Pool time

So the weather in Minnesota and sounds like much of the country has been HOT, HOT, HOT. In efforts to keep Crosby cool, we purchased a kiddie pool which has been quite a hit.

Ready to travel the world

I had my sister take Crosby along when she went to renew her passport. Crosby got his passport picture taken too. Think this kiddo is ready for a trip abroad?

8 months

Crosby,

On Friday you turned 8 months! It will be your first birthday before we know it. I can't believe it, so I'm trying not to think how fast you are growing up.

Since you've turned 6 months we've seen so many changes in you. You can now roll over, sit up from laying down and even stand up from sitting (evidence I found last week).

 

When I discovered you standing in your crib, I got to lowering it ASAP. You are also soooo close to crawling. Your dad and I have bets on when it will happen, but right now you are content just rocking back and forth on your knees. You've figured out how your arms can move forward, but you are still trying to figure out how those legs of yours work with this crawling thing. You'll figure it out soon!

You are still a great eater, but we've concluded you take after your father in your hatred of green veggies. But you do like broccoli which I think is because I ate it so much while I was pregnant.

You still are toothless. I've begun to think you might be this way forever :).

You are still talking up a storm, using words that your dad and I have no idea what they are but you seem perfectly content chatting it up. You have been saying dada a lot, but we think it's just a sound you are making and you are not actually referring to your dad.

Your favorite activities are: playing on your blanket with your toys or love jumping in the jumper and yelling at the top of your lungs. You have also taken after me in that you love dancing! We have started having a couple dance parties in your room and can't wait until you  are walking and can really start cutting a rug.

You dad and I joke that the honeymoon stage is over with you because you've finally started letting us know when you are crabby and we've now experienced a couple meltdowns, but I'd say that for 90 percent of the time you are our happy smiling baby!

Watching you grow and change before our eyes has been so much fun and your dad and I can't wait to see what the next month brings!

XO,

M&D

Making a splash

This weekend we took Crosby for his first swimming lesson and he did great! Colin swam with him yesterday and was the only dad is the water! (I think the other moms were impressed) I sat by the pool and was taking pictures left and right. I captured some pretty good shots!

Crosby was a little apprehensive at first, but soon realized that it was a giant bathtub and started enjoying his time in the pool. By the end of the class, the instructor was impressed by how relaxed and natural he was in the water. Move over Michael Phelps, here comes Crosby Pote! :)

Ready to Go

Learning the Strokes

Loving it!

Happy Father's Day!

                  Love, Crosby

Our little doughboy

Got this picture of Crosby from my sister this weekend. Hilarious!

Gave Colin and me quite a chuckle so I thought I'd share.

My new best friend

Those that know me, know how much I love everything clean and organized ! If you asked, I would probably list cleaning as a hobby. (I know, I'm sick)

So when my husband decided to buy our house a Dyson vacuum last weekend, I was beyond excited!
Some people get excited over a new bag, a new TV, a new car, but no, this OCD clean-freak girl gets thrilled over a new vacuum!

I spent the whole weekend, you guessed it, vacuuming! This thing is amazing! The amount of dog hair and dust this thing collected is really gross, but yet so incredibly gratifying.

I even took a picture of this beauty!




















Do I need to seek help???

7 months!

So I think this is a clear example of how my blogging has been lacking. We are already to Crosby's 7 month post, one week after his 6 month post. Mama needs to step it up!


Crosby,

My little man! Here we are at 7 months and what an adventure it's been!

You seem to be getting so big, but compared to other babies we know, you are a little nugget. You are in the 20th percentile for height and weight but in 95th for head. No wonder you seem so big, that head is getting in the way. You are our little bobble head!

You are becoming more inquisitive by the day and always seem very interested in what others around you are doing.You love watching mama fold laundry, dad shave, or grandma help make you a bottle!

You still don't have any teeth yet which is fine with me. I love your gummy smile, but we are keeping our eyes out for one to poke through.

You have become a bigger fan of the bath (we didn't know that was possible) and you get a little fussy when it's time to get out! You love splashing around and playing with your toys. We signed up for swimming lessons and we are excited to start next week.

Your girlfriend, Sophie has been feeling a little neglected these days because you've discovered a new toy which I don't know if I'm that thrilled about- my iPhone! I'm hoping it is just the lights and colors that have peaked your interest and that you aren't going to be wanting a phone at age 2! We shall see!

I've started making you foods in the baby food maker and I'm pleased to say you've eaten everything we've made so far. This week I'm going to make you avocados and asparagus. It's exciting to see you liking these new foods.

You've also developed new nicknames this month. I call you little nugget or nugget and your auntie Kelly now calls you Crosi-moto. I wonder how many you'll have by your first birthday....10, 15 maybe?

As your parents, our opinions are pretty bias, but we are amazed at how strong your legs are! You love standing and have even taken a few steps, but with holding someone's hands of course! Here is a video of you attempting to walk. (That's crazy Auntie Kelly's voice cheering you on!) We have a feeling once you start moving, you aren't going to stop.

You definitely keep us on our toes and we are loving every minute of it!

XOXO,

M&D

Ch-Ch-Changes!

Lots has been going on at our house! We haven't had a night in about 3 weeks that we aren't running around until about 9pm and our weekends have either been packed with weddings, parties, or we've been out of town. The house has become quite the disaster zone and I'm looking forward to having a weekend to finally get organized. To say last month was a whirlwind would be an understatement.

The month also brought a great deal of changes at our house as well! I made the decision to leave my position at Planned Parenthood. Leaving Planned Parenthood is definitely bittersweet. It's an organization I strongly support and I'm proud of all we've accomplished in my four years! I know that even though I'm leaving my position, I will continue to stay involved in some capacity.

On Tuesday I will begin a new job at a wonderful foundation, Abbey's HOPE.

Abbey's HOPE is an amazing organization founded in honor of Abbey Taylor. In 2007, six-year old Abbey became entrapped by the drain in a wading pool.  After nine months of hospitalization and surgeries including a multiple organ transplant, Abbey passed away. Abbey's hope was that what happened to her would never happen to another child. In her name, Abbey's Hope Charitable Foundation works fiercely and passionately to safeguard kids, both in and out of the pool, against preventable harm.
 

I'm truly honored to become part of this incredible organization and look forward to starting my new role!
 

6 months!

Ok, so I get an F for blogging these past couple weeks. I've been meaning to write this post for almost a month, but things have been a little crazy at our house. I feel like I haven't had a minute to sit down (more on that later), but for now here is Crosby's 6 month post.

Crosby,

This post is actually almost a month following your actual 6 month birthday, but Mommy and Daddy have been running around like crazy. Sorry again for the delay!

Can't believe it's been six months since your birth! It's flown by! While we were on vacation we spent time flipping through the photos on my iPad and can't believe how much you have changed! You are turning into a little man!

You are still the happiest baby I know! You are always smiling and laughing. You also are so easy going. Like I've said before, you have definitely spoiled us and your siblings are destined to be quite the handful :)!

You've accomplished a lot this month! You can roll over, sit up on your own, hold your own bottle and also are loving rice cereal. You are going to start eating more foods this week and I can't wait to start making food with the baby food maker!

You've become a bigger fan of baths and love splashing in the water. Dad and I am thinking of signing you up for swim lessons this summer because you are loving being in the water so much!

You've also become quite the talker and have started making the sounds Pa, Da and Ba a lot. I'm thinking that means that  some form of dad might be your first word and have been saying mama about 100 times a day in hopes that will be your first word. Time will tell!

You are still a huge fan of Sophie, but plastic bottles, my necklaces and sunglasses can also keep you occupied for quite a bit of time.

Each day you continue to amaze us and bring us the biggest smiles!

We love you and promise we'll be better with the monthly updates!

XOXO,

M & D

Fun with Auntie!

Like many of you know, Colin and I went on a week's vacation in the Caribbean last week. We both missed Crosby terribly, but my sister was great and sent us a daily email update with so many adorable pictures that it made our time away a little easier. From the updates and pictures, Crosby had nothing short of a great time with Auntie! I think both were sad to say goodbye after the week was over. Here are some great pictures from their week of fun together!

Becoming the Paparazzi

Like I mentioned before, Colin and I are leaving on Sunday for a week, so this week I've been like the flipping paparazzi with Crosby. I want to make sure I have plenty of pictures of the little man to view while we are away, plus I'm make sure my sister sends me a daily pic as well.

We'll miss you Crosby! See you in a week Tater Tot!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Colin and I leave for a much needed vacation on Sunday, however the kiddo is staying behind! I don't know how I'm going to handle a whole week away! It will be great to just get away and be with Colin, but will definitely feel weird with no baby.

Crosby will be in good hands with my mom and sister for the week. I've given Crosby specific instructions that he can't do any big "firsts" while we are away and told my sister that she has to document his every waking moment so I know everything I missed.  Thank goodness for modern technology and the invention of Skype!

I'm looking forward to some much needed R&R, lots of tropical cocktails, and of course plenty of sunshine!
 

Turn up the Tunes!

From his days in the womb to his days spent with Grandma each day, Crosby is constantly listening to music.

Crosby's current playlist:

                                                  

Van Morrison "Real Real Gone"

This song was on a CD in my car and I'd listen to it on my commute from work while pregnant.  Crosby would go crazy in my belly. After he was born, he was crying in the car on day, so we turned on this song and it calmed him down right away. He still gets really excited whenever he hears it!

Elizabeth Mitchell "Little Bird, Little Bird"

I received her CD as a gift and thought heck, let's give this a try. While I'm not a huge fan of "kid" songs, I feel in love with song and so did Crosby. Colin and I even find ourselves singing this song around the house to each other.

                                                         

  Bette Midler "Baby Mine"

I played this song quite a few times while pregnant and now I sing it to him right before bed. I however, don't sound this good when I sing!

Looking forward to finding more of Crosby's favorite songs!

We are not quite ready yet.

So, this week we decided to try out rice cereal with Crosby and I think this video does a great job of capturing how it went:

I need to cherish these everyday moments because this whole thing is going to fly by way too quickly.

All Smiles

We definitely got lucky and Crosby is pretty much all smiles! (By writing this, I just jinxed it!) Like my sister said, "It's too bad your kid is never happy!"

Anything but Crosby

When Colin and I were deciding on our son's name we went back and forth on what it should be and finally decided on Crosby, however, since his birth he is probably called that only one out of every ten times! Around our house he's known as either Tater Tot, Tater Tot Man, The Crosinator, Cros-e-b, Budtee, Monkers, Monkey Meat (Auntie Kelly's favorite) or CPP.

It will be a shock if he actually knows his name because Colin and I never use it!

Oh the things you find yourself doing!

When you become a parent you find yourself doing anything and everything to keep your child happy or laughing no matter how obnoxious or annoying. You find yourself making the silliest faces, weirdest noises and dancing around the living room like a complete idiot. Now I am not saying that I didn't do these types of things prior to Crosby's arrival, but I think with a child you  just notice it even more.

Here is a prime example. Last week in trying to capture Crosby laughing on camera, I whipped out my man voice (one of his favorites).

It worked and he of course loved it! My mother on the other hand, who you hear in the background, wasn't as big of a fan!

Cubeland

This week my office moved from Minneapolis to Saint Paul. To me, as with a lot of people I know who live in Minneapolis, Saint Paul is a completely foreign land, even though it's right next door. I definitely know Saint Paul people and others who are Minneapolis folks. Coming to this new building meant a total adjustment.  A new commute to work, new lunch spots to try and now a new workspace to get accustomed to.

While in Minneapolis, I had a cozy little office and I mean coat closet cozy that I shared with an office mate. For the past two years, we made it our own space. It felt a bit like a dorm room decorated with lamps, Christmas lights and political signs that we had collected over the years. Even though we were packed in our office like sardines, it was still our little home and saying goodbye was really hard. I said goodbye to my office and hello to my cube!

Cube life is definitely different; more noise, more distractions and less privacy. Yet even with the downsides, I was looking forward to making this new space my own.

On Sunday, with Crosby in tow, we ventured to Saint Paul to set up my new office. He wasn't much of a helper, but he was quite popular with my co-workers so it allowed me to get it all set up.

By the end of the afternoon, my cube had gone from drab to fab! (Ok, not complete fab, but had a little more personality!)

Coming to work on Monday really felt like the first day of school. Working in Cubeland will definitely be an adjustment. Like with all moves it will take some time, but I love having a new space work in and looking forward to calling this my "home".

Flying Solo

This weekend was the first that I was with Crosby solo. Colin was in Wisconsin for a bachelor party, so that left a full 48 hours of just me and the tater tot! While, I was a little nervous about how I'd handle it, I was looking forward to stretching out and sleeping across our bed, catching up on reality tv and most importantly snuggling with Crosby all weekend long. By the end of the weekend I was determined to make sure that Crosby viewed me as the number one parent.

Crosby was a battling a little bug/cold, but we still found time to hang with Auntie Kelly, relax, and have tons of fun! More importantly we survived!
 

I'm not going to lie.  We missed Colin a lot over the weekend and when he is home things are definitely easier, but I was glad to have the weekend to be on my own and prove I could do it every once in a while solo!

Crosby's 2nd Mama

Since we brought Crosby home from the hospital, it's been known at our house that he has two mamas! I'm his biological mother, then he has his adoptive mom, Banya, our 130+ pound St. Bernard. Having been a mother of numerous litters, she definitely is a veteran.

In true mother fashion, she smothers him with kisses and wants to know where he is at all times. She gets up every time he fusses. She's memorized his hang outs. If he's sleeping, she needs to check for his whereabouts: the Boppy, his highchair, our room, and his room and crib.

She is also a huge fan of his things. In the first months of Crosby's arrival, Banya managed to eat a couple of pacifiers, two bibs, and a burp cloth. Don't worry, these things all reappeared several days later during the hours of 2 and 4 am on our bedroom carpet. :( She has her eyes on his Sophie Giraffe, but this mama is doing her best to protect that.

I think Crosby is realizing who she is and on several occasions has even reached out to her. She's been a good mama.

Banya might have some competition though. This week Crosby had a sleepover at Auntie Kelly's and her dog, Riley was just as obsessed.

5 months

Crosby,

While I had hoped to start this blog prior to your birth, it just didn't happen, so here we start at five months and boy how you've grown! You are a totally different kid. You have now developed quite the personality. You are such a laid back and happy boy. You wake up every morning with a smile on your face and definitely have converted your parents to morning people.

You are amazed with all that is around you and want to take everything in. You are especially obsessed with lights of every kind and sometimes get in quite the zone when looking at them.

We've developed a great sleeping routine and you are sleeping through the night. You've been great at sleeping since about 3 months which has been great when mama returned to work. You have definitely set the bar high for any siblings you have in the future. Mom and Dad sure have been lucky!

Your days with Grandma have been going great. You are so lucky to have her watch you each day! Grandma is enjoying your time together as much as you are. You spend your days going on walks around the lake and dancing to "honky tonk bar" country music. You are quite the dancer and love all types of music! Must have been all that time in mama's belly jamming to Van Morrison.

Mom and Dad think a tooth might be coming soon! You are quite the drooler! You love chewing on everything you can get your hands on and especially love your girl Sophie, or Josie as your dad calls her. You even brought her along to your first Wild game.

Tonight we went to your first hockey game! As usual, you loved all the lights and wanted to observe everything around you.

You did great and sat with Auntie Kelly and Dad for most of the game! I am beginning to think that Daddy will definitely be your favorite, but know there is definitely time for mama to become numbero uno.

We made it till the 3rd period before you started to get sleepy.

Happy 5 months my boy! You changed our life beyond words!

Love,

M&D

PS. You can thank your Auntie Kelly for all these pictures. That is one thing I've failed at as a mother. Thanks to mama's new iPhone, I hope to get more pictures of you!

What's in a name?

First you decide to start a blog, then you need to pick out a name. Let me tell you, I feel that this was even more stressful than deciding our son's name!

The name of your blog has to be something that symbolizes what your blog is all about, yet cool enough to get people's attention. Well, don't know if I accomplished either, but I'm going with it.

So why Pote adventures? Thank my father-in-law! His impromptu speech at my brother and sister in-laws wedding and mention of Pote adventures has kept us laughing till this day.
Since this blog looks to capture our highs, our lows, and most importantly our adventures through life. I think Pote Adventures captures it perfectly!

Here goes nothing!

Well I'm finally doing this! After months of debating whether to start this blog, I've decided, heck, let's give this a try!

Who knows how long this blog will last or if anyone besides myself will read it, but thought it would be a good way to look back on this year. If anything it will be a cool thing to share with my kiddos one day....right?

So, here is to day one of blogging! It is going to be quite an adventure!