Elijah George Lesnet

Elijah George was scheduled to join us via a scheduled cesarean on October 20th.  Instead he came nearly 2 weeks before that via emergency cesarean on October 7th.

Eli was an extremely active baby in mommy's tummy but on Thursday morning he really slowed down his movements.  Stephanie was worried and called the doctor (from the office parking lot) and they told her to drink some coke and lay down and see if that helped and then come in to the office at 1.  Steph followed nurses orders but still didn't feel much movement.

While she waited for 1:00 to roll around, she came home and listened to the baby's heartbeat on the at home fetal monitor that we have which helped give her some comfort until her appointment.  When she arrived at the doctors office, they gave her a non stress test and then sent her over to labor and delivery.  Immediately upon arrival she was admitted.  She then called me and I arrived at about 2:05pm.

The doctor was pretty worried about the baby so they got Stephanie in to surgery very quickly and Elijah George was born at 2:52 in the afternoon.  He was 18.75" long and weighed in at 6.5lbs.  He was born at 37 weeks.

Due to the unexpectedness of our new arrival, all of the early pictures were taken by camera phone.  Here is the first one taken with a few more mega pixels.

 Stephanie and Eli

Here is Eli being held by Grandma Lesnet

The first picture of the Lesnet family of 4.

Kai is crazy about his little bro!

Here is Eli wearing a Purdue shirt for his first college football game day.  Boilers win!

 

The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. - Proverbs 27:12

Football Season is here!!

Can you believe that it is already September? Can you believe that 9 years ago today some radical extremists thought that they could destroy the US by hijacking a couple of planes and crashing them in to different buildings? Can you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and make Him your Lord and Savior?

That 3rd question is a little deep, but it's important. If you don't know how to answer that question, we encourage you to check out some of the "very important links" over to the right. This blog post will still be here when you're done so go ahead and click now.

Now on to the last month of happenings!

Baby Lesnet (whom Kai has named "Baby Bubba Fire") is scheduled to arrive in 39 days via planned c-section. Since the date is fast approaching, we are working on getting things ready for the new addition to the family. To prepare the house for Stephanie's maternity leave, we have re-painted the neutral beige in the house and replaced all of the remaining original carpet. As you can see, the new color (on the left) is pretty similar to the old color but it is a monstrous improvement!
Kai has graduated from his 12 piece jigsaw puzzles and is now putting together this 36 piece puzzle and a 48 piece puzzle that we bought him. He has both of them pretty well figured out already but he lets mom and dad help a little bit so we can spend some quality family time together (plus he got to climb on to the table).
Another season and another "bucket list" item down as Stephanie and I went up to Notre Dame for the season opening football game. Notre Dame Stadium is really cool and it was nice to be there with about 15,000 other Purdue faithful (although you could barely hear us)...unfortunately, the Boilers didn't show up to play football until the second half.

Here is the Indiana Lesnets all dressed in our Purdue jerseys before Stephanie and I started the drive up North to Notre Dame.

Stephanie and I and Touchdown Jesus.


Here come the Irish ready to play football. We love the pageantry and tradition of college football and really appreciated the atmosphere at Notre Dame (even though we don't like them).
On Sunday evening (of Labor Day weekend), Kai spent his first night in his big boy room sleeping in his big boy bed. He loves his big boy bed and his new room and is excited to move Baby Bubba Fire in to his old room.

Doesn't he look super tiny in his new bed?
So excited for his new bed.
Today we went up to Purdue for the home football opener. Kai was super excited to go to Purdue and to the football game.

Boiler Up!!

Here is the annual family shot of the Indiana Lesnets outside of Ross-Ade Stadium as we leave the game sometime during the first half. We completed the first quarter this year but both Stephanie and I had to let him walk around and check things out (as well as get food at the concession stand).
We bought Kai a new hat while we were up at Purdue. Kai does not like to wear hats but so far he really likes this one, probably because it looks a lot like daddy's.
Today Kai at a lot of food. It started off with a bowl of oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast. On the way to the Purdue game he ate 6 vanilla cream cookies and 2+ 6 count packages of peanut butter crackers sandwich crackers (about 14 sandwich crackers). At the football game he ate a hot dog and after he was done he asked for a hamburger. When we left Ross-Ade, we went to 5 Guys where he at a hamburger (w/o bun) and nearly an entire order of fries (which are huge there). He took no nap and then had another 1/2 hot dog and 1/2 hamburger plus some chips and a cookie at a Ohio State football party we went to this afternoon. It wasn't his normal balanced diet but he loved it!

Here is Kai eating. He spent a lot of today doing this.


A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything. - Ecclesiastes 10:19

Big Month of Summer Happenings!

The last month has flown by as we have had a lot going on. We are now a month closer to meeting baby boy Lesnet, Kai is essentially potty trained while he is awake, and football season is upon us.

One of the highlights of every summer is the annual Lesnet / Briner family reunion at Uncle Gary's farm up in Northwest Ohio. Our turnout was a little on the thin side this year, hopefully attendance will be a little stronger in 2011.

Here is Kai with Grandpa and Grandma Lesnet at the family reunion. I think that my folks look pretty good for chasing around a energetic young man around for a few hours.
The weekend after the family reunion, we made a trip up to Devil's Lake in Southern Michigan. I grew up at the lake but hadn't been there since my folks moved down to the farm about 5 years ago. I have been pretty homesick for the area for a while and was thrilled that we had some family renting a house on the lake for a week...I was even more thrilled that they invited us to come up and spend some time with them. There were 15 of us in a 5 bedroom place, very cozy...hope we can do it again next year!

Here is Kai with his cousin AJ playing with their cars.
Here is Kai preparing for his first boat ride. He was pretty brave and even went tubing with daddy. Cousin Jen took some photos of us on the tube, as you can see he didn't really want to go but he warmed up to it and a little bit once we started going a little faster. Of course, once we got done he couldn't stop talking about how much fun he had!
Here is Kai crying and begging not to go. Too late buddy, you said "yes" and so you're committed.
Once we picked up some speed he had a pretty good time!
On August 14th, I hosted the 2nd Annual Old Married Dudes Golf Outing at Pebble Brook Golf Course right here in Noblesville. We had 16 men come out and play 36 holes of golf. I think it went pretty well as everyone had a good time. As the organizer, I tend to focus on the fact that the formats and games didn't work out as I had drawn them up. Either way, a full day of golf, friends, and insanely hot / humid weather is awesome.

Kai helped me prepare for the outing by helping me mark my golf balls. He thought that coloring golf balls was a trip and spent nearly an hour marking most of my dozen balls.
August in Central Indiana is State Fair time! The Indiana State Fair is really awesome as it feels like a ginormous county fair. It is an event that we could have spent several days enjoying but we were limited to about 3 hours so we tried to see the big stuff (like the World's Largest Boar who weighed in at 1,277 pounds this year).

Here is Kai riding Henry the pony. They had elephant rides at the fair as well but he wasn't having any of that!

We haven't taken pictures of Stephanie's growing baby bump. I caught this one kind of inadvertently but here it is.
Another big hit at the fair is the Dairy Barn. Its just an ice cream joint ran by the Indiana Dairy Producers but its one of those places that you have to go to every time you hit the fair. Another good thing about the Dairy Barn is that it is right next to the trendy food item of the year. This year it was the Krispy Kreme Burger, Chocolate Covered Bacon, and Deep Fried Butter. We didn't try any of the signature entrees this year.

2010 has been a great year for my "Bucket List". I'm sure most folks are familiar with the concept of the bucket list which was made popular in the movie by the same name starring Jack Nickelson and Morgan Freeman. Basically they have a list of things that they want to make sure they do before they die and spend the movie crossing items off their list.

Earlier in the year I went to the Super Bowl and now I have broke 80 for 18 holes on a for real golf course. I knew that I was playing well and started to think that it could be a special round about half way through the back 9. As far as items related to golf, I still need to get a hole in one and live long enough to shoot my age.

Here is my scorecard from breaking 80. I shot even par on the back 9. Lots of greens in regulation and lots of tap in pars. "Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; he who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere youth; he who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. - Isaiah 65:20

Summertime and the Livin's Easy

I'm sure that each of you would agree that there are seasons in life where the days go by like a blur and then there are others where the days just drag on and it seems like tomorrow may never get here. Right now is a season where time is going by a little too quickly, see we only have 106 days until Baby Boy Lesnet is scheduled to arrive and so many things that we want to do before he gets here. Many of those things are fun adventures that we would like to do before the pace of life slows a bit with a newborn.

One of my favorite things about spring is that black raspberries are in season. Black Raspberries are the coolest because they are delicious and sometimes you can find them growing in the wild. Fortunately for us, there are a lot of black raspberry bushes that grow along the walking paths of our neighborhood. Kai and I took several walks on the paths to eat raspberries and when Grandpa Eridon came to visit, we took him with us.

That was a pretty good find of black raspberries, dad. I think that there are more though.

Grandpa, I will pause for a moment to take a picture with you because you picked black raspberries for me. Now, get back to picking berries!

Black raspberries are delicious but they are very messy.
This summer has been pretty hot but it has also been very rainy. It has been a nice combo as it has made the neighborhood swimming pool a little cooler than it normally would be with all of the heat. Kai is getting a lot more daring this year regarding the water and loves jumping from the deck of the pool in to daddy's arms.
On the weekend of June 26th, I headed down to Arizona for the annual "Golf Endurathon" to play with some of my friends who live down there. I had a great time down there and while I was away Stephanie and Kai went up to Bowling Green, Ohio to visit her family.

I don't know all that went on up there but I do know that Kai had a great time because he refused to take a nap or go to sleep at night. Although Kai had a blast, Stephanie was worn out so she left a day earlier than she had planned. That was okay with me as I flew back on Saturday night from Arizona and was so glad that I got to spend Sunday hanging out with Stephanie and Kai that I didn't mind not painting the baby's room like I had planned.

Here is Kai with his Grandpa Eridon, I love the way that Kai looks at his grandpa.
July 4th fell on a Sunday this year which meant that many folks were able to enjoy a 3 day weekend. Unfortunately, I had to work on Saturday and Monday in order to close the books at good old Republic Airways so Stephanie held down the fort at home. Since it was a 3 day weekend, Stephanie thought it would be a good time to do "potty training boot-camp" with our 2 1/2 year old boy. Although he did a pretty good job, I'm glad that she chose a weekend where I was gone.

One thing that is funny about Kai and going potty is that he likes to do it outside. Maybe to be like Kiki the beagle?!?! Anyway, here is Kai making stinkies on the front porch. I'm sure glad that I was home to experience this!
On Sunday the 4th of July, we went up to Noblesville to go to the parade. We went along with Master P, Special K, and their folks. Kai loved the tractors and the fire truck. He also hauled in a pretty impressive amount of candy. It was pretty warm but everyone had a great time.

Here is Master P hugging Kai. I know that this looks cute and innocent but really he is just buttering up Kai hoping that he will share his bubbles.
On Monday (July 5th), the law firm that Stephanie uses at work invited us to go to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game. It is no secret that Stephanie and I really enjoy going to baseball games and we were excited to go and see how our young son would behave at such an event. We got to the park a little early to slather sun screen on Kai and get some good ballpark fare (Monday's are dollar food days at Victory Field)...but to our joy, we learned that our tickets were to an air conditioned and catered suite!

Here is Kai "watching" the baseball game...
Here is Kai after he ran down about 10 boxes and through a different suite to the lobby area. It was hot and the A/C felt great (especially after chasing him through the stands and under the railings that separate the boxes).
Here's Kai getting some exercise. Fortunately, the home team was getting whooped so we weren't missing much on the field.
Stephanie got the idea from somewhere that it would be neat to make some cookies with the boys and take some of them to the local fire station. Master P's mom agreed that it was a great idea so on Saturday (7/10) cookies were made and cookies were delivered to Noblesville Station 6 (the station that would come to our house if something would happen...momma didn't raise no fool). The firemen were glad to see the boys and thankful for the cookies. The firemen took the boys to see their new truck and gave them some fire hats and badges. The boys were excited to see the truck up close but were terrified of it once they got inside.

The firemen (both of whom are dads) pulled out all of the stops to try and comfort the boys. They even offered to let them sit in the drivers seat and work the lights. Even that didn't work (although us parents wanted to sit behind the wheel and run the lights...but we were all too big of wimps to do it).

Those aren't tears of joy...

Although I usually try to keep the blog in chronological order, I am going to back track for a day to talk about a round of golf that I played on Friday (July 9). Eugene and I were able to skip out of work a little early on Friday to get in some golf. Eugene invited his friend Scott so I invited our mutual friend Trevor to join us as well. We played 18 holes together and had a good time. Although it was fun, our friends are not golfers so we were not able to keep our focus on the golf. When we were done with 18, Scott and Trevor had to leave but Eugene and I wanted to play a couple of extra holes so that it could be more about the golf and less about social hour. I am so glad we did as both of us put together the best stretch of 9 holes that either of us had ever played. I have scanned the scorecard for all of you to see.All the birds of the air nested in its boughs, all the beasts of the field gave birth under its branches; all the great nations lived in its shade. - Ezekiel 31:6

It's a ?????????????????????????

We went to Stephanie's 2nd trimester ultrasound yesterday (Friday June 18) to find out the gender of Baby Lesnet. Of course the 2nd trimester ultrasound is also about making sure that the baby is progressing as they should and to check for any potential issues.

When we had Kai's ultrasound, we were able to learn if he was a boy or girl very early in the ultrasound. Baby Lesnet was much more bashful. This one definitely had a different feel to it as were hoping everything was okay and that he or she would warm up to us and flash us the money shot before we were done.

So, first the update on the health of Baby Lesnet. Baby Lesnet is able-bodied, active, all right, athletic, blooming, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, chipper, firm, fit, flourishing, fresh, full of life, hale, hardy, healthful, hearty, husky, in fine feather, in fine fettle, in good shape, in the pink, lively, lusty, muscular, normal, physically fit, potent, robust, rosy-cheeked, safe and sound, sound, stout, strong, sturdy, tough, trim, unimpaired, vigorous, virile, well, and whole. Here are some photos...enjoy!!

Here is Baby Lesnet looking at you while you look at Baby Lesent


Just in case you couldn't tell that that was a face and belly, the ultrasound tech labeled them.
Here is bashful Baby Lesnet's legs and knees. Still hiding the identity!
So after all of the measurements were complete the tech mixed up Stephanie's belly a couple of times and finally got the shot that we were waiting for...

Without further delay, Baby Lesnet is a BOY!!Baby Boy Lesnet is also mooning you in this shot. Not sure if you noticed, but either way, you've been mooned!!

the Angel who has delivered me from all harm —may he bless these boys. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth." - Genesis 48:16

Is Blogging "Lame"?

As life gets busier and busier and free time becomes shorter and shorter, the way that I spend what time I have is analyzed more and more. As you who follow this blog have undoubtedly noticed, it clearly is not as as much of a priority to get online and make posts as it was in the recent past.

On an episode of CBS's "How I Met Your Mother", which is one of Stephanie and my favorite TV shows, they made a lot of jokes about a lame blog. With the blur of busyness that most days are right now, I may have missed out that blogging is now considered "lame" and I never would have known it if I didn't faithfully follow at least 1 TV show.

Alas, I have come to the conclusion that; yes, blogging IS lame but I'm going to continue to try and make it a priority to get on and archive our lives out here in blogosphere for now. I have also come to the conclusion that I am lame also. Fortunately, my wife and son (and baby on the way) are most definitely NOT lame. And I have also dubbed our beagle, Kiki as VERY LAME.

Last weekend we went to the Indy zoo for the first time since they opened the new Cheetah exhibit. Kai loves going to the zoo and I love to go too (that's probably lame).

Here is Kai and I checking out some animals.

Here's Kai looking at some silly looking birds near the Cheetah exhibit.
We made it through the zoo without incident but Kai bit it on the sidewalk after lunch and bumped his head pretty good.
Kid is tough, you can hardly notice the goose egg next to that awesome smile!
This past weekend was action packed as we took Kai to gymnastics, the farmer's market, and the neighborhood pool on Saturday. Today (Sunday) was church, lunch at Chipotle, 3 hour nap, then hang time with Master P and Special K complete with burgers on the grill.

A baby Lesnet update:

Stephanie will be 21 weeks tomorrow and the 2nd trimester ultrasound will be on Friday. At that time, we will hopefully find out how to decorate the baby's room. Kai is no longer saying that he would like a "baby cow" but is now on board with a baby brother. Each night when we say our prayers Kai suggests that we pray for baby brother along with his friends, grandpa, grandma, Master P, God, and Jesus. Stephanie went on record saying that she thinks that this one is a girl and I think its another boy. For those of you keeping score, the official Indiana Lesnet baby gender vote as of June 13: boy = 2 (Kai and dad) and girl = 1 (Steph).

I've had a lot of people tell me that they hope that I have a girl. I will be absolutely thrilled to be the father of a girl but I really have no idea why so many people feel as strongly as they do about baby Lesnet's gender. I am not a very macho man, I work a desk job, drive a Toyota Corolla and spent this past weekend doing laundry, washing dishes, and making about 200 pancakes for the freezer. I guess even with all of that I must simply ooze machismo. Maybe I'm not lame...

Yeah, I'm lame.

No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; - Leviticus 21:18