed a couple blocks worth of stuff surprisingly, watched the Lori and Julia show for a bit (FM 107.1), sat by the Bandshell and listened to some teenage a cappella band sing "Elvira" (oom pa pa mow mow), went thru the MN Bound (Ron Scharra) store, tried to find out where the Medica booth would be (to see if Jim Williams was working today) but didn't see it.

As we were leaving it was getting pretty packed being a Friday night. We saw this teenage couple, apparently on a date, as the girl was wearing 4 inch stillettos...at the Fair...high heels? She is going to have some jacked up feet tonight! We did not witness any obesitiness in sports bras thankfully. That's always a fear that we'll see some of that.

My personal bests of the day: Lucy, she was just a doll today and quite a trooper; pork chop on a stick; the Lactation Station at the FM 107.1 area (a recommendation for all mothers of babies, lactating or not - a private room filled with fans, wicker glider rocking chairs, playpen, changing table, diapers/wipes/every diaper-changing thing you can imagine, water, complimentary bags filled with a huge wipes container and some miscellaneous motherly stuff - loved that!); spending time with family making fun of other people.

Worsts of the day: sloppy joes on a stick (I really should've just spit it out as to not waste precious calories on this); sore tootsies/dogs barking; the people who would walk in front of you and just stop for no reason, same as the people who come walking at you but looking at something in the sky so they run into you.

And here's a shot of Lucy as we left today:

See you at the Fair next year!

4 months old

The above picture was from last Thursday after Lucy had her shots (note band-aids on thigh and sleepy look on her face).

This weekend we went up to the cabin with my (Lisa's) parents. There were also many aunts and uncles and cousins up there too. On Saturday, Lucy's 4-month birthday, she gave mommy a heart attack. I know this happens to all mothers, but if you look at my earlier post about how I cut her fingers when I should be cutting fingernails, I'm starting to look like an abusive parent or something! On Saturday she was napping on grandma's bed at the cabin. Unfortunately we didn't hear her awaken and she got torked off and scooted her way right off the bed and onto the floor! I don't know who it scared more, me or her, but I felt horrible for the rest of the weekend. Still do.

Monday night brought storms up to the cabin and unbeknownst to us, right through to Baldwin, too. Lots of trees and debris down in Baldwin and I hear some farms were devastated north of town.

When we got home, Troy took Lucy's 4-month photos next to the sheep:

To see how much she's grown, this is her one-month photo below:


The past 4 months have flown by so fast, but every day it's something new with her, she's a mover and a talker (or is that a "shaker"?). I'm really going to miss her when I go back to work!

Big Girl!

Just a quick post today - I took Lucy to her 4-month appointment this morning and for the traumatizing shots (2 on each thigh!) So while she's sleeping with her charlie brown bandaids on I thought I would post her latest stats:

13 lbs. 7.5 oz. (50th percentile)

26 inches long (95th percentile)

Go Vikes!

This picture is for second cousin, Cami :) Daddy dressed her in this for church on Sunday until I said "she is NOT wearing Vikings to church! The season hasn't even started yet!" I secretly was fearful for her life at a mostly-Packers-based church anyway. But she sure looked cute!

Lucy and I went into my work today to visit and sign some returning papers. Two more weeks! Our area is also in the midst of some big re-org, typical of corporate america, but I'm feeling a bit out of the loop with being on leave. When I return, I'll be reporting to a new manager based out of Boston.

This past weekend Troy and brother/uncle/godfather Eric sheetrocked our new basement bathroom all day Saturday. On Sunday, the high school girlfriends got together in Baldwin while their male counterparts went golfing in River Falls. There were 6 kids ages 4 and under to keep us plenty busy. And when the guys returned, we grilled out and went home to collapse!

This Thursday will be Lucy's 4-month appointment at the doctor's. More shots and more tears for mommy :( Then it's up to the cabin for a long weekend with Grandma Val and Grandpa Mark!

TGIF!

I suppose every day is like Friday when you're on maternity leave, right? Less than 3 weeks to go 'til back to work. It's approaching too quickly! The longest stretch mom has been away from Lucy since birth has been six hours. That will be almost doubled when I go back to work and add on that commute!

Grandma Val was over last night to hang out with Lucy while mom cleaned house. Grandma taught Lucy how to jump on the bed, which Lucy loved. So now we have to find some sort of bouncy toy for her. I even tried it today, singing the 'no more monkeys jumpin on the bed' and she squeals with delight! I also purchased some new music for her by the group Go Fish (thanks, Beth!) and she "dances" to that. We have quite the active little girl!

We had a fabulous dinner a la Paul tonight - Halibut my parents had caught up in Alaska recently, prepared exquisitely! Troy is doing his nightly duty of feeding and putting Lucy to bed and then we're all going to watch a movie, Letters from Iwo Jima.

Crazy that it's already August, where has the summer gone? Pretty soon it will be time for the State Fair, then Labor Day and then fall - which happens to be my favorite season!

I should make mention here of the tragedy this week with the collapse of 35W. Thankfully all friends and family members are accounted for, but one of the lives lost, Patrick Holmes, was a Hill-Murray alumni. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone effected by this event.