Introducing Paisley

Paisley Autumn Claire Krueger (not a pseudonym) was born at 4:15 AM on Sunday, September 25. She shares a birthday with her uncle Jim! Here is Jenna's birth story. Everything went very well. Labor was quick and we were out of the hospital the same day.

This baby was a little shrimp! Six pounds and six ounces was her recorded birth weight, but the next day it had supposedly dropped over 10%, although she didn't look any skinnier. Anyway, she's still a tiny peanut, light as a feather and only 18 1/2 inches long.

Baby's first facepalm. Paisley was very alert and grabby right out of the chute. I forgot to take photos until one of the nurses reminded me! And I almost didn't have the camera at all, because I had left it in the car when we first arrived, thinking we had plenty of time.

Natalie has been a great big sister. She loves to hold her "newborn baby" and even asks to help feed her from the bottle for a minute or two. Overall Natalie is handling the transition very well so far. She only asked once about Paisley going back into mama's belly!

I stayed home from work this week to take care of my girls. Sometimes I kind of forget that Jenna needs me, because she was so strong and amazing during the labor and delivery, it seems like she could handle anything on her own. But I still do what I can to help.

Time to make the donuts!

Cool autumn weather makes me want to fatten up with comfort food and find a cozy den for hibernation. Soups and hot drinks are on the menu. We have baked three batches of mini-donuts so far, and last weekend I made fresh salsa with our bounty of peppers and Waconia-grown tomatoes. Mmmm...spicy!

Our garden is basically done. Jenna ripped out everything except for the pumpkin vines, which are still going strong. We've got one huge orange gourd and one little sphere that may not amount to anything. The chickens are still stubbornly not laying, except for our Old Faithful, Prinny who keeps cranking out an egg almost every day.

My beekeeping coworker brought his harvest of honey in to the office. I grabbed a jar to stash in my adventuring kit. Natalie and I are planning for a few more food-based excursions before the baby arrives and I want to be prepared!

Resume Updated

Lolamade Monsters
I participated in the "Creating An Event" panel at The Creative Connection conference last weekend, as planned. It seemed to be quite successful! I spoke with several people afterward who thanked me and said that the discussion was valuable.

The format was mostly like this: our moderator asked a question, and then we would go down the line and answer it, if it applied to us. I tried to engage my fellow panelists with my responses, and we did get some good cross-talk going towards the end, especially with Alli. It was a good group! I was the only Minnesotan and the only man, so I represented the minority.

Afterward I walked around the Marketplace to chat with Craftstravaganza artists and sponsors. I promised we'd have applications ready soon, so we ought to get going on that! And look at these adorable monsters I found!

Tom Waits for no man

Tom Waits • Bad As Me Vidéo funnytoo sélectionnée dans Musique

Have you heard the new Tom Waits single? This is amazing music.

Natalie is 3

Jenna just posted a set of photos she took for Natalie's third birthday. Go look!

Darkness, My Old Friend

Winter seemed so far away. The days have been getting shorter and my morning runs are illuminated by nothing but the light of the moon, but we're only halfway through September! Surely we have plenty of time to enjoy beautiful weather this year, right?

With frost on the ground and temperatures in the high 30's this morning, I had to face the facts. Summer in Minnesota is officially over. I started running in January this year and today's run was a flashback to those frigid late-winter workouts. Not a pleasant sensation.

Let's all take a moment to reflect on the joys of autumn.

Full Term

So Jenna is still carrying a baby inside of her. You may have forgotten since I've written precisely nothing about her pregnancy for the past four months.

That's how we've handled the whole process this time around. We over-prepared for Natalie and her labor had to be induced, so maybe if we ignore this baby she will arrive on her own?

It could be any day now. The due date is October 2. September would be just fine. Any day before October 16 would be an improvement on the last time!