some summaaaah!

uh oh. I think i figured out how to upload vids on here. uuhhhh ohhhhh. if so, then please enjoy this clip i made on instagram (look at me, so 2014!!) of baby playing with a spoon. life is just so exciting these days! if the video does not work...well then it's same old me, stuck in 2001.

this was waiting for Big James upon his return from Oklahoma

how could he ever LEAVE this!?

had to save this cup...spelled correctly and smile face? KEEPER!

eating cereal and mashed bananas...hands on!

a very serious happy hour.

more messy eatin'

more happy hour fun with m'bb!

summer has been fun but it's been flying by. I am so thankful we've been improving our time management skills so we can take plenty of walks and spend more "quality time" as a family. 

more pics and hopefully videos, to follow! 

baby j will be NINE MONTHS OLD in two days. eeeeeek!

pictorial update

before i forget, i must unleash one of my proposals for a RULE in the book of "How To Live an Awesomely Normal Life" - if you buy shoes from Nordstrom Rack or on sale at any retailer and they have the price tag sticker on the soles (heck, even on the insoles!), please remove the sticker! Repeat: REMOVE THE STICKER! I cringe/giggle ("criggle" one may say?) when I see these obnoxious stickers on the bottom of people's shoes. Don't try to turn this around on me and ask why I would be looking at people's shoe bottoms. this is about them, not me (but to answer you, I am a very observant person and cannot help where my eyes may wander and linger...and roll!). Just rip of the tag, OK? NOT that difficult. It will make you look a little more classy than you are lookin' with that stupid sticker slapped on. Please. And while I'm at it, if you buy a new skirt or blazer that has a slit/vent in it that's currently sewn shut via two little strings making an "X" please, for the love of looking pulled together, PLEASE remove that fasten! It is not meant to remain in tact after purchase! 

thank you.

now here are a few recent pics...

dominating the office...definitely a casual Friday!

just another highchair session....yummo!

recent trip to Las Vegas! 

James and me at The Bank in Bellagio

...outside Chandelier at Cosmopolitan

Jilly Bean and I having fun with the giant glow sticks at The Bank

Baby James really wanted to come with us to LV, but we had to leave him 

with Nan and Poppa this time. It was a difficult bye-bye!!

 Baby J ... sleeping? downward dog? not sure. :)

Hanging out with his two best buddies! 

He LOVES Toy Story and Woody and Buzz!

So we went to Las Vegas July 5-8 (three nights...maybe one night too many?! NONSENSE!) with Rick and Jill and had a truly wonderful time! I still have not looked at my final bill (we charged almost everything to the room...SO convenient, of course!) so I need to brace myself before I look at the total $$. Anyway, it was a great time so i am confident the price is justifiable.

We stayed at Aria and loved the pool scene (hello, TONS of terrible tattoos and boob jobs! as well as botched lip injections! omg it was terrible/couldn't help but stare!), the rooms were fab and so clean, and the beds were GLORIOUS! I would definitely stay there again! 

The weather was my main draw - it was over 100 degrees each day and I could not get enough! Its days like those that make me wonder why i live in MN! I could seriously get used to that weather ALL the time! The only catch is that I need to be near a pool 24/7 if i live in that type of heat...so... maybe i am better off in Minnesota, anyway. 

not too much else has been going on lately. we have been bringing baby james to the pool more often and he love love loves it!! splashing around like the little crazy man he is... all smiles! :) I will get some pics up of him enjoying Poppa's (my dad) pool, soon! Until then...

ENJOY!

Vader Day .... and such....

MARATHON TRAINING has begun!!! great training calendar by Hal Higdon here. I have used it a few times - for each marathon (four, this will be five) - the first time i used it religiously and the last three times i have used it more loosely. I am not sure what my plans are this time around...I think i will try to follow it as closely as possible. However having a baby along for the ride (literally) may throw a wrench into my plans. Oh well, as long as I cross the finish line within the six hour limit, I will be happy!

So all of my pics lately have been a little baby-heavy. a heavy little baby will do that, I suppose. So here are a few to add to the tab, and a few sans baby. GASP!

James, James, Dad..

James, James, me! YES we intentionally dressed in white/cammo.

NO it was NOT a "dub-t" theme party. 

(please tell me you know what "dub-t" means!)

Happy Baby from this morning!! CUTE!! (duh)

Baby swimming with Daddy last Friday....FIRST big pool experience!

kick kick!! paddle paddle! or...just float. that's cool.

we have a SWIMMER!!!

minus the big gay hat, baby LOVED the pool! 

flexing his abs....seriously!

we found a few baby bunnies last Sunday!! I didn't get to keep them. not a single one :(

so here is our crazy little pretzel-sleeper. how is this comfy!?

that's more like it...crossed feet AND arms! ha!!

we have been running almost every day lately - "we" as in either me and Nash, me and baby, or me, baby, AND Nash...and of course we try to get a date with Jill and Brutus as well! it's always fun and actually much more enjoyable to run with a buddy I can gossip-swap with for 3+ miles. :) teehee.

Father's Day was a couple days ago... we stretched it out to Father's Weekend (because it was the 1st Father's Day for James, of course! -sarcasm-)...we started Saturday morning off with breakfast at White Castle (per James request), hit Burger King for lunch and devoured a rotisserie chicken from Lund's for dinner. OK so I didn't eat this food, but as long as Big Daddy was full and happy it was all the entertainment I needed! Sunday our little family of three (Nash stayed home) enjoyed brunch at Tryg's, then hung out at home for the day. Later we packed up and went to my parent's house for some Kentucky Fried Chicken (!!!! WHAT THE!!!!) and family time. All in all it was a great weekend! 

As always, it's only Tuesday and I am already excited for the weekend. No set plans, but I just love to have my full day free to spend with my babe. I think we may go to Brits on Friday to watch a little bit of the World Cup (it's a British Pub and a very popular place to watch futball and grab a pint)... we will see.

Happy Tootsday!

memorial day fun with the fam-bam

memorial day has come and gone...which means it is unofficially summer. officially, unofficially summer.  how to celebrate this long weekend which is meant to honor our fallen service men and women - thank you very much for your sacrifice - and annual milestone? we chose to spend the entire 3 days together as a little family as well as good friends. we grilled, we lounged in the sun, we went for a couple runs around the lake... bought baby a little "city pool" for our yard, did some lawn work, organizing, moved winter clothes OUT and summer clothes IN... it was a productive weekend and quite enjoyable!

I am very thankful for the time our family was able to spend together - no place to be, no set expectations other than enjoy each other and each day. success!

fridge - stocked! something for everyone!

baby james in his cool pool. he loved it!

TV on...world tuned out. like some one else I know...?

cute pic though.

Nash was maxin' the relaxin'

taadaaaa! little man, just being his happy little self. :)

the temps were fabulous all weekend and perfect for plopping bb in the pool, letting him chill outside for a lit while (sans pool), and for catching some (much needed) rays and enjoying a couple cold adult bevies. wonderful weekend - i wish we could spend every weekend this way!

well, wait...why can't we! :)

more fun pics from the weekend:

bb j was doing this funny thing where he had to pull down EVERY pillow from the head of the bed down to his feet. all of these pillows were nicely placed at the headboard, and HE moved them ALL, all by himself (!!), down below his feet. this is one of his "new things." its goofy but pretty funny. We have a pillow wrestler on our hands!

he grabs them with his hands, overhead, 

then pulls them all the way down the length of his body 

with his feet and kicks them down some more. goofy!

more pool fun!

"mom, i dig the shorts but this hat is awful!

 stop trying to make me look like a DORK!"

yes, that hat is hideous, but it serves a purpose. sorry little buddy!

almost a crawler!

i just noticed this...looks like REAL snow coming down!! this pic was taken in January, i believe, and that is my darling boss walking down Nicollet Mall. it was taken by me from the skyway between Target and the US Bank building. awesome pic!

anyway....hello friday.

someone is moving closer and closer to be a CRAWLER! 

we need to baby proof the house!

the boys (bb and Nash) and I went on a run this morning...

stopped by Jill's house but she was not home 

so we thought we'd take this pic in her yard. 

normal, right? 

both Nash and bb have been excellent running (riding) buddies! I am so very, very thankful that they seem to enjoy the runs, as they do... otherwise I would be super bummed out. I would probably not be running so much if one of them decided to be uncooperative. luckily bb typically falls asleep during the run and nash just frolics beside me. when we get home nash passes out and bb usually enjoys a bottle and then some play time. everyone wins!

time for the weekend! 

mo days, mo pics

another day, another roll of pics of my bb. yep, i am that mom! 'that mom' i never knew i would be but am happy with the fact that I AM. baby james pretty much makes me happier than I ever knew i could or wanted to be, even at 2 am. and again at 3 am. and at 4 am when he has a fistful of my hair. yes - all those times and more! i've included some silly candid pics from the last 2-3 days... 

busted! playing with his drawstrings

ruling the living room rug 

my new runners - how'd that get in there!? (PS they are awesome)

this morning he decided to hang out, 

standing up (almost) by himself...

just putting out the vibe!

the weather has been fairly nice lately which has enabled us to go for a few runs around Lake Harriet. Dearest Jill has been a great running buddy for us and has definitely made our lake adventures more enjoyable! Hopefully we keep up the good habit!

you hear me, Jilly??

also: happy birthday to miss Jilly Bean, the Yogi Queen!! so happy to have you as a great part of my family's life!!

(Husby Rick and Jill on their wedding day....obvi)

family fun!

Happy Mothers Day 2014! my darling parents and the grand babies! We had brunch at Stella's Fish Cafe...pretty delicious food. Can't say how healthy it was, but it tasted yummy and was a fun treat. Add great company, and you can call it a WONDERFUL DAY!

Nan, Jimmy, Olivia, Poppa, Grace

too cool! new shades

not sure if this video will display or not, but it's a video clip of baby james watching his favorite flick, Toy Story. It's the opening scene with Mr. Potato Head as the bank robber and then Woody comes to save the day. James's first big grin is when Mr. Potato Head is kissing the money from the piggy bank, and his second big grin and excitement is when the camera shows Woody's grand entrance. It is simply too cute to watch and the best thing is that bb gets this excited EVERY time he watched the movie (which is at least once a day...even if it's just he first 15 minutes). It's to die for. :)

love it!