Christmas Time

Once again, I have fallen off of the blogging wagon! Life just takes over sometimes! I hope everyone is having a low stress holiday and our family wishes you a very merry christmas!!!

Happy September!

Hi Everybody,
September has been a big month for us! Clover is officially walking at 11 months old, pretty exciting stuff! She loves to hold our hand and walk all around the house. Nothing is sweeter than when she comes up to me or Roger and reaches up for us to hold her hand. Clover has also really become attached to her books. We have been reading to her since the first week she came home and now she will grab a book and come over and hand it to us to read to her. We can't believe she is almost one, this year has been a blur. I finally am "starting" to feel like things are getting back to normal. We didn't get to kayak at all this year, but the sacrifices we have made this summer have been worth it to us because we have managed to make sure that all of our free time when we aren't working is spent with Clover. We have adjusted our life around her instead of expecting her to mold around our lifestyle and I will never apologize for that. We love our daughter and want to spend as much time with her as possible.

The picture above is from an event through United HealthCare and March of Dimes where we got to go to Target Field and walk around the warning track before the start of the game. We had a great time and Clover even got down and got some Target Field dirt between her toes! We went to the Harvest festival today at Bayfront Park in Duluth and learned about the CSA's in our area. I think I am going to try and get involved in one for the Spring 2012. This time of year there is a fun local festival almost every weekend and I am looking forward to enjoying each of them with Clover!

Time Flies...

Wow, Can't believe that when I last posted it was May! Story of my life right now! I just blinked and before I knew it, summer is almost over. Things have been so fun here at the house of Moerke! Clover is mobile and trying to get into anything she can. She has taken two steps, but is getting closer and closer to walking. She can walk a good distance just holding on to my hand. We have made it to a few Twins games this year and have a few more outings planned. I can definitely say that we are big Twins fans in this house, even though this season has been less than stellar. We have been lucky enough to have my sister Shannon staying with us this summer. Clover has bonded with her quite a bit because of the time they spend together. Clover is getting close to celebrating her first birthday and I am starting to research ways to meal plan for her. I really want to be able to give her the most natural, healthy choices I can. We spent some time today at our local farmers market and it really has excited us to look for more local, healthy options in our area. We are looking into a CSA (community shared agriculture) that delivers in Duluth. I know there are a lot more options in the cities, but we do have a few in Duluth. I am really going to try to post more often- that can be my resolution for the rest of August. I can't even remember to take my vitamins every day so if I could remember to post a few times a week, that would be an accomplishment. I hope everyone else is doing well, getting ready for fall or ready for school to start. Until next time, love from Duluth!! 

Watchout world!! We have a crawler!

Yes, thats right - Clover is mobile. I am amazed at how suddenly I can set something out for her to tempt her into crawling and she is totally able to move across the floor to get it! We have been having a lot of fun lately which is why our blog  hasn't been updated much. We visited Como Zoo this weekend on Mothers day and had a great time. Clover does a great job traveling in the car and that makes our visits so much nicer. It has been a busy week at work- I had to travel to Minneapolis during the week to make a presentation at Medica headquarters- nervewracking but fun. That day was really tough though because I left my house at 7:30am and didn't get home until 9pm...needless to say I didn't even get a squeeze and cuddle from my little girl that day :-(  I am really looking forward to the weekend, I am thinking we will have some fun with finger paints and maybe check out the Duluth Zoo again or the Aquarium or the Depot...maybe all. Roger is looking forward to warmer weather and firing up the bonfire pit. We are all looking forward to our summer visitor, my little sister Shannon. She isn't so little anymore, she will be 20 on Monday! Shannon is going to be moving in with us at the end of May and spend the summer with us to get some good Auntie time with Clover and get her summer Duluth experience in. Our kayaks are begging to be used and it should be fun getting to enjoy them without being pregnant---I had terrible heartburn everytime I would paddle last year. I cannot wait to get my kayak out into Lake Superior!! Have a great weekend everyone!!

HAPPY EASTER!

We wish you all a happy Easter and we hope you all are enjoying the holiday with the people who make you happy!

Coffee with Clover

Hi Everyone! I hope everybody had a great week last week! We are doing really well, the second week of school went well and I am still surprised at how much I enjoy it. This week we purchased a membership at the Lake Superior Zoo and we are looking forward to warmer days when we can begin to get a lot of use out of it. If you have never been to the zoo in Duluth, you are missing out. There is something about the closeness there to the animals that just makes it so much fun. The Lake Superior Zoo has had its own share of struggles in the past but they really seem to be on the right track. Yesterday we ventured to Minneapolis to visit my mom and some of our close family friends and have a meet and greet with Clover. Clover did wonderfully, she was a charmer as usual. She makes me so proud at how friendly she is and how open she is to new people, always full of smiles. When I was pregnant I hoped for two things from my little child: for her to be healthy and for her to be a happy smiling baby. Lucky me, I got both of those wrapped up in a wonderful little package! We took Clover to Rosedale Mall yesterday to meet the Easter Bunny and have some Easter pics taken. Anytime you bring your baby to something like that you never know how they are going to handle it. One of the children in line in front of us screamed bloody murder the entire time so I was nervous at how Clover would handle this. As always, she was a peach and impressed everyone at how well she handled it. Another week looms ahead and we are busier than ever, there are very few moments of open time with school, work and Clover time. One thing I have realized is that having a baby is really ushering a new person into the world and getting them ready to have their own life. Don't decide to have a baby until you are ready to devote your life to making another persons life wonderful...I am glad I was ready for that when Clover came into the world. Until next time, Love you! Tania

6 Months of hugs and cuddles

Today is Clovers 1/2 birthday! I cannot believe she is already 6 months old! I know now how moms can stay home with their babies because every day is a big fun party with the baby! She is always doing new things and she brings joy to every minute because she finds joy in everything! I made my first batch of baby food the other day and have attached a picture below- MMM Pears! Roger made a very large batch a few weeks ago of sweet potatoes and carrots. Clover loves pears but hates peaches and bananas, so I guess I need to make some more homemade batches and see if she takes to those. Have a great week to all who are reading this! Love Tania