February 2012 Recap

February was a blur at our house. With Cashel being born right at the end of January, we spent much of February adjusting to life as parents and learning how to care for our new little baby boy. We had lots of visitors throughout the month, including grandparents, friends and other family members. We also made 3 separate day trips down to Humboldt: once to take my Mom home, once to celebrate my Mom's birthday with her, and just a few days after that, a day trip for a sad purpose: to support my sister and her husband Michael as his Dad passed away.

It was a strange February in general, as the weather was freakishly mild, and in fact, we had only one day with any amount of snow.

Day Trip to Humboldt (February 2)

We took a day trip down to Humboldt to take my Mom back home after her week helping out with little Cashel after he was born. It was a lot of fun to introduce Cashel to his Humboldt cousins as well as Uncle Josh, Aunt Tiff and Uncle Michael. He also enjoyed some cuddles with Grandma again :)

For a full recap with pictures, Click Here!

Valentine's Day (February 14)

We had a low-key Valentine's Day at our home, complete with a yummy spaghetti dinner, dumb movie, lots of cuddles with our little man, a surprise visit from Mark's Mom and some delicious cheesecake before bed.



For a full recap with pictures, Click Here!

Baby Shower in LeSueur (February 18)

Two of Mark's Aunts threw Cashel a baby shower in LeSueur on Saturday afternoon, February 18. We had a great, informal time visiting and catching up with the family on Mark's Mom's side for the afternoon.


For a full recap with pictures, Click Here!

Humboldt for Mom's Birthday (February 22)

Cashel and I made a short day trip down to Humboldt to celebrate Mom/Grandma's 65th birthday with her!


For a full recap with pictures, Click Here!

Humboldt for Randy Vinsand's Visitation (February 26)

We made another day trip down to Humboldt to support Michael and Amanda as they said goodbye to Michael's Dad, as he passed away suddenly on the 22nd.

For a full recap with pictures, Click Here!

Cashel at 1 Month (February 26)

We watched our little boy develop over the first month, and documented each week on the baby blog. It was a month full of challenges, but we watched as he changed and snuck a whole bunch of snuggles along the way :)


For the one-month blog entry, Click Here!

February Visitors

We received a number of visitors during the month of February to come meet our baby boy and visit with us a bit. It is so nice to have so many family and friends who love this little boy :)

Grandma Diane came over for dinner on February 3rd and got a few snuggles in with Cashel.

The Walerius Family stopped by for a bit on February 4th.

We spent Superbowl Sunday, February 5th, with Mark's Dad, Pam, Jess and Tyler.


One of my best friends from college at Northwestern, Steff, came up to visit and meet Cashel on February 11 from Des Moines! We also were able to enjoy some one-on-one time over dinner at River City Eatery here in Windom, which was nice for me to get out.

Uncle Dave and Aunt Chris came for a visit on February 15.

Our neighbor lady, "Grandma" Gracie stopped over for a few hours in the afternoon of February 17 to meet Cashel and visit for a while.

Mark's cousin, Drew, made a quick stop by on February 23 to meet Cashel as well!

Mark's Dad and Pam also stopped back over on February 25 for a couple hours to get some cuddles in.

It was a busy month for visitors, but we sure enjoyed having them!

Humboldt for Sad Reasons :( (February 26)

Unfortunately, the day after returning from my second trip to Humboldt, my sister's father-in-law passed away unexpectedly, so we made a trip down to Humboldt the following Sunday to be there to support Michael and his family at the visitation.

It wasn't a very long trip, as we didn't make it down to town until around 2:30pm and were on the road back home by 8pm, but we enjoyed visiting with the family what little we did, and getting to see Dave and Elicia and their family so they could meet Cashel as well.

While the occasion was a sad one, it's hard to really have a downer of a day with all these little kiddos running around - they sure bring lots of joy in sad circumstances.

I'd say the theme of this visit would have to be snuggles, as there were many to be had!

I finally got some quality snuggles with precious Catherine Joy :)

And Aunt Elicia got some snuggles with Cashel

Uncle Jason is always a favorite snuggle bug with the nieces and nephews :)

There were snuggles with Grandma...

...and with Aunt Amy...

...and with Daddy...

But while snuggles were the theme, there was, as always, plenty of play time for the kiddos as well.

Daddy is apparently an amusement park ride (Josh and Reign)

Cousins Ben and Caleb showing off their awesome toys!

These two little stinkers look like they were up to no good :)

Elicia and the little ladies :)

There is no holding this chickie back!

Mamas with our newbies :)

Cashel at 2 months, Catherine at 4 months

We wish all our best to the Vinsand family with the loss of Randy. Heaven sure gained a wonderful man, and we think of you all often. He most certainly will be missed.

Mom's Birthday in Humboldt (February 22)

Being on maternity leave has its perks! Without having to be at work, I have the freedom to get away a little more often for day trips. The first month has been a little crazy, but even with that, I managed to make it down to Humboldt three times in the month of February. On my first trip, a day trip, Mark joined me to take my Mom back home after her stay to help out early on.

The second trip was intended to be an overnight trip Cashel and I took alone to celebrate my Mom's birthday with her! We ended up coming back the same day as there was questionable weather in the forecast, but had a great day as it was!

Cupcakes and Ice Cream

Cuddles with The Birthday Girl

Party People

Opening Gifts

Attempt at a PJ Picture

Happy Birthday, Mom! You are one of a kind, and I couldn't ask for a better mother or grandma to my baby boy :)