The REAL Best Fair Ever

There is nothing better than a perfectly sunny fall day, in Viroqua, WI when the Vernon County Fair is town.
We headed home for this very nostalgic event. It was a childhood favorite, that I always looked forward to.

We even got.out.of.school. on the Friday of the fair. As  a snow day for cotton candy and carnival rides and no actual snow.

The Keaty's were home. We congregated with the Schulz crew. I got Hub's Fries (twice). And Matilda got to pet her first cow. It was pretty much a perfect weekend as you can see here:

And, Matilda surprised us all by taking her FIRST STEPS. Grandma was the lucky charm as she got Matilda walking between her and I.

Time to get really serious about baby-proofing. As Nate said, "Make sure we aren't leaving knives around..."

Gives a person confidence in our parental abilities, doesn't it?

Trash Impact

Last weekend, Nate and I were in the car headed somewhere and there was an NPR show on about how much trash every person generates a year. And the person speaking had such a powerful way of describing this giant landfill--with plastic bags flying around and the stench of garbage rising up, and trucks constantly burying, digging, burying and digging.

And I guess I can't get the image out of my  mind, and have been thinking about it all week. The show talked about good America is at getting rid of garbage so that you don't realize how much it is piling up. And as I thought about that, and if we had to keep all the garbage we generated in our house for an entire week, I started to get a little appalled.

So here is the thing:
I am not going to quit shopping at Costco because the packaging of the tomatoes is plastic.

But, I am an offender of a few basic garbage no-no's that I am vowing to get better about:

1) Bowl and spoon:
        - Every morning I have either a bowl of dry cheerios with yogrut on it OR oatmeal. In either case, I am using a disposable bowl and spoon every day that gets chucked in the garbage. Think of how many that is a year. Yuck. So I need to just simply bring in my own bowl and spoon.

2) Plastic Baggies
    - I pack my lunch almost every day, and so that means lots of plastic baggies. I have tried teh fabric ones, and they work for some things but I don't love them. So I am committing to bringing home the bags and reusing them as much as possible.

3) Paper or plastic
    - Rededication to paper over plastic bags. It's simple.


I figured that in a week that was quite hectic with family, email, school, presentations, work, and more--if this was still sticking with me--I should do something about it. And so I will start with those 3 things. My *very small* part...but it's something.

Let's Settle This...

It's a constant question: Who does Matilda look like?
Most people say Nate.
Nate, of course, says Nate.

I, personally, think she looks like my Mom and Uncle Art.

But I will stop talking and let the pictures do the talking.
Get your votes in...baby vs. baby...who does Matilda look like most?

Here is another trio in case you are having troubles deciding...

 There it is.
You be the judge.
Cast your vote!

Chicago

We made the very quick flight to Chicago last weekend to visit the Keaty Family. I was pleasantly surprised with how Matilda did on the flight (although gun shy about a longer flight than that now). My strategy was to get her to the gate to woo everyone with her cuteness BEFORE we boarded so that if she freaked out on the flight they wouldn't be so angry.

Not sure if it worked, but Matilda like looking out the window at the plane.

We got to go swimming, to the zoo, to a fancy new 'city' playground, out for very delicious pizza and just spend lots of good time with the boys.

I have some semi-cute photos from my phone that I cannot get to upload, and I've been trying for 2 days with no results, and the stress of not posting has gotten to me. So alas, no photos.

But just picture Matilda and Leo pressed up against a giant APE (not a monkey as we were schooled by Nick) with only a pane of glass separating them. All of the boys acting like Monkeys outside of the zoo. Leo looking deliriously happy as he gets his pizza. And Matilda in the airport staring longingly at the plane.

It was a very fun weekend, and Matilda picked up on lots of tricks. She was much more excited to stand by herself after spending time with the boys. Perhaps when she sees them next they can get her to walk!!



**Edited by Nate** - As I sit here waiting for my quesadilla to crisp to golden brown, I thought it might be nice to upload the pics for my amahzing wife.  I second Greta's comments, great weekend with the Boys and Bec!

The Minnesota Food Fest

Nate and I were very spoiled last week to get to go on a date during the week while my friend's Mom watched Matilda. (who tried her darndest to ensure we never get another babysitter every again by being a little devil child....) but enough about that. We were child-free, on a gorgeous night, with free tickets to the State Fair in hand.

Historically, we have been an every-other-year State Fair family. And this was our year to go, and had a lot of guilt about not bringing Tillie as she would certainly enjoy it--especially the animals. But off we went, with visions of corn dogs in our heads.

So here is the thing...we had fun, but mostly because it was just the two of us, alone, and enjoying each other. I think we need a lesson in how to LOVE the State Fair, because the bottom line is, we just don't really.

My key take-away is that it is just a ton of people, eating an overload of crappy (both in quality and in nutrition) over-priced food. We actually walked through some of the animal barns and they were all like half-empty. We could see more at the Vernon County Fair. The vendors feel like they are hawking 'as seen on TV' goods.

So, who out there, can help me see this event which will obviously be a part of my life as long as I live in MN, through rose-colored glasses? What are we missing? Is it a spirit I need to embrace or things to do we have just overlooked?!

One Year (+ 2 months)

I just realized that I never shared the absolutely stunning photos that Stephanie Neprud took of Matilda for her 1 year birthday. It was certainly not becaue we don't love them (because we do), but rather the task of getting the disc, uploading all the pictures on the computer and then (and this is the biggie) remembering to blog about them.

They are too cute to not share. Oh Matilda. With your cheesy smile one minute, 'serious' face the next, and even a little grump face thrown in. And so here are Matilda's 12 month pictures with 12+2 commentary. :)

At 14 months, you will very easily give up a "hi" to pretty much anyone you see, UNLESS of course they say hi first and get too close to you. Then, you go into evaluate mode. Checking them out to see if they are 'in the club' and will get a smile, hint of smile or just your very serious face. Every night when we walk out of General Mills you wave to the Doughboy and pat Sprout on his head.

You've got sign language down pat. Please. Eat. More. All Done. And when you are really hungry--which seems to be all.the.time. (but I swear we feed you a ton of food every day)...you just sign all of them, in any order to make sure we are picking up what you are trying to tell us.

There are a lot of animal noises going on in our house. Cat. Monkey. Bunny. Elephant. Puppy. And Daddy just taught you how to 'wash your hands' by yourself. It's pretty adorable seeing you rub your little hands together on a wipe.

You have 3 best buddies at daycare: Amanda and Eila and have decided that you aren't all that interested in Mama picking you up at night if your friends are still there. You give lots of snuggles to your friends and are very good at sharing my lap with them when I come to visit you.

Books. Books. Books. When in doubt, you want a book. It's the best way to tame one of you sporadic tantrums, and the best way to get you in our lap for a long snuggle. The sure sign you are too tired and ready for bed is when you just can't decide what book you want to read. Over the past month, we have gone to storytime at Linden Hills Library where you have cautiously played with some new friends and enjoyed many new books.

You continue to have more (and stronger) preferences, keeping true to your 'particular' personality as a baby. Some nights it is a broccoli love fest. Other nights, broccoli gets steathily stockpiled just outside of your plate. You are relentless at pointing to the cupboard when you are hungry. You will crawl to the door and pat on it letting us know you want to go outside.

And you are still content with crawling. No walking yet, and we are pretty happy about that. No rush, sweet one. Take your time and enjoy the world from your current perspective. You have plenty of time to get big.

The League

Nate and I just joined a Fantasy Football team.

Here are a few pertinent facts to this discussion:

Fact: We really only watch the Packers (although we do love watching the Vikings lose).

Fact: We aren't all the knowledgeable on any other football teams.

Fact:  To be honest I'm not sure what a tight-end does vs. a wide receiver or a runningback.

I am guessing our success rate will not be high in this so called league.

So, why did we do it?

Well, first of all, we are currently pretty obsessed with the show The League on FX, and both of us like to believe that we are the couple on that show. And I am guessing the episode where their daughter has swearing issues at school because of their parents fantasy football league behavior is going to be all to relevant for us in a few years.

Second, I love smack-talking. Doesn't it just make any sort of competitive event more fun? I don't care if I win this league, as long as I get to smack-talk some people (especially if they are Vikings fans).

Plus, I have a secret weapon. It's called my cousin. And she can tell me what the difference between a tight-end and running back is. Nate will tell me he can too, but let's be honest--I'll double check with Meghan.

It should make for a very fun football season....