LaFrances in Color

New Home!!

2010-12-13T22:07:00.002-06:00

Sorry folks for the extremely long delay in posts! We are happy to say we now have a new home! No...our house didn't sell. Unfortunately it's only a new online home. Change your 'favorites' and check us out from now on at www.lafranceclan.com. Hope all is well!

17 Months

2010-06-01T22:08:00.015-05:00

Noah is 17 months old now, well okay nearly 18 months but I'm just now getting these posted! Joel and I have been so enjoying this age! Noah's interests and vocabulary are developing more and more each day. I would say he is 100% boy! He loves cars, trucks, airplanes and when he sees anything with tires he repeats "go, go, go!" While on the playground at daycare, he'll stand by the fence and watch the garbage truck pull up or watch the delivery trucks pull in and deliver packages. He continues to wave at each airplane that flies above. Noah is also very interested in dogs! Bosco is by far his favorite but any dog that goes by while we are out for a run he talks to. This past weekend we were at the cabin and Noah continued to add to his vocabulary. He even went to the cabin door and stood there continuously saying "outside, outside" until we got our shoes on to take him "outside!" On a different note, temper tantrums also go along with this age! Noah has had his share of tantrums, most of these occur when we tell Noah that it is time to go inside for the night...hopefully in time this gets easier!

Joel and I love every moment that we spend with our little Noah! Noah continues to add such love, joy and happiness to our lives; we love you buddy!

the great outdoors

2010-05-24T21:31:00.015-05:00

Noah has kept us pretty busy lately, as he was under the weather and teething but now he is playing catch up and trying to get in as much time outdoors as possible. A few weeks back, Joel and I wanted to get in a nice long bike ride, so we headed out to Carver with Noah in tow. It was a great afternoon, but as you can see Noah still wasn't feeling the greatest. Not to mention, his first little shiner that he came home with from daycare. We had a beautiful day at the Carver Park Reserve, which followed by an evening at the park and an ice cream cone!

our little climber

2010-05-12T05:00:00.000-05:00

It seems like every time we turn around these days, Noah is climbing on something! Whether it is him attempting to surf on his bike or ride along toys or him climbing on our shelves...there is no doubt about it he is a climber! One day the four of us were on a walk/wagon ride and Joel and I were chatting as we pulled the wagon and we just happen to turn around and there was Noah, standing straight up surfing in his wagon! I couldn't believe it!

Blog Hiatius

2010-05-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hello all, sorry that we've been MIA from blog world for a while! We are now back at it and will continue to keep up the pace with our growing little Noah!

We have so enjoyed the warm weather, blooming flowers and sunshine this spring! Noah has enjoyed wagon rides, many trips to the park, bike rides, a trip to the MN Zoo and the cabin and just being outdoors! Joel and I truly love the outdoors, but I think Noah may love it even more. Noah has shed many tears and had a few tantrums when it is time to come indoors for the night! One of Noah's favorite things to do while we are out in the lawn, is to watch cars and trucks go by or wave above to the airplanes and helicopters.

Waving to the airplane above!

On the market

2010-03-05T12:49:00.012-06:00

The house officially went on the market yesterday, and Sadie and I are both very relieved! I know moving is a lot of work, but technically this isn't even moving yet...it's de-cluttering. It's nice living in a house with just the very bare essentials though. Relaxing in a way. It hasn't hit me completely yet that we'll be moving on at some point and leaving this old house behind, but I'm sure it will. I will definitely miss the character. The character element is starting to influence the homes I like too, as we start to browse. We've seen about 150 homes pop up on our radar screen, and crazy enough I've really only seen 1 or 2 that I can actually picture us living in. Right now we’re just focusing more on what neighborhoods feel and work best for us. In the meantime here are some of the listing pictures. They’re not the highest quality, but they’ll do.

Wait a minute....it's March?

2010-03-01T21:40:00.002-06:00

Jeez....time really does fly when you're having a good time. The LaFrance household has been going 100mph for more than a few weeks now, so excuse our absence from the blogosphere. It was one of my new years resolutions to blog more, but that clearly has gone by the wayside, as this is blog post #1 in 2010 for Dad LaFrance.

Hard to believe, but it certainly feels like spring is arriving here. We've had a great string of above-freezing days, and its amazing how much energy it adds. And we need it. We made a hard decision a number of weeks ago, and decided to get the house ready and put it on the market. The timing is never quite perfect, but we feel like now is an opportune time to try to put the house up for sale, and make the big move. 7 days of intense remodeling (bathroom), cleaning (everywhere), organizing (stock tip: buy Rubbermaid NOW!) and de-cluttering (how did we fit all this stuff in here?) and we're days away from having the for-sale sign out in the yard. I can honestly say that the house has never looked better. Crazy to think that this is probably the nicest the house has looked in over 75 years.

We're not quite ready to say goodbye to the house yet, so we'll make sure to post again when we get some pictures ready (we packed our camera battery charger into storage already....whoops). If you're interested in some poor-quality bathroom remodel pics, check out the twitter feed at the bottom of the page. If you know of anyone looking for a well-loved 3BR, 2BA let us know!

curtain peak a boo.

2010-02-24T07:57:00.007-06:00

In our family room we have long curtains and they now have become Noah's favorite toy! As you can see, he loves to play peak a boo with my curtains. He thinks he is so funny when he hides behind them, with just his toes sticking out from under neath and we ask, "where is Noah?" Then he starts giggling and laughing and he appears from behind the curtains. Also those aren't stains on my curtains, Noah has also decided to drool on them. Looks like we'll be washing our curtains more often with our little toddler around! :)

a new way to bathe.

2010-02-24T07:29:00.007-06:00

As Joel remodels our bathroom, we were forced to become creative to decide where Noah was going to take his baths. Well, who says a 14 month old can't bathe in a kitchen sink! It was definitely a little more difficult at 14 months than earlier when Noah was just months old. Noah kept trying to stand up, splash and dump the water from his cup over the edge and all over the floor! Oh well, it is only temporary as Joel should be done this week with the bathroom and I figure my kitchen floors need to be washed anyways. As you can see Noah thoroughly enjoyed bathing in the kitchen sink.

Noah at 3 months bathing in the kitchen sink

birthday wishes.

2010-02-18T20:42:00.012-06:00

Sorry I decided to throw your sign in the bath, along with a book and a towel...!

I hope you had a wonderful birthday Uncle Paul, to celebrate your special day I ate pancakes for dinner, yogurt and some gold fish...yummy, huh?! Don't worry I saved some for you and I'll bring your treats on Saturday when I see you. I also drove my truck tonight and honked my horn at Bosco...I think he was annoyed, but I had fun! Remember your never to old to celebrate your birthday...I celebrate everyday like its mine! :)
Now if you could only convince my parents that I should have birthday cake everyday?! :)
Happy special day to you!
Love,
Noah

Happy day.

2010-02-17T05:00:00.002-06:00

Special birthday wishes to you Grandpa Vagher on this fine day! I wish you all the love, hugs and kisses in the world! I hope Grandma has something special planned...like maybe a trip to "Walmart" or something! :) Enjoy your birthday...because birthday's are the best!
Love you,
Noah

trying to keep Noah contained while taking a picture these days is no easy task...as you can see

multitasking...

nigh, nigh

trying to delay bedtime

New gear!

2010-02-15T05:00:00.001-06:00

For Valentines Day, Noah received many treats from his Grandparents, his Aunties and his Uncles...thanks to all! Joel and I also bought Noah a backpack as he continues to come home from daycare with a lot of art work that he has created throughout the day. It was so cute to see him wear it around the house with his monkey in tow. Take a peak for yourselves....! Pretty cute!

Be Mine Valentine!

2010-02-14T19:27:00.009-06:00

Again, sorry for the blogging delay, we had the flu going through our house a week ago and we are just now catching up! Here is some valentines cheer to fill your hearts! We hope you were all able to share some time with the ones you love on this beautiful day!

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

2010-02-11T22:02:00.003-06:00

I love you Sadie!

30.

2010-02-04T05:00:00.000-06:00

Happy 30th Birthday Auntie Jen...wow the big 30!!

We hope all of your dreams come true this year. I hope Uncle Bud has something special planned for you tonight! Enjoy your special day, wishing we were there to celebrate with you!

Lots of love,
XOXO
Noah

fresh cut.

2010-02-03T05:00:00.001-06:00

Noah at 13 months and his 10th haircut

Noah may have hit a record this past weekend, he has had 10 hair cuts in 13 months...yes, that is right 10! Noah's hair seems to just keep growing and growing and this time he nearly had a little tail growing along his neck line it was so long. You would think that Noah enjoys having his hair cut since he has done it so much, but that really isn't the case. Nearly every time we head to the salon, we see tears...real tears. The tears tend to appear when they get close to his ears, I think he feels like they are going to check his ears like they do at the doctor's office. Usually by the end of his haircut, Noah is wearing his smile again! I give a lot of credit to the stylists as they do have a lot of patience. Until the next cut....

Noah at birth sporting his locks!

bright light.

2010-02-02T21:14:00.009-06:00

Emma Elizabeth

The world is a little brighter as of January 20th, when our dear friends Andy and Laura welcomed baby Emma Elizabeth into the world! We were able to share in their joy this past weekend, as we were able to meet little Emma. The Herr and LaFrance family stopped by with food, drinks and gifts for the proud parents and Emma. Emma is such a good, sweet little girl. I so enjoyed holding her, she is so little in every way...however she may have the longest toes I've ever seen on a baby! Sweet Emma we look forward to watching you grow up!

Until we meet again...

Long toes, yet so little!

Noah was obsessed with climbing on Matt!

Julie and Tessa

Racing!

2010-01-27T20:16:00.005-06:00

This past weekend we had a weekend full of family and the opportunity to see Stephanie (Joel's sister who cross country ski's for Green Bay) race. As you can see we had a wonderful time! The weather was alright, but regardless the race was fun to watch! Stephanie and her teammates did great and so did her friend Ingrid who ski's for NMU. All in all, a wonderful weekend!

The Art of Gift Opening

2010-01-26T21:29:00.005-06:00

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Get your own

Sorry we've been out of blog land for a while, we've been a little under the weather at our house...all of us! Noah had RSV and ear infections all last week, which has now left Joel and I with head colds. We are hopefully on the mend and back to blogging! Now that it is a month past Noah's first birthday and Christmas and I'm still posting pictures from the events, this will probably be my last birthday/Christmas post...we'll be moving on to other life happenings a head! Hopefully 2010 has been wonderful thus far for your families!

QuickPost: Noah's new drumset!

2010-01-15T17:34:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday Grandma Vagher and Bosco!

2010-01-11T05:00:00.002-06:00

Today is the greatest day, it is my "goggy" (aka doggy) and my Grandma's birthday! Can you believe it; two of the most wonderful people were born on the same day?! Grandma, I hope you have an amazing birthday and I hope Grandpa treats you to dinner...and hopefully some nice new jewelry too! :) Thanks for coming up this weekend to go shopping with Mommy and I, we had a great time. I love when you come along on shopping trips; I always get lots of treats...not to mention all of the cheerios and animal crackers that you gave me! And thanks for watching me too on Saturday night while Mommy and Daddy went out to dinner; we had a nice time playing together! I am looking forward to your birthday dinner next Friday night, hugs and kisses to you on your special day! Love the one and only, Noah

Goggy a very special 4th birthday wish to you too! I love you so much Goggy, I love how patient you are with me, I love that you like to play catch, I love that you love your water dish as much as I do, I love that we like the same toys...and most of all I love that you love FOOD! Just like every other night, at dinner tonight I will feed you half of my sandwich, cheerios, banana, cracker but tonight...I'll give you a whole cookie for your birthday! I may even let you carry my stuffed monkey around. Goggy, here is to many more years of growing up together; happy 4th birthday!!

Happy 1st Birthday Buggy!

2010-01-07T21:36:00.007-06:00

Noah turned one year old on December 19th and on December 20th we had one great celebration! Joel and I knew that we wanted to celebrate Noah's birthday in style but we also knew that it was a big celebration for both of us as it was our first year as parents! We've had such an amazing year with our little Noah and we couldn't have made it without the help of our family and friends. To celebrate Noah's first birthday we invited family and friends to play at the Eagles Nest Indoor Playground and we had such a great time. Noah and his friends were all able to enjoy some time jumping in the ball pit, climbing over the big blocks and just running around. After play time we had some lunch and of course CAKE! As you can see in the pictures, Noah thoroughly enjoyed his CAKE! I want to thank everyone who came out to Noah's party for taking time out of the busy holiday season to celebrate Noah's first birthday! We love you Noah and we are looking forward to another wonderful year!

Birthday visit to the Children's Museum

2010-01-06T20:41:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday Sadie!

2010-01-04T06:10:00.004-06:00

The big day is here! Happy birthday my love--from both Noah and I! Here's to a great year under your belt. You're a great mom and an even better wife! Noah and I can't get any luckier! We love you.

Catching Up!

2009-12-30T05:00:00.007-06:00

Wow, happy holidays and welcome to the busiest month of the year! I'm sure you have all been really busy too, so sorry for our blog post hiatus. We will do our best to get you caught up on the LaFrance family happenings for the month of December. December sure was busy but wow, what a great month it has been! Stay tuned for future posts, but just to recap what we've been up too...
15 carved toy trains, 12 bags handmade, 3 Christmas gatherings, 1 FIRST birthday, 1 trip to the Children's Museum, 1 trip to the Science Museum, many present we're opened, 4 days of snow/rain AND 1 BEAUTIFUL wedding!

Hand carved toy trains for all of Noah's little friends that came to his birthday party!

5 of the 12 bags handmade for presents this year

Celebrating Christmas at the Vagher's

Noah plays in the ball pit at his 1st birthday party

Noah splashing in the water at the Children's Museum on his actual birthday

Noah climbing up the "glacier" at the Titanic exhibit at the Science Museum

Noah awaits to open his Christmas gifts

Lake Superior during the blizzard & high winds

Auntie Alissa & Uncle Mike we're hitched 12/26/09

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T05:00:00.003-06:00

Oh Santa!

2009-12-14T05:00:00.000-06:00

Well here it is, the play by play of Noah's meet-n-greet with Santa. This weekend we took Noah up to Maple Grove to meet the man in red and white! Joel and I weren't sure how he would react to this big bearded guy and at first you can see in the pictures he was a little unsure as well. Once we stood him up infront of Santa, Noah just kind of took his time to examine him and by the end I think he was warming up to the big guy! Now next year, I hope we can just pick up where we left off! :)

Happy Birthday Auntie Reghann!

2009-12-13T08:13:00.000-06:00

Wow, you are so lucky to be able to celebrate your birthday the day after my dad's birthday! We hope that you had a wonderful day and that Chris and William treated you to something nice! I'm sending you birthday hugs and kisses; hope you enjoyed my video that I sent you! Lots of love, kisses and smiles to you on your special day...happy birthday Auntie!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-12-12T05:00:00.002-06:00

Yes, that is right it is my daddy's birthday today! He is really 29 but my mom really did think he was 30-I think that she was just overly excited for somebody to share in the 30's with her! She had everyone in her family thinking that he was 3o too! jeez, what will next year bring 50? :)

We had a wonderful day out and about as a family, mommy made a special birthday breakfast for all of us and then we headed out and about-daddy even let me go see Santa on his birthday! We ended the day with a nice dinner out as a family. Happy "30th" daddy, thanks for always being the best dad that a little guy like me could ask for! I love you!

Holi-dizza-dazzle

2009-12-10T05:00:00.002-06:00

Last Friday, Joel, Noah and I headed to the Holidazzle Parade with my sister and her fiance; once downtown we met up with the Robertson's as well. I love going to this parade, just one more thing that helps me get into the Christmas spirit! However, with no avail the cold weather always seems to be present at parade time. Friday was no different, it was 18 degrees and even with many layers, boots, hats and gloves we still froze. We headed indoors prior to the parade being over, just in time to see Santa and his reindeer. After the parade, we made our way to a local restaurant to warm up and eat dinner. It was a great night and hopefully a start to a new family tradition...but we hope to have warmer weather next year!

Deck the house and halls!

2009-12-07T05:00:00.003-06:00

A week ago as we celebrated Thanksgiving in Duluth we decided to head back home on Saturday night in hopes that we'd be able to get our Christmas tree and decorate for the holidays on Sunday...and that we did! On Sunday, we choose our tree, tree toppers and some filler for the window boxes and then arrived home to turn up the Christmas tunes and decorate! This is by far my favorite time of year; not only is it the month that my two favorite people were born but it is a time to believe in the spirit of Christmas and to be thankful for all that we have! Nothing gets me more in the spirit than some catchy holiday tunes, decorating our house with a hint of the outdoors while drinking hot chocolate and a light dusting of snow. This weekend, I added to our decorations by making a Christmas Ornament Wreath, after a few burns from the hot glue gun I have to admit it was worth it and I think it turned out great! This year we were slightly concerned that somebody would be climbing up the tree or un-decorating one bulb at a time. However, the first week with the tree up and decorated has gone pretty well; more to come I'm sure! We hope you are all getting in the holiday spirit...happy holidays!

Grandma and Grandpa, thanks for watching me this weekend-I had a blast! Thanks for the cute new festive shirt too! :)

Happy Birthday Alissa!!!

2009-12-06T04:05:00.003-06:00

Noah, Sadie and I just wanted to send a special Happy Birthday shout out to my sister Alissa on her birthday today. Happy Birthday 'Liss! Hope you have a great day!

As our friend Bono so wisely said: "Walk On"

2009-12-05T11:33:00.006-06:00

For the past few weeks Noah has been getting more and more adventurous up on two feet. About 2 weeks ago he would pull himself up in the middle of the floor, stand, and then take a step or two--but that was about it. He relegated himself to walking alongside the perimeter of rooms so he could move faster! His little shopping cart/walker is definately his 3rd favorite toy right now (#1: Mr. Monkey, #2: Ball Pit)--but given the last day or two that may start collecting some dust!

I picked Noah up at daycare the other day and everyone was so excited to share Noah's newest adventure: standing himself up in the center of the room and then making 6 or 7 good steps! It was a few days before Sadie and I were able to witness a good run for ourselves, but now it's pretty constant! Given his knack for staying with any given toy or activity for not longer than 3.5 seconds, walking is certain to add another cool dynamic to our days! We'll be sure to post some more videos as he gets stronger and stronger. Right now his walking still resembles a zombie, but it'll get there!

Thanksgiving Recap

2009-12-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

We were in Duluth this year for Thanksgiving, celebrating with Joel's whole family and some out of town guests. We had a wonderful meal thanks to the many cooks who helped prepare the goods! Noah was a little under the weather, as he had the flu earlier in the week and now we are on to teething (one year molars)! We were able to spend a lot of time with Grandma and Grandpa LaFrance, Great Grandma Sally and all of Noah's Aunties and Uncles. We were very busy the entire weekend as Auntie Alissa and Uncle Mike get married in Duluth the day after Christmas this year. We were able to help them out with their to do list, we were able to get some shopping in and many long walks. We returned to the cities late on Saturday night so we could do some holiday decorating on Sunday-stay tuned for pictures! Happy Thanksgiving from the LaFrance's; we hope that you were able to spend Thanksgiving with your loved ones. We all have a lot to be thankful for this year!

Sampling some pumpkin pie and lovin it!

Cousin William (2.5 months old) Noah Joseph (11 months old)

Wearing our matching Thanksgiving gear!

What does a Turkey say?

Snuggling up with the Aunties!

"Cousin Willie thinks I am SO funny! I can't wait to get into some trouble with him."

Brrr...Baby its cold outside!

A break with Cousin Will after some holiday shopping at Fitgers

"I'm not a coffee fan, but I sure did enjoy my Auntie's mango juice!"

Auntie Alissa and Uncle Mike with the nephews

The Train Depot in Duluth where Auntie Alissa and Uncle Mike will have their wedding reception after Christmas

Oh for cute, engagement picture!

Oh Christmas Tree, at the Depot

So thankful for baths!

Thankful!

2009-11-26T05:00:00.000-06:00

Peter the Penguin

2009-11-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

Bloggers meet Peter the humidifying Penguin. Every night before bed Noah visits with his penguin, he stands on him, reads to him, takes off his head and at time Noah will tip Peter over. I'm not sure what it is with Peter but Noah sure has a liking for him.

Fallen Leaves

2009-11-24T05:00:00.000-06:00

A few weekends ago, Noah and I ventured out in the sun to rake some leaves. Noah played in the grass with his toys until I raked some nice piles of leaves for him to crawl in. He loved it, but as you can see he didn't sit still long enough for me to take his picture. The leaves have now fallen and as we enter the Christmas season, I have to admit it would be nice to see some white!

Just a few...

2009-11-23T20:49:00.006-06:00

cute pictues that I can't resist sharing! Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Uncle Teddy

2009-11-18T05:00:00.000-06:00

Wishing you a special birthday Uncle Teddy! I hope that you have a wonderful day and that all of your dreams come true! You have been a wonderful Uncle, Godparent and role model to me and I can't wait to see you this weekend at Willie's baptism! Maybe we can play with my blocks and trucks! :)

Cheers & Happy Birthday!

Our little Artist

2009-11-16T21:39:00.011-06:00

Joel and I continue to be very impressed with our daycare! I love the fact that they have a small group of kids, who are all within that same infant age range that can develop their skills together. At least twice a week Noah will come home with art projects that he had created earlier in the day. I love being able to see his creations and it just reassures Joel and I that he really is in a carrying and loving environment at daycare. On a daily basis we continue to get progress reports on Noah's day. It allows us to see when he has eaten throughout the day, how much he has eat, when he naps and for how long and then what he does throughout the day. One thing that consistently comes up on Noah's daily report is that he LOVES to go for buggy rides (see below picture). We always laugh as all of the teachers from the different rooms know that Noah loves to go for buggy rides-so if they don't have a full buggy they always stop by Noah's room to see if he is available to go on a buggy ride...which he usually is!

Noah continues to impress us with his development. Just in the last week or so his vocabulary has expanded from basically just saying "Da da" to "Ma ma," "Na na," and he now will point at things and say "that." Just yesterday at daycare, they were making Thanksgiving turkeys for their art project and they were trying to teach the kids to "gobble, gobble" like turkeys do and last night he couldn't stop "gobbling!" Noah is starting to understand when you ask him where things are in the room and he'll scan the room to look for what you are asking...for instance, Mr. Monkey!

Noah continues to get around on two feet; usually with holding on to something until now!! Last week, Joel and I received a call from daycare saying that he had been taking 3 consecutive steps without holding on to anything! This was a huge thing as he has been so close to walking for quite some time and now it seems he is starting to pave ground.

Noah will be 11 months this Thursday and I just can't believe that he is almost a year old! I can't begin to describe the joy that our little buggy has added to our lives! As he continues to grow older and older I keep thinking to myself..."oh this is my favorite stage" but then he gets a month older and develops a new skill or says a new word and I think to myself, "oh this by far is my favorite age." I guess we have a lot to look forward to in the years to come; we love you Noah!

And a lovely picture of our buggy with his buddy, Mr. Monkey!

Baby its cold inside!

2009-11-06T05:00:00.001-06:00

Noah is gearing up for his travels to cold Duluth in a week! Every night when Noah arrives home he jumps right into playing with his toys and he barely gets his jacket off, let alone his hat. I was able to capture Noah in mid-play still wearing his winter gear.

All smiles here!

Teething and drooling!

Halloween part II

2009-11-04T05:00:00.000-06:00

This weekend was extremely busy for us. On Friday afternoon, Noah's daycare had a costume parade and Halloween party. His teachers dressed up in costume and then got all of the little ones dressed up as well and then they paraded around headquarters for all of the employee's to see. There after, they had a nice Halloween party for all the little ones. It included, bobbing for apples, ring toss, a bubble machine, pumpkin painting and cookies! It was so fun to see all the little ones in costume and interacting with each other. Then on Saturday morning, Joel ran the Monster Dash Half Marathon. Noah dressed in costume again and along with some friends we headed to the race to cheer on daddy! Later that evening, Noah helped me hand out candy to the first few tricker treaters before we headed out to dinner with a great group of friends. All in all, it was a great Halloween and we are really looking forward to next year when Noah will be able to go house to house...saying "trick or treat"!

Happy Halloween from our Lil Lion!

2009-10-31T16:51:00.004-05:00

If there is something strange in the neighborhood, who you gonna call...

2009-10-30T05:00:00.001-05:00

I couldn't resist this shirt for little Noah, growing up I loved this movie and with Halloween this weekend I thought it would be a great shirt to wear this week at daycare! As you can see, this morning his shirt was all tucked in and ready to go! :) Have a safe and happy Halloween; stay tuned for Noah's big costume reveal!

Swimming Pool by summer, ball pit by winter!

2009-10-26T05:00:00.000-05:00

Since day one of daycare, Noah fell in love with the ball pit! Therefore, Joel and I were doing some cleaning this weekend and found Noah's swimming pool and instead of packing it away we made it into Noah's own little ball pit! As you can see he thoroughly enjoys it! While playing this weekend, we found him in the ball pit more often than not! At times he'd even bring friends along to play with him...we found Mr. Monkey, turtle and the giraffe all in the ball pit this weekend. Bosco helped himself to the ball pit a few times as well!

Who needs hair gel...

2009-10-25T21:45:00.005-05:00

when you have sweet potatoes?! As you can see Noah really enjoyed his sweet potatoes-so much that he rubbed them in his hair, all over his face including in his eye lashes and brows. Just when I thought he was starting to be a tighty, clean eater...I guess not!

Cutest in the Patch!

2009-10-19T05:00:00.005-05:00

Wow, what a beautiful SUNday it was! Joel, Uncle Teddy, Noah, Bosco and I headed out to Minnetonka Orchards to enjoy a fall morning and that we did. It was so great to be outside with the smell of apple donuts frying, coffee in hand and picking fresh apples right from the trees. Noah loved all of the fun attractions that the orchard had to offer: hayrides, a pumpkin patch, a small petting zoo, horses and hiking trails and I must say that Bosco thoroughly enjoyed being around many dogs and running through the woods too...he even enjoyed playing catch with the apples. Joel, Bosco and I went to this same orchard last year prior to Noah being born...and I now can say this will be a yearly fall tradition. Now on to baking with all of these fine apples we picked!

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Beautiful Day!

2009-10-15T21:41:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the wedding post delay; we were awaiting some pictures! Two weeks ago my little and only brother got married to his beautiful bride! Joel, Noah and I were so honored to be part of their special day. Joel and I were in the wedding, so we didn't have time to take many pictures but this is a peak into their special day. Thanks to Nana LaFrance, Auntie Reghann and cousin Will for picking Noah up and watching him overnight the night of the wedding!!

Congrats you two and welcome to the family Jen! :)

Daycare Dress Up!

2009-10-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

Last week Noah's daycare had dress up week, each day was a new theme!

Monday- VIKINGS or Packers day

Tuesday-Crazy socks day
(thanks to Nana LaFrance)

Wednesday- the color of your daycare room (red)

Thursday- hat day

Friday- comfy clothes day

Family Pictures II

2009-10-12T20:48:00.001-05:00

We received our complete family pictures gallery...I think they turned out great! Yes, Noah did have his tongue out in many of the pictures; I guess that is what you get with a 9 month old! :)

http://jentaylorphotography.myshowit.com/noah9months

Our Nephew, William

2009-10-06T05:00:00.000-05:00

Family Pictures!

2009-10-04T20:44:00.003-05:00

When Noah headed to daycare his teachers asked us for a family pictures and while looking for one, I soon realized that we didn't have many family pictures. We had pictures of Joel and Noah, and Noah and I...and then a ton of just Noah, but not many as a family. Therefore, I hired a local family photographer to take some family photos a week ago and here is just a sneak peak of the final product. Stay tuned for more in a few weeks as we'll post all of them once we receive them!

Enjoy!

http://jentaylorphotography.com/blog/sneak-peak-minneapolis-baby-photographer-2/

Three boys and a girl

2009-10-01T05:00:00.001-05:00

A few weekends ago, we were lucky to spend sometime with college friends and their families. Chris and Megan had moved into a beautiful new home a few months ago and we all embarked on a Kabob-a-que at their new place. As you can see the little ones are all growing up and becoming more and more adventurous. Meet Whitney, Noah, Michael and Owen. As you can see Miss Whitney is a little unsure about all the boys; which is exactly what her daddy taught her! :) All in all, we had a wonderful night catching up with everyone; thanks again for hosting

C & M.

Under the Weather

2009-09-30T05:00:00.002-05:00

Our poor little guy has been under the weather for nearly 4 weeks now! He has had 3 ear infections in 4 weeks and just last Monday they put him on a stronger antibiotic. As a result of this stronger antibiotic Noah has had a reaction to the medication; he has had 5 to 7 BM's a day for the last week which has in turn caused an infection on his bum; poor guy! For the most part he is still in a good mood, but due to his infection on his bum he hasn't wanted to sit or get his diaper change, so in the last week Noah has really become good standing by himself and walking with a little help from his walker (take a peek at the video under J's twitter on the bottom of our blog). It makes you wonder about these antibiotics, is it really suppose to "clear" up one thing and then cause something else? I'm not going to be one of those parents that doesn't give any medication, but I must say that it does make you think twice about it.

Since he has had these symptoms he has blown through many sets of clothes at daycare including the various extra clothes that we bring to daycare for him. This typically results in Noah coming home in some random little outfits that come from the daycare donor clothes pile. Tonight was no different, I had to laugh at what he came home in tonight! It kind of looks like something you'd see in the movie Beetle Juice, see below for yourself! The infection has caused some sores; but all in all we are hopefully that Noah is on the road to recovery...just in time for my brother's & soon to be sister in law's wedding weekend!

Boy in a Box

2009-09-29T20:32:00.008-05:00

Noah loves when we are in need of more diapers and wipes, he knows that it is time for a ride in a box around the living room! All aboard for the box car train...please stay seated at all times and keep your hands inside the box! Noah just laughs and giggles when we do this, as you can see it does look like a lot of fun and it keeps him contained! :)

Up, Up and Away

2009-09-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

As I said in an earlier post, this past weekend Noah started to climb on everything...including stairs! Yes, that is right on Friday night we were enjoying our time with some friends at their house and Noah decided that he should climb the stairs and then again on Saturday night, he was at it again! Below is the play by play...notice how proud he is when he gets to the top! It looks like he really enjoys climbing; therefore I'm pretty sure he'll rock climb or maybe climb a mountain someday!

Man's best friend!

2009-09-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

Our best friend!

Happy 9 months old!

2009-09-19T10:16:00.005-05:00

Today is Noah's 9 month birthday! It is so hard to believe that he is already 9 months; he is such a sweet little guy and he continues to fill our hearts with so much love and joy! Joel and I are in complete amazement lately with his development; earlier this week he walked with his walker across the living room. And last night at some friends house he crawled up a whole flight of stairs! He continues to say "da, da, da, da" at everything; but there has been no signs of "ma, ma, ma"! :( He loves his little friends at daycare and he is really thriving in that environment. Joel and I continue to ask where the last 9 months have gone; but this is also a nice reminder for us to sit back and enjoy every moment because it really does (and has) gone by fast. We love you little Noah; happy 9 months!

Happy Birthday Nana!

2009-09-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

Wishing you a very special birthday Nana LaFrance! I hope that you have a wonderful day; treat yourself to something special today! Feel a hug from little Noah! As you can see I'm very busy these days, so busy that I couldn't even get dressed after my bath to pose for the camera!

"Mom and Dad, did you know it is Nana's birthday?!"

Chris & Reghann + One

2009-09-13T20:20:00.008-05:00

Welcome to the world William Christopher Gerard Corey! Our first (and only) nephew was born on Saturday, September 12th at 3:30 pm to proud parents Reghann and Chris. William weighed in at 7lbs. 1oz and he was 19inches long. Reghann, Chris, Will and Heidi (the Saint Bernard) all seem to be doing really well! We were able to visit them at the hospital and as you can see we all thoroughly enjoyed meeting little Will. He is so sweet and he barely made a peep! Noah was so excited when we arrived at the hospital and he even put on a little show for his new cousin! Noah couldn't take his eyes off his little cousin; he will enjoy having a cousin that is close in age to ham around with! Congrats Chris and Reghann on your new addition; he is so sweet and handsome!

sweet seat!

2009-09-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

something old and something new. this sweet seat has a lot of character; it was found at an auction (thanks to my dad) and it turned into a great photo opp for our buggy! someday when our cabin dreams come true it too will have a home but for now it will remain a sweet seat! Note the keys; they were a nice distraction for Noah!

Uncle Teddy moved to town!

2009-09-10T21:24:00.004-05:00

A few weeks ago, Uncle Teddy moved to town and we are so excited to have him join us in the cities. Teddy recently graduated from the same fine institution that my mom and dad graduated from and the same university that I too some day plan on attending. He is now local in the Americorp program for Habitat for Humanity. I love having in the cities because I now get to see him weekly and thus far we've gone on a few bike rides and enjoyed a dinner at one of our local neighborhood establishments. Can't wait for many more adventures with Uncle Teddy now that he is nearly my neighbor!

Uncle Teddy even gave me a swig off his camel back after a long bike ride!

Playing at the Park

2009-09-08T21:21:00.011-05:00

Since Noah started daycare a few weeks ago; Joel and I have realized how busy our nights can be. In between feeding Noah dinner (let alone ourselves), bathing him and getting him ready for bed we still try to find time to head out for our nightly runs and then for a "quick"

trip to the park. Noah continues to explore new territory now that he is crawling and standing; this night it was his first night riding the horse.

As you can see he loves the park!

Love is in the Air!

2009-09-02T21:20:00.008-05:00

Auntie Marcie, from the day I was born I just knew that you'd marry your best friend! That day when you came to the hospital and I meet you both for the first time; I already knew that he was the one! You smiled like no one had ever smiled before.

Now today, my wishes came true! My mommy and daddy told me that you got engaged; and I jumped for joy (literally)! Auntie Marcie, you are marrying a wonderful guy and we are so thrilled to have him join our family! Congrats to both of you on your engagement, Auntie Marcie and Uncle Paul! We are looking forward to your July 2010 wedding!

Snuggled right up to my Uncle Paul!

Lazy (Fall) Weekend

2009-08-31T04:55:00.001-05:00

This weekend was a great chance to relax after a long week. With Noah's first full week of daycare complete, we were looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing. Which for us, means no plans in advance, and then we end up doing a whole lot. For some reason having a weekend full of on-the-whim fun is a nice release from the fully planned one. Friday we were able to get in a nice bike ride---heading down the newly reconfigured Webber Parkway, and up the 'ol Mississippi. In a sign of our old age, it took us three days to finish the movie we originally started on Friday night. Saturday we headed out to visit our good friend Eric, who was biking the 24 hours of (Salsa) Afton race along with his teammates. The weather was perfect, and we had a great Saturday bouncing around. Noah also had a great time, both out in the grass crawling and climbing, as well as in the backpack. Sunday we went on yet another bike ride, but that one was a bit longer. Noah did great, and ended up napping in the Burley for almost 2 hours! He was a trooper, and woke up only about 5 minutes from home. We also had Reghann and Chris over in the afternoon, which was a great treat for all---including Heidi, Bosco, and Noah--who especially had a lot of fun playing! All in all a solid weekend. I'm already looking forward to this upcoming Labor Day weekend. Although, for the first time in many years I'm dreading the end of summer. It seems like we really didn't get a true summer....more like an elongated late spring. Soon enough the flakes will be flying, and we'll be dreaming of green once again!

8 months in....who does he resemble more?

2009-08-30T19:29:00.005-05:00

I pulled out some old pictures of Sadie and I this afternoon and we both had a good debate over who he looks like more so far! I'll just say we had differing thoughts, but it would be interesting to hear from everyone on their opinions! Either way, I think we got an amazing little guy on our hands.

The Play by Play

2009-08-27T21:38:00.009-05:00

People aren't kidding when they tell you that when your child becomes mobile that life becomes so much more busy! Noah is off to the races and here is the rerun of his play by play!

"I'm going to fool mom by sitting here so nicely and by being so sweet and innocent!"

"Oh, no I spy Bosco and I wonder what he is doing? Hmmm, I'll go find out!"

"Maybe if I stand up here and shake the gate he'll pay attention to me!"

"I'm so glad I can stand now, this view is so much better!"

Our little mobile buggy!

Back Yard Paradise

2009-08-26T05:00:00.000-05:00

Joel has been working so hard at putting up a 6 foot high fence in our back yard and this weekend he completed it! It looks absolutely wonderful and it has turned our back yard into an additional room on to our house. Prior to putting up the fence, we didn't use our back yard all that much...but as you can see we were out in the yard this weekend taking advantage of our privacy fence and the beautiful weather. Next project, landscaping! Next summer's project a deck!

In the News

2009-08-25T05:00:00.001-05:00

Every Sunday Joel and I love to get up, enjoy our morning coffee and read the Sunday paper. This week we had our little one join us; yes Noah now is interested in staying up to date on what is in the news. His newspaper section of choice this week was both the sports and travel section!

BWCA pics

2009-08-20T04:59:00.001-05:00

Off to School!

2009-08-19T07:51:00.010-05:00

Well this morning Noah's bags were packed and he was ready to go to his first day of school and surprisingly it went really well! He was very happy this morning; which made things easier for Joel and I. Joel dropped him off this morning and when he left Noah was busy playing in the ball pit with some newly found friends! Now I hope my day goes just as good as our morning!

Here are some pictures of our smiley little guy before he left for school!

"Noah, I will even miss you today...but I am looking forward to playing with your toys while your gone!"

Happy 3rd Anniversary love! Thanks for making this such a wonderful year. I fall in love with you more and more each day; your an amazing husband, father and your my best friend! Thanks for holding my hand and dancing through the ups and downs of life together; I love you!

Bitter Sweet

2009-08-17T20:18:00.045-05:00

As many of you know, I have accepted a new contract recruiting position at a consulting firm and I’m scheduled to start on Wednesday of this week. Wednesday also happens to be Noah's 8 month birthday and Joel's and my 3rd wedding anniversary! Since being home with Noah for 8 months to the day; as you can imagine this transition will bring much emotion and it already has. I can’t tell if it will be more difficult due to being home for 8 months with Noah versus the 3 months that it was supposed to be; regardless I know it will be a bitter sweet day! Looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Yes, there were challenging days but we made it and Noah and I fell into a routine that I’ll miss! I keep telling myself that we’ll have a new routine but I will miss seeing him smile when swinging at the park on a Tuesday, I’ll miss our lazy Mondays at home, I’ll miss our Wednesday walks with Noelle and Katie, I’ll miss our play dates with the McCarthy’s, Skavnak’s, Herr's, Bahr's and McNattin’s but most of all I’ll miss Noah’s smiling face and laughter throughout the day!

Since accepting the position a few weeks back; life has been complete chaos! I've been rushing around trying to interview many different day cares and centers and finally Joel and I decided that Noah would go to the daycare center right at Joel's work! We are so fortunate that his employer offers childcare. This makes the transition a little easier knowing that Joel will be able to stop by and have lunch with Noah or as Joel is heading to meetings he might see Noah and his friends out for a walk in their buggy. I know that Noah will be in good hands. Like many moms say; I think the transition and this bitter sweet day will be easier on Noah than it will be on me!

Here is a look back on Noah’s 8 months; I'll promise to treasure our evenings and weekends!

Ready, Set, Go!

2009-08-16T21:44:00.008-05:00

A week ago today, Noah began to crawl, climb and stand up all in one night! This has been on Noah's agenda for a few months now but he has now mastered it! This is a video from his second day crawling; throughout the week he has increasingly got faster. He is pulling himself up now on my pant legs and all of our furniture. Today I even caught him on top of one of his larger toys trying to stand; lets just say he is one brave little boy! I'll try to get a few other videos to post of his progress; it has been fun to watch but it has kept Joel and I really busy!

Off to the BWCA!

2009-08-13T21:48:00.005-05:00

Tonight Joel, Bosco and friends headed north to the BWCA...way north! But before they headed out, Noah tested out his daddy's camping gear. First, while Noah was in the bath he made sure all of Joel's waterproof bags...really were waterproof! Then he tried on his Dad's camp hat and as you can see he loved it! It looks like we'll have to find Noah a camp hat!

Noah and Noelle

2009-08-12T21:08:00.005-05:00

Noah will be 8 months next Wednesday and Noelle will turn 8 months just 6 days later! Check out these great pictures of these two cuties! My good friend, Katie (Noelle's mom) and I have been walking and strolling our little ones around Lake Calhoun every Wednesday morning this summer. Noah and I have so enjoyed the company! Today, was a little different...yes, we walked but we also let these two play in the sand and the water and as you can see they thoroughly enjoyed both! It was also a little different as today is the last Wednesday that Noah and I will be able to meet Katie and Noelle for walks; as I will be starting a new job next Wednesday (stay tuned for the job post)! As you can imagine this was bitter sweet; we will miss our Wednesday walks and the great company! In honor of our last day, we captured Noah and Noelle as they played together; taking pictures of two busy nearly 8 month old babies isn't easy!

WARNING: tons of photos!

Playing!

2009-08-04T05:00:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, Noah took a dip in his swimming pool again. Noah continues to love the water but after swimming for 30 minutes or so he really was more interested in playing in the grass. I think it must be the texture of the grass; he has been into touching and feeling everything lately. Noah continues to be very busy, I have seen him pull himself to a standing position on our book shelves, baskets and tables. Noah can get around quickly, but I wouldn't say it is a crawl...but more of an army crawl. Every time he gets into the crawling position, he does a push up or a bridge (see pictures below) and then he gets frustrated. Joel and I are just enjoying this time; as we know we'll be on the move here really soon too!

"Auntie Stephanie check out my push ups!"

Off to the Zoo!

2009-08-03T05:00:00.002-05:00

A few Fridays ago, Noah and I spent the day at the Como Zoo with Grandma Vagher, Auntie Marcie and her boyfriend Paul and his 3 nieces. As you can see the girls just loved Noah and it was so nice to have their help pushing the stroller and playing and entertaining him. It was a long time since I had been to the zoo and it was great to feel like a kid again and enjoy all the animals. I must say that my favorites were the Gorilla and the Chimps; but Noah's favorite is still the giraffe...probably because he has a toy giraffe named Sophie! It was one of the warmest days all summer and despite the heat we had a wonderful time. I think I can speak for everyone though in saying that we we're all extremely exhausted that evening. Thanks for a wonderful day at the Zoo; lets do it again soon!

Garden Stones

2009-07-29T21:20:00.004-05:00

A few weeks back, Noah did an art project and he "made" his grandparents and parents garden stones with his own footprint and initials in each one! I think they turned out great and now all of our gardens are glowing with love! They were fairly easy to make; just some cement, two footprints, initials and some colorful stones and ta-da!

The Chair

2009-07-23T21:45:00.004-05:00

Earlier this month my good friend Kim was getting rid of her dining room table and chairs and so I inherited them for our future cottage/cabin. I love the look of them and I know they'll look wonderful in our place someday; thanks again Kim! In the meantime the chairs and table will be stored away at my parents house but prior to the move; I thought the chair would be a great photo opp for Noah...and the pictures turned out wonderful! Nothing better than a chair to climb on, a toy to put in your mouth and some love from your grandparents!

Tyler Roy

2009-07-22T21:23:00.005-05:00

The world is a little brighter today as Tyler Roy Bahr has joined us! Tyler was born last evening to our friends Ben and Jean and he is such a cutie! Noah and I visited the happy family today at the hospital and I was able to hold little Tyler briefly. Ben and Jean, we look forward to our little guys growing up together; before we know it they'll be kicking the soccer ball around or building a cabin together! Wishing you all sleep and love in the days to come!

Twitter Plug

2009-07-22T12:27:00.010-05:00

Sadie continues to make fun of me, but I've slowly fallen into the twitter trap (thats hard to say). For those of you who haven't tried it, you should! I'm not a facebook user, but its essentially just keeping up with people by using the "what are you doing now?" dialogue box that facebook has. Plus, I get to see behind the scenes what @joemauer, @lancearmstrong, @levileipheimer, @slafrance, @noahlafrance, plus many many more are all doing at any given point during the day! You can even see behind the scenes comment from the youngest LaFrance tweeter---Noah! His dialogue is very impressive for a 7 month-old! So take five minutes and give it a try, but I'm warning you that its addictive. And if you have a iphone or blackberry, that adds so much more to the addiction! Good clean fun though.

You can catch the LaFrance family tweets, and everyone we're following, by clicking on our links in the link bar at the top, or the tweet broadcast at the bottom of the page. Happy tweeting!

Big Boy Bath

2009-07-17T05:00:00.000-05:00

Noah has officially said goodbye to his infant bathtub and he has now moved into the big boy bath seat! This bath seat is great; it allows Noah just enough freedom in the bathtub to splish and splash without falling forward or backwards. As you can see he thoroughly enjoys it!

Happy Birthday Uncle Bud

2009-07-15T14:40:00.007-05:00

"Mom & Dad, did you know it was Uncle Bud's birthday?!"

Wishing you a fun filled birthday; Uncle Bud!

As you can see I am so busy these days; it is difficult to get a picture of me sitting still!

Trying on my new hats in honor of your birthday!

Read with me (or not)!!

2009-07-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

Noah has always loved books; but it is getting more and more difficult to get him to sit still while I read to him. He is constantly on the move. One night I just gave up and let him "read" to himself; as you can see he touches every page, turns pages on his own and yes, Noah even likes to taste the books!

So busy!

2009-07-14T05:00:00.001-05:00

Lets by honest, Noah has always been very independent, strong and very busy. Just when you think things are slowing down; oh no, not at all! In the last month in a half; Noah has been ready to go, go, go! He is up on all fours now rocking back and forth like he is ready to crawl; he can cover more ground doing the army crawl than I can but his only problem is that he just wants to stand right up! A few weeks back, I had Noah in his crib and I turned around and he had pulled himself up to a standing position; lets just say the crib mattress was lowered at that moment! This past weekend; Joel and I found Noah in a downward dog yoga position as well. I guess that is why Noah's Pediatrician told me that we are so in trouble as she thinks Noah will stand and walk soon; yikes...please help us! :)

While Noah was so busy playing the other day; I captured him in action. I watched and watched and wondered really what goes through a 6.5 month olds mind while they play; I couldn't come to a conclusion but what I do know is that it must be in a fast forward motion...as they just go and go and go from one toy to the next. I guess that explains the 2 to 3 naps per day! Enjoy!

Getting tired...

and it is nap time!

Ladies, I'll be in the pool!

2009-07-13T20:08:00.010-05:00

Today Noah took his first dip into his pool; and as you can see he loved it. We dropped some bath toys in there and it kept him occupied for quite some time; I think he would have stayed in the pool all night if we let him! He splashed, he laughed, he played and yes, everything went into his mouth! Noah has been teething again for the last three weeks; his top teeth are now just breaking through...so the rubber bath toys obviously felt great! Yes, not even 7 months old and 4 teeth!

Growling and grunting away!

2009-07-12T21:35:00.014-05:00

It's not the best quality, but thought I'd share a video from the other night. Noah has become very vocal--- he's definitely found his voice! And the growls and grunts while he eats are priceless!

Trip Report #3: Cabin at last

2009-07-10T11:45:00.000-05:00

After a few days at Madeline Island we made our way back to the cabin at last. We had one marginal weather day, and then after that the skies opened up and we were able to enjoy the long-hidden sun. That Friday afternoon I spent the afternoon at the land clearing some more trees, and helping as stumps were being pulled and the road was beginning to take shape. We'll make sure to take some pictures next time we're up! Other than that we were able to relax with the rest of the family, as everyone was able to make it up for the 4th of July weekend.

Saturday morning half of the family went over to the Carlson's for Reghann's baby shower, while the other half of us spent the morning running in the heat at the Lake Nebagamon Drag'n Tail 5 miler. It actually was a bit cooler than in previous years (probably high 70s or low 80s), and was a great chance to test out my achilles to see if speed affected it (it didn't seem to). It went ok considering the frequency and speed that I've been able to run at. It was a good year for T-shirts too!~ Usually the folks from the Village of Lk Nebagamon Fire Dept aren't the most creative on t-shirt colors. The rest of the afternoon we were able to take advantage of the sun for some sauna-ing, swimming, pontooning, as well as some skiing and wakeboarding. Noah had a bit of a rough day, as he didn't really want to take a nap. That all came to a head a matter of hours before we were going to head to see fireworks. After a few hours of unsuccessful attempts to get a fussy man to nap, we headed out on the pontoon with a bottle. Within seconds after finishing he was out like a light and proceeded to sleep through the chest-pounding fireworks! We were pretty worried about him being able to sleep that night, but he had a great night.

Sunday morning we took part in the annual Lk Nebagamon games down at the auditorium. It was LaFrance's first appearance, so the competitive juices were definitely flowing! Overall a great showing by Team LaFrance, although training and preparation will begin shortly for the 2010 events. Steph and I kicked some Nebagamon butt in the potato sack races, but were upstaged by the Horner Family (I heard rumors of performance enhancing drugs, but you didn't hear it here!)--so we had to settle with 3rd. Mike and I had a firm hold on the wheelbarrow race until an unfortunate last second stumble, which catapulted us from 1st to 4th. Disappointing. I patented a new shoe toss technique, but afraid of being called on a technical I chose the traditional style, which wasn't nearly as successful as Stephanie's crowd wowing (seriously!) shoe toss field goal to take 1st! Next year make sure to tune in here---hopefully we'll have podium places in all events! We'll be prepared, I assure you! Noah won't be old enough to participate for a few years, but training starts soon.

A great vacation indeed! Enjoy the slideshow.

Trip Report #2: The Madeline

2009-07-09T05:12:00.003-05:00

As we headed west we were pretty bummed, but we were still having a good time on our first official family road trip! We learned that SuperCenter Walmarts are actually quite nice (sorry Target friends), and very conducive to camping on a budget! We were in one town where a box of Triscuits was $4.50, and at the friendly (and very clean) WM store, they were $2 (EDLP for those of us in the grocery world). We also learned that traveling on two lane highways, while romantic, is not all that fun if you want to drive more than 55 mph. With the wind, the rain, the camper, the rocket box, and the constant up and down hill climbing I believe we achieved 20 GPM, instead of 20 MPG.

Amazingly as we started pulling into Ashland, WI the sun started to break through! We had planned on just parking it in Duluth and playing tourist for a few days, but we had to take advantage of our at-the-time spontaneous nature! So we hooked right and headed to one of the cooler places on earth: Bayfield and La Pointe, WI. We felt like we were in heaven as the clouds parted, the birds started appearing, and the 18 wheelers all pulled over (ok, not really). What luck as we got into downtown Bayfield! The ferry was just about to leave---perfect timing! (note to self: next time purchase your own barge....it will be cheaper) We also met a very friendly and cool family from LaCrosse, WI on the barge who we proceeded to chum it up with for the next few days (they camped a hundred feet away from us that night). It seemed luck had turned our way as I snatched up the last camping site on the island too! I'll tell you, setting up the camper in dry weather is so much more fun than in the rain. Although I have not YET packed up the camper in dry weather. We had a great time on the island though as always-- it's a magnificent place (but don't tell your friends). We'll post a much bigger photo slide show of the past few weeks in a few days---stay tuned.

Trip Report #1: The Porkies and Lake of the Clouds

2009-07-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Sadie and I decided to be a bit spontaneous at the beginning of our vacation, and we decided to play each day by ear. We had no idea how often our plans were about to change! Originally we had thought of maybe taking an impromptu trip out west, but then decided against it because the camper was up north. Turns out our odds would have been better catching good weather out there---but oh well! We headed north and west and traveled the two lane highways of northern Wisconsin and Michigan towards the fabled Porcupine Mountains. We lucked out and got a campsite with a phenomenal view of Lake Superior. In fact it was literally 25 feet from our door. The bummer though was the weather-- when we arrived it was a bit on the dreary side. When we went to bed it was a bit on the dreary side. When we woke up it was even more on the dreary side! None of us got a whole lot of sleep due to the wind and a crying Noah (hopefully the sound of the wind drowned out the cries for the other campers!), and after checking the local weather the next morning we decided it probably wasn't going to be feasible to hike around in the rain with a young one. So, we quickly packed up and hit the road again (yes, we kept singing that song! "On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again..."). Before leaving though we did manage to take the brief hike to the Lake of the Clouds (I'm not kidding, it's called that, and there were PLENTY of clouds). Very pretty place, and we'd love to head back to the Porkies some day! My one major complaint though was the thorough lack of coffee in that area. We had to drive almost 4 hours before we were able to grab a half way decent cup! As we started to head towards Mackinaw Island the weather wasn't getting much better. Three hours into the drive I finally got Internet access on the blackberry and we decided to check the weather ("just in case" we said). I felt like crying:

Mackinaw Island: 50's and rain for 4 more days
Traverse Bay: 50's and rain for 4 more days
Chicago: low 60's and rain for 4 more days
Madison: low 60's and rain for 4 more days
Milwaukee: low 60's and rain for 4 more days
Wisconsin Dells: low 60's and rain for 4 more days
Door County: low 60's and rain for 4 more days
Duluth: low 50's and rain for 4 more days
North Shore: low 50's and rain for 4 more days
Twin Cities: 80 and sunny....for 4 more days

We sat on the side of the road with the wipers on full boar as we consulted our game plan. Unfortunately we didn't actually have a game plan. So much for the fun of spontaneity! So, we whipped a U-turn and started back west!

Out of the loop

2009-07-07T18:04:00.000-05:00

Whoops. We're WAY behind on blog posts. Lots of business going on the past handful of weeks. Slowly but surely we'll get everyone back up to date!

On the road again

2009-06-26T11:44:00.001-05:00

Well we're off. Sadie, Noah, Boss and I are taking advantage of a nice vacation through Independence day. Hopefully the weather cooperates! We'll try to post pictures as the week goes by, but mostly through Twitter. Have a good weekend!

Under the Weather

2009-06-24T10:36:00.003-05:00

Our other baby is not feeling well this week; Poor guy! Here is the back story; in Bosco's short, yet long three years of life he has been through a lot. We adopted him two years ago from the Duluth Humane Society; he had that look on his face when we arrived to look at dogs like..."please take me, take me!" At that moment he captured our hearts and we just knew we had to have him. Little did we know that he had already been through so much in his first year of life. Bosco was with two different families within his first year; he was adopted, given up, adopted again and given up again...until we came along and no matter what he is here for good! Bosco was given up twice before because he has allergies and dog allergies are very expensive and hard to deal with. Every spring/summer our vet just expects to see Bosco at some point as his allergies tend to flair up at this time of year. You see, Bosco gets hot spots; these are basically Staph Infections caused by an allergen in the air and they are very common in labs. Bosco tends to get these on the sides of his face and every time he moves his head his ears irritate them. Well this morning was our second visit with the vet this season; Bosco has two hot spots both of which our 2.5" by 2.5" on both sides of his face. At times, the vet has had to put Bosco under to shave the hair off of the hot spots to allow for them to heal. This morning it took three Vet Techs to hold him down due to his pain, while the vet shaved and treated the hot spots. He is now heavily medicated and hopefully he is on the mend. Whether it is your spouse, your child or your pet; you always feel so helpless when one is suffering. Bosco has added so much joy to our lives and we hope that he feels better soon as we're on vacation next week!

A Father's love

2009-06-23T11:46:00.016-05:00

This past weekend, we celebrated Joel's first official Father's Day! We were at the lake enjoying the beautiful warm weather; we enjoyed a few boat rides and Noah even had his first dip in the lake! Joel, it has been a beautiful thing to watch you be an amazing father to Noah; Noah loves you so much! I love the way your faces light up when you see each other, I love the way you make Noah laugh and giggle and most importantly

I love the way you love!

Thanks for being a great daddy!

love you,

Enjoying my first swim!

Kick, kick, kick!

Our mini-blog

2009-06-18T17:39:00.006-05:00

Ok, ok. I'll finally admit it. I've succumb to the curiously regarding Twitter, and now have an account. Yes, I am now 100% USDA certified dork. Since I don't engage in the facebook frenzy, I guess this is my compromise. Now, it'll be hard to convince people---but it has been pretty interesting so far. I'm much too lazy to blog constantly, but tweeting is pretty darn easy, and kinda fun--especially with photos. There are always cool things going on when we don't have the big camera around. So, if you're also curious--keep an eye on the twitter feed at the bottom of the blog. Or, better yet become a fellow tweeter. I am here.

1st day of school

2009-06-11T05:00:00.002-05:00

Noah had his first day of school last week! As many of you know my sister is a first grade teacher and since Noah's birth in December he has been a mascot to her students in her classroom. Every morning they would come into class and there would be a new picture of Noah Joseph on her white board. They have watched him grow since day one and on their last day of school last week they finally got to meet Noah Joseph! Noah and I came to the classroom right away in the morning and when we got there they were all lined up to go to the computer lab. It was really cute, as we were standing outside her classroom my sister came out to greet us and her students were all looking at Noah and whispering to one another "Noah Joseph is here, Noah Joseph is here!" Noah and I enjoyed our morning with the first graders; we circled the room to over look their best handwriting, we went to the computer lab with the kids and then we danced to the song If You're Happy and You Know It... All in all, it was a great first day of school for Noah! On the way back to the cities; Noah took a nap and then we stopped to have lunch with Joel at work. As you can see Noah found a stuffed dough boy to eat/play with on Joel's desk!

Marcie, Noah Joseph and the first graders all smiling for the camera!

Noah is checking out the students handwriting.

Now, a silly picture!

Exhausted after a busy day!

Camp with me!

2009-06-10T08:51:00.007-05:00

Well we took the plunge! We've been talking about finding a mobile cabin for awhile now, and after searching high and low we finally found a nice little camper. It actually turned out to be hard to find a newer and clean pop-up camper. When I was a kid we had a pop-up camper for quite sometime, and the second I walked into this one it was like I was transported back. There is nothing like the great smell of canvas! My Dad's camper was very similar, and many times this week as I was fixing the trailer wiring, or cleaning the inside---it was deja vu! We look forward to taking our camper and leaving it at the cabin to use until our guest cabin/garage is built. As you can see Noah and Bosco have clearly made themselves at home in mobile cabin.

Whitney turned one!

2009-06-09T05:00:00.002-05:00

A few weekends back we headed to Stillwater for a wonderful 1st birthday celebration for Whitney! It was a lovely outdoor party with balloons, birthday cake and babies! It was great to catch up with college friends, their parents and families! Whitney, I can't believe your already one! You are a beautiful little girl with wonderful parents; here is to being ONE!

Boys day out

2009-06-08T04:56:00.000-05:00

Friday was a beautiful afternoon to head out the door with Noah and Bosco, for a boys' afternoon hike at Theo Wirth and Bryn Mawr. It seems like with each expedition we take Noah on he's enjoying it more and more. We were out for almost 2 hours, and he spent 1.5 hours talking and chirping away---the other half hour he took a very uncomfortable-looking nap with his head crammed into the crevice of the hiking pack. He seemed to enjoy it though! Bosco enjoyed his semi-illegal unleashed time as well, exploring every trail head before Noah and I got there. He chose to take a dip in a very green-slime covered bog though, so we had to hike a few extra miles to a beach so he could swim in some clean water.

We've had the fortune of living pretty close to Theodore Wirth since 2005, and it never ceases to amaze me how great of a resource that place is. It's pretty insane to think about--an 800 acre park sitting inside of the Minneapolis boundary. You can take a short hike, and feel like you're in the middle of the boundary waters---yet you're in the center of a 3.5 million person metropolis. Not to mention that Wirth is only one such park in the entire system around us (Minneapolis alone has 160 of them). Pretty cool setup. We've been keeping a watch on the new trail extension they're building by the golf course. Noah, Boss and I walked it and it sure will be a nice addition. It weaves through a beautiful old growth forest, and some of the best terrain in the park system. I'm excited for the pavement to go down so we can take a Burley ride and test it out! This trail could be a useful one for work bike commuting, so I'd like to test it for that reason too. It's nice taking trails to work, but frequent trail stop signs and crossings often make them impractical for commuting. A great addition to a wonderful bike trail network though. No one has good numbers of how many miles of paved trails we have--but its now somewhere in the arena of 300-400 miles, maybe even more. I shouldn't advertise that though, because we certainly enjoy how un-crowded they are.

Goodbye to a good friend

2009-06-05T19:49:00.000-05:00