Funny stuff

6/29/11

Out for a walk with Max's scooter

Max: I am out of gas, fill me up mom.
Me: glug, glug, glug...okay you are full
Max: thanks, mom..... ( 3 scoots later) I am out of gas, mom, fill me up!
Me: glug, glug, glug, alright you are full
Max: thanks, mom... ( 3 scoots later) I am out of gas, mom!
Me: I think you have a leak buddy!


6/30/11
Coming down the stairs...
Max: my engine is broken, you need to fix it!
Me: okay
Max: (pointing to his stomach) I got a front engine and a back engine. Can you fix it?
Me: (tickle his stomach and back...) Okay all fixed!

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Grace Cadia is one month old!

Wow, one month goes so fast! Sometimes it's seems like it has been a month and sometimes it feels like we were in the hospital yesterday.


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We had a fun little photo shoot in Gracie's room on Monday to help her celebrate being one month!





I think she is just over 10 pounds now! And I measured her and it looks like she has grown at least an inch! There is so much I have forgot about babies. I mean I work with babies but... Well it's different when it's your baby. I forgot how much they sleep and how they grow so fast. I forgot when they smile. Sometimes I forget if I have given vitamin D gtts or tummy time.

The days are still a blur. I don't know what we do to make it go so fast. I have these expectations each day that we will get so much done or we will go some here fun. So far the only "fun" place we have gone is Target! No wIt we went to Em Creek Park Reserve to see the new park last friday to celebrate Gracie being four weeks old. Grace had her first babysitter, too! My brother and Ashley watched her last friday evening so Robb and I could take Max to see Cars 2! It was a success on both fronts, she was a good baby and Max loved the movie!
I am seriously trying but I am not on time anywhere these days. It seems so silly now that I was so nervous about all this. I worried about managing two kids and how it would change Max's life even though we both agreed that having a skiing would be great for him. Max has been home with me so far and we might start having him go to the sitter one day a week to keep him in the loop there and having time to play with the kids his age. I will feel guilty about it but it is nice to think about having a day to just me and my girl. Maybe getting a walk in or lunch dates or a nap or house cleaning. I put that last because it can wait, my babies will not wait to grow up. Most days this is better than what I thought I would be. Two days now I have gotten both kids down and been able to catch up on things that require attention.

We still are off on Max's bedtime but we seem to be reigning it in at least! Well that is the news here!

Max's first bike

This past Wednesday we took Gracie up to get a passport for some fun upcoming and obviously out of the country weddings and then to get Max is first bike from my uncle Dan's bike store! You should check it out ( Maple Grove Trek)

Gracie at 4 weeks!

Cute things:
Max: Happy Weekend Gracie, you get to stay at Ashley's house!

Max: hey mom, do you want a latte?
Me: oh, boy...is mommy getting a little coffee addiction? Yes, I do!




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Max's first bike

This past Wednesday we took Gracie up to get a passport for some fun upcoming and obviously out of the country weddings and then to get Max is first bike from my uncle Dan's bike store! You should check it out ( Maple Grove Cycling)


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June update

June 23-24th, 2011. **** warning long post'****

What a few weeks it has been. I will try to summarize it all but won't do it justice and I'm sure I'll leave forget to mention happenings, too.

Robb's time at home was a blur. He spent a lot of time crossing off home projects from the to-do list and cramming in family time. We went on at least one walk a day with the puppies, which I can only assume they loved, hence the recent poo-ing in the garden and sand-box... Gross-I know, which has added to the to-do list of putting up fences. Robb and my brother Jason took on pressure washing the deck and staining it. It looks so great.

And with that done we got the patio furniture out and bought fun lantern lights for under the table umbrella! Yay for a summer maternity leave! Robb had to miss his annual boys trip since it had only been a week after my surgery. I know it was really hard for him but I sure appreciated having him home. We got to spend a few night over at his aunt Lori's house watching Max swim and letting the grandma's ogle over Gracie! We took Max to the childrens museum one day which had the Lego castles exhibit. That was pretty fun. I found candyland the sweets store and we got some treats for the road home... What made it even more awesome was the Lego candies I found at the store! Max and Robb loved them!

Tuesday the 7th Robb headed back to work and left me with two kiddos! Which is when I realized we had KIDS now. Not just the kid or the boy but KIDS! Crazy! The day went fine.. Really kind of a blur most days. It is getting up changing and feeding the baby, changing and feeding Max. Changing, if I'm lucky showering and feeding myself and then thinking of what to do for the day. Tuesday we were lucky, we had an agenda. My friend Jilanne from work is having a baby girl next month and there was a surprise "sprinkle" for her at another co-workers house. So, that was fun to go to and fun to see everyone and their cute kids! Also, fun to see Jilanne and spoil her since her pregnancy has been stressful.

We did have a fun visit from my friend Erin and her two kiddos this week. She had made a trike from diapers, a couple burp clothes and a sippy cup. Too cool, the boys had fun playing too.

The rest of the week was getting through the day. Robby plays softball with some guys from work on Thursdays which make those days extremely long. I am lucky, though, my mom ( whom I am forever grateful for!) comes over to help keep me sane. That next weekend we ran errands and hung out at home. Sunday the 12th we went to the Twins game with my mom, step dad, sister, brother and his girlfriend Ashley. We took the northstar light rail downtown and it was perfect. It dropped us off right at the stadium at the actual gate where our seats were. We got there early and walked around out side taking pictures and looking around. It was kids souvenir jersey day so both Max and Gracie got jersey's! Twins won over the Rangers... I think it was 6-1. It was actually a weekend sweep and the Rangers are supposed to be the hottest thing in baseball today.... And the Twins the worst. My mom got the tickets through her work and they were in the skybox... They were definitely expensive but a great way to see the game, especially with a 2 week old and a two and a half year old.

To start the week of Monday June 13th we got a call at 6am from Robb's dad saying his uncle Dick had passed away the night before. The news hit us hard.. Especially Robb who had worked for Dick for a few years when we first started dating. He had also helped Robb buy and sell his first home. It was Robb's mom's twin sister's husband. The twins are very close and thus their families were close. So, we saw Robb's family a lot during the week. We had a fun visit for lunch from my beautiful cousins who brought us food! Thanks! I had my 2 week OB appt and then we meet up with my girlfriend, Andrea, from college for lunch, too! Friday was the memorial service for Dick, it was very nice but very hard to go to. It seems that uncle Dick has started our parents generation of funerals. So scary to think about. So, so scary. I absolutely love my parents and the impact/ relationships they have with my kids. Robb's parents, too. Saturday we went to the bank to open Gracie's bank account, picked strawberries at the local berry farm that i grew up living across the fence from

and then over to Lori's again to help pack up her house.. It turns out she was going to have to move out by the end of the month anyway so the packing began. We stayed there through most of the day, then headed to my aunt and uncles birthday/anniversary party. They both turned 50 at the beginning of June and celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in June, too! Congratulations Mark and Katie! Max got ahold of his first water gun at the party and had fun soaking us! He also started the party with a terrific meltdown. He has been having these lately. I am thinking the combo of no nap and overstimulation from all the people were not helping. The bummer of this full Saturday is that I missed out on partaking in Jilannes benefit. I was really hoping to go to that. I heard it was amazing. Sunday was Fathers day and my 32nd birthday. We celebrated in high style bring taco bell over to my moms (that's what the dad's wanted :))playing croquet with the family and then heading to Chaska and my family to do the annual Book fathers day and June Birthdays.










This week was busy, too. Monday we had family pictures taken from my friend Ana from work. I just got the proofs back today and they are terrific. I am so glad to get some taken and to have them be done by someone you know is so great. She is so great with the kids and it's a relaxed atmosphere. Thanks for giving up your Monday evening Ana!
Tuesday evening my girlfriend Megan and her "trio of doom" soon to be "quartet of doom" came over for playtime and dinner. We had lots of fun watching the kiddos play and catching up with our chatting. We all walked the dogs and ended up at the park which was heavily doused with rain water. Eventually the four big kids ended up completely wet from splashing and playing in the puddles. It was hilarious to watch them swim in the puddles and thoroughly enjoy themselves. Thursday was softball night and I was lucky to have my mom and Sister come over. We had dinner, played with the kids (again.. I have KIDS) and my sister gave me a pedicure! Thanks, Lis!

Today is Friday. My baby will be 4 weeks old today. I will honor that by letting her get babysat for the first time while we bring Max to see Cars 2. We pre-bought tickets and are super excited to go!

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Maxer's funnies

Max-isms

I did it, mommy, I did it!

Telling stories. Usually starts with "one day"... Or the big lawn-mower and the little lawn mower....

I'm only mommy's buddy.

I only love my dump truck and my mommy.

Gracie-Macie-Gracie

I walk with Codie

Daddy are you coming over to our house?

Just hangin' out.

M-A-X as he scribbles on the paper

Me: max what is your name?
Max: Maxwell Akerson
Me: what is daddy's name?
Max: Robb Akerson
Me: what is my name?
Max: mommy Akerson


She's my brother.

Can you tell me a story mommy?



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Max's is 2.5!

June 3rd and 4th we were lucky enough to spend time with Robb's mom and aunt Lori at Lori's house. which has a pool. Robb has been wanting to get Max used to wearing a life-jacket and the training began yesterday! From these pictures we bummed off Auntie Lori and Grandma Lois you can see Max loved it! He was a little hesitiant at first but once he gained confidence in the life jacket he was all over the pool! He has mastered the "cannon-ball!" It was so fun and such a proud moment for us and him!

Gracie's homecoming

Just wanted to add a few pictures of Gracie's homecoming! It was a raining morning and we had the luck that both doctors rounded before 9am so we were able to leave by 10am! We stopped up to pick up Max and went home as a family!


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Max showing her his room!


It was been great having a spring baby! So nice to go for walks and be outside. And it's SO nice to have Robb home with us! I am not looking forward to next week by myself. But, I know I can do it, hopefully with minimal tears.

Amazing Grace!

6-3-11

I am long overdue for an update!

Our little Grace was born one week ago! May 27th, 2011 at 10:27 am! She weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and had the "special care" nurses at her delivery! Thursday night I had dinner with my mom, stepdad and Max at Texas Roadhouse then handed off Mr Max to grandma Mary and grandpa Craig's and he seemed pretty excited for the sleepover! Robb played softball with his work guys and then met me at home! It was weird to just have it be the two of us. We finished up " the list" of things to do, like making Grace a pillow to match one of the blankets I made for her. then we watched the news and the late night shows we like and had a bowl of ice cream with yummy raspberries just before midnight. Perfect treat as I was to have nothing to eat after midnight! The TV was off by midnight as we were both tired and nervous. I maybe slept an hour or two and Robb the same. It was nice for planning on a scheduled c-section but still nerve-wracking! Luckily, I saved all my jitters from being written on here. by 5am we were both awake. Robb walked the dogs and got ready and I pretended to sleep until 5:30. Then I hopped in the shower and got ready, too. Crazy thing to get ready to meet your daughter! We took a few pictures of the bump before we left.


-We got to the hospital at 7:45 and we ran our errands. Robb got a coffee with my nurses week gift card to Cafe Amore, we got movie passes and a wrist band to the nickelodeon universe at the mall of America to send with my mom, then finally found our way to the maternal assessment center. I got changed and filled out paper work, got an IV and got fluids, monitored the baby and had a small contraction! ( hooray for that! We had been hoping to go into labor a little before the big day, I even had an hour of contractions after one of my last nights to work.)


we had a few fun little visits from my fun and funny work girls, then the serious visits from Dr. G and the MDA. The it was go time! It's kind of a whirlwind after that! I was brought into the OR got up on the table, got an intrathecal shot in my back that made me numb and acted as pain control, too. There are so many things I have worked with but not really known what they were until now. Then my wonderful friend Anna who was great support the last week or so before delivery had signed up extra on her day off to come in and work in the OR,(thanks Anna) got me prepped. Then the blue curtains went up and the crying began! Good thing DeeDee, our awesome baby nurse, brought Robb in when she did. There was a big difference between my first c-section and this one. I literally felt nothing during my first and this time I felt a lot more, but nothing painful. I could tell right away when Grace was out. I could breath easier and had ribs again! I could not wait to hear her voice! And then, I heard it! Grace's sweet little cry.


Robb's first statement was "she's ripped!" and she was pink right away! Maggie and DeeDee worked their magic over at the warmer and then Robb was holding her!


She is just amazing! She


seems so tiny, especially next to big brother Max! We had a great experience in recovery with Jen and Christine and then were brought upstairs to post Partum and Andrea. Our room was totally decked out and it made me cry, as so much of this day did! Thank you to all involved!


We had some time together, the three of us, to get to know each other before the company came. Gracie even got her bath and hardly squeaked.


I have to say our whole hospital experience was great. Our nurses were great and really took care of us. It was nice to stay until Monday if only to not worry about all the things at home. Both Robb and I really, REALLY missed Max. We knew he was in great hands and they came to visit every day but we just missed our little man! It was funny that all of our visitor seemed to come at the same time. I would find myself overwhelmed at the amount of people in the room and not being able to chat with them and then they would all clear out and I felt like I had talked to no one!









So far, Gracie is a great eater. Thursday, at 7 days old she was back up to 7lbs 12oz. She had been own to 7lbs 5 oz before my milk came in. Robb calls her cookie monster because she looks like she is "hungry for cooookies" when it's time to eat! She really only cries during diaper changes and is just starting to keep her eyes open longer than feedings.

Max is a very sweet big brother, who did awesome away but missed us, too. He really likes Grace but it has been a transition for all of us. Can't fathom what it feels like to be him. The biggest thing to work on now is his rambunctious-ness around her. Max is very protective of her. When people come visit and hold her his line is "give her back to mommy"!