Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Visit To the General and More Shopping!

Since we had a couple extra days with my parents, we figured we better just run them into the ground and keep dragging them all over the city!

On Monday, we went down to visit Cameron at General Mills and to have lunch with him.  It may not sound too exciting to visit a big corporation, but the General Mills campus is almost like a museum, with all of the fun decorations they have all over.  My mom kept saying while we were there, "This is just like the companies you see in movies, but you don't think they really exist!"  It was also great to be able to go down and see Cameron, because Miley was a BEAR that morning (probably from all the missing naps and late bedtimes that she had had lately!), and she was really excited to see her dad, and we were all relieved to get a little bit of a break.  :)

Cameron's floor...


The elevators on the cereal floor...



The General Mills brands...


To top off our day, Cameron came home a little early, and my mom and dad and I were able to go down to the Mall of America and Ikea for the evening.  We didn't spend a ton of time in either place, but we got to stop at some stores that aren't as accessible to my parents in Wyoming (The American Girl Store, H&M, and the Apple Store).  We didn't do too much damage at the mall, or Ikea, but it was fun to go and look, and actually have it be kind of relaxing, instead of how it usually is trying to chase kids around.  Thanks Cameron, for letting us go kid-free!  :)

Monday, May 2, 2011

Landon's Blessing Weekend

Saturday and Sunday were very busy, with lots of visitors here for Landon's blessing. 

On Saturday morning, we and my parents spent the morning buying all the food that we would need for our little get together following church on Sunday.  Once we got all the "business" taken care of, Cameron was off to the airport to pick up his friend, Chris, and his wife, Heather.  They were able to come in for just a really short period of time, but we were so excited that they made the effort to come up and be with us!  Since Cameron was preoccupied with airport pickups, and Mall of America stops (and getting into fights in the parking lot...ask hm if you want the full story!), we took the kids back home for naps.  Papa was nice enough to stay home with Miley, while my mom and I took the time to do a little bit more shopping with Landon in tow.  It was a pretty successful run, hitting up Home Goods, Old Navy, and Bed Bath and Beyond (household items are pretty fun to shop for these days...) :).

Once we got back from our shopping trip, everyone had made it back to our apartment...Cameron, Chris and Heather, Cameron's parents, and us.  We decided that it would be a good time to do dinner, so we took everyone to Eddington's (a Minnesota soup place that is sooo yummy!).  It was so fun having everyone together, so much so that I didn't take pictures the whole day (in my defense, I told myself that I was going to be much better about taking pictures while everyone was up here, and for the most part I was...I just kind of left out Saturday!).

On Sunday, we got to bless Landon...the reason everyone was up here this weekend!  It was so nice to have our family and lots of friends come to support us (Chris and Heather, Katie and Tyler, Cecia and Cameron).  We took most of our pictures at Don and Cindy's afterwards, so we weren't all dressed up, but we ate lots of good food (A BIG THANKS to my mom and dad who helped a lot with sandwiches, salads, and desserts!), and everyone just got to enjoy one another's company.

In true Wendy fashion, I didn't get a picture of my mom and dad with Landon...I am kicking myself for that one!  But here are plenty of others from Sunday...

Landon in his blessing outfit from his Aunt Amy, and on his blanket from Grandma Clark.



Dig in!



Miley was thrilled to have little Jack around...



Too busy playing to have dinner, but she is never too busy for a brownie!



Best friends since third grade, Cameron and Chris.


Acting nice (Chris and Heather, me and Cam, Cecia and Cameron 2.0)  :)


A little more realistic??


Grandma and Grandpa Clark


Miley didn't want anything to do with pictures...so just Cameron, me and Landon.


The time went by too fast, and Chris and Heather, and Cameron's parents both had to leave Monday.  We wish they all could have stayed longer, but we were so glad to have them up for the time that they were here...

We were lucky enough to get to have my parents for a couple extra days so we could get a little more fun in...  :) 

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Company Coming to Town

For a few weeks now, we have planned on having Landon's baby blessing on May 1st.  We have been looking forward to this for a while, because it was an excuse to have both sets of parents come up, and Cameron's best friend from growing up was able to make it as well.  We don't get to see all of our loved ones as much as we would like to, so we were very excited to have so many people come to share in this occasion with us!

My parents arrived on Thursday afternoon, April 28th.  We took it easy that day, because they were a little worn out from all the traveling.  I made dinner that night, and we just got to visit and relax, and of course, Miley and Landon were excited to see their Grammy and Papa again!  We made a lot of plans for while they were here, because the last time they were up, after Landon was born, we didn't get to go out and do much.

Friday, we took it easy in the morning again, but Cameron came home from work early that day because his parents flew in early that afternoon.  While we were waiting for them to come over, my mom and I decided to take advantage of Cameron being home to watch the kids, while we ran to the mall to do a little bit of shopping (you will find that shopping is a common theme when I get together with my family). 

*Sidenote...While shopping, we went to the Gap, and they let us know about a contest that was going on - you could enter every day in April, and there was a winner every day for every store to win an employee discount for a year (50% off full price, 10% off sale).  Long story short, I entered that night, figuring it was a long shot, and *lo and behold* the next morning I had an e-mail telling me I had won!  Woo hoo!  50% off at Gap for a year??  Yes, please!*

Anyway, we got back from shopping, and Cameron's parents had made it to our place, and got to see the kiddos and chat for a while.  Landon was sure happy to have so many people around, and was putting on a show!




Cameron's parents planned on spending the evening with Don's family, because this was the last time they were going to see them before they left for India.  Before they went over there, we took both them and my parents over to our house to walk through it.  Everyone had a lot of fun walking through, and seeing just where all the rooms would be and everything.

Since we had the evening free with my folks, we decided to head down to a Malaysian restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.  My family lived in Malaysia for a year in 1996, and have never really found food exactly like we had there.  Well, Cameron and I found one, and we knew we had to take my parents there while they were in town.  We ordered a ton of food - roti canai, chicken satay with peanut sauce, mee hoon, red curry chicken, and mango chicken.  Everyone enjoyed the food, (even Miley, although her eating technique was perhaps a little unconventional) and both kids were extrememly well behaved (thanks in part to "Tangled" on the iPod...thank goodness for technology!).  It was one of the most pleasant eating-out experiences we have had with Miley in tow.




Miley with her mango chicken, happily watching "Tangled."


Landon, a little stunned from the camera flash!


After the yummy dinner, we took our parents to Stone Arch Bridge over the Mississippi River to show them the sights.  It was pretty chilly outside, and we didn't have our stroller with us, but that didn't stop us from having fun anyway, and didn't stop Miley from walking barefoot along the bridge.  Yup...we are THOSE parents!  Let's just say, we like to pick our battles.  :)




Notice those little bare feet??



Now that's teamwork!


There was no rest for the weary this weekend...we just kept going and going and going.  More later...

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Easter Weekend

This Easter started out much the same as last Easter...

We had some friends plan an Easter egg hunt at a park for Saturday, and just like the same event last year, it was FREEZING! Fortunately, Miley didn't seem to care and still had fun decorating an egg carton, eating some yummy treats, and hunting for eggs to put in her bucket.












Landon had the best seat in the place...all bundled up in his stroller! I wish I had the same setup for me! :)


Easter Sunday was nice and laid back. Miley woke up and immediately realized that the Easter Bunny had been there, and she found all the eggs he left behind, narrating everything by saying "Wow!" or "Awesome!" After finding all the eggs, she proclaimed that the Easter Bunny had "Made mess". I guess that is a way of looking at it...

Unfortunately, I was having too much fun watching her find her eggs that I didn't take any pictures, but I got a picture of her with both kid's baskets after everything had been opened.

The Easter Bunny brought Miley "Tangled" (her favorite movie at the moment!), some princess puzzles, a cute little apron, a little horse, a couple books, and of course, lots of candy!

Landon got a book, a little dog rattle, an elephant toy, a seahorse that glows and plays soothing music, and a blue hooded towel (the Easter bunny must have known that he had been using his sister's old pink towels...how embarrassing!).


Miley has been going through an anti-picture phase lately, hence the not-so-excited expression in this photo...trust me, she was much happier than she appears. :)


We went to church...
...and after church we spent the evening with Don and Cindy and fam celebrating Easter and Don's birthday (the last one for a while, as they are ditching us to go to INDIA for two years!).

We had a great weekend relaxing and having fun with family and friends, and crossour fingers that next year the weather will be a little nicer for egg hunting!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The 70's Called...

...and they would like their hair back.  :)

Landon's Two-Month Stats

On Thursday, I took Landon to the doctor for his two-month well child visit, as well as his first round of shots.  Here are his stats at two months:

Height - 24 inches - 75th-90th percentile

Weight - 11 pounds, 15 ounces - 50th-75th percentile

Head - 15 3/4 inches - 75th percentile

For comparison's sake, at FOUR months, Miley was 23 inches, 11 pounds 11 ounces, and her head was the same size as Landon's at two months.  I guess that is the difference between girls and boys, huh?  We are OK with that...we hope our little guy is a bit bigger than his sister someday...shouldn't be too hard.  :)

Needless to say, Landon was not thrilled with his shots.  The poor kid has had a little fever, and a big round hard spot where one of his shots was for the last couple of days, and has been extremely fussy which is very rare for Landon.  He seems to be doing much better today though, thank goodness!

Waiting for the doc to come in...


After he got his shots...not very happy, and going to town on his pacifier!


Friday, April 22, 2011

House - Day 19

Windows are in, shingles are getting ready to be put on...

It seems at this point we MAY be a little ahead of schedule, however we know there are lots of things that can set us back as well (weather, etc.).  Keeping our fingers crossed that it continues to go so well!