26 June 2008

shhhh....

It has been quiet around the Blad Pad lately. I don't know where time is going (how is it July next week?!), but I do know summer is finally here because *I* have been - OUTSIDE! And for those that know me best, I LIVE for summer. After the long winter and spring we had, we have been enjoying the outdoors as much as possible. So now that the sun is down, the kids are in bed, and Lars is back at work, I thought it would be a good time to squeeze in some updates. . .

Bergen is now in full force with his summer activities. He started a park program through our community ed center on Mon-Thurs mornings. I was very concerned about putting him in an (almost) daily class during the summer and even the day before we started I was worried I made the wrong decision, but I am so glad I did!! He is L-O-V-I-N-G it! He has several friends in his group (many from preschool and ECFE) and really enjoys all the activities. When I drop him off in the morning we are barely even out of the car before he is saying, "bye Mom. . . see you later! Have a good morning. . . ." Any doubt I had about enrolling him in this program has been completely erased.


Bergen is also playing soccer on Monday nights. I am amazed by the number of kids playing soccer on Mondays. . . .I pretty much feel like every parent/child I have met through our community ed program is there. It is a great time to head to the field and chat with the other parents while the kids burn off any leftover energy before bed time. . . which frankly at the end of a summer day is not a whole lot. And if that wasn't enough; B has swimming lessons on Thursday evenings that Grandma B takes him to. He finally put his head under water for the first time last week! Since we are around the pool so much during the summer I am really hoping he can build on his safety skills!










Annika continues to grow and learn every day. She has been very resistant to standing so I have been working with her to practice bearing weight on her legs. The other day as I was putting away laundry in her room she pulled herself up and was standing in her crib. She stayed up for only a few seconds but that was a HUGE leap forward in her physical development.
She has also become a water baby. . . she absolutely loves being in the pool with her mom and big brother. The other day I tried to put her in the pack 'n play by the pool while Bergen and I swam a bit. She SCREAMED and SCREAMED (poor Nels and his friends who were trying to have a relaxing afternoon by the pool can attest to this!) until I brought her in the pool with us. She is like her Mom. . . I think I was a fish in a former life.
Oh, and she is back to two naps a day. Thank goodness!

In other exciting news, we are updating our basement. After much debate over the past year(s) on how to make our basement more livable we have finally decided to do minor work by putting in a new ceiling, changing the lighting, painting the oh-so lovely paneling, and adding a more color friendly carpet down there (I know, a couple of Swedes like us getting rid of the blue and yellow carpet down there! Shocking!). We are on the second week of work and while the work seems to be slow and steady. . . it already looks 100% better. We hired a guy referred to us by friends and he is doing all the work (other than the carpet). The only catch is that we are in charge of getting all the materials. So most of our free time at night and on weekends has been running out to the store to pick up whatever supplies Bill wrote down on a random piece of cardboard. I can already see the end result in my mind.. . . and it is going to be wonderful! Here are some action shots. . .






















Tomorrow Lars and I are going to get an insider tour of an IVF lab at the U of MN. I am not quite sure how we were lucky enough to have TWO reproductive endocrinologists/faculty researchers take time out of their extremely busy schedules to meet with us and give us a view behind the curtain, but I am so excited. As I told my friend Kate, "that is where MIRACLES happen. I will be walking amongst ANGELS in action". And I can't wait!

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