Blessed

Michael has been baptized.  Grandma Voss must be so happy!!  We had a lovely service surrounded by friends and family.  Michael doesn't yet know how lucky he is, but I am going to do my best to make him be fully aware of that fact as he grows.  He has some pretty fantastic family and friends that surround him with so much love on a daily basis.  If only every child could be so lucky. 

Not only is Michael lucky, so are Tom and I.  We have never hosted a party like this before, and we had so much help from my parents- a BIG thank you!  When events like this happen in your life, you realize just how many people truly care about you.  Needless to say, we feel very fortunate to have so many loved ones surround us.  We love each of you more than words could ever express. 

Nothing else is new in our world.  Michael goes back to the Doctor in a week and a half for his 4-month checkup.  How can time be flying by so fast?!  It is only a matter of days before he gets his first tooth, before he can try some new foods and graduate high school (kidding, kidding... but it feels like it!).  There are so many things that I want to slow down- I want to be sure that I am really taking in each moment because they are gone in an instant.  Even though his random outburst of hysteria and inconsolable  hours drive me crazy, they also make me laugh.  He is such a stinker.  But he melts my heart. 

Thank you, again, to everyone that made Michael's baptism so special.  We love you all. 

3 months?!

How can our little baby be 3 months old?  That's a quarter of a year!  He might as well be 30 and married... It is amazing to watch him learn and explore this world that we, as adults, often take for granted.  He has found his hands and they are permanently attached to his mouth- the more fingers he can shove in there, the better.  He is also starting to reach for things, often missing, but still trying.  And, he is becoming much more vocal, but in a good way.  He loves to babble and coo, and is starting to belly-laugh every so often.  Those moments melt my heart. 

We had a pretty interesting 4th of July on Lake Des Moines this year.  On Friday evening, a horrific storm rolled through the area.  We were all in our cars on our way to dinner when it struck.  In a matter of seconds we were stranded in the middle of no where because of downed trees and power lines.  Trees were falling all around us and I feel so fortunate that we are all alive and safe.  Someone above must have been looking out for us, because there is no way that all of those trees missed us while we were stuck sitting in our cars.  It was the scariest moment of my life- thinking that we were at the end, we were meeting our maker and that Michael was subject to all of it.  It brings tears to my eyes to relive those moments. 

Thankfully all of the cabins are fine and we all had pretty minor damage considering 100 mph winds.  We need a new canopy for the Pontoon and some new steps for the Hot Tub.  Other than that, we need to get a chainsaw out and start cutting up some more firewood.  There were many cabins on the lake that were not so lucky.  Lots of overturned boats, smashed docks, and a few trees on some homes.

 

We were left without power for the rest of the weekend, and the power isn't expected to be restored until the end of the week.  It made for some interesting moments and one great story.  All of our meals came from the grill, we flushed the toilet with a bucket, lost complete track of time, and had so much fun enjoying the company of our family.  We even managed to have 2 large family dinners, including the world-famous Fish Fry.  With any other family, this weekend wouldn't have been fun- I consider myself extremely lucky to be so blessed in that regard. 

I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July surrounded by those that love you most. 

Well-Child Checkup

There isn't too much going on in our world right now- hence the lack of blogging.  Our renters have moved into our house, and they seem to be wonderful.  We are so fortunate to have found people that appreciate all of our hard work, and will treat our home with the respect that we hope for.

Michael had his 2-month checkup yesterday which went really well.  He now weighs 11 pounds, 8 ounces and is a whopping 23.5 inches long.  While both of those numbers sound high to me, his weight is in the 27th percentile and his height is in the 48th percentile.  Apparently compared to the rest of the world, he is still my little peanut.  He also had his first round of shots... it broke my heart into a million pieces!  Thank goodness Tom was there, because I'm not sure I could have held him down without sobbing through the entire ordeal.  Michael was a trooper though- he screamed his head off for about 5 minutes and then took a nice long nap.  He did want extra snuggles all day, and cried a bit when he moved his left leg- but after a nice warm bath he seemed to be cured of all his aches and pains.  Thank goodness!  I hate seeing my little man with such sad eyes!

Tom has been a rockstar at work lately (I think he always is, but he has been formally recognized for all of his hard work).  He won a contest and will be receiving an iPad in the near future and is on track to win an incentive trip to some tropical paradise in February.  I could not be more proud of him.  He works so hard to be an outstanding sales rep and holds himself to extremely high standards.  So, to see him be recognized for all of his hard work makes me so happy.

I hope everyone is doing well in this rainy, dreary weather!!