First Haircut

I went back and forth with when to get Gunnar his first haircut.  This past weekend, we pulled the trigger.  When I look at the before and after pic, I can't believe I let him walk around like that!  He looks so grown up now with his big boy hair.  My baby is officially no longer a baby.  

Cheers!

So serious getting his hair cut

I love his face

Summer Photo Shoot

When we got our dSLR for Christmas a couple of years ago we had high hopes for learning how to actually use it. We didn't want a glorified point-and-shoot. But it never really happened. During my summer as a stay-at-home dad I had some time to read up about apertures and shutter speeds. I used to know these things when I was a yearbook photographer in high school, but I've long since forgotten everything. So after reading up a bit I thought I'd try it out with a little photo shoot down at the playground. It was actually a pretty sunny day, so there wasn't much I could really do with the settings. That isn't to say I didn't get some great pics. At some point I want to learn how to get blurry backgrounds with the subject in focus.

One Year Photos

Here's the last major photo shoot for a bit.  Probably until 18 months.  I think I'm going to follow the sizes of clothing.  :)

Cheers!

This might be my favorite.  ;)

Holland, MI

Over Labor Day weekend, Kevin and I took a trip to Holland.  We had a few things to celebrate and I hadn't been to Holland since I was in high school.  We spent two nights there.  Two nights away from Gunnar.  That's the longest I had been away from him.  Not gonna lie, I almost had us driving back a day early because I missed him so much.  It didn't help that there were freaking babies everywhere that weekend.  

But, we didn't go home early.  It was really nice weather and I picked a great hotel for us.  I planned a trip using michigan.org.  I printed it and had the list of things to do with me so we could pick.  We ended up doing quite a few things on the list and still managed to relax.  We made the mistake of trying to go to Lake Michigan on Sunday.  You don't head to the lake on the last day of summer.  We ended up turning around out of the line of traffic and exploring around Lake Macatawa instead.  We saw some amazing houses that I didn't think would ever be in MI.  I even found a house listed for $10 million!

I definitely want to go back in the spring for the tulips.  There are a lot of things I want Gunnar to see.

Cheers!


Here's some things we did while in Holland:

Lunch at Boatwerks on the water.  It's located next to Kollen Park which has great views of Lake Macatawa and a boardwalk.  Get the mac and cheese.

Antique shopping at The New Wooden Shoe Antique Mall.  We went back three times because we found so many good deals.  Really nice antiques, reasonably priced.

We walked Downtown Holland too.  We ate at The 8th Street Grille.  Try their soup bar!  And found the cutest gifts at The Apothecary Gift Shop (they have Pandora!) and Karlas Place (they sell stamps for their postcards!).  We also looked around The Holland Clock Company and saw the most amazing cuckoo clocks and Christmas windmills.

We learned all about Dutch culture at the Windmill Island Gardens.  And Kevin kicked my butt at miniature golf at Sundae Sundae Miniature Golf & Ice Cream.

It was a great trip with our home base being the Hampton Inn.  We were flanked by Holiday Inn and Best Western which also looked decent.  There was kind of an outside mall on the other side of the intersection and you could walk to Aldi, some restaurants and a Salvation Army.  Come to think of it, you could walk to that mall too...

D-Day V2

So yesterday was pretty much one of the worst days of my life.  If not the worst, then it's totally the top three.

Gunnar started daycare again yesterday.  It has been four months since he was in daycare in Florida. I cried his first day there.  He didn't seem to mind it that much.  He was only four months old and still trying to figure things out.  I think he liked daycare in Florida.  The teachers were all impressed with how he did on his first day.  He seemed to adjust quickly and settle into their routine.  He was a happy baby and they loved having him in their class. 

Fast forward to yesterday.  His new daycare is very nice.  His room is a good size and the head teacher has a lot of experience.  But let's be real.  None of that makes me feel good about dropping my baby boy off with strangers.  And it didn't sit well with Gunnar either.  He started crying when I left him to go fill out some paperwork and he didn't stop.  He tried to play while I was there but he cried the whole time.  I tried to sneak out but he figured that out almost instantly and started screaming.  I heard him out in the hall.  I heard him in the entry way.  I looked in the window to his room and saw his teacher trying to comfort him.  I turned on the car and headed to work.  And cried the whole way.  My co-workers in Florida told me that it never gets better, you just learn to deal with it more.  That seems like a very dysfunctional way of doing something.  Why would I want to learn to deal with something that hurts so bad?

Well, you do what you have to for your kids.  And while I believe that being a stay-at-home-parent is an endangered profession in need of saving, I do value daycare as well.  I living proof of the benefits of it.  But that doesn't make it any easier to drive away from my baby when I know he is in pain.  

I pray that the next day goes better.  Because I'm not strong enough to keep this up...

Cheers

The Bear Den #4

A lot of changes in the den.  First, Gunnar is full on walking!  It is the cutest thing I've seen so far.  He toddles around with is arms out for balance.  He been climbing the steps for a while now but now he goes up to the top without stopping.  He holds my hand as we walk around the house.  He just loves going from one end of the room to the other.  He also waves bye-bye.  Every morning when I leave I say "bye-bye" and he smiles and waves at me.  I can't stand it!

Next big news, Kevin got a job!  His days of being a SAHD are over. While I'm sure he's happy to be working again, I know that he's going to miss being able to snuggle with Gunnar any time he wants.  Now, everyone in the house is going to be fighting over Gunnar when we all get home from work.  It should be interesting.  With Kevin going back to work, it means that Gunnar will be going into daycare.  We are lucky to have a nice daycare located less than five minutes from the house.  My friend's son already goes there and says nice things about it.   I'm sure it's a great facility, I just have your typical mommy anxiety about handing over my child to someone else.  I believe that daycare is good for kids.  It teaches social skills and survival in a way a parent can't teach their kids.  I was a daycare kid and I have always been proud of that.  I think it taught me how to be independent, think on my feet, make friends and be confident.  To this day, I have no problem going on adventures and meeting new people.   I make friends fast at new jobs and I truly enjoy learning about different people.  I hope that Gunnar will get all of those things from being in daycare as well.

Kevin and I have also started thinking about where we would like to live permanently.  This is the scariest thing I think I have done yet.  We know that we want to stay in MI.  But where?  I work in Ann Arbor and Kevin will be working in Jackson.  All our family and friends are in Metro Detroit. And how do you pick a good school system?  Will it change before Gunnar even starts school?  Do we live in the country or stay close to a city?  How long will it take to get food, clothes, health care? Is it safe?  Are there other children around to play with?  Is there a church near by?  How far is too far to live from work?  Ugh.  The questions are endless.  It's the most expensive purchase of your life.  How do you really know you made the right choice?  I mean, you are going to have to commit to a place for a few years.  A lot can change in a few years...

Being an adult is hard.  While I'm excited about this next chapter in our lives, it is still overwhelming and scary.  I hope that the universe sends us a house that will fit all the things we need.  We just have to be patient.

Cheers

Gunnar's Baptism

I put off getting Gunnar baptized way longer than I wanted to.  Mostly because I didn't want him baptized in Florida, I wanted him in MI with all our friends and family.  When we finally moved home, I quickly went about setting up his baptism with the church where we always go to midnight mass.  I  worked so hard to get everything perfect for Little man's big day on July 19th.  I ordered a cake and cookies, had prayer cards printed, elaborate invites made and planned a reception at the restaurant on the golf course.  I even got some decorations for the tables.  

When it was all said and done, there were things I loved, and things I hated.  I always tend to go overboard when planning events because I ABSOLUTELY LOVE to plan parties.  And with pinterest available, the possibilities are endless.  And it doesn't help that only rarely does anything meet my expectations.

Gunnar did a great job at church and I'm so pleased that he has started his spiritual journey.  Now, I get a bit of a break until First Communion...

Cheers!  

Notice Gunnar is hanging on by my hair.

Eleven Months

I know, I know.  REALLY late with this one.  But, better late than never, right?

Anyway.  I truly can not believe how time just seemed to fly by with our little cub.  Sometimes I can't remember the little bundle we brought home from the hospital.  That baby was so skinny with long legs.  Gunnar has filled out a lot but he still has those long legs, like his Daddy.  I can't wait to see what's up next.

Cheers!

- Eyes are holding at mostly blue but with a little brown.  They are very pretty, but a manly pretty.

- Loves the swings

- He is so close to walking it's killing us!  He races along the furniture holding on, he just doesn't seem to trust himself enough yet to walk without holding things.  He'll take a couple steps and fall down.

- Loves skinny dipping in his kiddie pool

- Starting to eat more big people food.  We feed him small pieces of what were eating for dinner.

- His flirting is out of control!  He practically gets whiplash whenever a girl walks by.

- Loves going down the slide with Mama

- Likes to "give" things to you

- Points at things he wants

- Making new sounds almost daily, some are pretty funny

- Went under water in swim class!

- Still hates shoes

- Likes to turn the pages in the books if your reading to him

- Learns pretty quickly.  If you show him how to do something once, he will try to do it himself 

- Eight teeth and counting!

- Showed him how to use the light switch.  Now he just stands on his changing table and flips the switch on and off.  It's really cute.

Baby's First Fourth of July!

I  haven't seen my Dad's side of the family for a very long time.  Out of the blue, the siblings, decided to get together in Minnesota where my Grandma McNulty lives.  Kind of a small family reunion for the fourth.  So, we hopped in the RV and headed over.  It was the first time any of them would be seeing Gunnar.  We met at a really nice park in Eden Prairie.  We had a BBQ and Gunnar played in the water.  I was a nice day.  We even managed to see some fireworks from the windows when we were driving though Milwaukee.

Cheers!

Still doesn't really know what to make of his feet in natural water

The McNultys

First Father's Day 2015

Kevin celebrated his first Father's Day last month!  I tried my very best to make sure that he had great day with Gunnar and me.  He used to always go to the Saline Antiques Market with his dad, so we continued the tradition with Gunnar.  I was scrambling to get Gunnar's present together in time the night before, but everything worked out.  

Here's to new Dads, experienced Dads and Daddy-to-bes!

Cheers!

This has turned into the spot to take pictures (see Mother's Day).  And check out that cool shirt Gunnar is wearing!  ;)

Gunnar's gift

????

Any guesses?  :)

Cheers!

#tbt Boho

October 29, 2013

Last week I decided to go boho with this silk skirt I found from Goodwill and the Target sandals I've been wearing everywhere lately.

Holla!

Ten Months

Still playing catch up with these.  Gunnar has become harder to photograph because he rarely sits still these days and I don't have the same set up I had in Florida.  But it will be a complete picture set come hell or high water!

Cheers!

  

Here are the stats for 10 months:

-Eyes holding at blue/brown

-Three teeth came in at once!  Then two more for a total of 7!

-Says uh oh!

-Climbed all the way up the stairs without stopping

-Walking along the couch while holding on

-First baby cookies!

-Starting to eat more grown-up food

-Mimics sound

-Mastered his basketball hoop

-Learns really quickly by watching you

-A pro at the swings

-And I hear he has a girlfriend at his Tuesday swim lesson.  Which doesn't surprise me because this little guy is the biggest flirt with the ladies I have ever seen!

Grand Rapids, MI

We got married in Grand Rapids, MI.  When looking for a venue, I wanted a place that would show off MI to my friends that were coming from out of state.  Most of them had never been to MI before.  I also wanted a place that had everything we needed close to each other.  Grand Rapids fit the bill.  It was also nice that Kevin went to grad school there so we had some ties to the city.  Our wedding weekend turned out to be one of the craziest and funnest weekends I've ever had.

For our five year anniversary a couple weeks ago, we headed back to GR.  Kevin's grad program was having a 20 year reunion and he wanted to go to it.  He booked a room at the JW Marriot, where we stayed the night of our wedding, and we had our first overnight, grown-up evening away from Gunnar.  It was nice to relive all the memories and to meet his grad school friends.  

Maybe, this will be a new tradition for us...

Cheers!   

Got upgraded

Took a picture in the same spot as my bridal portrait 5 years ago to the day

Grand Rapids at night on the river

Habitat 4 Humanity

A couple weeks ago, my work did their annual community service day.  This year it was with Habitat 4 Humanity.  I've done Habitat before, but really didn't get much out of it because there were too many people working on the house.  This time it was much better.

It was just our group working on the house with a few Habitat people.  We had two houses to choose from.  One house was almost finished and needed some cosmetic work done.  The other was just getting started and needed demo.

Guess which house I picked.

It was awesome.  I totally gutted an entire kitchen.  Took it down to the studs.  I wish I would have taken a before picture, but we just went to work.  Now I've earned some what of a reputation at my new job.  I can't quite figure out if it's good or bad...

Cheers!

Kitchen Team