Mother's Day Weekend

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!



We kept our plans pretty open since the weather was likely to be unpredictable. So, our weekend started out like so many of them do, just lounging around at home (right). If you click to enlarge this picture, you will also see the "battle scars" Collin has on his nose from a fight he had with his soccer ball outside the day before...the soccer ball won the battle as he has a scrape on the tip of his nose and top of his lip. Collin, however, won the war as he went right back outside to play again after some quick first aid and a kiss to make it all better!




Later that day, we started the first of our Mother's Day weekend adventures with a trip to Underwater Adventures at the Mall of America, thanks to Collin's recent interest in sharks over the last couple of months. Armed with a coupon for one free adult admission, we got our money's worth after not one,
but two visits to the shark aquarium thanks to the all-day admissions allowed with the purchase....one trip before lunch and one after.
















Lunch was enjoyed at Bubba Gump's at the Mall (left), and we also took a break from the sharks and other fish by running around at the play area in Underwater Adventures. Collin immediately took off to see what the giant Octopus (right)was up to....














The second time around we also had finally developed enough patience to not run straight for the shark exhibit and we took some time to look at the more local animals too, including some time to give this beaver's nose (right) a squeeze!











I, of course, had to take a pit stop for a photo (left) at a display tribute to a jet ski used in some James Bond movies. I had to laugh that I was wearing my St. Thomas sweatshirt that day, since one of our great college friends Darin (now also Collin's godfather) and I have shared many a James Bond movie memory!..This one is for you, Bartsch family!




Sunday started with Mass at our church, followed by a nice lunch at home and then nap time- which the whole family took advantage of. When we woke up, the sun had decided to peak through. Since it was fishing opener weekend, we decided to be brave and headed off to Crooked Lake about 5 minutes away. We were rewarded by nice weather and one (admittedly very small) fish was caught by each of us, so no one was left out of the fun!

We were home in time for dinner and the usual bedtime routine, bringing the weekend to a nice calm ending and starting the rest of this upcoming week on a good note.

We hope your weekends were all great as well!

A more mellow May...

After the busy start to the month, it has been nice to enjoy some more "typical" Rosenau family days...

That means playing outside in the yard or at the park before dinner. Golf, of course, is a huge pastime and this spring Collin has discovered the joys of teeing off (photo, right) with a tee stolen from Daddy's golf bag and the driver he got from Grandma Nola. Of course we also find time for passing the hockey puck and sometimes the occasional "game" of soccer!

What is not quite so "typical" is that our days are now also focusing on potty training. That's right, we have entered the era of "big boy underwear!"

Collin has been super with potty training so far. Like all of Collin's "developmental milestones," it has not been anything we have pushed and he has come to it on his own terms which seems to have helped.

He has always been open to "potty time"(photo left) and that started quite young as more of a fun thing than a "training exercise". The photo here was taken shortly after Easter 2008 while he was having some potty time with the potty themed book (complete with flushing sounds) that he got from Grandma Nola in his Easter basket. Not much focus on actually going potty at first, but he sure got a lot of reading done...

Shortly thereafter he conquered "poop" and we are very happy to say we have probably only changed about 5 total "dirty" diapers over the last year. I don't recall specifics, but he was pretty safely trained in this area well before he was 2 years old. Now months later, when it finally came time to move to "big boy underwear," we have only needed to work with "pee".

He has been very excited about the whole process so far. We did wait to move into the big boy underwear phase until after the trip to Duluth and the wedding to be sure we did not overwhelm him with too many new things at once. So far that seems to have worked. Although he still wears Pull-Ups at night to protect from accidents while he is asleep, this entire week he has worn only big boy underwear with very few accidents...some days none at all! Although we know to expect some set-backs as he truly masters the potty, we are very proud and excited for our little man!

May Mayhem

May has proven to be a busy month so far...and it has only just begun!

On May 2, Doug and I were "Usher and Usherette" at his cousin Sonja's wedding held in Delano, MN. Since we did not see our active toddler being very helpful (or happy) in such a formal setting with Mom and Dad too busy to provide him with much attention as we fulfilled our wedding party duties, Collin got to spend the day with his Uncle John and Aunt Jennifer and cousins Sybil, Dylan and Grace. He not only was able to have all the attention and love he could ever want, he also got a day filled with hockey, one of his new favorite sports.

Cousin Dylan is a hockey player, and at the first game Collin attended, he fell in love with the sport. I would say it is a tie between hockey and his "first love" of golf! On May 2, Collin got to watch Dylan at a hockey game, spend time in the locker room with the "hockey boys" and go to a pizza party. It was pretty much his dream day. Doug and I had fun too, taking this chance to dance the night away at the wedding reception.

On May 5, we attended the Billy Joel/Elton John concert in St. Paul at the Xcel Center. Ever since doing a music project while a student at St. Thomas, I have been a huge Billy Joel fan and we try to see his show whenever he is in town. Fortunately, this year it was close to my birthday and made a perfect birthday gift! A romantic dinner for two at the Sanctuary restaurant was a great start to a wonderful evening...and Collin enjoyed his evening with Grandma Nola, teaching her more about golf and hockey than I am sure she has ever wanted to know!

I think that the rest of the month should be less busy...plenty of family time outside in the yard and trying to do as much fishing as the weather will allow on the local lakes...but May definitely started out with a bang!