LA Business Trip

My job requires some travel (usually only 1-2 trips a year) and I was due to visit my clients in LA at the end of September. Infrequent business travel is was not a big deal to me. Enter Jesper. Now spending two days in LA was absolutely terrible to think about. Especially toting a breastpump.

My plane left at 7:30am on Tuesday, September 27 and I was scheduled to arrive back in Minneapolis at midnight on Wednesday.

I prepared as much as possible the night before my plane left, but left the house about 10 minutes behind schedule (not a big deal, as I arrived at the airport at the same time as my colleagues had planned to). I drove into the parking ramp and saw that floors 2, 4, and 5 had parking available. Great. No big deal, right? However, after driving around floors 2, 4, and 5 for 20 minutes and realizing that I still had not found a single parking spot and my plane was boarding in 10 minutes, I shot out of the parking garage and looped back around to use short-term parking. Thank goodness for expensable parking!! I made it to my gate just in time to be one of the last passengers to board the plane.

As for the rest of the business trip, it was uneventful. I learned very quickly how to discreetly carry and use my breastpump in airport restrooms, at business happy hours, and in airplanes.

Picture that Josh sent me with the text "Hurry home, Mom! I love you!"

I missed both of my boys, but it actually wasn't as dreadful as I'd imagined it to be. However, I must confess that I woke Jesper up for a feeding when I got home "to make sure he'd sleep through the night." There's nothing better than holding your little baby after not seeing him for a couple days!

September's End

Josh's dad came to visit on September 22 during a stop in Minneapolis for work. He couldn't believe how much bigger Jesper was since the last time he saw him! We're looking forward to having Paul and Gail come visit again sometime in the next couple months and have a little more time to play with their grandson.

Jesper is continuing to get better and better at sitting alone. By the end of September, he could do several minutes by himself and is even starting to be able to reach for toys and keep his balance. I thought these pictures tell the story a little better. Sometimes when you think he's going to fall....

.....he doesn't. :)

In other news, Jesper loves to play with his toys and it's so fun to watch his face everytime he tries something for the first time. We've been rolling the ball to him and he is learning to "roll" it back to us. Ok, so his aim isn't great and sometimes it only goes a few inches, but he's definitely trying to imitate us. :)

By the way, can you guess what his favorite toy is from these pictures?

Jesper has also been experimenting with new foods. He tries about 1-2 new foods per week. So far, avocados are the only foods that he has absolutely rejected. We send cereal and a vegetable or fruit to school with him and then he eats another serving of cereal and a vegetable or fruit in the evening.

We're still making 6 oz. bottles, but he doesn't finish them like he used to. He's only been eating about 4-5 oz. so we're actually thinking of reducing his bottles back down to 5 oz. The lead teacher at his school, Kristina, said that it's pretty typical for babies to vary their bottle sizes from time to time so I'm trying not to worry about him not finishing those last couple ounces. Now I know why there is a stereotype about mothers trying to get their sons to eat more!

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Josh and I celebrated our 3rd Anniversary this September. It was a wonderful excuse to go on a very nice date. Josh got reservations at Restaurant Alma in Minneapolis (surprisingly, it's almost directly across the street from where I used to live in college and I never knew it existed until recently) and our friend Becky was willing to babysit.

Dinner was fantastic!! We both agreed it was the best meal we've had since eating at La Belle Vie.

Restaurant Alma

It was a beautiful and warm evening (and don't forget - we had a babysitter!), so after dinner we walked down to the river by St. Anthony and had a nightcap at one of the restaurants. Here's a shot of the Minneapolis skyline outside our restaurant.

It's been three beautiful years, and I'm hoping for many more just like them. :) I love you, Josh!