Fun Around the House

Charlie and I have been having quite a fun time around our house this past weekend and this week.

Charlie loves the potato masher! He mashes away...

I belong to this Stuff for Sale in Rochester site on Facebook. I happened to come across a post from a guy that wanted to get rid of this tool bench with tools, little tikes table and chairs, toy mower with gas can, 3-wheeler, toy shopping cart, and two big shelves for $50! I couldn't pass it up. We have been doing lots of building in our house! 

Mugsy the puppy likes to help too. Charlie got him from Aunt Elinor for Christmas, and he goes just about everywhere with Charlie. 

I love this little look he gave me. 

Using the screwdriver. 

This sums up my day today: boogers and drool! Teething has done a number on our little boy and my sanity last night and today! Last night was 2 hours of screaming in the crib at bedtime (yes I continued to go in and sooth him...). He woke up at midnight and did a full hour of screaming. Then was fine until after his morning nap. Then he wanted to be held continuously and was very very whiny. The only time he was happy was when we were outside playing. Boy, I hope tonight goes a lot better! I'm used to getting a full 8 hours! 

Crazy Kitties!

I used to post endlessly about our little kitties, Luna and Sol. Ever since Charlie arrived, the focus has been on him. I wanted to share with the world that Luna and Sol are still running around like the crazy kitties they are!

Luna was attacking Tony's clothes while he was trying to fold them.

This is Sol's favorite spot! 

He's a walker!

Some of you have been asking and asking, and others of you have been waiting patiently for our little boy to realize that his boots (or Crocs) were made for walking. As of last Monday, he is an official walker. As Laur said today, he looks like he maybe had a few before walking, but he's figuring this out. It sounds like he's at about the same age his cousin Harvey was at when he started walking. Those two boys have a lot in common!

I haven't captured video yet, but I have a few pictures of him.

He's just about to take off!

Sorry about showing off Tony's natural sweater, but Charlie walked all the way across the room to get to Tony's oatmeal! He had already had a full breakfast, but it wasn't enough I guess!

Just a little smirk. 

We're having some issues with keeping eyes open when the flash is in use. I have about 30 pictures with closed eyes! Here's the little guy checking out the Chex Mix I made on Saturday morning. (please ignore the massive amounts of clothing in the background. Tony's laundry day!) 

I waited to post this until today because I didn't want to jinx it!

Fredricksen/Fredrickson/Larson

Back in January at my Great Aunt Doris' funeral, it was decided that the Fredricksen clan needed to get together outside of funerals and weddings. So, the 1st cousins decided on a date, June 14! Yesterday we all gathered together at my parents house for games, delicious food and lots of visiting.

Cousins came from near and far: Stewartville, Rochester, Twin Cities, Des Moines, IA, Brandon, SD, Watertown, SD, and Bathgate, ND. It was SO wonderful to spend this time together.

You may be curious about the title of my post...the original Danish spelling of my last name is Fredricksen; however, one of my grandpa's brothers decided to change it to avoid all the misspellings, Fredrickson (at least that's how I understand the story to go). My grandpa had a sister who married a Larson, so that's where we get those Norwegians from!

My grandpa and all of his siblings have passed away, so this is our eldest generation:

My dad JR (that's what he goes by to his family), Connie, Lance, David and Richard.

Sometimes I forget that I fall into the 2nd cousin generation because I'm a bit younger than them! My dad's the baby of the cousins... Here is my generation going from left to right back to front

Brian, Eric, Ross, Bobby, Will and Jim

Annie, me, Beth 

After we finished generational pictures, we went into individual family pictures. Here's mine! 

 David's family. David's mom, Mary, is the only person in the grandparent generation. She married my grandpa's brother. It was nice that she could come and spend some time with all of us!

These are the crazy FredrickSON's. Richard, his daughter Kelly and her little girls were unable to make it. Next is Nancy. She was married to my dad's cousin Steve. Then we have Bobby and Annie who are Steve and Nancy's kiddos. Then we have Connie and her significant other, Lee. 

Here's Lance Larson's crew! They traveled the farthest and no one was missing! I won't go through with all of their names. 

 Here we ALL are! We had to call my uncle Mark to come over and take the picture because all my parent's neighbors were gone!

Here we have Lance and my Dad. Lance and Dad are very close because Lance was incredibly close to my Grandpa Clarence. We spent all of our summer vacations at Lance's house in Park Rapids, MN. They've moved away from there now to be closer to family. Lance had to make sure Dad was grilling just right! 

Before the big rain hit, we enjoyed some yard games. 

Sharing of stories

and tractor rides! 

15 month stats!

Charlie shared his 15 month birthday with his Uncle Will's 25th birthday, June 6th. Today we celebrated the only way Mayo Clinic knows how: vaccinations!

With those vaccinations though, we get some great little stats to show how healthy our little boy is! He is now exactly 24 pounds and 31 inches tall. The doctor said he is as healthy as can be! He put on quite a show for her. He walked around the entire room just like he's been walking for years. What a little stinker!

With his two shots came only a tiny little cry and 2 tears; then, he was good to go! He's such a little trooper. He must've gotten those genes from the Knutson side. It sounds like his big cousin Harvey is a superstar with shots too!

To celebrate our great check-up, I'll share a few of the early morning pictures that I sent to my dad recently. Yes, there's a lot, but I just couldn't choose 1!

Children's Museum Fun!

Yesterday, Tony and I decided it was a perfect day to give the Rochester Children's Museum a try. I sent Mindy a text, and before you know, a playdate for the museum and lunch was scheduled!

Charlie started off with the big legos. They are pretty heavy, so he couldn't do too much on his own.

Natalie and Harvey are playing a little golf at the ball exhibit. 

Charlie could've stayed here forever. He played with Aunt Mindy for quite a while there!

Dropping golf balls to shoot into target canisters

 Running to see if they made it!

Bouncing balls into the hoop

Tot Spot

Charlie really enjoyed this room!

Natalie got into the face paint...

and the shaving cream sensory bin!

Charlie got his hands dirty too

Walking through the maze with Aunt Mindy

and then Natalie

Dropping a golf ball into the tunnel

It was a really fun day! I'm sure we'll be heading back there again soon!