I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone already! Our string of celebrations began the 19th of December when we celebrated at Greg's parents home with the Sheely side of the family. It was a wonderful afternoon of delicious ham, great company, and the entertainment of Noah and James attempting to open, and help everyone else open, gifts. Noah even got a Disney "Cars" Snuggie!
On the 20th Noah had his very first church Christmas program, "A Birthday Party for Jesus". From the moment he woke up that day, he was telling Greg and I that he was not going to sing, and that he was not going to stand with his class! He did stand with his class and maybe sang a few notes here and there. He was pretty funny though as he was trying to show everyone how he can balance and jump on one foot for the majority of the program. Check out the video below!
After making the decision and committing to going to Little Falls and Miltona for Christmas Eve thru the day after Christmas, we learned that there was an impending Snow Storm...so we packed up and left Rochester on the 23rd. We were in the car roughly 5 hours (usually a 2.5 hour drive) and saw about 5 car accidents (one of which was a truck with a camper that was completely tipped on it's side). We were determined to make it though, and did without a problem. Jen's cousin, Chris, and his wife Stacy along with their two boys also came to Little Falls that night. It was beyond entertaining to see Noah and Carter play. They are three months apart in age.
Christmas Eve we made the trip to Miltona. The roads were still a bit difficult to travel but we rode with my Dad and Sue. With plenty of time to spare we attended the five o'clock Christmas Eve service. My Grandparents church has moved since I was a little girl. I remember many Christmas Eve's walking across the street from my Grandparents house to the church. We now have to drive but it is still a small, "country church". It brought back many memories of going up during the children's time and the pastor knowing who I was, seeing the same organist year after year, and finally, with candles lit, Silent Night in the dark church. It was so great being back in that, "place" and sharing that with Greg, Noah, and James. I will admit it was not quite as peaceful having to chase James through out the church or remind Noah 500+ times to be quiet, but overall it was perfect. Christmas at the Salvog's also included Bingo! Greg even got to give Grandpa a break and call numbers.
Christmas Day we woke up at Grandpa and Grandma's and headed home after dinner(lunch). We made it home with enough time to spare that Greg and I took the opportunity to go to a Christmas Movie. The Little Falls theater seemed so small and run down after going to theaters in Rochester for so long! It was fun, however, to hear high schoolers behind us telling stories of some of the teachers I once had.
My sisters, Jamie and Julie, along with their families made it to Little Falls on the 26th to celebrate at our Dad's and Sue's house. We had some yummy roast beef and the kids opened gifts in what I would call mass chaos! It was a fun time. Noah loves any opportunity to play with his cousins! We were planning on making the trip home that evening however the roads were still not great so we stayed one more night and finally got home about 3 pm on the 27th. 5 days and 4 nights later we were all somewhat in one piece. James had tummy problems for over a week and besides diapers and wipes we are also lacking sleep and patience. This has gotten a lot better over the last few days.
We've also begun the process of weaning him off of nursing and onto Whole Milk as his birthday was Wednesday. This has gone pretty well, although Jen is still pretty sore, and he has even slept through the night for two nights in a row! We are definitely enjoying that change!!
Greg and I both have had this week off and have taken the time to get our lives back in order, and spend some time together as a couple and as a family before Greg starts classes again! So far we have watched a movie or two, gone sledding, got James' one year photos done, visited Greg's Grandma Davis, and RELAXED!
We thought you might enjoy some photos from our past few weeks.
Monday, December 28, 2009
New Job!
Most of you already know this, but I have worked in Patient Account Services at Mayo Clinic since September of 2007. My job mostly consisted of taking call from patients, families, insurance companies, and many other people regarding outstanding accounts with the Clinic. I have enjoyed working there, but, as anyone who has worked in a call center knows, it is draining to take calls day in and day out.
Well, I am really excited because I just found out last week I am (officially) being promoted to an Operations Analyst. I originally interviewed for the position in October, and, at the time, was given the job as an "enrichment" due to the economy. There was no guarantee that I would ever be hired on and could have been shifted back to the call center, but the shuffling of some duties within our department created the opportunity for me to be hired on full time!
This should be a great experience for me as I will get to work on a variety of projects. I am still waiting to hear exactly what the job will entail, but am looking forward to the opportunity.
Well, I am really excited because I just found out last week I am (officially) being promoted to an Operations Analyst. I originally interviewed for the position in October, and, at the time, was given the job as an "enrichment" due to the economy. There was no guarantee that I would ever be hired on and could have been shifted back to the call center, but the shuffling of some duties within our department created the opportunity for me to be hired on full time!
This should be a great experience for me as I will get to work on a variety of projects. I am still waiting to hear exactly what the job will entail, but am looking forward to the opportunity.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
One of those days, weeks, months... years.
Well, it has obviously been a while since we've posted any updates surrounding the details of our day to day life. While it would be so fun to try and explain the last several months with you, I am only on my lunch break and do not have the time or motivation to do so. Instead, I will focus on today.. or this week rather.
Greg is once again winding down the semester of course work. With only a take home final left to complete he has/will be gone every night this week. Greg is also working on trying to get our Christmas letter finished so we can send that off along with some photos we had done at Sears. We've also been busy with various things for the kids. So when I realized that James had sticky stuff in his hair as I was taking his hat off at daycare this morning or that Noah can recite "his order" from McDonalds without skipping a beat... I had to remind myself that this phase of our lives will pass, kids are resilient, and (as cheesy as it sounds) nothing else matter as long as Greg and I are together with our beautiful boys and we are all healthy!
So here are some updates:
Noah had his Early Childhood Screening last Friday. Greg and I both took him to "School" as he so fondly referred to it. It was so amazing to watch this 3 1/2 year share his knowledge and understanding of the world with a complete stranger. I just sat there shocked and overjoyed by what a brilliant little man Noah has become. It seems surreal to be at a point in Greg's and my life that we have a child getting ready for preschool or school. It brings forth a strange sense of being proud, helpless, sad, and excited all at the same time. I can't imagine the type of emotional mess I will be when he starts kindergarten!
James has been "walking" for almost a couple months now. He took his first steps right around 10 months and has been attempting to "run" in the last week or so. He is constantly out numbering Noah at the amount of teeth he had at his age. James is working on his 7th and 8th while Noah only had 2 at the age of 1. James will turn one at the end of this month- hard to believe! In October James and I both had H1N1 which took us both out of commission for a couple weeks. It was not a pleasant situation and to top it off Greg and Noah were also sick with Bronchitis and Ear Infection/tonsillitis/Step throat. We were a mess to say the least!
James turning one also brings to the end my time of nursing my babies. With no more children in our future this brings a sense of sadness. Don't get me wrong... I am thrilled to not have to "remember" to pump everyday or plan my work schedule in such a way that revolves around nursing... but it will be difficult to give up a part of my life that I have been dedicated to 100%. About 2 weeks left... I'm not looking forward to the "look" from James either.. You know, the "how could you do this to me, you traitor.. how can you expect me to get comfort from this sippy cup, please save me, mommy" look. Noah was really good at that look...
So in the midst of the nights of overtired, constant nursing, unbathed, teething, storying telling, playing with their food, wrestling boys... Greg and I will find a night of remembering the joy of the season. We are going to A Christmas Carol this Friday night. Quite a few people from the production of Beauty and the Beast that Greg was in a while back will be in this production, which will make it even more entertaining to watch! Looking forward to spending some time with Greg before the chaos of Finals at school shifts to the chaos of Holiday gatherings and travels.
Finally here are some recent photos of the boys for you to enjoy!
Greg is once again winding down the semester of course work. With only a take home final left to complete he has/will be gone every night this week. Greg is also working on trying to get our Christmas letter finished so we can send that off along with some photos we had done at Sears. We've also been busy with various things for the kids. So when I realized that James had sticky stuff in his hair as I was taking his hat off at daycare this morning or that Noah can recite "his order" from McDonalds without skipping a beat... I had to remind myself that this phase of our lives will pass, kids are resilient, and (as cheesy as it sounds) nothing else matter as long as Greg and I are together with our beautiful boys and we are all healthy!
So here are some updates:
Noah had his Early Childhood Screening last Friday. Greg and I both took him to "School" as he so fondly referred to it. It was so amazing to watch this 3 1/2 year share his knowledge and understanding of the world with a complete stranger. I just sat there shocked and overjoyed by what a brilliant little man Noah has become. It seems surreal to be at a point in Greg's and my life that we have a child getting ready for preschool or school. It brings forth a strange sense of being proud, helpless, sad, and excited all at the same time. I can't imagine the type of emotional mess I will be when he starts kindergarten!
James has been "walking" for almost a couple months now. He took his first steps right around 10 months and has been attempting to "run" in the last week or so. He is constantly out numbering Noah at the amount of teeth he had at his age. James is working on his 7th and 8th while Noah only had 2 at the age of 1. James will turn one at the end of this month- hard to believe! In October James and I both had H1N1 which took us both out of commission for a couple weeks. It was not a pleasant situation and to top it off Greg and Noah were also sick with Bronchitis and Ear Infection/tonsillitis/Step throat. We were a mess to say the least!
James turning one also brings to the end my time of nursing my babies. With no more children in our future this brings a sense of sadness. Don't get me wrong... I am thrilled to not have to "remember" to pump everyday or plan my work schedule in such a way that revolves around nursing... but it will be difficult to give up a part of my life that I have been dedicated to 100%. About 2 weeks left... I'm not looking forward to the "look" from James either.. You know, the "how could you do this to me, you traitor.. how can you expect me to get comfort from this sippy cup, please save me, mommy" look. Noah was really good at that look...
So in the midst of the nights of overtired, constant nursing, unbathed, teething, storying telling, playing with their food, wrestling boys... Greg and I will find a night of remembering the joy of the season. We are going to A Christmas Carol this Friday night. Quite a few people from the production of Beauty and the Beast that Greg was in a while back will be in this production, which will make it even more entertaining to watch! Looking forward to spending some time with Greg before the chaos of Finals at school shifts to the chaos of Holiday gatherings and travels.
Finally here are some recent photos of the boys for you to enjoy!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
A Mother's Rant
Sleep... what's that? Now, I know that the majority of parents can relate to not getting much sleep as their little ones grow... but when you can't remember anything from 8pm to 6am, including rather substantial arguments with your spouse among other things, you know you've hit a breaking point. I don't think I could have any type of rational conversation with someone who tells me how their baby was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old. Grr....
So here I sit... on the lap top due to our 3 year old now sleeping in our office. We've been trying to get James to sleep better through the night and after experimenting with Noah sleeping downstairs we discovered that James sleeps much better without sharing a room. To keep our sanity and savor our entertainment in the downstairs of our home we opted to convert our office to a "bedroom" for Noah until James sleeps better. This has been great so far...well other than the lack of office space from 8pm to 7am.
So with James still not sleeping the greatest Greg and I have been on edge... making our efforts to "deal" with Noah's testing behaviors inconsistent at best. I think there is something to be said for survival mode, especially when you are trying to combine two different people's ideas of how to manage things. It is times like this that I remind myself that children are resilient but also unfortunately why I am guaranteed job security in the profession I currently am in. I would argue that parenting is the most difficult and rewarding part of life.
In other news:
Noah had his very first day of Sunday School today.I could tell he was nervous by his promptly flopping to the floor the second we walked into the church. I did have to fight back the tears as my little guy walked from the children's sermon to his classroom and didn't look back. We found him eating a cookie and having some milk. He proceeded to tell us about singing songs about Jesus the rest of the day. Proud Mama! He keeps saying the he is going to go to Sunday School tomorrow... wonder if he will make it a whole week!
James continues to cruise around the house, furniture, etc. I can't believe how mobile he has become in the last couple of weeks! I can't imagine it is going to be too long before he is walking!
Greg is well on his way to fall semester beginning. He is taking two classes this semester one of which is Saturday's in the Twin Cities. Golf and Softball are done for the year but he has taken on a new adventure of singing on a worship team for our Wednesday night service at church.
I am also helping as a confirmation guide this year at church. My group is with 7th grade boys! Looking forward to meeting new families and working with youth again!
We recently went on a long weekend vacation with Greg's family. We'll have to do a separate post for that to include stories of Noah fishing as well as pictures and possibly a video or two....
Stay tuned....
So here I sit... on the lap top due to our 3 year old now sleeping in our office. We've been trying to get James to sleep better through the night and after experimenting with Noah sleeping downstairs we discovered that James sleeps much better without sharing a room. To keep our sanity and savor our entertainment in the downstairs of our home we opted to convert our office to a "bedroom" for Noah until James sleeps better. This has been great so far...well other than the lack of office space from 8pm to 7am.
So with James still not sleeping the greatest Greg and I have been on edge... making our efforts to "deal" with Noah's testing behaviors inconsistent at best. I think there is something to be said for survival mode, especially when you are trying to combine two different people's ideas of how to manage things. It is times like this that I remind myself that children are resilient but also unfortunately why I am guaranteed job security in the profession I currently am in. I would argue that parenting is the most difficult and rewarding part of life.
In other news:
Noah had his very first day of Sunday School today.I could tell he was nervous by his promptly flopping to the floor the second we walked into the church. I did have to fight back the tears as my little guy walked from the children's sermon to his classroom and didn't look back. We found him eating a cookie and having some milk. He proceeded to tell us about singing songs about Jesus the rest of the day. Proud Mama! He keeps saying the he is going to go to Sunday School tomorrow... wonder if he will make it a whole week!
James continues to cruise around the house, furniture, etc. I can't believe how mobile he has become in the last couple of weeks! I can't imagine it is going to be too long before he is walking!
Greg is well on his way to fall semester beginning. He is taking two classes this semester one of which is Saturday's in the Twin Cities. Golf and Softball are done for the year but he has taken on a new adventure of singing on a worship team for our Wednesday night service at church.
I am also helping as a confirmation guide this year at church. My group is with 7th grade boys! Looking forward to meeting new families and working with youth again!
We recently went on a long weekend vacation with Greg's family. We'll have to do a separate post for that to include stories of Noah fishing as well as pictures and possibly a video or two....
Stay tuned....
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Sunday School Introduction
This is definitely one of those "You had to be there" stories, but I am going to tell it anyway.
Noah is starting Sunday School this year...hard to believe he is that old already. Tonight was the introduction for parents and kids so they could learn about Sunday School...they got to play with toys, sing songs, eat ice cream, and meet a friend or two.
The most memorable moment of the night (for Jen and I) was when they had gathered all the kids around, and the leader was telling the kids about different things they would find in Sunday School. Each kid got to pull something out of her bag and she would explain that they would find this it at Sunday School. Noah, for example, pulled out a glue stick, a book, and a CD (most kids only got to pull one or two things, but Noah thought he needed three)... Anyway, one kid pulls out a sheet of stickers, and when she asks the class what they were, Noah (with the biggest, silliest grin on his face, practically yells, "Stickers for going pooottttyy". Hilarious and embarrassing. Then of course, as she recaps everything they had pulled out of her bag, he has to reiterate these were stickers for going potty when she got to those.
At least we can say the potty training is going well!
Noah is starting Sunday School this year...hard to believe he is that old already. Tonight was the introduction for parents and kids so they could learn about Sunday School...they got to play with toys, sing songs, eat ice cream, and meet a friend or two.
The most memorable moment of the night (for Jen and I) was when they had gathered all the kids around, and the leader was telling the kids about different things they would find in Sunday School. Each kid got to pull something out of her bag and she would explain that they would find this it at Sunday School. Noah, for example, pulled out a glue stick, a book, and a CD (most kids only got to pull one or two things, but Noah thought he needed three)... Anyway, one kid pulls out a sheet of stickers, and when she asks the class what they were, Noah (with the biggest, silliest grin on his face, practically yells, "Stickers for going pooottttyy". Hilarious and embarrassing. Then of course, as she recaps everything they had pulled out of her bag, he has to reiterate these were stickers for going potty when she got to those.
At least we can say the potty training is going well!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Baseball and more
Well we finally had our first weekend as a family this summer. It was refreshing to have Greg home. I took the opportunity to go for a longer run and to go to the grocery store by myself.
Greg had some quality bonding time with the boys including some nasty diapers from James and playing Wii Sports Resort with Noah.
Friday night Noah got to go to Seasame Street Live with Grandpa and Grandma Davis. He LOVED IT! He has been talking about Elmo and his flower non-stop! Pretty sure he was able to recite in detail the entire story line... well up until intermission anyway.
Last Spring Greg got Twins tickets for a variety of games. Sunday was the first of the tickets that he and I went together. This was also the first game that I've made it to all summer...
The game got to be pretty long but it was great to spend time together and enjoy doing something out of the norm. While we were at the game Noah and James got to play with their cousins (Greg's cousins) Andy and Krista. From the smiles on their faces when we got there we're pretty sure they had a great time!
More exciting news was discovered while I was putting James to bed tonight. He was just so much more fussy than usual and wanted to keep nursing way past being hungry.... he then attempted to eat my face and hair and anything else he could get near his mouth. I started feeling his gums to see if there were any teeth coming through. Well after a couple seconds his chomped down and sure enough there it was... a slight little tooth cutting through his gums on the bottom! Hmmmm.... this makes me wonder if this could be where his diaper rash and running nose have been coming from? I know, most docs say there isn't a connection... but I would argue that with them 100%. It's so funny to me how babies and kids tell you long before something is going to happen with the changes in their mood and demeanor. More often that not we are just too preoccupied with other things to "hear" what they are saying and then we wonder why they get so crabby!
Greg had some quality bonding time with the boys including some nasty diapers from James and playing Wii Sports Resort with Noah.
Friday night Noah got to go to Seasame Street Live with Grandpa and Grandma Davis. He LOVED IT! He has been talking about Elmo and his flower non-stop! Pretty sure he was able to recite in detail the entire story line... well up until intermission anyway.
Last Spring Greg got Twins tickets for a variety of games. Sunday was the first of the tickets that he and I went together. This was also the first game that I've made it to all summer...
The game got to be pretty long but it was great to spend time together and enjoy doing something out of the norm. While we were at the game Noah and James got to play with their cousins (Greg's cousins) Andy and Krista. From the smiles on their faces when we got there we're pretty sure they had a great time!
More exciting news was discovered while I was putting James to bed tonight. He was just so much more fussy than usual and wanted to keep nursing way past being hungry.... he then attempted to eat my face and hair and anything else he could get near his mouth. I started feeling his gums to see if there were any teeth coming through. Well after a couple seconds his chomped down and sure enough there it was... a slight little tooth cutting through his gums on the bottom! Hmmmm.... this makes me wonder if this could be where his diaper rash and running nose have been coming from? I know, most docs say there isn't a connection... but I would argue that with them 100%. It's so funny to me how babies and kids tell you long before something is going to happen with the changes in their mood and demeanor. More often that not we are just too preoccupied with other things to "hear" what they are saying and then we wonder why they get so crabby!
Monday, August 10, 2009
August So Far
Well August has taken off and hit the ground running. Greg has been busing trying to wrap up his summer courses. He has finals this week and then will hopefully be able to breathe for a couple weeks.
The first weekend of August our good friend Jacci came to visit. We took the opportunity to take the kids to the fair and see the animals and just relax at home.
Noah also enjoyed as much chocolate milk as he could drink from the dairy concession stand. It was a good time... maybe next year we'll attempt the rides!
Update on the potty progress:
Noah is doing great staying dry the majority of the time.. overnights are a bit of a struggle yet. The best news though is that he is finally starting to be okay with doing a #2 in the potty!!!! Hurray!
Here is Noah's potty chart.. Not sure what we're going to do when that last row is filled up!
That's all for us right now. Please feel free to leave comments! We'd love to hear your feedback or even just let us know you've found your way to reading our blog!
The first weekend of August our good friend Jacci came to visit. We took the opportunity to take the kids to the fair and see the animals and just relax at home.
Noah also enjoyed as much chocolate milk as he could drink from the dairy concession stand. It was a good time... maybe next year we'll attempt the rides!
Update on the potty progress:
Noah is doing great staying dry the majority of the time.. overnights are a bit of a struggle yet. The best news though is that he is finally starting to be okay with doing a #2 in the potty!!!! Hurray!
Here is Noah's potty chart.. Not sure what we're going to do when that last row is filled up!
That's all for us right now. Please feel free to leave comments! We'd love to hear your feedback or even just let us know you've found your way to reading our blog!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
