Tyler and I were able to go to the State Fair and see Trampled By Turtles for free. (Well, we had to pay $21 for tickets and all sorts of $$$ for food, but the show was free!) Grandma D babysat, and we were able to relax and have a great time. We took our standard photo booth pics and ate some fair food. I'm pretty sure I also saw a real live transformer.

I ended up working all weekend and it was surprisingly busy, then on Monday, me, Ty and Ami all went to the Falls for the Bluegrass Festival. It was a cool rainy day, but we had a great time. Amelie ran around like the Tazmanian Devil...she drew a lot of attention to herself. We ate some great food, listened to some great music, and had a wonderful time.

We ate dinner at Buster's. It was kid central that day!

Abby, Sam, Tyler and I all went to the Uptown Farmers Market on Sunday. We ate some great food from the Magic Bus.

Check out our delicious food!!

I attended my first birth last night, it was amazing! The mother labored for sooooo long, without ANY pain medications. She was amazing. I learned so much from that birth that I can hardly wait for my next one.

OMG, I found a Little Tykes Log Cabin playhouse in Craistlist for Amelie and Tyler went to pick it up. It was only $25. Sweet deal and it is a super cool little house. It has a fake fireplace and all.

It's September already?

So, our computer crashed. We had to use my old ass dinosaur of a laptop for a couple of weeks and it sucked. It's so slow.

Team Ferguson competed in another recent event. The Minneapolis Duathalon, which is a 5k run, followed by an 18 mile bike ride, followed by another 5k run. Uncle Torey (AKA Hermano) ran the first 5k, Tyler had an outstading showing in the biking portion, and I had a mediocre run (although I shaved almost 2 minutes off my last 5k time). It was hot, but fun, and we got 4th in our bracket. We would like to formally congratulate Torey on become an official Team Ferguson member. We are a pretty elite group..

I was lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa Lund come for a visit. They stopped by our house and got to see Amelie in her natural habitat. Abby and Sammy (who now sleeps in a big boy bed) came by as well. That evening Tyler and I went to see our first Twins game at Target Field. We had a great time (even though our seats were literally the farthest away from the field possible).

My lovely friend Courtney was married at the end of August and I was honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. What a glorious wedding it was. It was held at Harmony Hills music venue in Viroqua Wisconsin, and let me tell you, that couple knows how to throw a party! We stayed at Court's cousins spectacular home, had an amazing fish fry dinner at the groom's parent's home on Friday night, and danced our asses off on Saturday. The wedding party camped out at the venue and enjoyed some great food, awesome music, and plenty of beer/cocktails. They newlyweds surprised us with a couple of pre-meditated dances and from what I have seen so far, have some pretty amazing wedding photos.

Other things I have done this month:

We went to our first twins game thanks to ESRI.
I finally got a haircut!
I got to meet new little baby Maya, Jason and Vanessa's new little girl.
Me and Nicole finally followed through with a run (with all the kids).
I worked a couple times.
We refinanced our mortgage for a sweet rate.
Amelie and I had lunch with Cassie..who I don't get to see enough.
My mom and I rocked boot camp despite the HOARDS of mosquitoes.
Abby, Sam, Ami and I had lunch with Grandma Mike.
I got some fucking sweet deals on garage sale crap (like a new kitchen island for $20)
We found a solution to our garbage/recycling mess in the kitchen.

The End.

PS: I'm SO glad it is September!

Mama I'm coming home.

Jeebus, I just keep slacking and slacking and slacking a little more. We have had a super busy summer with an exceptionally busy August.

I've had some prenatal meetings for my doula clients. I've had dress fittings ( I loathe David's Bridal), Childbirth Collective meetings, a wedding, a shower, spend lots of time with our out of town friends, a triathlon, National Night Out block party, a concert, and a birthday party in the last couple of weeks.

My cousin and his high school sweetheart got married at the end of July. It was a great wedding! Tyler and I had so much fun. It was a hot day but we had a good dinner, got lots of pictures in the photo booth, and got to spend time with lots of family.


We went and saw Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros last Monday. What a fantastic show. I was supposed to go with a friend but she got strep so Ty and I got to go (sorry D). I totally love them and "Home" is on my top 5 list of songs for the last few months. We had a few drinks and met up with some old friends and got home nice and early.

Tyler and I participated in the Northwoods Triathlon last weekend in Nevis. I was pretty scared. We originally decided to do the triathlon to motivate us to run, bike and swim all summer. You know, exercise and keep in shape.... Well, we didn't do any of that. Instead, we plowed headfirst into it with zero training whatsoever. Tyler forgot his goggles, I had a gear misshap on my bike, but we finished and I ran the whole 5k after the 14 mile bike ride. Just goes to show, we could have placed better had we trained, but turns out we are invincible after all (err, not).

My mom and I drove around Park Rapids while Amelie (finally) napped and we stopped at a garage sale where I got a DVD, a couple of books, a large Little Tikes toy and some shoes for $2.70. Plus they gave me a free Magna doodle. Sweet!

Then on Sunday it was my grandpa's 80th Birthday. We got some great family photos, ate some fabulous food, and celebrated Grandpa's birthday in style!


Today we went to the zoo. It was an impromptu trip but fun. Perfect day! I think Amelie liked the splash area the best. Ty and I took her for a walk to the park this evening before her bath. Wore her right out. She went to bed like a champ. Hopefully she won't wake up at 4:41 again tonight. Fingers crossed.

Happy Birthday Tyler

I really love Netflicks. Like, a lot. Abby was at my house today and we turned Oprah on, but it was the first time I had watched real live TV in a while. I love the instant play through our Wii. I think I've mentioned this in a previous post, but that's how much I dig it. Although I despise Denis Leary, I really love Rescue Me, which in turn sorta makes me love Denis Leary. He's got some crazy long legs.

I went out of town this weekend for my friend's bachelorette party in Madison. We all had a pretty great time. I was so glad that I got to meet Krista in Eau Claire and drive the rest of the way together. No distractions or kids to chase around, just some good old BFF time. All the ladies got dressed up and we took a very nice limo bus around the area barhopping, then ate all the leftovers and some pizza at Court's after the party.

Amelie and I also met Brenda, Linc and Sully at the beach in Maple Plain last week. I think the kids had tons of fun and Brenda and I got to have a nice chat while we were chasing the kids around. I wish I could've gotten some cute pics of her boys.



Yesterday was Tyler's birthday. He's 28, which means I am almost 2 years his elder. We had a really awesome day. He came home from work early and I had some surprises waiting for him. I baked a cake and we rode our bikes up to Pizza Biga on Chicago for dinner. We got home and watched Amelie run in circles in the backyard for a while and then put her to bed.

She is able to communicate with us more and more every day. When she is tired she will go into her room and put her hand on her chest and then point to her crib, telling us she wants to go to sleep. She also answers some yes or no questions. They way she runs, it makes me laugh every time. She never sits still, ever. Proof:


Saying bye to daddy on his way to work.


We have got so much stuff going on in August. We are going to 2 weddings (one of which I am in), I have more prenatal meetings for my doula stuff, we have a triathalon and a duathalon, my Grandpa is turning 80, my cousins baby shower, and then just regular 'ol life stuff. We'll be keeping busy in August!

Not so lazy Sunday.

I'm sitting in the dining room trying to type and listening to Aqueous Transmission by Incubus, but all I can hear is Tyler reading Amelie 10 in the Bed as he is getting her ready for bed.

I got to sleep in until 10am this morning which was pretty great. We went to the worst place on earth, Babies R Us, to get some diapers and wipes. I wish I could find a place closer and less lame that carried the 7th Generation wipes and diapers we use. Dumb Target only carries the diapers. Anyways, I hate Babies R Us.

We also stopped at Goodwill and I found a book I wanted for $2.99, and Tyler got a couple of shirts for work and an awesome new hat. Pretty productive trip.

Yesterday, after a pretty rough start to the day, we went downtown to the Dakota Jazz Fest. Since it was pretty ominous out and it had just finished raining a bit there weren't too many people there. We each had a beer, got some free Tuna Salad from Starkist and danced around in the street. Then we went and had dinner at Buster's.

Oooooh, our fruit and vegetables are starting to produce. There is something eating the leaves off of my pepper plants so we have to keep moving them around, but we got a couple of Jalapenos already. We also picked the 2 ripe Zucchini's and a hand full of tomatoes. The banana peppers will be ready any day and we are about to get bombarded with tomatoes. It's so satisfying.

Tyler made some hummus tonight with the jalapenos. He's pretty proud of himself. I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure it's great.

We finally made it down to the St. Paul Farmers Market today. It was less crowded than the MPLS one...although the weather was pretty leery this morning. We got some Swiss Chard and Collard Greens. I'm not quite sure what to do with them yet but I'll report back when I figure something out.

I also got another doula client. Yay! I bought my domain name for my website and ordered some business cards. I'm all booked up for September, so hopefully I will be able to find some clients for October and beyond.

Have I mentioned that I love the Hipstamatic App? Here is Ami and Sammy while I was watching Sam on Friday.


I'm super hungry so now I'm going to make dinner. Peace.

Yay for poo.

Today Amelie woke up from her nap laughing. It was so funny to hear that. I said to Tyler before I went in there, "She's probably laughing because she's playing with her own poop."

Turns out I was right.

She was pretty clean, but somehow she got her diaper off and pooped while it was off. It was pretty messy, although it could have been worse. She wasn't eating it and it was not on the walls so thats good.

She has not napped today either so she fell asleep eating a snack in her high chair. It's been a long day for her.

We went to visit the Skrtic's in Eau Claire last week. We toured the local farmers market and the kids played while we chased them around. Krista and I even got to go have a couple of drinks and when Ami and Carter went to bed...thanks Jason!

My friend Beth was in town last week also. Me and my lady friends took the light rail downtown for dinner and drinks, then had a nice bonfire. It's about time we were all back together!

This morning I went to the Minnehaha Watershed District Cleanup with DanMark. Like Mark said, it's funny because thats how Danish people pronounce Denmark and our names are Dan and Mark. I mostly rode my bike and pointed to garbage for them.

I broke down and got Amelie the fancy baby sunglasses. Old Navy has really great ones, different colors and sizes, plus aviators. She actually wore them on Thursday when we went to the Nicollet Mall Farmers Market. She's owning them.



This is what she is doing these days. She likes to jump at you and yell BOO! She is starting to communicate so much using baby sign language, grunting and words. She ate a whole cucumber today (a small cuke). She has been eating like a large man lately. She could eat a whole package of raspberries or strawberries in one sitting if I let her. She loves running and hiding under the kitchen table. She reaches for my hand when we cross the street and when she is going up and down the stairs. The best, is that she likes to give out kisses and grabs my face to plant a big one on me. And, as we learned today, she knows how to remove her own diaper.

Baby naps are sweet.

I'm not a big fan of kids watching TV. Sometimes you need a minute though. It can be a good distraction. Through some kind of magical sorcery, we can watch our Netflicks instant play movies through our Wii on our TV. (Thank you Netflicks). So we have access to all sorts of shows, including kids stuff. The point is, I played The Backyardigans yesterday and Amelie dropped what she was doing (climbing up the kitchen chairs) and started dancing to the theme song. It was pretty damn cute. So, she doesn't actually sit and watch the show, but it will keep her distracted long enough for me to finish a task.

Well I finished updating my iPhone and I dare say that it once again revolutionized my life. I sort of wish I never would have gotten an iPhone in the first place, because I just don't think I can ever have any other phone. I'm weak like that.

My first doula meeting went well. All things are a go. We have another meeting again in a few weeks and I can't wait to go to my first birth. I made myself a website. It is still under construction, but I'll share.

It's nice out and Amelie is napping so I'm going to read a book.

Ok, let's see here...

I feel like I'm being pressured to blog but I don't want to disappoint anyone...

So we have been back to the cabin again. Much nicer weather. Even got a tan and rode around on the 4 wheelers. There was some pretty wicked weather and of course the best day was the day we left.

I had a pretty good little Saturday. I got my hair cut, got an amazing facial from my friend Amber, and then I didn't have to go to work and got to have a night on the town. It was pretty sweet how it all magically happened all in a row.

My tooth doesn't hurt anymore. I went to the dentist who told me to put clove oil on it and the pain magically disappeared after a few days.

We biked up to the pool, she really enjoyed herself. She ate almost an entire apple, plus half the core.


I found some teeny tiny rainboots for her little feet.



So far she only sits on this toy and makes a vroom vroom sound while jerking the handles around. Can you imagine when her legs are long enough to make it scoot. She's going to drag it up her little slide and ride it down, I just know it.


My phone was somehow misplaced last week when Abby and I were at the pool, but someone called to return it to me shortly after. I was soooo hoping that would happen. I feel like karma was paying me back for all the times I have called other peoples' lost phones. Anyhow, I'll keep closer track on my phone now. I'm updating it with the new iPhone software. It's got me all jazzed up.

And lastly, I have 2 meetings with pregnant couples who are interested in hiring me as their doula. Nice.

My jaw has a heartbeat.

My mom, Amelie and I all went up to the cabin last weekend. We went for a walk down the driveway and Amelie the whole time. Except for when she was sitting in the sand dumping it all over herself. It was nice for her to be able to run and run and run and not have to worry about getting into traffic or falling into something dangerous.







We drove Amelie into Akeley and Nevis trying to induce sleep. Instead we ended up playing at the park and taking photos at the Nevis Muskie and Paul Bunyon.


Today Ty, Ami and I rode our bikes all around the city (well, Ami rode in the Burley). We rode along the Light Rail to the Greenway. We rode up to Lake Calhun and had a little snack at the Tin Fish. We cruised up Lake Harriet and back home via Minnehaha Parkway. We stopped at Linhurst Park and played for a bit, and besides a few protests Amelie had a great time. She even took a little snooze.

I have a wisdom tooth coming in. It didn't bother be for a long time. I mean, it's like halfway through my gums already and it just started hurting this weekend. I'm having some problems opening my mouth to eat. I guess I'll be going to the dentist tomorrow. This actually happened to me once already when I was in college. The exact same thing. They just look a look, numbed my face, and pulled it right out.

I just feel like laying down now, so...later.

Blah.

Our Internet us down and I can't figure out why. That's why I haven't been posting. I was on hold today for 15 minutes until I talked to a tech who is sending out another tech in 9 days. Thanks a lot.

Some interesting things have happened.

Amelie had e coli. Yeah, I know. I was freaked out. She's ok and never had to be hospitalized.

Her and I went to the cabin this weekend. We didn't get to swim but it was still fun. Ami didn't nap the whole time, but slept almost the whole way home.

I started observing a Lamaze class for my doula training. It's pretty sweet.

We did a bunch of landscaping and planted a bunch if flowers and plants.