Really?!?!

This morning I was "lucky" enough to witness this commercial. I just want to share the awesomeness with all of you.

The best part are the zippers in the front AND back...for "when duty calls". I think the name says it all..."Forever Lazy"!

At Two Months You...

• Are an amazing sleeper! Sleeping 10+ hours at night! You've been blessing us with this amazing night time sleep since you were 6 weeks!
• Love to smile at people, toys, lights, ceiling fans...
• "Talk" when you have a full belly and are rested
• Rarely nap longer then 45 minutes (I can't complain since you sleep at night!)

• Love your hands and are (hopefully) destined to be a thumb/finger sucker!
• Get super excited when in the bath tub...feet kicking, arms flailing, eyes wide kind of excited!
• Dislike tummy time...this is a new development. It's actually pretty funny to watch. You get very mad and scream at me while burrying your face in whatever blanket you are laying on. We'll keep workin' on it though!
• Love when mom and dad make the motor boat noise!

Time is moving too fast! I have no desire for you to grow up, Naomi. You are a delight!

Love you girl!

A Trip to Missouri

Growing up we didn't really do a lot of traveling...unless it was to The Show Me State. I think we visited Missouri at least twice a year (most years). My dad's sister and her family as well as my grandma live in Bolivar, MO. A sweet little town in SW Missouri. With our seven children and their six we were quite a crew! All staying under one roof. You can believe that many memories were made every time we were together.

Our family has continued the tradition of traveling to Bolivar a couple times a year. This past week was MEA here in Minnesota (schools are off on Thursday and Friday for teacher's meetings) so we packed up and headed south.

This was Naomi's longest car trip...obviously I was crazy nervous about how this would go. Would she scream the whole way? Would she sleep the entire car trip and then not at all at night? How would she adjust to new surroundings and being held by new people? Seriously I could go on (who knew I would be such a nervous mommy!). I even asked my women's small group to pray about these things. Prayers were answered in the way that I had hoped! Naomi (being the super baby that she is!) was perfect in the car. She even stuck to her eat/play/sleep routine while on the road. And then at night...she slept perfectly! Honestly, I'm a little nervous for what our next child will be like...yikes!

Uncles Daniel and Broseph eating at Lambert's Cafe Home of Throwed Rolls. If you are ever passing through Sikeston, MO, Ozark, MO or Foley, AL you MUST stop and eat at Lambert's. It's a charming southern experience...and the food it AMAZING!! I would suggest fasting prior to eating there, and don't plan on eating again for at least a day.

Naomi's fist trip to Lambert's. I see many more in her future. She even got a balloon!

Honestly one of my favorite parts of being on vacation is the food! And let me tell you...we eat well when we are in MO. First, we always eat out at amazing restaurants. And second...our family knows what they are doing in the kitchen. Above: breakfast omelet, hash browns and coffee made by Uncle Lou and Aunt Shelly. YUM! Other delicious things we ate: Grandma's cherry cobbler and chocolate pie and Uncle Lou's Pancakes.

Great Grandma Violet and Naomi Wynne

The highlight of our trip was of course spending time with family.

Mom, Great Grandma, Naomi and Grandpa

Four generations!

Great Aunt Kathy and Naomi

Mom and Naomi at Mary's soccer game.

Mary Grace debuting her goalie skills!! Nice work Mary!

Spectators: Faith, Jeffre, Elizabeth and Daniel (sorry Dan, I cut your head off).

Naomi spending time with cousin Faith.

"All this outside air is making me sleepy."

Mary Grace working on not gagging.

After tiny went to bed we finished off the trip by carving pumpkins.

Carving team Elizabeth and Jeffre

Intense concentration by Jeffre, Elizabeth and Faith

The trip was a blast! Lots of activity, laughing, singing, storytelling and just hanging out. Naomi and I loved it all! Now we are glad to be home, back to normal life...and I'm pretty sure Daddy is over the moon that we are home.

A Dedication of Family

On October 16th, 2011 Corey and I stood before our Autumn Ridge Church congregation and promised to raise Naomi in a Christ like manner. We vowed to humbly live as an example to our daughter of Christ's love for her.

Naomi means "One who is pleasant, a beauty above all others". Pastor Steer gave us this beautiful verse from Proverbs for sweet Naomi.

Proverbs 3:17 "Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace."

A Day in the Life of Naomi

Practice sucking my fingers...

and smiling at my mom.

What could be better?!?!

The New Jordan's South

Saturday October 8th was a leisurely day. We packed up the babe and all of the things she needs for a day on the road and headed out to Lakecity, MN "the birthplace of water skiing". It is a lovely drive through the farmlands and bluffs of Southern MN. The fall colors were peeking, the sky was a deep blue gray with some blustery cloud cover. It was a beautiful day. We hit up Pepin Heights Orchard store for some apple cider and a pumpkin for the little lady. After that stop we headed south to Wabasha, MN on Highway 61. This Highway takes you a long the Mississippi River below the bluffs and again more spectacular fall foliage! Let's just say God is definitely an artist! It was amazing! In Wabasha we headed across the river to Pepin, WI where we enjoyed lunch at the Pickle Factory with a view of the river and the harbor. Corey and I enjoyed juicy burgers!

It was during this lunch that we got a call from our Realtor Andy Mullholand (Handy Andy). Andy is a great friend and trustworthy realtor. He's been patient with us as we've been "looking" at homes for about a year (just trying to get e feel for what we want and what is available). Andy has let us direct the search from day one, but today he had a property that he wanted us to see. Oddly enough Corey and I had looked at this home online that very morning and liked what we saw.

As we headed back to Rochester we decided that we would go see the property that afternoon...and boy am I glad we did. It was charming, updated, spacious and in a location that would work well for all of our Rochester hot spots...could this be it?!?!?! We spent about an hour in the home, and by the end of that hour we were talking about where our furniture would go and which room would be Naomi's. We pictured her riding a little Fischer Price bike on the back patio and climbing the fort in the backyard...Yep! This is the house for us. We left the house and headed straight to Andy's office. On the way we prayed that we would be mindful of God's will for us and that we would honor Him...and in this case, especially financially. By the end of the day we had put in a strong offer and were waiting to hear back from the seller.

Sunday morning we headed out to church and texted Andy to let him know that even though we were at church we wanted to know right away if he heard back about our offer...long story short, after one counter offer....WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!

We are thrilled...so excited...and so blessed!

Closing is set for November 17th...better get packing!

Life at Jordan's South

Since August 25th our lives have dramatically changed! It's been over a month since sweet Naomi entered our family and every moment has been a blessing.

August 25, 2011

Our days consist of lots of cuddling, feeding and diapering. Naomi wakes (or I wake her) at 7am. We talk, change her diaper, wash her face and put on some adorable little outfit. Then it's time for Naomi's breakfast. By 8:15am she's down for a morning nap...here is where things get interesting. Until 1 month she was sleeping 2 hours and I would have to wake her for her next feeding. Now a days...45 minutes is all she sleeps. The reason this is not acceptable...she doesn't wake happy. She's still so very tired. I've read that 45 minutes marks the end of a sleep cycle. Some babies go right back to sleep after they stir (that's what she had previously been doing). Currently our little Naomi is having a very hard time getting herself back to sleep. It's very sad. Since Corey and I are trying to train Naomi to self soothe and be able to put herself to sleep (or back to sleep) I let her fuss and cry for a while. TORTURE...not for her, she's just voicing her annoyance with being awake. For me however, it's awful. Depending on the fuss I let her cry, or if it's the worst kind of fuss I'll go in, soothe her, change her diaper, burp her and put her back in bed...typically this does not work. Once she's seen me it's all over. At that point I'll do anything I can think of to get her to go back to sleep until 945ish...by then she's over tired AND hungry because it's time to eat.

It's pretty much the same routine all day...wake, eat, play, sleep...I just cross my fingers every nap time that this will be the turning point. That she'll actually take a good nap, be fully rested and wake a happy baby! Until then we'll keep working on napping. The amazing thing about this 45 minute mark...it has yet to disrupt her night time sleep. She is almost 6 weeks old and sleeping from 8pm-4am...8 hours!! I cannot complain too much about the naps because she is blessing us with great night time sleep.

Currently it is 9:33am...she's been asleep since approximately 8:50am...I just heard her stir in her crib...Here's hoping, fingers crossed and I'm on my knees. I know she can do it!

We've enjoyed going to church, trips to Howard Lake and Paynesville, shopping, walks, visits with friends, baths, Taste of Rochester, bible study, bunco night and so much more. Everything is more exciting with Naomi along. We're having a blast as a family of three!

At One Month You...

• Love your playmat and toys
• Smile at us when you are rested and have a full belly
• Are finding your voice...cooing and crying

• Are sleeping in your crib...this proved to be an easy transition for you...not quite as simple for mom & dad. We miss you!
• Are sleeping 7-8 hours at night! What a blessing...especially because you aren't a consistent napper...grrrr.

• Still love bathtime! You even enjoyed your first real bath during fussy time! Your legs were kicking and you were so happy to be in the water.

Naomi, you are growing so fast! The weeks are moving at lightning speed.