Three More Angels in Heaven

It's been a tough few days. I've heard the saying "things happen in threes" before, but I think this is the first time I can actually agree with it. Our very good friends were pregnant with twins, I think about 23+ weeks along, and we learned that one of them has died. We know all the logical things--something must not have been right, God has a plan...but at the end of the day, it really sucks and is unbelievably unfair. Our hearts are breaking for them.

Growing up in Bemidji, I had a pretty idealic upbringing. Great family-oriented neighborhood--May Day baskets, great for trick-or-treating, neighborhood theater performances. And "adopted grandparents" Edie and Johnnie. Edie would make hot dogs with a slit down the center and put cheese in the center; it was my favorite meal at her house. Johnnie died several years ago and Edie had been in a nursing home. Edie joined her husband in heaven on Monday. Although her passing is sad, I know she is beaming from ear to ear seeing Johnnie again.

Tuesday morning, St. Scholastica's head baseball coach, John Baggs, lost his battle with cancer. Eddy was an assistant under Coach Baggs for nine years, before leaving for UWS to head his own program. Coach turned CSS's program into what it is today--not only an incredibly talented team, but he has fostered a community of current and past alumns that rivals any other. Every Fall at the Baseball Alumni Weekend, 200+ current and former players, along with their families, get together to celebrate CSS baseball. As a self-described "outsider" who married into this community, it is truly an incredible group. Of course I am a biased, but Eddy worked his tail off for Coach. But it's the hard work and opportunities afforded to Eddy, given by Coach, that has allowed my husband to hone is craft and get his dream job. For that, I will be eternally grateful. But Coach was more than a baseball coach. He has a wife and two young children. At age 42, his death comes much too soon. If we could give his family any comfort or sense of peace, we would. As Eddy and I put Isaac down to sleep last night, everything else in life--worry about bills, jobs, schedules that seem too busy--fades away, and we realize how blessed we are to have each other, our son, and baby-to-come. Baggs family, we are sending you our love.

Three more angels are in heaving, watching over us.

A Weekend with Auntie

My sister Lindsey (Isaac's Aunt and Godmother) came to visit us this weekend. I think the highlight for Isaac was showing his Auntie the trains at the Depot. The highlights for me were having someone to run a few errands with and good conversation over dessert and beverages at the Ground Round (virgin daquiri for me, not-virgin for Lindsey!).

I realized after she left that I didn't take my camera out. So instead, this is a picture of my sister and my son when he was 8 days old. I had an awesome weekend. Thank you for coming, Lindsey!

"I No Like It"

On Friday, a friend Courtney, and her son Ben, and Isaac and I went to the waterpark in Duluth for toddler time. The waterpark is at a local hotel, and Monday through Friday, a parent and toddler can use the park for $12 from 8-noon. We loaded up our stuff and headed down there. Our first sign that things might not go so well was a sign at the entrance welcoming two local middle schools to a day at the waterpark. While we paid, the boys seemed to being having fun while they looked down at the park from a big glass window. When we got down to the park and walked in the doors, the noise (lots of kids, sounds of water splashing, an "erupting" volcano sound, and radio over a sound system) was pretty incredible. Immediately Isaac started crying, make that screaming, saying "I no like it" over and over again. Well, being the good mother that I am, I forced his clothes off and put his suit on. I'm thinking Ben wasn't having a good time either, as Courtney didn't have to use her arms to carry Ben--he looked like a monkey stuck to its mother. We suffered through a half an hour before realizing this was not going to get any better. I was putting Issac's jacket on him, when the waterpark's mascot, Tiki Tom, was walking around. Isaac looks at him, totally mesmerized, and starts waving. Keep in mind this is the kid who, six months ago, screamed at the sight of Clifford the Big Red Dog. Tiki Tom walks over to him and gives Isaac a high five. The mascot walks away and Isaac keeps standing there, waving, totally in a trance. Unbelievable. Here's a short video of Isaac this morning telling us "I no like it" and it was "too loud".

Happy 60th Birthday Grandpa J!

Isaac and I headed to my parents' house this weekend (Eddy had baseball) to celebrate my dad's 60th b-day! His youngest sister, her husband, and his parents came up on Saturday to celebrate as well. We had a great weekend. My only complaint is that is went by too fast. Grandpa J with his cake upside down with Grandma Becky playing "naptime" with Uncle Paul making snow angels with Auntie Lindsey It was very apparent that Isaac enjoyed being the center of attention this weekend. He would "direct" aka, tell you, what to do. We all got a laugh out of this...

20 Week Comparison

I've had several requests for belly pictures. And since I'm 20 weeks, now seems like a good time. As I've mentioned before, I feel bigger now than I did with Isaac. So to test my memory, I put on the same outfit as I had on when I was 20 weeks with Isaac. Is it all in my head or am I truly bigger?! Whatever the answer, I've had a healthy pregnancy so far and I am truly grateful for that. And now that I've done the side-by-side comparison, I'm going to enjoy this pregnancy and enjoy this baby bump!

The picture on the top is when I was pregnant with Isaac (3/26/06); the pic on the bottom was 2 days ago.

Two Videos

Isaac has followed suit with his Grandpa J and his Mamma--he loves to lick frosting off the beater! Ah, the finer things in life...


We captured Isaac talking on the phone with his Papa recently. It's hit-or-miss if you want to talk with Isaac. Some days, he wants nothing to do with it. Others, he seems very engaged in conversation.