The "Eye" of the Tiger

They've finally popped. Murray's eye teeth, that is. Unless my memory fails me, I am pretty sure this was the worst teething experience since the first tooth. He's been as cranky a tiger with a thorn in his paw for several weeks, not to mention the fact that we haven't slept through the night in quite some time. When I picked Murray up from daycare yesterday, Linsay informed me that the first one was through, and the second one was almost there. This morning I checked his mouth again, and sure enough, there was eye tooth number 2. The best news of all is that he slept until 7:15 this morning - no midnight interruptions. He is also a much happier little boy, which makes for much happier parents.

Seems as though summer has arrived. That's the good news. The bad news is that the weekend is supposed to be humid and stormy. I suppose it's best not to complain and enjoy the beautiful weather while it lasts.

Musical Mornings

Murray went to bed last night like an angel. This is the first peaceful bedtime we've experienced since we took his pacifier away - almost 2 weeks ago. Serenity finally reigned again. . . or so I thought. Murray woke up at 3:30am, and instead of going back to sleep, decided it was morning. First, we let him cry it out. He has learned how to jump up and down in his crib, and in the process of his tantrum, hit his chin on the railing. Thirty excruciating minutes and a bloody lip later, I went into his room and attempted to settle him down by sitting on the floor next to him( Craig needed to be up at 4:30am for work, so I wanted him to get every extra minute of sleep he could). My attempts at getting the stubborn child back to sleep failed miserably. Nothing worked; singing, holding his hand, rubbing his back, ignoring him, or even reprimanding him. I finally gave up at 5:00am and trudged to the living room, where Murray merrily played with toys and watched "Diego" while I fought with every ounce of my being to stay awake. At one point, I dozed off. I can't tell you how long I was out, but I can tell you that I woke thinking I was at a concert. "Amarillo By Morning" by George Strait was blasting out of the stereo. I bolted upright - startled - and the sight I saw almost brought me to tears (at the time they were tears of frustration, but looking back, the whole incident is hysterical). Murray was dancing like a crazy fool all over the living room. Arms flailing, jumping around, turning in circles - the whole bit. The dogs were staring at him as if he were an alien, and the cat was hiding in the china hutch. Murray was oblivious to everything except the joy of dancing to the musical magic that is George. So even though I'm sleep deprived again, I have another happy memory stored in my heart. However, we won't be converting his crib to a toddler bed anytime soon. I like the fact that he can't get out of bed on his own. . . yet.

A ZOOper Weekend

We had the best weekend. Craig has been talking about visiting the Dakota Zoo in Bismarck since before we got married (not an exaggeration). Bright and early on Saturday morning, we packed up and headed west. Murray slept most of the way so he was in great spirits when we arrived. The weather was cool and rainy, which was perfect for zoo day. It wasn't very busy, and the cooler temps bring the animals out and they are super playful. We had an absolute blast. Murray LOVED feeding the mischievous goats, the noisy donkey (who brayed quite loudly anytime someone put money into the corn machine), the enormous Clydesdale horses, and my personal favorite, a beautiful family of white tail deer (probably because it brings back warm fuzzy childhood memories). I could have climbed right in the pen with the deer. The buck still had velvet on his antlers, the fawns still had their spots and were nursing, and the brown-eyed doe look wiped out (can't blame her, I can relate). After the zoo and lunch, we went to our hotel for swimming and resting. As usual, Murray didn't want to get out of the water.

On the way home, we stopped in Valley City to visit some good friends. Thanks for your hospitality, B & C! We loved seeing you (and Lily, Izzy, and Monster too).

We polished off the weekend with a backyard barbecue at Craig's brother's home. The boys had a terrific time playing in the pool and only had a few minor tussles. We adults always enjoy good conversation, so it was the perfect end to a perfect weekend. If you turn the sound up on the clip below, you'll hear that all four adults are laughing at the boys. Might as well let them fight it out, right?

Goodbye, Nuk, Goodbye Sleep

It's day five. Day five, you ask? Day five of Murray sans pacifier. It has been a very long five days. It takes us 45 minutes to put him to bed, and to top that off, he's awake at 5:30am. On the bright side of things, he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night several times due to loss of his pacifier. However, DH and I are exhausted. We'll get through this, I am sure, but life in our household is a bit less peaceful lately. Even the dogs are affected. Rudy groans quite loudly when Murray's cries (screams) wake him, and Nala won't leave my side. The latter means that whenever I need to sleep on the floor in Murray's room, she's right by my side. Don't get me wrong - I love that she feels the need to be with me. The problem is, Murray begins to bark at all hours of the night. Woof, woof. If the cat walks in, it starts all over again, this time with Murray's version of meow.

I had the best day today. My friend Roxane and I were FINALLY able to meet again. We had a fantastic lunch at Toscana - I only wish we could have had more time. However, I'm grateful for the time we had. Thanks, Rox! I wish you well next week!

Summer Pictures

In no particular order, below are some pictures from our summer. . . My mother-in-law and I agree. The sunsets in Minnesota are definitely more beautiful than in Hawaii.

Grandma Kate created a monster when she let Murray "drive" the boat earlier this summer. He takes his Jr. Captain duties very seriously.



We were freezing, but the weather didn't stop our fun! I think Maggie should be the next Bud Light spokesperson. We have quite a few pictures just like this one!

Rudy having a rest after pulling half of the rocks in the lake out. He had been at it all morning, and at last count, he had a pile on the lawn that was over 50!

Nala waiting for someone (anyone, please) to throw her ball in the lake.

Owen and Murray in the tub at Aunt Amy and Uncle Todd's. Could have been a dangerous situation, but both mommies and aunt Amy were watching closely.

Murray playing in the lake. For some reason, I can't get the picture to rotate.

Grandpa Doug and Murray bonding.



We've had an incredibly busy, but super fun summer. We still have a few precious "golden days" of summer before winter arrives (I'm skipping autumn, we're already in it). Let's hope the weather cooperates! This weekend we are heading west for a mini-vacation. We hope to visit my dad (pictured above), hit the Dakota Zoo and Sertoma Park and swim in the hotel pool. We'll be back at the lake next weekend.

Last, but not least, I want to congratulate my good friend Ryan on her recent engagement to Coach Bohl. I am so happy for you and can't wait to hear the details next week!

Murray's Malady

This morning began as a typical Beckerleg day does. Craig fed Murray and headed to work while I prepared for our day. Murray was being silly, so instead of keeping our steadfast routine, I stole a few minutes to tickle- tumble-chase around on our bed. It was time to get going, so I sat on the edge of the bed to put my air cast on (more on that later) and as I turned, I noticed that he was close to the edge. I no more than turned away when I watched him plummet to the hardwood floor. Sick to my stomach, I dashed to pick him up. He had landed face first, and it was apparent that the left side of his face broke the fall (we have one of those giant beds, so it was a pretty long tumble). Looking back to just a few hours ago, all I can see in my mind is blood. I immediately called Craig to come home and off we went to the e.r. The dr's. attempted to do a CT scan, but he was too upset and scared to lie still. The next option was to sedate him, but we decided on a facial scan instead. It took 2 techs and both Craig and I to hold him down to take four pictures of his face and jaw. The poor guy screamed through the entire process and I was leaking tears everywhere. Turns out, he has a facial contusion, concussion syndrome and a head injury. The head injury is not severe at this time, but we'll need to watch him closely for the next 24-48 hours for signs of bleeding or bruising on the brain. Just what every parent wants to hear, right? I think not. I am feeling terrible because I wasn't paying attention and thought I was smarter than I behaved. Anyway, he's resting comfortably after some Motrin, and I hope that he is on the mend. His teeth chopped through his upper lip and gums, his face is swollen, and he's bruised. On the bright side of things, the Meritcare flight crew came into his room and gave him some tattoos. He loves helicoptors and planes, and put on quite a show for the team, even saying thank you and good bye. He is now sporting a Meritcare helicoptor on his arm and his belly. They even managed to get a lopsided smile out of him. I thank God for happy endings. It could have been so much worse.