So much traveling!

Well we have barely been home for the last several weeks, hence the lack of posting, my apologies! Here is the catch-up, but before I get started, I have long neglected to announce my first blog award! Many thanks to Annie of the Junior, Mints and Reeses blog for the honor. Apparently there is a whole world of blogosphere stuff like this that I am not aware of, and honestly, its a bit overwhelming! Its odd to remember that there are actually people out there who read this!

So I am supposed to send this award on to 5 blogging friends: Michal, Sarah, Becca, Anne, and the Smart Baby Sign Language Holly.

The Gold Blogging Friends Forever Rules are:
1. Only five people allowed.
2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog. (I only have 1 official follower, so I'm just picking people I know who have their own blogs)
3. One has to be someone new, or recently new to your blog, or live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the 'Blogging Friends Forever' award.


OK, now to the updates! Gregory and I spent a week in Cincinnati with my friend Michal, her husband Jonathan, and their new baby Alexander, Xander for short. He is adorable and a really nice baby! I can't wait to see him grow and see him and Gregory playing together. Greg already likes him - every morning when we got up, the first thing he would say was "Baby? Hiiieee!" He liked to get down close and wave at the baby and give him hugs. The second thing he would do was loudly make a high-pitched screeching meowing sound, indicating he wanted to see the cats...he also loved the cats, but I am not sure they liked him quite as much, especially when he made that noise! Michal and I had a great time hanging out and doing mommy things together. We went out a lot, Michal practicing her wrapping and nursing in public skills. Traveling alone with Greg was not too bad either, I think I have it basically down to a science now! And remember how last time we went to Cincinnati we got stuck overnight on the way home? Well we got home a day later than we planned this time again, but at least we found out early enough that we were able to just spend the extra day with Michal and Jonathan. So all in all, a really great trip! Boy do I miss living near Michal!
Alexander:


Cincinnati Children's Museum: Greg was so focused on playing that I don't think I saw him smile - just a very studious concentration all day long! If anyone is ever in Cincinnati with kids, you have to check this place out!


Chicago Midway Airport Layover: This soccer ball has been all over the country!


Only 2 days after we got home from Ohio, we drove to Canton, Kansas, to visit my great uncle Lawrence and great aunt Irma and their family for Thanksgiving. They live in the home that my grandpa's mother and her father built! Of course, it has been somewhat renovated since then...you know, indoor plumbing and things, but it was really special to be in the old family home. Greg and Lucy both had a wonderful time playing with Austin and Leah, two of the grandkids who live there as well. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner and also did a little sight seeing. I have to say, I am totally impressed with a little town called Newton, nearby, which had a fabulous health food store and a natural baby shop to die for. Check them out online: http://www.healthybabyboutique.com/

Kansas Thanksgiving: The only problem was we didn't take enough pictures - hello, it might have been good to take pics of the people we saw in addition to the places! Sorry!


We are going to be home now for 3 weeks before the annual California Christmas trip. In the mean time, I am beginning to teach this quarter for the community college again, 2 sections of Intro to Biology, Tuesday and Thursday nights and Saturday and Sunday afternoons...what did I get myself into? Between that and the preparations for the 2009 legislative session with Nebraska Friends of Midwives, I will barely have a moment to spare, but I'll try to remember to get the camera out a little...

Recent Fun

We've had a busy last couple of weekends. First Grandma Bonnie and Cousin Stephanie, with Gracie, came to visit from North Dakota. Grace and Greg had so much fun together! We went to a little family dairy farm and they had a great time climbing on a tractor...ok, it was a riding lawn mower, but hey, it was a John Deere! We visited the zoo, and we went to the mall playground...we kept ourselves really busy. We had to stay out of Dan's hair as it was his last weekend before his big exam. It wasn't too hard with such nice company!


The week was pretty tough as Dan was preparing for his exam on Thursday. But he lived through it and on Friday we all piled in the car and went up to Minneapolis. Dan's cousin Angie was married on Saturday, but had a Halloween Party on Friday night. We had a great time at both events, and just spending time with the Fix clan, especially Grandpa Mike. Grandpa and Dan also caught a Vikings game on Sunday. We took our time coming home on Monday which was a much needed chance to spend some good family time just us. Now back to the grindstone, but with a lot more together time since Dan doesn't have to study for a while now, thank goodness!!! I can't say how great it is to have him back!



Here are a couple of videos from some fun we had running through the downtown St Paul skyway system. We were trying to get Gregory to burn off some energy so he would have an easier time going down for a nap. He played some soccer and also enjoyed looking out the windows at the passing cars and people below and the pigeons roosting on the ledges.

Video Dump

As promised, you get to see some of the cute and funny things Greg is doing these days. Lots of jabbering, some of his first words, and lots of signs...

Grandpa?


This was back in August when the Aunties were here:


Quiz time part 1:


Quiz time part 2:


All that quizzing wore me out!


This is a little game he invented with Daddy's hat, and it was so funny we had to tape it! Honestly, we didn't teach him this!

Photo Dump

Hi All - my deepest apologies for the major lack of posting recently. We have a lot of photos and videos to show you! This post will be pics, and when I have all the videos uploaded, I'll do another post with them!

Here's a fun time we had at the park - we go almost every day that we can, trying to soak up the last of the decent weather. Greg loves slides, swings, sand, and just plain running around.


Mr Personality! Greg had a great time on our trip to ND for cousin Stephanie's wedding. Here are some cute ones Aunt Kim took:


Mr. Potato Head's glasses

From 2008 10 09

Yes, its a tantrum. And its funny.


Helping Daddy study...its all Daddy does these days!

From 2008 10 19

And we went to an Obama event to hear Hillary Clinton speak. It was pretty cool - we've never gone to anything like that before. Once again, can I say how much we love babywearing!

Mazel Tov!

Congrats go out to my best friend Michal and her husband Jonathan on the birth of their son! He was born around 9am on Tuesday Oct 7th and weighed in at 6 lbs 11.5 oz, and was 19 inches long! I am not posting the name as of yet because I am not sure if they have officially announced it yet. As I understand it though, it was a smooth labor and birth with not much pushing, go Mama!! Michal was a little woozy there for a while afterwards but she is doing better now and baby is also doing very well, and I can't wait to have some pictures to share! The completely objective report from Jan (his grandmother) is that he is pretty darn cute and fabulously content...who wouldn't be, coming into the world surrounded by all that love? :)

Trip to the Zoo

We often go to the zoo, since we have an annual pass, but we don't often take many pictures. This past week we went with some friends and did whip out the cameras! Our little toddlers have been growing up together and it is so much fun!

Left to right: Etta, Gregory and Lici. This is Etta's wagon and she was kind enough to share it - good thing Greg is still small or he wouldn't have fit in the middle!

From 2008 09 16

Nurse that toddler - any time, any place!

From 2008 09 16

The newest exhibit is a butterfly house, which was so cool! The most beautiful butterflies and moths everywhere you looked!

From 2008 09 16

From 2008 09 16

Whoa, one flew right in front of us - see it on the left! Still loving the babywearing!

From 2008 09 16

In the aquarium - I was trying to get him to do his fishy mouth impression - he did it for a second, but he was really pretty distracted in the awesome shark tunnel.


I do have to tell you, I had a bunch of awesome pics and videos that accidentally got erased a few days ago - I was nauseous over it! I am working on replacing the videos since they were of things he does a lot, like his signs. We are headed to Minneapolis this weekend so there will no doubt be many great photo ops!

Last but not least, the developmental news. We went in for Greg's 15 month check up yesterday. He weighed 19 lbs 4 oz, which was a gain of about 3 lbs in 3 months - pretty good! He was a generous 28 inches tall, up only a half inch (if that.) So that puts him just barely under the curve for weight and pretty far under for height - I guess he takes after my side of the family in that dept! He might catch up later, but there's nothing wrong with being short! I bought him some footie pajamas since we've had a couple of cool nights, and they are 12-18 month size - they fit him totally fine except his feet only make it about down to the knees! Oh well!!! Also it seems I have forgotten to mention it, but you may have noticed the absence of the binki in the photos for a while now - thats because he gave it up! We have been binki-free for a couple of months now - what happened was that we actually lost them all, and then I realized we hadn't used it in a day or two so we just decided to see if we could survive without. Lo and behold, it was no problem at all! Since then, I have actually found them again and even offered one back to him to see what he'd do, and he played with it a little and then threw it on the floor. I have to say, I am so relieved we got that over with so easily - I was afraid I'd be bribing him to give it up before he went to kindergarten!

The Story of Stuff

I know this blog is supposed to be about Gregory. And this is not directly about him, but really, if you think about it, it is. Its about what I want to teach him and about what kind of world he will inherit.



So go! The Story of Stuff