One last adventure

At the beginning of June we had one last big adventure as a family of three. Karen Clark invited us to her graduation party so we made a day trip out of it and did some fun things around the Twin Cities before we went to her party.

We started at Ikea. We didn't have any real reason to go except I wanted to check out their kid stuff to see what they had and if the prices were good enough to invest in some of their toys right now. They weren't. The price on the hot dog combo meal was right, though, so we enjoyed one of those. I really wanted an ice cream cone, but decided against it for some bizarre reason.

Next we headed across the street to the Mall of America. We wandered around looking at stores. They have a Star Trek exhibit, but tickets were over $15 dollars, and Ben wasn't that interested in seeing it. A trip to the MOA wouldn't be complete without seeing the rides or playing in Legoland.

Russell sweet-talked Ben into letting him ride a ride. Russell wanted some trucks, so he got to ride this one:

Ben got to join him because Russell was just a little too short to ride on his own. Ben was just a little too tall for the ride so he had to scrunch into the tiny little seat with Russell. I'm surprised I was able to take any pictures because I was laughing so hard.

That face!

After the MOA we went to Como Zoo which was busy (like it always is). It was getting pretty hot that day, and I was tired, and there was lots of walking around, so I didn't enjoy it as much. Luckily we had also bought a candy bar at Ikea that we shared while at the zoo. It gave me enough energy to keep walking.

I'm sure he was counting the animals.

We also had fun at Karen's party, but we took no pictures. Like always, it was nice to be back in the cities especially near where we lived for two years.

Big Brother

It is hard to believe that our little boy isn't our baby anymore. Everyone warned us that he would seem huge compared to Meghan, and he is! Though it was a rough week for him, he has bounced back with his usual resiliency. Everytime he would go into Meghan's room at the hospital he would look for baby and then run over to where I (usually) was holding her to look at her to and touch her head or give her kisses. Since coming home, he continually amazes us with the love that he already has for his little sister. Without any prompting he will look for her, come over to her, and then smile at her or give her kisses or pat her head or hold her hand. Meghan is one lucky little girl to have Russell as her big brother.

BABY!!!

 Poor thing was dragged all over, thrown off his usual routine, missed sleeping in his own bed, etc. The day Meghan was discharged from the hospital and we could all finally come home, Russell fell asleep in the van as Ben was coming back from taking care of somethings at the apartments. Ben carried him from the parking garage and through the hospital to her room without him waking up. Meghan was also sleeping so Ben carefully laid Russell down and he slept that way for another hour.

When we got home, Russell quickly ran over to his toys and got his tractor to show Meghan. He wanted to share one of his most favorite toys with her. I am thankful for the tender loving spirit Russell has about him.

She's Here!!

Baby Meghan Margaret Joslin is finally here!!
Born 7/1/2014 at 13:45.
20.25 inches, 7 lbs 4 oz.
She can already lift her head up, hold our hands, say her ABC's, and do tensor calculus!

Here is Meghan a few minutes after birth! She's got some strong lungs on her! 

Here she is finally without her CPAP device on her! They took it off her last night at 10pm, and she can keep her oxygen sats up just fine! We were all very happy and relieved! And Becky (my NICU nurse sister called at that exact time, so it was nice that she could talk to me while they were doing it!) 

Here is our happy little family! Joanna was so happy to actually be able to hold Meghan again, and Meghan seems to be nursing just fine. 

We love our new little girl, and we are happy she is doing well!
During this whole process Joanna and I experienced deep emotions, and I was reminded again about how wonderful families are, especially our precious little ones, and about how strong a mother's bond is with each of her children. We love Meghan and Russell, and we are happy that our Heavenly Parents trusted us enough to help raise these two special souls!

- Ben