Fun in the Sun

Garrick and I were out for a walk with Pete and Scout the other night and we were walking towards Steamboat Days- This is Winona's big summer festival. We were saying how funny it was that there is no steamboat in Winona anymore- the Wilke USED to be downtown,

but then this happened...

Wow- Major sidetrack. So we were walking by the river and having this conversation and then Garrick said- there's a steamboat down there- lOOk- and I said that looks like Ike's boat! (I lived on the river with him and another Mississippi River legend for a summer in college {ashley and missy- you visited me!} He is 85, loves to dance, lives on the boat alone with his dog and races paddlewheelers... Google: Ike Hastings for a complete story) AND sure enough- Ike was down at the Winona levee- we saw him a few times before he headed out of town-

AND Pete got to help drive the boat!

We took the boat out on the river for the first time this summer and had a great time- our friend Chris came with us- he and his wife are expecting their baby any day now!- and skied... he is great and we had so much fun- Pete took it all in and was VERY safe thanks to Joni and Paul. We saw very few boats, one full barge and tow boat that was putting in the navigational buoys and all skied twice. Pete can't wait to learn on the little yellow skis that Matt and I learned on (and he wants to bring his cousins & friends out with him- he told me this!)

We also have been beating the heat by swimming at one of my co-worker's pools... It is SO nice that she lets us come over- Pete has been splashing and smiling a lot there!

But, in the end, he's just a little baby that needs a nap in a nice cool room! (He naps in our room since it doesn't get any afternoon sun and it is cooler than the other rooms)

Fluffy butt

If you've talked to me you know I really love Pete's cloth diapers!! It is SO much easier than I thought it was going to be, they are so cute, and he is so cute in them... Here are a few pics of him the other night just hanging out and getting a bottle from me for a change (that is usually Garrick's job!).

He is officially 4 months old now. He is still an itty boy, but is growing a little bit each week! We are at 24.5 inches long (75%) and 12 pounds (10%). Looks like he's going to be like Garrick. While he is small, he is sticking with the game with the things he can do!

Pete can:

Smile when he's spoken to.

Roll from his tummy to his back

Hold up most of his weight on his feet- no balance at all though!

Suck his thumb

Grab toys dangling above him on his play mat

Roll from his back to his stomach

He is so squirmy that we find him in strange places on the floor and in strange positions in his swing

He's our little munch- if you haven't seen him lately- give us a call! We'd love to visit!

Trinona Weekend

Winona hosted its first tri this weekend. I think that it was a success! Garrick, my dad and I all did it- along with a bunch of our friends! Dad and I did the short course while Garrick did the long course- it involved a bike ride up Garvin Heights- a steep curvy road that goes from the bottom of the bluff to the TOP. It was featured in a biking magazine as a tough climb and the tri even had a "king of the bluff" contest where they timed each rider just on that hill.

Here are a few pictures from the race:

Me and my tri-baby:

Grand-Greg and Grand-Dan with BP

Garrick and I

Garrick's BACK!

Garrick was gone all of last week in New York.

He had a lot of fun, learned a bunch of new- actually old stained glass stuff from people all over the world.

Pete and I were in Baraboo (that was all in the previous post though.)

Once he got back we took a family trip back over the interstate bridge to take the kids swimming- well we just dipped Pete's feet, Scout actually swam...

The other fun thing that we've started to do this week is putting Pete in the boppy and letting him look around. We have a top that he likes to watch spin.
The only problem is that once in a while he starts to disappear...









Finally, here Pete is sitting like a big kid next to his bear. (16 weeks i think??) He is still in the 0-3 month clothes, but the sleepers are all starting to get a little too short for him...
Some may be put away this week and we'll move onto our next set of big kid clothes. 

Also, please vote on Pete's future profession- I think that he has promise for them all- reasons- A. Breakdancer- you should see him scoot across the floor when he is kicking- he moves all over the place!

B. Fireman- diaper changes... enough said!

C. Astronaut- He spends a lot of time looking at the sky- I think he wants to go out there someday

D. Doctor- He is really smart and always makes me feel better!

E. Olympic CC skier- Lonnngg legs, already is beating me in races and likes to help Garrick around the house!

Pete does Madison! LOTS of pictures...

We've been all over the place in the past few weeks- which is why we haven't had a blog update for a while! First, we went to Madison over Memorial Day weekend to run the Mad City 1/2 marathon. We went to the expo/packet pickup and got to see a special girl! Kimberly was home and met us with her sister, Erin, in Madison for the day. It was so fun to see her- she lives too far away.

We had lunch and went to the capitol. We were looking for the observatory deck and saw about 12 of these signs along the way: *You can click on the picture to make it bigger- but it says, stairway closed to observation deck- use NW stairs...*

Then we finally saw this:

And then we saw this (I'm pretty sure this was the ONLY time I held Pete that day...):

Then we ran the 1/2 marathon... Pete watched with my mom and dad and rode around Madison in the Chariot and cheered for mom and dad. Cute story: Mom was cheering for me and yelling "go mommy" while holding Pete- a lady running near me said, 'that's a cute baby' and I said thanks- and she was like- that's YOUR baby- he's tiny! :) (Garrick ran a 1:36 and I ran a 1:49!!! Good times for both of us!)

Here Grand-Dan and Pete are hanging out looking like twinners. And grandma and pete are cheering on Garrick who is running SO fast that he is blurry.

Then we had a quiet week at home- I was WAY too sore after the race to do too much and Garrick was a little sore- and I got some real cute pictures of Pete one morning that it was cloudy out.

Then we went BACK to Madison for Race for a Cure- we've been going every year for the last 10+ years. It is so nice to go and support my mom- cancer free for 14 years now- and let her be 'princess for a day.' We love her so much! Garrick couldn't go- he got to go to New York City for a stained glass conference- so Pete and I went to Grandma Mooze's house for 5 days! Pete ran his first race and beat me by 1 second! He is so speedy! :)

Here is the whole crew that came out to run:

Grandma and her running babies... :)

After the race, we went to Matt's house and played in the yard and watched Grand-Dan do a speedy lawn-mow and then got to spend some time with cousin Jack and his aunt and uncle! Matt got him to laugh and laugh and laugh- it was so cute. JAck is also getting so big- he is almost walking and plays so nice!

We also went to Devil's Lake one night for dinner- Pete slept the whole time- I'm not sure if it counts as an "official" visit but it was nice to go there- it is one of our favorite places in the whole world- it's where we got married!

Other things that we did were: take the dogs for LOTS of walks and swims, Dad and I went swimming to get ready for TRINONA, saw our friends Kristen and Kendall and ate hotdogs with Nancy, Dennis and Bryce one night, visited Great-grandma Quill and spent lots of time playing and singing songs. Pete's new best thing is watching people (grandma mooze) sing songs and make movement with their hands.

Little man Pete

Pete is getting so big! He has a new skill- he can stand up and support all of his weight on his legs . He just can't balance side to side... but he loves to stand up adn looks SO proud of himself when he does.

We also got a new transportation device for him to use. The front pouch is still working great, but it is getting to be a little heavy and he is getting long to fit in. (He now looks out when we walk!) We bump his legs when we walk and know that we needed something different for the summer and the trips we have planned. He isn't quite strong enough to hold himself steady but we did do a test run of it in the living room. :) I don't think he knew what to think about it.