Zollman Zoo at Oxbow Park

On our first weekend here as a family of 3, we decided to check out Oxbow Park. People go there for hiking, camping, fishing, and picnics. We were most excited about their free zoo! They house over 30 species of wild animals native to Minnesota. (you can click on the photos to view them larger)

hello, badger!

just hanging out with a bald eagle

porcupines smell awful incase you were wondering

I find the irony of this picture a bit funny...parents of the year!

Peyton roaring at the bear (who started to pace back and forth)

cheesin. it. up.

getting chased by Mama

yep, that's a wolf behind my son

of course his favorite exhibit, heavy machinery!

I'll wrap this marathon of a post up with a video of Peyton with the calves. He couldn't wait to get close to them. As you can see, by the end of the video he was ready to see another animal.

the day my heart broke a little

I LOVE having a little boy. Growing up, it was just me and my sister and I would always wonder what it would be like to have a brother. When Josh and I were dating, we would daydream about how we hoped to have a boy first so he could protect his little sister. (that is IF we have one...Russells pretty much ONLY have boys and we would be thrilled to have another boy someday) When we found out on November 10, 2010 that we were having a boy, we were thrilled! And boy has it been a fun ride. From being "sprinkled" on when he was a newborn, to the obsession with cars/tractors/heavy machinery/sports, to his curiosity about life...I've loved every step of the way! (and did I mention I love buying boy clothes? Don't get me started on how cute he looks in preppy polos and plaid shorts.)

Being a mother has been one of the toughest yet rewarding jobs ever. I absolutely love being Peyton's mom. There's nothing sweeter than a big ol' hug around the neck or for him to say "I love you mama" unexpectedly. One of the hardest parts of motherhood is the "mother's guilt." Whether it be "Am I paying enough attention to him?" or  "I wish I wasn't at work so I could be with him" or "Am I being too hard in disciplining him?" (this one is tough for me) I felt a whole new world of mother's guilt this weekend. Nothing hurts more than when your child gets injured.

Before lunch on Saturday, we went outside to play in the green space beside our house. There's also a small cul-de-sac right outside our front door. I was playing with the basketball and Peyton was sitting on the curb. He leaned forward to grab his dump truck and I heard a loud thump. (I still cringe when I think of it) Poor Mr. P got a little road rash right on his face! He didn't cry very much because he tries to be tough, but he kept saying "NO NO stweet!" After that we went inside to assess and clean his injury. He kept saying that he wanted a band aid. Of course, I'll pretty much do anything when my child is hurt. After I put it on, he cried harder and wanted it off. No blood came out of his nose, but I texted Josh to ask about what a broken nose is like just to be safe. (Besides getting surgery for tubes in his ears at 9 months, this is his worst injury to date.) It turns out that children have a lot of cartilage and their bones are more flexible. God really knew what he was doing when he created children :) Psalm 139:14

Truth be told, Peyton handled it like a champ. He's actually kind of forgotten about it, except when we wash his hands and he sees it in the mirror. Me on the other hand, I feel horrible when I see it. (Josh does too) I've already gotten so many questions about it: at church, at Wal-Mart, and by a neighbor. I know that I need to get used to it. I'm sure there will be many more injuries possibly stitches or something in a cast. Now that I have this one under my belt, I'm hoping I will toughen up. Imagine how our Father feels when we as His children are hurt? Parenthood is the perfect image of His love for us, and I'm so blessed that I get to experience this.

Parents, have you gone through something like this? What's the worst injury your child has received?

right after it happened

a few hours later when he woke up from his nap

the next day

We'd love a little prayer for Peyton's injury to heal quickly and hopefully without a scar. Isn't he the sweetest?

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Soldiers Field Pool

On Father's Day, Peyton kept begging us to go swimming. So the next day, which was Josh's first day of orientation, we went to Soldiers Field pool. The only downside was that it wasn't warm enough outside. If you got out of the pool you'd be cold. Us Texans need to toughen up to prepare for a Minnesota winter! We are so glad we went because Peyton had a blast.

Downtown Rochester (where Mayo is located)

Welcome Reception

On Wednesday night Josh and I attended a welcome reception at the Mayo Foundation House. The house is amazing! It is a tudor style that looks like a castle. At the home's website it says that Dr. and Mrs. William J. Mayo gave their residence to Mayo Clinic in 1938 as a meeting place "for the good of mankind. 

I got there just after the class picture, boo. I'll have to add it once they give Josh a copy. We had drinks and hors d'oeuvres while mingling on the main floor and then headed up to a grand hall on the third floor for dinner. They served an appetizer, salad with grilled asparagus, delicious prime rib, and banana split ice cream cake. We were blown away. After dinner, the director gave some interesting history about the house and welcomed us to stay and tour it. We saw tiffany lamps, famous paintings, and a vase from early B.C. Egypt. We walked through Dr. Mayo's personal library. He would rate books from A-F and get rid of books that were Ds and Fs. Funny story, there's one book that someone gave him who knew that Dr. Mayo gave books ratings. He wrote an A+ before giving it to him and on the next page is a B+ by Dr. Mayo.

I loved the stained glass behind the stage. It was added in 1943 and depicts the history of medical education, practice and research. 

a view of the back of the Foundation House while walking through the garden

I was so lucky to find Bethany to babysit Peyton. A woman recommended her in Side By Side Bible Study newsletter. She's about to be a senior at Baylor and Peyton had fun while she was here. She even left the living room cleaner that it was before she got here. Score!

Minnesota Children's Museum Rochester

Last Friday I decided to venture out and explore the Children's Museum. It's only about the size of one floor at the San Antonio location but we still had fun. First stop, the AgCab Lab! Peyton loved this room. There was a tractor cab with a virtual display where you could pretend to plow or plant. It was really hard to pull him away from it so that other kids could have a turn.

Next we headed over to a table where you could design and build a wooden car and test it out on a ramp. I love watching him learn through play. He breathes heavily like his Dad when he's thinking. One of the wheels kept falling off and he had to go get it. He kept saying "Uh oh! Wheel, Mama. Help you!"

We also loved the Storyland exhibit which had displays for some childhood favorites. He loved Peter Rabbit's den.

The last stop was the arts and crafts room. I really had to take a deep breath and let go so that he could enjoy. There was self face painting, 2 water tables, a large craft table, a mouse cage and a caterpillar display. As you can see from the video, he was a fan of the face painting. This boy always steals the chap stick I keep by my bed and as you can see he's a pro at applying it.

The Russells Secede from Texas!

Well it's been almost two years since my last post! I went back to teaching after my maternity leave and life got pretty busy. We're now done with medical school and living in Rochester, MN where Josh will begin his surgery residency.

Josh and I made the trip up here and my parents flew up with Peyton a few days later. Here's our new place! Hooray for a 3rd bedroom! hint, hint visitors :)

I don't know if I could have survived the 2 day trip without my audio book to Redeeming Love. What an amazing book! It's a Christian novel that follows the story of Hosea and Gomer during the Gold Rush. I love all of the different layers and clever elements, and it's not preachy. I totally recommend it! (and will probably read it again and again)

Peyton loves our new state. It is so cute how he says Minnesota. We went to the Mall of America after we picked them up from the airport. Another reason to come visit ;) Here's us at the Rainforest Cafe

There's a huge theme park inside the mall called Nickelodeon Universe. We took Peyton there on another visit to the mall. His favorite ride was where he got to "drive" a semi truck. I think he rode it three times. 

There's also a huge Lego store with giant lego sculptures. They said it took 6 months to build them, with 160 people broken into 3 8-hour shifts. So someone was working on the statues around the clock. Crazy! 

I'm so happy that we're adjusting so well. Sadly, the worst part of our move was the "waiting game" leading up to in. Now that we're here, it's time to dive in and enjoy the ride. I leave you with our latest adventure...Peyton having the toddler rail on his crib. Below is a picture of him from our Dropcam calling out to me at nap time. I love my big boy!