Hot Summer Nights!

We had a little birthday party at our house this weekend, and as the sun got low and the breeze came out, we headed outside!

Turns out, everyone was jonesin' for a game of kickball!

Well, most everyone. I was resigned to watch from the sidelines and be the team photographer! :)

We had the most adorable pitcher on the block:

And some leggy kickers!

The cheering section kept tabs...

...as the star athlete rounded the bases.

Occasionally, the players got a little over-zealous considering the size of the field...and the star athlete had to hurdle the back fence...

...and retrieve the ball!

When the game was over, we relaxed for a bit...

...before cake! (Happy Birthday, Grandma K!)

The Pre-Party

Well, I'm on a kick to get some of the wedding memories from 2 years ago down "on paper" so as to remember some of things I don't want to forget!

So, the wedding was on a Saturday and we knew that by Thursday night, friends and family would have arrived from all over the country for the celebration! So, of course we decided a party was in order!

It was great to see good friends who looked this good after coming in from North Dakota!

There were several new babies...
...and Michael kept everyone fed!

It was pure bliss for me. It's hard being the lone one in KS when friends and family are spread through out MN, MI, WI, ND, MA, NH, CA, CO...you get the idea. But this particular night, they were all in town!
One of the really fun things was that two of my Aunts, one from one side, one from the other, had never met! Of course they've known of each other for years, but they were finally able to meet at this party!! What a great moment.

There were t-ball games played...

and, of course, lots of good laughs had. I love that I have such good friends that they know and have spent time with my grandparents.

Unfortunately, since we were in KS, the kiddos were forced to spend some time playing in the basement...

...when the tornado warnings popped up!

At one point my two uncles from MI were standing out on the deck when the tornado sirens started blaring. I told them that's what it was and they told me I was wrong!! That those were not tornado sirens! ha! I responded that indeed they were and while they were welcome to watch the twisters from the deck, all of the babies would need to go to the basement! :)

I love this photo of my grandmas!

Since it was a Gronberg party, there were large amounts of ice cream involved. No one was especially surprised to see this guy finishing it off:

Then giving Piano lessons?
The night became funnier and funnier...

...and we had a blast spending time with the people we love the most!

Even if some of them may have forgotten their manners:

As the Norwegians would say, "Uff da!!"

31 Weeks!

The countdown is on! This whole thing seems to really be getting close! We've started classes and we're now in the single-digits of weeks until baby!

Man of Honor

In an effort to remember the details I don't want to forget, I've been periodically blogging about elements of our wedding. The intention was to do it when the ideas were really fresh in my mind...and I'm not sure they are now, two years later, but there are still several elements of the day I'd like to journal as I'm sure I remember more now that I will, say, two years from now!

This has to do with my "Man of Honor."

I knew that when I got married, there was one person I wanted standing next to me. Michael and I dreamed of a ceremony where we would exchange vows with our brothers by our sides.

And we did:

But getting him to the alter (in an upright position) was no small feat.

He arrived from California a couple days before the wedding, as fun and energetic as ever. The rehearsal was flawless and he not only practiced being "Man of Honor" but walking his lovely grandmothers down the aisle.

The rehearsal dinner was great fun and we had a ball...

The next morning, my wedding day, I awoke early. I called up to my parents suite (we were all in the same hotel...he was staying in their suite) to let them know I was on my way up to have coffee with them before starting the exciting day.

The hesitancy in my dad's voice caught me off guard. He sort of muttered, "uh...ok. We'll see you in a couple minutes." I thought it was odd that he wasn't more enthusiastic, but I shrugged it off an headed up to their room. Upon entering, he and my mom exchanged glances and calmly told me that my brother wasn't feeling well...he had come down a case of the stomach flu overnight.

I laughed, said something to the effect of "how bad can it be??" and walked back to his room to see what was up. When I entered and spoke to him, he moaned in the worst way and said he'd been throwing up all night. He was clearly very, very sick.

I walked back into the sitting room and, like a 5-year-old burst into tears, wailing, "but I don't want my brother to be sick! waaaahhhh!" But, within about 3 seconds of bursting into tears, my inner germaphobe caught hold of me and I realized I had better get the heck out of that room before I caught what he had! I flew out the door, telling my mom I'd see her at our hair appointment in a few hours.

Now, one of my mom's best friends, Madeline (and a nurse, like mom) was undergoing cancer treatment prior to and around the time of the wedding. She told her oncologist that she would follow his every instruction regarding the treatment of her diagnosed breast cancer, but she simply MUST be allowed to travel to Kansas City for a wedding in May. He agreed and before she left for the wedding, he gave her several vials of a prescription anti-nausea injection, since that was a common side effects of her treatment.

My mom and her friend met up at some point during the morning and mom told her friend what had happened. Mom was stressing out because she had one kid getting married that day and one kid that couldn't go 10 minutes without puking violently. Madeline pointed out that she had the injections of anti-nausea medications and while the drug made one very tired, it definitely kept the recipient from puking!

At that point, mom made an executive decision and decided Saeth would be getting the shot. When she soft-sounded it with him, he didn't like the idea. So, in full-on nurse modes, she and Madeline entered his room, held him down (which I'm sure wasn't too difficult by this time) and gave him a shot in the rump.

He was NOT happy and apparently he wailed, "my stomach already huuuurt. Now my asss huuurts!"

However, he was able to stop puking for the first time in 12+ hours and come hell or high water, my mom was going to get him to the wedding!!

The next time I saw him, he looked like this:

Bless my parents heart, they were able to get him into a tux and to the church for pictures! He would come out for those he needed to be in, then go lay down until he was needed again.



He didn't quite look like himself, but considering how drugged up he was, I think he did a great job!

Our photographer apparently wasn't the most observant. If you look closely at this photo:

You can see he and my dad, ducking behind a column. He, trying not to pass out. My dad, trying to hold him up!

He made it into and through the ceremony:

And didn't pass out, even though he must have been asked a hundred times if he was going to (by me and Father/Uncle Ed)!

I am so glad that, despite how terribly sick he was, my baby brother stood next to me while I was married...

...though after the ceremony he passed out and missed the entire reception. The only thing about the day that wasn't perfect.

However, by the next day, he was feeling great! Catching up with old friends...

...and back to himself!

Up, Up, Up and Away

A serious shower cooled things down a good 20 degrees over the weekend. So, Sunday evening we were excited to be able to relax on the deck. We headed out, and this...

is what we saw floating over our backyard and the golf course behind our house! It must have been the ideal conditions because there were about six of them...

this one was so close we could hear the flame!

(no worries, it's not as close the the power line as it appears!

What I wouldn't do for temps to dip once again...balloons or no balloons! ;)

Hot, Hot, Hot!

The last couple of weeks here in Kansas have been hot, hot, hot! Heat indexes (an all-important scale because it's extremely humid!) have been in the 109 degree range! As the Minnesotans would say, "uff da!"

I don't mind hot weather and am not complaining, it's just something you can't help but note when you walk outside! Which I haven't been doing much of lately. In an effort to avoid getting too hot, I zip from my air-conditioned house to my air-conditioned car to my air-conditioned office, then repeat! hee.

Also notable? The quick expansion of my belly! As I wrap up my 30th week, this approx. 3 lb baby is getting big!

I often find myself exclaiming over the size of the belly to Michael. Not complaining, I am enjoying this, but find myself needing to note it because it just seems so unbelievable! To look down and not see my toes?? Fun stuff!

(29 weeks):
On one hand, I can't believe it's only approx. 9 weeks away from d-day...on the other hand, I can't imagine how big this is going to get if it keeps growing for that long and doubles in size! Yowza!

Here's to hanging in the AC!

T-10 (weeks)

Well, I just realized I haven't written a single blog post in 12 days! Sheesh. Time is flying! I'm wrapping up week 29. Seems unbelievable!

I've entered a self-proclaimed "chill and grow a baby" phase. After over-doing it at the gym, doing house projects, etc. the weekend before last (and getting the aches to prove I went overboard), I've decided to consciously spend more time relaxing and enjoying the last couple months of being pregnant.

In the last few days, I've started being able to identify "parts" as this babe moves around...what I think is the head here, a limb there, that sort of thing! It's really, really fun play this guessing game!

I haven't taken a week 29 photo yet (sorry, Bethie!) but here is 28!

Oggy Goes to Minnesota

As the 4th of July holiday weekend approached, it was crazy around here. I was finishing up a class for grad school and we were packing to head to MN to enjoy our last childless trip there!

By the time we arrived, I was so burned out on computers, work, papers and typing, I turned into a lazy bum! I hardly checked e-mail, Facebook, Twitter...but I also hardly took any photos. Now that I think back on all of the laid-back fun we had, I wish I would have taken more. Bummer.

But almost all of the ones I did get star this guy:


Who, as you may remember, LOVES the water. Playing in it, drinking it, swimming, you name it. Which is actually sort of funny since he's a heavy-chested boxer. He sputters and coughs and enjoys every second of being a water dog.

Michael and I had never been to Itasca State Park, which is where the Mississippi River starts. We felt like we should visit the headwaters of this mighty river while up north. Apparently, so did practically everyone else in Northern Minnesota for the holiday.

The stones in the background of this picture are the start of the river.

Oggy got a few good swigs of the headwaters.

Later, my dad watched him while we explored a bit. Dad noted that when you're with an adorable boxer dog, no one bothers you, they just talk to the dog! I thought this was cute:

We spent tons of time on the boat, which he loves. He lays back and enjoys the view.


The one problem, though, is that we all like to park the boat and take a swim. Since Oggy has to work so hard, we devised a system to help him out a bit. It looks a little funny, but works rather well!
Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of him swimming in it, but that picture in your head? The real thing was just as good.

All in all, a nice, relaxing time with family and friends. Long walks, swims, boat rides, kayak excursions, s'mores, boat repairs...all of the things that make a great MN trip. Even if I don't have too many pictures to prove it! Maybe that means I reached a new level of relaxation.

The day before we left, my dad pointed out that the next time he sees us, there will be another person in the family. I laughed as we left the next day, noting that that was the last time they'll ever be sad to see Michael and I go! :) I think we'll become chopped liver.

Definitely Not a Dream

Wow. Well, I've been thinking I need to do a "reflections on pregnancy" post. People keeping telling me to "enjoy it because it goes so fast!"

What does that mean, exactly?

I agree, it seems to be going fast. Here is the first series of bump photos.

But beyond that, how do I enjoy this to the extent I should? Make the most out of it?

It seems so very odd. Though I've always LOVED babies and wanted to be a mom, somehow it seems so unbelievable that it's actually happening. Every time I see this belly, I stare at it as though I'm dreaming.

It's nearly impossibly to walk by a mirror or reflection without stealing a glance at the rotundness (is that a word?) of my mid-section. I'm in awe of it...and not really sure that the entire idea has sunk in.

The neatest thing is by far the baby's movement. The kicking and other moves become stronger and more pronounced all the time...it's almost comical at times. And so comforting, first thing in the morning, when I'm lying in bed starting to wake, to feel that baby move. Just a little reminder that it's not, indeed, a dream :).

Week 24:

Week 25:
Week 26:
..and 27:
And the end of the second trimester. As I'm writing this, the widget on the page says 83 days until baby! Woah. I can't wait. I am DYING to hold her. But I also don't want to be done with this.

This magical, this odd state.