Singing

Hello,

Josh put Willow to sleep tonight, so here I am updating the blog at 9 PM! How exciting. Also exciting: Josh, man of many talents, has fixed our laptop so it is way, way faster! It used to take about a half hour to upload a video, now it takes about 5 minutes. Thanks to uncle Mike for the technical advice. It has improved our quality of life immensely (only a slight exaggeration)!

To celebrate, here are two videos of Willow. We did catch her singing on video, finally:




We've signed Willow up for a Music Together class this fall. It's a 10-week class for kids birth to five years. I can't wait. I think she'll really like it.

And here's one of her practicing her martial arts moves on the beach last weekend:



Grandma and Grandpa Schaefer babysat Willow yesterday and night while Josh and I went to Copper Harbor for our 5th wedding anniversary (it's the 20th). We had a wonderful, relaxing time. We were going to go biking when we got up there, but decided it was way too hot and humid, and that we'd do that in the morning instead. We went down to the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge to check out the new disc golf course. It has been since last summer that either of us played - it used to be one of our favorite pasttimes pre-baby. We did OK, expecially for an unknown course. We also had a lot of fun, which is the point of disc golfing!

















Then we went back to our cabin. It was one of a group of cabins and there was a little private cove:















As you may know, Lake Superior is WARM this year - the warmest I can ever remember. Even Josh (who, having grown up swimming in inland lakes in Minnesota, is normally a big wuss about the big Lake) went swimming and stayed in the water for a long time. It was so refreshing on such a hot day.















We had an amazing dinner at the Harbor House. They're always good, but this was seriously like the best meal we have had in years. They had a sushi appetizer on special and it was at least in the top 3 sushi experiences we have ever had (I think all of our sushi-eating has been together). The meals were awesome and we had a chocolate souffle that was to die for. Sorry to go on and on about food, but it was that good, and I swear they aren't paying me to say that. During dinner a cool front moved in and it started to rain. Our cabin had a screened in porch, so we sat there and watched a movie on our laptop. Here's a pic of us before dinner in front of our cabin. It wasn't luxurious or anytihng, but clean and comfortable and it overlooked the lake.















This morning it was raining up there so we couldn't go biking. :( We had breakfast and came home. Willow had just gone down for a nap on Grandma's chest, so we went biking in Hancock - it hadn't rained as much down there. It was a great anniversary weekend.

Here's the news on Willow. Playing outdoors and especially the beach has become a lot more enjoyable for anyone watching Willow - she has mostly passed the putting-everything-in-her-mouth stage. It makes it much more relaxing when you don't have to stand over her like a hawk to prevent her from eating rocks and dirt.

We've been experimenting with her sleeping schedule to try to make it easier to put her down at night. We've been waking her up before we leave for work and asked Linda to limit her naps to 2 hours during the day. It hasn't seemed to work that well yet...but maybe tonight was the turning point where it finally caught up with her - she was tired this evening and went down fairly quickly. We had to try something - it was getting crazy where it could take up to an hour or sometimes more to get her down. She still wakes up at night too, though I've started to limit her night nursing to (usually) just once a night. I wear a shirt and turn away from her. It works sometimes, but other times I'm so out of it I end up letting her anyway.

Here are some photos of Willow. I just realized it's getting late, and I've got to get to bed myself!


Doesn't she look lilke a big girl here?















On the swing at McClain's park:















Lots of people have a special drawer or cupboard for their toddler in the kitchen. We don't really have one for Willow, but she does have her own two shelves. We put toys and snacks on them:





On Thursday Willow will turn 1 1/2 years old!

Another hike

I realized that all of our recent blogs have shown photos of us hiking. It could be getting a little boring...sorry. I guess that's when we have our camera and take lots of photos. Well, here are more hiking pictures, from last weekend. We did another hike from our "Walking Paths and Protected Areas of the Keweenaw" book. It was a 2-mile hike in the Lake Bailey Wildlife Sanctuary up in Copper Harbor. it was a fun hike through a cedar bog and was supposed to go up to an overlook...it really wasn't much of an overlook though. Still, it was fun. Here's Josh and Willow at the trailhead, where there were lots of raspberry bushes. Willow LOVES raspberries.



















Walking through the cedar bog...




















checking out some cool artifacts...





















...and post-hike, all tuckered out.
















We stopped at Esrey park too and had a picnic lunch. Here's Willow on the rocks.
















Josh and I are looking forward to going back to Copper Harbor next weekend without Willow, for our 5th anniversary. We rented a cabin for a night and Willow is staying with grandma and grandpa. I can't wait!

Speaking of berries, we've been eating a lot of them lately. two weekends ago, we went blueberry picking at a farm out by my parent's camp. They have these little rake things you can use to pick the berries. Oh my gosh, it was amazing. We got 30 pounds of berries in about 20 minutes. So we're all set for the next year for blueberries. Then Beth and I went raspberry picking in the wild too. I got a couple cups and Willow ate them within two days. By the way, Beth and Seth have moved back from Idaho. They're here for the long haul now - Seth got a job on Isle Royale, and Beth is working at the hospital where I work as a dietician! It all worked out perfectly. We're very happy to have them back.

Willow has added another song to her repertoire - "Are you Sleeping" (or Frere Jacques" or "Where is Thumbkin"). We have been trying and trying to catch her singing on video, but every time we get out the camera she clams up. She seems to enjoy singing most when she's playing by herself or when I'm trying to get her calmed down for sleeping. We've gotten a couple videos that aren't that good...we'll get a good one soon and post it, but for now here's one of Willow showing off her talking skills. If she is in the right mood, she'll repeat almost any word you say.





And a couple other random photos. Here's one of her taking an outdoor bath on a hot summer night. Baths are awesome!!
















And just a living room shot in her diaper.




















Oh, one more thing. Congratulations to Chad and Jessica, our NICU friends, who just had their second baby, Cynthia Lynne. Their daughter Samantha was in the NICU with Willow, and Jessica, like me, had preeclampsia. I think she's very brave to have another baby so soon. I am not brave and another baby is still pretty far from our minds. Oh, and Cynthia was healthy and 8 pounds-something. Yay!

Camping and Beaches!

Hello,

Yesterday Willow reached 17 months old. She also got sick for the first time since she left the NICU (not counting a half-day runny nose last fall that we WAY overreacted to). She has a stomach bug of some sort with fever and diarrhea. It started last night. I took her to the doctor this morning; she basically said we should just wait it out. Unfortunately (VERY), I also had to go to Wausau, WI today for work. For two nights. So here I sit in my hotel room wishing I could be home with poor Willow. I mean, I really feel like crap. This working-mom stuff is for the birds! :(

I couldn't really skip the trip though - I'm attending a 2-day training for a new software. OK, enough complaining. And props to Josh the superdaddy for staying home with the little patient.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks.

For the fourth of July, our friend Nick came to visit from the Twin Cities. My brother and his girlfriend Penny were also in town. Somehow I didn't get any photos that whole weekend except a few from when Josh, Nick and I went to the beach. Here's the three of us:















...and here's a video of Willow. We spent the whole time trying to prevent her from eating rocks and sand, but we all had a blast. Willow is a true Schaefer and really loves the lake. She doesn't seem to think it's too cold.



The weekend after that, we went camping in the Porcupine Mountains state park (the Porkies). It was nostalgic for me, since my family camped there a lot when I was a kid. We met Sharon and her parents Jean and Dave there. We only stayed one night but had a lot of fun. I took a lot of photos!
































Watching the sun set over the big lake. Scouty always enjoys a good sunset. She loves scenery too and I think that might be strange for a dog. She's a a sensitive soul.




















Then last weekend, we took Thursday and Friday off and headed to Minnesota again. Josh had a reunion with a bunch of college buddies. On the way down, we stopped and visited our friends Nate and Lauren in Eau Claire. They are the parents of Ellen, Willow's NICU friend. Ellen is doing great and has quite a jump on WIllow in the height department. The girls were so cute together; they both have just learned to walk.















I hung out with Sharon and Amy. We had a great time in the hot, humid weather. Willow had her first boat ride, and we almost witnessed a tornado. We had a lot of girl talk and played at a playground.




















We also visited Josh's family for a couple nights. I didn't get many photos of that time, but here is a cute one of Willow wih her Great-grandma Eva.




















Willow is walking all over the place now - her skills have greatly improved since the last post. She really loves to sing these days too - "Twinkle Twinkle" is the one real song she sings. She doesn't say all the words but you can definitely tell what song it is. The verse that ends "like a diamond in the sky" is usually "da da da da da da dyyyyyyyy". It's the cutest thing.

Here's hoping her little tummy is feeling better soon and Josh gets some sleep tonight.

Great Grandma Lois

Hi everyone,

The sad news of this post is that my Grandma Lois passed away last Friday.

Don't worry, there will be happier stuff after this, but I have to mention Grandma first. She was the best Grandma. The kind that you can actually relate to. Not just another old lady. I miss her so much already.

So, we were in Minnesota last weekend and Monday and Tuesday for her funeral.

Great Grandma Lois really loved Willow too. Lots of people told me that at her funeral. She would talk about her all the time and show everyone photos.


Here are some photos of Great Grandma and Willow from last October:





















This one is sort of self-explanatory...Willow had a big poop blowout while Grandma was holding her. I can't remember if Grandma got poop on her jeans. As you can see she was a good sport about it!



















And here's a photo from just last month, at my Grandma and Grandpa's 60th wedding anniversary in Duluth. I'm really glad we got to see her then.

















While in Minnesota, Willow also got to meet her new second-cousin-once-removed (I think), Aubrey.
















She helped out Great-Great-Uncle Don by mowing the lawn at the farm. Doesn't she look like a tough chick in this photo!















And she got to sit it Grandpa's porch swing/chair. Grandpa was telling the story of how my parents gave him and Grandma this chair back in the 70s. It's the coolest chair. I wonder if they still make them like this anywhere.















Willow is still not a proficient walker - she'll take a few steps if she feels like it, but crawling is still her preferred method of getting around. She's got quite a personality and a sense of humor too. Some of Willow's favorite things at age 16 months are:

Being chased
Dancing (while being held)
Walking (while holding on to your finger(s))
Swinging
Paper, especially tearing up napkins/tissue
Flipping through magazines with her thumb
Being naked
Sheets
Baths
Splashing
Yogurt bites
Bananas

Her vocabulary now includes mama, dada, quack, moo and ball. However she is quite inconsistent with her words. She'll say a word for a couple days and then not say it again for weeks. She definitely said ball earlier this week, which was a new one. She pointed to a ball in a book and said "ba". She did it a few more times after that too.

Willow's other new trick this week is pointing to her ear. You can ask her where her ear is and she points to it.

She had a check-up on Wednesday too. Her weight is up to 17 pounds 12 ounces. Still very small. That's between the 0 and 5th percentile for a 13-month old, and it's below the chart for a 16-month old. Well, she is still following her own curve, so the doctor isn't concerned and neither are we. She's getting to be a much better eater just the last couple weeks. During the day she is eating less milk and more food.

OK, here are a bunch more photos from the past few weeks.


Splashing in the pool is awesome on a hot day...
















Until you get so crazy that you splash yourself in the eye!
















Here's Willow having her first taste of ice cream. It was a hit, as you can imagine.



















Josh entered his first bike race - the Chain Drive. It was a 16-mile mountain bike race. He did it with his friends Marty and Chad. He had a blast and is already planning to maybe do more races later this summer.

















At the finish, we happened to see one of Willow's NICU nurses, Amber. She was in the race too! It looks like Willow was very happy to see her. :)















One of Willow's favorite games is to play peek-a-boo around this one corner in our living room. She crawls over to it just giggling with anticipation, and then hides behind the corner and peeks around. It's so funny.























Willow loves cars, trucks and motorcycles. She makes the cutest motor sounds - "vroom, vroom". She only has one wooden motorctcle and a baby-toy-like car. A couple weeks ago we were at some friends' house and a little boy there had some "real" cars and trucks. Willow was glued to them. I guess we'll have to get some better vehicles for our little motorhead. In this photo you can see her making her motor sounds.
















Here is her serious face.



















We've started brushing her teeth. So far she doesn't mind, which is helpful.




















I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

First steps

Last week Willow took a few steps! Of course she did them for Linda, not us. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I missed the first steps, considering I worked over 50 hours last week. :( Work's just been so, so busy.

We barely took any pictures since the last blog post...we did take some video of Willow toddling though. So far, she hasn't taken more than about 4 steps at a time, but she's improving every time. Sorry for such a short post. This is all I have time for this weekend!