Happy New Year- 2009!

Happy New Year, friends! As I sit here writing the last post of 2008, I can't help but think back on all that has occurred in the past year for us. What a difference a year makes! We've become parents, which has turned out to be every bit the big deal it was billed to be. We are SO thankful for our little boy and have really loved this new change to our lives and marriage. In fact, we are SO thankful for SO many things:

• A God who loves us, supports us, takes care of us, encourages us
• The opportunity to vacation this year- twice!- and without baby (not that we don't love him- it's just nice to have a break)
• Our family, and their willingness to help us out
• Excellent child care for Malachi
• A wonderful church where we both belong and can serve
• Jobs, even though we may not always be happy with them
• Holidays with family
• Unexpected stays out of town
• Sarah is thankful for snow
• John is thankful for sun
• Good friends
• Etc.

I really don't mean for this to turn into one of those corny posts, but I do think it is good for us to look back on the year and reflect on the things that have brought us happiness. A guest speaker at our church the weekend after Thanksgiving talked about living with a thankful attitude. That really struck a chord with me. Sometimes I don't think I take the time to be thankful- may I do a better job of that in 2009. For now, I am thankful for 2008 and ALL that happened, good or bad, as it either brought me joy or taught me something I was supposed to learn.

From one of my all-time favorite songs: "Thank you Lord... How could I ask for more?" - Cindy Morgan

The Timeshare Presentation

We have a timeshare in Cancun. Because of that, we often stay at timeshare resorts. We like them, even though we know that staying at them often means sitting through a timeshare presentation in which you are encouraged to buy or upgrade at the resort where you are staying. We feel the improved accomodations over a regular hotel make it worth it. We also know that for sitting through these presentations you often get some kind of gift.

We decided to sit through another one of these presentations today. I won't go into the boring details. However, I will say that in order to get our gift, we sat through a more than 3 hour ordeal, which overall wasn't too bad. It was the last 5 minutes that really got me fired up, though. Usually through these things I play the role of the passive wife (shocking to some of you, I know), who keeps looking at John as he says "no." In the last 5 minutes I gave up that role as we were passed off to a new salesman at the end under the guise of him taking a survey. The basic gist is he wouldn't take no from John so I jumped in and told him that we understood what he was offering, but were still going to say no, so we were done. He responded with dumbest phrase ever: "I guess saving money isn't for everyone." WHAT?!

I guess I won't say anything more- I didn't to him (although maybe I should've). I guess we just don't like to save money. Yup. That's what it is.

Belated Merry Christmas!

Well, Christmas has come and gone, and the New Year will soon be upon us. John and I left this morning for our vacation in Myrtle Beach, and so I have some time to update the blog! Yeah!

First, here is a picture of Malachi in his snowsuit. Everytime we put him in it we think of that scene from "A Christmas Story" where Randy gets in his snowsuit and says, "I can't put my arms down!" :) Hee, hee.

Now, here's a picture of Malachi meeting Santa. He immediately tried to yank on his beard; Santa wasn't too impressed with that.


We had a wonderful Christmas with family. We were able to spend Christmas Eve with John's family in Moose Lake. Then on Christmas Day we got together with my family in Rochester. Malachi got to see all of his cousins in two days (except for the ones in CO)! Here are some pictures from the merriment.

Grandpa Winston with all of his grandkids and great-grandkids.

Grandma & Grandpa Carlson with their two grandkids. Malachi with his cousin Liberty and Grandma Sands.
Grandma and Grandpa Sands with all the MN grandkids.

Malachi with Great Grammy!

Tagged Again!

OK- Ebby didn't learn her lesson. I've been tagged again! This one is short and sweet, though.

Here are the Rules: go to Your Pictures file go to the 5th folder open up the 5th picture and post it then tag 5 people when you are done.

I love that this is the picture that it turned out to be. I need some Aloha spirit this week. It's always tough at school right before a long break, and right now I REALLY need a break! I just have been trying to keep in mind that in a few short weeks we'll be in North Myrtle Beach for a little anniversary vacation!

This picture is from when we were in Oahu in 2006.

I am going to tag others this time. I tag Jen E., Laura W. (if you still read this), Heather S., Kristi E., and Missy E. This is no pressure and fun! :)

Facebook "Hater"

I like my blog. I get to write and have an outlet, and people get to keep updated on our lives. It works for me. But there are people out there that think it's not enough. "Come to Facebook," they say. "You should be on Facebook," is the mantra. Well, people, call me a "hater." I'm not really interested in Facebook (or the like). I only bring this up because in the last 24 hours John has decided to join, and has been instantly sucked into the vortex of the thing. He cannot stop looking at the site, saying "hi" to people, responding to those who have found him, etc.

To me this is just another reason not to be on Facebook. I'm a busy person. Do I really need one more thing sucking me in? As I've watched John, I see that my joining could be detrimental to our family. Meals would burn up on the stove, dishes would pile up, Malachi would stay up until all hours of the night, and other horrors would occur.

My stock answer for not being on Facebook has been the same for years. I'm a teacher, and I don't want my personal life out and easily accessible on the web. As it is, I'm sure I have families and students finding me on this blog, but somehow that seems less creepy. I just don't like the idea of being in some kind of database where I can be looked up. This, of course, was more of an issue when I taught Middle School.

So, again, call me a "hater." I'm just going to stick to this blog for now. I say everyone is going to have to just deal with it! So there! :P

Who does Malachi look like?

I was going through some old pictures we had scanned for our wedding, and thought it might be fun to share them here. So- who does Malachi look like? I don't know if these pictures all place us at about the same age, but I figure it's pretty close. Cast your vote by commenting. We look forward to hearing your thoughts! :)

Finally Dealing with being "Tagged"

OK people, I hope you have learned a valuable lesson here. It is no fun tagging Sarah because she is SOOOOO ridiculously slow at following up on it. My husband would claim it is because I am "not good with administration," but I disagree. It is just that I have so many other things occupying my time, such as cooking him dinner, that I don't always get to the things I'd like to. (I love you honey!) Anyhow, here goes...

• Attached or Single? Most definitely attached to John. It will be 5 years on Dec. 19th!
• Best Friend? I guess I'll take the cop-out answer: John
• Cake or Pie? Pie- that's what makes Thanksgiving so great! (j/k... sort of)
• Day of Choice? Saturdays
• Essential Item? Hmmm... chapstick- I always have some in my pocket. A close second is minty gum.
• Flavor of Ice Cream? Edy's Lite French Silk-- yum, Yum, YUM!
• Gummy Bears or Worms? Worms- there's something about biting off a cuddly bear's head that just isn't as fun.
• Hometown? Rochester, MN (there's a song I'm singing in my head right now that starts that way. It was written by a teacher from my Elementary School- ask me to sing it for you sometime!)
• Indulgences? Fancy coffee from Dunn Bros., Caribou, Starbucks, and the like. Now also from the Cafe at my church (YEAH!). I also love to read when I get a few minutes. Reading by the beach or inside on a snowy day are two of my favorite pastimes.
• January or July? July- I'm off from work :)
• Kids? 1- our sweetie Malachi (9 months)
• Last Movie I saw in a Theater? We saw an awful, awful movie that I DO NOT recommend to anyone. "Burn After Reading"- I felt like I needed to scrub my brain after watching it. It was the closest I have ever come to walking out of a movie.
• Middle Name? Nadine (I love my middle name! It's after my Grandma on my dad's side)
• Number of Siblings? 3 sisters, 3 brothers, 2 half-sister, 1 half-brother!
• Oranges or Apples? Oranges, except for in the fall. Then I just love a good crunchy apple!
• Phobia or Fear? I am afraid of heights- actually of falling from them. I'm also not a fan of bridges.
• Quote? "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
• Reason to Smile? Some of these are so weird... I guess I'll say going on dates with John and playing with Malachi each make me smile. Oh! Especially when Malachi gets to giggling!
• Season? I love every season as it comes (my mother thinks I am nuts), but I do especially love Autumn. Plus, it definitely has the coolest name!
• Tag five more: I refuse! Ha, ha, ha!!!
• Unknown Fact About Me? See below...
• Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? I am an omnivore.
• Worst Habit? Oops! I just discovered I missed this one. Hee, hee. I guess that makes it a bad habit- not quite following through with things. :P
• Xrays or Ultrasounds? Ultrasounds- I'm really not sure who would disagree.
• Your favorite Food? Shrimp, but a good steak or cheeseburger isn't bad, either.
• Zodiac? How should I know? I honestly don't pay attention to those things, nor do I really care. ;)

OK, that was part one. Now for part two. For this tagging wonderment I am supposed to come up with "7 random and/or weird facts about myself." Here goes:

1. I LOVE peanut butter. I've been known to take a big spoonful of the stuff out of the jar and eat it straight. Occassionally I mix it up and add a sprinkling of chocolate chips. Don't judge me!
2. I have 3 half siblings who live in Colorado. We hardly get to see each other- they are from my dad's first marriage. I feel bad that we don't have the opportunity to see more of each other, but I suppose it is what it is...
3. I am related to Rutherford B. Hayes- the president. My grandma on my dad's side was a Hayes, and she was related to him somehow.
4. Also on my dad's side we are related to the inventor of Tide detergent!
5. I wanted to be an artist when I was in elementary and middle school. I loved to draw and paint, and I hoped one day I would be able to do that as my job. It didn't quite work out, but every now and again I get to flex my artistic and creative muscles. That's how the painting of Malachi's room came about!
6. We had about a half-dozen different dogs as pets over the years growing up. None of them lasted more than about 2 years each before we sold them or gave them away. My family was awful with pets. Hmm... which reminds me of gerbils... Aha! Which leads me to my final fact...
7. I got to keep one of my class' pet gerbils when I was in 5th grade. After we had one I think my family bought one more. At any rate, they multiplied, and at one point we had more than 20 gerbils (I'm pretty sure it was 27-- AT HOME). We had this elaborate set up of plastic cages and tunnels. It was actually pretty impressive, and we all enjoyed them. After a couple of years it got to be too much, and the pet stores weren't interested in taking more than one off of our hands at a time. We decided to take the gerbils down to a nearby forest and "set them free." We went down there, and my sister took the bucket they were in and threw them (as in flying through the air) into the woods. I was SO mad at her, and am still a little miffed about it today. Those poor little guys probably broke their legs when they landed!

Anyhow... I am finally freed from the tagging! AND I refuse to tag anyone else. Sorry, but I'm notorious for stopping chain letters, etc. Oh! That was an 8th interesting fact. I better stop while I am ahead! Until later...

Some Pictures, etc.

Hello Friends! Apparently my attempt at making excuses in my last post didn't work so hot. You all got right back on my case. And, truth be told, I like it. It helps keep me motivated to get on here. I've had a lot on my plate lately, but I'm expecting things to normalize again here soon. 1st Quarter just ended at school, which might sound like a relieving sort-of-thing for the unobservant bystander. However, those of you with a teacher as a dear friend know that's not exactly the case. With the end of the quarter comes REPORT CARDS (da-da-DUM!!!). And report cards are no small thing to complete on a teacher's end. They take hours and hours, and unless you feel it's okay for me to stop teaching a class during the day so that I can accomplish this monumental feat of paperwork, that means hours and hours of my "free" time spent at school. I'm not complaining, I'm simply stating a fact. So, if you've wondered where I've been lately, the likely answer is holed up in my classroom grading and filling out reports.

So, enough with the excuses, already! I also still realize I've been tagged by a couple of friends. Now that report cards are done I may actually have the time to do superfluous and fun things. :)

Here are some pictures. I know many of you have been dying to see some of the growing boy lately. Here're some snapshots from our life...

From this summer- sitting with cousin Nevaeh and Grandpa Winston at Ron and Doreen's.

Beating up on his bigger cousin. :)

Malachi in his dinosaur costume that Grandma Sands gave us. He wore it to a costume party in early October.

Malachi's eating solids these days! He loves veggies, and is also now eating in his real high chair (not in this picture).

He's starting to sit up. Here he is sitting on Daddy!

It's cold around here! This jacket is cute and functional!

Although I struggled with whether or not to take Malachi out on Halloween (I never celebrated the so-called holiday growing up), I compromised and we went around our circle. It was fun, and Malachi was a good little froggy! (He started as a ladybug at daycare- but had a poo incident. A froggy was a good backup.)

I'm Behind

Have you ever gotten so far behind on a project that it just keeps getting moved to the back burner because it's easier to ignore it than it is to actually get caught up? That's how I've felt about this blog lately. There were so many things I had wanted to write about that I kept putting it off because it would take more time to type about the things I wanted to share than I had time to spend on typing. And the more I put it off, the more things there were to write about. I have finally realized that I just need to move forward on this, and forget about the past things I didn't have time for. Even so, here are a few updates.

So, in the past couple of months I went back to work at school with a new group of fifth graders. This year's students are more of a challenge than last year's students, so that's taking more of my time. Not to mention that we have a wonderful and loveable little guy taking up our time now, too. It makes for a busy day- going to work, picking up Malachi, getting him fed and in bed, and then finally eating ourselves (somewhere around 8pm). Then I usually have an hour or so to get things cleaned up, and maybe get one task done, and it's to bed I go. It's taking some adjusting, but I know I'll find a good rhythm sometime soon.

Malachi is growing like a weed! I have no idea how much he weighs, but he's wearing 6-9 mo. pants now, even though he still fits in 3-6 mo. shirts. He just has such long legs! He has so many teeth, too! He's currently got 6, and at least 2 more close behind (but I suspect there are more than that as I see the telling sign of bumps on his gums). This continues to surprise me. He's eating cereal and other vegetables these days- and he loves it all. He's also started eating in his high chair in the last week, which is very fun!

My biggest frustration has been my computer. Part of the reason I wasn't updating on here is because my computer broke down mid-way through September. It took a couple of weeks to get it back in working order, and I'm still trying to get everything back to the way it was. My super-star computer genius of a dad is responsible for getting it all fixed up for me. Thanks Dad!

Well, I better stop for now, as this is getting to be an enormous post. I have been "tagged" by two other bloggers in the last couple of weeks, so I'll also need to get that post on here soon. Plus I know some of you aren't too happy about the lack of pictures lately. I'll try to get on that, too! Until then...!

September

September came and went... Sarah was back to school... John had a little relief from some pressures at work... Malachi recovered from his stomach bug and an additional cold...

Here are a couple of new pictures from Malachi. He has sat in his high chair a couple of times. The "cute as a bug" outfit is from Great Aunt Donna.

Doing Well

Malachi is doing better and seems to be back to his normal self. He lost 4% of his body weight during the nasty bug so we need to make sure he keeps eating and growing. Since Friday, he seems to be eating a normal amount again and everything is staying down.

Second ER Visit

We took Malachi back to the hospital on Sunday night at 11:30 p.m. because he continue to vomit and did not eat much at all on Sunday. After examining him, they concluded it is probably just a bug that is going around. He was put on an IV from 1:15-3:15 a.m. to re-hydrate him. We were on our way home by 3:45. He (and we) slept well till about 9 a.m. We will try to continue to get him to eat a little today and hope that this thing passes soon!

ER Visit

We took Malachi to the emergency room today because he seemed like he might have been getting dehydrated. He had not been eating normally for two days and he was not making wet diapers anymore. He looked very good to the doctors and they offered to admit him to put him on an IV but I declined (Sarah had left at this point to get to church on time). They thought the best therapy would be to give it a few more hours to see if he would start eating again on his own. We have been feeding him 2 ounces or so about every 1-2 hours to try and get him back on track.

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program

Today is the first day back to full-time work for the 2008-09 school year for Sarah. She has to be on site this week at her school preparing for next week. Malachi and I are about ready to head to day care -- he'll be there now every day during the week.

My eyesight has been very good since I had LASIK surgery last Wednesday. It is so nice to get up, open my eyes, and see without needing contacts or glasses. I have a one-week check-up this Wednesday to make sure everything is healing and to check if it's at 20/20 yet.

Malachi's Appointments

Malachi was in today for his normal set of procedures. Today was encouraging as nearly all the readings appear better than they have in the past. We will be scheduled for our next appointment in 3 months which is better than the monthly visits we have been making. It was also told to us that Malachi will stay on oxygen for at least 6 more months before a decision is made about that treatment method.

Waiting for John

I was going to write a post, but John said he was going to, and now here we are... So, let's see...

John got Lasik eye surgery yesterday! We took out too much money for flex. spending, and there are only so many band-aids you can buy, so we decided one of us needed to get the surgery to use up the money. John got on the ball first, and so he got to have the surgery. Actually, that was great for me because I was a bit of a chicken. BUT- they let me watch the whole thing yesterday (which normally I'm not interested in- ew!), and it didn't seem so scary anymore. A Dr. actually was nearby so she sat with me and explained everything they were doing throughout, which was also very cool. It totally took the mystery out of it, and now I'd love to get mine done next year. We'll see! Ha! Literally! I should also mention that John is doing well, and saw immediate improvement.

The past two weekends we made the trek up north to see John's family (I'll post pictures soon). The first weekend was planned- it was our niece, Nevaeh's, first birthday, and they were having a party for her. It was very fun! The second weekend wasn't planned. We went up for John's great aunt's funeral. She was 86, had cancer, and we knew her time was limited. It was still sad to say goodbye, but we know where she is now, so that is comforting. The funeral was beautiful- such a testament to her faith and honoring to her legacy. I was touched.

Today is Malachi's heart check-up appointment. I've been very busy getting in the last of his appointments and what-not before school starts. I've also been in my classroom a fair amount to get it set up. It's looking pretty good now, so I'm excited! I'm in a bit of a hurry right now, so I'm sorry about the "just the facts, ma'am" ending. Maybe more later... :)

Noodles Contest!

I entered this Noodles & Company contest- check it out! You might also give me a high rating while you're at it- maybe I'll win! :)

http://noodles.prm1.net/contest/gallery/detail.php?ID=90&f=1

Where's July?

OK- so I've been meaning to update for a while, and all of a sudden it hit me-- it's AUGUST! Where on earth did July go?! Not only does that mean I haven't posted on here in almost 3 weeks (yikes), but also that summer is just about over. It is always bittersweet for me. I enjoy my time off (and am sad to give it up), but as soon as I see school supplies in the store, I start to get excited about school starting all over again. Now I realize that most of my teacher friends do not completely share this sentiment- about now most of them are groaning. But, there's something about 5 cent notebooks, and 20 cent crayons that gets me excited. I always have to stay away from those aisles or I end up buying a cartload of cheap school supplies I really don't need. Actually, this year we got smart and I got to go down those aisles to support Running Start for School-- a very cool thing in Rochester. Anyhow, I'm excited about the prospect of a new school year and "starting over." Of course, that doesn't mean as August comes to a close that I won't have a couple of nightmares about not being prepared or about having a class from H-E-double hockey sticks.

So, you may be wondering what we have been up to lately. Here are a couple of higlights:

• Malachi turned 5 months old.
• I had my 10-year High School reunion (JM Rockets)
• I got a stamping/crafting day in with my friends (although more talking was had than crafing)
• We went to Madison to visit our friends Paul and Kim (and Noah and Micah)- it is definitely different now that there are 3 kids to keep track of between us. We had a blast, and especially enjoyed the Madison Farmer's Market-- HOLY COW that was awesome!
• Sarah enjoyed some lunches with friends!
• We housed Malachi's friend Braden's 1st Birthday Party! What a fun time!
• I hosted my dear friend Nurse Lori's baby shower on Sunday. She's having a boy, and we are super excited!

Well, that's about it for now. We'll see you soon or talk to you later!

Not Much New

I'll start with the good stuff- a picture! :) Here is a picture taken last Saturday after Malachi had his bath. Daddy gets bath duty, so here they are cuddling afterwards.

Now on to the appointment update. Malachi had another echo today, and then we met with Dr. O'Leary. We were able to get through the echo without sedation (praise the Lord!). This time things only maintained, as opposed to seeing improvement. This did not alarm his Dr., and he's really pretty pleased with how well Malachi is growing and "acting" healthy. He maintains that although things really aren't normal, they are still working for him just fine at this point. He still thinks continuous oxygen is the best treatment option for Malachi's pressures between his heart and his lungs, so that will continue. He did note that Malachi has some more concerning pressures in his mitral valve, which really hadn't been much of a concern before (other than it being narrowed). He thinks this is probably due to how much the rest of his body's grown in the last 6 weeks while the valve remained smaller. This may naturally improve if the valve growth catches up a bit.

We appreciate your continued prayers, and really hope to someday report complete healing.

Happy Independence Day, and Other News

Happy 4th of July (a couple of days late)! We hope you enjoyed your day and weekend. John and I sure did- we went to Apple Valley to meet up with the Carlson Clan. It was an afternoon filled with family, good food, good conversation, and fun! Here are a couple of pictures from the day.

John's brother Joe and his wife Ange

John's aunts Donna, Mary Lou, and Delores showing their "jazz hands." :)
John's cousin Deb and aunt Joann
Deb holding Malachi
John's Aunt Donna and Uncle Dick. Donna's the one who made all of the window treatments in our house. She's one talented lady!

In other news--- Malachi had his 4 month well-baby visit last Monday (6/30). He is growing very well, and is staying in his growth curve. He's now 12.5 lbs, which puts him in about the 7th percentile for weight, and his head circumference puts him in about the 5th percentile. However, his length is in the 52nd percentile! What a tall and skinny boy we have! The most surprising news of the day was that Malachi has been teething! The Dr. put her fingers in his mouth and said "He's got teeth!" At that I rocketed out of my seat-- "Where?!" His bottom two front teeth are coming up, and one actually had the corner just out. I can't believe 1) He's getting teeth at such a young age, 2) we didn't have any clue (and neither did Grandma or Grandpa Carlson when they watched him for a week)! I feel bad, too, because he hadn't had any Orajel or Tylenol up to that point. We think that's why he's been fussy in the evenings; now that we know and have been able to medicate a little, he's been much happier. Poor little guy! Anyhow, one of the teeth you can see the entire top of now (since Saturday). That's not something that photographs real well, so it'll still be a bit before you see them on here.

Vacation Reflections

We're back! We returned to MN on Saturday night, and had a very nice reunion with our sweet baby. We sure missed him! John and I thoroughly enjoyed our time away, however, and really had a chance to just be a couple. We both kept commenting throughout the trip that we were having a better time and getting along better than when we were there on our honeymoon. By the way, we flew in to Cancun exactly 4 1/2 years (to the day!) from when we had been there on our honeymoon! Crazy, huh?

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip. I've told you before- we're really not shutterbugs, so we hardly have any pictures. I guess it's a good thing we've gone to digital. If we were using film we might never get through a roll and never get our pictures developed! :P

This is our "hotel"- the timeshare that we have

Here are 3 pics of our pad.

Living room...

Kitchen/Dining...

Bedroom...

The view from our room!

We went to Senor Frogs one night. We had an okay time, but have decided maybe we're too old or boring for the craziness there. We're just being silly here.

A guy came and made us balloon hats! (notice his "+tip" badge-- everyone seems to wear them down there)

One day we went on a day trip to Isla Mujeres. We took a sailboat (but couldn't actually sail because of the weather), went snorkeling (first time for both of us), and had lunch and shopping on the island. The weather was downright awful that day (a thunderstorm, cold, and generally rainy/cloudy), but we managed to laugh and enjoy ourselves all the same! A day full of memory-making. :)

The view of our hotel and beach (and beautiful water) from the sailboat--notice the gray skies.John in his snorkel gear
Me in my snorkel gear- I'm SO hot! :P

Our last night in Cancun. We ate at an awesome restaurant right next to the water. Wow!

Vacation

We are enjoying our Cancun vacation very much. It is very warm and nice here. We received this picture of Malachi taken by Grandma Sue yesterday. It sounds as if he has been a very good boy sleeping 11 hours through the night and rolling over all the time now! We are missing him a lot and look forward to seeing him on Saturday night when we get back to Minnesota.

Name that School!

I just got an e-mail at school with this information. I thought some of you might be interested in suggesting a name!

Naming a school is an important process in developing the new facility and giving it an identity. Rochester Public Schools is seeking staff and community input in naming the new Northwest elementary school. The District will accept name suggestions and rationale for those choices until Friday, June 27, 2008.

To name the school, you must be a staff member or resident of the Rochester Public School District. You do not need to have children attending a public school.

If you’d like to submit a name for consideration, please email or send by U.S. mail a name and the reason for that choice to Wendy Edgar at weedgar@rochester.k12.mn.us or 615 7th Street SW, Rochester, MN 55902. Please include your name, address, and phone number along with the suggestion.

The names will be reviewed by a committee of District staff, community members, and students. Final proposals will be brought to the School Board for a vote on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. For more information, contact Wendy Edgar, Assistant School Board Clerk, at weedgar@rochester.k12.mn.us or 507-328-4224.

School's Out for the Summer!

Whew! It's been a while since we last posted. Sorry about that. If you've known me awhile you probably expected all forms of communication to drop off during the last couple of weeks of school. I'm always so busy right at the end of the year. Someone recently asked me if I was counting down the days to the end of the year. I told them I never do-- it actually makes me really tense to do so because the end of the year really gets packed. I prefer to just go strong until the end magically appears. :)

So I've worked at school 3 days this week, which really annoys John. I'm not getting paid to clean up my room and get organized, so he has this idea that there are better things to do. I, on the other hand, am quite happy to be working on the little projects in my classroom that I never have time for during the year. The added bonus is that I'm not moving schools for the FIRST TIME in my career! I didn't have to pack up my room this year! Hallelujah!

Below are some more recent pictures. Since we are so awful at remembering our camera, I realized today that we hadn't taken pictures of Malachi since Mother's Day! I know-- we're awful parents! So, the "recent pictures" are really from today! :)

Mr. Serious. This is the face he breaks out whenever I get the camera out. He can be smiling like crazy, but as soon as I pull out the camera, this is what I get.

Malachi enjoys sucking on his fingers lately.

Playing on the mat Auntie Julie sent. Happy boy!

What a silly face!

He's playing hard here. Tongue out and everything!

Outside in the stroller- notice Mr. Serious!

Now he's starting to get goofy!

He's got his tongue out a lot these days. I'm glad I finally caught it!

And now the shot I've been trying to get for so long and am most proud of- the SMILE!

Inappropriate? You decide!

Today we had a whole slew of Mayo appointments again. It wasn't our best day out there-- Malachi had to be sedated for his Echo, and that didn't go over so well. BUT- that is not what this post is about. This post is about something I did after our final appointment of the day. John thought it was kindof inappropriate and rude. I disagree- YOU decide!

Our final appointment of the day was with a Dr. from genetics. During the appointment the Dr. wanted to look at Malachi, which meant waking him up, which in turn made him grumpy (see sedated above). I tried to appease him by feeding him. As he was eating he filled his pants (as usual). He seemed to have a lot coming out, and I was concerned that we might have a "blow-out" if I didn't change him soon. The Dr.'s office was more like an actual office space, but did have a cushy bench for us to sit on and the standard patient table. I asked the Dr. if I could change Malachi before we left. He said it was okay, so I did change him. That's it.

So, was it okay for me to change Malachi there in the office, or not? Remember, he eats breastmilk, so the diaper didn't stink. :)

Malachi's Health Update

Malachi was seen today by cardiology and medical genetics. There is little to report... his condition is stable and the things they have been tracking have stayed the same to very slightly improved. The plan is to continue "as-is" until he is seen six weeks from now in mid-July.

Life has been crazy!

Hello everyone! I've heard from several people that we need to update the blog... sorry it's taken so long! Life has been especially crazy for me this past week as my 5th grade class went on their big Eagle Bluff trip; it's 3 days and 2 nights of non-stop learning and fun. I didn't spend the night with them, however; my team covered for me so that I could come home at nights. That was good, but I was out of the house from 7:30am until 7:30pm. Oh! And John was awesome about making sure Malachi was taken care of. :)

Malachi's dedication on Saturday night was wonderful. Here's a picture from the night. It's not terribly clear, but it's all I've got. Maybe John's mom got one that is better that I can post later on.

Here are some other pictures I thought I would share. Things continue to go well with Malachi, health-wise. He did manage to catch a little cold in the last week, but he's done really well with it, so no complaints!

This is Malachi completely wiped out after his first day at daycare.

I just think this picture is cute. He also happens to be wearing an outfit we bought right after we found out I was pregnant last June.

These 2 are the closest I've gotten of smiles while I actually have the camera.