4th of July at the Lake

Once again we spent the 4th of July at my parent's cabin in Northern Minnesota.  We were a little hesitant to go, as a couple days before we were going to leave we found out my Grandma (who lived in the Lutheran Home) was not doing very well.  Her health has been very up and down the past few years and so this was not a surprise.  Also, knowing how up and down it has been, we had no idea how long she would be like this, or if she would improve once again.  We went and saw her the Tuesday before we left, and she opened her eyes, saw us, said a couple things and then that was about all she could do.  We called my mom Wednesday morning (the morning we were supposed to leave) to see if she had heard anything different, and she hadn't, so we decided to head to the lake.  We arrived Wednesday evening, but then found out Thursday morning that she had passed away.  Since it was the 4th of July weekend, the funeral wasn't until the next Wednesday, so we were still able to enjoy quite a few days at the lake.  

My brother joined us on the ride up to the cabin.  He helped entertain Kyler on they way.  Kyler and Norah both traveled very well, as we only stopped twice during the trip to eat lunch and feed Norah.  We had a great time while we were there.  My mom and dad were also at the cabin for the week so Kyler loved being around Grandpa and Grandma.  We enjoyed great weather, good food, the beach, the boat, the water, and just hanging out.  I was especially excited to go this year because I really wanted to ski behind my parent's boat.  Last summer they bought a used ski boat, but I was unable to ski because I was pregnant with Norah! :)  Kyler has been talking about being "ready go Minnesota" for the last couple months.  He has also been talking about riding in the boat, so one of the first evenings we were there we all went out in the boat so we could ski.  We don't know if Kyler didn't like me jumping in the water to ski or seeing me behind the boat, or he just didn't like riding in the boat, but that was his last boat ride while we were there.  He refused to get in the boat after that night and didn't even want to put on his life jacket-which he had been wearing around the house at home. :)  

Kyler LOVED the beach though.  He spent hours and hours playing in the sand, digging, driving trucks, and building.  Playing in the water was hit or miss.  Some days he walked right in, other days you had to convince him to get in the water.  The lake is so nice as it has a sandy bottom, and is very shallow and you can walk right in gradually, so it is great for little kids.  Norah loved splashing her feet in the water.  If you took her out in the water and lowered her down towards it, she would immediately start kicking her legs up and down so she could splash.

It's always fun to be at the lake, but we have to come back home sometime! :)  Thankfully we get to go back up at the end of August for another week-and we can't wait!  Here are some pictures from our trip!    

Norah's first time in the lake!

Riding in the paddle boat with dad!

Golfing on the beach :)

How Kyler spent many hours

Norah enjoying the lake

Helping Grandpa fix the dock

Hanging out with Grandpa!

Norah enjoying the tube :)

My little beauty queen :)

Yes, Kyler is wearing a stocking hat in the lake :)

Shooting Mommy with the squirt gun!

Happy 4th of July!

Mommy & Norah

Love them!!!

5 Months Old!

Norah was 5 months old on July 5th! I can't believe we are just one month away from being 6 months old!  Norah is our happy little girl as she loves to flash big smiles at anyone that comes up to see her.  She really likes to be held by Mommy most of the time, especially when she's tired, she doesn't even want Daddy. :)  Norah could roll from back to tummy before this month but has really done it a lot more this past month.  She also rolled from tummy to back for the first time this month.  It took her doing it a couple of times before we were able to see her do it.  She isn't that good at it yet though and has only done it a few times, so she often gets frustrated after being on her tummy for a while.  The first time she did it, she was laying on the floor in the morning and looked over and saw she had rolled from her back to her tummy.  Then I looked over again later and she was back on her back, so I guessed she had figured it out or kind of done it on accident. :)  Another thing Norah has done this month is start to figure out that she can grasp things with her hands.  She's not great at it yet, but she is really starting to figure out that she can reach out and grab something and then hang on to it or stick it in her mouth. :)  Norah continues to love to chew on her hands, your hands, your shirt, or anything else she can get a hold of.  She also is still drooling A LOT.  It is not uncommon to see a large drip of drool coming out of her mouth, in fact, I have stopped trying to catch it with a cloth. :)  Something else Norah has started to do the last week or so is yell really loud.  It's like all of a sudden she has discovered she has a loud voice.  She is often heard just sitting there going "AHHHHHHHHH" and she's completely happy when doing it, it's like she's saying, "hey, I can talk too!!". :)  Norah also LOVES to watch Kyler.  It is fun to see their relationship start to develop as Norah is getting older and more interactive.  She will sit and watch him run around the room or just play.  If she gets up from her nap first and Kyler is still sleeping, it's like she looks around for him wondering where he's at.  She will also get so excited when he comes up to her  to talk to her or give her a hug.  This is one of the times she yells the loudest, and then Kyler will yell back-like they have their own little language. :)  Here are some pictures from the last month:

    

5 Months Old!!

Love the string of drool! :)

All ready to go swimming!

Watching the TV :)

Loving the Jumperoo!!  We got this out this month and she really likes hanging out in there!

Can't quite reach the floor yet, so we put some books under....a blanket works better though :)

Our two kiddos!! :)