Minnesota "Nice", Down and Dirty

A few Tyler videos

Our Little Guy

Here's Tyler, being very cute.  And...he FINALLY started walking!

Kiddos' First Day

So, today marked the beginning of a new year for both of my older kids at school.  Samantha (11) just started middle school *sniff*, and Damon (7) started a new elementary school, since we'd moved in April.  They were both SUPER-excited, which makes a mother happy, given they were both in very new environments.

I'm really anxious to hear how the day went for both of them.  For Sam, having to remember her locker combination and go all over the building for her various classes (it didn't seem that bad to me, actually).  And, for Damon, my wee little wild card, seeing if the new situation made him step up and be really great, or be a bit of a stinker.  He can do that sometimes, if he's in an uncomfortable situation.  I just feel like he is such a different kid now, that it *should* be great.  We shall see!

Anyway, here are some pictures!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, T-DIDDY!!!

It's hard to believe that 1 year ago today, I was in labor (but really didn't know it!), and at 6:35 tonight, it will be Tyler's 1 year anniversary of being born!!  My, how he has grown! 

When he was born, he was 5 1/2 weeks early, 6# 7oz, 19 1/2 inches long, and not potty trained.  Today, though I won't have "official" stats til Thursday (so these are total estimates based on his last measurements and how his clothes are (or are not) fitting him), he seems to be about 27 pounds and probably around 33" tall.

He is still not potty-trained, but about a month ago when I was in Vegas for the week, Kevin had Tyler in the bathtub and noticed that oh-so-familiar poop face.  You know, the face they get when they are about ready to unload?  Well, he took matters into his own hands, and decided the best course of action (since he was naked in the bathtub) was to just put him on the toilet and see if he'd do his business.  He DID!!!  Absolutely hilarious!  And, we can now say that Tyler is so advanced that he had his first poop on the toilet at 11 months.  Though his next one will likely not be for another year...and that will truly be another joyous day.

Anyway, what a year this has been, aside from his toilet experiences!  Even after having 3 older children, we just continue to be amazed (and amused) by what our newest family member does, and the wonder that he sees, and how quickly he changes.  Maybe that is because we can really sit back and enjoy watching him and playing with him.  That is one great thing about having a blended family, where we do have 1-1 time with the little man.  Plus, the others are so much older that we don't need to constantly be distracted or running after other little ones.  The other kids are such a huge help too, and just *adore* Tyler!  So far, they don't care that much when he grabs their stuff.  We just warn them that it will get slobbered on!

T-Diddy is crawling and cruising very well, but has yet to be brave enough to venture into walking.  He'll stand alone, without holding onto anything, for a few seconds, but he is really enjoying his speed and agility with that crawling thing.  Our new house has a lot of floor space for him, so he gets quite the work out!  He also sleeps GREAT, with 2 naps a day (4 hours or so, total), and typically 11 hours at night.  We are blessed with another good sleeper!  Now I just have to train myself to go to bed earlier!

Anyway, happy birthday to my littlest man!  I'm having so much fun being his mama (despite his newest screaming "trick"--argh!). 

Another video of Tyler

Okay, so I'm kinda bad at blogging lately, but we are wicked busy. To tide you over, here's another video of Tyler. He's at a really funny age!

Baby Blog

Just a quick one...I aded a couple funny videos on my baby blog!  First upate in 5 months.  Embarrassing.  The kid is almost a year old!!

http://spetterson.typepad.com/mine_his_and_nowours/

New House!!

Okay, so I'm really excited about this, because we've been searching and searching, trying to decide whether to build or buy, and here we go!  We found a house that has the majority of the things we want in a house, and with the market being the way it is, we decided to go for it!  After a few iterations of back-and-forth with the relocation company (the people who lived there previously were transferred) and at a substantial savings of about $200,000, we will be the proud owners of a house that is finally big enough for our brood on April 18th!! 

It will be nice, because we will be able to move and THEN put our house on the market.  It would be hard to keep this house clean, given the number of children involved.  I don't have very many good pictures, because the listing agent had a bunch of pictures from the wrong house on the website!  So, there were only 4 actual pictures of the house. We'll take more this weekend! Plus, there is no furniture or wall hangings/art in it, so it just looks sad and empty.  But, believe me, it is gorgeous!

Also:

*I start my new job on Monday!  And, strangely, I already received a paycheck for the one day in March I'll be their employee.  Well, okay!  Anyway, I'm super-excited about my new position and company!

*In my glee and hyper-ness (it is a word) from said glee, I was running through the living room, just to get to the kitchen table (for what, I don't even remember), and smacked my foot on a piece of furniture.  My middle toe is now broken.  What the hell is wrong with me?  IDIOT!

*Oh, and for you Vikings fans out there, our new house is 3 houses down from Tavaris Jackson!

Happy weekend!  Mine will be, other than the toe, and the stress. :-)

Sneak Preview: Family Album

I know this is kind of a boring topic, but we had family photos taken by the same guy who did Tyler's newborn ones.  Those turned out so great that we decided to have him take one of our family.  We spent about 2 hours at a local park on a beautiful autumn day, and just got the online proofs back.  If you are interested in this photog's info and live in the area, it would be very worth it!  He is CHEAP and does awesome work (despite having some challenges with a few of the subjects).  Love ya, Jim!   Anyway, here is a sampling of some of my favorites. And here's a link to the photo album (also on the left side)

Kierstyn's First Day

So, I've held off on talking about our custody battle, because the conversations that I have with anyone just get me so worked up I don't even like myself.  So, I will focus on the positive right now.  Kierstyn was finally able to start kindergarten last week (though at a crap school, not with our other kids).  She'll go there temporarily, while the investigation continues.  To avoid getting pissed off about the whole thing, I'll stop talking about that part and post the pictures of the little cutie on her very first day of school!

Here's a picture of Kierstyn and Daddy in front of her school.  No, they don't look at ALL alike! ;-)  I should really post a picture of Kevin from kindergarten.  He was the male version of Kierstyn.

Here is Kierstyn with her new teacher.  I really want to say a lot here, but I promised you all I wouldn't be negative.  So, we'll just say that Kierstyn likes her teacher a lot.

Here's hoping Miss K's situation changes very soon! She deserves so much better, and we love her so.

The Start of a New School Year

I should have titled this post, "Don't ever listen to me", since I keep saying I'll be better at blogging, but I'm not!  I'm getting WORSE!  Just understand that I'm still trying to get a balance in my life.  Hopefully, with the dawn of a new school year, I will be able to get better organized.  Summer is always crazier than the school year, because it is typically a logistical nightmare (and this year was far worse). 

This year, Samantha will be starting 5th grade.  She was so excited to start, she talked about it all summer and could barely sleep last night!  She picked out her favorite new "back to school" outfit, and was really sporting a cute look today.  I have the feeling she is a little more into the boys than I would like, but I really can't say much.  In 5th grade my friends and I were fairly boy crazy!  I remember how jealous I was that Billie Jo Mace was "going with" Mike Ridgeway.  Of course, I knew that I pretty much wasn't "going with" material, since I liked like the more masculine version of my brother (and he wasn't feminine by any means, if that tells you anything!).  Anyway, Sam has a LOT more going for her, with the whole cute thing and smart thing.  Hopefully, she'll continue to love school! 

New for Sam this year is band.  She took tenor sax lessons this summer and does quite well.  At least until she dropped her mouthpiece and is currently marketing her dog-walking, dog-sitting and dog poop picking-up skills to our neighborhood to help defray the $25 to get a new one.  Here's hoping she isn't as forgetful this year!  Last year she had a lost lunch box, a lost jacket, forgot to give us important papers, etc.  Fingers crossed that she's getting a bit more responsible!  I will miss her though, as she was at our house during the day 3 days a week all summer, helping with Tyler and running around with her friends.  It was so awesome having her here!  She's growing up very quickly (other than the losing things bit).

Damon is starting 1st grade today!  You all probably know how his kindergarten year went.  Academically, it was great.  But, he was a little bit of a trouble-maker.  I'm really hoping that this year he doesn't act as impulsively as he did last year (and tends to now, even).  This weekend, he decided to take someone else's golf cart for a spin (after being told many times not to even sit on anyone else's golf car, let alone DRIVE it!!), and got a few feet before running into a tree.  Impulsive.  Oh yeah, and last week, at orientation, he decided to put his feet on one table, his hands on one across the aisle and do push-ups.  Why?  To show off his muscles and get a few laughs from his classmates.  Let's just say that this could be another "interesting" year.

I do think he has matured, however, and he was also extremely excited to start school today.  His teacher is supposed to be fantastic, teaching somewhat individually, and very good at redirecting negative behavior (and not taking any crap) without them feeling like they are being disciplined.  He will have her for 2 years, as she is a "looping" teacher.  She teaches 1st and 2nd grade, and the same kids stay with her.  Then, she goes back to 1st grade and does it again.  Pretty cool, eh?

Damon plays soccer again this year.  He is actually quite good, and enjoys it a lot.  It kind of surprised me that he was wanting to play, as he kept claiming that he wasn't interested (last Spring) and wanted to play hockey instead.  As much as I like hockey, I kind of hope that he sticks with soccer, as there are much fewer time commitments on his part.  Hockey kind of consumes you if you play (and your parents too!).  We'll see. 

Kierstyn also starts kindergarten this year, but we're going through a very ugly custody battle (as many of you know).  So...instead of starting school tomorrow with the rest of the kindergartners, she will sadly watch everyone else get on that bus for the first time.  We have a mediation appointment VERY early on Monday morning in LaCrosse (3 hours from here), where we assume the decision will be revealed.  I'm very nervous about it.  Even though we provide a much more stable, family-oriented home, it seems like courts typically side with the mother if there is no compelling reason not to (Is stability and family-orientation compelling?  We think so, but will they??).  I dread.

Anyway, poor Kierstyn is not being thought of in the process, in my opinion.  This should have been decided a long time ago, and I must say that we aren't the ones holding up the process. It's just disgusting, poor kid.  That being said, all will be over soon.  Please cross your fingers, keep us in your thoughts and say a prayer (if you are the praying type) for us!

As we welcome autumn and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils back into our lives, we hope to also welcome back some organization in our routine!  Keep checking here, as I DO HOPE TO do much better with this blog.  I think about it often (as I scurry about doing everything else!).