Sever's Farm

Last Saturday we took a fun little trip to Sever's Farm in Shakopee. Sever's is well known for their amazing corn maze, but we stuck to the little kid attractions: the corn pool, petting zoo, and pumpkins. It was a balmy, almost 90 degree day so it felt a little weird being out there in our summer attire celebrating Fall, but we had a blast.

 "Swimming" in corn is fun! I thought Shae was going to try eating it, but he was just smelling it. :-)

 The camel nibbled Shae's fingers, which he really got a kick out of.

 Shae loved running around in the petting zoo. That kid LOVES animals!

 "I like this one, Daddy."

"Ball!" To Shae, the pumpkin patch was a field of balls. :-)

Shae's Big Secret

Shae's gonna be a BIG brother!!! We are absolutely thrilled to be adding another addition to our little family. Baby #2 is expected to arrive around May 14, 2011, which will put the kiddos at just short of two years apart. Yikes! We'll be busy. :)

Joe, Shae, and I found out the good news on September 10th, and couldn't keep our mouths shut for too long before sharing with our parents and siblings. A few weeks later we were sharing with the rest of our family and a few close friends. And now we're going public.

This pregnancy has been a little different so far. The constant nausea has been anything but pleasant. Whoever coined the term "morning" sickness ought to be shot (although I'm sure they're dead by now anyway). I would give anything to only feel sick in the morning. A little help from my new favorite little pill, Zofran, has been starting to help though. Praise the Lord! If you've never been in charge of chasing a one year old around all day while feeling completely sick, consider yourself lucky.

We've also already gotten a little pregnancy scare out of the way (and let's hope this was the only one). The little worry ended up being a subchorionic hemorrhage (gathering of blood between the membranes of the placenta and the uterus). Nothing too worrisome at this stage and no bed rest! Hooray!

We've had two doctors appointments already and were able to see the tiny little heartbeat both times (first time: 139 beats/min, and second time: 162 beats/min). This is absolutely amazing to me. This is what actually made the pregnancy finally seem real to me too. Actually seeing that little being growing in there with a beating heart just takes my breath away.

I think the craziest part of this whole thing though is that Shae is going to be the big brother. He's my baby! How can he be the big one? It's really hard to imagine what it will be like having two children. We've got so much love and pride for Shae, and soon we'll feel the same way for another baby. Our hearts will have to double in size. And I know that they will.

Art Project Gone Wrong

Shae has really taken a liking to coloring with crayons lately. So logically, I thought he'd enjoy finger painting with chocolate and vanilla pudding. Who wouldn't? I found a picture of his favorite animal, a lion, to make it even more fun.

 Um, it's stickin to my fingers

And now it's on my face...get it off!

Put the camera down, woman! This is serious!

Not bad

For a little boy that enjoys getting dirty in the great outdoors, why would he have a problem with delicious, edible pudding? I don't get it.

A Look at Reality

I love dressing Shae up in cute clothes and taking photos...in case you haven't noticed.

Just check out this handsome necktie!

But let's be realistic. If you were to stop by my house at any given time, you're much more likely to see this Shae:

Sloppy shirt, no pants, one sock missing, the other sock barely hanging on, and making a mess of every room in the house! Silly boy!

Playing in the Leaves

It appears that Shae is in agreement with mommy and daddy that fall is one of the best seasons. We enjoyed visiting Nerstrand State Park on Saturday for the annual Gratz Family Fall Picnic. It was a little chilly, but Shae loved spending the day outside playing in the leaves, enjoying a campfire, and hanging out with family.

 Shae had to get his hands on the football right away

 Looks like he's getting ready to hike the ball to daddy

 Loved walking through the leaves

 Playing with leaves is fun!

 A brief look at the camera

 Sooooo big!

 A kiss from Bauer

There were a lot of other people at the picnic as well, but somehow Shae was one of the only ones that made it onto my camera. I'll have to work on that. :)

Silly Little Walker

I haven't been very good at blogging lately, but not because I don't have anything to share. There's always something exciting going on with a one year old in the house. Shae continues to entertain us and really loves getting a laugh out of us. The video below is a good demonstration of this. One might think that he's working on a dirty diaper, but that's not the case. He's just being his silly self.

And his newest big milestone: walking! He actually took his first steps on August 14th, but he just mastered walking all over the place in the past week. He's so proud of himself too. There's nothing better than seeing him toddle towards you with a big grin on his face and then falling into your arms. :-)

I've Conquered the World!

...or so it feels.

As some of you may know, Shae is not exactly the best eater. Although I don't share this theory, Shae believes that there are much more fun things to be doing than eating. Just about every baby food meal has been a struggle. And solids? Forget about it. The mere thought of putting finger foods into his mouth makes Shae squirm.

Over the past few months we've only been successful on a few solids:

• Gerber Puffs
• Gerber Yogurt Melts
• Gerber Lil' Crunchies

You get the picture. Something about those colorful Gerber packages I guess. Although not the worst thing in world to eat, those Gerber snacks just weren't going to cut it nutritionally, and I was really hoping to not have to keep up with straight baby food for too much longer.

What else can I get this kid to eat?! Hmmm...

Looks like a delicious Gerber snack...

Yes! He's eating it!

Ha! Joke's on you, kid! That's tofu coated in graham cracker crumbs you're eating! Mommy snuck them into an empty Gerber container and you were none the wiser.

And so, yes, this is what conquering the world feels like to a mom that has been worried about the development and nutrition intake of her dear, sweet child for far too long.

*Side note: For those of you following the soy debate, do not worry; the amounts of tofu being consumed will not affect Shae's estrogen levels :)