Turkeys, Snow and Christmas Lights

Ivorie's first Thanksgivings were great. We started at Grandpa Art's on Thanksgiving and of course she got to try some of the famous cheese roll ups, and like every Klofstad, she loved them! Then on Saturday we went to the Buckner Thanksgiving. Nana even made Jell-O, which was a lot more fun to play with than to eat! Ivorie got to play with her cousins Amanda and Amber as well, it was a great day.

We have gotten a little snow the past few days, nothing to get too excited about, but enough that we got Ivorie a snow suit and have been lugging her around in that instead of just a coat. She loves her snowsuit, I'm sure it is super comfy, I wish I could be wrapped in fleece all day... hmmm maybe I should get a snuggie?

The big debate with the christmas lights was settled and if you would like to drive down Lake Street North at dark, you will see who won! About a week before Thanksgiving, I started to talk about putting up the Christmas lights, we have every year since we have lived in our house. It's always been the white icicle lights. Well the first year we put up the lights (ok lets be honest, Lance put them up) and then Lance took them down. The next year he put them back up, and then took them down, and instead of storing them the same as the previous year (which I think involed a laundry basket) he had a bright idea to lay them all out in the yard and he was going to wrap them around cardboard. Then it snowed. So the lights stayed under the snow until spring and then got thrown away. So the next year (which was 2008) I went out and bought all new lights because I was going to have lights on my house! Lance again put them all up, and then took them all down, and this year laid them out in the garage (getting smarter!) and then they sat there for the entire Spring and Summer, then in the fall I noticed that they were picked up, (by this time I don't know why he didn't just leave them there until it was time to hange them) So a week before Thanksgiving, I asked if we could put the lights up and Lance said "we don't need lights this year" and I said "of course we need lights, it's Ivorie's first Christmas, Did you ruin my brand new lights?" and Lance said "No I did not ruin your lights.... I threw them away!" I was so mad since we had just bought them the year before. So we went back and forth for the entire week and finally decided on Multi Colored C-9 lights, they were very easy to put up, I even helped this year, by putting them on the shed! So Please drive by at night and look at the lovely lights, and make sure to mention to Lance how great they look!

FALL... the season and the action

So with this new crawling adventure we have been going on, we have had to deal with the outcome of bonking our head on everything. Which on it's own wouldn't be so bad. But now Ivorie has decided that she would like too try to pull herself up onto things and she loses control of herself very easily, so with that comes the head bashing, into the coffee table, into the entertainment stand, into the baby gate, and most recently into the deck door, it was pretty cute until she actually fell, her and Buddy both looking out the window together. So Ivorie is sporting a few bumps and bruises on her forehead, and I imagine the back of her head too.

Last week, Ivorie had a sleepover, Colton and Alisa came to spend the night in Big Lake, it was a fun to let them play until they were purely exhausted, which happened faster for Ivorie than Colton. But it was also nice once the babies went to bed, the Mommies could relax and have a little bit of adult time!

On Friday the 13th, My work had a H1N1 pig roast at Dr. Melloy's house. It was a great night out for me and Lance, we got to interact with adults and not have to worry about who was watching the baby... she was safe and sound at Kevin and Jenica's! We will not mention anything about the picture we recieved via text message shortly after arriving at the party, oh since I already did, I guess I should explain, we got a nice picture sent from Kevin of Ivorie sitting in her car seat holding onto a beer! It was actually pretty adorable :-)

Oh and as I type, my little michelob lover is awaking from a nap....

Baby on the Move!

Trick-or-Treat!

Ivorie and her friend Colton visiting at CBA

We started Halloween early at our house, a whole day early! We woke up Friday morning excited to go out and about. While getting ready Ivorie decided that she was going to surprise me by CRAWLING! She just leaned forward and started moving! I was thankful that I charged the video camera so I ran an got it on video! Daddy was called at work (which rarely happens) and he was excited to hear the news. As we went place to place showing off her Halloween costume, she wasn't shy about showing off her fancy new moves. While we were at Nana's office with Colton the Monkey and Alisa, Ivorie even tried to crawl over Alisa like she was a jungle gym. Then while visiting Jenica, she decided to try crawling in her costume, huge belly and all! It was a cute sight to see this pink monster crawling across the floor!

Halloween I had to work, but was greatly entertained with my jazzerciser friend Kelly, Amy the black cat and Oscar the Grouch, aka Kevin. We had a quick yet busy day at the clinic and then I was headed home to take my monster trick-or-treating.

We started at grandpa and grandma's house where Ivorie got 2 books, she loved to chew them more than read them! Then we visited Grandpa Art's and Ivorie had a great time playing around with Casper, dressed up as a ladybug! She thought that he was so funny, he was a little uneasy about her being in his house, playing on his floor and even trying to play with his toys! We ended the night at Craig and Pam's, where the treats were plentiful, cheerios and food for Ivy, and wine and beer for mom and dad. I even got to hand out a candy to a few kids, there was one kid that was my favorite, trick-or-treating with a purse! I thought it was a little girl, but Lance informed me it was really a boy dressed up as a girl! CUTE!

Ivorie has been mostly crabby and tired today, but with such a busy past few days, I don't blame her, I think Lance and I feel the same way!

Here Piggy Piggy Piggy

So we have had a long few weeks at our house. Last week Ivorie was so crabby, we noticed she was getting her top 2 teeth, which quickly turned into her top 4! She was screaming when we would lay her down, and when I got home from work one night she had a temp of 102. I thought well she's got an ear infection for sure. So the next day I had to bring her into the clinic to get some antibiotics, or so I thought. Dr. Watkin is who we saw, since her regular pediatrician has Tuesdays off (she always seems to need to go in on Tuesdays!) She took a peek in her tiny little ears and said, "they couldn't look better!" I was shocked! Since that morning she woke up with a temp of 103.4! So we had some options, more tests, or hope that the fever was from teething. With a gentle nudge from Dr. Watkin, telling us that most babies do not spike that high of a fever just from teething, we went with the more tests option. So my poor little girl had to give a urine sample, with the help of Jodie and Angel's help. (not my favorite thing to have done to me little lady) then we had blood drawn and the lovely influenza test, no child or adult, likes to have something stuck up their nose that far! So my little girl was mad at everyone poking her and touching her, and she was so cranky while at the dr, thankfully she finally fell asleep. All her urine tests came back normal, her blood work did show one little thing, in favor of a viral infection. Influenza is a viral infection...So We got our prescription for Tamiflu and we were sent on our way and we were going to be called with the results of the influenza test. I kept thinking to myself, there is no way my daughter has influenza, she only has a fever! I was 200% positive she had an ear infection. So I contiplated if I needed the Tamiflu or not. Finally I decided it can't hurt to pick it up and if she gets even more sick then we will give it to her. So we went home with Ivy's temp creeping up (tylenol and ibuprofen wearing off, and only one dose left at home!) Daddy was called and told that he must stop at Target to replentish our supply of fever reducing medications and the news from the Dr. Ivorie had a long nap and then the Dr. called. Her influenza test was POSITIVE! My poor little lady had influenza A. I was shocked,, but happy we got the Tamiflu. So it was a rough few days batteling with that fever, keeping it down and keeping Ivy happy. But by Friday she was well on her way to recovery. The weekend came and went and finally we had a happy girl again! YAY! And to make things even better, Lance and I stayed healthy the entire time! So H1N1 came through the Klofstad household and was not as much of a pest as I had thought it would be.

On happier notes, since her illness, Ivorie has learned to get from her tummy to her knees and push herself backwards back onto her butt! She even surprised us with a little crawling on Tuesday night. Buddy is in so much trouble because she will be chasing him around the living room in no time! Her 4 top teeth have come in nicely, and they are HUGE I do have to say.

We have a weekend full of fun plans to visit everyone in her Halloween costume, and go trick-or-treating!

Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere!

It has been a busy week, we started out with a playdate last Sunday with Colton and Levi. It's getting a lot funner for playdates because the babies actually do things now! They even sometimes play together :-) As you can see taking pictures of 3 babies at one time is not an easy task!

Thursday and Friday this week were spent at home, which was just what we needed. No errands to run, nothing on the agenda at all! We got to stay in our PJ's until lunch time and no one to tell us we couldn't!

We drove out to Long Siding Saturday to visit with Lance's Uncle Howard and Aunt Arlene. We went to cut down some corn stocks for our fall decoration, to come back in and find Ivorie very happily ammused with a bag of apples and a can of cat food (not opened) Babies are so easy to entertain! It was a good time being able to visit. We even got to hear Ivorie wow us with her piano skills!

Then we ended our weekend with a family trip to the pumpkin patch. We were going to go with Jenica but she was unable to go because of some sprinkler issue (lame excuse to not hang out with the most adorable 7 month old!) We did however run into the neighbors there, so that was nice to have them to visit with. Although it was cold so we did make it short. Ivorie was overwhelmed with all the pumpkins, she like the little gourds that she could hold. She even tried to eat one, no surprise there! We got our corn stocks up and our fall decorations mostly finished, possibly one more pumpkin, 3 doesn't look like enough, and poor Buddy doesn't have his own pumpkin!

It's a busy week ahead of us with no daycare and finding babysitters. We will be lugging Ivorie around to different grandparents houses.

Play Date Pictures

Play Dates

I told you that I'm not very good at these blogs.... I actually forgot the password for about a week and had to reset it.

We have been spending our time playing with friends. Last Thursday we went to spend time with Kelly from work and her two little girls, Addi and Lili, Ivorie was a little unsure of what was going on. She isn't used to more than one baby around, and Addi and Lili were very active, and they were both quite vocal, which I'm sure made Ivorie wonder what the heck was going on. But she did warm up to them and seemed to enjoy having some girl time. As did I, it's nice to have friends that are moms too, if anything it gives us an excuse to get together and chat.

Sunday our friends Alisa and Colton came over. We watched the Vikings together and Ivorie let Colton jump in her jumper, even though he didn't really jump he loved standing in it playing with the toys! Ivorie was nicer to Colton this time around, no kicks to the face or head, just a few grabs at his face and nose, but everyone survived.

Yesterday little miss Ivorie woke up with her second tooth popping through. She looks like a little Jack-O-Lantern, which is fitting for the time of season... She doesn't seem to bothered by it, besides the little bit of a stuffy nose, and the bright red, sore tush.

We are patiently waiting for Ivorie's Halloween costume to show up so we can try it on and take pictures! It should come this afternoon!!!

TuTu's and Teeth

What a busy week we have had! This was my first offical week as a part time worker! I worked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesay, then got to be home with Ivorie the rest of the week, and it was great! Thursday we just hung out around the house and played, and went and looked at a daycare center in Becker, but decided it wasn't for us... to many germy kids and not enough supervision was the verdict. So for now we will be staying at our over priced, unreliable hours, paid vacation, home daycare. Which is fine because Ivorie loves it there, Lance says everyday when he picks her up all the little kids run over and say "Bye Ivy" and she just gets a big grin on her face. So as long as she is happy that's all that matters.

Friday we had a big day planned, shopping, and playing. Ivorie invited her friend Colton to come play again, it is always nice to be able to spend time with Colton and Alisa, we always have a great time. We do however still feel bad for the time Ivorie was laying next to Colton and round house kicked him in the head... sorry dude!

Friday morning we woke up to a big surprise, Ivorie has a tooth coming through on the bottom! It's just starting to poke through so you can just feel a sharp little edge. I can't believe we are already to this stage!

Friday night Kevin and Jenica came over and Ivorie showed off for them and we got to enjoy a few drinks with them, it was the perfect evening!

Today we have a wedding, Ivorie is excited to get all dressed up again, and to wear the new shoes Nana got for her!

Baptism Pictures

6 months!

Hard to believe that Ivorie is already 6 months old! Yesterday we had a very busy day celebrating by having pictures taken and a check up with our good ol friend Dr. Humbert.

But of course mom's day off wouldn't be complete without a trip to Target. Thanks to our good friend Rose, we found out that convertable car seats (that we will need once Ivorie grows out of her current carseat) were on sale at Target! 50 dollars only... so we got 2! Then we got all of next weeks groceries as well, it was a long but very needed trip!

We got home and played for a little while and then Lance came home early from work to join us in our big adventure to St. Cloud. So we loaded up the truck with tutu's and beads and headed to JCPenny's for pictures. We had 3 different outfits, and looked so adorable in each one, and smiled the entire time! The photographer did a great job with Ivorie. We spent a lot of money and have a lot of adorable pictures coming our way!

After our very successful picture taking, we headed to the Dr. Ivorie weighed in at 17lbs 9oz, which is the 80th percentile and he length was 26 1/2 inches, 60th percentile! She checked out great, no concern about the cough or congestion any more. She got the ok to try more solids, all though she hasn't been really interested lately in solids, we're lucky if she gets a veggie 2 times a week, it just hasn't been her thing lately. After Dr. Humbert gave her the ok, it was time for her immunizations, 3 shots and the oral rota virus. I don't know why but this time I felt that it would be great idea to video tape this process. So if you would like to see the torture that we put our little lady through just let us know! I did feel bad for her, so I got my flu shot too, and when she has to go back in for her booster, Lance will be getting his too (thanks Amy for helping me figure that out!) We are fighting the fever today, but was relieved with some tylenol, and now our tired girl has been in bed for 2 hours.

Pictures will be added soon, possibly tomorrow after seeing our friend Colton, and after meeting our new friend Rayna, congratulations Wendy! And congratulations to Dr. Humbert and his wife Tara on the birth of their (no name) baby boy!

a baptism and a fever

I told you all that I suck at the blog thing, there was fair warning!

Ivorie did get Baptised, it went well, she seemed to love listening to the Pastor talk. She watched her as she did the prayers and pretty much never took her eyes off of Pastor Kris. She didn't cry she probably loved that she got a mini bath, and yes it did seem almost like a bath, they dont use that water sparingly!
After the baptism was over there was a nice gathering at McPete's, took a little for everyone to warm up and start to conversate, but once the party was started Ivorie was rested and ready to play! Thanks to Jenica for the balls, she loves them :-) And thank you to everyone for being with us on that special day in Ivorie's life, but mostly thank you to mom for almost putting your purse in the cake! Haha! Craig we're still waiting for the pictures you took, how many this time like 500? or is is not as many since it was just a baptism, not a wedding?

So it seemed that the party took the best out of our little lady, because around 5 that evening I got a call from daddy (mommy was shopping with Auntie Bryana, Auntie Vicki and Grandma Patti) and daddy had not such good news, Ivorie was sleeping, but she had bright rosy red cheeks and wasn't sleeping all that great. So I rushed home, and got a temperature on the very sick looking girl, 102! As the night went on and the fever got higher, we started to develop some congestion, and didn't want to eat that great at all. So it was a trip to see Dr. Rogan on Monday. With not very many answers and a cough to add to the list of symptoms. We got the it's just a virus speech and she'll be fine in about 2 days. Well 2 days came and went and took the fever too! The congestion worsened as well as the cough. So when we woke up Saturday with a little girl who wouldn't stop coughing, we brought her back this time we had a visit with Dr. Melloy ... sorry again Beth for being late! This time we had a chest x-ray and a pertussis test done, and we were sent home one antibiotics. After just one dose of the antibiotics Ivorie was feeling a lot better, so we finished the antibiotic, and found out the pertussis was negative, but whatever it was, we now know it wasn't viral and we needed those antibiotics! Now we are congestion free and cough free!

The battle of the buldge...ing gums

This past weekend we started the battle of Ivorie getting teeth. She has been crabby and fussy, and now we have noticed that her gums are starting to buldge out and you can see the outline of teeth. Really she is doing great and besides a few days of crying and wanting to be held and one night of no sleep, you wouldn't even know that she is getting teeth. Well the pools of drool that are constantly surrounding her might give it away. Compared to some of the kids that come into the clinic with ear infections, fevers, congestion, and runny green noses, when they are popping a tooth, this is great. I might be cursing myself because she could wake up any day with one of these things. We are hoping that she doesn't!

We are getting ready for Ivorie's Baptism on Sunday. So far she has very cute shoes, and no they are not white, they are gold... she's gotta be stylish, and also cute clips, they are white, and a diaper cover, but no dress yet. Leave it to mom to procrastinate something as important as the baptism dress. Going shopping tomorrow since I have the day off. We are meeting Nana in st. cloud and going to the mall and we hope we find something good! Then we are going to order a cake... and have decided that it just isn't right to get a cake with a picture of jesus on it, all though it would be pretty funny!

Lance's trap team finally won their division last night. They were in the silver division and next year will be in the gold (ivorie has cute shoes daddy could wear to the first gold division shoot!) We are proud of the entire team, but mostly Lance!

First things First

Here is our first post on our new blog... as most of you will guess, I, Joni will probably be doing most of the updating, and I will try so hard to update more often then I did the pregnancy blog.

So to put an end to great week, Ivorie was in such a great mood all week, my day off was great she smiled all day and then I had the dreaded task of dropping my lovely daughter off at daycare this morning. I swear it's my least favorite thing to do in the world. Lance has the good part of the deal because he gets to pick her up! When I got off work Ivorie was a crabby girl! She is never crabby... we tried rocking and swaying and patting the tush, which usually works. Not tonight she was just fussy and whiny. We had to have dinner so tonight it was squash, which I would assume she loved because she ate the whole jar, but I really can't be too sure because she was whining the entire time I fed her. She would open wide for a big bite, swallow and make a whiny noise, and repeat. Then we had a little tylenol because I assume that she must be teething because there is no other reason that my perfect baby can be crabby. We got on our Jammies, and nursed, and passed out. So maybe my crabby baby was just overly tired! HA!

Lance is glued to the Vikings game, I'm sure you are all suprised! We are going to have some adult time, which usually means clean the kitchen fold some laundry and go to bed... Mommy has to work in the morning... UGH!