Yard Improvements Part 2

 

This weekend we added some new and improved hostas to the front of the house.  Thank you very much to Bill and Carol!  Tryg helped with the hostas too (and ate rocks)!

Wonderfully Weird.

As far as I can tell so far, the best part about getting my master’s degree is in this initial time when I still have a very clear image of four and a half hour evenings of sitting in class, the constant weight of homework sitting on my shoulders, and the anxiety of balancing time between work, school, family and life!  It’s the best part because I clearly remember all of those things, yet, I don’t have them anymore! 

It’s beautiful! 

It’s wonderfully weird! 

It’s wonderfully weird to sit in the back yard, warmed by the sun.  I get to look into my son’s cheerful eyes and just enjoy… him!  I am soaking up every minute.  It’s fantastic to bring those thoughts into the present.  I love to think for just a few seconds about all of the things I would have been doing or worrying about and then think, “yep, but I’m done now!” 

I can’t get over it! 

I want to enjoy it as much as I can during these moments because I know that soon I will forget what it was like.  I’ll forget scheduling time with friends around class and how a good portion of my weekends were filled with homework or at least the constant thought of the assignments that were due. 

So, for now, I will enjoy the summer with my family!

I won’t lie…we still have home improvement projects (like the new shed!) and the daily routines of maintaining a home and a family to keep us busy.  And, I also do not want to discourage anyone from pursuing their master’s degree.   I think it was worth the time and energy that we put into it.  I hope that it will further our careers and our futures.  However, right now, in this moment, I want to be present with my family and enjoy time with them. 

It’s fabulous and I love it!

Little Skipper

We went to my parent's cabin on Monday night and then Erik's parent's cabin over the weekend. All the Grandparents were requesting some "Tryg Time." He was full of smiles and enjoyed 'talking' with his grandparents. We're happy to be able to share him with them as both sets live relatively close by.
He also went on the boat and wore his 'little skipper hat' that I got at a garage sale for 10 cents. :)

All Smiles!

Tryg has been smiling 'real smiles' off and on for a while, but last week (week 5) is when he started smiling full force! It has been delightful to see his huge grin and little dimples. He has even woken up with only smiles for Erik and me a few mornings (until he quickly realizes that he is hungry!). Here are a couple photos that we were able to get. We love our little boy!

The Saints

On Wednesday evening, Tryg and I got to go to our first Saints game! Our friends Shayna and Joel took the three of us to the game. They had all gone before, but it was a first for Tryg and me. The Saints won, but as I have been told (and now understand), you don't really go to Saints games to watch the game. All of the side action is very entertaining as well! It was a good night and it was also fun to catch up with my Bethel YOMI friend, Shayna, and her husband, Joel. It was very nice of them to take us to the game. Thanks guys!

Cousins! (But Not Kissing)

On Sunday we got to meet the newest addition to our extended family, Halea Colleen, my second cousin, Holly's daughter. She's a little doll. She was born on the 24th of July, which is just over a month after Tryg was born. So, we did some comparison photos of the two of them. There was talk of the two of them hooking up and getting married some day...until we reminded my aunt that they ARE second cousins!!

So, He Might Look Like His Dad...

Tryg -1 week old
Erik -3 months old

One Month Old Today!

It's hard to believe it has already been a month since Tryg came into our lives! It sometimes seems like we were just in the hospital a week ago! We're so thrilled to have our little blue eyed boy. He's overall a really good baby. We just wish he didn't get so gassy and spit up SO much! Not much we can do I guess. They say it will end in about 7-9 months (BTW, that seems like a lifetime from now!).

My maternity leave is already over half over! This is bittersweet for me. I love to be around people, so it has been somewhat difficult to be home with a little man that doesn't talk. However, I love that little man like crazy and it will be hard to take him to daycare for the first time...that's for sure! But we have a good daycare set up, near Erik's work, and Grandma Molin will have him one day a week. I'll just take one day at a time and love him as much as I can during these days I have him all to myself!

Many "Firsts"

So, I'm a bit behind...but I also have a newborn, so give me a break, right?? :)

Over the 4th of July we ended up going to Erik's parents' cabin. This brought a lot of new 'firsts' for Tryg! First short 'road trip,' first time out of the state, first time at the cabin, first boat ride, first fireworks, first WI bar outing (yes, we're bad parents). Tryg sported his "Little Firecracker" onesie and had a good time with family. Tryg has been meeting tons of people! People at work, family and friends have all enjoyed meeting him and we've enjoyed showing him off. Last week it was special for us to spend some time with Kirk & Sarah and their boys. They are back from Morocco for a few months. We had dinner at Bob & Sara's. Diana came over too! It was great food and great times together. They got to meet Tryg and we got to meet Nico for the first time (since he was born in Morocco).

Ollie thought Tryg was "very funny and very tiny"

This weekend was the Birchwood Street Dance, which brought Erik's whole family back to the cabin...and there were more firsts, like Tryg's first street dance and first Electric Slide. And apparently his first time sleeping while folded in half. :-)

And on Sunday one of my 'old youth group kids' got married. It was great to see her so happy and it ended up being a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding (even with all the storms on Sat. night). Tryg went to his first wedding and also did his first 'mother-son dance.'

What is in a Name...

Tryg Edward Robert

We have actually had our little guy's name picked out for a while...and by "a while" I mean about 3 years. We knew we wanted a Scandinavian name. We thought about "Trygve" but I just couldn't do it. I liked "Tryg," though, and found out that Tryg is also a Scandinavian name. Pretty much from that point on, we didn't have any second choices. However, many of you have heard about how we "were not sure" or "Erik isn't convinced" about his name for most of the pregnancy. This is because we had to think about all of the things that would come with the name "Tryg." We're pretty sure that most people will not believe or understand him until he is about 7 years old when he's asked, "What is your name?" We also know that there are bound to be the jr. highers that will make fun of him..."Tryg the twig" or "Tryg the pig" But we hope that he grows into his name and that he likes it as much as we do. We are not trying to torture the poor boy, that's for sure.

TRYG... Tryg is a Scandinavian name meaning: Trusty Brave Victor. We found this especially fitting when we were told back in December that he had a 95% chance of having a major chromosomal, heart or kidney defect. At that point we did not know if he would survive the pregnancy or what his life would look like. We know that many of you were praying for him and for us as we had further tests done. We were all so relieved when all the tests came back clear. At that point we knew we had a "brave victor" on our hands. We also like the Scandinavian roots. Erik's family has a large Scandinavian background -as does mine, but I have a little German and Scottish mixed in as well. Now, one thing that we were not looking forward to is that Sarah Palin named her child Trig. The first thing the nurses said was, "Oh, like Trig Palin!" Well, that wasn't our goal, and we did have the name picked out before we even knew who Sarah Palin was. We also like the Scandinavian spelling better. So, Tryg it is!
EDWARD...Edward is a family name. Erik's middle name is Edward, named after his Grandfathers. It is his Maternal Grandfather's first name and his Paternal Grandfather's Middle name. It is also my dad's middle name! So, we knew we wanted to keep it in the family. We are sad that neither of Erik's grandfathers are here to meet our son though. Edward means "wealth protector" or "guard of riches" --that might come in handy?!?
ROBERT...Robert is a family name as well. My Maternal Grandfather is Robert. I also had a brother named Robert who only lived a few hours. I was thrilled to tell my Grandpa our son's name! I think he liked it too! Robert means "bright fame" -so we'll see what happens with that.

Intro to Tryg... Again...With Photos this Time.

Here is our son right after he was born, Monday, June 21, 2010 9:28am, and a couple other hospital photos. (Other photos are on Facebook, thanks to Auntie Amy --FYI)
We're happy to be home...a little tired, but overall we're doing really well. In fact, he is already past his birth weight! He gained 7oz in 2 days...apparently most kids gain a half an ounce to an ounce a day. Erik says, "Well, he's a Molin!" Here, I was so worried about his spitting up and concerned he wasn't keeping anything down. Well, I guess I can stop worrying about that anyway.

We love him and can't get enough of him (except maybe at 3am). At least 3 or 4 times a day either Erik or I will stop and look at each other and say, "We're parents!" or "He is just so adorable." We know we might be biased, but we do think he's pretty cute --especially for just going through a birth canal (sorry, squeamish people).

We will try to keep this up to date, but those of you with children know that you don't get a lot of time just to be on a computer. We're doing all we can to keep him fed and all three of us sleeping. We've had help, which has been wonderful. Both Grandmas and some friends have come to help make sure we're fed! Thank you!

Ok, back to feeding Tryg. Love you all. Thanks for all of your prayers!

Introducing The Newest Member Of Our Family

We are excited to announce the arrival of our son, Tryg Edward Robert Molin. He was born June 21st, 2010 at 09:28am. He is Beautiful he weighed in at 7lb 2oz 21 inches long. He is happy and healthy doing well Mindy is also doing great. We are getting used to being new parents and will be happy to introduce you to him in person shortly!

Thank you for all your prayers and support, Please continue to pray while we learn to sleep through the night :)

*****Sorry for the delay....the photos are not uploading. We're working on it! We're also trying to sleep!!