Life as a Lindquist: June 2010

The day the earth stood still...

Happy Birthday on June 24 to my daughter (wow!) Faith Janna Lindquist! Crap, this might be tougher than I thought because I already have a tear in my eye after one sentence. This was quite the experience. I had two goals for last night: 1) don't pass out and 2) don't pass out.

I don't want to go into all of the details (shocked?) about the day and evening leading up to the night of Faith's birth, but I did want to mention how extremely blessed we are! As Nicole started what everybody knows as labor (PUSH!!BREATHE!!PUSH!!), I was lucky enough to be by her side. The nurses had asked me my goals (see above) and put me to Nic's ride (ride, really Rob? I mean right) side. Before I knew it, I was holding a leg...

There was an instant where I thought I would be lucky enough to cut her cord, but there was a slight problem. As my daughter formerly known as Baby L came out, she had her cord around her neck and body (so two complete entanglements). Needless to say, I didn't cut the cord. Nicole didn't have any idea until well after the fact, which was good. So WHEW!

Anyway, she is the most precious girl ever - and I don't think I'm being biased at all. I have pictures on Facebook, so if you haven't seen them, just go there. I'm going to totally be "that guy" that posts anything and everything on Facebook, but I'll keep it clean. It truly is amazing how fast you can fall in love with someone; and now I have the two most beautiful girls ever!

~Rob

Facebook album made public:
click here
(this link disables every time I update the album; if you want to see the pics, just comment and I will update them here)

some sad news...

Our family found out today that my Grandma Willie has malignant brain cancer, better known as glioma, the same type of cancer Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a couple years ago. The prognosis depends on how she responds to chemo and radiation, but either way it won't be long enough in my opinion. Grandma Willie holds a special place in my heart as she stayed with my mom shortly after I was born and helped her adjust to life with a newborn. My mom's mom, Elaine, passed away before I was born and my grandpa remarried Willie, whose husband had also passed away. They've been married for 30 plus years and she is the only grandma most of my cousins and I have known. While you can never replace your biological mother, she's been the closest thing to a mom most of my aunts and uncles as well as my mom have had for most of their adult lives. It's not an easy role being a stepmom, but grandma Willie has done it with grace and poise. She is always there for a hug and to ask how things are going. Well grandma, today I'm sad. I'm sad that you have to go through this, that grandpa is probably hurting and fearful of the unknown and that I can't do anything to make it better. I love you so much and want you to know that I'll always remember what you did for my mom when I was a baby. I plan to cherish however much time God will bless us with in the coming years and hug you just a little bit tighter next time. Sometimes we are reminded how precious life is, and today is one of those days.

No New News yet...

We're getting there. This is just a little update: Nicole is 39 weeks (this Sunday, June 20, is the official due date). Every week I've made Nicole stand in front of our refrigerator to take a picture. I have a little folder called "The Bump" on my desktop. The ultimate goal? Create a little video of the weeks up to, and following, our new addition. Obviously, pre-partum are all belly shots, and postpartum they will be baby shots. But, this is a very rough cut of what I'm doing. Eventually there will be audio and smoother transitions. I think the rest is pretty self-explanatory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubGo3GJh-wg

~Rob

To New Beginnings

Say hello to our new door. It was on Mr. Lindquist's and my wish list for awhile and we were able to check it off of our list of home remodeling projects recently. I love it. It lets so much natural sunlight in and we can now see what's going on outside.

I read somewhere that a new door is very symbolic of your house or maybe I just made that up to justify the purchase of ours, however, I do feel like it sort of represents the changes that are about to take place in our lives here in the next week or two. Just like we do with our door, we will see things in a totally different and amazing way very soon. Baby Lindquist will bring a lot more light into our lives and I don't think we can even prepare ourselves for how much she will change us for the better.

I wish I could find the words to express how eager I am to meet this little person as "excited" just doesn't cut it. It's funny because when you're searching for a significant other, you never know how, where or when it will happen so it's kind of a surprise. But with a baby, you know exactly when they're (supposed to be) coming and the anticipation of meeting someone you know you will love more than anything in the world, (sorry Howie) is comparable to what a kid experiences on Christmas Eve, but every single night.

Our daughter's due date is just one week away. Every day I wake up I think, "will this be the day?" but I know she will come on her own terms in her own time. I just want her to know we are ready to welcome her with open arms...and open doors too!

28 weeks later

Yes, it's a movie title, but it's also the perfect caption for these pictures...10 weeks on the left, 38 on the right!
as if you couldn't tell... :)

note to early-on-in-my-pregnancy self: you look damn good. warning: you will puff up and lose that glow.
relax though, the belly is coming. you will feel the kicks and life will be good regardless of how much you look like a chunky monkey. love your future, very pregnant self.

2 more weeks peeps!