Year One

Anders is now a big 13 month old! In some ways, our pre-baby life seems like it was yesterday. In other ways, I feel like Anders was a newborn ages ago. So much has changed! Every stage is so great in different ways. More challenging, yes, but also more fun. There are a few things I miss from when he was just a little babe, but mostly, it makes me so happy to see this happy boy growing and learning new things every day.


Staying home with Anders over this past year, I've questioned my ability to stimulate his growth, making sure he's getting the education he needs from me that he would otherwise get at daycare, help him reach those milestones all the books talk about. Then I asked my mom how much time during the day she spent doing those things with us girls growing up. She reminded me that what I'm doing with him everyday - talking with him, explaining what I'm doing, singing to him, reading books, playing with him, letting him play by himself - all is teaching him what he needs to know at this point in his development.

So c'est la vie. No flashcards for this 13 month old. We're going to go play with some balls.

Pens are his favorite

Pushing buttons on the radio

He claims to need assistance with his sippy cup, but I looked over to see him drinking out of my water glass with no problems. Stinker!

Loves stuffed animals.

Visiting Kyle at the Bigfork Valley Winter Challenge Race

Dad time.

Kiki's Radio Adventure Hour

I've started a new volunteer gig, which is like the coolest volunteering you can do (for me anyway) - DJ'ing a music program at a local radio station! The station (KAXE) was a pioneer in rural public radio for Minnesota and has over 100 volunteers that DJ for their On The River (OTR) show. The basic concept for OTR is to play a total mix of music and genres, volunteers choosing and coordinating the music while learning to be DJs.

I feel like the past 3 years, I've been living a very isolated music life. Before that, new music all of the time, going to see shows, a big priority in my life. I've been listening to good music, don't get me wrong :) Just have ventured out of my ipod/itunes very little. Since I've started volunteering, it's been an awesome challenge to find new music. Even putting my ipod on shuffle has introduced me to so much music I quite literally had at my fingertips and hadn't discovered yet. Isn't it funny that once we moved into the boonies, that's when I finally become hip to new tunes? Anyhow, I'm loving doing this and go out of the studio after a show with a total buzz. FUN!

Kiki's Radio Adventure Hour (coined by Jack Phinney) is on the radio this Monday night (2/11), 7-10pm. (www.kaxe.org)

Frozen Wildlife

It was so cold up here last week (-20/-30 without windchill was pretty average in the mornings), even the squirrels were trying to get in the lodge - evidence below.

I tried uploading a video of the squirrel squeaking, jumping up and down and basically begging to come in, but blogger wasn't letting me do it. The picture will have to suffice.

That squirrel sat outside the front for two days straight, I'm pretty sure communicating with Indie (our cat) and Sophie telling them to let him in. Not sure the entire message was conveyed, it just drove them crazy for two days instead.

It's been a winter wonderland up here the past couple months. As long as it's cold, at least it's pretty to look at! 

I feel like I need to proclaim that all these pictures were taken with the iPhone. Who needs a fancy camera?! 

Check out the tracks I found fifty yards outside our front door* up the road several miles from our house:

WOLF! I don't have huge feet, but those were some big tracks, over half the size of my boot. Not sure how I feel about having that bad boy so close. I guess it will keep the bears away?

*don't want to scare any of you from visiting