Back From Denver

I just got back from a short stint in Denver for work. It was a very jam-packed and hectic trip, but I had a good time and was greatly inspired by the enthusiasm of the retail employees I met and worked with. I was also able to spend a bit of time with Seth, an old friend from my junior high days. It was definitely fun to see him and catch up on life. Thanks for taking the time to meet up with me!

It was tough being away from Keira. I missed seeing her so much, but Miss Laura (from daycare) was so sweet and sent me 3 or 4 pictures throughout the day today so I could see what Keira was up to. It looked like she was having a great time and was very giggly all day long. I'm sorry I missed it, but am happy to know she was so happy!

Mark did a fantastic job with her by himself. I was worried, but I'm not surprised he did such a good job. I must be the slow one in our family because he was able to get ready, get Keira ready and then head out the door much earlier than we normally do. I guess Daddy does know what he's doing after all.

In any case, it's so great to be home and I can't wait to see, hug and kiss Keira tomorrow! Good night!

Keira's 1st Steps & A New Trick

Keira took her first steps at daycare yesterday and today we caught it on camera! She's not fully walking yet, but I'm sure she'll take off running really soon - Zoikes! Here's a video of her steps today - 6 in total!

In addition to mimicking the many signs her teachers show her, Keira's also learned how to make a new noise with her lips. Check it out!

A Busy and Fun Weekend

It was a busy weekend at the Favre household. Keira and I were up bright and early Sat morning and met up with our friends at the MN Zoo. It was Keira's first trip there so I was excited to see how she'd react. We were there for about 3 hours and she was such a good girl - taking everything in and watching her friends, Alexa and Max. I think she liked the fish tank the most. All the bright and colorful fish swimming by really caught her eye.

This is Kelly and her son, Max. He's gotten to be such a big boy now and is going to be a big brother later this summer!

Here's Andrea and her daughter, Alexa. They were nice enough to treat us to the zoo as their guests. Alexa is such a good girl and will be a big sister later this summer - many babies on the way!

Here I am with my beautiful little girl. We had a great time, but were both ready for a nap. Keira fell asleep in the car before I even left the zoo's parking lot.

It may not look like it, but all three of them had a really good time. Keira, Alexa and Max were so well behaved and had fun seeing everything. Their moms are very proud of them!

Keira stayed asleep for quite awhile, even when we got home. It was a big morning for her!

Later that evening, Linh and Steve came over for dinner, along with Chris, Traci and their two boys, Cade and Carson. The adults had a nice time catching up and hanging out while the kids enjoyed playing with each other. Carson particularly enjoyed chasing Keira as she crawled all around the kitchen. He caught her one time and planted a wet one on her head - so sweet. I wish I had captured that on camera. Thanks for coming over and hanging out with us!

Carson and Keira hung out with each other for most of the evening.

I caught Cade off guard with this photo...Gotcha! Cade and Carson are both going to be big brothers too!!

Sunday morning Pam, Ed and Jalen came over to join us for brunch. We had some delicious food and had a chance to hang out and catch up. It's been a long time. Jalen and Keira had a great time together and it was good to see Pam and Ed.Jalen makes a very important call

Keira and Jalen go for a stroll around the kitchen

My dad stopped by to visit and so did Mark's parents later this afternoon. It was good to see everyone and I'm happy Keira's grandparents were able to spend some time with her. Afterwards Keira and I took a 1 1/2 hour nap. It felt great! I always love napping with her though I know I shouldn't get her into that habit. Later on we spent some time playing in the backyard with Dad followed by trips to Home Depot, Menards and Sears for a new grill. Our other one got blown over and broke in the rain storms we had a week or two ago. We think we've found one...So, that was our weekend, we hope yours was wonderful and that you were able to enjoy the fabulous weather we had today...Have a great week everyone!

Keira's 11 Months Old

Yes, our baby girl is 11 months old. Goodness - where has the time gone? This past month really has been a fun month, minus the hand, foot and mouth thing. And, yes, she's all better now! Keira's also cutting new teeth - her upper two are just starting to poke through. We're certain she's ready to walk any day now, but delaying that milestone is just fine with me. I don't think we're ready for her to run around the house. It's enough work just to keep up with her as a crawler. She's into EVERYTHING! It's a good thing we've covered the sockets b/c she loves playing with the outlets - why is that?! She also enjoys trying to pull open the drawers and cabinets and has pinched her little fingers a couple of times. Her new sources of entertainment include yanking on the vertical blinds and scraping her fingers across our vents to make "noise". Yes, she's a noisy little girl. She still doesn't do very well with table foods so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. She's really picky and doesn't seem to like to pick up most foods with her fingers - might be a texture thing - who knows? 

More Teeth

Keira's recovered nicely from hand, foot and mouth. It was a rough weekend, but our household is slowly getting healthy again. Mark's also getting better though his cold is lingering longer than expected. I'm thankful I've remained healthy through all this. It would've been hard to be a caregiver if I was also sick.

Today I was playing with Keira at the daycare and making her laugh. With her lying on her back with her mouth wide open I saw some white spots poking through top gums - yep - she's getting her two front teeth. It'll probably be another week or so, but then they'll be all the way through. She's growing up so fast! Now I'll have to be really careful about sticking my finger in her mouth. She'll soon learn how to use those chompers. :-)

Spring is slowly showing itself in Minnesota...It's been great - sunny, comfortable w/temps in the mid-to-upper 60s, blue skies, etc. I think we're finally entering one of my more favorite times in the year...Happy Spring!

Hand, Foot and Mouth

Poor Keira is now stricken with Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. It's caused by a virus and manifests itself in a number of ways. Keira presented with fever yesterday and was really tired, lethargic, and wanted to be held a lot. While her fever broke this morning she was still very clingy and as the day wore on became more irritable and started screaming at the start of a bottle. I thought it was an ear infection so Mark and I took her into the ped's office late this afternoon. After checking and clearing her lungs and ears, Dr. Oie checked her throat and sure enough there were multiple, big ulcers in her throat. Poor Keira. That's why she couldn't take down a bottle - the sores in her throat are probably very painful. I'm guessing it must be like having a bunch of canker sores on her throat. Ouch! Since it's a viral condition we can't do anything, but let it run its course and keep Keira as comfortable as possible. We're giving her Motrin, letting it kick in and then giving her a bottle. That seemed to work this evening. Poor baby. I really wish I could go through this instead of her...Hopefully she recovers quickly.

Since Mark was at work today and I stayed home I got absolutely nothing done with Keira needing so much attention. She wouldn't even nap without lying on me. I was able to take a conf call, but it was really tough to focus when I was carrying and rocking Keira in one arm and holding the phone with the other. For the most part she was quiet, but was ready to start wailing a couple of times. It was all pretty stressful. Nonetheless I'll have some work to catch up on this weekend. Yuck. But, I'm glad I was able to stay home with her and take care of her. Work is work and I'll get it done eventually.

On a more uplifting note, well, kind of...I got tickets for Mark and I to attend Game 1 of the Wild versus Avalanche playoff games. My cousin, Van, babysat Keira while we were at the game. It was awesome and the crowd was electrifying. The Wild came back from a 2-0 deficit in the 3rd period to tie it 2-2, but, we ended up losing in OT. So sad...It was fun to go and be part of the excitement. If they make it past this first round I'm definitely going to try to secure tickets for another game - so much fun! They're playing tonight, so hopefully we'll win this game - we have to. Go Wild!

That's it from us. We hope everyone who visits our blog enjoys the updates and is doing well! Hopefully this winter storm will pass and we will FINALLY be able to welcome spring. I feel like I've said that a million times this year.

Addicted to Guitar Hero

I'm certain there must be support groups for people addicted to Guitar Hero. I could use such a group! Okay, I'm not that bad, but this game is totally addicting. It's so much fun! I didn't think it was going to be as much fun as it is and I hear Rock Band is even better...I am totally a rocker!!! Well, I get the chance to pretend I'm a rocker and can bring a crowd to its feet with my amazing guitar playing skills. Mark and I borrowed the game from my cousin Sunday and we've been playing every night after Keira goes to bed, except for yesterday when I had too much work to do. Anyway, once I get going it's hard to stop. I want to play one more, then one more, then one more...I suppose that's what they want you to do. Watching the kids on You Tube play and beat the expert level blows my mind...I'm still on easy and still have yet to have a perfect performance. Oh, well. It's fun and I'm lovin' it! Since I don't have the talent to be a musician I can at least pretend I'm one in the virtual world. I just have to figure out how to rock out and move my guitar around like you're supposed to. Right now I lose my place when I do that...Those of you who have played know what I'm talking about. Guitar Hero tournament anyone?

More snow...in April?!

Yes, we not only had a spring snow storm a week or so ago, but we got another blast of snow on Monday and it's still on the ground today. And, if you didn't already realize it - it's now APRIL!!!What is going on?!

Here's a glimpse out the window by my desk at work. You can't see the individual snow flakes, but I assure you, the gray skies had snow falling from it all day long on Monday.

Here's a photo from today. There are plants and bushes directly beneath the Evermoor sign. With all the snow that fell you can barely see the tips of these plants!

Here's a quick shot out the front window of our car on the ride into work. It really felt like Dec or January again. Crazy!