"Best Behaved" at the Dentist

This week Isaac had his very first dentist appointment. We stocked up on "going to the dentist" library books over the past couple of weeks and by the time his appointment rolled around on Monday, he was reciting all of the things a dentist does and what he needed to do (sitting in "special chair," opening mouth real wide, etc). Yet, I still wasn't sure how the actual appointment would go. To my pleasant surprise, Isaac willingly hopped right up onto the chair, opened his mouth and said "I'm ready!" He enjoyed going for a "ride" on the special chair and cooperated 110% with the staff. They were able to do things they said 'they didn't normally do at 1st appointments.' They went on to comment that most kids Isaac's age won't even get into the chair, let alone cooperate with what they wanted to do. Isaac was the talk of the pediatric dentistry office that day, staff telling me that he was the "best behaved" child for his age they had seen yet. Ok, I'm boasting a little bit. I'm proud of my boy and am glad we had a positive first experience at the dentist. Oh, and for the tooth update...all teeth are in, no issues, and we'll be back in 6 months for a check-up. Until then, brush brush, brush...

Weekend Fun

This past weekend we took a break from our to-do list at home and went on a 24-hour getaway to Grand Rapids (about 90 min from Duluth). I had heard about a place from a co-worker called Timber Lake Lodge that had a great kiddie pool area, so we decided to give it a try. It turned out to be a perfect getaway spot - Isaac especially enjoyed the special frog slide into the kiddie pool:
After a few hours of pool time, we were all ready to wind down and relax. We headed back to our room, ordered pizza, and watched a few sad innings of the Twins opening game:
Before leaving Grand Rapids on Saturday, we visited the Grand Rapids Children's Discovery Museum that we had heard good things about. Being a smaller community, we didn't have to battle the typical weekend crowds that we would have in the city. Amongst Isaac's favorites were the "fireman room," the train table (of course), the water table, and the talking tree:
Be sure to check out the rest of the photos from our updated gallery on the side of our blog page!

The "Final Stretch"

Well, folks, we have made it to the final trimester of our pregnancy. We've enjoyed the season of anticipation even though it has been going by much more quickly this time around! Currently 28 weeks and growing, Joel caught a photo over the weekend...not sure how excited I'll be to post additional photos beyond this point so enjoy :-)

More Winter Fun

A few weeks ago while Joel was away on a snowmobiling weekend, I took Isaac to an indoor "carnival" here in Duluth. We weren't able to get many photos since I was alone with Isaac, but he did talk me into going on a few rides with him, including the "super slide" and the carousel. He also experienced his first (mini) roller coaster ride. Despite my reservations, he assured me that he wanted to go on the "dragon ride" so I buckled him next to a bigger boy in the front seat and prayed it would be a good experience...I managed to catch a couple of photos:
After the ride and in the hours/days to follow, he talked about the "dragon" and how he didn't like that...it was "too fast and scary, too." But I was proud of him for hanging in there...no tears! I made sure we ended on a more positive note with his favorite - the super slide - before we headed home.

Winter Games

With the long, dark, cold winter evenings upon us...we are having fun exploring different "indoor games" with Isaac. The latest (and one of Isaac's new favorites)...building structures (i.e. tunnels) with our coach pillows. Rarely is there an evening where every pillow in our house is untouched by our new-found adventures. Last night, I started the effort with Isaac after dinner:
Then, Joel decided to get in the action and "show me how it's done..."The end result...Isaac showed US how it was done! Whee!!!

Baby J Update (Again)

We got in for our Level 2 Ultrasound this past Wednesday morning. Everything looks fine - and normal. Praise God! Because of the level of detail that our initial ultrasound gave, there were a couple of 'bright spots' that they wanted to investigate further to ensure there was nothing more to the story. Turns out the bright spot that they saw in the stomach was no longer present - specialist said it was most likely some skin cells that baby has now swallowed up. Yum! And as for the bright spot on the heart - the specialist explained that sometimes the muscle will show up a bit brighter in the high level ultrasound screens, particularly when the muscle is in motion performing blood outflow, which it was doing at the moment of the still shot. So, other than more photos of Baby J, we have nothing more to report. In the specialist's words: "we can go back to being boring (normal)." Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers during our waiting period. And here's a couple of bonus shots of me and Baby J...half way (or more) now!

Baby J Update

On Friday we had our 20-week ultrasound and got to take a closer look at "Baby J." The report was encouraging - all the parts are there, growth and development look right on schedule (still measuring at June 13th due date), etc. And we got to see a 4-D sonogram in color of Baby J, which we didn't experience with Isaac's ultrasound. It was amazing. I've attached a couple of photos from the 4-D images to give you an idea. You'll notice that the hands are close to the face - which was the story of our ultrasound. It was somewhat difficult to get a view of the face that wasn't hindered by the little hands.
After our ultrasound, we met with our regular OB Doctor. She had reviewed our sonography f'ilms with the ultrasound technician and made us aware that they found 2 echogenic spots ("bright spots") - 1 in the stomach and 1 in the heart. For that reason, she is referring us to a Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialist who will perform a Level 2 Ultrasound sometime in the next couple of weeks. She reassured us that these are usually nothing to be concerned about (i.e. fluid or calcium buildup), but that she wanted to be conservative and to have someone more closely inspect these areas of Baby J to make sure there wasn't more to the story.

While we await the next level ultrasound and process the news, we thank you for your thoughts and prayers and will most assuredly keep you updated as things continue to develop.

Psalm 139:13: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."