Buuurrdies

Tryg's vocabulary is growing so quickly these days.  It has been so fun to talk with him and hear what he is learning.  It's also sometimes a bit puzzling to figure out what he is saying.  It's good that we have two of us to help figure it out.  

He loves birds and says "burdie" anytime he hears or sees one.  So, we have enjoyed taking him to the park to feed the ducks and geese this spring. 

 

 

 

 

 

Spring on Our Mantel

It's beginning to look a lot like Spring Time...everywhere we go..... (please sing that to the Christmas song tune just for me)

Anyway, I am LOVING this weather.  I can't believe it is SPRING in March.  I think this time last year we still had 6+ inches of snow on the ground!  With all the signs of spring coming outside, I wanted to add some to the inside of our house.  And, since we have a mantel now (and just realized right now I never posted about it -I think we put it up in late December and I stained and varnished it in January)....here is the WAY BEFORE and now with SPRING DECOR:

Taking down the old brick shelves that stuck out.

Bare brick fireplace.

Making it level.

We have a mantel now!!  (yes, I did test out the Christmas stockings hung with care)

Close up side-view.

Now with stain --you can ask me about the giant spill another time.

Here it is!

First coat of varnish.

Second coat! (you can also see where the brick shelves were -the plan is to cover the top half of the brick with sheetrock)

Finished! (well, halfway --still needs sheetrock and paint)

Now with Spring Decor!!  :)

Como Zoo with Tryg (and the rest of MN)!

It was a packed day at the zoo.  All this nice weather has made everyone want to get outside.  Even though there were a lot of people there, we still had a great time with Tryg and we're glad we went.  He loved looking at the animals and telling us "what a lion says." 

The animals were fun to watch (especially the polar bears and orangutangs!).  We also enjoyed the flowers in the conservatory.  Tryg even enjoyed sitting in the ergo carrier (mainly because it was past nap time and he was pretty tired...but nice to be able to use it still!! --Thanks KJ!!)

Summer Days....in March!

So, again, it's been a while since I posted.  I have not been good at this!  Sorry!!

Updates:

We found a daycare in a perfect location.  It has been going OK...not great.  Tryg had a good first two weeks.  However, all of a sudden, he started crying every morning while dropping him off (after not crying for the first two weeks).  By the end of last week that stopped though and I have not had a report yet today -Erik drops him off in the mornings.  The last week with Tryg crying every morning has been rough on all of us.  Erik and I are just heart broken.  We don't know if it is just a phase or if something happened or if he doesn't like the new daycare.  He's not old enough to talk about his feelings; so we're just at a loss.  It's a icky helpless feeling.  We're hoping over time everything will even out and that he'll like the new place.  It is hard to get used to new people, a new place and a totally new schedule.  I just wish he could tell us how he feels.

I'm feeling like I am getting a grasp on my new job.  It is not nearly as overwhelming now and I still like it!  However, next week and the first 4 days of April, I have to meet face to face with all 600 juniors to make sure they are on track for graduation.  So, that will be busy but fun too!!

The weather......a.m.a.z.i.n.g.....I love it!!  I am totally in a spring cleaning mood and have loved taking Tryg to the park and being outside!  Tryg loves being outside too!  We have done just a couple cleaning/maintenance projects around the house and I hope to do more.  The camera was not charged last weekend, otherwise, I would have taken before and after photos of our pantry clean out and organization.  Also, thanks to Brad, we have a new toilet in our upstairs bathroom, after a jar-candle fell down and cracked the tank of our last one.  

Of course the box from the new toilet was a big hit!

We finally grilled last night after we did some raking yesterday.  I just can't believe this 'winter'!  I mean, they often say March is the snowiest month...not 80 degrees!!  I even saw a speed boat on a lake by our house this weekend!!  Are you kidding...mid-March in MN with a speed boat?!?  Crazy good!

It's hard to believe this photo was taken just two weeks ago!

I'm hoping to get a lot more spring cleaning and projects done in the next few weeks....this mood does not come all too often (ask Erik).  I need to capitalize on it while I have it.  I just hope I do!  It is getting more and more tempting just to "play" outside instead.

I hope you're enjoying the weather too!!

D.r.a.i.n.e.d.

What has happened to the last month?!?!

So....where to begin?  Well, I am now four weeks in to my new job.  I like it!  If you had asked me about it two weeks ago, I probably would have looked a little glazed over while saying, "Well, it's a lot to learn." or "I have big shoes to fill!"  I still feel like I have big shoes to fill and I still have a lot to learn, but it feels a bit more manageable.  I have a foundation of knowledge now and can go from there when questions arise.  The people I work with a so welcoming and have been very helpful during this transition.  And...I still get to have lunch/coffee with my former co-workers since they are very close by!!

In the mean time...I have also been sick over the past two weeks.  I got some kind of cold/flu last week and missed a day and a half of training/work (it was BAD).  I felt pretty miserable over the weekend**.  Then, to top it off, I woke up on Tues morning with my right eye completely crusted over.  Yep, pink eye!  Again!  I feel like I get that all the time!  When Erik saw me Tues morning all he could say is, "What is going on with you?!?"  So, I've been a mess!  Mentally drained as I learn all kinds of new information at work and physically drained with a cold/flu + pink eye.  What about emotionally??

Yep, emotionally drained too!  We found out last Thursday that our very loved daycare provider got the full time job she's been looking for and is closing her daycare.  I still start crying every time I think of her or anything involving Tryg and daycare.  Jennifer has been wonderful!  Tryg has been going to her house since I went back to work after maternity leave.  There were many days that he was the only kid there and he got one on one supervision and play-time with Jennifer!  She loves him and he loves her.  He also loves the other kids at her daycare (one girl especially).  Jennifer and her daycare will be missed!!!

So, we spent that last week calling, emailing and visiting daycares in the area.  We are happy to say we found one in the perfect location with great references.  We put our deposit down last night.  We're hoping that Tryg will like it there and have care that is just as wonderful as Jennifer (even though that doesn't seem possible right now!).  We love that the new daycare is very close to our home and the provider has a son just one month older than Tryg.  We hope that they will become buddies in the coming weeks (they were already hugging when we went there to interview). :-)

Well, it's been a crazy few weeks.  I, for one, am hoping that things begin to settle down in weeks to come.  I feel like I need a vacation! :-)

**We did get a little break this past weekend at Erik's parents' cabin though.  We enjoyed some family time and I tried to get some rest to help combat my cold.

Bittersweet Uncertainty

So, today is my last day in the Bethel Universtiy CAS Admissions Office.  It's an odd feeling.  I love this place.  I still view it as "my dream job!"  However, I'm taking a leap.  It's a fairly small leap...in fact, it is just across campus as the Bethel University CAS Assistant Registrar.  However, it still feels odd.  It's definitely bittersweet and certainly uncertain.  

It's bittersweet to be packing up my office and getting ready to "say good-bye" to my very fun co-workers.  I realized early on in my 'working career' that when you work full time, you are actually around your co-workers more than your spouse (at least while being awake).  I am going to miss the people I've been working with....some of them do feel like family!  So, although I am happy and excited about my new position, it is bittersweet.

As for the uncertainty...the job itself is very stable and certain....I am just not certain what it will look like, be like, or feel like.  I was so surprised to be offered the job even after interviewing.  Thrilled actually!  But then I had to make the decision....will I leave what I have known for the last 5 years (7 years total if you count my student worker experience)?  What will the day-to-day look like?  No one could really answer that question in my interviews and speaking with HR.  It just kind of leaves it uncertain.  

The biggest draw to me is the more regular hours of the Registrar's Office.  The added events, college fairs, travel, evenings and weekends of Admissions was getting to me.  It also doesn't help (or does help- depending on how you're looking at it) that there is this very sweet little boy at home that I love to snuggle, kiss, and just watch in amazement.  I hope that this will be a job (as I am told) that will allow me a little more time with my boys (little & big).

Another big motivator was the idea of moving into something that will better use my master's degree...moving to the "academic side" of the university.  I have no idea what this will bring for my future, but I feel that it might be time for a move and this direction was/is appealing.  I guess we will see what happens as a result.

What remains, at least for the next few days, is uncertainty.  As I have been telling people at Bethel about my move, almost all of them immediately said, "Oh, Registrar!  That's a busy office."  This seems a bit concerning.  What does it mean?  Am I busy now?  Do people say, "Oh, Admissions.  They are busy." or am I jumping into something that is way over my head??  


I guess I'll find out in just a couple days.  My first day there is Monday.  I will have a couple weeks overlap with the person who currently has the Assistant Registrar position.  I'm looking forward to learning from her and, mainly, answering a lot of my uncertainty.  I'm excited....just nervous.

Snow!

This winter has been crazy [read: fantasticly warm].  Remember way back in November when I thought that winter was here to stay, we had snow and that was the last of our "fall weather"?  Haha!  Yeah, well, it didn't really get cold until this last week and today we woke up to the most snow we've had all season.  It was finally enough for Tryg to go 'sledding' (or at least his version of it).  I came home from work to find this...

 

 

 

 

Three Weeks Later... (Christmas Review)

So, it's been a little crazy around here and it has been MUCH harder than I thought it would be to get back into the reality of working full time after having almost a week and a half off for Christmas break.  We truly enjoying just relaxing as a family.  Tryg was home from daycare and Erik and I were both home from work.  We LOVED it!  We stayed up late and slept in every day (Tryg slept in too --fantastic!!).  We rarely had anything specific planned besides family gatherings.  So, we just did what we wanted.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate Christ's birth and cherish family.  Tues, Jan. 3rd hit hard and even though I still have not worked a full week, I am struggling to get back into the swing of real life.  I also get Monday off for Martin Luther King Day, which is great, but not helping the whole "real life thing."

So, here are some pics to capture the week and a half over Christmas:

 Gifts under the tree.  I enjoyed wrapping the gifts in a simple way this year.

 

 This pretty much sums up the Santa photo experience: 

                     

(Although it was nice that we got a picture with the same Santa as last year)

Tryg had a blast with his 2nd cousin, Calvin, on Christmas Eve when we went to Erik's Aunt & Uncle's house.

 Santa came to our house on Christmas morning.  Tryg really loved opening gifts this year!

 On Christmas day Tryg got a wagon from Grandma Sue and Bompa Randy.  As you can see, he loved it.

 The day after Christmas we celebrated with my family at Grandma and Papa Elsbecker's house.  The kids loved opening gifts and playing together.

(Tryg liked wearing Cousin Kya's new bike helmet & stealing the candy that Grandma put on the coffee table)

 Tryg spent A LOT of time in the tub since he got the stomach bug that was hitting all the homes in the midwest.  He got it two different times.  Poor kid was just not doing well, but we did our best to keep him clean and hydrated!

 Tryg also found new loves...  Thomas the Tank Engine (or "Choo Choo") and Elmo (or "Melmo") are now common guests in our home...books, toys, and video with either one of the two are requested frequently by our little boy.  We are not even really sure how it happened.  It's not like we pushed it at all!  He only has one book with Thomas and a couple things that happen to have Elmo on them.  He also has a million other toys, cars and books with a million other characters on them.  How is it that kids just gravitate to these two things!?!  I blame daycare! (haha, sorry Jennifer) :)

We hope that you also had a great Christmas!  We're hoping for a fantastic 2012.  It already started out pretty well....I got a new job!!  I'll share more about that in another post, but I got a job as the Assistant Registrar at Bethel University.  I'm glad that I'll still be at Bethel and hoping this will also be a good fit for me.

2011 in Review

I have been horrible at keeping up with this blog (good thing it wasn't my New Years Resolution --or maybe that is a bad thing).  So, I thought I would at least do a review of 2011.  However, this will look VERY familiar to anyone who gets our Christmas letter! 

This has been a great year.  We’ve had a lot to celebrate, some times of relaxing and times of busyness.  Overall, we’ll count it as a good year for our family!

We started the year with a road trip back from Montana.  We ran into a lot of snow and ice but after an extra night in a hotel in SD, we made it back.  Our six month old had a successful first road trip and got to see mountains and a few moose during our surprise visit to Auntie Rachel and Uncle Billy.

In late January, we got to celebrate Grandpa Forbes’ 90^th Birthday and Erik’s 30^th Birthday.  They are one day shy of being 60 years apart.  We enjoyed throwing a big party in Owatonna for Grandpa…I think he enjoyed it too!

February, March and April were filled with many firsts for Tryg…first foods, standing up, crawling, going up the stairs, first tooth, sledding, and getting into everything!  We are loving almost every second!  He has brought pure joy to our lives!

Winter and Spring were also filled with hours of reading and studying while passing Tryg back and forth to each other and to friends and family.  With Erik and Mindy both in grad school, it made for some busy days and nights.  However, we cherished every moment we could with our little boy and are very grateful to friends and family who helped along the way!  We survived and both graduated in May!

In June we celebrated Our Little Rockstar’s First Birthday!  It was such a delight to have so many friends and family to our home to party in true Rockstar style with a guitar cake and backstage passes.  Tryg also took his first steps in June but really started walking in July.  He’d been running ever since! J

We spent the summer having fun with family and friends.  Erik and Mindy both cherished the free time with Tryg without homework!!  We enjoyed family dinners from the grill.  We went to Erik’s parents’ cabin a couple times.  A few landscaping projects were completed and we put up a new shed in the back yard.  We went to friends’ houses for dinners that turned into family dance parties.  And we finished off the summer with the Steele County Free Fair in Owatonna with Mindy’s parents.

This fall was wonderful.  We had fantastic weather for watching the leaves change and visiting the apple orchard.  Our family enjoyed a nice fall weekend in Appleton, WI while attending Mindy’s co-worker’s wedding.  Tryg sported a dinosaur costume for Halloween and was cleverly called “Tryg-a-saurus-rex” for the day (T-Rex for short).  He was very into the whole idea of taking candy and putting it in his pumpkin shaped bucket!

One of the highlights of the fall was celebrating our 5^th Anniversary in Marco Island, FL with our little family of three.  Tryg saw the ocean for the first time and couldn’t get enough of it.  We truly enjoyed a relaxing time on the beach each day.  It was just a joy to have time together without expectations or time constraints.  The weather was absolutely fantastic and we loved it!    

We had a great holiday season and I hope to post about that soon (with photos)!  We hope that you have a fabulous 2012!

                                                                                With Love,

                                                              Erik, Mindy & Tryg