Recap

'Dear Diary - I'm sooo sorry I haven't written for such a long time!' is what my 4th grade self would write after such a long absence. Those of you who came to my bachelorette party know what I'm talking about.

Let's recap what's been happening: we found Sophie! Anders started crawling! The world didn't end! Merry Christmas! So many positive things to celebrate.

First things first, thank you everyone/anyone who sent thoughts and prayers our way when we lost Sophie. She showed up about 10 miles south of here after a day and a half gone missing. The man who found her said she showed up panting and sweating, he thought she was being chased by wolves or something. She dropped on his porch, staying there the whole day until we got the call and came to pick her up.  To say that we were grateful and overjoyed to find her alive and well is really an understatement. The band is back together!

Anders started crawling a couple weeks ago, wants to walk everywhere, is now pulling himself up onto everything, and this is a common sight before and after nap (don't worry, we've now lowered the bed):

Things he loves at 10 months:
cousins!
blueberries
Sophie and Indie (though they are more scared of him than ever now that he's mobile)
discovering everything he couldn't get to pre-crawling
his polar bear
pointing

Things he does not love at 10 months:
getting strapped into his car seat
pears (how is this possible?)
getting clothes/diapers changed

One day he was crawling around and I heard him go quiet. I went into the living room and he was laying under the Christmas tree looking at the lights. Kids have some of the greatest ideas! I laid with him for a few minutes and made Kyle do it when he got home too. Was too sweet to let that go by undocumented.

Overall, he's growing like a little monkey and his personality is really coming out. Quite the fun age.

Happy 2013!

the Hedlund's

A Lost Sophie

Friends, we are sick to our stomach. Sophie went on an adventure today and has not returned. If you have any connection to northern MN please pass this picture around. She is a true member of our family and we have extremely heavy hearts tonight.

Sophie - had on a blaze orange collar with Minneapolis tags

It's our hope that someone picked her up thinking she was a lost dog. Any good thoughts and prayers our way would be appreciated.

Walking? Talking? Not quite.

It's official folks. We have hair!
                                                                 

 

You see it? He's even had bedhead a few days, so this hair is for real.

Random thought - Have you ever heard a lake freeze? Heard it for the first time today, sounds like creaking, lapping, moaning, bunch of crazy things. Anders and I kept stopping on our walk today to listen. Guess I am definitely from South Dakota, land of no lakes!

Since it's winter, I've been trying to figure out how to keep Anders warm since they don't really make long underwear for 9 month olds (do they?). My mom suggested tights, which turns out is the most ingenious thing and has worked wonders. When he's 14 he'll be super upset with me for posting this, but seriously:

Picture Day

Thought this blog was lacking in its cuteness department, so this should fix it.

Front facing cameras definitely make the boy smile

If you look closely you'll see two bottom teeth poking through

Stop growing!

A little blurry, but just had to post. Sheer joy!

Scooting himself backwards = stuck in corners

nighttime reading

Happy Friday! 

VOTE!

I love election day. I get an excitement in my belly all day long, even when it's a tortuous wait (2000) or when the result completely baffles to me (2004). My dad got me involved and excited about the voting process early - I remember going into the ARC in Aberdeen with him into the Kid's Voting booth while he cast his ballot. There is no polling place in Marcell and our ballots were mailed in a couple weeks ago so a different ritual this year. Am so grateful for the opportunity to vote and do our part in moving our country forward.

Let's see those 'I voted' stickers everyone. We'll clink our wine glasses tonight as a cheers to good results. :)

My girl Ashley's sticker - making her voice heard in the South!

Full Moon

I fancy myself a seasoned baker. Tried my hand and done fairly well with lots of breads, buns, rolls, cookies, etc. Today, however, I tasked myself with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies to send to my brother-in-law for his birthday. Easy, done this recipe a million times as it's Kyle's favorite. This my friends, was an epic fail. Too many chips and too little flour. Seriously, look at these.

Looks like a cookie massacre! Terrible. 

Sorry Brett, these cookies won't be making it your way. But I might have to ask Kyle to stop for some vanilla ice cream on his way home as that's the only way I see fit to save these suckers. 

And this little guy is a cranky one today (a theme in the household today) but brought him in to see Kyle at work in his Halloween 'costume' - matching cardigans and plaid. (Jack, no egg-and-coffee-grounds beard for Anders today. I think that may have sent him (or me) over the edge.)

Happy Halloween!

Snow!

The last week and a half was filled with family and friends visiting, and a trip to Sioux Falls to see my parents new pad. Needless to say, Anders may be going through attention withdrawls today. I'm guessing (just a shot in the dark) that watching me catch up on emails and clean the house isn't nearly as exciting as all those people playing with him and telling him how cute he is.

In an effort to distract him from his boredom (poor child, really), we went out for a little hike today. The owner of the resort found us a used Kelty pack on craigslist and bought it for us for my birthday - these packs are brilliant! Exact concept as the packs Kyle and I have used while hiking and traveling, so didn't even need the instruction manual like I have with every other carrier we've used. (Sidebar: no, we are not getting paid by Kelty for this glowing endorsement. Just really really like the carrier.) Enough about the pack - we awoke to our first real snow yesterday, so it was an especially quiet and peaceful hike.

Pretty sure that hat has seen its time come to an end on Anders head. Little small, don't you think?

Path to Cabin 1

Caribou

Propane costs what??

At our house in Minneapolis, we replaced a furnace that was over 50 years old and about 50% efficient to a brand new guy, 96% efficient. Our monthly gas bills were about $35 a month. Up here, we once again have a beast of a furnace that will likely run forever, but is about 30% efficient and runs off this little lady:

I've never lived in a place with a propane tank. Just got word that to refill this tank will cost us over $700. $700!

Fortunately, we have a massive fireplace in the living room and a working wood stove in the kitchen, which we'll use for supplemental heat this winter. I am realizing how much wood you go through when using those as actual heat sources, not just for ambiance or entertainment. Before we got the furnace working, I was using the wood stove almost daily, which meant chopping daily. One of our 'prepping for winter' projects: Finding dead trees that aren't punky/rotten, cutting them down, hauling out, splitting and chopping wood*. There was a huge storm up here this summer, and trees are down all over - there is no shortage of wood to be found. We turned the old horse shelter into our little wood haven.

Some of the wood we can use up this winter, but most will have to dry out and wait to be used next year.

And for those who haven't fallen asleep reading about propane and wood:

 Sophie babysat while I unloaded the car.

And to close, a picture (unedited) of a nice little sunset the other night.

*If you come visit, you may be put to work

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

The move is finally done (almost). Still have a few unpacked boxes and organizing to do (does that ever end?), but we are getting close! I've been saying this since moving that my new philosophy is that humans are like goldfish - we grow to the size of the place we're in. That said, I think smaller is better for us. Less space to accumulate!

The adjustment of moving from South Minneapolis to Marcell, MN (population 394, with the addition of the Hedlund's a whopping 397) has been interesting but oddly enough not terribly difficult. It's kind of fun getting back to a smaller community. Kyle went to a grocery store in Bigfork two days one week, and on the second trip in was asked if he was new in town. Up here, new faces = buzz!

Days have mostly consisted of chopping wood, cleaning cabins, hanging out with Anders, sealing up our new home for winter and getting a cat to keep critters out. Slightly different than life in Mpls...such rewarding work though. I've even learned to handle an axe, so if we do move back to the city, I'm armed.

In other news, Anders is still bald. He loves standing (with help), jumping, being upside down, going outside, eats his toes and our noses often, already knows that his parents are the funniest and coolest people around and is just a happy little dude. Not moving around too much yet, but we are onthedge. And I'm okay with not going over that cliff just yet.

The new digs

Looking adorable

Taking pictures of Kyle taking pictures

More cuteness

Family pic! Seriously the third picture that exists of the three of us, you'd think Anders could have at least thrown out a smile. 

Today before venturing outside 

Writing on a platform like this is meant to help keep in contact and let you all know what we're up to (if you're interested). Probably more so will serve as documentation for us during this little trip in life!