Back from Texas

Sorry for the late update, but we've had a busy week. But, we made it back from our vacation to Texas! Miles was wonderful on the airplane. He settled in great on each flight and we nursed and took a nap. The only real challenge was our layover in Houston on the flight home. He got pretty fussy waiting to get on the plane. But otherwise he enjoyed the ride. I think the movement and the white noise from the engines was the perfect combination for a calm baby. And I think nursing him during take-off helped keep his ears equalized with the pressure change.

Must know where the emergency exits are.

"Infant in arms"

"The Big Tree" and Jen's big hair

Beautiful live oaks dominate the natural areas around Rockport. There is one coveted tree simply named "The Big Tree." We actually stumbled upon it as we were driving around exploring. It was fun to get out and see but the mosquitoes were awful. So we didn't linger long.

Take the picture quick Mom, the mosquitoes are draining our blood.

We also got the chance to go on a whooping crane boat tour. The boat took us to some key whooping crane spotting areas around Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. We had to go to Walmart to get Miles an infant life vest because the boat tour didn't provide them. Safety first. I wore him most of the time in the Ergo baby and the engine noise and soft rocking boat motion provided good napping conditions. But he did wake up enough to see some cranes and breath in the salty air.

On the boat portion of our adventure

Whooping cranes!!!

On the birding boat tour with our buddy Dave the duck guy.

We also found some fun touristy stuff to do. There was this statue of Madona and child by the sea that we had to stop and take a photo of. We also did some shopping in downtown Rockport. There is a beach park where we walked along in the sand and dipped our toes in the salt water. The water is very shallow here, you can walk out into the water and it stays about knee deep 30 plus feet from shore. It is a great place to introduce a kid to the beach. Maybe if we come back next year Miles will be big enough to toddle out in the water with Mom.

Mom and Miles by the sea

Taking in the salty sea air

Walking on the beach

On our last day in Texas we drove to San Antonio to meet Sharon a friend of ours from Grad School. We met up at a "Get Outdoors" festival that was at one of the historic Missions in the city "Mission San Louis". We got to meet Sharon's little girl Ryia who is about 2 years old. It was fun watching her run around exploring all the activities they had there for the kids. There were kayaks they could sit in and a big canvas that they could paint. Miles was too little for everything, so he just fell asleep in the carrier. We ended up getting a suggestion for lunch from some locals. La Tuna. It was really good food, Aaron had fish tacos again (we ate a lot of these on our trip), and I had a steak sandwich with guacamole and salsa. Yummy.

So we covered planes, boats and automobiles on this vacation. Lots of firsts for Miles. Now we know that travel really isn't too bad with this little guy. We hope to do more of it. I think a trip to Florida is in our near future. And we have to get down to Denver soon to meet cousin Carter. We are for sure headed to Nebraska in July, Aaron's cousin Matt is getting married. Hope to see everyone soon.

First plane ride

Probably against our better judgement we are headed on a air plane to Texas for a week vacation. Aaron has a meeting in Rockport, on the Gulf Coast near Corpus Christi. He is going to be down there for a week and we decided to take the whole family down there for a vacation. Well, minus the dogs they are going to doggy camp at Waggin' Tails and meet some new friends.

Goodbye Willow, have fun at doggy camp

Be good while we are gone Hayduke

Be nice to the other dogs and don't eat anything your not supposed to.

So our bags are packed and we are ready to go. Unfortunately a winter storm has rolled through the area the night before we are supposed to leave. We are keeping tabs on the airline site to make sure our flight is still going out. What is a little frustrating is that we have had such a mild winter this year and the day we decide to travel is the day one of the biggest storms of the season hits. Hopefully things will clear up enough by Sunday morning and we will take off without a hitch.

Ready to fly Mom!

I know travel with a baby can be stressful, but we are up for the challenge. We have a really tight connection in Minneapolis. Hopefully Miles will cooperate and we will have a fun first experience on an airplane. Wish us luck.

Nursing Mothers Rejoice

Miles is a breast fed baby. I can't say it has always been an easy road, but it has definitely been a rewarding one. To know I can provide all the nutrition my baby needs is an awesome feeling. It is also pretty convenient to have his food with me where ever I go and no extra bottles or containers to stuff in my already over stuffed diaper bag.

Look for this sign

Back in December when I went on a work trip to Memphis for three days I had to bring my breast pump with me and pump, pump, pump to keep my milk supply up. I had been pumping extra in the weeks leading up to this trip too so I could bank a bunch of milk for Aaron and daycare. I couldn't believe I did it, but the "girls" were up for the challenge and we had plenty of milk for the time I was away plus some extra so when I got home we could send Miles to a sitter and go out for the evening.

Pumping pumping all day long.

So anyway, with my breast pump as my companion on my trip I walked through the Minneapolis airport on my layover pretty engorged and looking for a private place to pump. Now the public restroom is really no place to set up shop for this activity. I'd either have to hook up at the sink (not the best option if you don't want to scare people), or try and find a stall with an outlet and sit on the toilet. Or there was the family/companion restroom, but really there is no place to comfortably sit in that restroom and it is not the most sanitary or pleasant smelling conditions.

Not to worry. Fortunately, the Minneapolis airport had a nursing room! This is a little closet of a room set up just for breast feeding baby or in my case pumping. I was excited to learn about this room and impressed that airport provided such a great service.  It isn't big by any stretch of the imagination, but it is set up so nice and comfy for mom and baby. There is even an extra chair for Dad. There is a lamp for softer lighting and even art on the wall.  And the chair is big and relaxing and it reclines AND rocks.

A comfy little respet from the hectic airport atmosphere

I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed my time in this little room. I'm actually looking forward to traveling with Miles and bringing him to this room to nurse.

In Minneapolis look for this little room by the elevator in Terminal C.

We are taking a vacation to Corpus Christi, Texas next week. Well it is a work trip for Aaron, but the whole family is going and Miles and I will be doing some sight seeing while Aaron is in meetings. We have a layover in Minneapolis but it isn't a long one so I doubt we will get to use this room on this trip. But we have a longer layover in Houston and I found out they have two nurseries, one in Terminal D (near gates D7 and 8) and one in Terminal B (near gates B84 and 91). I am looking forward to checking out the Houston amenities and hope they are as comfy and cozy at this one.

In Minneapolis go to the information booth by gate C12 to have someone open the room for you.

Grandmas always remember Valentine's day

We hope everyone had a fun Valentine's day. Mine was pretty special this year. I received tulips and lilacs from my Dad and Aaron gave me a bouquet of carnations and daisies (my favorite). Aaron also made a wonderful dinner and Miles actually let us sit down and eat it together. He made a leg of lamb with crispy smashed potatoes. So we made this day a special one for the family. I even got a card from my little Valentine, Miles.

We love to get packages on our door step and Miles got two this year from his Grandmothers. They always remember to send something special. Grandma Kross sent us a cute bib and some outfits for the seasons.

Our little Valentine.

Grammie Julie sent us a fun new teething toy and some chocolates for Mom and Dad.

Everything goes in the mouth these days.

Thanks for thinking of us Grandma Kross and Grammie Julie. Hope you both had a wonderful day too.

A hiking we will go

Aaron and I love to hunt and hike together. We really enjoy being outside, getting our vitamin D, and recharging our batteries. We knew when Miles came along that we would want to bring him with us when we were out on adventures no matter what the season.

Jan. 28 outing to Pipestem Res to hike the trails. Of course babies need sunglasses.

We have an Ergo baby carrier so we can just put him on and go. It was a spendy purchase, but worth it in our opinion. It is a pretty versatile carrier, you can wear the baby in several positions (front, back, hip) and it has a cover you can put over baby's head to protect him from the sun. The only way you can't wear the baby is on your front facing out like you can with the Baby Bejorn, which we would have liked but we are enjoying the carrier none the less. When Miles was a newborn we had to use this bulky insert with the carrier which was a little cumbersome and pretty warm. But we made it work.

Hiking with Mom

Miles in the infant insert, just under a month old. He got pretty hot in the insert this day.

Dad showing Miles how to mow the lawn. This will be one of his chores when he grows up because Mom certainly won't be doing it.

This winter has been great! It has been unseasonably warm. In January we had several days that got into the low to mid 40s (Fahrenheit) and we have been trying to take advantage of the minimal snow cover. Before pheasant season ended we also took Miles out with us to hunt birds. I would wear him while Aaron carried the gun and handled Willow (which is a major task in itself).

After a pheasant hunt with Willow, right around Halloween.

The family after a pheasant hunt.

Aaron does get a chance to wear Miles every once in a while so he can get the feel of what it is like to carry that extra weight on his front and be off balance. Not the same as being pregnant but just close enough.

On a neighborhood dog walk to our local park.

Recent trip to Pipestem. Is that a belly that Dad has grown? No it's just Miles hiding in there. The wind is crazy in ND sometimes and we need to wear a wind breaker over the baby.

Miles has now out grown the infant insert. So that is one less thing we have to worry about when we go out. We are having so much fun being outside with him, even if he does fall asleep most of time.

Summer time hike, Miles is about 3 months old here.

This weekend it dipped down into the negative temperatures and single digits so no outdoor adventures with baby. But we are hoping we still get some pretty nice days so we can keep going on our hikes. We would normally be using our snow shoes for these hikes at this time of year, but not this year. We have had minimal snow and the snow that we did get has mostly melted off with the warm temps. We hope everyone else is enjoying their winter and can get out into the crisp fresh air. Maybe this spring will be just as pleasant.

Babies, babies, babies

I'll bet every new parent has this experience. People ask you who your baby looks like more when Mom and Dad were babies. Well, my Mom (Grandma Kross) sent me some pictures of me when I was a baby. We also had some of Aaron that Grammie Julie gave us a while back. Let the comparison begin. Who does Miles resemble more? I think it is me but you all can decide for yourselves. Aaron seems to look a lot like his Dad (Grandpa Sam) when he was a baby. But poor Miles didn't have a prayer in the hair department. Neither of us had very much as babes.

Aaron 6 months

Miles 6 months

Aaron 2.5 months

I think I have the same expression as Miles does sometimes in this one.

Baby Jennifer 10-11 months

Miles and his baby blues, 6 months

Jennifer 6 or 7 months. Check out that 70s style on Mom! She still wears the same type slippers.

We have another announcement in the family. Miles has a new cousin in Colorado. Aunt Brandi and Uncle Luke welcomed Carter H. Pearse into the world at the end of January. Congratulations you two!

Miles with Uncle Luke and Aunt Brandi and baby Carter still in Mommy's tummy.

In our opinion there is little doubt who this baby resembles. Although, we haven't seen baby pictures of Brandi yet.

Baby Carter 3 days old. Look at all that hair! Miles is jealous.

Just look at the brotherly love.

Aaron (3) and baby Luke (6 weeks) taken 1979, I'd say the resemblance to baby Carter is uncanny

Now Miles has another cousin in addition to his two cousins Arianna and William in Florida. There will be lots of opportunities to travel cross country to visit everyone, especially to Florida so Ari and Will can show Miles the best parts of Disney World.

Will with his Grammie Rhonda at Epcot Center in FL

Ari at Epcot Center in FL

Water Baby!!!

I love swimming! I grew up in Florida a short car or bike ride from the beach and my family had a boat. I was also on the swim team at a young age. So I was in the water swimming all the time. Well now we live in North Dakota and I don't have such easy access to swimming opportunities. But I knew as soon as Aaron and I decided to have a baby that he/she would be a swimmer. So we took our first steps to making that happen this week. Miles started baby swim classes. I am so excited to get him in the water.

Reaching for a toy, this was his favorite part

Every Tuesday and Thursday we go to the YMCA for a half hour lesson. We sing songs and kick and try and grab floaty toys that are just out of reach. We even have a couple of friends in the class with us. Anna and her mom Katie, and Katie and her mom Stacey. Miles is the youngest baby in this class, but I think you're never too young to get in the pool, right?

Swim baby! That's Anna and Katie in the background.

The water was really warm, like bath water. So no fretting with him being cold. I was a little worried that I might drop him in the water, it isn't easy to keep hold of a baby in the pool.

Look Dad, we're swimming!

The lessons go for a month so we will have lots of exposure to the water. Looks like it is going to be a fun time.