He Has A Name!

Baby boy has a name!

Andi, Tory and I are proud to announce the upcoming arrival of Aden Andrew.

Choosing Aden's name was a bit more challenging than naming Tory. As long as I can remember, Tory has always been my favorite girl name. Andi and I never went as far to develop favorite boy names during our first pregnancy because after we learned we were expecting a girl, Tory she became.

This time around, I developed a running list of both boys and girls names I liked, but there weren't many Andi liked as well. At our 20 week ultrasound, we had both a girl name and a boy name in our minds, but nothing was set in stone. In the days following the big gender reveal appointment, I let the name Aden Andrew wash over me. I called him by name. I started to connect with my boy. He became Aden in my mind. When I asked Andi about his thoughts, he had been doing the same thing. Aden was our son. 

I wanted to be sure we were choosing a name for our son that conveyed strength and pride; something easy to pronounce, but not too common that everyone he encounters in life will also bear the same name. Aden is popular, but not as much as alternate spellings of the name. Above all, it's the one name Andi and I kept coming back to over and over again.

I love the idea of giving my children names that are tied to someone in our family. Tory's middle name is Christine, the same as mine and I hope she feels that connection throughout her life. Aden's middle name will be Andrew, named after his dad. 

The name Aden means "Little Fire" and I have no doubt this little boy will have plenty of that to go around. I can't wait to meet him in person in just a few more weeks!

Almost Famous

When Tory was a few months old, Andi signed her up with a local modeling agency.  I'm positive Tory is the most darling child I've ever laid eyes on (what parent doesn't think that about their own kid), but we definitely weren't shooting for childhood stardom with her enrollment. At best, Andi and I hoped she'd get a few audition call-backs, maybe see her picture in a city-wide circular or something and make a few bucks for her piggy bank.

Right away last summer, Tory was hired for a Target ad circular, but something fell threw with the clothing she was suppose to model and essentially, it never happened. Shortly after, she got another gig as a packaging model for 3M Filtrete, but I've never seen her photo on any of their filters (not that I browse the filter aisle all that often). I'm not sure they ever used her photo, but she did earn a few hundred dollars for her time. Her first paycheck, you could say. Girlfriend's gotta earn her keep in our family. (I'm kidding!)

We sort of stopped sending in new pictures of Tory as she grew older and haven't been to any try-outs in a while now. The auditions were always last-minute notice and when we had a nanny, the shoots fell on the days she worked requiring her to take Tory and me to coordinate all the details and worry about them getting there safely. Basically, is was kind of a pain in my rear so we stopped doing it.

Then a few months ago, a friend of ours who's the editor for our suburb's local magazine emailed Andi and asked if we'd be interested in modeling for one of their issues. The job would be un-paid, but fun nonetheless for our family to be photographed. In June, we went to the publishing office and posed for a little photo shoot session. They also asked me to be photographed for a separate article about a clothing store in town. Neither Andi or I were sure what would end up being featured, so we were surprised (and honored!) to see our photo grace the cover of July's Best of 2013 issue.

... and a second appearance of me inside the issue, sporting a Letterman's sweater that was definitely not fit for pregnancy. Thank goodness for Photoshop and the side-bar mention of my mom-to-be status.

Yep, we're basically famous. Okay, not really. Not even a little bit.

But! It is cool to stuff this magazine away in Tory's baby book and look back to remember the time our little family had fifteen minutes seconds of fame.

Fourth of July 2013

Andi, Tory and I just wrapped an amazing Fourth of July week at the cabin. Seriously, the last six days at our Pipe Lake paradise were everything I imagined it would be and more. Minnesota's summer is finally here (ahem, about a month late) and it was sunny and warm every day of our vacation. My skin is sun-kissed; we barely glanced at our computers or phones. It was awesome.

The only bump in our trip happened Wednesday night during our trek up to the cabin. There's was some cabin traffic out of the city, as to be expected the night before a holiday, so we stopped at Applebee's for dinner in one of the Northern Twin Cities suburbs. As everyone knows, Andi despises chain restaurants, but it was the only "real food" option amongst fast food restaurants. I voted to eat dinner inside vs. Andi's choice of Carside To Go because I was not interested in feeding Tory Applebees in the backseat of the car. The meal service was horrible, our food was cold, Tory was very ornery in the restaurant (at one point, the manager paid a visit to our table to "tease" her about being so loud); overall, a bad experience. We just wanted to get to the cabin and once we arrived a few hours later, all was well for the rest of our week together.

Andi, Tory and I woke up at the cabin on Thursday, July 4th, ready for an awesome holiday. Our friends Nick and Julie, and their boys Joel and Alex, arrived around 10:00am. We quickly changed into our swimming suits and headed outside. The boys recently celebrated their birthdays and received a Gushing Geyser Water Slide, so our friends brought it up to the cabin to use for the weekend. All the kids loved it and never seemed phased by the ice cold water pumping into it from the yard hose. Tory, Alex and Joel bopped between the water slide and swimming in the lake for the rest of the afternoon.

Fourth of July evening, we drove about 20 minutes to the Country Lane Farmer's Market in Barron, Wisconsin. We've heard great things about this market from the cabin neighbors, but it only takes place on Thursday afternoons and we're rarely at the cabin mid-week to go. Situated in the middle of farm fields - literally in the middle of nowhere - was a giant farmer's market with craft vendors, a homemade ice cream stand, various concessions and a bulk food market. The stands will be bursting with fresh produce after a few more weeks of growing around here. It was definitely a neat place to stop. We ate homemade ice cream, freshly popped kettle corn and strolled from stand to stand checking out their merchandise.

My girlie on Fourth of July

In LOVE with this photo of Tory at the lake

We planned to watch the big Fourth of July Spectacular in Cumberland, WI at dusk. The show touts being the biggest of its kind in the area and we thought it might be a nice change of pace this year vs. putting on our own show at the cabin. The little town of Cumberland and its park were PACKED with people. We found a parking spot amongst the spectators who'd been camping out for hours, loaded up the kids, blankets and snacks and searched for a spot in the grass to watch the big fireworks show. Unfortunately, the only place left was directly behind the fireworks launch site. Tory's not a big fan of loud noises to begin with and I knew we'd be pushing way past bedtime (aka: meltdown time) when fireworks started around 9:30pm, so I convinced Andi we should pack up our things and head back to the cabin. Tory insisted I be the one to carry her all the way back to the car and by the time we got there, I was having major preggo belly cramps on my lower right side. We put the kids to bed shortly after arriving back at the cabin and then spent the rest of the evening by the bonfire in our backyard. I was really glad to be home. My belly was aching big time, to the point where I was almost nervous something was wrong. In all honesty, I don't love fireworks on the Fourth of July anyway, so I wasn't all that bummed to miss the big show in Cumberland.

Loading up kids and bags - never an easy process

Neighborhood fireworks on the lake

On Friday morning, Andi and Nick woke up early for a neighborhood tree cutting party. Our cabin road had become too overgrown with foliage and the township warned firetrucks might have a difficult time getting through in the case of emergency. So, owners from various cabins around the lake came with bobcats, tractors and chainsaws to trim the excess trees and branches along the road. While the boys were off doing man-things, Julie and I were on kid duty. Tory and the boys played in the lake and had a water balloon fight in the yard. Julie is so creative in coming up with fun things for her boys to do. Later that afternoon, Andi and Nick took Joel fishing on the pontoon. Tory and Alex both took naps and Julie and I lounged in the lake. It was the perfect summer day.

Snacks on the beach

Alex and Tory

Joel jumping off the pontoon during the boys' fishing outing

Tory took awesome naps every day at the cabin, so you better believe I did this every afternoon

Later, we took the kids to the Turtle Lake County Fair. Andi and I took Tory last year and had a blast, so were excited to come back again. It's the perfect size fair for little kids with all the basic rides and carnival food. At the ripe old age of one year, my dare-devil Tory Girl loved the rides. She and Andi rode the carousel cars, the merry-go-round, went down the Super Slide three times and rode the Ferris wheel. I was a little surprised there was no minimum age limits for children on any of the rides so long as they were accompanied by an adult. In hindsight, I question if the Carney workers really had my child's safety at heart, you know? I suppose Andi was holding onto her during all the rides and it's not like we put her on a big roller coaster. Brightest parenting move? I'm not sure, but Tory had a blast nonetheless. She loved the Super Slide and kept saying and signing "more, more" each time they finished a turn. Tory wasn't a big fan of the Ferris wheel or the merry-go-round carousel, although she never cried. She and Andi also played the "duck pond" game and the "fishing" game and Tory chose three balls and a princess wand as her prizes which I then carried around in my arms for the remainder of the time at the fair.

Reluctantly riding on Daddy's shoulders when she really wanted me to carry her

Fishing for prizes

Loved this car carousel ride

Merry-go-round - Tory refused to sit on the horse

Super Slide - Tory and Andi rode this three times!

Duck Pond

After the rides and games, we walked over to the Turtle Lake park and Tory, Joel and Alex played on the playground equipment. As much money as we all spent on food and games at the fair, the kids seemed to have the most fun at the park. Go figure. Alex was cracking us up as he introduced himself to every single person at the park. "Hi, I'm Alex! I'm three! I like the color orange!" Quite the social butterfly, that one.

Then, as if we needed even more Friday night excitement, we hired two cabin neighbor girls to babysit the kids while Andi, Nick, Julie and I went out for a nice dinner at Bistro 63 in Barronett, WI. Bistro never disappoints; we had great service and our food was delicious, as always. Andi ordered the scallops and I had the Seared Gnocchi. Best of all, it was great to have a few kid-free hours to relax and enjoy the company of our friends.

We woke up Saturday morning and decided to take the kids to the Crystal Lake Strawberry Patch. Andi and I took Tory strawberry picking for the first time last year and I've been itching to go back ever since. It was the perfect day for picking berries. I learned my lesson last year and dressed Tory and I in clothes she could ruin with her grubby strawberry-stained hands. We all had a blast at the strawberry patch this year, especially Tory. She ate more strawberries than she put in her bucket. Later in the day when Andi was washing and chopping our fresh berries, he found lots of half-eaten ones courtesy of Little Miss Bean.

Group photo
Nick, Alex, Julie, Joel, Tory, Andi and I

No trip near the Cheese Factory can be resisted, so we stopped for fresh cheese and ice cream on our way home from the strawberry patch. Then we all came back to the cabin and played a rousing game of kickball in the yard. (Okay, Andi and I watched while Nick, Julie and the kids played. Someone had to be the spectators, right?).

Love this photo of Tory - she looks like a storybook character with lots of attitude

Tory loved Alex ... but I'm not sure the same could be said the other way around

Catching butterflies

Got one!

Nick, Julie and the boys left for home shortly afterwards so Andi, Tory and I lounged at our beach for the remainder of the day. We took a quiet boat ride around the lake, put Tory to bed early (well, actually at her regular bedtime, since she'd been staying up later with all the Fourth of July activities) and walked to the next-door cabin neighbors for another fireworks celebration in their yard on Saturday night (within baby monitor reach, obviously).

Learning to drive the pontoon (er, push the dashboard buttons) at an early age

More lake fireworks

Early Sunday, Andi's parents came up for visit. We took the pontoon to the "beach! beach!" as Tory requested, lounged on floaties and played in the sand. The weather was hot and sunny on Sunday; a perfect summer day at the cabin.

Grandpa and Tory playing at the beach

Naked (diaper) baby on a boat!

We hung around the cabin the entire day and made yummy caprese chicken (seriously craving this since I made it a few weeks ago), grilled veggies and crusty bread for dinner. After Tory went to bed, Andi, his parents and I sat on the deck and talked for hours. We were just about as relaxed as one can be on a mid-summer's night. It was awesome.

Monday was our last day at the cabin and it was just Andi, Tory and I. Andi commented how we should wrap up every big Fourth of July celebration with one last day to relax, just us. The three of us took multiple pontoon rides around the lake, ate homemade strawberry Popsicles and played at our beach. Tory took a two hour nap in the afternoon and Andi and I did some more lake lounging. Pretty tough life we led ...

First time I turned my computer on in six days .. and it was lakeside. Not too shabby.

After Tory's nap, we took an afternoon adventure to nearby Balsam Lake for ice cream. Then, we stopped by Staples Lake Bar and Grill for take-out pizza and enjoyed our last night's dinner on the boat.

Tuesday morning when we left the cabin it was pouring rain - the perfect day to pack up and head back home. I can't remember a more perfect Fourth of July celebration than the last week with my two loves and our family and friends. We are so fortunate to have the lake cabin as a paradise retreat. It's a great place for our family to make memories and I foresee many more wonderful times there for years to come.

Fly Flag, Fly

I may have mentioned one gazillion times how difficult it is to buy gifts for my husband. The guy has everything ... and anything he'd like to have is bought at his convenience. I'm not knocking it or anything; the guy works incredibly hard and deserves to have a few nice things. However, buying gifts for him is nearly impossible because there's rarely anything on his wish list. Case in point: the Friday before Father's Day, a chain saw showed up on our door step. Wouldn't a chain saw be the perfect Father's Day gift? I never knew he needed one (or had no idea which one he even wanted without him picking it out) so he didn't get one for his big day. Missed opportunity.

Instead, I pondered gift ideas for WEEKS. What on Earth does my husband need or want? We have different taste in men's clothing, so I stopped buying those for him years ago. Booze? Overdone. I've given that gift many times before (although he always likes it). He doesn't wear dress clothes to work so the typical Father's Day tie wasn't an option. Gift cards? Eh. Not very personal.

We have (scratch that, had ... I'll get to that) a flag pole at the cabin for the last few years without a flag on it. We flew an American flag for a while, but it was a bit of a pain to put up and take down every weekend. You know, all the "protect the flag" rules. My dad suggested buying a personalized flag for Andi and I thought it was the perfect idea. A few years ago, Andi had a family crest created and mounted on a memory case for my wedding gift so I tracked down the crest and used it on the flag. This sounds like a simple task, but was no easy feat as I emailed Andi's business partner for help (because I couldn't ask Andi for the logo or he might figure out what I was up to) and finally worked with an old printer contact from my work days to source a custom flag company. In the end, Andi's unique flag arrived just before Father's Day and he loved it. I think he was truly surprised by the gift (unless he peeked at the credit card statement beforehand) and it looked great soaring on our lakeshore at the cabin.

Opening Father's Day gifts

Strangely, I even learned quite a bit about flags through the process of ordering one which is completely random and probably useless knowledge to have in my back pocket.

Our flag flew proudly for the next few weeks at the cabin. Cut to last week when Andi received a text message from our cabin landlord letting him know he removed our flag pole and moved it a few doors down to their new cabin's lawn. This is completely in his right as the landlord as he bought the flag pole after all, but I was so bummed to hear the news. Our beautiful flag! We only flew you for two weeks and now you're folded nicely on a shelf in a cupboard! What a bummer.

Honestly, I could've cared less about the flag pole except for the fact that I just bought a kind of expensive flag two weeks ago and now I feel obligated to fly it. Obviously, Andi and I are going to need to buy another flag pole just so we can soar our dang flag. The good thing is, now we can get the flag pole we want -- maybe one which stands off the dock, back in the same spot in the yard as it was before, or mounted on the house somewhere. Now I'm back in the flag research business to secure a new placement for our dear, beloved flag. I'll be an expert before this gift is all said and done!

Happy Birthday America Parade

The Friday before Fourth of July, my suburb town hosted a Happy Birthday America Parade. It's one of the best things about the place we live - there's a small, hometown vibe floating around our neighborhood with events and happenings taking place every week in the summer. Yet, we're still able to take advantage of bigger events the greater Twin Cities has to offer. I'm really thankful to stay at home with Tory so I can take part in all of these programs around the city.

On this day, I invited my friend Jodi and her kids along to attend the parade with us. Luckily, I re-read the website the night before and realized it was more of a "you are the parade" vs. a "sit on the sidewalk and watch" type event, so Jodi and I brought strollers along for the kids to ride in. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it turned out to be really fun. The parade organizers has streamers and balloons for the kids to decorate their bikes, wagons and strollers. It just so happens, Tory is way excited by balloons these days so this aspect alone made her entire morning. Some people came to the event with their bikes and scooters already decked out in full red, white and blue and others used the supplies provided to make their Happy Birthday America tribute. Just before the parade, we met up with Laura and her kids, too.

A few veteran soldiers led the procession of kids and parents along the park sidewalk. It was kind of nice, actually, because there was no worry of vehicles around the kids. We did two loops around the park area, then ended at the outdoor pavilion for treats and a magic show.

My red, white and blue girl

Tory and Allie before the parade

The magician was a bit of a bust. I think she was probably fine for older kids and those closer to front and center. No worries though; our group of kids had fun running in the grassy area nearby.

Tory, Bella and Oliver eating snacks before the show starts

Group shot! Impossible to get all the kids to look at the camera.
(L to R: Tory, Jake, Allie, Bella, Oliver)

Cheese!

Bring on the Fourth of July festivities!