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!

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!