The end of an era

Also known as my maternity leave. I was blessed to be able to take 16 weeks off to bond with Brynn and it's been wonderful. We spent so many days sleeping in, going for long walks and occasionally strolling around Target. I'll admit I thought I was going to accomplish more during my leave such as sewing, house projects and gardening but there really isn't time for anything extra except taking care of your baby.
I went into the office last Friday to get myself settled and acclimated back into the work world. The day went well (for me at least..apparently Brynn put up a little fight!) and to be honest it hardly felt like I had been gone for almost 4 months! Luckily I have great co-workers who are really excited to have me back. Ask me again in a few months but right now I'm ready to go back to work, and even though it would be ideal to work part-time (with full benefits and no holidays/weekends of course!), full-time is the only option in this position. Luckily as a nurse I know I have other options if part-time is what we needed to do for our family later on.

It really helps to know that  Brynn will be well-taken care of by her dad on Fridays, my parents on Tuesdays and an in-home nanny the other 3 days with Kyle's parents on-call to help as needed. Having a nanny is a great option for us for many reasons:
1. It allows us to have part time care as many center day-cares require full time or essentially charge you the same price for part time as full time.
2. It means we don't have to get up pack her stuff and bring her anywhere. She gets to stay in a familiar environment with all the supplies she needs! Additionally we get to come straight home versus stopping by day care.
3. She gets one on one attention. This was huge for me. Center daycares require a 4 to 1 ratio for infant...which is like having quadruplets...crazy. I need to know her needs are being taking care of as quickly as possible.
4. She shouldn't get sick as much. Enough said.
Eventually we'll transition her to a daycare so she can interact with other children which I think is important, especially after one year. She's on a waiting list for a local spanish language immersion daycare which after touring I would  be more than comfortable sending her to once she can be in the toddler room (after 12 months).
Even though I'm sad to not have as much mommy and me time with Brynn I know I'll savor the time I do have with her after work and on weekends. I'm so lucky to be her mom. Her working mom.

Here's a collection of a few of our self portraits throughout my leave because no one else was around to take picture of us : )

We win! Again!

In order to capitalize on the Viking's recent good fortune we bring you another adorable Vikings post! Brynn recently received this new hat/costume/talking piece as a gift and we knew we would have to try it out during the next Vikings game. It is beyond adorable and is big enough to last for many Vikings seasons. Oh and an added bonus of her new 'do? Something to chew on of course!

In other news we are very proud of our daddy/husband who finished the Twin Cities 10 mile today. We dropped him off at 6:45 AM at the Metrodome as the temperature read a balmy 29 degrees. Needless to say we cheered him on in spirit from the comfort of our bed.

One year ago today...

...we found out about you! Right before our kickball game :)

How to make a baby pumpkin

Step One: Birth a beautiful baby :)

Step Two: Wait until the leaves are turning and pumpkins are for sale!

Step Three: Ask someone more talented than you to knit a pumpkin hat -thanks Oma!

Step Four: Buy a large pumpkin, bring baby along to make sure they'll fit. Ignore people staring at you with concerned looks as you compare your baby's size to that of a pumpkin.

Step Five: Find a helper/accomplice and pick a beautiful day

Step Six: Cross your fingers/pray/find a 4 leaf clover/rub a rabbit's foot that your baby will be in a good mood.

Step Seven: Set the scene, set your camera to burst mode (because you're going to get about 20 seconds to take a photo) and hope for the best!!
Step Eight: Expect that in most photos your baby will look utterly confused...you have just placed them in a gourd in a park after-all...

Wordless Wednesday...kind of

The other week our friends Brett and Michelle invited over for dinner. They have two adorable boys and to document the day we grabbed a picture of the three kiddos (so we can show and embarrass them in the future of course!). The results speak for themselves....

Classic. 

North Shore: 2012

We just returned from a relaxing weekend on the North Shore. Grandma and Grandpa Palmer invited us up for the weekend to the beautiful Grand Superior Lodge. Kyle and I spent a weekend here before and had a nice time and our second visit didn't disappoint.
Day 1: We arrived late afternoon after a few stops to eat and nurse Brynn. Before the sunset we headed out and took a walk along the shore with Brynn in her Ergo carrier. Baby carriers are awesome for situations like this because it would be unsafe to walk with a baby in your arms but the carriers keep them secure and toasty warm! That night we had lasagna in the condo (mom ate after everyone as Brynn wanted her all to herself!) and watched Avengers (even though I think Dad was only one to finish the movie :)).

Day 2: After a good night sleep we headed out for breakfast/brunch at the Northern Lights Cafe which sits right on Lake Superior. We've eaten here a number of times after camping in Tettegouche state park and it's great for a small town cafe. They even serve lefse but we didn't have any this time. Next stop was the Lighthouse State Park. We tour the grounds (again the Ergo saved the day!) and hiked down to the lake for some pictures. Next was Gooseberry State Park. It was time for Brynn to eat so we found a bench in the Visitors Center. But thanks to a dirty diaper dad and I headed back to the car for a diaper change while Gma and Gpa headed to the falls. I guess we didn't miss much due to the dry summer. We'll bring Brynn back when she's older and can climb the rocks with dad. That night Kyle and I had our first dinner away at the resort restaurant while the Grandparents babysat. It was a nice break and like most new parents our conversation centered on Brynn and our family!

Day 3: We slept well again (love a king size bed!) and woke up to beautiful view. It was time to head home but not before stopping in Duluth to catch the first half of the Vikings game and lunch. We listened to the rest of the game on the radio on the way home and enjoyed the win (yay Vikings! you have the same number of wins right now as you did last year!!).

It was a nice weekend away and we came back refreshed and ready to see the missing member of our family (Magnus) who stayed with Gma and Gpa Vold for the weekend. His report card was good (it usually is..but not always!) and he let the resident chipmunk live another week :)

Thanks to Grandpa Rick for some of the weekend pictures!

Day in the life....

Just a snap-shot of Brynn's day at 14 weeks and 5 days (last Wednesday). For a moment I regretted not doing one of these posts sooner but when all is said done the truth is not much has changed! She naps less and I'm more apt to head out to run errands compared to when she was younger. Our routine will significantly change next week when I am back at work!


3:30 AM: first nursing session and diaper change. She fell asleep about 11PM the night before and it's typical for her to wake up every 4-5 hours at night...sometimes she sleeps for 6 hours straight.
6:45 AM: Second nursing session, dad is up for work for an early meeting.
7:50 AM: Brynn wakes up and is her smiley self. Morning are definitely her best time of the day and I'm going to miss her morning time when I head back to work. She has a quick snack,  and then snuggles with mom in bed.

9:00 AM: Mom hops in the shower while Brynn sleeps (this does not always happen!). She wakes up and eats again.

9:30 AM: Since dad left early, Brynn and mom are on dog duty. We take Magnus for his morning walk and stop at the coffee shot for a decaf coffee for mom.

10:00 AM: After the walk we have some playtime!

11:00 AM: Brynn nurses to sleep and naps for 30 minutes.

11:30 AM: We're off to Home Depot and Cub Foods. We buy pumpkins at Cub Foods and Brynn happily plays in her car seat. Note: Car seats are not meant to be placed on top of carts (where the child seat is). Even though you'll see people do it frequently it actually very dangerous ::see this link::. So even if though you have a lot less room in your carts it just not worth the risk.

We cut the trip short as Brynn starts to get fussy and I don't want to risk waiting for the employees to mix paint if she's cranky

1:00 PM Brynn nurses again and dozes off to sleep, I try to put her down for a nap but she wakes up. We play in her room and in the living room on her blanket for some tummy time.

2:30 PM: Brynn starts to fuss so we head out for a walk. She's asleep within one block. I get home and bring her up to her room and put her to sleep in her bouncer. She takes one of her epic naps lasting 3 hours!! I keep an eye on her using our Drop Cam. I have an app on my phone or I can watch her on the  computer. Even though I can hear her cry before it comes through on video (thanks to our small house and a 2 second delay, it's handy to just peek at her).

 I get three loads of laundry done, wash the dishes (which had been sitting there for two days! :) whoops), and get to relax. She naps like this once or twice a week so I thoroughly enjoy it.

5:30 PM: Brynn is awake and hungry just in time for Magnus' walk. Once it hits 5:30 he is scratching at the door.

7:30 PM: Dinner time. We head out to Keegan's Irish Pub. This is one of our favorite places to go. We use to go at least every 2 weeks when we lived downtown. I get a free meal because it's my birthday week :)

 Mom and Brynn with drinks of choice

9:00 PM: We're home and Brynn is ready to go to bed. We change her into her PJs and play some more on the jungle gym. She starts to fuss to it's time to head to bed to nurse. Usually I can lay her down and Kyle and I spend some time in the living room until we go to bed. Other nights I stay in bed and nurse her to sleep.

10:00 PM: She's asleep! She likes to lay with both hands above her head :)