Boo Boo where is my picnic basket?

What fun we had on our camping vacation last week. The Pearcy-Blowers clan was in the area for a wedding so we spent 5 days “camping” at Yogi Bear campground in Austin, MN. We rented a trailer since we thought it would be nice with having young ones. It worked out pretty well and helped keep everyone dry the one night it rained…for hours! Well that is except Brock who put up the tents that the Buchert clan were sleeping in. What a trooper! We had good weather and great company. We never get enough quality time together so this vacation was perfect for that. The kids loved getting to spend time together. The campground has a lot to do which kept the kids busy and the parents sane…well except for when we weren’t doing something there were demands to go and do something…you never win with kids right?!

We enjoyed a “hay” ride around the campground. This was my first hay ride but I found it odd there were no hay. Hmm! Cohen enjoyed his time on the hay ride, how can you not with a good tasting thumb.

There was a pretend town setup that the kids could explore. It was being painted that weekend but the jail was open. The kids loved pretending to be locked up. You can see both train rides in this picture of Brezlyn and Sevea. The barrel train I think was the favorite but Brayden would have stayed on either all day I think.

They had these fun bikes you could rent (for free). They had varying sizes which allowed the whole Buchert bunch to take a bike ride together. Sevea wasn’t quite big enough and the bike ride with dad didn’t last long. They were fun though even for the adults.

The campground was clean (bathrooms were impressive for a campground) and the staff was friendly. Wherever there is a pool you know kids will have fun. They had some pretty impressive water slides that the adults had a great time on. Some of the group also got to enjoy the miniature golf and paddle boats. Plenty of activities to keep you busy. We had a lot of fun and would definitely go back. Thanks for a great time and some fun memories!!

Cohen Month 10 Update

Boy that month flew by. This past month was filled with lots of smiles and laughter but nothing really new when it comes to big milestones for Cohen. We do have a baby who sleeps through the night so for that we are grateful. However getting up once for 5 minutes wasn’t so bad either. Cohen was still sleeping from 7:00-5:00 then up for a bottle then back down till 6:30/7:00. He decided around the 9 1/2 month mark to sleep through the night for a babysitter we had. He happened to be nice and do it again for us the next night as well. So we knew it was time to quit the middle of the night bottle especially since he was having such a small one anyway. He woke up the next night at 1:00 and instead of a bottle I rocked with him a little and he went back to sleep. However he woke up again at 3:30. I tried the same thing and he would fall back asleep and wake up again 15 minutes later. “We” had fun with this routine until 5:00 when I said enough was enough. I just sat in the chair with him until 6:30. He slept great on me and I cherished the cuddle time but not much sleep was had by me. We weren’t exactly sure how the next night would go. To our surprise he slept through the night. Then again and again and again.  He’s been doing great ever since….except for this past week. He is officially getting some more teeth!! He has woken up a couple nights for a quick comfort and teething tablets but nothing hard to deal with. He’s a little more irritable which is odd for him but otherwise you can’t tell too much he is dealing with teething…well besides the drooling. He has the two middle bottom teeth and is now getting two on the top right side. We felt like they have been coming forever!

I feel like we’ve been waiting forever for him to crawl as well. But he’s still just making his moves around by rolling or going backwards. He’ll get up on all fours just doesn’t move his arms forward. Maybe he’ll just skip it, who knows because he absolutely loves standing now. You’ll often try to sit him down on the floor and he’ll want to stand instead.

We finally figured it was about time to switch him to the big boy car seat. We enjoyed using the infant seat when the weather wasn’t great since it was easier than getting a coat on him. But with the weather being nice and the fact that we never left him in the infant seat if we went anywhere, we figured it was time. He absolutely enjoys the new seat. He looked so big in the infant seat, it is strange to see him small again in the new seat.

Until next month, only 2 more until the big 1!! Wow!

Summertime food

One of the best things about summer is the grill. Now we are the people who still use their grill during the winter but it isn’t very often and would only happen for something like steak. Summertime grilling is all about hot dogs, brats, chicken, pork, steak, burgers…you name it. Brats or hot dogs on the grill scream summertime to me. I could eat my way through brat after brat after brat with a hot dog chaser…if I was allowed and calories didn’t matter. And I’m not picky. The brat or sausage bursts open…no biggie. Still a fan. However Troy found a method to cooking said meats that would give the nice crispy skin but all the juicy flavor stays inside but you still get a nice grill flavor. He tested the method out one Friday and we enjoyed this summertime meal on the patio. And boy did we enjoy it.

We ate our sans bun but the addition of peppers and onions with a bun sound de-li-cious! If you are interested in trying out a new grilling method, click here. Sauerkraut lovers this would be an easy way to have the kraut ready to go with the sausage. Looking forward to trying that one next!

When the bed is a rocking…

you’ll find Cohen rocking back and forth instead of taking a nap.

Cohen decided instead of falling right to sleep at his noon nap he would practice learning to crawl some more.

You go ahead and practice Cohen! You’re getting so close…just move those arms!!!

Baby doll

It is more manly to play with your baby doll on the tool bench, don’t ya know?!

Pool time

Over memorial day weekend we enjoyed some time in the pool for the first time this season. It was really hot that day so a perfect opportunity. Sevea actually took a little while to start enjoying it. She wasn’t scared or anything but just sort of thought it was boring at first. Reminds me she is growing up too fast. Because Cohen had the exact opposite reaction…he LOVED it. He just sat there splashing with his hands. It will be fun to see how much he enjoys it when he is more mobile. Bring on the warm weather and more days by the pool. Let’s hope we can get to Marshall a few times this summer to enjoy Grandpa & Grandma’s BIG pool.

Side notes: Sevea really enjoyed the slip n slide result from the sprinkler’s water landing on the slide. Seeing Cohen in a pair of swim trunks made the reality that he is a boy sink in so much. Just makes me realize I am going to have two very different experiences when it comes to raising my kids. I am definitely grateful!