Our Kids.

MJ & her posse...

Saying Goodbye to Grandma & Grandpa D

Well as Grandma would say, I had an ugly cry this afternoon. I am so grateful for James's parents - I realize that not everyone adores or admires their in-laws - and so I realize how blessed I am to be part of their family.

We are truly indebted to them for helping out with the kids - and as usual the kids thrived with their attention and love. It's not an easy task - but they did it with love!

Still feeling sad...but very grateful for love and family. There is nothing better for James's soul than spending time with his parents - especially now that we are parents ourselves.

The Boys.

First Visitors

My Little Girl...

Well, much to my surprise, I'll have to change the title of our blog to include another girl...we couldn't be happier.

Welcome, MJ. We're home and settling in - VERY grateful to have Tom & Barbara here to help with the house and the boys - I don't know what we would have done without them. As faithful readers will probably expect, we arrived home from the hospital to pink lantern filled trees, a windmill flower garden, and welcome home signs galore, courtesy of Bob and Paula. It was fun to see the "It's a GIRL" sign - this house desperately needed another dose of femininity and we didn't even know it until we saw MJ for the first time. She is perfect.

Once again, I'm at a loss for words. From weeks of so much sadness, we emerge with this little girl, this bright little ray of light and life, and we are filled with a new kind of joy. There is nothing like the gift of life and we have never been more mindful or grateful for it as we are today. We are so blessed by all the love that has filled our lives.

MJ Pictures

Moments after birth!








The whole family back together again!

MJ Arrives!

At 2:07pm, little MJ (Mary Jeanne) joined us at 6lb 6oz and 19 inches. The whole family is doing great! More pics to come...

No Baby Yet....

As of Monday morning, no baby. If there is no activity today, we can call tomorrow at 6am to see if there is room at the hospital for an 'elective' induction. We'll see how we feel!

Anne's in great spirits AND she looks just great. While she's definitely ready to have a baby, she has not reached a point of exasperation. We're enjoying beautiful spring days, my folks are in town, and the tulips are blossoming. It'll be great when D3 joins us, but for right now, it's still pretty nice here in Saint Paul.

Due Date, You Say?

We are more than half way through our third due date without a new baby... I'm feeling pretty good although we are all starting to feel "ready" - if you can ever truly say that about child birth.

Doctor said she'll induce on Tuesday if I don't have any action before hand - but gave me the out of cancelling on Monday night if we want to give it a few more days to see if it goes naturally. We'll see how everyone (mostly me) feels on Monday, but I'm guessing we'll all be ready...

The boys have been very fun today, my neighbor Sue, watched them while we went to the doctor and I'm pretty sure if given the choice they would move in with her and her family. My sister-in-law Erin and I walked to Lunds to get grocheries in hopes that a good brisk walk would get things moving - nothing doing. But it was a nice walk all the same and a good excuse to catch up.

Grandma and Grandpa arrive right before dinner and so we're looking forward to a nice, relaxed night, grilling out and enjoying just being together.

More later...

No News Is Good News

No baby (or really too many signs of impending labor). I'm "due" on Friday, but we're hoping to go at least a day or two over (whoever wishes for that?). But Grandma and Grandpa D are coming into town on Friday night and we'd love to have a night or two to just all be together.

We are LOVING the feeling of Spring in the air - I've got tulips blooming and we've been outside for much of the last two days. We've been watching the boys "bloom" too. Finn, Seamus, and the neighbor grandkids (Nick and Bridget) spent about two hours last night playing in the back yard - not one fight, angry word or even cross moment. They took turns playing T-ball, blowing bubbles, and playing in the dirt. Sunshine and fresh air are like medicine for children - who knew that a week ago we were all crabby and cooped up inside.

We're enjoying another day of play and family time before D3 arrives - so far we've made good use of the last few days. A trip to the zoo, lunch out with baby Maria (who is hardly a baby anymore), playing in the park and lots of walks by the river.

At breakfast this morning, Seamus told me he dreamt about uncle Tom, (I'm not sure he really understands dreaming - but we ask about his dreams almost every day). He couldn't say what the dream was about except that Connor was in it too. But it made me hopeful that he had an unexpected lovely moment with his uncle and cousin.

Little blessings.

Happy Birthday Grandpa DJ

Sunday was my dad's 75th (yeah - count 'em) birthday and we gathered at my sister Peggy's house for a little B-day celebration. This photo is from last summer - Seamus and Grandpa doing jobs.

There isn't much to be said about my dad that hasn't already been said to him or about him. He talked a little bit on Sunday about counting his blessings and as usual he teared up a bit. I've learned so much from my father - but maybe one of the most prominent is from moments like that - moments where he pauses and wants to take the time to tell whoever is listening how grateful he is for everything - the big and the little. He said thank you for his birthday present, but also for the life he's led since 1981 when he had major heart surgery.

I've learned that being grateful is wonderful - but maybe more importantly I've learned that sharing your sense of gratitude breeds gratitude in others. He shared the story of being in his early 50s with a big, dependant family and a 6 year old little girl; and being told surgery wasn't a cure - it was a short term fix - 10 years at best. He said all he wanted to do was see me graduate from high school - that would be a goal. He told me this story for the first time when he walked me down the wedding aisle.

Life, love and family are so precious. Every minute, every day. Thank you, Dad, for teaching me how to show it.

Maybe Boys Are Different...

So I always say that I don't buy into the idea that boys and girls are inherently, behaviorally different. I think the way we treat boys and girls from day one has much more to do with how they react to situations than their chromosomes.

Most people think I'm a nut.

Well, I'm starting to have my doubts...

While I was chatting with the neighbors this afternoon, Seamus, Finn and Nick (our lovely neighbor's grandson) spent almost an hour playing "superheros", wrestling and jumping from the concrete steps. Finn wouldn't actually jump - he'd slide down on his belly every once in a while - but the other two ran up the steps and jumped, over and over again.

Now you can see in the pictures, Bridget (some of you might remember from kissing picture fame) stood and watched the boys "rough house." She didn't have too much to say about it all, but my favorite picture is the one where she's standing and just looking back at them. You can almost hear her thinking:

"What complete fools."

It was hard to disagree,
but they sure did have fun...

Stealing Chocolate

I was on the phone talking to aunt Katie and cleaning out the freezer, when the Seamus took the opportunity to bust into some old Easter candy. At least he was sharing - I think he said something like:

"Finn, what are you doing with those healthy snacks - when we can have CHOCOLATE?"...

The First Two Times...

On the way to the hospital with Seamus...


































On the way to the hospital with Finn...



















































First time home as a family of four...

New Look...

Desperate for Spring and inspired by today's warm up, I'm trying a new look for the blog. I'll probably play around with it for a while to make sure it still feels readable. This might be part of the "nesting phase" (as I did clean out my pantry today), so bear with me...

39 week dr appt

T minus 8 days - give or take....

Last Week's Crappy Weather...

Waiting to go on a walk with the same wonderful neightbors who took them to the Zoo the week before - today is supposed to finally bring the end of the cold weather...let'shope so...