Happy Anniversary Honey!

9/29/06, a Friday morning at Carroll College's Homecoming. We hiked to the top of Mt Helena with friends. Only Thad, Willie and I knew the plan so it was all bubbles and tears at the top of the rock when I popped the big question.



This picture is cool because you can see the Carroll campus in the valley below us. We'd met 6 years earlier to the day, when I joined the girls for a drive out to Homecoming. Tom Goedde & The Tahoes were born that weekend. I always knew Katie and I had something special, but even I couldn't have imagined how great this moment would be... Totally took Katie by surprise, she needed a minute to regroup. :-)


Mary Larson Mahar (photographer), Joe Mahar, Katie Penny, Thad Michelson, Blue the Black Lab and Willie Sewell made the 3 mile hike fairly easily. Thad made it extra special by sneaking Champagne up the mountain in Blue's supply pack.
Mary and KP take a break as their heartbeats hit 240BPM. No really, Mary is an RN and she calculated their BPM at 240. She's really putting those Carroll College math skillz to use in the field. I eventually helped out by observing that there were only 60 seconds in a minute, not 100...

I'd lined up another big surprise up for later that night. Katie and my parents traveled to join us for a surprise engagement party with Carroll friends and family. The liquor was flowing that night! So much so, that I got my parents (Jim & Jackie) into these get-ups...

Here we are, Tom Goedde & the Tahoes. Monica "Mikey" Gomez, Katie Penny, Tom, Katie, Mary Larson. This was at the traditional Tahoe engagement party. The girls take these opportunities to make fools out of the guests of honor, and themselves...

We're looking forward to rejoining the Carroll homecoming festivities next year. More Mack pics to come soon!!!

Sorry we're slow with the updates guys, we have our hands full as I've returned to work while Mark & Jeanne Astle (Katie's folks) are here to help out. Additionally, I've been trying to post video to the site, but it keeps hanging. Maybe someday...

LT and the girls at EA decorated my office while I was out. It's pretty cute, but the thing that was REALLY impressive was that they cleaned it too! :-) The outpouring of gifts has really been humbling, there was a huge mound of gifts waiting upon return from friends here at work and licensing partners. And the UPS man is literally making two stops a day at Casa de Goedde. We REALLY appreciate them all and the thank you notes are in the mail! (I'm not sure if my mother would be shocked or proud of that).

Jeanne's been a big help with little Mack. Sasha's doing her part by continuing to keep Katie company during the night feedings, but she's also taken on the responsibility of waking Jeanne for them too. She thought you knew ALL the mommas need to be present for feedings. The funny thing is she doesn't wake up Mark or me, just the mommas...



BTW, these two don't look anything alike, do they...







I took a couple shots the other night while Mack slept in my lap. Once I sobered up, I took these pics with my cell phone. He's so cute when he's asleep. And quiet...

Mack's been much more cognizant lately. Just the last 3-4 days he's gone from like 5 minutes of awake and aware time before feeding and going back to sleep, now he's up for 45-60 minutes before the cycle starts again. Unfortunately, his clock is still backwards so Katie and I have had a few rough nights this week. Katie's a hell of a trooper though as she continues to stick with "The Deal". She's volunteered that she does all night duty when I have to work the next day. All the dad's I've ever known roll over laughing when I mention "The Deal", but Katie's all about it. She's a freaking saint (settle down Carroll College), but with my light sleep patterns, we've both spent a fair amount of time walking the house trying to get Mack on a schedule fitting of humans outside Transylvania...

You can really see how much weight he's packing on in this picture. He's getting the baby fat he was supposed to get those last 5 weeks with Katie. Look! He has my triple chin!!! :-P

Ahhh, someday I'll only remember these moments. The beauty of photos and selective memory...

2 WEEKS!

Mack is 2 weeks old today! He's been doing fantastic. We have been taking outtings each day and I'm gaining more and more confidence on being a mom. 2 days ago we met with a lactation consultant. She was wonderful and reassured me. Everything is going fantastic, but he has this fussy time in the evenings. She told me that is totally normal and very typical of most babies. She gave me some tips on how to console him during those times, but just to know it is nothing out of the ordinary made me feel so much better. She also helped me with a few fears I had about nursing out in public. She showed me some different ways to do it that are more discreet. We used the sling and it is so awesome! I was sort of afraid to use it, because I was clueless on how to put it on, etc. But the lactation consultant was so fantastic, and she spent a lot of time just helping me and encouraging me. It's a journey, indeed...

1st Dr, 1st outing

We've had a couple big days as mom is back to her old self and little Mack is finding his way in the world.

We went to Mack's 1st dr appt on Thursday, he's doing great and put on 10 oz since we checked out of the hospital Saturday. We all know I can gain 10 oz during appetizers, but it's pretty impressive when it's 10% of his body weight!

Cabin fever is setting in big time for Katie and me both, so we took Mack on his first adventure yesterday. We hit Winter Park for a nice walk and a couple drinks. Mack was content in his jog stroller, and Katie is STOKED to be able to drink again. Here's a pic of Mack and I in the park, because Katie can't go anywhere without a camera now...
He slept the entire time.
Sahsa's still doing great too. Here she is on the couch with her "titty bear". It's a pink ribbon branded dog toy that was a gift from Kate, who as you read in Katie's latest update, stood in for me in the delivery room. She's a cancer survivor as well and is really one of the most cherished people in our lives. BTW, Sahsa isn't allowed on the couches when dad is around, so I must have been running errands when this was taken...

Little Mack in his swing. He loves this thing, but even it hasn't been able to get him to sleep the last couple nights. He's still sleeping all day, but wakes up at like 10, then screams till 12 or 1. Once he wares himself out he sleeps like 5 hours, but he's having trouble settling down after that 10pm feeding. Suggestions?

Dad and Mack passed out late in the USC/Ohio State game. We'll see a repeat of this scene today as I got DirecTV installed this week so I'll never miss a Seahawks game again. I've been holding out for a couple years and just going to sports bars for Hawks games. Mack likes to go too, but the ladies are always crowding in on him, blocking the screens. We'll be better at home.... :-)

Katie's side of the story...

Tom has been encouraging me to write my side of the birth story. Although I am not the writer he is, I'll give it a shot...

Tom left on Tuesday evening for New York and jokingly told me to hold out for 3 nights and then we'll be smooth sailing. We laughed it off and kissed goodbye.

Tom's phone broke on the way to NY, so he called me from the hotel with a bunch of emergency contact numbers, thank God.

Wednesday morning I woke up feeling great and went to the gym. I was on the elliptical listening to my i-pod when one of my favorite running songs came on and I just HAD to get back to the treadmill for a little run. I figured I'd go about a mile and then walk the rest of the time. Well... the running felt so amazing I just couldn't stop. I kinda lost myself in the music and kept bumping up the speed until one of the trainers came over, "what are you trying to do, have this baby today?" he said jokingly... hmmm...

I was so wrapped up in the run that I was nearly late for Yoga at the Healing House. My favorite teacher Janelle was teaching and it was amazing. I was still feeling strong, so the headstands were perfect (Janelle told me that headstands encourage breech babies to turn). The other women in class all laughed and said the baby was going to come out saying "om".

I splashed some water on my face, threw on a baseball cap and rushed out the door to make it to a lunch date with Jen Foreman. We had a great time talking and talking about baby stuff, breast feeding, birth, post partum, etc. It was really comforting to get real world advice. I left feeling fantastic.

I got home and was in the bathroom when I felt this strange sort of "pop" like a water balloon. It was like I was still going and couldn't get it to stop. "Oh my God, my water just broke". I had no idea what to do. I was running around like a mad woman when I realized that I still had not showered!!! I jumped in the shower and wasn't about to go to the hospital without shaved legs. The "water" kept on coming, so by then I was pretty confident it was labor and I better figure this out. Tom's phone was out of commission, so I started dialing the emergency contact numbers. I called the first two, no answer... Finally Dale Jackson answered his phone. "Hi Dale, it's Katie... is Tom with you?" He said, "oh shit..." and then I heard Tom's voice.

Up until this point I was relatively calm and keeping it together. But when I heard my dear husband's voice, I just lost it. I started to cry super had and told him in between sobs that my water broke. He took a deep breath and I heard his voice crack. He told me to try and calm down, try to remember to breath. He asked me to call my doctor and he would be on the next flight. I called the doctor's office and the nurse told me to go directly to the hospital. Our dog Sasha had been following me around the house with concern since all this drama started, she is so sweet. I needed a plan for her quick, so I e-mailed Anthony Stevenson, hoping he'd take her to the kennel. Of course he jumped into action and actually had Sasha at his house. We have the best friends... Without knowing what else to do, I put my toothbrush and chap stick in a bag and got in my car and drove myself to the hospital.

The EA network was moving at lightning speed, so Julie Erb and Jillian Holt were on the way to the hospital at the same time I was. Thank the good lord for amazing girl friends. I was so scared, shaking, and generally freaking out. When I got to the hospital, still dripping water, nurses casually walked me up to labor and delivery and showed me to a room by myself. I just sat down at this little table and hung out by myself for a few minutes wondering what in the heck was going to happen and what did I get myself into.

The nurse eventually told me to get in a gown so they could monitor the baby's heartbeat and the contractions. When I mentioned he was breech she cocked her head and said, "oh, well... let me go get an ultra sound machine and we'll see how this little man is doing." She put the gel on my belly and there was my sweet baby still nestled with his head up under my left rib cage seemingly content. Little did he know the world was about to get a lot bigger for him!

Jillian and Julie arrived about 30 minutes later and they were all smiles. I don't know why, but I was calm and content. My good friend Kate is a former mid-wife nurse and had volunteered to help whenever needed, so I left her a couple messages at work. Man, did I need her!

The monitor on the baby showed all was normal, but I was feeling these strong crampy feelings in my low back and stomach. It was coming pretty regularly... the nurse said at one point, "um... Katie, are you feeling anything?" I asked her what she meant. She said, "well, you're in full labor and you're contractions are coming about every minute or two." I said, "oh is that what this aching feeling is every few minutes?" DUH!!!!!!! I am the clueless one and not prepared AT ALL for any of this. Julie started to laugh and came over to see the monitoring machine. We were excited to see how high the "hills" got each time I'd have one. But the fun went away quickly as the pain got stronger and stronger. I declined drugs because I wanted to stay aware and thought it would delay the process until Tom walked through that door. I was getting regular calls from him charting his progress on getting himself on the 4:30 flight, so I was just praying for him and imagining his voice in my ear telling me I could do this. I just tried to visualize his big hands on my shoulders and touching my hand. I tried to see his blue eyes looking into my soul and welling up with big tears telling me how much he loved me.


At about 6:30 a few more medical people starting milling around. I knew Tom's flight was landing at 7:22, so I was just praying they would wait for him to arrive. Kate got there... thank god. She walked in the door and I lost all composure. I just broke down into sobs into her shoulder and she hugged me back, assuring me it was going to be okay. The doctor came in and Kate was right at my side as he went into this horrible description of all of the things that could very well go wrong with a C section, be wrong with the baby, risks, etc. I was horrified and stared at Kate. She looked right into my eyes and said not to worry one bit. "This baby is coming because he is ready. He is ready. Nothing is going to be wrong with him. I'm not leaving you. I will be in the room with you every step of the way." Again, I cried into her shoulder wishing with all of my might that Tom would walk through the door.

The doctor returned 15 minutes later and insisted on getting started. The risks of waiting were getting higher. Once the water breaks, there is more exposure for infection, cord complications, etc. I was in full on labor and they were concerned about him getting too far down into my pelvis, so the decision was made to move forward. Although I was a mess over not having Tom by my side, I was concerned about the well being of my baby, so I went along with everything.

My mind went sort of blank in the operating room. The spinal shot hurt, but I didn't flinch. I was shaking like a leaf and just trying to breath as we got into the actual procedure. Kate was there with me and was watching over the curtain. She kept on telling me that everything was going perfectly. I remember laughing at one point when Kate said the baby was mooning the doctor! Then he was out. He was out, but not crying. I just stared at Kate and said, "when is he going to cry? Why isn't he crying?" She said, "don't worry, he's just about to cry... just a second... any second now..." and then WWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! His voice was loud and clear, and I let go a huge sigh of relief. They brought him over to me and I saw the sweetest face every made. I said hello to him and he stopped crying and tried to open those tiny little eyes to see his mama. Kate said, "oh my god, he knows your voice."

After a few moments they took the baby to the nursery and Kate went with him. I spent another 20 minutes in surgery before being wheeled to the recovery area. I felt so strange. I just couldn't believe that I had a baby and now I was lying here in this bed in a strange room alone. Then... my Superman walked in with the biggest smile I've ever seen. Tom's eyes were sparkling and all he could say was, "he's so perfect". Then he leaned over me and hugged me. I never wanted him to let go. We laughed and he said he was 16 minutes after the birth and he told me the whole story about the golf course and the car ride and running through the airport and racing to get to the hospital. It was so beautiful and funny and endearing. I fell in love with him all over again right there in a hospital gown.

Fast forward to the next day, September 4th. All is going well, our baby is perfect and beautiful, we're doing great. Until my mom called with some sad news. My grandfather had passed away in the night. He was 97 years old and frankly he really wanted to go. But this man was the strongest I'd ever known. He was gruff and tough on the outside. He was not particularly fond of children. He'd say mean things on purpose to try and cause a stir or hurt someone's feelings, but I loved him with all my heart. I don't mean just a normal "you're family so I have to say I love you" type of love. I really, truly adored this man. I took to him when I was about 2 yrs old, and for whatever reason he let me in that gruff old shell of his. I used to go stay with my grandparents for a few weeks every summer. I remember one summer in particular when I was probably 10 or 11. Grandpa would get up really early in the mornings, and after a few mornings of being stuck doing chores with grandma, I grew wise and started sleeping in my clothes on, with one eye open. When I heard grandpa stir in the morning, I shot out of bed and was at his side, I was his little shadow. We did everything that summer and every summer after, sprucing up the fair grounds, weeding the garden, visiting his friends, driving all over the county. Grandpa knew everyone in the entire county, including all the gossip on each and every one of them!

My grandmother, his beloved wife of 69 years, died last summer and grandpa was miserable ever since. He was lonely and just over it. I knew he was getting close to leaving this earth. Then... when my mom told me he died, all I could think of was my baby Mack coming into this world as my dear grandfather was exiting. I just know they high fived as they passed through.

So... it's a long story, but things in our lives are so beautiful. We are over the moon happy with our family. Thank you to all of our friends who were amazing and stepped up to help us through every single step of the way. Thank you to my grandfather for leaving and blessing my baby boy with the power of his spirit.

Mack's a week old!

It's hard to comprehend how much life has changed in a week. The birth was such a whirlwind that I think it really hit me for the first time this morning. Katie and I were up for the 4:30 am feeding, which was a particularly long one. I went back to bed at 5, and was dozing back to sleep when I heard an airplane pass over the house (it's rare that we hear planes so it stood out hearing one so early). I kinda snapped back to reality as I realized it was likely the red-eye coming in from LAX, the one that leaves LAX at 10:30 PM, the one you can connect to via the 8:30 SFO, 7:00 SEA, or 5:45 YVR. That was my bread-and-butter flight for years, but it couldn't feel further away from reality right now...

This was a yawn, thank God. He really doesn't cry much at all. We're lucky so far...

We've vowed to raise Mack as part of our life, instead of dropping our lives to cater to his. As a result, he's exposed to all kinds of good noises and stimuli around Casa De Goedde. Movies, vacuum cleaners, dog kisses, he sleeps through it all. He'll cover his eyes when it's too bright for him to sleep, that's about it. He's in the process of that here.

Here's Mack's room. Baby blue and chocolate. Putt-Putt, Pajama Sam, SPY Fox and Freddi Fish (characters from Humongous Entertainment games, my first job in the games industry) look out for him. A couple other cool things, Katie supplied the giant Good NeighBEAR from her former life as a State Farm agent. She also has a cool pedal car and a bunch of smaller collectibles that he'll break within 2 months of crawling... :-) You can also see a map on the wall, it used to hang in my grandfather's home office. He was a big-wig at Boeing and traveled the world extensively back when that wasn't as common as it is today. He used to send me postcards from everywhere he went so I could collect the stamps. Anyway, this map has push pins marking all the cities he'd visited and I remember imagining what they were all like as I pointed and asked questions. Back to today, I've been taking advantage of the time off to get the house whipped into shape and I found the map in the garage. Katie suggested we hang it in Mack's room, using a new color of push pin for my travels and one for Mack's upcoming adventures. My mother has made quilts in her spare time for as long as I can remember. She had a group of ladies from St Ed's who met every week to work on them, and they'd rotate through the recipients. I think the meetings were more about drinking wine, smoking cigarettes and gossip worthy of TMZ, but you know us Catholics, we need an excuse... Of course, babies and weddings always trumped the normal rotation. My folks moved out of the hood a few years ago, but I'm glad to see she's still quilting. This thing is pretty amazing. In the photo below you can see Katie and my names, plus an open space in the middle for Mack. You can also see the incredible detail in the stitching. I think it was driving mom crazy that we waited so long to name him, so she sent it ahead of the birth, and we'll bring it back at Thanksgiving to get his name added. Sometimes I wonder if I'm adopted. Those of you that have golfed with me know I don't have this level of patience...


That's it for now. We'll write again when Mack opens our eyes in a whole new way. I expect that will be tomorrow....

The story of Mack's big day

Man, I feel like I've told this story a thousand times over the last week, but here it is, in all it's detailed glory...

I've been nervous about work travel for the past couple months, but this is our busiest time of year as we launch NASCAR, NCAA Football, Madden and Tiger within a couple months. I've traveled 8 of the last 10 weeks for different launch events and planning meetings, but this was to be my last trip before mack's expected 10/9/08 arrival date. I kissed Katie goodbye and jokingly asked her to hang on for 3 more nights while I ran to NY for NFL Kickoff week activities.

I landed at JFK late Tuesday night and my cell phone wouldn't turn on. In hindsight, I should have known I was in for a long week. Luckily I was traveling with a fairly large group of guys from Tiburon, so after I checked into the hotel, I called Katie and gave her the hotel phone number, and the cell numbers of 4 of the guys I was traveling with. I figured I'd get a replacement phone after golf and before the reception on Wednesday evening.

We were up early and headed out to golf the next morning. There was typical NY traffic, so it took us 2 hours to get out to Glen Arbor up in Westchester, although I'm still not sure how far it actually is. We finally got to the club and I was stoked to see that Phil Holt, Dale Jackson and I were slated to play with Hall of Fame lineman Anthony Munoz. I was pretty excited about it as the former NFL Man of the Year was one of my boyhood idols. He's also a good friend of Sandy Sandoval's, and played in Cincinnati with an old Seattle friend of mine, Kevin Sargent. Lots to talk about... ANYWAY, we had a horrible round, but great day on the course, smoking cigars, talking football and enjoying the sun. It was 3:00 and we were limping into the 18th green for our final scramble putt when Dale's phone rang. He looked a bit startled as he handed me the phone. "Oh shit" is all I could get out...

Katie was understandably terrified on the other end of the phone. Her water broke while she was hanging out at the house. I remember saying "just stay calm and call the doctor" about a thousand times. Truth is, that's about all I could get out as my heart raced and nervous tears rolled down my face. My intention was for her to call the doctor to see if she needed to call an ambulance, or if she could wait for a friend or a cab. Hard core as she always is, decided to drive herself to the hospital when the Dr told her to get in ASAP...

Meanwhile, back on the golf course, I remembered that Todd Sitrin, Steve Chiang and Peter Moore had just left the golf course for an afternoon meeting back in the city, and they were gracious enough to turn around on the highway to pick me up. I left my clubs with the guys, handed Phil my hotel room key, and we were off to the airport; which one I wasn't yet sure. Thank God for Dale who loaned me his cell phone so I was able to keep in contact throughout the ordeal. Jen Foreman graciously stepped in to help find the best airport options, and Steve, Todd and Peter did their best to distract me with stories of their birth experiences. I jumped out of the car at 4:10 at JFK for a 4:30 flight, convinced that there was no way I'd make this flight and I was going to miss the birth of our 1st...

Luckily, you can train new yorkers to be security guards, but you can't take the NY out of them. I ran up to the first security guard I could find. "I'll give you a hundred bucks if you can get me on this flight". He didn't even respond, just grabbed me by the arm and we ran to a secret ticket agent, then past the security lines, literally sprinting through the airport like to old OJ Hertz ads. I made it to the plane, sweaty from the run, and stinking of cigars. The guy next to me was tolerant and understanding once I explained the story. The longest 2 1/2 hour flight of my life followed.

We landed in Orlando and I sprinted for the taxi stand (my car keys were still back at the NY hotel), jumped a cab and again bribed the guy to speed all the way to South Seminole Hospital. Julie Erb, Jillian Holt, and our friend Kate were already at the hospital. I called them at least 3 times, begging the Dr's to stall. I was getting a bit hot under the collar, convinced that some Ivy League punk wanted to be home by 8 (Mack was breech, so a C-section was required). I begged and begged, but the final call came in at 7:49, while I was crossing 17-92, just 2 1/2 miles from the hospital. I missed the birth by just 16 minutes...

It was obviously disappointing to miss the big moment, but I forgot all about it as soon as I saw my nose in 1/50th scale. Mack was perfect, and despite his early arrival there were no tubes, no incubator, and no worries. There is a picture of his little hand wrapped around my finger as we met for the first time. It was an incredible moment, interrupted only by the need to get back to Katie right away.

And there you have it, the crazy start to what I'm sure will be a crazy journey through parnethood!

Mack's 1st weekend

Man, never stand between cross-country grandparents and regular updates on a newborn! Here you go, the latest round of photos and info from Casa De Goedde!

Sasha is literally assuming a mother's role with Mack. We knew she'd be great, but as always she's blown away our high expectations. She snaps to attention and runs to Mack's side whenever he makes a peep. She is super gentle and loves to lick his little toes (although he's not wild about that treatment). During the night, she gets up for all the feedings and patiently sits at Katie's feet. When Katie heads back to bed, Sasha heads to her bed as well, right next to Mack's crib. She's such a sweet dog. She's really struggling with her sleep schedule though. It's tough to make up those late night hours when you already sleep through daylight hours!

Mack regularly falls asleep mid feedings...

The Entertainment Marketing group out at EA's Bay Area office sent a really cute Burt's Bees gift basket that included this bear. Mack digs the stripes, so they were fast friends. BTW, the outfit Mack is in is a preemie size, but it's still falling of him.
Man, this kid is so tiny right now. The Tiburon folks have been really nice and bring meals to our door every night. Phil Holt was up last night (the fresh potato leak soup was incredible), he laughed that it's hard to believe this little guy will likely be bigger than dad someday. Even harder to believe when you see the weight I'll be putting on with people delivering food to my door daily... :-)
Those Goedde boys have HUGE hands! :-) Seriously, this was gonna be a damn big kid if he went full term. His hands and feet are like a Great Dane puppy.

Katie and I had a great moment last night while we were watching football. My family has a fun tradition of using the book The Secret Language of Birthdays to try to "pick" baby's birthdays. It started with my niece Katie (who started HIGH SCHOOL last week, WTH?). I found this book that has a two page personal profile for every day of the year. Many of you have seen this book because it's been on my coffee table for years and is regularly broken out at parties. It's amazing how accurate this thing typically is (the motto for my birthday is "the day of the unsolicited opinion"). Anyway, we'd spent nights reading the profiles around Mack's original due date of 10/9 and weren't wild about any of them. In all of this week's action, we kinda forgot to look up the 9/3 birthday. Here are the key portions of that entry that we found last night(reprinted without permission of course, don't tell)...

The Day Of the Mold Breakers.

People born on Sept 3rd are not always what they seem. Although they can impress others as quiet and tractable, no one who has ever tried to take advantage of a Sept 3rd person will forget the result. Those born on this day have a steel-like armor the seals them off from all forms of flattery and vampirism. They may appear gentle, even a bit soft, but they will insist on being treated honorably and fairly, and vigorously resist efforts to push them around.

Because their work is often visionary in nature, exceptional people born on this day can be way ahead of their time, and must understand if others are slow to approve of their methods. Fortunately, most of these mold breakers display great patience, as well as confidence in the value of their work. Thus, they are well equipped to endure years without recognition while continuing on with their endeavors. Their path to wider acceptance can be made a bit smoother if they take the time to explain to others in everyday language what their objectives are and how they intend to get there.

Sept 3rd people of all abilities gravitate to action and controversy. They are often quite rebellious against the systems in which they must operate, particularly when they feel misunderstood. Both their buoyant optimism and temperamental nature have to be kept under control. Developing emotional consistency and strong willpower is essential for their success in life.

The Meditation for 9/3 is "Hear what others say to you, but remain in tune with your own inner voice"

There is a ton of other content in the profile that y'all can look up yourselves (I'm tired of typing), but it was a cute scene as Katie and I are crying our eyes out on the couch, while Mack sleeps and Sasha licks Katie's tears away like the concerned mom she's become.

We're so excited to see what life has in store for little Mack...

Mack's settling in nicely

Mack's 2nd day has been great. He slept well through the night, as did mom and dad. I'm not quite suckered into that one yet though. He's gonna start screaming any minute. I can tell...

Mack Goedde is Here!

A bit early, but healthy and welcome just the same. James McArthur "Mack" Goedde joined us 9/3 at 7:49pm, just 16 minutes before daddy made it back from NY. Baby and mom are doing great, here are a few shots from that first night, including a pic taken in the nursery of daddy meeting Mack for the first time!