St. Louis Kvidahls

Technical Difficulties

2011-12-01T11:39:00.001-08:00

With all of the advancements in technology and its rapid evolution, I have realized how easy it is to go from tech-savvy to tech-stupid (I now fall into the latter category). And how replacing one piece of technology can quickly turn into a landslide of "needing" to purchase other new technology.

My wonderful husband informed me that the digital camera we bought in 2006 (the one I feel super duper comfortable using and downloading pictures from) is ancient and really needed to be upgraded. So he found a great deal on a truly amazing camera that has the abilities to turn any photographer into Ansel Adams. "What's wrong with that?" you might ask. Well, this new camera requires a certain computer speed in order to download pictures (this century), which my 2005 laptop is evidently unable to handle without blowing up! So I thought I could navigate around this difficulty with our other new technology -- our phones. My phone takes great pictures so I thought, "I will just take pics on my phone and upload them to the blog. Easy-peasy!" But not so fast, unless you have a Facebook account (which I don't and won't...ever...so don't ask me...), you can't post pictures to another blog site (Really is there anything Mark Zuckerberg doesn't own at this point?). So my only option was to beg my husband to burn a copy of the pictures to a disc (which during football season is a tall order), put the disc in my "abacus" of a computer, and then find a free moment to blog (which gets us to today!).

There has been another technical difficulty to posting sooner than today...Technically, I'm pregnant! Although I'm sure my first trimester was still light years better than a lot of women's, there was some not so fun nausea and fatigue...oh the fatigue!!! Working full-time, chasing after a very active toddler, and growing arms, legs, etc., and dealing with two rounds of Logan and I getting sick (thank you playdates!) has made me one pooped mama. Although I love you who check out the blog to see what's going on with our family, sleep took precedent over blogging. But now that I am 17 weeks along and into the second trimester, I'm getting some energy back and thought I better make use of it while I've got it!

Here are pictures from October and Logan's Halloween / Fall fun. I promise to post Thanksgiving pictures before Christmas!! ;)

The Dog Days of Summer

2011-09-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

Can it be that we have already arrived at September? I remember when summers used to last a lifetime. Now, they go by in a blink. Looking through the pictures of our summer, it seems we packed a lifetime of adventures into a blink of the eye.

The summer began with Logan learning how to sit "like a big boy" on Logan-sized chair (his favorite being his rocking chair), a trip to Grant's Farm for Father's Day, and daily adventures with Dad to the local library.

I taught my first class as "professor" over the summer. When class ended, we traveled to the East Coast to visit with Logan's great grandma, great poppa, David's parents, brother and fiancee, aunts, uncle, counsins, and my brother, sister-in-law, and Logan's counsins, Ella and Ben (Phew!). Yes, there were a lot of people for Logan to meet!
Logan enjoyed dance parties with aunt barbara (he even tried to have a dance off with David's cousin, Brian, and uncle Bill!), playing with great grandma's answering machine just to hear it say, "you have no new messages" five billions times, and giving "high fives" to all. David got a chance to sneak out one evening to watch the Baby Yankees play ball with Jason, Cat, and Grandad.

Then we hopped in the car and drove to Conneticut to visit with Mike, Jen, Ella, and Ben! We thought that when we left St. Louis, that we would also be leaving behind the ridiculous heat, but we were sadly mistaken! Thankfully, there was a beach nearby. Logan got to go into the ocean for the very first time.....and he loved it!!! I can't get him to sit in a baby pool or his King Crazy Crab pool, but give the boy a seemingly endless body of water and he's all about it!

After visiting with my side of the family, we drove back to Pennsylvania. We went to an amazing outlet mall in the Poconos, where Logan made a friend without even trying (what can we say, he's a "babe" magnet!)!

We capped off our trip with a fun afternoon at the local park (Logan sure does love his wheels! Whether they are on a car, a shopping cart, or playground, he's sure to find them!).
Eventhough we all got sick upon returning to St. Louis (darn those airplane bugs!), we really enjoyed being able to spend quality time with the people we love whom we don't get to see very often.

With that said, how come noone told me that when you become a parent, you need a vacation after you go on vacation?!

The Adventures of Logan, King Crazy Crab, and Friends

2011-06-04T11:48:00.001-07:00

In the past month or so Logan's personality has really been blossoming (a psychological growth spurt if you will). He likes to dance (especially to reggae. I guess he's trying to tap into his inner rastafarian! He could totally pass!), he loves books (I now know all of his favorite stories by heart. Which comes in handy when you are really tired and can't see straight to read the words!), he is a total ham (It's not uncommon to look in the rearview mirror of the car to see Logan putting random toys and water bottles on his head for a laugh), and he can't contain himself when it comes to splashing water (And I mean anything he can get his hands into...water fountain, sink, cup, tub, pool, dirty stagnant rain puddle...).

Here is a little showcase of Logan with / doing some of his favorite things.
Logan playing with his new King Crazy Crab pool.

A boy, a good jam, and a sweat bike (thanks Uncle Mike, Aunt Jen, Cousins Ella and Ben!)

Let me introduce you to my toys...

Logan vs. the Easter Bunny

2011-05-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

What is the difference between the Easter Bunny and Logan?

The Easter Bunny eats carrots. Logan eats carrots. The Easter Bunny hides eggs. After Logan found all of his plastic eggs with little treats in them, he successfully hid them for Mommy and Daddy to find over the course of the next several days! The Easter Bunny hops. Logan loves to say the word "hop" over and over again and watch as Mommy hops for him! The Easter Bunny works solo. Logan has an army of stuffed bunnies just waiting in the toy bin to do his bidding. So you see, there is very little difference between the Easter Bunny and Logan!

Not only was Easter this year tons of fun for the reasons explained above, Grandma and Grandpa V came to visit for the latter half of Holy Week! And wherever did Logan get such a fine Easter suit, you say? Well, Gram Kvidahl custom made it for her favorite grandbaby!

Just Showing Off

2011-04-02T18:12:00.001-07:00

Logan has been working on walking for a few months now. First he would push a large box around (if only they could stay amused by such little things forever!) and cruise the furniture. Then he "graduated" to pushing his mail cart, which he loved giving all his stuffed animals rides in, around every square inch of the house. But now, he finally seems to have it down! Here's a video that you might have to tilt your screen on its side to get the full effect (I didn't know that unlike pictures, videos taken on the camera lengthwise cannot be rotated. Sorry.)!

Once Logan moved from his cradle to the crib, the cradle became a great place to keep his toys. Being a fearless 14 month old, he discovered the joys of falling face first into his toy bin and hanging out for a bit with his buddies. Last week, Logan learned the unpleasantness of falling face first out of his toy bin. So the cradle moved to storage, and fabric bins now take its place. But before we made the transition, we made sure to catch Logan "in the act" one last time (this one is right side up, I promise!)!

Carpe Parkum -- Seize the Park!

2011-02-25T17:55:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while in St. Louis, Mother Nature throws a curve ball and gives us a day or two of unseasonable weather. Last weekend was one of those times. With the temperature topping out at 70 degrees, we were able to forget (albeit temporarily) that we are still in February. Not knowing how much of a respite Mother Nature was going to give us from the coldest St. Louis winter on record in decades, we decided to take full advantage and go to the park....so did many other families!

Having never been to the park when lots of little people were around, Logan was at first a little scared and a lotta skeptical. Eventually he warmed up to the playground and we were even able to get a few smiles captured on camera.

Long time..No Blog...

2011-02-14T17:40:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I've slacked off (I prefer the term "taking a sanity break, because my son is finally sleeping through the night predictably and I can now catch up on 10 months worth of sleep deprivation" thank you very much!) with the blog the past couple of months. We've been in the midst of learning how nutty the winter season will truly be for the St. Louis Kvidahls from here on out. To demonstrate that I had very good reasons for not getting around to updating the blog, here is a summary of what we've been up to...

DECEMBER -- CHRISTMAS

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. That might be true. But, these beautiful family photos do not tell the story of the absolute hell that broke loose mere hours after they were taken.

Later that day, Logan began showing signs of being sick. I will spare you the details of how little ones seem to be germ bumblebees who easily and quickly "pollenate" everyone with whom they come into contact. But, I will say that when people say "s**t happens", they conveniently neglect to add how much or how often!

JANUARY -- RECOVERY FROM 2010 AND MOM'S BIRTHDAY:

You know you've had a tough year when you force yourself to stay awake until midnight on New Year's, just so that you can say "So long 2010" and "Thank God 2011 is here!" We stayed up until exactly midnight before completely crashing and closing the chapter on 2010.

The beginning of January was mostly recovery from everyone being sick and getting back into our usual routine. At the end of the month, it was my birthday. When you are a mom, your birthday quickly joins the ranks of lesser holidays, like "Boxing Day" -- especially if your birthday is within 10 days of your child's! On the other hand, the cool thing about having a birthday when you are a mom is that you get cute cards from both your husband and son (okay, this year the cards were store bought, but I have high hopes for homemade cards in the very near future!) and who doesn't love cupcakes at any age?
FEBRUARY -- CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE?

February is officially my favorite month. Some might guess it's my favorite because it is the month of Valentine's Day. Nope. February is the month when I get to celebrate my two favorite guys!

David's birthday came on Groundhog's Day (I have to tell it like it is...the groundhog came first unfortunately!). Though Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow, telling us that Spring was soon on its way, you wouldn't have known it by the 8 plus inches of snow and ice combo we received the night before. But, it gave us a snow day off from work to enjoy David's birthday and pick up Gram Kvidahl from the airport! Logan and I baked an angel food cake in celebration.

THE MAIN EVENT --LOGAN'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

Since Logan was born on Super Bowl Sunday, we thought we would celebrate his birthday on Game Day! Gram Kvidahl, Grandma and Grandpa vW, and Logan's Godmother and her family were in attendance. The biggest highlights of the day (aside from the company of course!) were eating cake for the first time, playing with balloons, and once the sugar from the cake kicked into gear, climbing as fast as possible in and out of a playtent bus that Godmother gave Logan (so fast that mommy couldn't take a clear picture of the fun!).

And that is the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011. Stay tuned for "Tales of the Toddling Logan" coming soon...

Tis the Season....for everyone to get sick!

2010-12-07T12:58:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving proved to be so exciting, that Mommy and Logan both caught colds heading back home. It turns out that Logan is a lot like Mommy when he gets sick in that he needs extra snuggles. So snuggle we did! But we also stayed in our pajamas all weekend, which was a lot of fun. Logan enjoyed an addition to his sleeping wardrobe -- a new winter hat!

Who you calling a Turkey?!

2010-12-07T12:38:00.001-08:00

Logan's first Thanksgiving was anything but "for the bird" (especially since he didn't eat any turkey)! Traveling up to Chicago to visit Grandma and Grandpa vW turned out to be a breeze. Have woobie (that's Logan's favorite snuggle cloth), will travel! In fact, aside from a brief, but fun stop at Cracker Barrel for lunch and a new winter hat (pics on that to follow!), Logan slept most of the trip.

Added bonuses to the trip included getting to spend some time with Uncle Mike, Aunt Jen, and Cousin Ella and Logan getting to meet Mommy's Uncle, Aunt, and Cousin and Grandma vW's cousins.

Here are some pictures of our whirlwind visit...

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

No, Logan didn't go trick-or-treating this year. Nor did he have any candy (though for the record, he now has 4 teeth!). But he did have a rockin' glow-in-the-dark skeleton outfit that he enjoyed wearing all day. He wore it when he watched football with dad. He slept in it during nap time. He wore it to the grocery store with mom.... You get the point. I'm sure there will come a day in the not-too-distant future when Logan will want to wear his Halloween costume all day when it's not Halloween! And although he freaked out when the first trick-or-treater came to the door (a very intimidating two-year-old in a camouflage batman suit), I have no doubt he'll be a pro come next year! Happy Halloween!

{Sigh} Fall

2010-10-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

It's finally feeling like Fall in St. Louis. Say what you will about our Summer's here, but Fall makes up for it in spades. This past week we took a family field trip to the Sculpture Park. We strolled around for a bit and discovered the park is more of a hiking park....pushing a stroller along a wooded trail...not so easy. Although, Logan thoroughly enjoyed the bumpitty-bumpitty of it all! And then we picked a nice open space for Logan to crawl around and explore, while mommy and daddy caught their breath. Logan had so much fun we had to chase him down!

He's gone mobile!

2010-10-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

Logan put it all together yesterday. After some fits and starts the past weekend, he put one foot, er, knee, in front of the other and crawled for the first time.
It wasn't easy to lure him to do it again with the camera on. I had to tempt him with my BlackBerry and when I pulled it back as he reached me he gave me the death stare...geez, I wonder where he learned that from? (There's a full screen video HERE).

An Autumn Day in the Park

2010-10-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

Today Logan played at the park for the very first time.

The swing seemed to be the biggest hit of the adventure.
Followed by going down the slide (held by mom of course!).

Even chillin' under the jungle gym, feeling the texture of the cushiony playground (and attempting to pick up every single piece of debris to sample) seemed to be a lot of fun!

Now that the weather has finally cooled off, there will certainly be more adventures to the park!

Another BIG first today....Logan began crawling!!! The playground will never be so low-key!

Stay tuned for pics (and maybe video, if mom can figure out how to be so tech-savvy) of Logan on the go...

Road Trip! Road Trip! Road Trip!

2010-09-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

Logan took his very first trek up I-55 to Chicago to visit Grandma and Grandpa V over Labor Day weekend. In addition to this being his very first road trip, he had his first sleep over in the pack 'n' play (not nearly as traumatic as mom had anticipated, thank goodness!), first stop at a rest stop (Ok, 3 stops at a rest stop both coming up and going back home), and first view of Lake Michigan.

You oughta be in pictures...

2010-08-31T19:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a post simply and shamelessly created to slip into that "my baby is the most adorable baby in the whole wide world" parent mode for just a moment.

Kickin' it

2010-08-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday marked Logan's sixth month on this planet! To celebrate (ok, maybe we just needed to get out of the house because we finally had a day below 100 degrees!), the whole family hung out in the very trendy part of town and people watched (or in Logan's case, looked cute and gnawed on his monkey).

This week, Logan had his pediatrician appointment. The results are in (drum roll please)... He's just under 19lbs and 28.75 inches long! Yes, that's right, Logan has doubled his size since birth! Since mommy is such a brain dork, she was also very happy to hear that Logan has gained 2cm in head circumference. Grow baby brain, grow!

In addition to seeing Logan growing rapidly in size, it has been amazing to watch him learning. He is on the very cusp of crawling (this week he scoots on his belly, lunging himself forward with his legs). He can sit up for short periods of time unsupported (longer if he is playing with the top that Grandma vW got him!). He passes objects big and small from hand to hand (and eventually to mouth!). Although he's not saying words just yet, he has plenty of baby conversations with us, his crib mobile, and himself from the morning when he wakes until after bathtime at night.

Ain't No Party Like a Baptismal Party....

2010-08-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

July flew by so fast that I didn't get a chance to post pictures from Logan's Baptism! We were so thankful to have both sets of grandparents, great aunt and uncle Kvidahl, Logan's aunt and both uncles, his cousin, Ella, and some of my friends in attendance. Gram Kvidahl handmade Logan's christening gown which not only had buttons from Logan's great, great, great grandparents sewn on to it, but it also had a "K" embroidered on the chest and the underskirt had his full name and Baptism date embroidered on it. It was a very special outfit for a very special day! After the ceremony, friends and family joined us back at the house for some good eats and conversation.

Celebrating Fathers and Sons

2010-06-26T15:29:00.000-07:00

It truly is amazing to watch the love between a father and son. Dad's day is practically everyday in the Kvidahl household, since Daddy has the "day shift." However, we did celebrate David's first Father's Day holiday properly. First with banana pancakes (yum!). Then an adventure to the Loop to mill around and enjoy lunch at Pi (more yum!!).

There's no doubt that time with Daddy is fun time (sometimes it's filled with so many giggles, it makes Mommy jealous!). Here are some pictures of just the boys enjoying some good bonding.

First Mother's Day

2010-05-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

It was a little chilly and everyone and their mother was there (ha ha), but it was fun spending my first Mother's Day at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Earlier that morning I became a stawberry blonde as part of a mini mom makeover (Do blonde moms have more fun? We shall see!).

Momma goes back to work...

2010-05-17T15:43:00.000-07:00

Noooooooooooooooooooo! We knew this day would eventually come. But so soon?!? How is it that Logan is already 3+ months?!?

Being a "renaissance women", returning to work full-time hasn't been easy. With working four 7 hour days (plus one wopping 12 hour day!), pumping at work, nursing at home, and all the child-raising in-between, I long to crawl into bed before the sun has even set! Aside from a few hiccups here and there, Logan is handling the adjustment well (Which is more than can be said about his momma's adjustment!). It's really no surprise. Afterall, he gets to play with Dad most of the day and be wild and crazy like the picture above.

If I could...like the animals

2010-05-16T18:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so maybe at three months old Logan won't remember his very first trip to the zoo, but mom and dad needed to get out for a bit. What better place to do a family outing than the zoo!

The Sea Lion slept...

And Logan slept....

The Tigers slept....

And Logan slept...

And then there were some cute moments of wakefulness!!!

Growing is Hard Work!

2010-04-28T15:34:00.000-07:00

Last week we took Logan to the pediatrician for his check up at 10 weeks and (gulp) his first round of immunizations. Not surprising, we discovered that he is now 14lbs. 2oz and 25 inches long! Yes, your math is correct, Logan has officially gained 5lbs. in his first 2+ months of life! At this pace we are expecting that he will be approximately the size of a linebacker by the time he's ready for kindergarten! And he already has his three month growth spurt well underway (mom can barely keep up!). With eating well comes sleeping well. Here are some recent pictures of Logan snoozing on some of his favorite people and /or in some of his favorite places.

It's so relaxing, even Grandpa Kvidahl was tempted to catch some zzzzzs. Now if only Mom could get a nap!

Just Playin'

2010-04-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

Logan's favorite things to do (besides eating and sleeping of course!): Clown around with Dad, play on the play mat, peekaboo, swinging in the swing with Senor Grapa (his frog buddy), and hamming it up for the camera!

Here are some photos of Logan in action....

Evolution of a Sneeze

2010-04-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

God Bless you!

You mean there is life outside of our house walls?

2010-03-31T18:02:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how the days and nights since returning home from the hospital blur together and go by at such a rapid pace that it leads us to question, "What day is it?", let alone to contemplate venturing out into the vast blue yonder with this new being (I have to nurse where?!?). But I've made it my mission to attempt (key word here) to get out of the house with Logan each day. And if I can't make it outside with him, I try to see if I can make it out without him. It gives me motivation to shower, put on some makeup (to hide my still vampire-like complexion (can't wait 'till the color returns to my face!)), and dress in something other than workout outfits.

This goal was made much easier with the return of Gram Kvidahl. David had three chaotic weeks of covering March Madness, some of which required him to be out of town. Upon hearing that Logan and I would be left alone, Gram didn't hesitate to book the next flight out to help!

One of our family outings when David had a little free time was visiting "where it all began" -- Saint Louis University. Logan slept through much of the campus tour and didn't particularly seem interested in the details of where mommy and daddy met, where they had their first date, OR where daddy proposed to mommy (that's not gonna stop us from telling him the story and showing him the spots each and every time we go to campus though!). He woke up just in time to have his first "outdoor picnic" in the campus gazebo! Here are some pictures from our trip out and about...

Thanks for those who've gone before us...

2010-03-31T17:28:00.000-07:00

It was no surprise that, upon hearing that Logan had made it safe and sound into the world, grandparents were dying to fly / drive in to meet him. Grandma and Grandpa von Wahlde visited the weekend we were back from the hospital. Grandpa V was eager to see how Logan liked the cradle he had made for him (okay, and maybe to hold Logan, too!). Grandma V did one of the things she does best -- introducing Logan to all of the songs she used to sing to Lisa. With soothing songs she lulled him to sleep many times during their stay with us.

Shortly after Grandma and Grandpa V's visit, Gram and Grandpa Kvidahl flew in to meet their very first grandchild. They too couldn't get enough of our "snugglesaurus". Grandpa cooked all kinds of delicious meals to help get some color back in Lisa's face (evidently it takes about 3 months to replenish a unit of blood) and Gram baked some delicious treats to keep spirits (and Lisa's caloric intake for nursing) up.

Having moral and physical support from both sides of the family made all the difference in David and I figuring out how to survive this new version of our lives (or at least the first 3 months of it anyway). And for that we can't thank them enough!

Who needs sleep anyway?

2010-03-31T17:06:00.000-07:00

The beginning of our journey as a family has been exhausting (which is probably no surprise to any of you parents out there). Between recovering from delivery and feeding a newborn the size of a three month old, Logan keeps us on our toes (or in the case of this first photo, in bed napping whenever he gives us the opportunity!). But he's a good little boy and only fusses when he needs us - be it because he's hungry, tired, in need of a diaper change or cuddles. He's the only thing in this world worth being sleep deprived over!

And then there were three....Welcome Logan David Kvidahl!

2010-03-02T15:17:00.001-08:00

Most of you know by now that Logan David Kvidahl arrived (as predicted by his Daddy) on Super Bowl Sunday (of course!), February 7, 2010 at 11:19pm. Weighing in at 9lbs. 4oz and almost 21 inches long, Lisa finally now understood why the last trimester she was waddling so. Once her water broke during the beginning of "Baba O'Riley" by the Who, Logan was quick to make his entrance. From the water breaking 'till Logan's first appearance it was approximately 4 hours. Although in all fairness to those women who might be cursing at a 4hr. labor, we now realize that what we believed to be Braxton Hicks contractions (that had Lisa crawling on the floor most of the afternoon...literally!), were the real deal contractions. Thank goodness the water broke, otherwise Logan might have been born at home as we waited for "evenly spaced out and increasingly intense" contractions (so much for what the books say about 4-5 minutes apart)! Lisa was able to deliver Logan naturally and without any medications. However, Logan's big size meant that Mom had some substantial and immediate reconstruction (look out Housewives of Orange County!). She also lost about a unit of blood which means that we are still waiting for the color to return to her cheeks. But it won her the title of "One Tough Mother" by her OB!

Our little family made it home on a cold and snowy Tuesday night (after David battled with and won a fight with the car seat). Although the adjustment to parenthood and sleep deprivation hasn't been easy, there is no doubt in our minds that Logan is well worth it. We've also been fortunate to have the help and support of both sets of grandparents, who each came to stay for a while shortly after Logan came home. Their expertise, reassurance, and help doing the simple everyday tasks that no longer seem so simple has made all the difference in our confidence and sanity as we begin this new adventure.

So, without further adieu....Here's our special little guy!!!

Logan, seconds old

Proud Poppa

Logan's favorite hangout -- the changing pad (no kidding!)

Logan's first stroller ride with mom

Logan's Winnie the Pooh Bunting

Logan's facial expression when he isn't being heldThe amazing cradle that Grandpa von Wahlde made especially for his grandson.

Logan sleeps in it each night!

And so our journey through parenthood begins...Stay tuned!

Waiting for...Godot?

2010-01-22T20:09:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, we won't be naming Little Kvidahl "Godot". But we are definitely playing the waiting game. The nursery is complete, the bag has been packed (and unpacked...and packed again...), the car seat has been conquered (it was a heated battle but David was victorious), and I've even begun dilating (4cm!). With extremely limited space, Baby probably doesn't have room for a calendar in there. So it begins -- we're on Baby time. At almost 38 weeks, doctor reassures us that our little butterball is pretty much cooked. However, if baby takes after mom and dad, Little One's gonna to come into the world when baby darn well pleases (thank you very much)! As mother used to say, "good things come to those who wait." There's no doubt that the waiting will be well worth it!

"Let us not waste our time in idle discourse! (Pause. Vehemently.) Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late!"- Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot

Showered with Love

2010-01-22T18:59:00.000-08:00

Watch out Santa Clause! There's a belly that might be a contender! Christmas is always fun in the Windy City, but this year it was even better, sharing the excitement of the ever growing belly (and baby!) with my family. In addition to participating in the family's Christmas traditions, my mom, Jen (my sister-in-law), Jen's mom and sister threw us a fabulous baby shower that even 6 inches of snow couldn't stop! As much fun as it was to get the most adorable baby gifts and baby essentials (no wonder we get baby fever! Everything is so darn cute!), it was even better being surrounded by women who have known me since I was a little girl.

Baby or Butterball?

2009-12-06T14:55:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

We were the lucky turkeys who were able to celebrate in Sun Valley with the Kvidahls. It's always fun to visit family, but this year was extra special because David's family was able to see my ever-expanding waistline (and bustline and...well you get the point!) in person. The next time we see them will be when baby has finally made it into the world.

Soon-to-be Grandpa K and I went to workout each morning before everyone started the day. And we went on lots of walks as a family. David, his dad and his bother went to the U of A vs. ASU football game, while soon-to-be Grandma K and I got facials (I'll take the facials over football any day!). Later on in the week David, his dad, his mom and I went to an ASU basketball game.

We were even able to visit with a Chicago snowbird, Mary Kay, at her house near the Mountains.

I'm now approximately 32 weeks and the countdown is on! It's hard to believe that there are only 8 weeks remaining (give or take baby's schedule) to wrap up work and prepare the baby's room. Logistically one knows that pregnancy is only 40 weeks, but at times it feels like pregnancy is forever. Little Kvidahl is now completely aware that space is at a premium, but with frequent elbows, kicks, punches, and body turns, Baby still tries awfully hard to find extra room in which to get comfy. Some days I think we just make an unspoken pact to be uncomfy together as both of us shift from position to position!

Baby and I are doing well. However we found out that I have gestational diabetes. The good news is that it is temporary and doesn't pose any serious risks to myself or Little One. The not so good news is that I have to be even more careful with what I eat and I have to exercise more than I was before. Just when you think you're eating as healthy and being as active as you can, heredity smacks you upside the head and says, "Nurture only takes you so far sweetie!" So now I'm adjusting to my new regime to keep Little Kvidahl from becoming a butterball of Perdue proportions!

Still growing....

2009-10-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

At 25 weeks (we're past the halfway mark!), I am now noticeably pregnant to pretty much everyone (you know you're looking pregnant when strangers in the checkout line no longer hestitate to ask, "So when are you due?"). Now that my energy has returned (at least for now), I am feeling large and in charge! Baby's presence is felt off and on throughout the day in kicks, punches, swirls, and twirls. But we are starting to notice that baby is developing a pattern much like dad's in that our little one doesn't really start getting moving until about 10:30 or so in the morning (unless mom forgot to eat a snack before bed, in which case baby wakes mom up at 3am to remind her it is time to eat!), gradually becomes more active as the day progress, and seems to be ready to party from after dinner until about midnight. I say, "live it up little one while you still have the real estate for acrobatics!" I'm hoping in the next few weeks that David will be able to take part in the fun and be able to feel the high fives and the hi-ya's when he puts his hand on my belly. But for now it appears that baby and I have our first "inside" joke!

A picture is worth 1,000 words

2009-10-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

About 4.5 weeks ago (Baby aprox. 19.5 weeks) we had our anatomy ultrasound. During the ultrasound we saw most of Baby Kvidahl's developing parts. Weighing in at about 10 ounces so far, our little one is already ahead of the curve size wise. But, that is probably no surprise for the Kvidahl side of the family! Baby was demonstrating some early martial art skills in the form of kicks and punches. Both the ultrasound technician and our doctor said that everything is looking just fine. David indulged me a bit by encouraging the technician to linger on the images of the brain. We didn't get a picture of it (much to this "brain dork's" disappointment), but here is a profile picture and a picture of baby's foot eager to kick mom at every opportunity! So tiny, but so amazing....

Kvidahl....The Next Generation

2009-09-07T18:17:00.000-07:00

No, that's not a beer gut, it's Little Kvidahl making his/her presence known to the world! With the baby bump now more pronounced at 18 weeks, we thought we'd debut a mom and baby picture. Our little one has made several appearances on screen already. The first was at only 7 weeks old at our first ultrasound appointment, when we were introduced to our next family member. At 7 weeks lil' one was already showing us a steady heartbeat, reassuring mom and dad-to-be that things were going swimmingly. Then at 9 weeks, our next ultrasound, baby showed not only that he/she could keep a good rhythm (maybe baby will take after mom on that one), but also showed off some right and left hook punches (float like a butterfly...sting like a bee)! Our last appointment, at 13 weeks, we heard one of the most beautiful sounds to parents' ears -- lil' one's heart beating. David recorded the heartbeat for posterity on his Blackberry and then emailed it to himself to convert it into an mp3 file so we can listen to it on our computer or iPods (ain't technology grand!).

Our next appointment will be on September 17th (19 weeks), were we will get another peak at how much baby has grown and find out the gender of Little Kvidahl.

Stay tuned for more pictures of Lisa's growing belly and updates on how the next generation is doing.

A last day at the (South) beach

2009-08-11T21:27:00.001-07:00

We wrapped up our last full day in Miami by taking in South Beach one more time. This time, however, we actually stuck our toes in the water and enjoyed the sand and surf...for about 10 minutes. I picked up a shell, a friendly local took our photo and all seemed right. There is nothing, nothing I tell you, like spending a week away from it all and getting to know all the little parts of another part of the world. And, as they say, the nice thing about Miami is it's so close to the United States...

Hopefully we'll have another adventure or two in us yet. But, as some of you know, we're expecting our first child in February. Who knows, maybe we can take the little one on those adventures with us...just not to Key West (until they're 21!).

Thanks for reading and for future updates, pictures and the like with what's going on with our unborn child and it's mother, remember to check back here.

Back in Miami, at the monastery

2009-08-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

After two and a half days in the Keys we returned to Miami for another day and a half before we departed back to reality in St. Louis.

One of the places we made sure to hit was the Ancient Spanish Monastery. Located in North Miami, the Monastery is the oldest structure in the United States. Tycoon William Randolph Hearst was in Spain and came across the building. He love it so much he purchased it and had it broken down, stone by stone and shipped to the United States in 1925. About that time hoof and mouth disease was running rampant and the boxes were broken open and the hay used to keep the stones packed was removed and burned. The workers did not put the same stones back in each of the marked boxes.

The broken down monastery stayed in pieces and in storage until 1952. Heart's financial trouble forced an estate sale and the monastery was purchased by two gentlemen as a tourist attraction. Assembling the monastery took 19 months and over a million bucks. And when they were done putting it together there were pieces left over (but, really, who hasn't been there before?).

In 1964 the Diocese of South Florida purchased the monastery and it has been in its care ever since.

We enjoyed our visit to the impressive structure. It was absolutely beautiful and, as you'll see, very photogenic.

For pictures click HERE.

Key West...in a day

2009-08-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

We decided to dedicate one day to see as much of Key West as we could. We made the two hour drive down US 1 to the southern most point in the continental United States.

First we hit the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. It is, by far, the most beautiful beach I've ever stepped foot on. The water was aqua blue and warm, the beach was bright white and the people were friendly and clean (no trash cans, whatever you bring in, you must take out). It cost us a few bucks to get in to the park but it was totally worth it.

After showering off we found a place to park (no small feat) and decided to hoof it for lunch. We found a nice dive, shanty looking spot that came highly recommended in our Lonely Planet guide. The food was great, it was the best burger I had on vacation and the mahi mahi earned a thumbs up from Lisa.

Next it was off to Hemingway's house. There we viewed many of the famous six toed cats as we took a guided tour of the famous authors home. At one acre, it's the largest piece of personal property on Key West.

Once we got our fill of Papa Hemingway's cats, it was off to the southern most point in the continental United States. You've probably seen the buoy looking thing that marks it (see photo above).

The rest of the evening became a sample of the local taverns. I had a few drinks at the Green Parrot and Sloppy Joe's (Hemingway's prefered bar of choice). We watched the sunset and then hit the road for the two hour trek back to Key Largo.

It was a hurried trip, a busy trip but it was an awesome trip. I'd move there tomorrow if it wasn't for the whole making a living thing.

For photos of our adventure in Key West, click HERE

On to Key Largo!

2009-07-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

After venturing out to the Biltmore, walking up and down the Miracle Mile and getting caught in a wicked thunderstorm (OK, so I got caught in the storm and had to have my lovely wife come pick me up at the bookstore) we woke up bright and early the next day, the Fourth of July, and headed to Key Largo.

It took about an hour to reach Key Largo from Bill and Ginny's place (who were so sweet to allow us to spend our vacation in their home). It would have taken less time if I wasn't chasing a cup of coffee and if there wasn't construction on the only road into the Keys (US 1).

Because the four lane road was down to two lanes (one each way) and the road was packed with holiday travelers, the trip took a little while longer than we thought.

The ride was, however, beautiful. As you hit a bridge all of a sudden there is nothing but ocean on either side.

We reached the motel, a lovely little place Lisa dug up online. It had a small dock for fishing and boating. There was a tiny beach to slip into the water and go for a dip (on the Gulf of Mexico side or "Bay" side as they call it). The room wasn't big but it was air conditioned, with cable TV, a mini fridge, queen size bed and an excellent shower. It was just what we wanted.

We found a nice place to eat lunch (thank you again Lonley Planet guide!), did some shopping, enjoyed the hammock at the motel and headed out for dinner at the Fish House (another good idea from the guide!).

The Fish House is, believe it or not, one of the handful of restaurants that continues to serve locally caught fresh fish every night. While I discovered they have excellent jerk chicken, Lisa reports everything she tried from the lobster bisque to the entree were out of this world tasty. The menu even gives those adventurous sorts the option of: "You hook it, we'll cook it."

We grabbed dessert at another sea side restaurant and managed to get caught in the traffic along the one road that connects the place (US 1) as people filed out of the local park after the Fourth of July fireworks.

We didn't stay up too late. We had a big day coming up. We were headed for Key West.

The beautiful Biltmore

2009-07-18T21:58:00.000-07:00

After our day at the Fruit & Spice Park we headed back into civilization. We decided to pal around the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. It, shall we say, is fabulous. We'd like to one day have the good fortune to actually spend a night (or a few) in this national landmark. It's an incredible structure that was built in 1926 in 10 months for $10 million. It has the largest continuous pool in the continental United States. The place is said to be haunted by the ghost of one of Al Capone's victims as he was often a frequent quest at the place and, legend goes, whacked somebody right there in the posh resort.

It was amazing to walk through, incredible to look at and stunning to think it's been standing for the better part of 83 years.

If you're so inclined there is a highly rated golf course, restaurant and bar on the premises. Plus it has its own Culinary Academy for all you chefs.

For a look at this marvelous place click HERE.

Our fruity day trip

2009-07-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

If you're ever in Miami and have a hankering for something exotic, we highly recommend the Fruit & Spice Farm. Located about a half an hour south of the city of Miami, the Fruit & Spice Park is exactly that, a fruit and spice park.

They grow all kinds of fruit from all over the globe on the premises. For about $10 each, you can either walk through the park or, at certain times of the day, take a guided tour. We missed the tour by 20 minutes (I was chasing a fresh cup of coffee) so we decided to hoof it through the park, which was actually quite enjoyable.

Before we set off on the concrete path through the park, we were allowed to sample some of the different fruits they grow at the park. There was dragon fruit, coconut, banana, plantains and something called ice cream fruit which was fuzzy but actually kind of had a creamy taste to it like ice cream.

They tell you that anything that hits the ground and you know what it is, you can eat. You can't go picking things off the tree and you can't go eating something if you're not sure what it is (did you know that unless cashew nuts are roasted they are poisonous?).

We meandered through the park, snapping photos and enjoying the late morning steam bath that was the weather.

I did drag Lisa to the back of the park, off the beaten path, to the mango grove but it was totally worth it...at least that's what I kept telling myself.

They even had a section of poisonous plants that were behind a fence. We did, however, see an adventurous rabbit nibbling on the grass back there.

To see more photos of this lovely place click HERE

A day at the (South) Beach

2009-07-09T21:01:00.001-07:00

We spent our second full day in the city on the southern part of Miami Beach, AKA South Beach. The locals call it the "Billion Dollar Sandbar." We called it the home of the most obnoxious hosts and hostessess you could possibly imagine.

The eastern side of Ocean Drive (the main drag just off the beach) is loaded with hotels, bars and restaurants. Most of the places have large umbellas or awnings to keep the sun out and misters blowing cool, moist air on those that walk down the sidewalk. The only charge for this? Every time you pass a business there is someone trying to hand you a menu and asking you to check out their "specials." It was the most unbelievably annoying thing you could imagine. Then again, with so many foriegners walking the streets, you could say nothing, give a quizical look and move on and they'd go right on hawking their wares to some other poor schlub. And, we agreed, it beat walking in the record breaking heat with the sun beating down on us.

We did manage to find a place that came highly recommended by the travel guide Lonley Planet (which if you're going anywhere we recommend you pick up a guide, it never steared us wrong) and Lisa was able to enjoy a gargantuan serving of snow crab legs for half off the regular price. Not too shabby. Too bad their beer special and burger weren't all that great. But hey, half off a plate of snow crab is no small feat.

It was an incredible scene as we watched people from all walks of life, all different nations taking in the SoBe (as they call it). We heard at least 10 different languages from English and Spanish (the main ones) to German, Swedish and maybe even some Arabic.

We took a ton of photos, most of them are of the buildings along the strip. We also threw in a couple of us enjoying lunch at the News Cafe (what do you want, I'm a news guy!). The food wasn't great, the service was OK and the tip was included. It would appear that Miami has taken to including a 15% gratuity on ALL of its checks. While annoying, most of the servers we encountered were friendly and effective.

Click HERE to see the gallery. I recommend watching it as a slide show (upper right corner of the page).

Baseball, rain and campers

2009-07-09T20:28:00.001-07:00

Our first full day in Miami and what do I want to do?

Check out a baseball game of course!

I talked Lisa into catching an afternoon game at Landshark Stadium to watch the Florida Marlins play the Washington Nationals (the worst team in pro baseball).

We arrived early enough that there were literally a dozen cars in the parking lot. If not for the people drinking by the car next to us, we would have been the only ones in the parking lot. As we approached the stadium a kind gentlemen told us our umbrella (purchased that morning) was not allowed in the stadium. It's Florida, it rains almost every day in the summer but our umbrella was not allowed.

We walked back to the car (a short walk) lathered up our sunscreen (you can't bring in open bottles of anything either), returned to the ticket office and purchased two of the cheapest tickets we could find.

As we walked into the stadium, which was built for the Miami Dolphins pro football team, we noticed there were a lot of kids in matching T-shirts running around. We didn't think much of it.

After we found our seats we noticed the stadium was quite empty, save for the dozens upon dozens of kids in matching T-shirts.

Then the PA spoke up and we were alerted.

It was Camp Day. Every kiddie camp from South Florida was coming to the game. The attendance for the game was about 27,000 and I'm going to guess about 20,000 of them were boys and girls ages 4-14 in matching T-shirts, screaming their bloody heads off and clogging up the lines at the concession stand.

The game itself was rather drab despite some decent players on both teams. Lisa and I agreed to cut out before the 7th inning to avoid the early part of rush hour traffic. I had hoped to pop into the gift shop to purchase a specific Marlins hat (I like the logo, sue me). As we walked toward the gift shop the sky opened up and a massive storm soaked the area. We were free from the rain since we were in the concourse...but then again, in retrospect, maybe the rain would have been the best option.

Thousands of campers and their guardians flooded the concourse in an effort to stay dry. What had been the most open part of the stadium turned into a traffic nightmare. There were thousands of them. Some going one way, some going the other way and some not going any which way.

We eventually found the gift shop and they had run out of the type of hat I wanted.

The rain finally let up and we were able to return to our car but not before I snapped the above photo of bus upon bus in the parking lot waiting to take a load of wet, smelly, sugary children back home.
The Marlins won the game (or so I was told after we left).

Our lovely little rental

2009-07-09T20:16:00.000-07:00

We decided we wanted to rent a car to get around Miami and the Keys. We settled on a full size car since I wasn't that interested in tearing up the town in a tuna can on wheels. So Lisa booked us one Hotwire.com. We didn't know what we were getting nor who we were getting it from but upon arriving at Budget, we were fortunate enough to be the proud drivers of this little number, a Toyota Matrix. It's a four door hatchback with plenty of room to spare. The AC worked (which was fantastic) and one of the ammenities was a thermometer in the dashboard (which was routinely showing 90-105 on our trip). It handled like a dream, didn't guzzle gas and was comfortable, served us well and was cherry red (the first time I've driven a bright red car). I must say, we thoroughly enjoyed the Matrix experience.

Welcome to our website!

2009-07-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Lisa and I would like to thank you for dropping by our blog to see what's happening in our life. We're going to start off with our recent 7 days and 7 nights in Miami and the Florida Keys. We returned last night despite our better judgement. It was such an excellent vacation that Lisa and I (okay, mostly I) would happily leave the day to day stress of life behind to sit on a beach, sip a cold beer and enjoy the multicultural melting pot that is Miami and the Keys.
Alas, not everyone can be Ernest Hemmingway.
In the future this will be the best place to see pictures and get updates of what and how we're doing.
Without further ado, let us delve into the nuttiness that was our recent vacation.

Love,
Lisa & David