More fun with Ben

On Saturday we went to Bayfield...

And stopped by the twin convention...

Lucy showed off her aquarium chair. Ben was very impressed.

Obviously very comfortable with Uncle Ben. Lino looks on - just in case.

Bye Ben! Thanks for visiting!

(If she looks upset in this picture it's because she is falling apart tired and about to head to bed...)

Party!

I turned 30 this summer. But with all of the other things going on, we didn't really get a chance to do something special. Enter from stage left: My husband. He is very good at surprising me....with the help of some of our wonderful friends...What an awesome way to spend a friday evening. A great mix of folks, food and fun. Also one of the first parties to have so many kids in attendance! Here are a few pictures from the evening - although we forgot to take photos until toward the end...

Thanks for all the birthday love! And I didn't even have to clean the house... :)

Katie and Ravi (he's walking!)

Kerry and Ella

Erin, Erin and Adriane

Ben and Lucy

Jamie, Regis and Ella

A rainy day with brother Ben

Ben came to visit and it was great to see him! Thanks Uncle Ben for making the trip out to MN. It rained the first full day he was here so we did what everyone does when it rains (right?) - we went to the Aquarium...

And we went to the Maritime Museum. I'd never been there. A sweet little museum. Especially if you dig boats.

I would like one of these to gauge how my day is going..."What a great day - Full Ahead!" "This Monday is not going so well - Full Astern!" "I'm not so sure how this one will turn out - Stand By".

Eight year olds were saying that this is a compass - I think it actually serves cocktails.

Arrrr...at the helm.

"I think this is what it's supposed to do..."

Fun with father....

"Really, Dad?"

(This picture makes me laugh and laugh...)

Tummy time on her new tummy time pillow - a gift from SarA. This is Ryan and Lucy's special time...she's not a huge fan though of all this lying around on your belly business.

Whoa. Those bugs are crazy.

Just because she's cute

Recipe for a wonderful weekend

The best weekends start with:

1. Sleeping in

2. Breakfast in bed

3. Catching up on the week's news

And include:

4. Browsing the farmers market

5. Lunch in the park

6. A generous sprinkling of naps and quality MPR listening

7. Sunshine and cool breezes

8. Spontaneous visits with friends

And finish with:

9. A "walk" to the lake (Can I get a "woot woot" for sherpas?)

10. A shout out and skol from folkschool

11. Storm clouds, rainbows and a piece of pie at Perkins (unfortunately Peter Piper was not available for comment)

6 weeks old = 6 hours sleep

I know a girl named Lucy.

Who slept for 6.5 hours straight...all through the night...and all through the thunder.

I love a girl named Lucy.

Sleep doesn't improve my poetry skills but it does make me a happy (more alert and enthusiastic) camper.

One month photo shoot

Lucy is growing so quickly (she weighed in at 12 lbs. at the Dr. office yesterday) so we wanted to capture some of her present cuteness and size...she got tired of us taking pictures very quickly but here are some of the best.

The cloth diapers are still a bit big for her...

It almost looks like she's standing in this photo. whoa. It will be winter here all too soon so this sundress had to get some wearing.

Erica Olson sent this lion. (Thanks Erica!) It is soooo soft. We can very easily picture it being a thread bare loved toy that goes everywhere tucked under a child's arm...and is packed up to bring to college. We'll see what Lucy picks as her favorites. We have lots of photos of the lion too...he was a good sport standing in for Lucy so that Ryan could get the lighting just right.

This one is not from the photo shoot but it does show that she's starting to connect - (socialization the books call it). I've been having to pump and bottle feed her because of the thrush - but hopefully that will be gone soon! I love the "baby bird" look she gets when hungry. Makes me smile even at 2 am. Her smiles are just around the corner. She's practicing and getting so close.

Thumbs. Best thing since sliced bread

Lucy discovered that her thumb fits in her mouth...and that she can then suck on it..."have these been here all this time?" She had been using her forearm. Thumbs seems like a better option. Something that Ryan has been trying to teach her.

What are those things?!?

Lucy discovered the joys and excitement of her bug mobile today. It's really the first time she's hung out under it and seemed to watch what's going on. She almost chilled here long enough for me to finish my lunch...still kind of sensory overload for someone so small. She's been a trooper this week - has a case of thrush (baby yeast infection of the mouth). No surprise really given how many antibiotics I've (and through me - Lucy's) been on in the past month. The thrush makes breastfeeding hard for her and there is lots of screaming - so we've been going the pump/bottle route today with lots and lots of sterilizing of plastic parts. Good times. On the up side (?) because she was so fussy yesterday, ate a bunch but didn't sleep much - she slept for almost 5 hours straight last night. I ended up waking her up to feed her and give her her medicine (which she likes - it tastes like candy....yum.). She's napping right now so I have a bit of time to do internet things, the MAEE newsletter and the dishes...hopefully.

Tall ships and triathalon

Eight tall ships came to Duluth this weekend. Part of the Great Lakes challenge - a race that promotes water stewardship and youth sailing education. This event has been on our radar for a while as the aquarium sits right smack in the middle of the action. While some of us had doubts about how this would go given the maddness last time the big boats sailed in - it was impressively smooth and organized. Ryan, Lucy and I went down to check it out and thanks to knowing people...we got to use the aquarium staff passes to take a close look at the boats. Although the best view was really from the deck at GLA. I saw the boats during the parade of sail when they sail along the shore and under the bridge. It was really a beautiful sight. Just so surreal to see these huge old boats out on the lake. What an awesome sight that must have been back in the day....

Ryan and Lucy with the bridge and Denis Sullivan (Discovery World's boat from Milwaukee) in the background

View of the boats from the aquarium deck. One of the boats that was here was used in filming the Pirates of the Caribean movies. That one had the longest line...some folks waited up to 4 hours to get on and tour. Needless to say we just admired from afar, drank some lemonade and watched the people and pirates (!) stroll by.

Brewhouse Triathalon 2010 was also this weekend.

Swimming, biking and running...

Rob, Mickey, Jake and Ryan competed and did so well! Congrats guys!

If you got em' flaunt em'....