Week 12

Tomorrow, the plum will be 12 weeks old, and he/she weighs about a half an ounce. The sex of the baby has been determined, but we won't know what it is for another 6 months! I've been feeling really good, except for still being ridiculously tired. If I don't get at least 9-10 hours of sleep at night, I'm a zombee at work. I haven't thrown up but I do get naseated if I don't eat in the mornings. And I've been gaging on my gum, while brushing my teeth, when I get too tired, early in the morning, from the smell of my car, and now when I just look at my car I gag! Isn't that stupid? I see car like mine driving down the road and I get a lump in my throat like I'm going to vomit! Something weird I never thought would happen.

I'm starting to get a little gut! I don't look pregnant, just chubby. That's OK with me. Ben and I read the pregnancy books every Thursday night to find out what kiddo is doing the upcoming week. I think he'll be more excited when he can see more changes in me. I know he'll be a great dad, he's already a great husband. Well, talk to you next week!

It's Official!!

Ben and I are going to have a baby!!!!!!

My due date is June 5, 2009 which makes me 10 weeks on Friday.

Ben came with me to my first doctors appointment Tuesday morning and everything went very well. The baby looks good and was wiggling all around during the ultrasound. The doctor also confirmed there is only ONE baby.

We spilled the beans to both sets of parents last night. We had waited so long to tell them which made it a really fun evening. Grandma Val can't wait to be a Grandma again and Ben's Dad was excited to get to baptize another Grandchild!

We made special trips to both parents houses and after some casual conversation, Ben handed the mom's the ultrasound pictures. Ben's mom Avonne, looked at it and thought it was something we had found in a box in the garage (becuase we were cleaning out there eariler in the afternoon)! Then she looked at me and I smiled. She started crying and there were hugs all around! My mom looked at it for a minute, then looked at Dad and realized what she was holding!! She started crying as well and so did I.

Shortly after that, I had to go to band practice. So I left and told the Loose Cannons there will be an addition to the band next Spring! There were all so happy for us.

24th Birthday

On Sunday, I celebrated my 24th birthday. Grandpa and Grandma Haggstrom, Grandma Lindell, Don and Avonne, Mom and Dad, Katie, Jeff, Noah and Casey all came to Mom and Dad's for supper. It was nice to have everyone there.
Don and Grandpa relaxing on the couch after supper.

The Grandmas at the kitchen table.

This past weekend, Ben and I had our nephews (Chris and Pam's boys) at our house . Matthew- 11, Grayson- 9, Daniel and John- 6 year old twins, and Walker- 4. They came to our house around 5:00 on Friday and we had a campfire with smores. Then on Saturday we had a big breakfast and went to Mazeppa to a corn maze, pumpkin patch and apple orchard. It was so beautiful on Saturday and we loved the corn maze. Then we went back to our house and took a mandatory nap- mostly for Ben and I. The guys played some more Guitar Hero while I made supper and we hung around the house for the rest of the night. Then we went to church on Sunday morning, and Ben played in a golf tournament. It was perfect weather- rain, wind, snow, then sleet. It took him hours to thaw out (that's dedication) We had a great weekend (and for the first time in a while we finished our nephew-sitting duties w/out any stitches or hospital visits. Bonus!) We always enjoy spending time with the boys. Love you guys!!!!

The Bakken Boys Weekend!!!! Oct. 24-26

This is what happens when I leave Uncle Ben and the oldest Bakken boy alone at the campfire. Ben showed him how to tie/tape an old T-shirt to the end of a stick and use it as a TORCH!!!
Playing Guitar Hero on Saturday morning.

Daniel LOVES getting his picture taken, so any excuse to get in front of the camera is Ok with him, even if it's with his brother.

Jonas Brothers???

I made the boys go outside for a bit while I got myself ready for the day. Ben got out three rakes and told them to rake a pile. It kept them occupied for nearly an hour!!
So photogenic.

Walker's turn to jump in the pile!


Go Johnny Go!!



Right after this was taken, Daniel lost his B.T.E. (the little device that sits on his ear and allows his cochlear implant to function) in the leaves. After a minor freak out, we found it. Yeah!!

Grayson jumping in the leaf pile.
Matthew getting some sweet air!

Three little trouble makers.

Ben managed to get all 5 boys up in the neighbor's tree for a picture. This made me a little nervous, but we got a picture.

The oldest boy, Matthew.

Bakken Boys Weekend!

Walker, Daniel and John looking through the giant pumpkin.
Show me your corn!!!

You too Walker!!

After a weekend at Uncle Ben's, a kid can be pretty worn out. This is how Ben found walker.. lounging.

I guess this was the only quiet spot in the house.

Random Pics

At the end of September, Katie, Noah and I went to Grandma Lindell's house and made supper for her. We had pork chops, broccoli and potatoes. It was so nice to spend some quiet time with Grandma. We love you!!
The first Monday Night Football game on Oct. 6, we invited a few people over for supper. Our friends Jamie and Michelle Stay came over with their daughter Katherine, and she got her first shiner at our house. (No thanks to Jeff.) Poor girl. But she got some ice cream and felt all better.

Mama and Noah watching football.

Noah's New Toy

I watched Noah for a few hours on Thursday, and I happen to be washing rugs. (We all know I needed to clean desparately.) Well, Noah had never seen such a thing!! He thought the washing machine was GREAT!! It kept him occupied for a good 15 minutes!
He was so excited he was hitting the door.

Softball

Last week, I was making spaghetti and dropped a noodle. My husband proceeds to ask me, "Babe, when did you sweep last?" I answered, "Oh gol, it's probably been a

week... Why." He says, "Because the noodle is suspended."

HOW GROSS! There was a cobweb in the corner of our cabinets and the noodle landed on it. Needless to say, I immediately swept our floors.

This summer we played co-ed softball every Thursday night. Ben was the coach this year, so when the season ended, we invited everyone over for a BBQ on Sept. 13. Katherine was pretty tired at the end of the night.

Here's the team!! An athletic bunch.

Have I mentioned to anyone how frustrated I get when I blog?? Example: the following blog.

State Fair

These are Ben's nephews Matthew (left) and Grayson. We went to the state fair the second to last day. It was hot, but we had a bunch of fun! I made them model some hats for us.

The two cowboys.

Eating cheese curds on a tractor. Ahh, Minnesota.

I told him to "look like he was driving REALLY fast." This is what he did. Funny guy.

Uhh.

I still can't get my blog to straighten out. The pictures look like they are lined up when I'm putting captions on them- then I hit "post" and they go back to messy! I want to change the format of the blog anyway. Maybe this is my excuse to do it now.

Josie and Zach's Wedding Aug. 9

We had more fun at this wedding than we have in a long time!!! Josie was one of my best friends from high school, and I am so glad to see she has married a wonderful man.
Molly and Josie




































































Our good friends and Goddaughter- Taylor, Mindi and Miley Pagel

Up North in August

We went up to the cabin at the end of August, and had a blast. Mom and Dad came up on Friday, and Katie, Jeff, Ben and I came up Sunday. Casey couldn't get there till the end of the week, but we were sure glad she was able to make if for a while!! We left the following Sunday and had perfect weather most of the week. We all enjoyed spending time together and watching the free entertainment. Noah.

I'm Bad

I know- 3 months behind. This summer has been so darn busy! We've been doing a lot of fun things, but we are never home! Well, last Monday Ben started his new job. He was hired to a sales position at College City Beverage. He was working in the delivery department for the last year and a half, and he interviewed for a sales position and got it!! I am so proud of him, and he loves his new job. He gets a "Bud Light van" that he can drive to work and back, which is so nice.

I'm still loving my job at St. Mary's and finally feel like I get the hang of it. There is soo much to learn, especially being right out of school. But everyday there is something new, and I learn many new things every day. It's fun!

We are still slowly fixing up the house. We haven't done hardly anthing this spring/summer but this fall we are whipping out house into shape! Someday soon we would like something bigger, with a garage we can park in. It was an ideal starter home, but we are ready to move on to bigger and better houses.

Well, that's what's new in our lives. I need to post pictures sometime. I just have way to many right now. We went to a wedding this weekend and my memory card was full, so I couldn't take many pictures. It's been a long time since I've developed any. Take care everyone!!
- The Bakkens

Working Woman

Well, this week has been busy. We haven't been doing anything extraordinarly fun, I've just been working like crazy. I picked up my first night shift. I worked nights during orientation, but I wasn't allowed to work overtime. So on Tuesday, I worked and evening shift from 3:00-11:30, and they asked me to stay till 7:30 the next day. So I did- I haven't been that tired driving home in a long time!! I slept for four hours and went back to work Wed evening. Anyways- I'm working 12 hour nights this weekend, so I have some extra time to update the blog.

The only other new thing in our life is we FINALLY bought a new (well, new to us) car!! We said goodbye to Ben's 1994 red/pink Escort wagon. So now he's driving a Hundai Santa Fe. It's so nice driving something from this decade! I'm still driving my 1998 Buick Lesabre. It gets me to work, so I can't complain too much. Ok, it's 1:30 AM. I'm going to take a quick break and eat my "supper," then get back to work. Have a good weekend everyone!

P.S. On Wednesday evening, I received a text message from Ben saying "Thanks for working so much this week. It's so nice having a sugar mama. Let's hang out sometime." Needless to say we haven't seen much of each other. Oh- and on Friday afternoon, Ben got home from work and he gave me a kiss and asked, "did you get your hair cut?" I replied, "Yeah, on Monday." Sad huh.

Another Gig!!

Just a reminder that the band is playing in Zumbrota at the VFW on Saturday April 12 from 8:00-12:00 pm. It's $10.00 to get in the door and they are having a silent auction as well. We are playing to raise money for the Relay for Life. Becky Jokela, who sings in the band with me, is walking with a group from Zumbrota. So come and dance the night away and raise money for cancer research! Hope to see you there!

A Few Additional Photos...

Meghann and Jake. Too funny! They look like they belong together.
I don't know why she felt the need to bring a shovel into the picture, but she did. This is Molly. Doesn't she look great as a blond?
I just get a kick out of Mom and Dad's matching van club jackets! Not to mention Mom's hamburger pants?
Josie and Molly.
Again- Dad spent $0.00 on his outfit.