New Faces, New Places

After living in Fargo for almost 2 months, I decided I needed to find some moms to connect with and began searching online for any group I could join. I cam across one on a site called meetup.com. I joined just to see what kinds of activities they did. The first thing I went to I immediately hit it off with the moms there. We just had coffee, 4 moms with no little ones to watch. It was a great time. One of the women was from Colfax, Wi only 20 minutes away from where I grew up and the other was from the U.P. and went to school at Eau Claire. Besides kids we had a lot in common. By the end of this meeting they had convinced me to go to another, this time it was a play group with our kids.

At 9am today we headed to a new place called Corts Plus. It is a fitness center that also has a huge play area similar to what McDonalds has, but much bigger. You pay $2 and your child can play as long as you want. It was a blast. Even though Eli was a little young to play, he crawled around dodging the few bigger kids that were about to step on him. Eli has become a huge flirt so it's been funny to watch him interact with the other moms and kids. He really took to one little girl in particular and flowed her around for a little while. Overall it was a great experience and I met two more very nice moms with kids that are similar in age. We are having fun meeting new faces and learning about new places here in Fargo.

The Joys of Teething

Recently, Eli as been going through a phase. I know the older they get the more time they want to be awake, but is sleeping in until 5am too much to ask? With this new phase in life for us, and Eli has been having many new experiences of his own. He has learned to crawl...sort of, I refer to it as the flop. He launches himself to get where he wants to go and flops each time he "crawls." He is also teething. Lately,that has meant early mornings for Ty or me. Eli wakes up before either of us and this little squawking voice comes over the monitor. When the talking begins, we know he will not be going back to sleep.

This new excitement for talking and moving has really had him enthusiastic about getting up in the morning. It hasn't helped to energize mommy and daddy any. No matter how cute he is, mommy and daddy still miss sleep. So far this teething process has proved uneventful. It seems as though it will last forever. Everyday I check for any sign of change hoping for a tooth. The bulging gums just seem to bulge more and no tooth has appeared.

In the mean time, mommy will have to get her naps in when eli does and enjoy this little ball of energy who is learning to communicate and crawl. I enjoy every new sound and new phase with Eli, but I am mourning the loss of the predictable schedule and the sleep we once had. Oh, the joys of teething.

Fargo or Siberia?

Well, we have been moved in for a little over a week now, and life is starting to settle into place. Eli is a little confused as is his sleep schedule, but that could be partly due to the terrible cold he is finally getting over.

Ty is really enjoying his new job here and the people that he works with. It seems to be a really good fit for him. The job is going to be very interesting and he is already on the road to his first seminar in Maple Grove, MN to learn all about what he will be doing as an Associate Designer at Xcel Energy.

Blizzard has certainly taken on a new meaning. Here we aren't talking about the endless combinations of cookies and candy mixed into ice cream. We have been here just over a week and already there have been two warnings about blizzard conditions with around 10-12 inches of snow in the first two days. Roads were closed due to huge drifts. Which begs the question, "Did we move to Fargo or Siberia?"

Thankfully, today has been sunny but still cold. At least the sun makes sitting in the apartment not seem quite so sad. Checkout what Eli learned this last week. It's super smart, but you will see why mom isn't too thrilled about it.

A is for...

Apartment Search

This weekend we set out to find an apartment in Fargo. We drove up to Fargo Friday night and started to take in the sights. We were out for dinner and then checked out the mall Down the road.
After a night on the town we went back to settle in at our hotel. The next morning we were set to look at 8 different apartments. But that wasn't necessarily in the cards.

Appendectomy

When we got back to the hotel Ty was having severe pain and we had to find an emergency room. After many different tests, the doctor finally decided to take out Ty's appendix. At 4 am the doctor removed his appendix. That meant I was going to be searching for apartments while Ty recovered. The search was over after looking at just 2 apartments. I chose the first one I had looked at and I was able to go back to the hospital to be with Ty. After being awake 36 hours straight we were on the road heading home, short an appendix but with a new place to live. Ty is doing well. He is still in pain, but he is taking it easy. Hopefully, Ty will be ready to help with moving in 2 weeks. It's coming so fast! So much to do, so little time.

Eli playing with Mia while staying with Grandma Leslie

How Far(will we)go?

As many of you know, we have been really trying to get back to the Chippewa area. It's been hard to do that. Ty has been on the job hunt and finally had a major breakthrough. We affectionately call it a "big boy job." Sadly, we have had to debate throughout this process how Far(we will)go for a job. Well, if you haven't guessed by now, we will be moving to Fargo, North Dakota. Ty was hired on at Xcel Energy as a Gas and Electric designer. This has all been a whirlwind and we are saddened and excited by this news. We are looking forward to starting out in a new city and trying to make it our home. We are sad to be leaving so many friends and family behind, but we know we are doing what is best for our family in the present and for the future. If anyone is looking to spend some time in a windy subzero climate, you are more than welcome to come for a visit! We would love to have you!

In other news, Eli as been growing like a little weed recently. He is 7 months old now! Where does the time go? He starting to crawl and is a smiley little guy in the midst of teething. Eli loves eating avocado and enjoys playing with cousin Judah whenever he gets the chance. Mommy loves taking his picture and playing with her smiley guy on the floor. Since we will be moving, I will try to be more timely with my posts.

Playing Catch Up

With Christmas almost here, we have been very busy. Mainly, Eli has been keeping me busy, not so much the Christmas shopping and decorating. Eli has been growing and changing SO much. At 4 months Eli needed his first hair cut, and at 5 months we experienced his first cold. It is amazing how little the cold effected Eli, but how it just wiped me out. Maybe that is because the cold made it difficult for Eli to sleep making it near impossible for me to get any sleep :)

Since getting over his cold, Eli has begun eating solid foods. His Doctor recommended we start with Avocado and Egg Yolks. The egg yolks were not a hit at all. The avocado, on the other hand, he has loved eating. We even tried some sweet potatoes and carrots. He is a really good eater and so far not picky AT ALL! Now we are looking forward to his first Christmas and spending time with family. We already had Christmas with Great Grandpa and Grandma McDaniel and have many more to go. We can't wait. 

Here are some pictures, I have been TERRIBLE about posting. 

Sleep? What's that?

Many mothers can relate, sleep  is not something that you get much of when you have children. I can remember people telling me when I was pregnant, "You had better enjoy all of the sleep because soon you won't be getting any."

Its funny to me, when I talk to my friends who don't have kids, they always ask, "How are things going?" I tell them, "Really well, Eli slept for 4 hours at a time last night." They laugh and then ask, "Is that a lot?" I just smile and say, "It sure is better than waking up every 2 hours." I am getting used to the schedule that Eli has me on lately. The problem comes when he switches things up...

Elias normally goes to sleep anywhere from 8-10pm and will wake up every 4 hours until 8:30am! That's right he usually sleeps in, it is SO nice. But the other night, he decided to wake up for his 4am feeding and and it became a 4am wake up call. The only thing that put him to sleep was the swing. So, two hours after Ty had left for work, he FINALLY went back to sleep. It really makes me appreciate the mornings that he sleeps in, because I rarely have to say, "Sleep? What's that?"