Just Keeping Up

This eighteen month stuff is exhausting. We are going going going going going at a rate faster than the speed of.....well, a seventeen month old. However, it is also delightful and funny and exciting and amazing to be a part of it. Here is a taste of what we've been up to:

Experimenting with playdoh for the first time. He likes to roll small balls of it around on the table. What he likes more is to attempt to put it into his mouth and watch my reaction.
Mama playing with camera. William intensely studying playdoh.
Cuteness
Mashing it up
Mama's sculpting talent. Clockwise we have (obviously!) a chicken, a bunny and a fish. I definitely missed my calling...
Squishin'
Investigating
Testing
All done! So far, our playdoh sessions (2 so far) have lasted longer than 15 minutes each. That is AMAZING!
Last week we had our yearly visit with our vet for both of our cats. William got a kick out of the cat carrier. We finally had to put it away so he would leave it alone. The report from the vet was good. Both cats are healthy and have lost weight again (each about half of a pound) this year. I wonder why? The vet actually asked us what we thought the cause was behind the weight loss. Both John and I just pointed at William (he came with to the appointment, not in the carrier). Now that he is mobile, the cats have a lot more physical work to do to avoid him.
A big shout out to our favorite neighbor, Amy who handed William down this Elmo shirt. We had a hard time getting it off of him at bedtime!
In and out. In and out. In and out. The cat carrier was worth at least half of an hour of entertainment.

How to Charm Thy Mother

1. Flip through the current issue of People magazine. Stop on a page with a makeup advertisement featuring a young woman with flawless skin and amazing hair. She is of course fantastically beautiful. Point to the picture of the woman and look at your mama. Wait until she looks and then ask "Mama?"

2. Pull a book out of the stack in the living room. Wriggle your way onto your mama's lap and thrust the book into her hands. Politely demand "More!". After she reads you the book, demand "Again!". Repeat 32948239478269 times.

So, What did you do with all your time?

While we were away, John was busy working away both at work and on our house. It is difficult for us to find chunks of time throughout the day to do biggest projects like painting a room or installing ceramic tile when William is helping us out. The basement still isn't safe enough for his to be wandering around without being closely supervised. So, John took full advantage of this huge amount of time to accomplish some things around the house. He had a list the length of my arm and was also working overtime at work. Here are some pictures of what he got done:

Crown molding installed, baseboard installed! This project is DONE!
Baseboard for the basement is painted, ready to be put up.
Our new elliptical machine is set up, ready to go!
Bathroom counter top is installed. Faucet and drain are both installed (but not working yet!). Toilet seat/cover are installed.
The bedroom closet is sanded and primed - ready for paint!
Started hanging shelves in the basement to try and organize some of our mess.
Like this
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After I got home, I installed all the trim for the recessed lighting. That was a lot of trimming!
We also painted the downstairs bedroom together last weekend - progress is being made all the time! On the agenda for this weekend: Attempt #2 at tiling the entry way and fixing the drain in the bathroom. If all goes well, we start installing baseboads (but don't count on it).

North Dakota Arm Part II

Just about this time last year, we took William for his first visit to North Dakota. If you'd like to compare, the entry is here. This year, it was just William and myself as John was working in order to have enough vacation days for Thanksgiving, Christmas and a few days in between. We had a wonderful visit with the Great Grandparents that did not involve anyone throwing up (woohoo for that!).

I was running around and trying to get our belongings (there are a LOT of them) together so we could leave on time when I noticed that William had crawled his way up into Great Grandpa Tom's lap for a little cuddle and a read. How cute!

All snuggled up...the tornado at rest!

It is hard to see in this picture, but there was some construction vehicles working just down the street....

William was mesmerized... He sat for a long time just watching them drive back and forth. I think he would have sat a lot longer if we hadn't had to leave!

Trying to reproduce the picture from last year on the front porch of McGarry's
Me, William, Grandpa, Great Grandpa and Great Grandma by Great Grandma's (G.G) beautiful flowers

At the Wennersten's. Look at what William is doing! Growing up, my Grandpa Budd always kept M&M's in his front pocket when the kids were around (or maybe even when we weren't around?). His excuse was that he was trying to teach us our colors with the candy. This summer, the M&M's have returned to Great Grandpa's pocket and it didn't take long for William to discover where they were hidden! Every time we saw Great Grandpa, William would reach his arms out to Great Grandpa Budd and then search out the candy. He wouldn't even come back to ME unless I physically picked him up!
Pick pocket
Mmmmmmmmmmm....
The evidence is on his mouth, face, and hands. For what it is worth, it is a total lie when they say the candy won't melt in your hand. At least the way William eats them!

The North Dakota Leg Part 1

Late Saturday morning, we left Rochester and drove to Minneapolis to pick up Aunt Megan and drive the rest of the way to Grand Forks. William had about the worst timed (and smelling) poopy diaper ever. Nice. We got to Grand Forks in time for some "chips, dips & dippors" as William calls them at Paradiso. We also got some good visit time in with the great grandparents before it was time to put William to bed.

Sunday morning, we were off to the reunion in Karlstad, MN.

What? You've never heard of Karlstad, MN? How about Halma? Or Lake Bronson? You need to get out more! Karlstad, MN is in waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay northern Minnesota. Very close to the border of both North Dakota and Canada.

We had a nice lunch and visits with Great Grandma Nona's family before attempting a nap at Judy (an awesome relative of mine, exact relation is unknown by me) in the afternoon. The nap was a no go and I was concerned about the rest of the afternoon. Just fine - he made it through until just about his normal bedtime.

Here are a LOT of family pictures. I'll try and get the names right - please e mail me if I get someone wrong. I was only able to half listen to the introductions as I was chasing around a little toddler tornado.

Look at all these kids!
There is a bad joke here to be made about Scott and his buns....
Blowing bubbles with Grandpa. William loves to blow bubbles. Only he isn't really able to blow them himself. He takes the bubble wand and puts it IN his mouth - then gets mad about the lack of bubbles produced. It's a good idea to make sure the bubbles are non-toxic before you start :) If he's trying to help you blow bubbles, you need to be careful as the bubble wand may also end up in your mouth as he tries to help you.
I think this is Taryn's (sp?) family: Jessica, Evan, Taryn, Tom, Kayla, Becca
Perry Oien's extended family
Jandy's fiance?, Jandy, Paulette, Tom and Ryan
Jared, Susan, Jasie, Jerry
Perry Oien family: Paulette, Avis, Perry, Susan
Great Grandma Nona and her brother Perry
The Wennerstens (Nona's family): Kim, Nona, Budd, Kevin, Kaye
Nona Wennersten extended family: William, Kevin, Kim, Megan, Kelly, Nona, Kyle, Amber, Kevin, Kaye and Budd down in front
Craig Oien family: ?, Avery, Liz, Corey, Shannon, Regan, Caden , Judy, Craig
Leatrice Spilde extended family: (Back) Jessica, Kayla, ? Liz, Avery, Corey, Caden, Shannon, Regan, Judy, Rebecca, Tom
Front: Stuart, Taryn, Evan, Craig
Wennersten Grand kids play games
William and Avery check each other out. Funny story: someone told Avery to kiss William. So, like a good listener, she leaned in to kiss him. He wasn't having any of it - he pushed her away and said "No!". I was laughing and patting myself on the back when he leaned in and kissed her. I guess it just has to be on his terms.
Baby Regan just turned 1 - isn't she cute?
All the Oien Grandkids in age order: (L-R) Kaye, *pretend you don't see William sneaking in*, Taryn, Kevin, Kim, Susan, Stuart, Paulette, Craig
Craig and Judy with their grandkids: Regan, Avery, and CadenJessica, Evan, Judy, Kayla and Rebecca in front
Taryn and Kaye (Kaye sure is an Amazon here, isn't she! What, you never noticed how tall she is?)
Susan and Paulette - I confess to not knowing who is who
Stuart, Taryn, Craig

Another funny story: We were taking pictures of Jay and Leatrice's kids when William stood back and really studied what was going on. Then he turned around and backed himself against the wall and started saying "cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese!" Very, very very cute (and v. proud mama!) He is doing a LOT of mimicing these days!