Cole and mama

Big Bed update

Forgot to give you all an update on Coles sleeping situation.
Happy to say that he's gotten used to his bed and bedtime isn't AS painful. Don't get me wrong, he still tosses everything over the door gate, empties his diaper bin, tips over the bookshelf and falls asleep everywhere besides his bed. BUT all of that lasts maybe 15 minutes... So it's better. And J and I have been getting full nights of sleep. :)

Time for a Big Boy Bed

It’s official. Cole knows how to get out of his crib. The gig is up!

Last night, after putting Cole to bed (and after J reading him 2+ stories), he decided he still wanted to hang-out with mom and dad. So he took a silent journey:

Yes, our little ninja came strolling into the living room after climbing out of bed, over the gate and down the stairs…. With a look on his face that said “hey – no worries ma – just thought I’d come see what you’re doing. Aren't I cute?”

Needless to say, tonight will include a family trip to Becker Furniture to buy a twin bed and maybe some shackles. 

Pumpkins

Dear Cole

Dear Cole,

Let’s start out with “I love you”. You’re funny and smart and too damn cute. With that said…

PLEASE STOP WAKING UP SO EARLY!

I don’t know if you've realized this or not, but dad and me need our sleep. We’re not very fun when we’re tired. Plus, we want you to grow-up surrounded by cool stuff and going to cool places. We can’t afford that if we get fired for falling asleep on the job.

Maybe you think you've cracked the system – cry for mommy and daddy and end up cuddling in our bed. Well, mom is bruised from getting kicked in the back and dad almost suffocated from you laying on his head.

This has got to stop.

If you love me and your dad, and you want to continue to eat the fancy animal crackers and bagels, please sleep! 

If you need a nightlight. Another stuffed animal. A bottle of water. A watch dog that will chase away any nightmare. A vibrating bed that will lull you back to sleep… TELL ME! I’ll get it for you. We've become desperate.  

Sincerely and tiredly,

Your Mom and Dad 

So darn cute

Pumpkins #2

Such a ham

Pumpkin patch

One more

From last night at the Gopher game. We basically just fed him for two hours straight!

Brushing some teeth

Have a great weekend!!!

Go Gophers!

Coles first hockey game!!!!

Warm Goat Cheese + Honey Toasts

This past weekend we celebrated our friend’s Wes and Ryan’s wedding (it was in New Orleans and we weren't able to make it). It was an awesome appetizers/desserts/drinks event with the whole Forest Lake + dates crew.

I was asked about the app I made so I thought I would share the recipe here. Oh, and the dessert, Bohemian Wedding Cake, can be found here. 

Warm Goat Cheese + Honey Toasts

You’ll need:

French bread baguette

Goat Cheese

Honey

Walnuts

Fresh Rosemary

How to:

Heat Oven to 400

Slice French Bread into little toast circles

Place on baking sheet and lightly toast (like 5 minutes)

Take out of oven and place a medium amount of Goat Cheese on toast (amount depends on how much you love Goat Cheese)

Don’t try and spread the cheese - put back in oven for 5 minutes

NOW spread the cheese, drizzle with honey, add a couple of walnuts to each piece, a little rosemary

Bake for 5 more minutes

Serve!

So yummy and looks super fancy! 

p.s. I have to give credit where it's due. My aunt Linds makes this all the time. I love it. And I may or may not have asked her, when shopping for the ingredients, if I sprinkled pine on it (vs. Rosemary). Hey, it looks the same! 

"Hey, I'm kinda interesting"

[warning: this post has nothing to do with Cole. It is not meant to be boastful or self-serving. This is a internal observation I had while sitting in a salon chair.]

The other day I was getting my hair done and this hipster-cool salon (the kind where it’s required to have a tattoo sleeve, skinny black pants and motorcycle boots). As the stylist starting putting the goop in my hair, he took a step back and commented on my star tattoo. He said “I bet there’s a great story there – tell me about your interesting life”. My initial gut response was “I’m not that interesting… pretty boring really. Tell me about you instead!”

As we kept chatting about life and stories from the past were shared, it accorded to me that I've done a lot of weird/cool shit… and that I should own-up to that. Not just me… everyone! It’s so normal to down-play the awesome stuff you've done and just assume you’re life isn't that exciting. Not cool Tanto. Not cool.

So take a moment, sit back with a cup of coffee, and think about all the kick-butt stuff you've done.

Hell, I’m going to write out some of mine so I can reference it next time I’m asked.

I work in at a cool job where Will Smith and Marlo Thomas drop by
I have a great “how I met my hubby” story that makes people smile-gush
I've jumped out of a plane at 10,000 feet
I spent a summer half-way across the country, where I didn't know anyone, at 18
I have a kid who is seriously funny/awesome and has a killer slap-shot at 21 months old
I (with help) planned a wedding in 5 months
I've been on the kiss-cam (though I wasn't sitting next to my husband… and it was awkward)
I’m 200 hour yoga certified and prenatal certified (all while working full-time)
I did a crazy-ass dance, that no one saw coming, at my wedding
AND I have a cool star tattoo on my neck (that I love) that I got with my MOM AND DAD. 

Boom!

Mama and cole date night

Backlog of Pictures

Here's a bunch o f pictures from September

1st Annual End-of-the-summer-back-to-school-weekend-after-labor-day BBQ

 J going down the slide made for 2-3 year olds

 "way to go Dad!" 

kiss and made-up 

Sunday morning legos  

It's officially Fall!

2011 vs 2012

Had to share these two groups of pictures. What a difference a year makes!!!

Playing in the leaves

Raking

Cole decided piles of leaves need to be in the garage vs outside of it!