Future best buds

Brynn's first trip to Land O' Lakes Wisconsin

This past weekend officially counts as our first adventure trip with a baby. I'm not sure there are a lot of people that take their two month olds camping and a trip to LOL is as close to camping as we'll get this summer. The cabin on Spring Lake is step back in time as the cabin has no electricity or running water. Granted there is gas which allows you to have a gas stove, refrigerator, and lights but by no means are these luxuries. Instead you spend your time outdoors fishing or near the camp fire (neither activity baby friendly by the way!). Brynn did really well and since we brought her co-sleeper with she slept really well! Magnus on the other hand was our problem child. LOL is as close to dog heaven as you can get and Magnus was up at 5:30 begging to get outside and capture the elusive red squirrels which have haunted all my parent's previous dogs. He did eventually run himself to exhaustion and took some good naps after an off leash run on the island. His off leash run did affirm to Kyle that Magnus is not an off leash dog due to his lack of listening skills and magnetic draw to the muddy swamp on the north end on the island (which bought him a dip in the lake).

Each morning we went to the corner store for breakfast (or brunch on our case) which was a delicious way to start our day. Friday night we headed out to fish fry which is a Wisconsin staple. Saturday night we had a belated birthday dinner for Grandpa Vold with French silk pie :) I'm sure Brynn will enjoy some next year! We didn't get a group photo to Oma's dismay as uncle Andrew and Allie where out fishing with great-grandpa when we left but I assure you we were all there in the tiny cabin :). I think Bynn will enjoy coming up to LOL as she gets older. I have many memories of this cabin including fishing with my grandpa, learning to chop wood and build fires and going to the "mystery light".

Landlord Dilemmas: the expiring lease

Since the original intent of this blog was to document our experience as new landlords living next to our tenants I thought I'd break up all the baby cuteness (even though that is much more exciting!) with some landlord business. Overall our experience as landlords in Minneapolis has gone well. We applied for our license (and paid the hefty fee for change of ownership) and completed an inspection of both sides of the duplex. From here on out we simply pay a yearly fee. That's the easy part. The hard part is finding and keeping good renters. Lucky for us the rental market right now is really hot and the vacancy rate is at a record low.
When we purchased the duplex last year it came with renters through October 2011. This worked out well as we were remodeling the left side and didn't need both projects at the same time. When it came to find new tenants we simply posted an ad on Craigslist and within 24 hours had approximately 25 responses (to Kyle's cell phone I might add!). In hindsight we should have probably asked for a higher rent based on the response. Kyle ended up showing the apartment to the first people that responded and sold them on a one year lease. Kyle, Tyler, and our parents got the apartment ready by updating the kitchen, replacing the light fixtures, and painting almost every surface. I supervised as I was newly pregnant and complete anal about being near anything toxic!
They've been great tenants so far, they're quiet and claim to not hear our infant which is an added bonus. With their lease coming to end they asked for a 6 month extention.
This has many benefits for us:

1. It's costly to have people move in every year especially if this leaves the apartment vacant for any period of time

2. Every time new people move in and out you risk damage to the property

3. This extends the lease into next summer which is generally an easier time to find renters

4. I don't have to end my maternity leave cleaning up and painting :) :) :)

Kyle, forever my salesman, talked them into a 9 month extension which is even better!

Kyle's improvements to the renter's kitchen last year: new sink, new countertops and tile backsplash.

Pregnancy Memory: Our gender reveal party!

Kyle and I both agreed to find our the gender of our new baby but instead of finding out at the doctor's appointment we decided to have our family over for a "gender reveal" party. We decided to have the party the night of the ultrasound as there would be no way we'd be able to sleep with the gender envelope in our possession. In order to have the party that night we had to order two cakes, one with strawberry filling (for girl) and one with blue frosting (for boy...blueberry was not an option). The real reason for the ultrasound was to make sure we were carrying a healthy baby (which we were!). Once we heard all organs were accounted for we left with the gender envelope and pictures in hand and headed home to get ready for the party. Since our appointment ran a little late we had my parents pick up the cakes at the bakery. Per their story at the bakery the clerk ripped off the labels which designated which cake belonged to each gender. Handing them two identical cakes! When my mom asked how they were suppose to know which cake to cut into the clerk told her he wasnt sure but that "they'd laugh about this in 10 years!!". Instead of guessing which cake was what and ruining the point of a gender reveal party my parents went home and inserted toothpicks into each cake until a small amount of blue frosting appeared :) thanks to them the gender reveal was still on!
My good friend Katie came over prior to the party to open the gender envelope and designate which cake we were suppose to cut. I remember hugging her as she left and my excitement building as someone besides the perinatologist knew whether we were having a boy or a girl. As you can see below I thought we were having a boy and Kyle thought girl.

 Based on old wive's tales it was 50/50 girl/boy. I mostly thought boy based on the comparison of my mom's pregnancies but as you know I was wrong! I'm not sure if anyone has a picture of our faces as we cut the cake but I'm pretty sure I looked shocked when I saw the pink! The gender party was such a fun way to find out we were having a girl I wouldn't have done it any other way :) I've seen some really creative gender reveal parties on Pinterest and love the idea of the balloons in a box. Maybe for next time :)

Flashback: Brainerd bound!

At three weeks of age we decided we had a little cabin fever and needed to get out of the house with our fresh babe. We made the trek up to Grandma and Grandpa Palmer's cabin. We arrived midweek in order to miss the weekend crowd as we were still figuring out our new baby. We left Magnus with Grandma and Grandpa Vold and packed the car with all the baby gear we might need. The first night was a little rough and we ended up sleeping the morning away in the recliner but the next night Brynn slept a record 6 hours straight. We took Brynn out for her first boat ride with the cute life jacket dad picked out. She wasn't a huge fan of the experience and we ended up nursing the whole time! Hopefully next time will go a little smoother... At least she'll fill out her lifejacket a little more!

Brynn smells the flowers!

Great Grandma invited Brynn and mom to the arboretum for lunch. Rain was in the forecast but we got to see a few gardens before the rain sent us inside.

Brynn: 2 months!

Where has the time gone??!?? My baby is now 2 months old and no longer a newborn. She's as smiling interactive infant who's making progress on all the baby milestones. On her 2 month "birthday" we had our second visit to the pediatrician. She weighed in at 11lbs 6oz (66%) and 23 inches long(77%). She had her first set of vaccines and did really well. After a quick nursing session and a "dad swing" (swinging in her carseat) the tears were gone and we were on our way to our first Twins game!

 Our monthly photo shoot

The picture above where is looks like Kyle is swinging Brynn at lightning speed is the "dad swing" and it's really not that fast :)

Brynn: One Month

A belated post for my one month old! The first 4 weeks flew by compared to my last 4 weeks of pregnancy. The first four weeks were a whirlwind of first and visitors and spending time learning about you. You are champion nurser and made the cutest "squeaks" while you ate every once in a while. You are a good sleeper and usually give mom a 4 hour stretch each night. You initially slept in your bunny bouncer on the vibrate mode but we transitioned back to the co-sleeper and you've done well. You even slept 6 hours straight at the cabin (after being up most of the night the night before!).