Tuesday

The days seem to be passing in a blur! The weather here is up and down. The weekend we had glorious weather, today we were back to cold, wind and snow showers! I only have a few days left here in Minnesota so I am trying to get in as many baby cuddles as I can. Baby A is growing quite quickly. She is now eight weeks old. When she came home, she was so small. She was in newborn clothes and even those seemed a little big. This week she has 'graduated' into 3-6 month clothes! Daughter is already sorting through the outfits packing away the smaller ones to hopefully sell in a garage sale later in the summer. We had to take the newborn insert out of the car seat as it was only up to eleven pounds, and she weighs more than that now! It's amazing how quickly they grow!

She seems to be doing a bit better with the sleeping. Not a lot, but better than it was. The wind/gas is still an issue, but we've found that moving her legs a lot helps express the wind/gas. Poor girl. Hopefully, as she gets a little older things will settle down. 

Both the last two Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile have been photos of granddaughter. She really does keep the smiles coming! I love taking photos of her and have lots to keep me going until the next time I will see her again. 

Her little hand. She's got quite the grip now! She is so funny as she hates having them covered up. It's still pretty chilly at night here in Minnesota so she has the cuffs turned over on her jammies but she always manages to wriggle a little finger or two loose! 

Hope everyone is having a good week! Can you believe it's almost the end of February? 

Weekend Walks

I did manage to get out this weekend. It was all-in-all a rather pleasant weekend. Yesterday I actually made it out in time for sunrise. I had a little walk then when I came back daughter and I had an afternoon out by ourselves. We took a little look around some shops. Son-in-law took the baby to visit with his brother and his wife. 

Today, I stayed in bed for a bit extra. It was nice. When I did wake up, I read in bed for a bit longer. That was nice too! I went out for a walk later in the afternoon as son-in-law's mother and other brother were coming over for a visit. I could have stayed, but I would rather give them time by themselves. I had a long walk. By the end of it my foot was aching! It was colder than I thought it was going to be, but I had dressed for it. I think because the wind was blowing it made things a lot colder. I got back to the house after the visitors had left. 

I did have baby snuggles this evening. She fell asleep in my arms after her bath which was nice. I think she was a little chilly so sitting with a fluffy nana and snuggling under a blanket made her toasty warm. Son-in-law has taken her downstairs to bed in hopes she will stay there. Not sure how long she will last as it's about time to eat again! Hopefully they will get some sleep. 

Some phone photos from my walks

This bottom photo was my 56/366 Phone Photo - Things That Make Me Smile. 54/366 and 55/366 were photos of Baby A. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Was the weather good where you are? What did you get up to? 

Almost the End of the Week

I can't believe how fast this week has gone! Yesterday we decided to go into town. Baby A was not happy. I sat in the back of the car with her, but she was not happy. She wasn't happy while we were out. We ended up just going a couple of places and heading home again. Of course, we hit every red light on the way back. I think her tummy was feeling a little off. She is very loud when passing wind/gas! We worked her legs and tried to help her tummy, but she wasn't happy at all. It was a very fretful afternoon and evening. 

Thankfully she was feeling a bit more cheerful today though her tummy was still full of wind. She did sleep today for a while. She does do better when she has had a nap! My daughter and her husband had haircuts this evening and then went out to eat afterwards. I told them they had better make the most of the built-in babysitter while they still have one! They were nice enough to bring me back some food. 

It's evening now and Baby A is still awake. I'm watching some Madame Blanc Mysteries on television. I'm rather enjoying them.  

Both my 52/366 and 53/366 are Baby A and family photos. I'm pretty sure they may be the ones keeping my smiles going until I leave. Instead, I thought I'd share a couple of photos I've taken with my camera during my walks. 

A juvenile eagle. 

One of the adult eagles

One of the many beaver lodges I've seen on my walks. I am going to definitely go check them out once the water has defrosted. 

Hope everyone is having a good week!

It's Tuesday!

The days all seem to be blending together now lol. I've got a week and a half left until I go back to Michigan. I must admit that a bit of me will be glad when there is just peace around me. I'll really miss the baby and watching her grow, but I must admit that I like my quiet. We no longer have any pets and there aren't any children depending on us anymore. After years of taking care of others, I enjoy a bit of quiet. It will be sad to leave the baby though. I wish I was closer. She has changed in the seven weeks since she was born. I'm sure by the next time I'll see her in mid-April she'll have changed even more. 

Yesterday daughter had a dentist appointment, so I watched the baby while she went to that and ran a couple of errands. Baby actually slept a bit in the afternoon. Today she was a little more restless. She slept for a little while this morning but hasn't slept since and is now rather cranky as a result. She still doesn't seem to want to go to sleep. She's a little windy/gassy so we're laying her flat and moving her legs to hopefully get things moving. Poor girl. 

I'm already ready for bed and it's just after 7.30pm lol. I thought I'd have more time to do crafts, but those projects will probably have to wait until I get home. Hopefully, it will give me the motivation to get some of the sorting done in my craft room so I can have lots of space to work. 

I'm hoping I can reply to comments and comment on other blogs as I can't seem to stay logged into my blog account. Sigh. I've had this happen before and I know there's a way to solve it I'm just too tired to remember how lol. 

Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 50/366

This was one of baby smiling. Such a joy. 

51/366

Sasha (black husky) is so patient sometimes. Sierra kept trying to get anybody to pay attention to her. When that didn't work she ended up trying to get Sasha to play. Sasha was not in the mood! But she didn't snap back. She put up with it just a tiny bit before jumping down and getting away from Sierra!

How is your week going? 

Sunday

Not a bad day today. I had turned off the alarm but still seemed to wake up around the same time. That doesn't mean I got out of bed right away! SIL is home at the weekends so I let the little family do their thing. They tend to stay downstairs in their rooms. Their house has two levels - the bottom level has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, a family room and laundry area. Upstairs are another two bedrooms, kitchen and dining area and living room. The guest room where I stay is upstairs. It's nice that we can both have some private area to stay in. 

Anyway, they came up a bit later and I got dressed and went out for a quick walk. It wasn't quite as cold as yesterday, but it was still chilly and windy. I did a little walk. The eagles were in the nest up by the Learning Centre today. I am hoping they are going to use that one this year. Even though the road on it is closed from March 1st to August 31 each year, you can see the nest really well from a small car park. It will be interesting to see if they have little ones there this year. When I spoke to the people in the shop at the learning centre at Christmas (it closes then until Spring) they said the nest hadn't been used last year. It will be great if it was!

This is the nest, and you can barely see the silhouettes of the eagles. This was my 49/366 Things That Make Me Smile photo for the day. 

In the afternoon Daughter and I took the baby to town. We went to the local independent craft shop. They are ending their loyalty program, and we had some points on there we had to use. Baby did ok, though she was quite hungry, and I had to feed her while daughter popped in the supermarket. 

It's almost 9pm now. I got the baby to sleep, and daughter fell asleep on the sofa. I'm not sure how long they will stay that way, but things are quiet for now. SIL is playing on the computer in the office and if the baby is still asleep when he goes to bed, he'll take her down with him. 

Hope everyone had a good Sunday!

Saturday

I was going to get up early and go take photos of the sunrise this morning. I was awake, but I just couldn't get moving that quickly and missed being out for sunrise. It was bloomin' cold anyway - only 14f (feeling like 1)/-9C (feeling like -17C). Yikes. I did go out for a little walk a bit later but it wasn't a long one as the wind picked up and made things feel even colder! 

Yesterday was quite tiring - probably the reason I couldn't get moving this morning! Baby A didn't have a good night Thursday night so daughter slept Friday morning while I looked after the baby, then she had to shower and go to her 6-week doctor appointment, so I had Baby A then too. By the time night came I was ready to roll into bed. 

Later in the afternoon, daughter and I had a shopping trip by ourselves! It was lovely just to be out and have a look around just the two of us. We had a nice afternoon and a bit of a nose around some charity shops. I did get a couple of things - groan. Mostly bird related lol. 

Tomorrow is supposed to be a little warmer. By that I mean it will be around 35F/2C lol. I'm not complaining as it is supposed to be sunny. There is some snow of the ground, but not a lot. If we don't do a lot else I'll probably get out by myself for a bit. I don't think I'll be getting up in the morning. I'm going to see if I can sleep a bit extra. 

A couple of phone photos from today 

This river is rarely frozen over. It's part of the wildlife refuge so I'm not sure if there is something in place to keep the water running. 

A bird blind on the trail. It's right by a large lake. I think I'll have to go back here and explore in the spring or summer when the lake is open water again. 

Not a great photo, but I find it funny when I see drainpipes with water frozen like this!

My phone photo - Things That Make Me Smile

47/366  - Baby A photo - I'm pretty sure she was smiling at me today. It could be my imagination and just be gas, but I like to think otherwise!

48/366

Just getting out made me smile. It was snowy and blowy, and I was the only one there, but it was lovey to be out in the sunshine. 

I hope everyone had a lovely Saturday. What did you get up to? Is it cold where you are? 

A Little Craft Project

I meant to post this last week and got distracted. I finished up a cute little Christmas mini-album. Better late than never lol. I really have to work on using up some of the things I have. Because I've been here a while and I didn't bring everything I needed to craft along with me I've spent a little more than I wanted to on craft supplies. Once I get back home I am going to make sure to use the items I have or donate/sell some of them. I really want my craft room to be a more functional space. 

I have two more weeks here then I will be leaving. I'm sure it will come sooner than I want it to. I shall miss Baby A so much but I can't stay here forever and the new family needs time to just be them. I'll be more than a little sad, but I'll be back to visit, to just be Nana and give lots of cuddles!

Well, here's the little album - a sampling of pages. 

And here's a catch up of Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 

45/366 

Seeing Baby A in her Valentine's Day outfit. So cute!

46/366

Snow overnight, but a lovely sunrise this morning. 

Happy Valentine's Day and ....

(here in the state anyway) National Library Lovers Day, National Give a Book Day and National Cream-Filled Chocolates Day. Who makes these up? Lol. I do like the library one and books one though. 

Well, it's midweek. I missed a day yesterday. The day started off well but by mid-afternoon baby was very fussy and by the time night came, well, we were all ready to tumble in the bed when it was finally time at about 11pm. I'm going to miss baby cuddles, especially first thing in the morning, but it will be nice to have no-one relying on me. I did the baby/children thing for a LONG time and I like it for a little bit, but not full time. I feel as though I had a lot more energy then ha ha. It will be really hard leaving though. I am looking forward to going back and getting started on some of my house stuff (never thought I'd say that!). I really need to make a list before I leave so that when I do get back I don't forget all the plans I had. 

Daughter and son-in-law went out to eat last week for Valentine's Day so they won't do anything today. SIL is bringing takeaway home for tea so we don't have to cook anything tonight which will be nice. 

Phone Photos Things That Make Me Smile 

44/366

So sweet. Yesterday morning while we were having our morning cuddles, Baby A held onto my thumb while she fell asleep. Such a sweet moment. 

Catching Up From the Weekend

 It was a busy weekend here for the new family and I think they are all exhausted now that it's Monday! They went visiting family and showing off the baby on Saturday and then had friends (with 3 children) and a couple of family members over for Super Bowl Sunday. It ended up going late and nobody left until it was finished and then the baby had to be put to bed and settled. It was after midnight before we popped into bed, I think! I did take the baby for a bit this morning so daughter could have a few extra hours sleep. 

I had a bit of a walk Saturday, not much. It was a grey sort of day, my foot was hurting, and I was feeling rather blah. I ended up cutting things short and coming back to the house and just relaxing - the dogs and myself as the family was still out. Sunday was a better day. I didn't walk too far, but the sun was shining, and it was fairly nice out, so I stayed out. 

It was commotion when I got back to the house and I stayed in my bedroom until the guests had disappeared. American Football isn't really my thing and I didn't want to intrude on time with friends. It was nice just reading by myself for a while. Once the guest had left I did help out with the baby until bedtime. 

A couple of phone photos the sunset and my walk

The lake is still iced over despite the 'warmer' temperatures. 

My Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile project is still going strong. 

41/366 

One my favourite places to go while here in Minnesota is the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. It's basically just huge green spaces. It's where I've been walking as there are several trails and, in the summer, I like to drive on the wildlife drive that goes through some of the ponds and lakes on the land. There are several eagles' nests on the land and this is one by one of the trails you can walk in the winter (some of the paths are closed March 1st - August 31st). 

42/366 

This is another of those baby ones. Daughter and son-in-law finally got around to doing the baby's footprint and handprint. It was a lovely family moment. 

43/366

Even though today isn't over this scene really made me smile. At best Sasha tolerates Sierra, but for once she allowed her to sit close, even if it was just for a little while!

I have some blogs to catch up on! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. 

The End of Another Week

Can't believe it's Friday again! I had to keep reminding myself of it so I remembered to chat with sister. No sunrise this morning. It was grey all day. There is a dusting of snow on the ground, but nothing major. It just made the day a little blah. Baby A seemed to have another restless day today. She would only sleep for about twenty-thirty minutes before waking up again. We tried to keep her busy with some toys and rocking and just chatting to her. I think she wore us all out! They are all downstairs now trying to get her sleep where it's not as bright and it's a little calmer. Hopefully they will get some sleep! As it's Saturday tomorrow I've turned off my alarm as I shan't be getting up. Hopefully I'll be able to sleep in too!

I got some good news today while talking with my sister C. My other sister, D's husband has cancer. He was diagnosed last year and has been going through chemo and radiation. It had spread to his liver. But he got some good news today - the cancer on his liver has gone. He doesn't have to go back to see anyone about that for 3 months!  He has an appointment later this week to find out about the other area that had cancer. Hoping they receive good news regarding that too. He could do with some good news as there's been a lot of bad, his Dad dying in 2022, his Mum dying late in 2023 and him getting made redundant from the job he's been at for decades. 

Sister C also sent me some lovely photos she had taken on flowers she's seen out and about on her walks. She knows how much I like the birds and flowers and always makes sure to take plenty of photos for me. I'm so thankful for her. We had an okay relationship before Mum passed, but I'm really glad to say we have become good friends as well as sisters since. I think Mum would be pleased!

40/366 - how have this many days already passed this year? 

Sasha - is that baby crying again? She is quite curious when baby does cry but I think, at this point, she was wishing Baby A would sleep for a while! Made me laugh!

Hope everyone has a great weekend! Do you have plans? I'm hoping to get out for a walk or two if my ankle holds up!

Thursday and an Interesting Book

It rained most of the day today. The back garden ended up a mess of puddles and Sierra ended up a muddy dog. I'm not sure what happened to her - she rolled in the mud or she was playing with Sasha (the other dog) and ended up being rolled in the mud. Either way - yuck! Daughter cleaned her up the best she could. Tomorrow - after the rain stops and the mud isn't as bad - daughter and her husband will give Sierra a bath. Sshhh...I don't think she'll enjoy it much!

When I got up this morning Baby A was sleeping in the bassinet that is in daughter's office (where she expresses milk) so I told daughter to leave her there and go back to bed. Baby A slept for another three hours!!! I actually did a bit of crafty stuff before she woke up. She's had not a bad day today. She really makes such sweet little sounds while she is eating. Makes me smile!

While I was in the bedroom doing crafty stuff I took a couple of photos of a book I've been meaning to share. It's a lovely diary that I treated myself to before Christmas. There are lots of interesting tidbits in there. 

It even has moon phases on the pages! I think I've seen it before, but I couldn't get hold of it in the US. I love it!

39/366

It's a baby A photo - sleeping peacefully. She always makes me smile! 

Mid-week Already

I'm definitely losing track of days!

The weather wasn't too bad today. The last good day. Tomorrow calls for rain and then the temps will drop down again, more to normal levels. So, we decided to take Baby A out for a little bit just to a couple of not-too-busy shops to have a look around. She did well in the car seat this time. It was her best sleep all day! She slept all the way to town, around the couple of shops, and most of the way back again before she started to fuss. She was more than ready to eat when she got back to daughter's house again. It was nice to just go out and have a look around. 

Later in the afternoon daughter went to meet her husband for a meal out. I said they had better get in a couple of 'date' nights before I leave. This one was a Valentine's celebration. They didn't want to go out on the day as it will be really busy. Wise choice, I think! She was a little fussy, but she did get in a couple of very short naps. 

Still no crafting. The plan is to do some this weekend. Sunday is the Super Bowl (an American Football thing). I know absolutely nothing about it and have no desire to watch it, but Son-in-law is a big American football fan and is having a couple of friends over (one with three children) so my plan, after my afternoon walk, will be to shut myself in the bedroom and do some crafting! I have some ideas for projects I want to get done before I leave. I had been doing some at night, but Baby A is up late and by the time she and daughter have gone downstairs I'm so tired I've just been falling into bed!

Things That Make Me Smile 37/366

Sierra. She's still a puppy. She has no sense of how big she is or of personal space, but she makes me smile when she's so concerned about Baby A. I hope they become great friends!

38/366

It was one of those days today when Baby A went through several outfits. This has to be my favourite - bunnies!

A Sunny Start to Monday

My alarm had just gone off this morning when I heard the baby crying. I was barely awake when I opened the bedroom door and saw daughter coming up the stairs (her living room and kitchen along with another bedroom are on the same floor I'm staying on). It was time to express milk and the baby was fussing as she had wind/gas. Poor baby. She was also hungry. I took baby while daughter expressed milk and then went back to sleep for a little while. Baby A settled down as soon as she had her needs taken care of and we had a bit of a snuggle before she lay down for a bit - until it began all over again. Poor Baby A - she has lots of wind/gas and makes really loud noises! 

It's been a fussy sort of day for Baby A. She was pretty cheerful, but didn't settle easy. She did lay down on her playmat and made some lovely little sounds. She really does make me smile! 

The day flew by. Seems like it always does when Baby is around. They do take lots of energy. This will be my last full month with her. A part of me is looking forward to going home, but I shall miss seeing her every day. I told daughter and SIL they should go out for dinner a couple of times by themselves before I leave. We also want to get some meals prepped and put in the freezer before I leave so daughter will be able to pull something out quickly to cook. 

I'm off to bed now. I was hoping to get some crafting done - but it wasn't the case! Maybe soon. 

Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 36/366

Sunrise - the view from the window as I left my bedroom 

Goodnight! 

Checking in

The week is done and so is the weekend! Yikes. 

I did go out both yesterday and today, though I didn't walk far as my foot is still black and blue, sore and a little swollen still. I did buy an ankle brace and have been wearing it. It does help a bit. I'm taking it easy and staying off my feet as much as I can. 

Life with Baby A is ...interesting. She still isn't sleeping great, but hey she's a baby and only a month old. She is delightful though. She is looking at me a bit more and seems to like me talking to her. She is also becoming interested in lying down and kicking her legs and moving her arms. She seems to like music. Daughter and SIL have a few toys that play music and she seems to really like them. They keep her entertained for a little while. 

She is starting to lose her hair a bit, the top is mostly gone and the sides and back don't look like they will be far behind! 

I am behind on blogs. I shall catch up with them and comments tomorrow. It's been another long day and I'm going to tumble into bed. 

Phone Photos - Things That Make Me Smile 

33/36

Baby A turned a month old! Time has flown by

34/266

I stayed out to see the sunset. It was really beautiful. A break in nature was just what I needed. 

35/366

Was a lovely sunny day and even though I couldn't walk far it felt good to be outside!

February 1st and a couple of cards

It was unseasonably warm here in Minnesota today. A lovely beginning to the day as the sun was bright and shining first thing and the temperature was just about freezing. Baby A was still sleeping when I got up. Apparently, she had a pretty good night last night after yesterday's irritable day and was well-rested when she did wake up. I didn't get a lot of free time, but I did have lots of baby cuddles. 

Can you believe tomorrow she will be a month old? Yikes. The month has flown by! We plan on taking a few photos of her. Daughter's work sent her a lovely blanket/mat type thing that has milestone months on it. So we plan to use that. 

While I was checking comments, I realised that some of them have been going to my spam folder! I thought they all went to the 'moderate' place, and I had a choice whether to mark them as spam - apparently not! Even some of my replies were in there. Sigh. I shall pay better attention to the spam folder. 

I did remember to take photos of the couple of quick cards that I made. 

My Phone Photos - Things That Made Me Smile 

It's another of those photos I won't be posting. I had something else planned, but later in the day, daughter was holding baby and they both fell asleep. It was really such a lovely moment I couldn't help but smile and take a quick photo. It's moments like this that really make me smile!