The first BIG Wisco trip....

Oh boy. We went on a big vacation with bean, and it went AWESOME! She was amazing. She was so well behaved I wondered where Natalie went, and who switched my child out lol. No really...she has been so good the last few weeks I thought for sure she would at least give us a little trouble on our trip but she was literally an angel. Such a happy baby! I had so much anxiety I really could have used a good dose of zanax Thursday. I had a slight headache the first few days just from nerves. Tylenol and good beer helped me through it :)

The first plane ride was a little bumpy. She fussed a bit getting to sleep about half way through the trip, but then slept until we got into the rental car. Our friends Ryan and Jenny made a trip so much easier by leading us all kinds of cool kids toys. We had a fun time visiting with them and their three adorable kids! They treated us to yummy pizza, and we got to play with their kids for a few hours! Ryan amazed us with his bounce/pat burping skills. Natalie is usually in too much of a hurry to eat to be burped really well, but with Ryan's way cool method - Natalie is a burp machine! LOL Ryan even met us at the airport with a car seat. Thank you guys so much for everything! Natalie rocked a big girl car seat the whole trip, she loved it!

We stayed in Chicago the first night with my brother and sister-in-law. Aunt Dana sang Natalie a cute honey bear song, and uncle Ryan got her a bears snowsuit! We will be ready for Wisco winter next year! Friday we drove to Sconie and hung out with Grandma all day, then went to a blues concert at the Beloit lagoon. Mommy and daddy went out with the big kids and grandma went home with Bean. We saw some of Nick's friends and hung with Ryan, Dana, and her sister Kristen. Uncle Ryan tore up the dance floor at Sud's!!

Saturday we went to Nick's aunt Teri's house (she runs a pig farm.) She made a kick ass dinner (pork of course) and invited lots of family over to meet Natalie. We had a great time, and Bean continued to behave like a champ. She wore her "Tiny Tatge" shirt and everyone raved about it! We had a photo shoot thanks to Grandma on the farm and got a lot of really great photos!! Did I mention how adorable she looks in jeans. It's ridiculous, I can't take it. Another highlight: I caught a fire fly....just saying!!

Sunday was the big day!! Eric's Ironman!! For those of you who don't know thats a 2.5 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and then a full 26.2 mile marathon. Holy cow! The day began early in the morning (4 AM early) ... so early in the morning that mommy forgot the most important thing to have for your baby: FORMULA!! How I managed this one was beyond me...don't ask. Needless to say it's a good thing Natalie has the best daddy ever. He hitched a cab to the nearest (not close at all) grocery store and picked some up. For it being a relatively good sized town, nothing is open in downtown Madison on Sunday mornings - nothing! Nick rushed back to see Eric's first transition, but he just missed it by seconds. I felt awful. But  Eric was great in the water! He made great time in the swim!

In fact, uncle Eric made that Ironman his bi-otch. He finished in 87th place overall - and ahead of 10 pros!!! Not bad for that being his FIRST Ironman!!! (He's doing two next year!!) We had a huge crew watching and cheering him on. We all had lots of goosebumps, we were all so full of pride, and I must have welled up 10 times throughout the day just thinking of his amazing achievement. We are all so, so proud of him. It was incredible to watch. And just to make a fantastic day even better, he proposed to his girlfriend (aunt Marissa) seconds before he crossed the finished line. It was amazing, words can not describe what a wonderful day it was, and what an awesome accomplishment he achieved. Hooray for weddings!!
(If you haven't seen the video on Facebook - check it out! It's one of the best engagements EVER!)

I'm leaving A LOT of details out, but all and all it was a great trip. Bean met lots of friends and family, got some really good grandma and grandpa time in, and cheered on her Ironman Uncle. By the time Monday came I really missed my daughter lol. Everyone wanted to hold her, and she wanted to be held by everyone! I felt like I had a mommy break for 5 days. Everyone was so good with her, and Nick and I were more than happy to share.

She has been so good since turning 4 months I really don't want her to get any bigger. I love, love this age. She has done lots of rolling over now, almost sits up by herself, loves the high chair, tries to scoot herself when on her belly, loves veggies, sleeps through the night (aside from waking up for her bink occasionally), jumps in the jumperoo like a champ, talks and laughs up a storm. When she looks at Winston (our Boston Terrier) she CRACKS UP! Something about him just makes her soooo happy! She also loves it when you make noises with your mouth. She will make cooing noises and baby talk for hours on end. She still loves her mobile, but REALLY loves to play with the toys on her exer-saucer and jumparoo. I'm so in love! I can't get enough of my Bean.

And added note, our friends Angela and Dan became parents on Tuesday. CONGRATULATIONS on their new addition Maizy Joy. Natalie and I went and visited her today. So darn cute, and so little, bean looked like a beast next to her. And oddly she thought the baby was hysterical. She laughed at her for like 5 minutes straight. It was funny.

Ok I'm off to bed. Nat put herself to sleep like a big girl tonight at 9:30. Getting earlier and earlier. Hopefully we will eliminate that late day nap here soon. Fingers crossed :)

There are a million pictures of Facebook. But here are a few favorites.