today was a great day.
and why
shouldn’t it be?
maddy hit the
8-week mark.
she’s thriving physically
and seems to get happier
and smarter.
everyday.
we started off the day
by getting up early
to meet with the guys
coming to the
house to install our air conditioner.
since late last summer
liz
had one dream…
(besides having a healthy baby)
that dream was to have ac
in our house.
it’s only may and we’ve
had multiple 100+ degree days.
so in honor of
liz
(and for the comfort of madeline and me)
it’s time for
the ac.
the guys decided that they
didn’t really need our
help so awesome auntie deb,
madeline and i took off
and made a stop
at the bank.
we were handed more packages
sent by more strangers.
stranger friend suzanne s. sent us a
pair of babylegs
strangers friends bob and mel a.
sent us this awesome thing:
(madeline seems to love her new robot pal).
after that excitement
we headed
for a coffee shop in
atwater village.
within a few minutes of
sitting down, madeline
gave us a gift.
(there seems to be something about atwater village that makes her fill her diaper).
no place to
change her inside
so i took her out
to the car
for a quick change.
returned to the coffee shop
and responded to a
few e-mails as
awesome auntie deb worked
on her work.
we left
for a little lunch.
then we were off
to what would have been
liz’s
new favorite place.
we skipped all the
fancy shit
and went straight to
the bookstore.
i saw this magazine:
with all the gifts
madeline has been given,
i’ve been deprived
of the joy of buying
things for her.
so on her 8-week birthday
i figured i’d buy her
a couple of my
favorite books from my childhood.
(and one from awesome auntie deb’s)
before heading home
we stopped for a drink
and a cry.
we went home to check
out the ac work.
the house looked great
so we decided to stay
and rest.
we found a mountain
of mail waiting for us.
first, a huge envelope from our
friends at the mpls star tribune’s
the package included a
few copies of the
article about
liz,
an awesome poster promoting
the new outdoor stadium,
and a copy of the mpls
paper for the day
madeline was born.
got an envelope from
strangers friends jamie and charlotte
with a gift that i’ll
be using tomorrow.
(thank you so, so much).
grandma broccoli and grandma candee
sent out birthday gifts
for birthday 8/52
(deb pointed out that i took a photo of the backside of the swimsuit…i had no idea).
and finally,
strangers friends marcie, bailey and piper
sent letters and gifts.
better left undescribed…
take a look for yourself.
from marcie:
from bailey:
from piper:
(wow…look at those outfits and the little robot paper doll! and garden of awesome? i wish i’d come up with that line).
ended the day by
listening to two of my
both remind me of two
totally different time periods in my life.
they helped keep my mind
focused on monday
and off of tuesday.
63 Comments
Happy 8 week birthday to Madeline! Looks like you guys had a great day together.
I wish you much strength as you get through today….may this Tuesday be a little better for you.
Amy
Morning Matt,
Its okay that the swim suit is backwards in the picture as long as you don’t put it on Maddy backwards!
I was wondering if your Mom gave you the package from me when you where home…Just curious, no big deal…
Happy eight weeks to Madeline and you. She looks terrific. You are doing a wonderful job. I am sure your Mom is so excited to come and hold her!
I am up early every morning , pour coffee and check on you and Madeline.
Hope today is a wonderful day for you…
Patty
Ha! I was thinking the SAME THING about the Garden of Awesome comment. Too cool. Great job on the doll and clothing, too, Piper (WOW!!).
I hear those baby legs are great… especially when she starts crawling (their poor little knees get chaffed).
I love how the robot is almost as big as Madeline! You know, some people take a picture w/ a particular toy or stuffed animal every week or month for the first year or so to document a child’s growth. Maybe you should start posing Madeline w/ her new robot friend?
“A Color of His Own” is one of our favs, too. Now when my little lady and I read that, we’ll be thinking of you and yours.
I hope you get that swimsuit thing figured out before you put it on her! Hee hee!
Wow, look at all the gifts you guys got today!
I loved the picture of you drinking. Maddy was looking at it like, “hmmmm, that looks like it would be better then formula …” lol.
Maddy is getting cuter everyday! Are you feeling better yet?
hey matt
first of all, maddie is doing REALLY well with tummy time, thats amazing. She is SO beautiful, she is starting to look a lot like you too – she has the perfect mix of both of you, good thing you are both so damn good looking. : )
I thought about you guys all day long, as usual.
so happy to read that first line. Happy #8, Madeline.
happy 8 week birthday to madeline and happy 8 weeks to you as a daddy! as everyone keeps saying, you are doing an awesome job! (well, according to the blog YOU are writing – lol)
i am glad the good days are more frequent…i hope that continues, although the bad ones will come and go.
thinking of you today (tuesday)…
You get the neatest gifts, glad to hear you had a good day! Babies do tend to always mess themselves at the most inopportune times, don’t they?
Anyhow hope you have a gentle and peaceful Tuesday.
Your in my thoughts.
Those are awesome paper dolls. I loved paper dolls when I was a little girl! I used to make my own.
I want a garden of awesome! Have a good day. I know Tuesday’s are hard. Just breathe through it. It will get better. ; )
*hugs* from MI
Happy 8 weeks to Madeline! She is so beautiful and is growing so fast, you have a lot to be proud of. I am really enjoying seeing all of the robot items that you have found and that people have sent you. Do you ever feel like this is Liz’s way of telling you she’s still with you? She is.
Happy 8 week birthday Madeline! My son is just a few weeks older than Madeline, I’m sure he’d simply adore her. She sure is gorgeous. Don’t worry about the swimsuit, my husband has a hard time too with my daughters suits.
I have to tell you Matt, I’ve commented once before, and I truly admire you for a job well done. I am a mother to 3 under 3 and I know just how hard life can be with young kids. I couldn’t imagine doing it without my husband. But you are so strong, you may not feel it right now, but you are carrying on because of the beautiful little angel that is Madeline. Because of your spirit, I have no doubt that Madeline will grow up knowing her mommy which is truly one of the most amazing gifts you can give to your daughter. I hope the Tuesdays to come just get better each week. Thanks for sharing your life with us.
Michelle in MPLS
Happy 8th week birthday Maddie! Matt – you’re doing a great job! Enjoy the AC!!!
I wondered why you photographed the back of the suit and when I saw that you hadn’t done it on purpose, I giggled outloud and said “bless his heart”.
I’m glad today was a great day. Madeline is beautiful as always. I LOVE the garden of awesome too. If I gardened, I would have to put a sign in it that said that.
I will say an extra prayer for you today, Tuesday.
Well, now you know which side is the front when you put it on her!!!
And the “Garden of Awesome”, don’t ya love little brains, they come up with the best stuff!!! Kids are so sweet!
Her 8th week birthday was my favorite so far!
Kat
Happy 8 week birthday Madeline! Your daddy is doing such a great job and I’m sure your mommy is so proud!!
I read daily and am amzed at your pictures….what kind of camera?
Happy 8 weeks Maddie!!
Tikki Tikki Tembo was one of my all time favorites too! Now I will have that in my head all day. My other favorite from when I was a kid was Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. Happy 8 week birthday Maddy! Hope this Tuesday is better than the last.
I loved Tikki Tikki when I was a kid. I used to see how fast I could say his whole name.
The front page of the paper is a fantastic idea. I have mine from when Violet was born, as well as the horoscope — something about “if your birthday is today you will find yourself surrounded by love after multiple struggles” or some other precise bit of vagueness that always makes you think they are specifically talking about you…
Matt-
I’ve been following your blog ever since I saw your story in the “Strib”. I guess- what can you say, right? Today is better than any to tell you how wonderful of a father you are. Madeline is sure lucky! Hang in there (hard to imagine doing that sometimes). Liz was beautiful and she has left you this amazing gift. God Bless the both of you.
Glad to hear about such a great day. And I am TOTALLY covetous of those super-cool paper dolls! Can’t believe she MADE them!
Hope today can be a good one too, in spite of the obvious hurdles that Tuesdays bring.
Just wait. Babies have a way of going from messing themselves in public, to growing into toddlers that yell, “I HAVE TO POOP!!”, in public. Good times, indeed.
Knowing that an ok Tuesday would really be phenomenal – that is my wish for you today. Have an ok day.
Jim O’Rourke! “Halfway to a Threeway,” yes? I’d forgotten all about that. Awesome.
Here’s hoping for the best possible Tuesday.
I just love seeing all the neat gifts, and my favorites are the ones from kids. Aren’t children amazing?
I think you will really like Anne Lamott; she is one of my all time favorite authors. Somehow, I really think she will resonate with you.
Isn’t it so nice that, with all the gifts she receives, Maddy wants to give you one every once in a while too? She’s so thoughtful that way.
I think she is the most beautiful baby I’ve ever seen (after my own, of course).
Matt,
I’ve never left a message before, never really known what I could say that hasn’t been said. I, like so many others, am so sorry for your loss. There just aren’t any words…..
It is so amazing though to check in each day and see how Maddie is growing and thriving. What a beautiful little girl! This blog has made so many of us strangers really feel a part of your world. It is an honor.
Just wanted to leave a little message to say Happy #8/52 Madeline! Glad to see the robot found his way to you. Hope he brought a smile to you both- he did to me!
My thoughts are with you on this Tuesday- mel a.
we are sooooo happy for you – sounds like you had a great day.
(let’s really hope that once you put the swimsuit on Madeline – you would have noticed….)
We are all aware that it is Tuesday — and sending our thoughts your way.
I read that Anne Lamott book after the birth of my young’un and really loved it. Anne Lamott is a complete NUT! I love people like her with a slightly skewed vision of the world.
Congrats on the A/C! We got a new unit last summer, after putting it off for like a decade, and it was the best 11-grand we ever spent. (We had to have asbestos abatement, too, so that’s why it cost so much and why we put it off so long.)
Wow – Liz Phair, huh?! Well, in addition to not pegging your late missus as a Billy Bragg fan, I would not have pegged YOU as a Liz Phair fan (except for Ms. Phair’s liberal use of the word “fuck”, natch). You, Sir, are a mystery! A mystery wrapped in an enigma! Must be that super-cool midwestern DNA that makes you crazy-cool yet down-to-earth at the same time.
May your Tuesday not suck too much,
xoxoxoxoxoxox,
kate in northridge
congrats on the new ac!
I am laughing my ass off! Being an OC girl, I never knew what ZUBAZ were till I moved to the Twin Cities! YIKES is right!
Maddie is as beautiful as ever, keep up the good work Daddy!
Hey Matt,
Been keeping up with you and Madeline for a while now. You both amaze me…enough said.
So, I don’t know who Piper is or how else to tell her, but she should totally start a paper doll business…I even think she has the most awesome name for her company written on that little note she sent you! I’ll be her first customer.
Keep your head up, Matt…you are a wonderful daddy.
ash from texas
It’s Tuesday now…and I’m praying for you.
Happy 8 weeks Madeline!
And hooray for air conditioning!!! I have no idea how you could live without it.
I love the bathing suit and couldn’t help but laugh when you admitted not knowing you had taken a picture from the back!! Thank goodness Awesome Auntie Deb set the record straight on that one before you attempted to put it on
I think the stuffed robot is the perfect companion for Madeline’s monthly pictures to gauge how much she’s grown. I took pictures of my daughter every month on the same day in her carseat and it is amazing to look at them now next to each other and see how big she’s gotten.
Off to find my girl a pair of Baby Legs.
Have a good day!
Will be thinking of you and the little cutie pie today.
Hooray for Air Conditioning!!! That’s sooooo awesome! I KNOW how much Liz really wanted that to happen. She would have been very pleased. Now you guys won’t melt this summer.
Happy 8 week birthday Madeline. You’re officially two months old.
~ Catherine
Happy 8 weeks, Maddy!!
And Matt – you are amazing.
Wow. Thank you, all you stranger-lurkers, for your kind words about my lovely Piper’s handiwork. (And you, Matt — she’s tickled pink that you liked it.)
Now Ashley’s given me an idea.
Moral support is great, but it only goes so far. Air conditioners and diapers don’t grow on trees, neither does time off work, braces, or college tuition. (And man cannot live on onesies alone…even if some of them are sooo dang cute.) So how about making the Garden of Awesome bloom in REAL green, with the following honor system scheme:
Send an email to emzee444 at hotmail.com with your name and address (and Garden of Awesome in the subject line) and the amount of the check you PROMISE TO MAIL WITHIN 24 HOURS to
The Logelin Family Memorial
c/o Wells Fargo
3250 Glendale Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90039
(323) 663-8023
or any Wells Fargo Bank branch.
and based on your promise (which you better keep if you don’t want to bring a heaping load of bad karma down on your head), my Piper will send you YOUR VERY OWN SET of her awesome Garden of Awesome paper dolls. Contribute $25 or more to the fund and she’ll throw in a paper robot, too!
(Please send the check to the fund right away, but give Pip a few weeks to get you your doll — the school year’s winding down and it’s a busy time for us…)
Any takers?
Oh, looks like they’ve got PayPal set up — that’ll work, too:
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=L2ExTPJZGhQZb-ZSxEdwux1e8250btV0QpcN-U41jwLOzFC9xTjASqPai5S&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f1ff80d546411d7f823b5265b6559fc2a7aad94320363ab57
(or get there via the Fund link on the top right of the blog homepage)
I hope that the sun is shining on the two of you today and that this Tuesday may be slightly better than the last.
fyi…i just registered gardenofawesome.com.
super computer nerd aj will help me get some content on the site sometime soon…
we’re also working on a very robot-centric web site.
more info to follow.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE tikki tikki tembo. i drive david crazy sometimes walking around the house singing the name over and over again–tikki tikki tembo no sorembo chareebarooki pep perri pembo.
Darn! I was hoping to fund MY daughter’s college education with that moniker. Oh well. I snooze, I lose…
——————————————–
follow-up from mattlogelin
(fyi…i offered the domain name to em and she refused it. if we get rich off of it i promised to split the profits with her).
Oh those Baby legs are awesome, you’ll have to get Gina to photograph Madeline in them for her next shoot!
LOL about the backside of the swimsuit, but I think Madeline’s going to look super cute from behind when she’s wearing it!
Happy 8 weeks to both of you!
Matt,
Just saw this on mpls craigslist and thought of you!
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/fur/688216710.html
Whoa, a website called “Garden of Awesome” and another one dedicated to robots! Finally the interwebs are going to feel like home! <3 <3 nerds <3 <3
Happy 8 weeks to Madeline! What a cutie beauty!
I’m so happy to be following your story and see that your good days are starting to become greater in number and more regular.
Dang, you are funny and people are creative! Thinking of you guys on this Tuesday.
OMG, Matt, I *lurrrve* this pic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattlogelin/2508219300/in/photostream/
Happy 8-week birthday Maddy! She gets cuter every single day.
Hope this Tuesday is going better than the other Tuesdays have…maybe we should make Tuesdays the offical “garden of awesome” day? Madeline grows more beautiful by the day! By the way, thanks for the great idea of sending you a pair of MC Hammer pants…err…I mean “zubaz” lol : ) Have a terrific Tuesday!
Happy 8 weeks Madeline. It is so fun to watch you develop and become so much more alert. You are so sweet.
I look forward to “the garden of awesome” site. Try to have a good day.
Thinking of the two of you daily.
way to turn around a tuesday!!!!
looking forward to “the garden of awesome” too.
You are inspiring. You are amazing. You are courageous. You are everything I hope my son will be some day.
Happy 8 week Madeline, you are a beautiful girl, and you are lucky to have such a loving dad.
way to turn around a tuesday!!!! you guys are creative!!!
looking forward to “the garden of awesome” –
matt, you have so much to teach all of us. how the heck do you register a website?
Matt, Madeline will need more swimsuits. after all grandma and grampas pool and pontoon rides. its all in the name of fashion for petes sake.
Hope your having a good Tuesday.. I wouldn’t have thought you were a Liz Phair fan either, strange, but awesome! That album is great. If you need help with the new site, feel free to hit me up. I’m a big nerd, and I have tons of free time on my hands.
-Rachael
Matt, I have only known of your blog for two days and have read the entire thing. You are an amazing father and the amount of love you have for Madeline and Liz is so beautiful. I am sorry for your loss, but admire your courage and fortitude as a new dad! May you continue to grow and heal.
Happy 8 weeks, Miss Madeline. You are a very beautiful and lucky little girl!
Garden of Awesome – how great is that. You and Madeline have gotten such great and creative gifts from people. It is wonderful to see the kindness of strangers (friends).
Hope this Tuesday was a little better than the previous ones. Happy 8-week birthday to Madeline.
As always, I will be thinking of you both today.
Happy 8 weeks, Madeline. <3
I hope your Tuesday is okay, Matt. Thinking of you both today.
Ok, I LOVE Tikki Tikki Tembo—great book!! Maddy got the best gifts! I’m loving the 52 birthdays idea.
She is getting so big and cuter by the day.
& Garden of Awesome was the best line…lol.
Thinking and praying for you all.
Trina, those craigslist robots are truly awesome, but as a stranger I PERSONALLY would be kicking Matt’s ass out of the garden of awesome if he spent 5 large on wooden robots. (and I am SO into the robots right now) Thanks Maddie and Matt!
BTW, I am granting myself the rights to kick someone else out of the garden of awesome. Is that totally wrong or what?
BTW, sorry Matt. I was presumptuous as usual. I hope your Tuesday doesn’t suck. Really want you in the Garden of Awesome myself. You really deserve it. (hoping that awesome auntie Deb or another awesome person can let you sleep like a baby and get rid of those eyes)
And Marcie, you can tell your little one that HER phrase is a new happy moment for a lot of us! Yay Piper! (please dont put her to slave labor lol)
Happy B-Day Madeline! Mat I have to say that your photos are so awesome! I got a new fancy camera for mothers day and your photos inspire me to get out there and try something new instead of picture of baby laying on a blanket! Oh and baby legs are the BEST!!! especially good for wonky weather when during the day she just needs a onsie, but then nights (or AC’ed places) get cooler you can just pop on the legs. They are also awesome under dresses, way better than tights!
She gets more beautiful by the day. I was out of the loop for a few days, but was so happy to learn from your post on Thursday that you have now experienced the first rule of shopping – that while she will rarely, if ever, NEED anything, some things she just has to have. It’s a good thing for a father to learn to accept.
Wishing us all a garden of awesome…
@ em is for marcie
I want some paper dolls made by your daughter!!! I’ll email you.
If you haven’t yet, read that book, Operating Instructions. Seriously. You won’t regret it. I’m halfway through it and I can’t remember the last time I read something so intensely hilarious and true. They should give this thing out at the hospital with the trial packs of diapers and ugly hats as compulsory reading for new parents.
Hugs for you and sweet Madeline.