Alaskans Now?

 As we've walked this path of moving to Alaska, I have found myself asking myself from time to time, "Can we call ourselves Alaskans now?"

Of course, not yet... but moving to a new place, we don't know what we don't know.  So, what traces must we navigate before we can claim this as our home?

We drove the Alcan highway... are we Alaskans now?

We've seen a moose in our neighborhood, just down the street.. are we Alaskans now?

We've caught halibut and cooked it for dinner... are we Alaskans now?

Fun At the Grand Hotel 1

 We had such a blast on Mackinac Island and staying at the Grand Hotel.  We did as much in two days as I think our group could have possibly done.

In my last post I explained what makes Mackinac Island so unique (no cars, horses and bicycles for travel on the island, and you have to get there by ferry).  What makes the Grand Hotel so unique is that is the largest hotel in the world that only opens for the summer.  It has the largest front porch in the world.  It also requires coat and tie dress code in the lobby and the dining room after 6:30pm.

It has a high tea in the afternoon complete with a harpist, breakfast and dinner are included in the cost of a room, and both breakfast and dinner is a five course meal.

The grounds are gorgeous with tennis courts, gardens, croquet, pools, and large chess and checkers courts.  A swing band plays every night after dinner in one of the lounges, and guests can dance for hours.  It is unlike anywhere else in the world.

Making the couple of days even more special is that we were there with my parents, but also my brother and sister-in-law, and my nephew.

So, our first day at the Grand Hotel consisted of checking in to the room (which was a suite that we shared with my parents and had plenty of room for our family of 8 and my parents -- my brother and his family were in a different room), leaving Hunter and Brady to nap, and the four big kids and I walked into town where they were allowed to spend some of their birthday money if they wanted to on a small souvenir.  We bought some fudge, and the kids found petoskey stones on the shore of the lake.

Then, the kids quickly went to the pool before we needed to be dressed to gather as a family before dinner.

Here are a few pictures leading up to dinner.

Arriving on Mackinac Island

 Mackinac Island is a really unique place which is only open to tourist during the summer months, and there are no cars on the island.  The only transportation is bicycle, horses/horse and carriage, or walking.

In order to get to the island, you take a Ferry across the northern part of Lake Huron.  There are views of the Mackinac Bridge as you cross the lake.  The Mackinac Bridge is 5 miles long and connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.

Here are some pictures of our getting to Mackinac Island and our first minutes getting settled at The Grand Hotel.

St. Louis Fun

 St. Louis Fun

Fun on the Mountain

 Here are just a couple pictures for our very fun-filled 36 hours with our cousins in Park City this weekend.

Brady Christopher -- 9 Months

Brady turned 9 months a few weeks ago and I really need to tell you all that he is up to before low and behold he turns 10 months, which will happen before I know it.

Here is Brady at 9 months of age -- a little under the weather but being a good sport for the picture

To give you a picture of how he's changed over the past 9 months, there is a sequence of him as a newborn, at 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months.  What a cutie!

And here is the comparison of all six kiddos at nine months of age:

Top left to right - Tracey, Caroline, Hunter

Bottom left to right - Howard, Brady, Lee Lee

Weight: 

17 pounds 6 ounces at his 9 month check up

(He weighed 7 pounds 15.8 ounces at birth)

Length:  

27.5" at his 9 month appointment

(He was 20" at birth)

Clothing size: 

Twelve month clothing - everything from onesies to sleepers to pants and shirts.

 

Eating:  

He is a great eater - still, which is so helpful.  Also, we have not discovered any food allergies.  He still nurses before bed and a few times during the day, but I am getting the impression that when he nurses, it is becoming more about cuddling and less about getting milk.  I'm pretty sure my milk supply is on its last legs.

Sleeping:  

Brady had a great month of sleeping through the night with exception being that as a household, we have been ill for the entire month of January 19 - February 19 (and before and after).  So, Brady has had a few nights here and there that were rough but they were all due to illnesses.

 

 

New Things/Discoveries/Accomplishments/Places He's Gone/Special Memories

• He crawls EVERYWHERE and is very fast
• He can crawl up the two stairs from his baby-sitter's family room to the rest of the house, and she reports he has loved the opportunity to explore ALL the rooms in her home.
• His time celebrating Tracey's birthday
• His first Valentine's Day
• His first funeral service
• He is beginning to push toys (with the help of older siblings)
• Unfortunately, he took his first trip to the emergency room this month to check on his breathing.  Hunter came down with Adeno/Entero/Rhino Virus (I'm sure some of those are mis-spelled) with and incredibly high fever that went on for many days.  Brady had the same virus, and he had a fever that wasnt' as high as Hunter's, but he had major congestion, and would snore like a trucker every night.  So, we took him to the emergency room one night to check his oxygen levels and make sure he was doing okay.
• First wedding -- well first pretend wedding in our family room between a dinosaur and unicorn -- but we were all very dressed up and Brady was very well-behaved
• First time napping in the same room as Hunter
• First time with Mama and the boys (at home, but we still had fun)

  

Likes: 

• His siblings
• Peek-a-boo and smiles
• Crawling on the floor
• He loves when Hunter gets a diaper change because Hunter is down on his level, and Brady always comes over and begins to touch Hunter's face
• Kisses
• FOOD
• Baths with siblings
• Cords.  All electrical cords.
• Long car rides overnight (he did AMAZING on our drive to and from St. Louis)
• Mama
• Door-stops

Dislikes:

• Stuffed nose
• Disrupted sleep

 

Nicknames:

• Brady
• Buddy
• Brady Boy
• Brady Blue Eyes
• Braidster
• Braid
• Brady Buddy

Pictures in no particular order: