It's been a while...

7/14/13

I can't even remember the last time I was on here with an update...but I'm guessing it's been a while, so I figured I should provide some updates for those faithful followers...

Over the past 2 weeks, Daddy Daycare has been in full swing...and I'm happy to announce that Erica is still alive and well!!!  It has mostly been really enjoyable!  There was one day during our first week together where nothing I did was right and she fussed most of the day!  Of course, it had to be the longest day of the week...Laura went from work to her running club before coming home around 7pm...a full 12 hours of Daddy Daycare!!!  I must admit, Daddy Daycare has been awesome!!!  I love every minute of it!  Despite sitting down, and then jumping back up a second later to change a diaper or frantically search for a burp cloth while puke is running down my arms...it's a blast!!!  Erica is full of sounds and noises that keep me wondering what her voice will sound like when she starts making more noises that just squeaks and squeals.  By far, my favorite things during the day are the little naps she takes in my arms!  She'll fall asleep pretty easily with some burping pats on her back, or if I hold her hands together on her tummy, she'll fall asleep while laying in my arms.  It's a total blast and I'm loving it while it lasts!  I feel totally worthless in the sense that I can't get much done during the day on some days, but it's great knowing that it's not time wasted, but time well spent that I'll cherish forever!

The 4th of July was a lot of fun celebrating with my 3 girls.  We didn't make any plans, and decided to stay home rather than travel.  Our friends, Adam and Shana, came over for dinner and brought their 1 month old girl, Ava.  Erica seemed to enjoy her new friend and seemed rather confused and looked around when Ava cried.  It was almost like she was wondering who was crying if it wasn't her!  We had dinner on the deck and they headed out early in the evening after a few hours of hanging out with us.  After they headed out, we got Erica ready for bed, and then headed down with her to our neighbors house where a bunch of our neighbors were gathering for a bonfire and some drinks.  We hung out there for an hour or so before coming home and getting Erica tucked in for the night. 

Since the 4th of July...time has flown by!  In fact, my entire summer has flown by so far, and it's half over already!  June went by in the blink of an eye with all the trips we/I had jammed together once school got out.  But July has settled down a bit for us, yet still continues to speed along.  Erica and I are now pretty much established our daily routine: she gets up each morning around 8-9am, she gets a bottle before we head out on a walk to give Lexi some love and attention, we get home in time for Erica's second bottle and then a nap before dad eats lunch, and then we pretty much alternate the rest of the day with short naps, bottles and a ton of diaper changes.  My routine is much simpler:  I generally catch at least one of the following shows throughout the day...Cops, Everybody Loves Raymond, and re-runs on the History Channel.  When I can, I try to get some reading done, but I must admit that I am way behind schedule in terms of how much I would have liked to have read by now!!!

Here's a quick update on Elvis, our Equinox...It's alive!!!  We had the engine replaced on it, after learning that the timing chain broke and then broke other parts of the engine within as it tore apart.  Our mechanic said we'd need to replace it and that it looked like it wasn't installed correctly at the factory because a few bolts were missing, and another part was completely sheared off.  Fortunately it was completely covered by a GM factory warranty and we didn't have to pay a dime!  Long story short, we were completely ticked off with the mechanic's inability to call us and keep us updated on the process, it was then towed to a Chevy dealership so the warranty work could begin.  Just over 2 weeks after it broke down on the highway in the cities, Laura picked it up after work with the help of our neighbors!  (Have I mentioned that we love our neighbors?!?!)

And lastly, just today, we returned home from a weekend at the lake with my parents.  I went up with them Thursday afternoon with Erica and Lexi, while Laura headed up after work on Friday night.  Erica enjoyed the ride up in the back seat with Lexi and grandma, (there was plenty of room, actually!) until we made it to Moose Lake, and then she got fussy.  After a quick bottle and diaper change in Barnum, we made it to Duluth for a quick growler fill-up at my favorite brewery, Fitger's Brewhouse for my all time favorite beer, Apricot Wheat!!!  Then we made our way to the lake and took Erica out to stretch and be free of her car seat before heading into Two Harbors for pizza and the grocery store.  Friday was a fun day for everyone while we waited for Laura to join us:  Grandma hung out with our girls at the lake while I helped my dad check an item off of his bucket list by hiking up Minnesota's highest point on Eagle Mountain (Northeast of Lutsen by about 20 miles).  It was a beautiful day for a hike...up a hill!!!  7.8 miles later, we were back at the car and driving the 1.5 hrs back to the lake to pick up my mom and Erica for the walleye fish fry in town for dinner.  Laura joined us later that night after her drive up.  The following morning, Laura, my dad and I headed to the gun range for some plinking.  Apparently, I won again...but didn't realize we were keeping track of the score.  I've always been a good shot, and I'm happy to say that it's one of my few hobbies, and it's 1 thing that I'm pretty good at in life!  I was able to hit a silhouette target at 100 yards, open sights, with 3 different handguns, and was able to hit the same target with my rifle at 400 yards...again, open sights!!!  I wasn't aiming for the bull's-eye' by any means, but this steel plate target made a very audible "ping" when it was hit, and I was happy just to hit the things at that distance!!!  Over the past year or so, I've discovered that I absolutely love shooting with my lovely wife and my dad.  We've gone together several times, and it's great to share this hobby with people I love, and to see both of them steadily improving and becoming a lot more accurate...though I must now be a little concerned for my safety if I ever get Laura really angry at me!!!  After our time at the range, the 4 of us took Erica to the parade in downtown Two Harbors and walked through the art tents during their yearly festival called "Heritage Days."  After a short stay in town, we headed back to the lake and hung out for the afternoon before I cooked authentic, steak tacos for dinner.  We finished the night hanging out at the lake.  Laura and I planned to head to the nearby resort to do some swimming once Erica went down for the night at 8, but some fussing and big fits kept her awake until after 9:30, so we didn't make it!  My parents treated us to a breakfast date for just Laura and I this morning while they watched the girls.   It was great having a meal out with Laura before packing up and heading home.  And now, Laura and Erica sit in the chair next to me...keeping each other entertained with smiles, noises and lots of puke and cleaning!!!

Well, that's all I have for now.  I'll add pictures to this post soon, so check back in the next few days for some pictures of the events described above.  Thanks again for reading my Daddy Diary!  I hope you enjoy it and I hope you continue to check in with us on occasion!  Take care!

Shooting at the range...notice the dumb deer just left of center!!!

Count the white targets on the far left side...each is 100 yards apart, starting with 100 yards as the first one...you get an idea for how hard they are to see at the distances I described above...

The top of Eagle Mountain

Erica and her friend, Ava Garcia

Laura and her long time friend, Shana, Ava's mom

Ava's dad, Adam and Erica and I...look at our hats...I don't know how we're good friends?!?!

 

My favorite girls

 

Nap time with my girls

A typical day at Daddy Daycare!!!

Apparently, Erica doesn't approve of this picture?!?!

Our patriotic girl!

Daddy Daycare, Day 1

6/28/13

I have big shoes to fill today...Laura's back to work and I'm home alone with my 2 girls for the first time!!!

Wednesday was Laura's first day back to work, but I worked for my dad that day and yesterday as well.  My Aunt Kari watched Erica for the day on Wednesday and loved it!  My mom watched her for part of the day yesterday while I finished the job.

Wednesday was a big day for us...not only did Laura go back to work, but our Chevy Equinox, "Elvis" broke down on the side of the road.  My dad was heading back to the office after dropping off his truck and trailer for me at the job site, and Elvis died on him at the end of the entrance ramp onto 35E.  Not that there is a perfect spot for a breakdown, but this was far from it!  After getting the run-around from AAA on the phone, having to add me to the account and ensuring I would be with the vehicle when it was towed, the wrecker was sent our way.  I wrapped up at the job site for the day and pulled in behind my dad.  He took the truck to the shop and I sat for 5 minutes with Elvis while waiting for the tow truck to show up.  It hooked up Elvis and brought us to our auto shop next to my parents' office.  It still sits there today...after having determined it's likely the timing chain that went out on it.  Luckily, this expensive and timely fix  is covered under our extended warranty we purchased with Elvis last fall.  Now, I just hope that's what the problem is just so it will be covered under the warranty.  Regardless, we'll be without Elvis this weekend.  Fortunately, my parents will be dropping off my dad's truck for us to have for the weekend while they are at the lake for the upcoming week on vacation.

So...all of that gets me back to today...my first day as a mom!!!  I woke up around 7:30 while Erica still slept.  I gave Lexi her morning scratches as she lay by her front window.  I started the pot of coffee and was brushing my teeth when my little nugget began crying and letting me know she was awake!  Since then, she's had 2 bottles, 2 wet diapers, endless amounts of drool, lots of smiles...and now...silence!!!  She's taking her first nap in front of me in her bouncer in the sun room!  My goal for the summer is to get her on a napping routine...and get some reading done for myself.  She doesn't seem to like napping in her crib, but loves her bouncer...so I'll take it!

Now, I await my parents' delivery of the truck.  I need to run the warranty papers to the auto shop so they can start the work.  And then, it's off to the laundry mat!  After spending 5 nights in my sleeping bag, that thing needs a good cleaning so it's ready for the hunting season in a few months.  I hope Erica enjoys the endless boredom the laundry mat always offers!  With any luck, we can get a machine right away and let it wash while we run the paperwork to the auto shop.  Until then, I'll enjoy the silence and get some things done around here...currently, Erica's clothes are in the dryer and I'm waiting to fold them up.  I have 2 burp clothes left, so time is of the essence!!!

We have a pretty laid-back weekend planned at the Lemke House.  South St. Paul's "Kaposia Days" kicks off tonight with the parade.  It's a huge festivity around here.  People bring their lawn chairs and put them on the parade route all day to stake out their spot...remarkably, no one steals nor moves the chairs throughout the day during this annual tradition!!!  So we'll take Erica for an evening hike to catch part of the parade tonight.  Perhaps we'll go to the dog adoption at town center on Sunday just to relive our memory of rescuing Lexi last year on this same weekend...on a whim.  It's amazing to think about all of the joy she has brought us over the past year.  It was Lexi who first showed me how receptive I would be to having a daddy's girl when we found out Laura was pregnant just a few weeks after we added Lexi to our family!!!

Thanks so much for reading my Daddy Diary!  I'll try to have more pictures in future entries, but I hope you appreciate the briefness of this update!  Take care...and wish me luck as Daddy Daycare continues!!!

Missing my girls!!!

6/20/13

I'm currently chaperoning a community service/campus visit tour through Wisconsin and ending in Chicago...and one thing is very clear to me...I am totally missing my 3 girls!!!  (With some pictures at the end...let's face it...my writing isn't the draw for people to read my blog anymore now that Erica has arrived!!!)

I left yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) and will get home Sunday night...today is Thursday and I can't wait to see my girls again!!!  

This opportunity arose in early May. It was a very tough decision for both Laura and I to go on this trip because her maternity leave is over a couple of days after I return and we wanted some time together at home before she heads back.    We decided to go for it because I'm not doing summer school this summer and the check they offered me was pretty enticing!!  And extra, unexpected money is always in the budget!!!  

Laura and my girls dropped me off yesterday afternoon...and there were a few tears from both of us.  This was my second trip away from my girls, but the first was turkey hunting and Laura took Erica to ND so it wasn't too bad. But this time was different. Lexi was walking around in the parking lot with us while we waited and I was holding Erica outside of the car as mom and I had a few last words with each other. Erica was totally herself when I put her back in her carseat...smiley and then puked all over herself!!!  Lexi gave me her standard hug and got a final scratching behind the ears. And Laura and I had our last hug and kiss for a few days. I must say, leaving home for a weekend was much easier before our little Erica Jean came into our lives!!!  Laura and I were never really too emotional for our good byes, especially considering all of the hunting I am known to partake in during the fall. Sure, we said goodbye and said we'd miss each other...but nothing like this!!!

Laura told me the day before I left that she doesn't want to be a single mommy. And I don't blame her!!!  I don't want her to be a single mommy this weekend either!!!  Luckily, Grandma C came into town today to hang out with the girls for a few days. 

And so, Laura has been a great mommy while I've been away. She has sent sweet pictures of my girls, and she even left a sweet note from each of my girls for me to find throughout my travels!!!  Needless to say, it's been a long day away from my girls and I can't wait to get home on Sunday night to see them!!!  I've really missed Erica's smile and cueing, Lexi's bawling on my hands, and of course, I've missed Laura's company!!!

Until then, I'll be anxiously awaiting more sweet texts, and fun pictures from my amazing wife and Erica's awesome mom to keep from getting too homesick for my girls!!

Well, back to my work as a chaperone. Over the past 2 hours while typing this on my phone...I've tried my best to write this  between showers...there has been 1 shower/bathroom for 29 students at the church we are staying in tonight...and I've been the guy with the stopwatch outside the door to keep the high schoolers moving!!!  Now, at 11:45pm, I wrap this up from my sleeping bag in the middle of a gym floor...with mostly clean kids scattered about!!!

Thanks for reading this entry into my Daddy Diary. Take care and good night!!!

My favorite picture Laura has sent so far!!!

Daddy's girls!!

The group of kids I'm traveling with. Here we had just finished lunch at a men's shelter in Eau Claire, WI. Earlier in the morning we helped at a bargain center helping separate and organize donated items at the receiving center/store in the same town. 

Daddy's taking us to the zoo!!!

6/18/13

 With limited days remaining on Laura's maternity leave, I offered to take my girls to the MN Zoo for a morning outing!!!

We bought a membership last Labor Day.  I was skeptical of it at first, but Laura's enthusiasm for zoo visits, our little girl, and my love of short and sweet visits to the zoo made for a winning combo!!!  It's so great being able to go to the zoo as frequently as we want (we now estimate we've gone at least 4 times in the past year...more than paying for itself!!!), for as long as we want and not feeling pressure to stay for hours just to make sure we get our money's worth!

Laura took Lexi for a run this morning while I was still sleeping...they've become running buddies as Laura is working her way back into shape for some 5k's later this summer and Lexi has plenty of energy to burn.  I woke up to my new alarm clock for the summer...a crying baby!  I fed Erica and had her ready to go when my other 2 girls returned from their run and we headed out to be at the zoo when it opened at 9am.

We were there for a little less than 2 hours, but we beat the rush of families and school buses full of kids...and we were in and out before it got really hot and sticky out!!!  We only did one "loop" at the zoo...I hope you enjoy following our trail as we took Erica to the zoo for the first time.  We're not totally sure how much she was able to see, but she certainly loved being outside with her mom and dad!!!

The leopard was intrigued by my little nugget in the stroller...I'm glad there was thick glass between us!!!

Erica loved seeing the giraffes...now she knows what her stuffed animals look like in real life!!!

She was very happy at this exhibit...except for this instant!!!

Of all the times I've been to the MN Zoo, I've never seen the moose!!!  Laura and I joked over the last year that there really isn't a moose there at all, they just keep the exhibit open...well, today we lucked out and got up close to it!!!

Our little girl and her shades

She is so stylish

Erica and I even took a ride on a dinosaur!!!

 

 

Thanks for reading this brief entry in my Daddy Diary.  I hope to have more of these throughout the summer, so stay tuned!!!  Take care!

Dr. Appt, a camping trip and 1st Father's Day

6/17/13

There's so many things to update you on with this post...just to thank you for reading all the way through (no hard feelings if you skip ahead!) this epic entry, there are lots of pictures at the bottom of the past few weeks...

Not long after my last update, Laura had Erica in for her 2 month check up at the doctor.  She is a growing little girl!!!  She was 24.5 inches tall and 11lbs 10oz...some big growth since her birth!  She's grown 3 inches taller and packed on nearly 3 more pounds in her 2 months with us!  For the second time at the doctor's office, she pee'd all over the scale while trying to weigh in!  I'm beginning to wonder if she has a little bit of K-9 in her...she pees all over the place!!!  Her favorite place to pee, by far, is her bath tub!!!  It's almost a regular occurrence for her to tinkle as soon as she hits the water when she gets a bath.  Anyways...she is in the upper 90 percentile for her height, but is still considered lean for her height...apparently her height is that of a 4 month old...roughly!

For the second year in a row, Laura and I celebrated my last day of the school year by speeding out of town on a Friday afternoon, heading north to Lamb's Campground on the shore of Lake Superior!!!  Located in the small "town" of Schroeder, south of Lutsen by about 15 miles, we found this spot a couple of years ago while doing some scouting for a campground we'd like to visit.  We are very picky when it comes to camping.  We like camping in a tent with woods separating us from our neighbors.  So many campgrounds, especially State campgrounds have such open spaces and almost no separation between sites...when we are camping, we want to be in the woods, not setting up our tent 10 yards up the lawn from our neighbors!  If we want to do that, we'll just camp in our front yard!!!  We found Lamb's as we wrapped up a day of scouting, feeling very demoralized without finding an ideal spot on the North Shore...but knew instantly that we wanted to camp there the next summer.  We found a couple of sites we'd like to have, and called last spring to see if there was availability.  We got our #1 spot for the day after school was out and headed out of town.  After our first night, we knew we wanted to return again this year, so we booked the same spot for the same weekend.  I don't know if there is a better camping spot in this state, or even this country.  Our tent is about 15 yards off the shore of Lake Superior, with a full view of the lake at our spot, while our car sits up a slight hill above and behind us for easy access to supplies.  The campground has shower facilities, a hiking trail to a beautiful waterfalls, and cabins that people can rent if they wish.  To top it all off, a cool little bakery sits on the highway, just off the entrance to the campground...needless to say, breakfasts are super easy...and I'm not sure if there is any other way to start a day camping than with a delicious vanilla latte!!!  Ohh...I almost forgot...this is a Daddy Diary, not an ideal camping diary...anyways...this was our first extended time away from Erica.  We are brave, and have taken her on a road trip to the North Shore before, and Laura has taken her to ND...but we are not stupid!!!  Lamb's campground is only 40 minutes up the shore from my parents place, so were close enough to quick hop in the car if we needed to get her from them.  Sometime in November last year, when we got our bill to pay for this year's camping, we asked my parents if they would be alright baby sitting while we camped.  Of course they were alright with it, and they were looking forward to baby sitting their granddaughter for that weekend long before they even met her!!  The first morning, Laura was missing little Erica.  Before she was born, we had both talked about how odd it was when people we knew commented on how much they missed their little kids while away.  Laura was surprised to find out how much she missed her that first morning.  She was a bit mopey, but after a fresh hot chocolate and a great chocolate muffin from the bakery, she began to cheer up a bit and appreciated the silence and lack of dirty diapers.  We sat down at the table and came to the realization, that we should enjoy the silence and some time alone together...and we also realized that if we were to drink all day, we had to get started in the morning!!!  We enjoyed our first mimosas in over a year together on the beach in front of our campsite on a beautiful, sunny morning!!!  A perfect start to a perfect weekend with my sweetheart!!!  Over the next few days, we would have many conversations about how much we missed our little girl, hopes and dreams for Erica's life and our future together as parents.  As we drove back to my parents Monday morning, we were definitely missing both of our girls (Lexi was with Erica and the grandparents too)!!!  My parents enjoyed their time with our girls and were surprised to see/hear Erica's babbling and smiling face so much.  She has definitely grown up and developed a lot over the past few weeks!!!


We arrived home from our camping trip mid-afternoon on Monday, a week ago today, and then headed out early Wednesday morning to beat the rush hour on our way to ND for a few days back at the farm with Laura's family.  We left a little after 6am from our house and made our way north.  We stopped at my favorite breakfast spot...the Iron Skillet in Fargo...a trucker stop!!!  It has the best country fried steak and eggs...mmmm...country gravy and hash browns...wow...if we can be in Fargo around breakfast time on our travels, I make it a point to stop there!!!  Erica did great on the way to Fargo.  We didn't have to stop for her once...almost a 4 hour journey.  She travels really well.  And we figure that if she's sleeping and not fussing, no point in waking her up to feed...we're not horrible parents...we'd stop if she woke up hungry!!!  We made it to the farm by early afternoon for a relaxing few days with Laura's family.  Erica's grandparents were happy to see her and her great grandparents stopped by a while after we arrived to greet their great granddaughter as well.  While some of their friends were over visiting, I got busy with my farm work.  Yes, I am a farmer...I know...you had no idea!  Every time I'm out there and there is green grass, I get busy and work my fields...on grandma's awesome John Deere mower!!!  That sucker is awesome!!!  It has an almost zero turning radius, a 6ft cutting deck...and it can haul some serious tail!!!  Even with a 6ft deck, it still takes over 4 hrs to mow all of the grass around Laura's parents' and neighboring grandparents' yards and grassy areas around the equipment buildings behind the houses.  A few years ago I asked if I could try mowing...apparently, when a dumb city slicker asks to cut your lawn, you take him up on it at every chance...and you strategically plan your mowing schedule so it's due for a cutting when the dummy arrives for work!!!  The next morning I morphed into a lumberjack and helped Russ cut some deadfall from a nearby bible camp so there could be some firewood around the farm.  A couple of guys with sharp chainsaws makes fast work of cutting enough firewood to load a pickup bed!!!  While the boys were away, mom and Grandma C watched over Erica and kept her entertained at the farm.  When us boys got back, we unloaded the wood and had a quick bite to eat with aunt Brenda who stopped by.  After that, grandpa Frank let me play with the farm equipment.  I wanted to play on the Bobcat and dig a hole with the front end loader...my favorite tractor/truck as a little boy.  It worked out well because the garbage/yard waste pile needed to be burned, so Russ and I headed out there to push the pile together, dig my hole...and putt around with the bobcat.  It was a blast!!!  The rest of the evening we hung out with Erica's grandparents.  The next day, uncle Brett and Carissa came out with their 2 dogs (Lexi's cousins) to hang out with us at the farm for the afternoon.  While the dogs chased the ball and each other, we all hung out and watched them play.  Erica burrowed in on Carissa for a snooze while we sat outside and laughed at the wild beasts playing in the yard.  That afternoon, Lexi and her cousins had a couple of treats...some Frosty Paws (ice cream treats for dogs) and some big rawhide bones...and a healthy snack of Beggin Strips from grandma...The next day, Saturday, Laura and I packed up the girls and said our goodbyes and made our way home.  Everyone was sad to see Erica go!!!  It had been a month since Laura had her home, so they liked seeing the changes...Erica has gotten much bigger, she completely supports her head on her own, and over the past 2 weeks, she has been sitting up with a little help...not to mention all the babbling and cueing she's been doing.  The ride home took a bit longer than the ride to the farm.  All of those treats Lexi had the day before came back to haunt us...she was so gassy in the backseat.  Erica looked thoroughly disgusted after the first gas leak, and the windows had to be rolled down a few times to fumigate the car by the time we hit the cities.  Poor Lexi.  She never got sick, but the look in her eyes indicated a major battle was taking place in her tummy!!!  After a couple of stops for daddy's Father's Day presents at Albertville and Cabela's...we finally made it home...almost 9 hours after we left the farm!!!  Both Erica and Lexi were more than ready to get out, and mom and I were right there with them!!! 

After doing some errands after we unloaded the car, Laura and I decided to stop at Applebee's and use some gift cards we'd been hoarding for a while.  Erica was a little fussy while we were trying to eat.  I took her for a quick walk outside, and returned with a calmer baby.  A few more bites into my meal resulted in more fussing and a decision to end my meal and take Erica out to the car and sit with her while Laura finished her meal and boxed up mine for the road.  As I was getting up from the booth and was placing Erica in her car carrier, an old lady approached us and asked if she could take Erica for a walk around the restaurant while we ate.  It was a very nice gesture of this very old lady, but I politely declined and told her I was taking her to the car.  At that point she became more insistent in taking Erica for a walk and placed her hands on her as if she was ready to grab her.  I gently grabbed the lady's wrist and said, "No thanks" again, with a bit more firmness in my voice, trying not to make a scene in the busy restaurant...on a Saturday night.  She then asked Laura, "Won't you let me take her for a walk?"  Laura shook her head in between bites.  She finally figured it out, and blew us a kiss and said "God bless"...but dang, lady!  I know she meant well, wanted to help, and hold a cute baby...but I'm not about to let a stranger hold Erica, let alone an old lady!!!  Had it been a younger person, lady or guy...I'm not sure what would've happened.  My daddy instincts were on high alert and was definitely not going to let go of Erica...but I don't know what would've happened if the circumstances were any different.  I'm glad things worked out that night, but it really made both of us aware of the reality that somebody, good or bad intentions, may literally grab our baby at any time while we are out in public, so we need to be on high alert and ready to react!!!

On to the final piece of this epic blog entry...my first Father's Day!!!  It was an awesome day!  We had breakfast with at my parents' house with my grandparents there with us.  They enjoyed seeing Erica again as it had been about a month since they had seen her as well.  After breakfast, we borrowed my dad's new mower (a smaller version of the commercial mowers you see guys zipping around on) and power washer.  I blasted the deck in preparation of refinishing it...as soon as this weather cooperates for more than 1 day.  I also mowed the yard in record time.  It normally takes a little more than half hour to do our yard with the push mower, but about 15 minutes to do with dad's mower!!!  While waiting for my parents to pick up the truck and trailer, I zipped across the street and quickly took care of our neighbor's yard and did the front yard of our old neighbor next door...much to his delight and entertainment of seeing me cruise around!  The rest of the day was spent just as I wanted...with my 3 girls!  We bought an umbrella for our patio table a while back, so Laura and I enjoyed some wine while Lexi chewed on a bone under the table, and Erica sat in her new seat on top of the table.  My parents delivered my only request on father's day...Chipotle!!  After a couple of glasses of wine, we didn't want to drive and had decided on grilling steak, but they were headed out to dinner and grabbed Chipotle on their way for us....YUMMM!!!!  Laura and the girls also gave me the sweetest cards a dad could ask for!  I can't wait for the next Father's Day to see how much bigger and more developed Erica will be. 

And with that...here's the end of this epic novel.  I hope you're still awake?!?!  Thanks for checking in on this blog and continuing to read it.  The entries have gotten a little more sparse, but with any luck, that may change over the summer.  Daddy Daycare kicks in next Wednesday when Laura goes back to work and I take over as Mr. Mom.  My goal for the summer is to have Erica on a napping routine, and to read some of my books...and that's all I have planned for the summer, so hopefully I can blog a bit more frequently with some shorter entries with a bit more entertainment value, rather than encapsulating a few weeks into one marathon entry to scares away any readers I may have attracted over the past year!  Thanks again for reading my Daddy Diary and for sending us your best wishes.  We greatly appreciate it!  Take care!

Grandpa changed some diapers while we camped

Our girls in the back seat on the way home from the farm...look closely at Erica's face in the mirror...you can tell it stunk back there!!!

Laura got me the cutest center piece for Father's Day!!!

The view from our tent while camping...what a view to wake up to each morning!!!

Grandpa Tim, Great Grandpa Paul, Erica and I on Father's Day

Our campsite

Reading the paper together on Father's Day...and some tummy time...2 birds with 1 stone!

The campground on the shore...the red tent at center is our site!!!

Mommy and Erica next to the tractor at the farm...we're going to get a picture with Erica in the hubcap of a tractor each time we visit the farm to track her growth in a fun way!!!

When it rains while camping, grab some smoked fish and some nice champagne and hide in the tent!

Laura and I on top of Moose Mountain at Lutsen while on a drive up the shore while camping

Everyone's favorite restaurant...the Iron Skillet in Fargo!!!

"Working the fields" with daddy the farmer

Dad, I'm bored with all of this yard work, can we go back to grandpa and grandma's yet?!?!

Cuddling with Carissa!!!

Standing tall with grandpa!

3 generations of "Christiansen" girls!!!  Grandma C, Erica and Grandma Jean

Everyone was a little tired after a couple of active days at the farm!

Our little girl is getting so grown up!!!

Erica sits up like a big girl now...and she loves mommy's lap!!!

Belated Update

6/3/13

Time flies when you're having fun!  Our little girl is now just over 2 months old!!!  WOW!!!

I think it's been a couple of weeks since my last update, so I can't even begin to think of all of the things I could tell you about in our lives since then.  I'll start by saying everyone is doing great...except for the cold that has been making its way around the house!  I brought it home from school...also known as a "Petri Dish" according to a friend of ours.  Schools are a breeding ground for anything dirty, especially colds and other sicknesses.  I did my best to stay away from Erica and Laura, but when you have a little baby and need to help with being a dad, it's easier said than done.  Laura was the last to get it, and she actually got it from Erica!  She has been congested the past week or so...so Laura has enjoyed sucking snot out of her nose throughout the day!!!  She continues to be a great mom, day in and day out!!!  It's been so fun watching her turn into an awesome mom!  She's been great since day one, as I've mentioned before, but it's just so awesome to see something new she does each day that makes Erica more comfortable or happy!

Our first Memorial Day didn't go as planned due to the colds.  We stayed home...Laura was smart about not wanting to sit in a sick-infested car with me...little did she know that later Friday night, Erica would come down with my cold.  Our Memorial Day was pretty low key.  With the forecasters predicting a weekend of constant rain, I held off from doing some yard work because the skies looked like it would dump on us at any moment.  Well, it didn't rain until during the night on sunday...so it was really a pain in the butt...I usually don't get upset at the weather, but I was ticked that a bunch of yard work, replacing and staining some deck boards didn't get done because of their outstanding efforts!!!  UGHH!!!  The weekend was nice though...we had a lot of family time just the 3 of us.  By Monday night, I was totally against any more school!  That Tuesday was super tough to go back to work for the final push to the end of the year!!!

Since my last update, life has been pretty chaotic with busy nights after school, weekends doing yard work or other things around the house, and hosting visitors that stop by.  On Saturday this past weekend, we had a super busy day, and Erica slept great because of it that night!!!  We had our friends from Esko (Duluth area) stop by for a quick visit over breakfast so they could meet Erica.  They had their little boy with, who will be 1 year old at the end of the month, so it was fun to see how lively and energetic Erica will be as she approaches a year old next spring!  After that visit, we had a sad afternoon as we attended our neighbor's funeral.  Madge lived across the street and 1 house up (she lived next to the crazies across from us!) and will be greatly missed by all of us in the neighborhood.  She found out she had cancer return at the end of February.  Breast cancer came back, as well as in her brain and lymph nodes.  It's times like this that you definitely see how fragile life is, and how special it is to have great neighbors in your life.  Erica was with us at the funeral, and she enjoyed all the stares as we helped celebrate Madge's life at a party in her back yard after the service.  All of us neighbors wrangled up a bunch of food and beverages and threw her a party...just like she would've wanted it.  We all miss her greatly, and it we'll definitely be reminded of how special she was and how fun she was to hang out with when the fall comes around in a few months and she isn't there to host her annual Oktoberfest party at her house.  We're just so thankful that Erica was able to meet her one time at the end of April when we delivered and had dinner with her when she was still at home.  After the party with the neighbors, my long time buddy, Dave and his wife Kathleen came by while they were in town from Fargo for the weekend.  They stuck around here for a little while before we headed to dinner for a bite to eat.  Sunday was spent in the yard, and Laura and I got our first sunburns of the season!  A few weeks ago, we tilled up an existing flower bed in our back yard and planted grass seed, while also tilling a new area for some landscaping just below our sunroom windows off the corner of our deck.  So, yesterday, we brought in a yard of dirt and a half a yard of mulch and gave it a nice facelift.  We transplanted some bushes from the old flower garden that we wanted to keep, and created a small flower bed within the mulch area along our retaining wall for some annuals.  While we worked in the yard, my parents watched Erica so we could get a lot of work done without all of the stopping  for feedings and checking in on her...what a help and life saver that was!!!  Lexi enjoyed watching us from the deck amidst her chewing on her bone.  It's funny how simple and enjoyable life can be at the same time.  We caught up with friends, said good bye to a great neighbor and did some work around the yard...though our weekend had its moments of sadness, we were very thankful to spend time with those we love and care about while spending time around the house being productive!  We topped off our sunday evening with our first dinner on the deck under our new umbrella on the table...it was absolutely delicious and enjoyable!  Erica bounced in her bouncer on one end of the table while Lexi kept chewing away under the table! 

I'll have another update soon.  Laura is taking Erica for her 2 month check up tomorrow.  I'll let you know how that goes.  Thursday is my last day with students this week, followed by an all day staff day on Friday before summer kicks off again the same way as it did last year...camping with Laura on the North Shore, 20 feet away from Lake Superior!  My parents will watch our 2 girls while we're away.  Then we're back home for a day early next week before heading to ND to visit Laura's family for another few days of relaxation...summer is looking good already!  Thanks so much for reading my boring update on my Daddy Diary!!!  Take care!!!

A restful week

5/19/2013

Over the past week, Erica has been sleeping through the night!!!  Not bad for only being 6 weeks old!!!  Tomorrow, she'll be 7 weeks old!  Time flies when you're having fun!

The first night was last sunday.  We put her down around 10pm and she slept until a little after 6am!!!  Laura scared the crap out of me when she woke me up.  "Dan, did you get up with her at all last night?"  Nope...go check for a pulse!!!  If I were thinking fast enough, I would've claimed to have been up multiple times for hours on end, giving countless bottles and constant comforting en route to winning "Dad of the year" award...but it was 6am, and I'm pretty worthless until at least 8am!!! 

Since that first night, she's slept at least 7 hours all but 2 nights during the week...so it's pretty cool!  Not that I've been the one losing sleep at 2am because of her crying, but I'm glad Laura is getting a full night's sleep again...and...I'm a little upset that my Daddy Daycare shifts this summer may not include regular 2am feedings!!!

Laura brought Erica in to school for a short visit on Thursday last week.  She had brought her in for my afternoon classes a couple of weeks before that, but this time she brought her in for my morning classes to see.  Over my prep hour we took a tour of the building and visited with a few of my close colleagues.  It was fun showing her off to people outside of our family!  The students seemed to enjoy her as well...they didn't really have a choice because any mean comment would result in an automatic "F" in my class!!!

Friday saw Erica staying with a babysitter for the first time all day...and both her and grandma loved their day together!!!  According to my mom, they played dress up at least twice, ate well from the bottle several times, went for a walk and snuggled a bit...a perfect Friday with baby, if you ask me!!!  Friday also brought on a cold for me!  Yuck!  It started with a dry, scratchy throat around dinner time, and when I woke up yesterday morning, it was a full fledged cold.  I can't stand having a sore throat!!!  And now that Erica is here, I'm even more annoyed at the prospect of passing this along to her!  I'm trying to keep my distance, but it's tough working as a team with Laura if I can't help do anything with Erica!

Last night we brought her to a school play our neighbor was in.  She slept in the chest carrier...only through the first 10 minutes, but then she started crying so I took her out...yes...for an instant, I was "that guy" with the crying baby...but I was also not "that guy" by pretending her crying wasn't happening and just letting her continue to disrupt the whole theater!!!  At least our neighbor heard her on stage and knew we were at least in the audience, if only for a bit.  I sat out and tried to feed her, but by the intermission, it was clear we needed to head home.  I think the sound effects, darkness and the loudness at times did the trick!!!

And so, here I am...wide awake at 6am on a sunday morning...after a long night of restless sleep because of this cold.  The coffee is finally done brewing, and I'm ready to tackle my school work so I don't have to ignore my girls later in the day!  The rain is falling and some thunder is rumbling in, so I better get ready to go comfort Laura...she's like a puppy...cute, but very skittish when it's thundering!!!  Thanks for reading my Daddy Diary!!!  Take care!