9/26/12
Hey everyone...great news...I'm now a full-time teacher!!! Today I signed my first full-time contract. It's been 5 years in the making, but it finally happened! Some of you are probably wondering, "How can you be a part time teacher?" Well, as I'm now a 4 year veteran, let me explain! In most school districts, if you teach 5 classes each day, you're considered "full time." My first year teaching, I was a sub and did a couple of long-term subbing jobs. The following years I worked as a .33, .40, .61, and up until today, I was a .84 this year. Basically, think of those numbers as cents of a dollar. Once you get "a dollar" you're full time with 5 classes. Prior to that, I only taugh 1 class, or 2 classes, or 3 classes each day, which made me a "part timer." Though I'm only teaching 4 classes this year, they're counting my "5th" class as time spent coordinating my beloved AVID program between the two schools I work in during the school day. If this info went in one ear and out the other...no worries...I have to explain this to my parents all the time!!!
This may sound complicated and not a big deal, but for my family, this is a huge deal! With each class a teacher teaches, or each fraction of the "dollar", we get paid more...significantly more. Granted, I didn't become a teacher to become rich; I did start teaching to make a living and provide for my family. I'm super excited today because now this will make it much easier to provide for my lovely wife, and our baby!!! In addition to the salary, I can now get benefits from the district, so I won't have to pay for my own health insurance out of pocket like I've done the past 4 years I've taught. Imagine a part time job with a full insurance payment to pay out of my pocket! This is a huge help to us...now that money can be thrown in the bank for our little one!
By no means am I bragging about all of this...hell, pro athletes make my annual salary in a single game! But this is great because this provides us with a better cushion to plan for our future and provide for ourselves and our little one in 6 short months!
As for us, this is a big weekend...this is Laura's first weekend home (without me) as a mom! Of course she isn't handling the baby this weekend, I won't be around due to my sacred hunting season. Thankfully, her mom will be heading to the cities Friday afternoon to keep her company and hang out while I'm away (yes, she's a big girl, but her mom had some time off work so they're getting some bonding time!). I love hunting, and she definitely married a guy with a hunting problem. Imagine you being only able to do your favorite hobby for 4 weekends each year, and you need to drive 5 hours to do that hobby for a short period of time! I'll be taking the mutt, Lexi, with me to walk in the woods, so she'll enjoy the solitude and chaos-free house without me!
On that note, I'll wrap this one up. Thanks so much for reading about my big day! I hope you enjoyed reading my Daddy Diary. As usual, your thoughts/best wishes/prayers are greatly appreciated! Take care!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Letting the cat out of the bag (slowly)!!!
9/23/12
Hey everybody...and for some of you, welcome to my Daddy Diary! Laura and I have started to tell more people about our exciting news this weekend!!! Laura called her grandparents last night, and I visited my grandparents this morning to tell them the news. They were all pretty excited, though I think her grandma was just plain shocked..."ok...that's exciting" were her words!!!
As of now, our families know...we plan to make some calls to Laura's aunts and uncles in the upcoming days when we have a spare moment (this will be a busy week for us!) in the next couple days. Needless to say, Laura and I got a few hugs today when we told my grandparents and KeeKee! For Laura's side, this will be the first great grandchild, while this will be the 5th great grandchild for my dad's parents, and the first for Granny!!! Laura sent word to her aunt Brenda last night, and my parents will be letting aunt Ruth and Eleanor know by the end of the day today.
We haven't spread the word to everyone yet. Laura and I still have some friends and coworkers that don't know, but will be finding out in the next week or two. So for those of you that have known for a while or just found out today, we appreciate you not spreading the word via Facebook. We'll let the rest of the world find out soon enough, but we don't want our friends and family to find out through the stupid website!!! However, with that being said, please pass along the address to my blog to anyone you feel may be interested in following our pregnancy, or to anyone interested in knowing more about how pregnancies progress through the guy's eyes.
Laura had a rough night last night. She came out of the shower not feeling well and vowing never to eat McDonald's again!!! She fell asleep before 10 last night and didn't wake up until almost 10 this morning!!! Needless to say, Lexi is providing some great training for me in taking care of a youngster without the help of mom and especially trying to do so with as little noise as possible!!! I must say, Laura has been quite the trooper! Her strength and endurance have been amazing! She powers through bouts of nausea and extreme exhaustion on almost a daily basis...if it were me, I'd be rolled up in the fetal position and whining for my mom and sympathy!!! I knew she was an amazing woman when I married her over 3 years ago, but I never knew how amazing she'd be in keeping our little baby nourished and well-taken care of during our pregnancy! I love you, Laura Jean!
I need you all to be a witness for me and support me on this one...My grandparents said that I should take the kid hunting and give mom a needed break in the future...and Laura said "YES!!! Go hunting often!!!" So please, when I need someone to vouch for me, I expect you all to help me out as September comes around each year!!! If it's a boy, I'll be so excited to take him hunting and pass along all the great BS my dad has passed along to me over the years. If it's a girl, I'll still drag her along for a few years before she gets her own opinion!!! Regardless, I'm just pumped to become a dad in just over 6 months away!
Well...I think that's it for this one! Thanks so much for reading my Daddy Diary! For everyone reading this, whether it's your first read-along or not, Laura and I appreciate your thoughts/best wishes/prayers as we continue to look forward to our growing family!!! Take care!
Hey everybody...and for some of you, welcome to my Daddy Diary! Laura and I have started to tell more people about our exciting news this weekend!!! Laura called her grandparents last night, and I visited my grandparents this morning to tell them the news. They were all pretty excited, though I think her grandma was just plain shocked..."ok...that's exciting" were her words!!!
As of now, our families know...we plan to make some calls to Laura's aunts and uncles in the upcoming days when we have a spare moment (this will be a busy week for us!) in the next couple days. Needless to say, Laura and I got a few hugs today when we told my grandparents and KeeKee! For Laura's side, this will be the first great grandchild, while this will be the 5th great grandchild for my dad's parents, and the first for Granny!!! Laura sent word to her aunt Brenda last night, and my parents will be letting aunt Ruth and Eleanor know by the end of the day today.
We haven't spread the word to everyone yet. Laura and I still have some friends and coworkers that don't know, but will be finding out in the next week or two. So for those of you that have known for a while or just found out today, we appreciate you not spreading the word via Facebook. We'll let the rest of the world find out soon enough, but we don't want our friends and family to find out through the stupid website!!! However, with that being said, please pass along the address to my blog to anyone you feel may be interested in following our pregnancy, or to anyone interested in knowing more about how pregnancies progress through the guy's eyes.
Laura had a rough night last night. She came out of the shower not feeling well and vowing never to eat McDonald's again!!! She fell asleep before 10 last night and didn't wake up until almost 10 this morning!!! Needless to say, Lexi is providing some great training for me in taking care of a youngster without the help of mom and especially trying to do so with as little noise as possible!!! I must say, Laura has been quite the trooper! Her strength and endurance have been amazing! She powers through bouts of nausea and extreme exhaustion on almost a daily basis...if it were me, I'd be rolled up in the fetal position and whining for my mom and sympathy!!! I knew she was an amazing woman when I married her over 3 years ago, but I never knew how amazing she'd be in keeping our little baby nourished and well-taken care of during our pregnancy! I love you, Laura Jean!
I need you all to be a witness for me and support me on this one...My grandparents said that I should take the kid hunting and give mom a needed break in the future...and Laura said "YES!!! Go hunting often!!!" So please, when I need someone to vouch for me, I expect you all to help me out as September comes around each year!!! If it's a boy, I'll be so excited to take him hunting and pass along all the great BS my dad has passed along to me over the years. If it's a girl, I'll still drag her along for a few years before she gets her own opinion!!! Regardless, I'm just pumped to become a dad in just over 6 months away!
Well...I think that's it for this one! Thanks so much for reading my Daddy Diary! For everyone reading this, whether it's your first read-along or not, Laura and I appreciate your thoughts/best wishes/prayers as we continue to look forward to our growing family!!! Take care!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The greatest sound in the world!!!
9/20/12
Hello friends and family, and a special Happy Anniversary wish to my parents who celebrate their 32nd year of marriage today!!! I'm looking forward to celebrating that milestone with my amazing wife in just 29 short years!!!
Two nights ago, Laura and I went to our doctor's appointment. After some chit chat with her and seeing how everything was going, we got to the cool part of the visit! She picked up this microphone device and placed it on Laura's belly. We heard this wooshing sound, which I thought was Laura's dinner...but it turns out it was the blood rushing through her body. Then came the cool part...we heard a very rapid "thump thump thump thump." The doctor asked, "Do you hear that quick thumping? That's your baby's heart beating!" It would've taken 12 morticians to wipe that smile off of my face!!! It was the absolute coolest sound in the world. Over a month ago, we saw the baby's heart beating for the first time...and that was so awesome...but this took fatherhood to a whole new level of reality!!! I had been anticipating this appointment for weeks! I even thought that hearing the heart beat for the first time may bring tears to my eyes...but I was smiling too much for tears! I could've listened to that sound for days, but we only had a short minute or so to hear that heart beat! Thankfully, our doctor told us if we ever wanted to hear it at future appointments, we just needed to ask and she'd be happy let us hear it again!!
As for us, we are approaching the end of our first trimester. The first 12 weeks officially ends tomorrow, however, counting backwards from our April 1, 2013 due date, October 1st will be the end of our first trimester. Don't worry if you're confused...I'm barely keeping it all straight in my head anyways!!! Regardless of our progress, over the next couple of weeks, we'll begin informing people of our exciting development that we've been keeping to ourselves (and you selected few so far)!!! I told a few of the guys at school yesterday. They were thrilled and had some typical guy-insults to throw my way. One of the smart asses asked if I'd be on the business end during the delivery to catch the baby in a 3-ring binder!!! (The class I'm teaching this year is the same as last year in which I'm preparing kids for college by helping them develop various skills, including organization. The cornerstone of our organization in class involves the "extreme" use of a 3-ring binder to carry all school supplies with the students all day long. So, fittingly, around school I've become the "binder guy", the "Cornell Notes guy" and my favorite, the "AVID guy!") Last year I joked with my students that my first born son will be named "Cornell", so I'll have to inform the students at some point, but not just yet. (Cornell Notes is the second cornerstone of my program that is a unique and specific note-taking method that makes it more efficient and a better study tool).
On a very positive note, Laura has been feeling much better lately. She still has her times where she isn't doing so good, but they are becoming much more infrequent, and she is sleeping better at night. She may not agree with those thoughts, but I definitely notice my wife's personality is slowly coming back to normal!
Until the next update, we appreciate your continued best wishes/thoughts/prayers! Take care and thanks for reading my Daddy Diary!
Hello friends and family, and a special Happy Anniversary wish to my parents who celebrate their 32nd year of marriage today!!! I'm looking forward to celebrating that milestone with my amazing wife in just 29 short years!!!
Two nights ago, Laura and I went to our doctor's appointment. After some chit chat with her and seeing how everything was going, we got to the cool part of the visit! She picked up this microphone device and placed it on Laura's belly. We heard this wooshing sound, which I thought was Laura's dinner...but it turns out it was the blood rushing through her body. Then came the cool part...we heard a very rapid "thump thump thump thump." The doctor asked, "Do you hear that quick thumping? That's your baby's heart beating!" It would've taken 12 morticians to wipe that smile off of my face!!! It was the absolute coolest sound in the world. Over a month ago, we saw the baby's heart beating for the first time...and that was so awesome...but this took fatherhood to a whole new level of reality!!! I had been anticipating this appointment for weeks! I even thought that hearing the heart beat for the first time may bring tears to my eyes...but I was smiling too much for tears! I could've listened to that sound for days, but we only had a short minute or so to hear that heart beat! Thankfully, our doctor told us if we ever wanted to hear it at future appointments, we just needed to ask and she'd be happy let us hear it again!!
As for us, we are approaching the end of our first trimester. The first 12 weeks officially ends tomorrow, however, counting backwards from our April 1, 2013 due date, October 1st will be the end of our first trimester. Don't worry if you're confused...I'm barely keeping it all straight in my head anyways!!! Regardless of our progress, over the next couple of weeks, we'll begin informing people of our exciting development that we've been keeping to ourselves (and you selected few so far)!!! I told a few of the guys at school yesterday. They were thrilled and had some typical guy-insults to throw my way. One of the smart asses asked if I'd be on the business end during the delivery to catch the baby in a 3-ring binder!!! (The class I'm teaching this year is the same as last year in which I'm preparing kids for college by helping them develop various skills, including organization. The cornerstone of our organization in class involves the "extreme" use of a 3-ring binder to carry all school supplies with the students all day long. So, fittingly, around school I've become the "binder guy", the "Cornell Notes guy" and my favorite, the "AVID guy!") Last year I joked with my students that my first born son will be named "Cornell", so I'll have to inform the students at some point, but not just yet. (Cornell Notes is the second cornerstone of my program that is a unique and specific note-taking method that makes it more efficient and a better study tool).
On a very positive note, Laura has been feeling much better lately. She still has her times where she isn't doing so good, but they are becoming much more infrequent, and she is sleeping better at night. She may not agree with those thoughts, but I definitely notice my wife's personality is slowly coming back to normal!
Until the next update, we appreciate your continued best wishes/thoughts/prayers! Take care and thanks for reading my Daddy Diary!
Monday, September 17, 2012
...a heart beat away!
9/17/12
Hello everyone, and welcome to the shortest blog I'll ever write!!! Tomorrow night, we have a doctor's appointment where we'll hear our baby's heart beat for the first time!!! I don't think I need to say anything else about how awesome tomorrow night will be! It's a late appointment, so I may not post tomorrow, but I'll be sure to provide the details within the week!
As usual, thanks for sending us your best thoughts/wishes/prayers. And...thanks for reading my Daddy Diary!
Hello everyone, and welcome to the shortest blog I'll ever write!!! Tomorrow night, we have a doctor's appointment where we'll hear our baby's heart beat for the first time!!! I don't think I need to say anything else about how awesome tomorrow night will be! It's a late appointment, so I may not post tomorrow, but I'll be sure to provide the details within the week!
As usual, thanks for sending us your best thoughts/wishes/prayers. And...thanks for reading my Daddy Diary!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
School Perspective
9/6/12
Though I don't have any exciting news to relay on this blog, I am happy to report that Laura has been feeling much better lately than she had felt for a few weeks! The past few days, she's been doing really well. Tomorrow we're 10 weeks along, so hopefully her improvement means that she may be moving out of the "morning sickness" period of our adventure!
As for this post and the title, being back in the classroom has given me more perspective and how much I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a healthy baby. As I've walked through the halls the first week of school, I've noted several kids sitting in the halls...already kicked out of class. I've noticed Special Education students having meltdowns, and struggles with their new schedule/routines that they need to adjust to. We will love our baby unconditionally, but it will be a huge relief to have a healthy "normal" baby born!
I'm also reminded, too frequently, how difficult it will be to potentially raise a teenage girl. Seriously...I don't think I'm going to let my girl out of the house until she's 30...it just might be easier!!! I can't believe the outfits some parents allow their girls to leave the house in...and if they "don't know" what they're wearing, then they need to do their jobs! Let's put it this way, college girls aren't even wearing those kinds of shorts! It's definitely a difficult, and awkward occassion to help students with homework/assignments that are wearing outfits that are in clear violation of the dress code!!! Needless to say, any girl I may have will be dressing in Amish attire IF she ever leaves my house prior to her 30th birthday!!!!
Our next doctor's appointment isn't for a week and a half, so I won't have any new developments between now and then. However, should I have something to share, I'll be sure to keep everyone posted. And if for no other reason than just getting some ideas out there that are swirling in my brain (much like today) I'll be sure to post those goofy thoughts too! Until next time, we appreciate your thoughts and/or prayers for a happy and healthy baby sometime around April 1, 2013! Thanks again for reading my Daddy Diary!
Though I don't have any exciting news to relay on this blog, I am happy to report that Laura has been feeling much better lately than she had felt for a few weeks! The past few days, she's been doing really well. Tomorrow we're 10 weeks along, so hopefully her improvement means that she may be moving out of the "morning sickness" period of our adventure!
As for this post and the title, being back in the classroom has given me more perspective and how much I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a healthy baby. As I've walked through the halls the first week of school, I've noted several kids sitting in the halls...already kicked out of class. I've noticed Special Education students having meltdowns, and struggles with their new schedule/routines that they need to adjust to. We will love our baby unconditionally, but it will be a huge relief to have a healthy "normal" baby born!
I'm also reminded, too frequently, how difficult it will be to potentially raise a teenage girl. Seriously...I don't think I'm going to let my girl out of the house until she's 30...it just might be easier!!! I can't believe the outfits some parents allow their girls to leave the house in...and if they "don't know" what they're wearing, then they need to do their jobs! Let's put it this way, college girls aren't even wearing those kinds of shorts! It's definitely a difficult, and awkward occassion to help students with homework/assignments that are wearing outfits that are in clear violation of the dress code!!! Needless to say, any girl I may have will be dressing in Amish attire IF she ever leaves my house prior to her 30th birthday!!!!
Our next doctor's appointment isn't for a week and a half, so I won't have any new developments between now and then. However, should I have something to share, I'll be sure to keep everyone posted. And if for no other reason than just getting some ideas out there that are swirling in my brain (much like today) I'll be sure to post those goofy thoughts too! Until next time, we appreciate your thoughts and/or prayers for a happy and healthy baby sometime around April 1, 2013! Thanks again for reading my Daddy Diary!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Welcome!
7/25/12
Welcome to my 2 newest adventures in life; blogging and being a dad! My wife and I are traveling down the road of bringing a new person into the world and we're looking forward to the adventure and happiness our baby will bring us!
Before diving into the new daddy stuff, I thought I'd at least give a quick background on how my wife and I made it to this point together in our first (almost) 9 years together.
We met in the first couple weeks of college in the fall of 2003 at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Laura was the cute blond that I immediately took interest in after being introduced by a high school classmate of mine that lived down the hall from her in the dorms. Our first date was a dinner at Grandma's restaurant in Canal Park followed by a UMD Bulldogs hockey game. From that moment on, I was hooked! We still debate whether she wasn't smart enough to run away from me or if she just didn't run fast enough when she had the chance, but needless to say, she's been my best friend, sweetheart, constant companion and my life ever since!!! Here are a few pictures of us from college:
I am a teacher. I'm licensed in Social Studies (history, geography, political science, psychology, sociology, etc). This fall, I will begin my 5th year of teaching, and 2nd year as an AVID teacher in the Inver Grove Heights school district about 10 minutes south of our home. AVID is a class that prepares average students for college; and I couldn't be happier as a teacher! I'm living my dream each day by working with kids and as a member of a fun staff.
My wife has recently switched careers. She now supports computer software for medical clinics and is enjoying her new work...she just doesn't like the 45-60 minute commute to the other side of the metro in Minnetonka. She graduated from UMD with a degree in exercise science and worked for 4 years in a neck and back physical therapy clinic. After a few years of lousy treatment by the company and reaching the highest rung on the ladder with the company, she was ready for a change!
As for her and I, we have always discussed having kids since we were dating. I've always loved kids and being around them. As a teenager, I babysat for several families in my neighborhood. Laura had the complete opposite experience with little exposure to younger kids. I laugh as I write this because she has held a baby 1 time in her life, and has never changed a diaper! She always said she was scared she'd "break" whichever little kid was around us at the time and wouldn't hold them! Apparently, she'll have a lot to learn in 9 short months! Before we got married, we knew we'd want kids and that we'd have them when we felt the time was right. Until this year, I had always been cut from my teaching position due to budget changes in whichever district I was employed with. In addition to the cuts, I was always a part time teacher or had subbed. As of this moment, I'm still waiting to hear if I'll be full time or not next year, though as I've experienced each of my previous teaching jobs, this fall I'll have another class added to my workload. Throughout many conversations we've had with older family members and friends with kids, we learned that "you'll never be totally ready to have kids." We've always wanted to provide ourselves with a stability in our home and life that would provide the best foundation to bring a baby into this world. I had always wanted to get tenure as a teacher before having kids; but with the teaching/political climate in MN, I don't know if tenure will be around for much longer, but more importantly as a social studies teacher, I'm not sure how long it would take me to stick around a district for the 3 consecutive years to get tenured anyways!!!
A month ago, our lives started to change when we rescued a puppy at a local adoption. Laura and I took a walk and decided we'd "just stop by" the adoption tent at our city's town square and see what kind of dogs were up for adoption that day, thanks in large part to our neighbors telling us about the adoption that day. I must admit that at first, Lexi didn't catch my attention nor stand out from the rest of the dogs and puppies there. She was calm, didn't bark, and was not jumping on any of the little kids running around and poking at the puppies. Laura was hooked almost instantly by her nice black coat and white feet. We took her for a short stroll to get away from the crowd and sat with her on the boulevard to discuss bringing her home. She was laying down and looked up at me and had such cute puppy eyes, I was hooked as well. Our neighbor arranged for us to bring "Annie Oakley" (as she was then known as) home with no commitment for a few hours that afternoon. Within a couple hours, we knew she wouldn't be going back to the adoption place nor her foster home! In the past month, Lexi has melted our hearts a little more each day. Within a couple days of having her, we began calling each other "mom" and "dad" and adjusting our schedule and routines to care for another life besides our own. We began joking with family and friends that she would be great "baby training" for us!!!
Though our lives will be changing within the next year, we've enjoyed doing many things together over the past 9 years. I live for Laura. In college, I passed up on going to the same keg parties on the weekends because I enjoyed her company and conversation in a quiet place. Since then, our conversations have continued during our long car rides to North Dakota to visit her family, on flights to far away destinations to share our passion for travel and during the cheering (and my swearing) during hockey games! We've always loved being outdoors together; whether it's camping, hiking, hunting or 4wheeling at one of our cabins/hunting shacks. I learned very early on in our relationship that Laura and I make a great team! We compliment and contrast each other at the most appropriate times. We are there to think of things the other would not have thought of when important decisions need to be made and in the most simple of ways that others may envy, we both share each others' chores around the house equally (except, I do not clean toilets! If it was up to me, we'd have an out-house!) She's my life, she's my love, she'll soon be the mother of my child, and most importantly, she's the most amazing, best friend a guy could ever ask for!!!
I'm not sure how often this blog will be updated, but as my life begins to transform into that of a dad, I will be sure to update this as I have no clue who will read it. I'm sure my mom and mother in law will enjoy the updates, but I'm not sure if any friends will check this out nor how often others may "check in" on Laura and I, but the least I can do is scribble some thoughts down. At the very least, this will be a new way to relax and relieve some stress and anxiety as well as share some happy moments over the course of the next 9 months, and the foreseeable future after our baby is born.
Welcome to my 2 newest adventures in life; blogging and being a dad! My wife and I are traveling down the road of bringing a new person into the world and we're looking forward to the adventure and happiness our baby will bring us!
Before diving into the new daddy stuff, I thought I'd at least give a quick background on how my wife and I made it to this point together in our first (almost) 9 years together.
We met in the first couple weeks of college in the fall of 2003 at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Laura was the cute blond that I immediately took interest in after being introduced by a high school classmate of mine that lived down the hall from her in the dorms. Our first date was a dinner at Grandma's restaurant in Canal Park followed by a UMD Bulldogs hockey game. From that moment on, I was hooked! We still debate whether she wasn't smart enough to run away from me or if she just didn't run fast enough when she had the chance, but needless to say, she's been my best friend, sweetheart, constant companion and my life ever since!!! Here are a few pictures of us from college:
First picture of "us", Halloween, Freshman Year, 2003
A New Year's Eve at the Lake
One of my favorite pictures of us!
We married on the shore of Lake Superior on June 13, 2009 in front of many family and friends. The wedding day was beautiful, complete with sunshine and a rainbow that showed itself after a short rain shower during dinner. A few months before our wedding, we bought a house in South St Paul, MN and have continued to work on making our house a home for over 3 years now. I hope you'll enjoy some of these highlights of our wedding day:
This was taken shortly after I saw my beautiful bride for the first time prior to our ceremony
Our wedding party of our lifelong friends and some close family members.
My beautiful wife, and soon-to-be mother of my child!
I am a teacher. I'm licensed in Social Studies (history, geography, political science, psychology, sociology, etc). This fall, I will begin my 5th year of teaching, and 2nd year as an AVID teacher in the Inver Grove Heights school district about 10 minutes south of our home. AVID is a class that prepares average students for college; and I couldn't be happier as a teacher! I'm living my dream each day by working with kids and as a member of a fun staff.
My wife has recently switched careers. She now supports computer software for medical clinics and is enjoying her new work...she just doesn't like the 45-60 minute commute to the other side of the metro in Minnetonka. She graduated from UMD with a degree in exercise science and worked for 4 years in a neck and back physical therapy clinic. After a few years of lousy treatment by the company and reaching the highest rung on the ladder with the company, she was ready for a change!
As for her and I, we have always discussed having kids since we were dating. I've always loved kids and being around them. As a teenager, I babysat for several families in my neighborhood. Laura had the complete opposite experience with little exposure to younger kids. I laugh as I write this because she has held a baby 1 time in her life, and has never changed a diaper! She always said she was scared she'd "break" whichever little kid was around us at the time and wouldn't hold them! Apparently, she'll have a lot to learn in 9 short months! Before we got married, we knew we'd want kids and that we'd have them when we felt the time was right. Until this year, I had always been cut from my teaching position due to budget changes in whichever district I was employed with. In addition to the cuts, I was always a part time teacher or had subbed. As of this moment, I'm still waiting to hear if I'll be full time or not next year, though as I've experienced each of my previous teaching jobs, this fall I'll have another class added to my workload. Throughout many conversations we've had with older family members and friends with kids, we learned that "you'll never be totally ready to have kids." We've always wanted to provide ourselves with a stability in our home and life that would provide the best foundation to bring a baby into this world. I had always wanted to get tenure as a teacher before having kids; but with the teaching/political climate in MN, I don't know if tenure will be around for much longer, but more importantly as a social studies teacher, I'm not sure how long it would take me to stick around a district for the 3 consecutive years to get tenured anyways!!!
Though our lives will be changing within the next year, we've enjoyed doing many things together over the past 9 years. I live for Laura. In college, I passed up on going to the same keg parties on the weekends because I enjoyed her company and conversation in a quiet place. Since then, our conversations have continued during our long car rides to North Dakota to visit her family, on flights to far away destinations to share our passion for travel and during the cheering (and my swearing) during hockey games! We've always loved being outdoors together; whether it's camping, hiking, hunting or 4wheeling at one of our cabins/hunting shacks. I learned very early on in our relationship that Laura and I make a great team! We compliment and contrast each other at the most appropriate times. We are there to think of things the other would not have thought of when important decisions need to be made and in the most simple of ways that others may envy, we both share each others' chores around the house equally (except, I do not clean toilets! If it was up to me, we'd have an out-house!) She's my life, she's my love, she'll soon be the mother of my child, and most importantly, she's the most amazing, best friend a guy could ever ask for!!!
Laura's first Wild game, December 2003
(when telling her friend about this upcoming game back then, her friend replied, "You're going to a Wild game?!?! What's going to be so Wild about this game?!"...apparently, ND folks don't watch much hockey!)
Chipmunk Falls and Laura's first trip to the Big Gun Lodge, Fall 2004
Camping, 2008
(Many people are shocked that my wife loves camping. She replies, "well, I bought the tent!")
I'm not sure how often this blog will be updated, but as my life begins to transform into that of a dad, I will be sure to update this as I have no clue who will read it. I'm sure my mom and mother in law will enjoy the updates, but I'm not sure if any friends will check this out nor how often others may "check in" on Laura and I, but the least I can do is scribble some thoughts down. At the very least, this will be a new way to relax and relieve some stress and anxiety as well as share some happy moments over the course of the next 9 months, and the foreseeable future after our baby is born.
Now, we are ready for a baby! I'm very excited, yet it still hasn't hit me that I'll be a dad. I'm looking forward to starting the next phase of our lives together with my amazing wife and soon-to-be mother of my child! She is an amazing woman whom I admire and respect so much! I never understood it until I was married, but it is entirely possible to spend every day with someone you love and still love them a little more each day! Needless to say, I've officially been a daddy for 7 hrs and 15 minutes now, and the next chapter of my life is just starting...
A rare pregnancy!
8/28/12
After I re-entered the exam room, Laura told me the doctor said, "You have a rare pregnancy in the fact that you have a 'low-risk' pregnancy! You're healthy, you're active, your family histories and your baby all look very good!!! "
I hope you forgive me for giving this post such a catchy title, but I was so pumped to hear that that I had to share it with you! We had our first OB appointment tonight. We're officially just past the 9 week stage, and things are looking great. Keep your fingers crossed and your thoughts and/or prayers coming our way that things stay the way they are!!!
I won't go into too many details about our appointment tonight as it was awkward for me at times...heck, when the funky looking equipment came out, I left the room!!! Nope...none of that crap for this guy!!! While we were waiting for the doctor, Laura made a comment that her arm still hurt from her flu shot the other day. I said that my arm (and it's matching flu shot) was feeling better and that I was proud that I didn't cry. About that same time, an infant in an adjacent room began crying...presumably from getting a shot of some short...I could tell he/she was in pain. Laura told me that I'd be horrible and would be uncomfortable when our baby has to get its shots. I quickly agreed...and realized for the first time that seeing my child in pain will hurt me more than it will hurt it!!! I have to admit that I might get a couple tears in my eyes when baby has to get its shots because I hate shots, and they hurt like crazy, so I know it's going to hurt her/him!!!
I also made an observation (and shared it with Laura)...that the next time she was waiting for the doctor to come in and she was on a table with stirrups, (no worries, I left before any of the action started!) that I would most definitely not be on the business end of the stirrups!!! Ha...seriously...I'm staying in the Northern Hemisphere on delivery day...none of that for me...otherwise I'd be flat out on the floor. And...if that were the case, Laura would not be able to shout "YOU DID THIS TO ME!" as is expected from wives in delivery!!!...and I figured I should at least give her the opportunity, when the time comes, to shout that at me!!!
And with that attempt at humor, I'll wrap up this latest post. I wonder if many people read this!? (Well, technically, only a handful of people are aware of this blog at this time) And with that, I wonder if many people will read this once the word is out? People are publishing a lot of junk these days (some may think this is junk) but perhaps there is an audience out there besides our friends and family that may enjoy this Daddy Diary. I enjoy updating you all when I have something worth while, so I hope you enjoy reading it. Of course, when the word is out and we've moved beyond the danger period of the first trimester, I'd appreciate you sharing this blog with anyone you feel may enjoy this; whether it's your family/friends...or just some distant contacts you occasionally email. Until then, we appreciate your understanding in our desire of not wanting the world to know about our developing little one and we greatly appreciate your respect of our privacy as we nurture our growing little baby. As of today, he/she is slightly smaller than your thumb! By 19 weeks (2.5 more months) we will be able to tell the sex of the baby, even though we're unsure if we want to know or not. In 3 weeks, at our next appointment we will be able to hear its heart beat for the first time. Just for your information, I will probably let a tear or two roll down my cheek when I hear my baby for the first time! Until then, I'll keep you posted on any noteworthy developments. As always, thanks for reading my Daddy Diary and we appreciate your continued thoughts/prayers.
After I re-entered the exam room, Laura told me the doctor said, "You have a rare pregnancy in the fact that you have a 'low-risk' pregnancy! You're healthy, you're active, your family histories and your baby all look very good!!! "
I hope you forgive me for giving this post such a catchy title, but I was so pumped to hear that that I had to share it with you! We had our first OB appointment tonight. We're officially just past the 9 week stage, and things are looking great. Keep your fingers crossed and your thoughts and/or prayers coming our way that things stay the way they are!!!
I won't go into too many details about our appointment tonight as it was awkward for me at times...heck, when the funky looking equipment came out, I left the room!!! Nope...none of that crap for this guy!!! While we were waiting for the doctor, Laura made a comment that her arm still hurt from her flu shot the other day. I said that my arm (and it's matching flu shot) was feeling better and that I was proud that I didn't cry. About that same time, an infant in an adjacent room began crying...presumably from getting a shot of some short...I could tell he/she was in pain. Laura told me that I'd be horrible and would be uncomfortable when our baby has to get its shots. I quickly agreed...and realized for the first time that seeing my child in pain will hurt me more than it will hurt it!!! I have to admit that I might get a couple tears in my eyes when baby has to get its shots because I hate shots, and they hurt like crazy, so I know it's going to hurt her/him!!!
I also made an observation (and shared it with Laura)...that the next time she was waiting for the doctor to come in and she was on a table with stirrups, (no worries, I left before any of the action started!) that I would most definitely not be on the business end of the stirrups!!! Ha...seriously...I'm staying in the Northern Hemisphere on delivery day...none of that for me...otherwise I'd be flat out on the floor. And...if that were the case, Laura would not be able to shout "YOU DID THIS TO ME!" as is expected from wives in delivery!!!...and I figured I should at least give her the opportunity, when the time comes, to shout that at me!!!
And with that attempt at humor, I'll wrap up this latest post. I wonder if many people read this!? (Well, technically, only a handful of people are aware of this blog at this time) And with that, I wonder if many people will read this once the word is out? People are publishing a lot of junk these days (some may think this is junk) but perhaps there is an audience out there besides our friends and family that may enjoy this Daddy Diary. I enjoy updating you all when I have something worth while, so I hope you enjoy reading it. Of course, when the word is out and we've moved beyond the danger period of the first trimester, I'd appreciate you sharing this blog with anyone you feel may enjoy this; whether it's your family/friends...or just some distant contacts you occasionally email. Until then, we appreciate your understanding in our desire of not wanting the world to know about our developing little one and we greatly appreciate your respect of our privacy as we nurture our growing little baby. As of today, he/she is slightly smaller than your thumb! By 19 weeks (2.5 more months) we will be able to tell the sex of the baby, even though we're unsure if we want to know or not. In 3 weeks, at our next appointment we will be able to hear its heart beat for the first time. Just for your information, I will probably let a tear or two roll down my cheek when I hear my baby for the first time! Until then, I'll keep you posted on any noteworthy developments. As always, thanks for reading my Daddy Diary and we appreciate your continued thoughts/prayers.
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