Where's Dad?

Henry loves Eric. LOVES. It's great. Really. I just wish he'd show that love for me. I mean. The only time he gets remotely excited for me is when I gesture my hand as if milking a cow. C'est la vie. I'll win his heart over eventually. I will. I will. Eric, being the good soul he is, often tells me it's just because he's gone all of the time. Apparently this means his presence is more "fun" because it comes in sporadic doses. What? Me in your face all. day. long. isn't fun? Whatever.

So here's a video of Henry waiting for Eric to come up from the basement (and peeking under the door to try to see him)....

Katz Christmas

Let the Christmas celebrations begin! We had a great day celebrating with my side of the family today:  brunch, Cranium (of course, my team won), and good company. I was horrible and didn't take any photos throughout the day, but my dad captured the group photo:

The Girls from Ames

My Northfield book club's last read was "The Girls from Ames" by Jeffrey Zaslow (author of "The Last Lecture"). Simply put, the book told the story of 11 friends from Ames, Iowa, and accounted for the power of solid female relationships. I liked it and I think most of the gals in the book club liked it too.

This past Sunday we met at Contented Cow to discuss the book and we had a special guest:  one of the characters from the book! It was absolutely amazing! The character, Kelly, lives here in Northfield and teaches in a nearby community. One of the gals in the book club used to work with her so was able to coerce her to stop by for a short bit, which turned into 2.5 hours. It was a bit surreal for me to hear Kelly talk and speak of the other characters. I had to remind myself that the book was nonfiction. Kelly is real. These gals are real. This was probably a similar experience to a 5 year old girl having breakfast with Cinderella (Cinderella is real, right?).

Anyway, Kelly talked about the arduous process of "writing" a book, brought the original manuscript, showed us contracts, and spoke of "what's to come" for all of the ladies. Minutes before she arrived I was being caddy about one of the characters of the book. All in good fun, of course. As she sat there and spoke of these ladies, I started to feel badly about saying such things. Because, again, these gals are real people.

Henry being Henry

Split Pea Soup

Spoons are for the weak.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival

Eric and I had the opportunity to go see the St. Olaf Christmas Festival Concert last night -- thank you Miss Kaethe! These tickets are incredibly hard to come by so we are so grateful for her generosity.

The choir(s) and orchestra were beautiful. And now I have the urge to learn how to play the violin. We enjoyed the music so much that we may just tune in to listen to it again on the radio today. I guess it's safe to say that we are officially in holiday mode.

But I can't leave this post without saying something about the overwhelming presence of Norwegian sweaters at the concert. I don't think I've seen so many people wearing them at one time. Not even when I lived in Norway. Seriously. But I love it. And I want one.

Darn it

I was putzing around on the blog last night and managed to delete all of the comments people have left. Bummer. Sorry all those who have actively participated in the Thorkelson blog. Lesson learned.

"Oopsy"

The Doeden's graciously accepted my challenge on Sunday to be my comedic relief while Eric was away at work. Mr. Petite (Henry) fit perfectly in the dolly umbrella stroller so I placed him in it to see what he would do. Of course, he just chillaxed. After a few short seconds of him sitting there, Charli decided to push him around in the stroller. Adorable. Especially since I'm sure Henry is bigger than Charli. I failed to capture that on video. But lucky you... you get to see big girl Addi push Henry in the stroller. She learns that she is much stronger than she realizes. And I realize that I'm a horrible parent...(note the cackle in the background of video):

& the times they are a changin'

My freshman year of college I wanted to use that song as my subject of a paper. But my professor said that anything by Bob Dylan would be too cliche and predictable... so I went with a Madonna song. Not sure that choice was any less predictable....

Anyway....

This post's title is an homage to our dear Henry. I think he changes by the day. No. By the minute. We tried one nap today and that kid exhausted me. Two naps are in his future tomorrow. Before dinner last week I was picking out a bottle of wine:  take bottle out 1/4 of the way to see what it is, slide it back into the rack. Henry watched this and has now decided to be a sommelier. He checks the vintage of each bottle and slowly puts it back. Sometimes he pulls the bottle a bit too far (must be the excitement of our steals from Haskell's wine sale) and drops it. We now have a few dents in our wood floor that weren't there just a short week ago. I should tell him to stop. Eric does. For some reason though I'm just baffled that he will mimic us in such an exact science. I need to keep this in mind at all times. In an effort to be "funny mommy" I bounce or tap his toys on my head. It usually gets some giggles from him. But now he's started to hit his head with items in the same manner. Note to self: start doing long division in front of Henry; maybe he'll have it perfected before kindergarten.

Happy Birthday Song

A bit late, but here we all are singing "happy birthday" to Hank:

Enunciation 101

Does "dog" have one syllable or two?

Halloween at the Millers'

Joe Cool arrived incognito. And Marie (doll in background) also got dressed up. 

Henry wasn't so sure about the mask. Yoda and Owl Girl protected him.

Mario and Luigi stomping bricks.

The group before heading out. 

Couldn't resist adding this photo -- classic Ryan with his donkey teeth.

Family Portraits

This past Friday, our friend and photographer Donya brought us out to Hot Sam's Antiques to take our first official family photo. We had a lot of fun and I'd recommend her to anyone looking to capture a moment of their lives:  www.donyaluana.com/blog

Birthday Shenanigans

Henry after eating his gluten free, dairy free, and egg free birthday cupcake (chocolate with rice cream frosting...surprisingly delicious).

We also celebrated his actual birthday by participating in modern medicine: vaccinations

Ya Ya, Henry, John, and Ava before the big birthday party.

Singing "Happy Birthday" at his party

The Marv

Cousin Marvin testing out his new birthday present...

Numb

Two friends of mine used the words "numb" and "tragic" in their FB status updates this afternoon. One said, "RIP." A college acquaintance of ours committed suicide. I struggle reading the news online about how the event unfolded. I feel sad. Empty. Wonder why. I hurt for her family. Her friends. She was always smiling. Laughing. What could have prevented this. If anything.

30 & 1...Big Milestones

While Eric is mourning his 20s, Henry is relishing in his newfound toddlerhood (not technically though, still a crawler). It's fair to say that I'm equally sad as am happy about Hank turning one. *sigh* I think those sweet, precious baby moments are what keep Eric and me vacillating between two or three kids. Falling asleep on your chest. Curling under your neck. Tiny feet, which mean even tinier toes. The little grunts as he ate. That soft, baby smell.

I'll never forget our first night with Henry at home. I had just nursed him and put him to sleep in his crib. He started crying 30 minutes later. Eric and I looked at each other in bed with our eyes wide open, both of us not wanting to admit that we had no idea what to do. Logically, we grabbed The Baby Whisperer chart, stood over Henry's crib, and tried to decode his cries. Because babies have a manual like that. Or so we thought. And then there was the Boppy. I remember asking Eric to pull it out so that I could give it a whirl. I didn't know what to do with it. College-educated and I was intimidated by a c-shaped nursing pillow. Eric walked around the room modeling how he thought it should be done. That's when my sense of humor came back. Little did I know that he was right. Go figure. I couldn't give him too much credit at that point though because an hour before his modeling career took off he was telling me that the petroleum jelly we had brought home from the hospital was different than the Vaseline we bought at Target; the hospital had sent us home with what was called "vase-line."

I can't remember when it all turned around. But I know at some point, my hormones got back in balance and allowed me to finally stop crying. We didn't have to double-team diapers. And Eric became an amazing father (second to my mothering skills, of course).

I still feel like I'm taking it in

Birthday Celebration: Day 1

We celebrated Eric's 30th last night at Fermentations with John and Jan (a.k.a. Grandpa T and Nana). Great food. Awesome company. Yum.

Champagne toast. Flights of wine. Morels picked fresh that day. Potatoes layered with gruyere. I wouldn't have expected this from a little place in Dundas. We'll definitely go back.

Give Daddy a Kiss

Henry continues to "register" all of the things we say throughout the day. We often kiss him over and over and over as we say, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" This kid does not lack any affection from his folks.

The unfortunate reality of our lives is that Eric is away from home about half of every week. This means we have a lot of calls via speaker phone so that Henry can hear his dad's voice (we would do Skype but Eric's oooold laptop doesn't have a webcam...and as of right now, I don't really want to have a one-way video chat). Anyway, the other night Henry was sitting on my lap. As the conversation came to a close I said, "Say goodbye to Daddy." Henry waved. Then I said, "Give Daddy a kiss." He made out with the phone. Aw.

Now kissing seems to be the "new thing".... We were over at our neighbor's last night for dinner and Henry kept trying to kiss their dog with a big open mouth. Hm.

Big weekend ahead as Eric turns 30 on Sunday. Dinner at Fermentations tonight with his parents and then "date night" tomorrow in Eden Prairie: Wildfire and "The Social Network". Sunday will be a hike through Big Woods and a gourmet dinner cooked by me. We use the term "gourmet" loosely in this house.

Northfield Minnesota Flooding Sept 24th 2010

To get inside a child's brain

Eric and I managed to make it to church yesterday after a summer off from the 10 am service. Admittedly, it felt good to get back. While Henry enjoyed the new toys in the nursery and the undivided attention of Tammy (the nursery lady), we got back into the groove of worship. Eric and I found ourselves [almost] crying and laughing. Crying because a lady expressed a heartfelt family concern to the congregation through tears. Laughing because the children brought a special gift the service. During the children's sermon the conversation went something like this:

Preacher: "How could the adults show you that they care and love you?"

Child: "By eating the broccoli and spinach off of our plates for us!"

Ha! Of course, that is not quite the answer they were looking for. But let's be honest. Eating the veggies off of your child's plate means love.

This also made me think of my three year old nephew Marvin. While hanging out with him last week he pulled a few funny comments. And my favorite: (setting: we were leaving and going our own way)

Anna (a.k.a. Marvin's mom): Okay, Marvin. What do you say?

Marvin: Sorry

Hmmm...does he get into trouble much? He didn't really understand why we were all laughing. But then he picked up on the proper response and bid us farewell. Ah, kids.

Happy baby

He's so happy.

Dogs

Henry has a mild obsession with the dogs. Whenever we head downstairs, the dogs are typically waiting for us. Henry will flail his arms and screech in excitement... and the dogs scratch at the baby gate with equal excitement. Walter's excitement stems purely from his need to lick. He can't wait to get to Henry to give him a proper bath--Henry takes it like a man and will clench his eyes shut with the random hand swat toward Walter's tongue. Then there's Ardy...he does whatever Walter does: "Walter's excited? Well then I'm excited too!" (that's me pretending to get inside of Ardy's little head). Anyway, we often get asked how the dogs are around Henry. Walter loves him. Ardy tolerates him. Henry loves to [aggressively] pet them.

Labor Day Weekend

We were supposed to join the Swiderskis at their cabin for Labor Day weekend, but a "mis-read" in Eric's schedule meant that the trip wouldn't work and we were staying home.... But it so happened that one of Eric's good friends, Ryan, was able to make the trek from Texas to visit for the weekend.

It was a relaxing weekend full of "showing off" Northfield and just plain enjoying life...

The three of us before our big night out. We were home by 10:00 pm.

We love Ryan for many reasons. One of them being that he has the best action shots. It's an important quality in a friend.

Mmmm....banana bread!

Walter and Ryan have always had a special connection. Honestly, it's a bit odd. Walter consistently waited for Ryan at the bottom of the stairs all weekend. And when he wasn't waiting for him, he was in his arms, on his lap, at his feet....

Henry shot....

A note to all friends: If you come visit us, we will put you to work. Our fantastic neighbor gave us a heads up on a FREE swingset on Craigslist...we swiped it and the guys set it up. Here's Eric in his classic "Ta da!" pose with the finished product.

Northfield has an awesome Saturday market. As a true Texan would, Ryan purchased the jalapeno jelly from Ruthie.

Root beer envy...

Crabby man on campus (a.k.a. "The Teether" in the wrestling ring)

Big man on campus (a.k.a. "Lean, mean fighting machine")

Stroller pushing boot camp

BBQ Group Photo

Thoughts

A fellow Northfield mom and friend, Emily, recently posted something on her blog about her family's anniversary of moving to the town of cows, colleges and contentment (a.k.a. Northfield). I just got done reading the entry and feel like echoing her sentiments... I mean, Henry is napping, so what else is there to do, right? I'd rather blog than be domestic. That's what husbands are for.

When we told friends, family and work colleagues of our decision to move "south" the reaction was often words of excitement partnered with looks of horror. We also heard, "Northfield? Where is that?" and "How long of a commute is that going to be?" Of course, we knew we were moving out of the 'burbs. But we didn't really think that we were removing ourselves from the Twin Cities that much. After all, we were previously living in Chaska, which wasn't a suburb until the recent past.

For the first few months living here, we drove to our normal destinations in the 'burbs. Clearly, this was our way of not assimilating to small town life. As the weeks and then months passed, we found ourselves preferring our local boutiques over mega malls, Greek pizza over chain restaurant steaks, and our favorite...the local co-op over the traditional grocery store....

It's official. We've converted. "Downtown" now refers to Division Street rather than Nicollet Mall.

Subsequently, we've adopted a simpler lifestyle: Our interest in food and cooking has grown; without a doubt, this has been fueled by our purchase of a farm share this summer. We love getting out and enjoying our natural surroundings. We walk to most of our destinations. Choose to "be local. buy local" (for the most part). And a favorite past time is us just sitting on our front porch with a cup of coffee, wine or an extra dirty martini.

Eric and I often chuckle when we think about how our mindsets and lives have changed over the course of the past year... I've recently thrown the idea around that we should get some hens for our backyard. A year ago, we would have said it as a joke and laughed at the thought of us actually pulling such a thing off. But now we consider it with excitement...and laugh at the thought of us actually pulling such a thing off!

As Em mentioned, tonight's our first annual BBQ for the moms [and other family] members that get together each week for playgroup. The moms in this group have been a huge resource for me. Not only were these moms an instant focus group for me to poll on baby issues, but they also have made this [almost] first year of being a mom entertaining and less stressful. I feel blessed that these beautiful women and their adorable little ones were brought into my life. And I'm going to show my appreciation tonight for these lovely ladies by bringing a large vat of margaritas. Cheers. :)

Correction: Per Em's comment, I need to pay tribute to Amazon and free two-day shipping. This has made living "45 minutes south" even more bearable.

Attack of the Baby

Did the little piggy really go, "Wee wee wee" all the way home?

Our new favorite commercial....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_G2zp-opg

Duluth

In an effort to "get out of Dodge" we went to Duluth for a couple of days to relax.Henry wasn't too pleased with us after we dipped his toes in the icy cold Lake Superior water. I really don't understand how they say the water is reaching record high temps this summer. My feet were numb after about two minutes.

We had breakfast one morning at a quaint cafe called Takk for Maten. This place was a must for me as I hold on to anything that reminds me of my time in Norway. Eric's breakfast was unreal. He always out-orders me.

We went aboard the Vista Fleet for their happy hour cruise. We missed the bridge so we just circled around the harbor and saw the massive ships.

We spent the majority of our time walking along the lake. The weather and view were amazing.

Some of you may have heard that the tall ships were going to be in Duluth while we were there. We did hang out at the canal for a couple of hours to watch two of them come in. It was a pretty spectacular sight to see the ships sail in.... During that time we also befriended a retired couple from MD who taught us about Henry Schoolcraft.

All in all, a pleasant couple of days.

About an eon behind...

Yes, this blog has been neglected. Yes, I feel guilty. Yes, this will be a montage of photos recapping our lives over the course of the past month (or so)...

We painted our kitchen cabinets (twice) and this is Henry "helping" out. I caught him eating painters' tape more than once.

This is Eric sanding our cabinets for the second time. I believe his inner monologue went something like, "I cannot believe I'm *bleepin'* out here doing this...again." His face says it all.

We went to Red Wing to visit Sam and Chris at their adorable new house. I also have to say that we went out to lunch at the St. James Hotel. We had the cheese curds as an appetizer and they were the best I've ever had (and I've had a lot of cheese curds).

The crew on Henry's baptism. The kids were the only ones to actually follow the "make a funny face" command.

Henry's baptism cake from the Ole Cafe. Oh gosh. It was delish!

Ryan, Molly, and Claire {Bear} over for dinner. I love this crew. Molly is a teacher at the French immersion school in Edina. When there is an option to read directions in English or French, she chooses French. And then I make fun of her (only because I'm jealous).

Henry with his toy plane. He loves it. Loves it. You give him a bucket of toys and he will seek that out. And yes, that's Ardy waiting for his share of Cheerios. And no, we don't make it a habit of letting our dog hang out at the table like that. Cesar Milan would not be impressed with our dogs' manners.

My parents took us out to lunch at the cutest French cafe called Pardon My French on my birthday. This is Henry in a food coma. (Gray Plant Mooty friends: check out the bib! Think we could get this image on the holiday cards this year?! Or how about the website?! A newsletter?! Okay...I'll stop.).

Me with my birthday desserts. My dad insisted on getting four. I didn't object. You can't really see my favorite: the strawberry napoleon. I had to get that one. Eric and I are mildly obsessed with the cooking show Chopped...when the chefs don't know what to do in the dessert round they always make a napoleon. 

And our kitchen is almost done. We have a minor lighting situation and are waiting for our new (read: overpriced) windows. I also have some painting I have to do yet. When all is said and done, I'll take photos to share the work. We're quite tickled with how it turned out. 

Until next time...

Save Tiny's: Eat Hot Dogs

Almost a full year has passed since we moved to charming Northfield. I was telling my neighbor the other day that I used to consider this town an extension of the 'burbs...really, we aren't that far away, are we? Well, over the course of the year it has become apparent that we are, in fact, living outside of the Twin Cities area. I deducted this from many experiences throughout the year, but here are a few: our farmer's market isn't listed in the Star Tribune (I know, right?), Enterprise Rent-a-Car told us we weren't part of the metro (again, baffled when we found this out), and the closest shopping mall is 30 minutes away (Amazon is one of my closest friends). Okay, I digress....

My primary objective was to point out that although we have lived here for almost a year, there are a lot of things we have yet to experience in our new town (that exists sans many suburban "amenities"). We spent all of last summer finishing projects and prepping for the arrival of Henry (formerly known as Baby T) and all winter figuring out how to coexist with an infant. So here we are... settled in and ready to tread in unknown waters. First stop: Tiny's....

This has been the place that we have said, "We really need to go there" ever since we discovered its existence. I mean really... hot dogs?! If you know me, you know I love 'em. Apparently Tiny's used to be the general store back in the good ol' days. You can still purchase "fancy" tobacco products here. Ask Eric about his corn cob pipe.

Rumor has it that Tiny's may be closing. Say it ain't so!

Eric enjoying a frosty root beer. We forgot to take pictures of the dogs, but trust me. They did not disappoint.

Sign outside the shop... They weren't kidding. The floor shook during one of the blasts.

Post hot dog we went down by the river.

Eric giving Henry a life-lesson: "Be careful around the water!" I believe Henry was looking at me b/c he knows who really gives the life-lessons in the household. Oh wait...I mean...he was looking at me because I had the camera. ;)

And here's one of me to just document that I was out for the day as well.