Haddie Bear

Peanut. Haddie Bear. Champ. The Little Nugget. Hooty Hoo. Haddie Lu.  Just shy of 5 months old, we already have plenty of nicknames for miss Hadley Luella. It's hard (well, impossible, actually) not to love this little peanut. We did a lot of celebrating-and anticipating-Haddie before she was even born but now that she is here, she gives us reason to celebrate every day. She is perfect, not that I am biased at all. It's hard to believe how fast she's growing but exciting to see the changes each time I see her! It's fun to look back at the pictures to see how much she's changed so I thought it'd be fun to relive her original birthday :)

September 7th, 2010...let's go...

September 7th, 2010, it was 60 degrees. The MN Vikings were preparing to head to New Orleans to open the season against the Saints. Brazil was celebrating the anniversary of their Independence from Portugal. Queen Elizabeth I would have been celebrating her 477th birthday. And in 1979, ESPN was making it's first debut on cable TV. What an exciting day for Hadley Luella to make her grand entrance into the world. 

I got the call in the morning that Ty had gone into labor but that it would be a long day so 'take your time coming up to the cities'.  Yeah right, take my time. I really didn't feel like taking my time. So I did what I needed to do at work and headed up there.  I met my mom and dad at the hospital and we waited patiently. Well, I should clarify-my dad and I waited patiently...my mom, not so much. We got the call from Jeff that we could come sit with them for awhile until the time came, so we did. I think we were all surprised at how well Ty was doing. She was a champ. If you were just stopping by, you'd never know she was in active labor and preparing to give birth! Thank you Dr. John Bonica for inventing the epidural. I think we can all imagine what he must have gone through with his wife in order for him to invent that thing. Holy couch. I was thrilled that Ty was doing well. I think she may have actually fallen asleep around 8 or 9 centimeters. Awesome. Anyway, the time came for Ty and Jeff to do their thing so the rest of us left and went to PF Changs while only miles away, lives were beginning and transforming in ways no one could have imagined.

I obviously don't know much about the birth considering I was too busy stuffing my face with Chinese food, but apparently it went really well. And as miss Mary so eloquently stated, 'after 9 months of cooking, out popped perfection' at 5:56pm, weighing 7lb 5oz. 

Welcome to motherhood... 

The look only a father can understand...

Proud grandparents.  

The Aasness family for the first time.

Uncle Mike

I love this picture because Ty was talking to Adam on the phone, telling him about his niece.  Adam couldn't be there since he was just starting school at Gustavus but he was obviously there in spirit. No one can make Ty laugh quite like him. 

Uncle Adam. She has no idea how much her uncle is going to spoil her...

Man, life out of the oven is tough work! 

The seasons are shifting

I am not sad to see January go. In fact, most years I'd be celebrating because January has typically been my least favorite month of the year. It's cold and dark, the joy of the holidays has passed, New Year's resolutions overcrowd the gym, sweaters are annoyingly bulky (actually, I don't like winter clothes at all), static electricity is piercing every time I try to get in or out of bed, the roads are slushy and salty and cold-blooded people like me are shivering all the time. It's awful, isn't it? So, 'why do I live here?' one might ask. Because just as I think I've had enough and start thinking of crazy plans to move, February happens.

The days start to get longer, birds begin to sing, the resolution gym goers are gone, the Christmas tree is finally put away (unless you happen to be my parents) and grocery stores are full of little heart-shaped candies-the orange hearts are my favorite, by the way. So, this year I told myself that I needed to find a way to appreciate the long winters or I could no longer allow myself to complain about them. Tall task...skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling all sound great in theory but aren't really my thing. Although, to be fair, I really haven't given them a generous chance. Maybe someday. But for now, I decided that I needed something I could turn to often to escape the negativity whirling around. I can't take off for a ski-trip every afternoon and I don't have a snowmobile so...I decided to start running outside. Yikes, I thought, but great considering I am not a treadmill person. Well, I have learned that it only takes about 8 minutes until I go numb enough to bare the bitterness and then I am solid from there. When I run by myself, I usually have a camera with me just in case I need a break or see something that captures what I'm thinking at that moment. On a few occasions, it has payed off.

And it has payed off to find something I enjoy doing in the winter. I'm not sure if I'm ready to admit that I no longer dislike January buuut, I will say it has made it much more enjoyable.

Here are a few other great things that happened in January...

A gorgeous winter night.

The Wobschall kids (Tricia, Marcus, Mikey and I) had a night out on the town in Northfield...bowling at Jesse James Lanes, Pause Pizza, Mad Libs. It's never a dull moment with them.

The Gusties came to Olaf for a fun night of hoops. My Hill Kitt staff (of RAs) decided it'd be fun to go together. They even gave me permission to wear my Gustie shirt :) Charlie, another Gustie-grad co-worker at Olaf was at the game, too. They snatched him for the group picture! Go Gusties!

Playing around in the snow...I don't know if I tackled him or if we fell. :)

Well, here's to February! Bring it on Spring!

Channeling the inner teacher in me

Although I only lasted for 1 year as an education major in college, the teacher in me still comes out from time-to-time.  I like to be crafty - especially when I'm stressed out - or when there are special events that deserve something more than a Hallmark card.  Most recently, I surprised my staff at work with my stellar giant pop-up card making skills when constructing a birthday card for a co-worker. Yup, I helped make a giant pop-up card for someone turning...well, let's just say he's not 12 years-old anymore.  Anyway, while we were constructing the card, it came out that I had made a picture-card for Mike for our 2nd anniversary last summer that everyone seemed to love. I was asked to share it, so here it is...

I only picked a few of them but I think you'll get the idea :)

And here's what it looked like when it was all finished...

I've helped a couple other people make picture-cards since this one and they've all turned out great. Plus, they're fun and really easy. I cut up a black poster board and folded it like an accordion and then glued the pictures on it! Plus, it cost almost the same (probably even less!) as a Hallmark card!

Tag board: $.99

Pictures (printing): $2.60

PS. Mike loved the card. 

Oh, and I suppose I'm forgetting the idea behind the picture-card...as an anniversary gift, I had a high school classmate of mine take some photos of us (which I explained in one of the pictures in the card). 

Her name is Callie and she is an amazing photographer. You can check out her blog at www.callievblog.com 

Here are some of the favorites from our photo session with her...

Winter wonderland

We gathered our hats and mittens, put on our layers and headed to Hayward, WI for our winter cabin getaway at the Riegelman's. Reading by the fire, Yahtzee, snowmobiling, ice fishing, walking with the dogs...it wasn't tough to be us. The -17 degree temperatures were tough, however. But despite the bitterness, we found a way to make the weekend sweet. And sweet it was. 

It took a bit of convincing from Mike & Clint to get me on a snowmobile. I am not much of a 'thrill-seeker' but if you're going to play with the boys for a weekend, you have to bend once in awhile.  I rode one (all by myself!) for a bit and had a great time...but my need for control wouldn't allow me to fall for the idea all together. The boys both laughed aloud seeing me buzz by them so that made it all worth it :)

There was something so peaceful about laying in the middle of the frozen lake, looking up at the sky and silently relishing in my own thoughts. In the busyness of life, it is hard for me to find moments where I feel free-completely free-from stress, worry, burdens, pressure, my email, college students who need something from me...and even though it only lasted for a moment, it was a sweet moment. 

I spend a lot of time with these two guys...some might say we are together too much (M&C would probably say they aren't together enough!). Either way...I have never known of friends as close as these two. I am happy that they have each other because I think it is unique in this world. I know we joke that they are happier to be married to each other than to me (which could be true) but I genuinely appreciate their friendship.  

Here are some of our favorites from the weekend...

I am trying to remind myself daily how important it is to appreciate every day we have. It is hard sometimes to remember in the midst of a busy week or stressful time...and sometimes it's not even busy or stressful-the time just flies by and before I know it, weeks have gone by and I haven't taken the time to appreciate the little things.  The last year has taught me that life is way too short to settle into a routine that doesn't allow us to reach our full potential. The kind of potential that extends beyond our jobs and careers and into our relationships and our happiness. At the end of this life, I hope that I will be able to say more often than not, I have done what makes me happy. Because I've really learned that happy people are contagious...and I wish there were more of them out there - genuinely happy people. 

Find something or someone that makes you happy and don't let them go... :)