Yellowstone- Part II

My last post described the beginning of of amazing trip West this spring. Here is the next portion of our trip...YELLOWSTONE! It was a crazy adventure filled with animal sightings, incredible views, and even a couple of snowstorms.

Our first campground was Fishing Bridge and every night we walked down to this marina and could see the mountains on the other side of Yellowstone Lake. I wanted so badly to see a grizzly on the other side of the bay, but no such luck. Only bison (which were still amazing) and lots of bison poop.

Two bison and one elk roamed the campground. It was like they were the hired attraction, clocking in every afternoon to entertain the tourists. Although we were thrilled to see the bison so close, the real excitement happened our second night there, when a third bison decided he wanted to hang out also. The originals were not welcoming and a really long, crazy, and laid-back fight ensued. 

Jay was sleeping in the camper so Sean and I grabbed a couple of beers and watched the fight roll out. The two bison began by just letting out these guttural noises, and acted like they couldn't care less about the other one. They faced opposite directions at times and took lots of breaks to just eat grass. Then they stomped their feet and crashed into each other repeatedly. It was amazing to see so much mass and force fighting together. Right after the head butting, the three bison circled a tent (hopefully no one was in it, because I am certain they would have pooped their pants).

They walked around the campground, continuing to threaten each other with the guttural noises and eventually made it to our site. We jumped in the car and I got this picture of the dude literally on the other side of the window. Sean kept telling me to roll my window down for a better picture and I have never sworn so much to make sure he didn't do it for me. A clear picture is not worth a bison horn in my body (in my opinion). The next week was when the man was killed taking a selfie with a bison in Yellowstone...these big guys mean business.  

Mali and Jay hunkered down during a snowstorm. Reason #554 why we are thankful for the camper trailer

We had a lot of rain and cold weather, so after our first night in Yellowstone, I was excited when I woke up in the middle of the night and didn't hear any rain. I thought, "Yay, maybe we will finally have a nice and dry day today." Fast forward to morning. I open the curtains to a land covered in snow, and it was still coming down hard. It was honestly one of the most disheartening moments of the trip. I love snow more than 98% of the general population. But while camping with a baby...not a fan. 

Luckily, after we regrouped and began adventuring through the park, stopping for a dry place for Jay to play in a visitor center, our spirits started lifting. We realized how unique it was to see the park in snow, with steam coming off the bison's backs. We took hikes with lots of layers, raincoats and a huge umbrella. 

Our happy little camper in the cutest raincoat ever.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Family picture during a dry moment. 

There is A LOT of driving involved in Yellowstone, so this was our setup for feeding Jay his meals while driving. It was a lifesaver since it kept him occupied during longer drives and was an easy time to fit in meals. His car seat may have needed a deep clean when we got home, but it was well worth it.

Some steam vents. The park is entirely inside a volcano, so there are so many different landscape features that hint at the volcanic activity while others make it easy to forget we are inside one.

Jay and Sean in front of Old Faithful, just as it was getting started. It was incredible to witness, and we made a lot of jokes about how predictable and ancient it is.

Our little camper realized he could talk into his bucket, which began numerous conversations he had into his bucket.

At Madison, our second campground, Jay and Sean are having some breakfast together. We drank a lot of coffee and had delicious food. The weather was finally perfect.

The Gibbon River wound next to our campground. It was a perfect place to walk around and watch bison roam and fisherman fish.

Since I was unable to spot a grizzly in the park, we drove out to Montana to check out some grizzlies and wolves at a rehab facility.One of the bears is 30 years old, and actually survived in the park for 20 years until she got into some human food and couldn't be trusted as she then got aggressive towards humans. It is incredibly sad how many bears are killed because campers are not careful with food and trash. If a grizzly gets a taste for human food, it changes and can not be trusted around more humans.

The Gateway to Yellowstone. At this overlook we met a group of people looking across the ravine through telescopes. I asked what they were watching and it was a raven's nest filled with babes. They let us look at them through the scopes. Pretty incredible.

NBD. Just some elk chilling in Mammoth.

One of the terraces at Mammoth. This portion of the park was amazing. It was pretty far from our campground, so our visit was short. Next time we will definitely spend a lot more time up there. While we hiked up to the top of the terraces, a storm was brewing and we didn't make it to the top because it started down pouring.

Our last hike in Yellowstone at the Artist's Paintpots on our way to the Tetons. It ended up being our favorite hike. 

The Paint Pots. It was a multi-sensory experience as it smelled strongly of sulfur, was a cool-looking pool of boiling mud, and it made a soothing "blurb"-ing noise. 

Just as we drove out of town, we stopped at LeHardy's Rapids. This was Jay's first lesson on scouting rapids. He did okay, but I would've taken a different route. (Amateur.)

To Yellowstone! Part I

It has been a long time since I have posted and we have had A LOT of life changes and done a lot of really fun things this summer. In May, Sean said good bye to PPD and his job of over seven years to return to school to become a high school science teacher. We took three weeks to transition (i.e. our last hurrah) via a road trip to Yellowstone/Teton mountains/Badlands. 

You may be thinking, a road trip halfway across the country with a 13 month old? Jay must be really good in the car. Well, you would be wrong. The boy doesn't sleep in the car and prefers to be outside and moving at all times. The long driving days were made longer by the stress of pulling a trailer (mostly Sean), crying (mostly Jay), teething, and a raging diaper rash (mostly Mali...just kidding). The long days of driving were interspersed with the most amazing sights and adventures. It was better than we could have imagined. I will try to give the highlights...but there were so many, this may take a while :)

Jay and Sean in front of the mighty Missouri River. We decided everything East of the Missouri was boring and West of it was amazing, so it really was the gateway into our vacation. Every day while we drove I imagined what it was like for the Pioneers traveling West for the first time. I can't imagine crossing the Missouri without a bridge. No wonder a lot of people died. Can you tell I was a big fan of the game Oregon Trail as a kid?

The first week of weather was not fantastic. It was cold and very wet. The Badlands are known for desert-like conditions, and they had received more rain in the month of May than the usual annual total. We kept finding mud on our clothes, shoes, toys, etc. for the rest of the trip! One advantage to the rain was the gorgeous rainbow over the Badlands that appeared right as I was putting Jay to bed one night.

A hike on the Keyhole Trail was absolutely perfect. The sun even peeked out during our hike. We saw signs warning of rattle snakes (but no snakes) and lots of bunnies and little squirrels.

Part of the hike included this ladder to the top of a hill. It was a little treacherous but not too bad. We saw some very "non-athletic" folks climbing it, so we were fine.

The unbelievable view worth hiking to!

Jay was so exhausted that he slept through getting out of his carseat, handing him to Sean and putting him to bed (all things that normally wake him up)

The other end of the Badlands was even more gorgeous. A nice Norwegian couple took our picture and spoke Norwegian baby talk to Jay (we assume it was nice things).

This is the camper trailer we rented/borrowed from a friend and Grandpa Jim's old Suburban. It was fun to drive his truck (thanks to Grandma Carol) because it felt like his spirit was with us. He would've loved it too. You can see how close to the Badlands we were in our campsite. Each night as the sun set it highlighted the layers of the hills in a way that changed and evolved every minute, breathtaking.

Next stop was the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming. We had the campground COMPLETELY to ourselves. The camp host was the only other human for many, many miles. He told us we just missed the six inches of snow they got two days before over Memorial Day. 

Our little mountain man was learning to walk and got a little better every day. Shortly after this picture was taken, he was pushing the yellow truck that is in the back of the photo through the trees and collecting pine cones. He stopped, looked up to the sky and howled like a coyote. What a ham. A gloriously hilarious and outdoorsy ham.

While driving through the mountain pass, we had to stop and give the brakes a rest. The ravine this overlooked made it well worth the time. We would love to go back and spend more time in the Big Horns.

A glimpse of the Big Horns through the clouds.

Safe, Clothed, Fed and Loved

A frustrating breastfeeding session led me to exclaim in frustration, "JUST EAT!" to my adorable and innocent rosy-cheeked babe. His bottom lip immediately popped out and big crocodile tears streamed from his big, brown eyes. That is the moment I realized he is growing up and actually responding to emotional triggers around him. Thus causing an incredible guilt to wash over me, once again. I have only felt this intense "Mommy Guilt" once or twice... a day... for the past nine months. Maybe I pushed his nap so I could finish shopping or had to give him a bottle because I had a couple of tequilas while hanging out with Sean after Jay went to bed, but that guilt just never seems to leave me alone.

In life, its okay not to be perfect. So where does "Mommy Guilt" come from?

I have a job that I work hard at. I want to be as good as I can be for the babies and their families. But at the end of the day, I know I'm not perfect and if I tried my best, I feel great and like I have accomplished something worthwhile.

While playing sports, an instrument or even a board game, I try my best to win. I try not to cheat. But at the end of the day, I don't care if I lose or am not the best in the room. At least I tried.

So why is it that for the task that I spend the most time doing; being a mom, I put the most pressure on myself? No one can be perfect all the time, so it is literally impossible to be perfect at parenthood. Yet, that is the expectation I hold for myself. I know I am not alone. Most parents expect not only to be their best, but also their spouse to be as well. And lets be honest, no matter how perfect we are, our child will still at one point or another; throw a temper tantrum (age 3), tell us he hates us (age 13) and try his hardest not to turn into us (age 23). Its human nature, right?

As parenting is not only the most difficult and time-consuming task of our lives, maybe we should remember to cut ourselves a little slack now and again. I try not to judge other people too much. However, it must be noted that I'm genetically a Green, so I can't avoid it entirely. When Sean and I see parents doing "trashy" things like letting their kids eat ice cream for breakfast in the car with no seat belts on or letting their kids run rampant, holding scissors, with the parents sporadically screaming obscenities at them in public, we look at each other and say, "we are going to do JUST FINE."

Some days I will clean the house, dress up my freshly bathed child, read to him, snuggle him, take him to story hour at the library, feed him organic, home-made baby food, and send him to bed with a lullaby sung completely in tune. (Okay, the in-tune lullaby isn't a possibility, but some people can do that.)

Other days, maybe I can let go a little and just be satisfied that my child is safe, clothed, fed, and loved.

Jay sound asleep on his sled.

It's Fall!

Fall is in full swing in Madison now and yesterday we fully embraced the season.

We started our Saturday with a trip to the farmer's market. We love walking around, buying coffee and baked goods, sitting on the capital lawn, and judging everyone as they walk past us. (I'm a Green, I can't help it.) We usually don't even buy any vegetables since we have a CSA membership and struggle to eat the veggies we already have, but it's fun to see all of the interesting vendors and crazy veggies.

"Gangster Yooper"

After the farmer's market, we went home to clean out the garage, put our boats away for the winter and rake the lawn. Luckily, we had some adorable distractions for a while when the Creaghs stopped by.

Brooke, Grace and Charlotte hanging out with the little man

Grace LOVED holding Jay and playing with him, Charlotte got to ride her bike around and both girls managed to step in dog poop. Hopefully they will still come back ;) They met Jay 5 months ago and Grace couldn't stop calling him Baby Sean, which was adorable. This time she was confused about him being a boy or girl. Those girls are such adorable kids. Jay (big Jay) is a friend from camp and we assume all of these kids will go to camp and eventually work on staff just like us, so it is fun to imagine them raising hell like their parents in 16-18 years.

After they left, we got back to raking and found the one thing Jay doesn't laugh at... Every time Sean used the rake, Jay would scream in terror. Lucy hates when he cries, so she started going crazy and tried to climb in my lap along with Jay. Although I offered to abstain from the work and just hold Jay, Sean was having none of that. We showed Jay that raking is okay and he ended up having a blast playing while we raked the gajillion leaves from our one (amazing) oak tree.

 The final cherry on top of our perfect fall day was enjoying steaming mugs of cider (spiked with a hefty dose of whiskey, of course) while Jay slept soundly, probably dreaming of playing with the cute Creagh girls at camp in the years to come.

In other news...Jay has started solids! Although he was ready about two months ago and I got the okay from the pediatrician, I was reluctant to introduce solids until 6 months. So far he likes carrots...and gagged on chicken. If I'm being honest, I also gagged when I smelled the chicken. Gross. We will stick to easy foods for a little more before trying chicken again. I think I am going to try making my own baby food. It sounds pretty easy and kind of fun.

Heidi's Getting Married!

I come from a large family. Not only is it large, but a pretty miraculous family. My grandparents had ten children, 31 grandchildren and 30-something great-grandchildren...and counting.

Many years ago...Mom (far right), her parents, and all nine siblings

The miraculous thing is, even though we span the globe physically, we are pretty close. I am not going to lie, social media has a lot to do with my generation relating to each other. My mom and her siblings seem to talk either on the phone or via email on a daily basis. I have been thinking a lot about family as we prepare to head to Denver next week to celebrate my cousin Heidi's wedding to Tim.


Here is Heidi and Tim in their BRAND new house

Heidi is one of my closest cousins. Heidi, Brenna, and I are closest in age to each other and grew up as three compadres at all of the family gatherings. Whether it was playing with our American Girl dolls, making up games or writing letters (pen pal style), we had some pretty great times.

A little over three years ago, I got married. Heidi and Brenna kept saying, "I can't BELIEVE you are getting married?!?" It just didn't seem possible that little Mali could be married to this seemingly random and very hairy man named Sean. I had known Sean very well, so I didn't quite understand their confusion. Now our roles are reversed and I feel the same amazement over "Little Heidi" tying the knot.

Heidi, Sam, Brenna and I on our grandparent's steps (a common play spot)

I love Tim. He is the kind of guy that everyone feels as if they have known for years after one shared beer. Heidi and Tim make a perfect couple and I couldn't have picked her a more perfect mate, but I still see this little girl who loves her Samantha doll and dances in the high school show choir. How could she be getting married?!?!

Heidi, Brenna and I at a Thanksgiving dinner in Brookfield. (I obviously love food)

As I try on clothes (double-checking to make sure my newly-flabbly-post-baby body still fits my clothes that I used to take a perfect-for-me fit for granted) and I pack James' perfectly planned outfits, I have thought about the family I will see this week. Family has always been so important to me. The importance however, had always lain in my immediate family... until I got pregnant with Jay. 

Being shy kept me from feeling comfortable reaching out to extended family. I assumed aunts, uncles and cousins didn't particularly care about me. Not in a bad way, but I didn't want to assume anybody wanted to spend time with me, as everyone had SO MUCH family of their own. Everything changed when I was first admitted to the hospital with my pregnancy at 20 weeks. Prayers were sent, gifts of magazines, cookies and company were brought swiftly to me, and continued. Calls, visits, thoughts and prayers kept coming for five months! The care and love I continued to receive let me open up and feel more confident and comfortable in this wonderful and loving family. I can't wait to share with my family the little boy that caused this shift in our relationship. He has met a lot of family already, but now he is older and so very interactive. 

He loves life oh so much. Just like a Green. 

Anyways, I wish so much happiness for Heidi and Tim. I can't wait to celebrate with you two, and see everyone else! Good luck to the Langs...the Greens know how to party (and talk)..(and eat)

5 Months

Jay is sooo happy to be 5 months old!

Every month, every week, every day, James seems to grow and explore his surroundings more and more. This month has been so much fun. We have been able to watch him discover his feet and put everything he finds in his mouth. He plays with toys and bounces in his jump-a-roo and excersaucer like a boss. He lights up with excitement when anyone new walks in the room. This is a boy who is not stingy with smiles and belly laughs (just like his dad). He wakes up talking to himself every morning (just like his mom). 

 Just workin' hard; eating flowers, playing music, bouncing and spinning!

His growth and development is so bittersweet as time is moving so swiftly. Sean and I have done a good job of living in the moment and taking the time to simply enjoy our time together as a family. Still, I can't help but reminisce longingly of the days when we first brought him home from the hospital and held him all day and a good part of the night. While he is small now, he was so much smaller just 5 months ago. 

Hanging with Dad on a lazy Sunday

We are moving toward another big milestone tonight...moving Jay to his own room. Although I originally wanted to keep him in our room for the first six months, he seems ready to move out and into a bigger sleep space. The co-sleeper/sidecar we use is not too big and he is stirring more easily when Sean and I talk or get up in the night. 

His room is literally only a wall away from us, but both Sean and I are dreading the move. GOD, how will I send him to college? We made a decision that today would be a good trial for his new location since I don't work any nights this week. In preparation, last night I spent extra time staring at him in his little tuxedo-sleepsack and ridiculous mittens (his hands get ice cold in our room at night). I looked over the side of the bed at him this morning when I heard cooing next to me and I said "Good Morning!" to the biggest, sweetest smile. I know he will still do that in his own room, but how sweet is it to be able to see that smile before I even hit the ground in the morning.

We will see how the transition goes, but hopefully it will be easier in practice then the anticipation has been. Once we get adjusted, we will probably be wondering why we didn't move him earlier!

Grandpa Jay's thermals and hat from almost 60 years ago! Though Lil' Jay modeled them like a champ...we had to change him quickly because the clothes smelled super musty. Blech.

Momo and Grandpa bought Jay a Stormy Kromer to keep him warm AND stylish when we head north in the winter!

4 Months and a trip to the BWCA

We have had another fun-filled month. Jay is developing and growing almost every day. Today we had his 4 month doctor's appointment and he is a whopping 16 pounds 6 ounces! His length is in the 92%. I know what you are thinking...where does THAT come from? At my own 4 month appointment, I was in the 98%. I apparently stopped growing shortly after that since I am only 5 foot 2 inches now.

He is reaching for and playing with toys, putting everything in his mouth, babbling constantly and even rolling over! We are so proud of every achievement and still just sit for hours watching him... for fun.

We have continued to travel at every opportunity. Our big trip replaced our annual canoe trip to the Quetico. We rented a cabin and motor boat in the Boundary Waters in northern MN. We stopped at Sam's house in Duluth for a night.

Sean holding Sam's puppy Brooks and Sam holding our puppy

Sam even made me a delicious cake. He used every candle in the house for me to blow out...

(I'm 5-2-backward 6 years old now)

Sam dog-sat Lucy so that we didn't have to worry about her and we headed north. Betsy and Willie at Vosburgh's Cabins treated us VERY well.  They accidentally double-booked the cabin we tried to rent, so they gave us an upgrade for free. 

This was the view from our cabin. 

I have been trying to breastfeed in all different places with the best views. This screen porch was a great addition to my list.

This trip was pretty different from our normal wilderness expeditions. We had a blast in the motor boat every day. We would load up all of our gear and drive down the road to the dock and load up our rented boat that a handsome young boat-hand gassed up for us. I was about to say that I can't believe I'm already the creepy older woman ogling the young camp hands... but actually, I was always the young lady doing just that, I'm just older now :) We didn't hold back at all. We brought a cooler full of snacks and beer, a full gallon of water to drink, a bouncy chair for Jay to play in, my knitting, books and fishing supplies. While we were driving, Jay wore his life jacket, but when we stopped we would let him hang out in a little boat fort.

We saw some amazing wildlife, including this loon who came within 10 feet of us and fished for a long time.

Another wildlife sighting was much closer to home. Sean was starting a fire in our cast iron stove and he quickly and quietly shut the glass door. A few minutes later he said to me, "I have to tell you something but I don't want you to freak out. There is something in the fireplace, but it's under control." "Whaaaaa?" I replied...freaking out. Apparently, two poor bats died a hot, hot death prior to our arrival. 

Jay dipped his feet in Lake Superior on our way home. His SECOND Great Lake before he turned 4 months!

He liked it a little bit more than his face shows in this picture. 

He is definitely turning into QUITE the outdoorsy boy!