Baby on board!

That's right, baby on board! I'm pregnant with our second child, due in January. Marshall and I found out the news right after moving into our house. You can imagine the surprise and shock...this was not something we were planning for at this time. However, it will be a welcome addition to our family, one I have looked forward to for awhile now. I really never thought this would happen!


So far the pregnancy is going well, pretty comparable to my pregnancy with Caleb. I've been tired, nauseous, no appetite...pretty much the normal pregnancy symptoms. These symptoms are starting to subside now that I'm almost to the 2nd trimester already. It seems to be going by fast, but at the same time, it doesn't seem completely real yet! No flutters of movement, no showing really...that will all come soon, I know.


I did have my first real doctor's appointment this week. Marshall and I were able to hear the heartbeat...what a wonderful sound!! My doctor said everything looks fine!


We have shared the news with Caleb, the big brother to be...he probably does not understand it really but he's had some funny reactions. When I first asked him if he'd like a baby in the house he got very excited and asked me rapidly, "can it play on my swingset?, will it talk?" Since then he's mentioned the baby a couple times, mostly about the baby living in his toy room (he'll have to move his toys downstairs). He always is good with the babies at daycare so I think he'll be great with his new brother or sister.

Farm 2009

Every year it's a family tradition to go to Osakis the 2nd week of July for the Roddin' 'Round the Lake car show. Since my parents have the farm, that tradition has expanded into a weekend bonfire as well. This year we went up Saturday morning and spent some time at the car show. My brother's car and my dad's car are in the picture above. The show itself is pretty small, just taking up Main Street in downtown Osakis, but it always has a pretty good turn out. Caleb was interested in walking up and down the street checking out all the cars. He took this walk several times, with Grandpa, Uncle Joey or Auntie Steph. We also walked down to the lake, but he was not a fan of that and got pretty freaked out when Marshall joked about throwing him off the dock! After lunch at Tip Top Dairy bar we headed back to the farm before the rest of the family. Caleb was able to take a little nap. Soon the rest of the group started to arrive. After Caleb's nap he joined in the fun, playing squirt guns with Auntie Steph and getting mostly everyone wet. We had a lot of people out for dinner and a bonfire afterwards. Caleb stayed up late and had a great time hanging out with everyone.


The next day some of the campers took off for home but we stayed for awhile to hang out and enjoy the nice weather. Caleb was able to participate in all his favorite farm activities...riding 4-wheeler, tractor, pretending to ride on the dirt bike, and even driving his very own little tractor (made by Grandpa). After having Grandpa or Uncle Joey start the tractor for him over and over, he figured it out himself and was able to take off on his own (terrifying for me!!!). The tractor goes very slow so it was ok...perfectly safe (I guess!). He was so cute driving around, steering, stopping on his own...giving people rides even. The noise of all that stuff is too much for him, so he likes to wear his 'firework ears'...Grandpa's from the races.


Later in the day, we went with my Aunt Deb to see the animals that her son, Doug, and daughter-in-law, Kara, have at their farm. Caleb got to feed Precious the pig some lettuce, and we saw brand new baby goats, less than a week old. Doug and Kara's son, Landon, was also there, so Caleb got to see his second cousin for awhile too. All in all, it was a very fun and eventful weekend! Caleb was asking for days afterward if we could go back to the farm.

Uncle Kenny

On June 30 we lost an important part of our family. My Uncle Kenny passed away after a long battle with many different health issues and a short battle with cancer. He was 64 years old, had been married to my Aunt Kathy for over 40 years, had 3 kids, Kris, Kara, and Kory and 3 grandchildren, Evan, Adam and Kenna. He was very close to his sisters, Ellen, Louise and Jean(my mom). He loved his family, friends, and church so much. Everyone remembered Kenny for his sense of humor, his strong faith, and his kind heart. He touched so many people throughout his life and we will forever miss his strong presence in our family.

Father's day/birthday

Caleb loves any kind of celebration and Father's Day and my birthday were no exception! We celebrated Father's Day the day after, with a lasanga dinner at my parents' house. On my birthday my family came over to our house for hot dogs/brats on the grill, potato salad, beans, etc (they brought all the food!). Caleb had a lot of fun showing everyone his swing set and playing outside. And I had a very nice birthday...it was finally my 'golden' birthday, 28 on the 28th! I remember thinking about that when I was little...and how far away it seemed.

Family visit!

On Father's Day weekend Marshall's dad, stepmom and nephew came to visit from North Dakota. They were here several days and it was a lot of fun spending time together. Caleb was able to go to Chuck E Cheese, play at the park, go out for pizza...he had a great time. We spent a lot of time at our house, too! Caleb sure missed them all once they left. He asked us several times "where grandma and grandpa from north dakota and Alex?"