Visits

Behr Family visit to Green Lake

The weather has been so much cooler in the last week.  The mornings are not quite crisp like Fall, but I have already noticed some of the trees on our block have started changing color.  I now have to pack a light blanket and a hat for Max on our morning walks, but by the time we are on our way back home, we're peeling off layers.  This is the time of year when I don't know if I should be excited for Fall to come or sad to see Summer go.  Maybe both.
Max and I took an hour-long walk this morning and I couldn't help thinking of how much we've enjoyed our visits with friends and family in the last two weeks and how much there still is to do in the next two weeks before we leave here!

We were fortunate to have my friend Lindsey from Denver stay with us for a long weekend.  Lindsey is a dear friend of mine whom I met through Cooking Club.  She was generous enough to share her well-earned vacation time with us so we could show her around Milwaukee and introduce her to some of our favorite people and places.  We started off her visit with breakfast at Alterra (of course), a trip to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see the Posters of Paris exhibit, and a stop at the lakefront.  On Friday night, we got together with my family at Quit Qui Oc Golf Course in Elkhart Lake for a traditional Friday fish fry and birthday celebration for my brother, Biagio.  You can't find a real  Wisconsin fish fry anywhere but Wisconsin in my experience (although supposedly there is a Packer bar near Denver that claims to have one) so I've been taking advantage of these while we're here.  We spent Saturday and part of Sunday in Kiel enjoying some time with family.   It was so much fun to have all of my siblings back home at the same time.  I think Lindsey may have actually enjoyed all the commotion.   And I'm pretty sure she'll never forget the night-time mushroom hunt in the woods.  Yep, who doesn't love those?!  What, you think we only tip cows in Wisconsin?  Ha!

Happy Birthday, Biagio!

What is that?!

Giant Puffball mushroom

Great Great Aunty Jo with Max and Canaan

A walk down Millhome Lane

Last Wednesday, David's family started arriving for the Behr family visit.  David's brother, Steve, his wife, Julie, and kids flew in from Texas, David's Dad (we missed you, Mom!) arrived from Washington, and his sister, Laura, came in from Florida.  I was so excited to be able to share my home with David's family and show them where I grew up.  After spending a day in the city, we were able to find a last-minute cottage rental on Green Lake, so I forced everyone to pack up their things and we drove them out there for 2 nights so they could see why Green Lake is my favorite place on Earth.  The water had cooled off a bit since July 4th, but everyone got in at Norwegian Bay.  Even little Abby (19 months), who much prefers the warmer waters of the Texas pools.  Laura braved the cold after the rainstorm on Sunday and joined us for our traditional "jump in the middle of the lake" to end our lake season.  She took the crown for biggest splash with her Can Opener jump off the back of the boat and therefore gets an automatic invitation back next summer to defend her title.  Yeah, it's kind of like The Masters.

David, his Dad, and Laura at Big Bay Park

A Behr Family Picnic at the Lakefront

Laura, Julie and Abby

Reflecting

Max and Opa clowning around

Jack takes a swimming break

Baaaaaalllllll

Julie, Abby, Jack, me, Max and Opa

Has it been 30 minutes yet?

David and Max practice crawling

Behr Family with Rita

A very serious game of Bocce

A Wisconsin skyline - see the rainbow?

All summer, I've appreciated how wonderful it feels to be in such a familiar spot.  I love feeling really comfortable with the area, the people, the culture.  I've taken in the beauty of our surroundings and slowly stored it away in my memory bank, and carefully packed it away in my heart.  Such a blessing to be here for the entire summer!  It can be exciting to see new places, meet new people, and try new things too, but it sure has been special to be home, sweet home.

We're looking forward to our last weekend in Wisconsin, which includes the Color Run on Friday night.  More to come on that.  On Monday, it's back to packing!

Going, going...

Gosh, we're getting close to summer's end!  It's August already!  We've had such a great time here so it's hard to think that we'll be leaving in a few short weeks, but it's true.  Why does it seem like our stay in Milwaukee will be so much shorter than other cities?  David keeps reminding me that we will have been here 2 weeks longer than Omaha.  I'm really thankful that I got to spend a full summer in my home state, just a few short miles from friends and family.  Makes me want to make the most of every last day we have before we leave...


This last weekend, my friends Steph and Jon, with their son Jack, hosted a pool party for our friends and kiddos that are here.  Sarah and her two little ones, Isaac and Audrey, were in town from St. Louis.  Jackie courageously ventured out of the house with her toddler, Charlotte, and newborn girl, Grace, on her own!  And Shannon finally introduced her beau, Ben, to the group!  Sadly, we missed out on seeing the Condons and the Weyenbergs.  The Condons just welcomed their second son, Andrew, only 2 short weeks ago.  And of course, I have to give a shout out to the Mazurs, who recently had their new baby girl, Addison Grace, and who live in Arizona, so couldn't be here.  As long as I'm listing non-attendees, our dear friends, the Scullys, are residing in Denver weren't able to make it either.  So it was a smaller group than expected, but we had such a great time playing in the water!  Thank you, Anackers, for putting on such an awesome day.  We hope this does become an annual event.  Too bad I don't have any pictures to share.  Maybe I can snag some from Stephy and post another time.


Max is on the move!  We've seen him set his sights on an object and go for it.  We rubbed our eyes and pinched our arms to make sure it was real.  Ouch.  Yep!  Sometimes he does the caterpillar and other times he can coordinate getting his knees under his body to actually crawl.  Either way, it's really fun to watch.  It won't be much longer until he gets it down pat.  This will be an adjustment for both of us.  I'm ready, but I'm not.  Better find some baby-proofing gear soon!
Max tries his new skill:

http://youtu.be/sIMtToa4gco
I can't figure out how to cut out the long middle...bear with us here.

We are really enjoying watching the Olympics.  I'll have to catch up on my sleep after the closing ceremony though.  I stay up way too long each night trying to watch all my favorite athletes compete.  Max is getting into it as well.  I think we may submit these pictures to the Olympic Committee to see if they will accept our cute little flag-bearer for 2016.  He'll certainly be more mobile then.  GO TEAM USA!

Max cheers for another USA gold medal!

Stats Update

Max's 6 month wellness visit was last week.  The pediatrician said he is right on track for growth and development.  He gave me the green light to run with Max in the stroller, despite the new guidelines saying to wait until 8 months.  He believes this restriction is based on injuries that occur from parents who run with infants in non-running strollers.  As long as the surface is smooth, we're good to go!  Also, he encouraged us to drop our late-evening feeding cold turkey.  We tried it that night, and now the little guy is sleeping a full 12 hours and hasn't looked back!  Way to go, Maximilian! We all love our sleep!

Here are Max's stats at 6 months:
Head Circumference: 16.7 inches (25%)
Length: 27 inches (75%)
Weight: 16 pounds, 15.5 ounces (50%)

After a rough day of napping challenges followed by his 6-month shots, Max calls it quits on the way home.

Green Lake 2012

Our Green Lake Family

We were so fortunate to spend another summer on Green Lake in Wisconsin.  This year, so that we could share our time with our entire Green Lake family, which includes our family and our friends, the Usedoms, we rented a home and cottage on the Southeast side of the lake.  We wanted to have enough room for them to stay with us.  The Usedoms grew up in the house right next door to our old summer rental, on the West side of the lake, in an area known as the Princeton Cottages.  For 18 years, we have jumped in and out of each other's boats to go water-skiing, tubing, and wake-boarding.  We have shared meals together outside of our cottages overlooking the lake.  And we have caravanned to the middle of the lake to watch the fireworks together year after year.  The Usedoms still have their home right next to our old cottage.  You know the old saying, "There is no place like home."  And that was true again this year.  If I could only don my ruby heels and tap them together...
The home and cottage we rented this summer, although in theory large enough to accommodate our group, was not quite what we expected.  It was a very old home, previously part of one of the original hotels on the lake...and, seemingly untouched in many a year.   Dusty, dark, and dirty.  During our week out there, we found many clues that indicated the owners were largely unaware of how their home was being taken care of.  They live in California, and trust the maintenance and management to a local group.  The dirty dishes were one, the dirty floors another.  A mouse nest underneath the range top in the back cottage...yuk.  But to top it off, a dead bird under one of the twin beds? Just disgusting.  Needless to say, we promptly requested our cleaning fees returned in addition to our security deposit.  Don't get me wrong, we don't need much when we stay at the lake.  Our old cottage was less than simple - a few beds scattered throughout the place, one bathroom, a kitchen.  No luxuries, except for the TV, which didn't make an appearance until a few years ago.  Who needs it all when you've got the lake to keep you busy, right?  Well, that has always been our theme during the summer and I would love to keep it that way.  We like it simple, but we also prefer the inside clean and the wildlife outdoors,   Call me crazy, but I doubt we'll be asked to write a review. 

Aside from those little surprises, we really did enjoy our week out there.  There was a lot of boating, swimming, a golf outing, and of course, the annual Bocce Ball Tourney.  Wait, hold up.  I can't mention golf without giving a shout-out to Mary Usedom, who got a HOLE-IN-ONE during our golf outing!  Whoop whoop!  We had record temperatures this year, with the heat index hovering around 108 degrees.  And with no air conditioning in the house or cottage except for one room, we spent most of our time neck-deep in the lake, which was the warmest I've ever experienced in all my time out there.   For a lake as deep as Green Lake, which is usually just a few degrees warmer than chilly, it was a real treat. 

The flag from Mary's Hole in One.  Mary and Rick

Squaring off in Bocce Finals

Horsing around

Max with Uncle Dominic

Max and JJ hang out

Vincent, Rick and Dominic

Since we were on the SE side of the lake, we could watch the fireworks from the dock.  Some of us even observed right from the water!  The fireworks show was beautiful as always.  This year's event marked the 4th anniversary of our engagement and Max's 1/2 birthday too! We hope this will be the first of many summers on Green Lake for Max.  We've always wanted our children to grow up around water.  Having a home (or renting one) on a lake is a dream of mine for my children because it has been one of those precious memories for me.  Max certainly took to the water, which makes all three of us happy.  It was so much fun to watch him kick and splash and chase after water toys while floating in his canopied swim raft.  It was like he was just waiting to return to the water after a 6-month hiatus outside the womb! 

Max and Canaan at Norwegian Bay

Next year, we decided to rent a home just down the shore from our old cottage.  We'll be in the same bay we grew up on.   Since rentals go fast, we already have it pegged so we won't be stuck with another less-than-desirable option.   To mark the anniversary of another summer with our great Lake Family, the Usedoms lovingly purchased an engraved paving stone at the new marina.  The stone will be revealed later this Fall.  So thoughtful!  It will be fun to see it there year after year when we make our ice cream runs to the parlor.  I think Dad would have really liked that.  I'm sure he was watching our vacation with a twinkle in his eye.

Thank you all for another fun summer vacation on Green Lake!  We love you guys and can't wait for next year!

Max and I with my sister Cristina and Canaan

Max with Mommy

Rick, grilling lunch from his perch

First Bites

Max tried his first bites of solid food on the first day of Summer! Introducing solid foods is such a huge milestone for baby and parents alike.  As I've said before, Max seemed to be showing readiness way before I was emotionally ready for him to be.  I figured he'd have years of eating ahead of him so there was no need to rush into it.  Part of my hesitation was that I wanted to be sure I knew how to start him off on a food journey that included healthy eating habits.  I've looked into several books and websites and of course, I have my nursing education as well.  There is so much conflicting information out there about when to start, what to start with, how long to wait in between, etc.  Now that we've got a good foundation, I've found a few resources that I really like: Momtastic's Wholesome Baby Food, The Healthy Baby Meal Planner, and Super Baby Food.
The brown rice cereal was a hit.  Since then, we've tried rice cereal with mashed bananas, sweet potatoes, pear, avocado, and mango.  Max's faves are sweet potato, avocado and mango.  Here are a few pics of our first adventures in gastronomy:

Getting psyched up for the event

Day 2: Already using the spoon on his own.

Happy Dadda Day

We honored David on Father's Day weekend by enjoying some great Wisconsin activities.  On Saturday, we drove to the Sheboygan County area to give David a taste of a dairy farm.  In June, Wisconsin farmers bid for the chance to host Breakfast on the Farm which coincides with June Dairy Month.  The idea is to teach young and old how a farm works and all the products you see in the grocery stores that come from farms.  We drove to Cascade, Wisconsin and only found one sign pointing us in the right direction (thank you for GPS navigation) but once we found the right county highway, we were staring at fields upon fields of parked cars! 
Breakfast was good and the ice cream was even better!  They had a farm animal petting area, farm equipment to look at and climb on, a tractor pull, and hay rides.  Max enjoyed playing on the vintage tractors the most.  How did he know that his Nanu owned an Allis Chalmers?

On Sunday, we walked the 2 blocks to our new Church.  Then, we drove along the Lakefront to Alterra on the Lake for some breakfast, followed by a stroll out on the fishing pier.  Check out the beautiful water! 

The rest of the day included watching the US Open golf tournament and BBQ-ing steaks.  Sounds like a perfect end to a Father's Day to me! 

Happy Father's Day, David!  You are one fantastic husband and a truly wonderful Daddy.  We love you!

Wisconie

Like the nickname your mom lovingly gives to you, Wisconie is what I call my home.  We're here and finally settled into our home for the summer.  Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, a beautiful suburb on the shore of Lake Michigan, is just a short drive north of downtown Milwaukee.   As we drove into town 3 weeks ago, a rush of memories hit me.  It was like opening a dusty box of photo albums.  I had forgotten just how beautiful this neighborhood is.  I lived here almost a full decade ago when I was attending Marquette University's nursing school as a grad student.  In fact, my 1st and 2nd apartments were only a 1/4 mile away from our current address.  It's crazy, but I can only explain this as my brain re-mapping itself.  I tucked way places, directions, and things I used to know when I moved to Denver.  Now, being back here, the connections are being made again as I re-discover the area. 

I think this is probably the best spot we could have picked.  The Lake is only a short 10 minute walk away.  If you can't live near the mountains, the Lake is where you want to be.  It's a giant magnet of peace and serenity.  And in the summer, it is the bringer of cool breezes providing relief from these hot and humid days.   Our neighbors will also tell you that it makes for some great gardening, since the groundwater flow from the shoreline is so high in this area.  We will find out soon - our vegetables are going in as soon as I can stand the heat!

Leisure boats along the river

Milwaukee skyline from a sailboat

What can I tell you about Milwaukee in the summer?
It's the best time of year!  Beautiful weather, turquoise waters, Brewers games... oh, and festivals!

Milwaukee has a festival every weekend of the summer and is probably best known for Summerfest, a 10-day long festival of music.  We plan to check out German Fest (July 26-29), Festa Italiana (July 19-22), Bastille Days (July 12-15), and Irish Fest (Aug 16-19).  Obviously, we like the food festivals. 

In keeping with my training plan, I have signed up for Storm the Bastille, a night 5K to kick off Bastille Days and the Color Run, a 5K fun run.  Check out The Color Run here - www.thecolorrun.com.  There is a running group that meets just a 1/2 mile from our house.  I plan to start running with them and want to put a 1/2 marathon on my calendar for the Fall.   Okay, now I said it.  You all have to hold me accountable. 

Here are some pictures of Max visiting with Canaan at Nana's house:

Auntie Cristina and Canaan

Auntie Cristina, Canaan, Great Great Aunty Jo, Max, and me

Check back soon for pictures from Father's Day weekend.