Christmas 2014

Christmas was wonderful this year. Hectic. Overwhelming. Crazy. But very very fun! We awoke on Christmas morning at our house (I was up at 6 am too excited to sleep in)! The kids got up about 7ish and we did gifts and breakfast here before heading over to my parents house.

 

Once there we met up with the entire Reitz side and opened stocking and WAY too many gifts. Fun and craziness ensued. I felt a little bad for the kids since with each amazing gift that hey opened all they wanted to do was open up the packaging and PLAY! (but their mean ol' parents wouldn't let them because it would mean pieces would get lost/parts forgotten). Then we headed home for nap time, while I made pies.

 

Then it was off to Joyce and Johns house where the third round of gift giving took place. Wonderful, thoughtful gifts and a very yummy dinner! We also got to snuggle the growing baby in Rachel's tummy and find out that Matthews cousin Arron and his lady are going to be having a baby!
So needless to say it was a wonderful day!

December Update

I know it has been a while since I have updated the blog, needless to say we have been busy ('tis the season). So here is a little December update...
It had been raining...no, more like torrential down pouring here for the past 3 weeks.  Because of that there was no way that I wanted to pack the kids up and walk around outside looking for a Christmas tree. So I asked Matthew to pick one up on his way home from work. It just so happened that day Mallory commented that she wished that we could go get a tree. So with that perfect lead-in I told the kids that maybe if they could image the tree hard enough and with enough detail that MAYBE it would show up! So we sat inside the dry house conjuring up the most perfect Christmas tree! We talked about it's height. It's smell. It's color. It's feel. Even how it could arrive. Moments later Matthew arrived and we walked out too see that in fact they had imagined the tree into being (and I got to stay dry!)!!!!

 

Then I had my birthday. It was a great day. I didn't have to work, the kids were darn good and I was given some beautiful gifts. (check out those feetsie jammies... Mallory thought that I needed some like theirs apparently).

 

A week later Matthew and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary (the bronze year). Matthew, true to form got me a sweet, thoughtful yet unconventional gift to go along with the theme. The wine apparently was the 3rd place winner at the California state fair. He is so clever! I am so deeply in love with him. He is incredible! Thoughtful, sweet, loving, fun, even tempered (most of he time) and so supportive... not to mention an incredible father! I am very, very lucky!

Then Mallory had her Preschool Christmas show! It was about 10 minutes of the most adorable sing ever! She did great (boy, does she love to perform)!

Lastly, today we said goodbye to our beautiful and trusty Outback. Not only were we sick and tired of cramming the kids into the car, but Matthew brought up the fact that because each of the kids car seats were literally touching each other from door to door; if we were to get into a crash (heaven forbid) there would be no space/gaps to absorb the shock and it would literally be passed along through all the kids! Yikes! So with that we traded in the Subi (they offerend us a great deal of $ for it otherwise we would have kept it) and got a 8 passenger 2015 GMC Acadia! We drove it home today at 5. It is beautiful, clean and smells sooooooo good! And my of my the SPACE! Heaven!

 

34

Yesterday I tinned 34! I am now officially in my mid30s! It was a great day, I didn't have to work, the kids were darn near perfect (evident from this picture... which was the first and only picture I had to take) and Matthew  got my wedding ring fixed so the center diamond isn't lose anymore (I hadn't been able to wear it for over a year)! We went and liked at all the Christmas trees lit up in the town green and ate dinner at my favorite restaurant. This getting old thing isn't so bad!

That's So Silly

This morning I dressed Darren in a shirt that says 'Champ' so I naturally was walking around the house singing the Queen song, We Are The Champions. Mallory asked what that song was and where I learned it (probably hopeful that whoever I learned it from sung it better then me).  I pulled up the  music video of the song. Yes the one where Queen is belting it out on stage in one oh his many black and white full-body Uni-tard! After the song was over I told the kids that the bands name is Queen. Mallory started to laugh and shake her head side to side and said "Momma that's so silly, they should be called King because they are boys!"
Oh Mallory you have such logical ideas.

 

A Dream Vacation

We just got back from a wonderful almost dream-like family vacation! It was amazing! Friday night after I got off work we loaded up the kids and headed down to Poway, which is a 9 hour drive, so we figured that driving through the night with 3 kids would be easier. (I did learn a few things about traveling with kids though... NEVER switch cars seat for your baby right before you leave for a long car trip; not only will you have a crying baby, but your car doors may not close without some major finagling. Oh, and Norah Jones can sooth said crying baby EVERY time)! Poor Darren had long since outgrown his carrier-type car seat and we just had not gotten around to switching it to his rear-facing big-boy seat... until that night. Ooops.

Any way, we got in safe and sound early Saturday morning and spent Saturday through Tuesday at my aunt and uncles ranch. We rode horse, went to the farmers market, played in the ocean, sat in the spa, watched movies, slept, talked, ate, visited with family, rode more horses, had a few riding lessons and had a all-around wonderful time! Now thanks to my Aunt Alicia both Mallory and I have a BAD case of horse fever!

 

 

Tuesday morning we loaded up the kids again made a quick stop at my Aunty-M's new home and then drove to Palm Desert where we met up with Joyce and Johnny-boy at their timeshare. It was a beautiful condo/resort, with a huge multi-room condo to stay in, multiple pools, a water-slide, movie theater, activity center and golf coarse! One day we all visited the Living Desert, another day Matthew and John played 13-holes of golf but we spend every day in the pool. And Mallory in now officially able to swim on her own!!!!! The kids had a blast and Matthew and I even got to head into Palm Springs for a date! I wish that we could have found a way to extend it all! It was heaven! Thank you all who made this trip such a ragging success!

 

 

Fractured

Last night while trying to do way to much all at the same time (kids into bath, teeth brushed, Wes into the potty, keep Darren from falling down the stairs...) you know, normal mom things. I baked my little toe into the bathroom door frame. The moment it happened I knew I broke it! Worth Matthews help I iced it, wrapped and elevated it and this morningi took a radiograph when I got into work. Yup. It's a fracture. Boooo. Mom convinced me to go to the doctors (I brought the radiograph with me). The doc confirmed the break and has me in a small walking boot. I'm bummed. Stupid foot. Stupid me!

Standing Tall

I can't believe it... just 11 days after learning to crawl Darren is working on his newest accomplishment STANDING! What a strong little stinker! This little man need to stop growing up so quickly and realize that his momma needs something that is stagnant in her life.
Sigh! But way to go buddy you are growing by leaps and bounds!

Perfect

O.k. let's all breath in a deep cleansing breath and praise God that Wesley's heart is just fine! Today Matthew and I took him to a cardiologist in s.f. They did an ekg and an echo and they informed us that he has what is called a 'Stills Murmur' (named agreed Dr. Stills). It is a innocent musical murmur that usually shows up around the ages of 2-7 and should cause no problem and should disappear by the time he is a young adult! 

Oh and for the record... there had never been a better boy! He lay there perfectly quiet and dogs everything they asked. Even the doctor commented over and over again on how good he was! Afterwards we took him or for ice cream to celebrate and spend a little personal time with him.

I can't even tell you how relieved I am!

Dedication Day

Yesterday was Darren Matthew Klein's Dedication Day! Yesterday morning Mallory and I walked around the house saying "It's dedication day! It's dedication day!" (said to the voice/tone of Anna in Frozen when she said "it's coronation day! It's coronation day!')
It was a BEAUTIFUL dedication, we had so many local friends and family there...we packed the church! I feel so blessed to have such a large and loving support structure all around us!  My Beena, Aunty M and my cousins children (so my first cousins twice removed) Courtney and Josiah also made the treck up from southern California. The dedication itself was wonderful. It was so fun to stand up at the front of the church with our family of 5 along with Darren's god-parents Aaron and Michelle promising to raise this precious little boy to be a loving man of God!
After the church service everyone come over to our house for a wonderful brunch/lunch. It was great! Great food, Great family and Great friends! Plus for the first time EVER all 6 of Beena's great grand children were in the same place at the same time... photo op!

 

 

Let's Move

Yesterday Darren hit two milestones! First he pushed himself up into a sitting position from laying down,  then he started crawling!!!!!! Not the fast/covering lots of ground type of crawling. But hands and knees forward movement non the less. My baby is growing up way too quickly!  :(

Bless His Heart

Wesley was born with a heart murmur.  Just a teeny, tiny little 1 out of 6 murmur. We had it worked up locally and it was fine. A 'normal innocent systolic murmur.' And by last year it had gone away completely!
Well last Sunday I had to work, so Matthew brought the kids by for a visit. They were playing around and touching everything in sight...my stethoscope included. When they were finished playing with it I thought that I would listen to all the kiddos hearts. When I listened to Wesley's heart I was shocked because that little murmur that had disappeared was back...and louder! It did really sound scary...and he wasn't showing any clinical signs but I was/am concerned.
So I did what any good mom would do... I waited until Darren had his 6 month doctor visit (yesterday... so only 2 days later) and had the doc check it out. He thought that it was louder (now a 2 out of 6), but he also agreed that it's probably nothing. But with the attitude of might as well check it out so we can stop worrying about it he set up for a full pediatric cardiac work up for Wesley in San Francisco on the first of October.
Medically I'm excited to know exactly what type of murmur he has and what I can expect from it. But maternally I am freaking out a little (only in the inside)...Wes is one of MY babies...nothing should ever happen to them!!!!!! So pray for my little buckaroo, that God will bless his heart!

Thoughts By Mallory

Mallory said the cutest thing last night... something that I'm sure someday we will have to say to her (or her boyfriend...Eeeeek!).
I was holding Darren on my lap last night, he was facing me and we were flirting and talking/babbling back and forth. Darren leaned in and grabbed my face and kissed me, then proceeded to stick his tongue in my mouth. I laughed and said to Darren "Silly boy, you can't stick your tongue in my mouth." to which Mallory replied, "yeah, she already has a tongue!"
Remember that young lady! You already have your own tongue!

Ice Skating

A couple of weeks ago the ENTIRE Reitz/Klein side of the family went ice skating! Oh my goodness, SOOOOOOOO much fun! We all had a blast!!!!! We figured that the kids would get sick of it within the hour... but we were wrong! We all skated for about 2 1/2 hours and the kids were actually sad to stop. Since Darren obviously wasn't able to get out onto the ice, the adults traded turns holding him off to the side and taking pictures of the ice-adventure. I cant tell you how well the kids did, especially considering it was their first time ever and there were no chairs involved (Granted it was a huge help having so many extra adults/great skaters to hold hands). 
As soon as Wes got his skates on he immediately shuffled along like normal (I was amazed). I'm pretty sure that he's going to be following in his grandpas and uncles shoes and take up skating like second nature. Mallory was a little more slow to catch on, but in no time she was actually skating without assistance. She would throw and mini-fit when she fell on her bootie, but would then pop back up and try again. I was very proud of them both!
Almost daily Mallory and Wesley have asked to go skating again... its really cute how much they liked it.

 

Tooth

Darren Matthew just cut his first tooth yesterday... Gosh this is happening WAY too quickly!!!!!! Sigh! He is such a happy man through it all. Thumb in his mouth and a little more drooling, but other than that handling it like a champ!

Camping

A few weekends ago we all went camping. Our family of 5 and my mom, dad and Tyler all came. It was...interesting. Not really bad, but not really great either. I usually love camping. The crackly fire, the sound of the birds in the morning and the crickets at night. Sitting around the table playing games, telling stories, drinking hot chocolate. I love the dirt, the smoke, the smores. Sadly camping with a  4 year old, a 2 year old and a 5 month old at a KOA camp over a weekend is none of those things! Ok, it is the dirt and the smores...but that's about it. The kids are at an age where they ALL need so much attention so that the camping itself was not really that much fun...well not YET! The sleeping was horrid, the KOA camp was REALLY crowded, they played Finding Nemo on a huge outdoor screen right as we were trying to get our kids down, other peoples kids were up running around AND through our camp site until past 11 pm, the pool was the color of alge mixed with urine and there literally was a sign on the hot tub area saying that 'if you have had diarrhea in the past 14 days you were not allowed to enter' (obviously we did not use either of those). Any way. We made it through the weekend and it was a good/horrific/eye opening experience. I am sooooo thankful that mom, dad and Tyler were there to help with it/them all. I just had to keep reminding myself that it is only going to get better... it CAN only get better...heaven knows it cant get worse. :)

Here's to next year! Anyone want to come?

 

 

Construction Begins

Today our contractor Dave came out and stated construction on our home! We are just doing a little addition to the living room... nothing major, but it will make a MAJOR difference in our living space when its done! I'm really excited about. Not so excited about the loud noises that come with it... but it 'shouldn't' be a long project... in theory. :)

Yummy!

Darren has become a lean-mean-eating-machine! After trying in-vain to keep Darren away from my diner plates and glasses I finally gave in and started feeding him. As with the other 2, I started him on Avocado. He wasn't sure about it for the first few bites... but moments later he was sucking it down!!!! Now he is a pro...a mess, food covered pro eater.
He has eaten avocado, beets, yams, carrots, banana and oatmeal. It's just about time to add in more fruit, which I'm sure he'll love!
This little boy is growing up WAY too quickly!

Darren at 4 Months

So it's been a while since I have updated you all on Darren.
I could not have asked for a better little baby! He is sweet, happy, laid back and a total flirt! He loves watching people talk. He gets very serious as he stares at their mouths moving, then bursts into the sweetest most inviting grin. Its a fun combination of the two other kids (serious like Mallory and joyful like Wesley). He looks JUST like Mallory 90% of the time, then a moment later a glimpse of Wesley will come out... and every once in a while we'll get to see him and him alone.
He is 4 months old and is over 26 inches long, over 14 pounds and has a sweet tiny little head. His hemangioma is still there and I love to kiss it. It's fun because everyone asks about it (kids and adults alike). Most people think he must have had a really big bump to his head. I like it because its something fun and medical to talk to people about... he likes it because he has people looking at and touching him.
I just started to feed him occasional solids. So far he has had avocado and fresh cooked beets. He loves the avocado.... and is not sure about the beets. He occasionally sucks on a pacifier... but prefers his thumb! He can stay in a sitting position if placed there (ok it's more like a tripod position), and rolls back and forth (front to back, back to front) like nobody's business! It's cute... if you place him down and look away, you'll find him a good 3-5 feet away from where you placed him. And he'll have the biggest grin on his face as if he knows that he's getting into mischief.  He will also slowly scoot himself around on him belly, giving himself rug-burn on his face. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it though.
He loves his sister and brother and nothing makes him more happy then to have them playing and dancing all around him.
Hmmmm what else? He's a great sleeper. He does wake up at about 3am but he just talks to himself and then goes back to sleep... most of the time.
He is SUCH a wonderful little man and is growing up much too quickly! He makes me want to have another one...almost!

Arrrrrgggggg

This past weekend we had a wonderfully fun filled pirate party for Mallory's (and Matthew's) birthdays! It was great. All the kids had a great time which was the point, and the adults all seemed to too... which was an added bonus! There were about 50 people total, so it was a BIG turnout!!!! I loved planning the games and decorations! I set up different stations throughout the back yard and all the kids got a map, eye patch and telescope when they walked in. The back yard had a jump house (borrowed from mom and dad), a cannon ball toss (black water balloons), a tattoo/face painting parlor (thanks Jeralyn and Nate), a buried treasure dig (with load of necklaces, bracelets and gold coins), a walk the plank area and a captain hook ring toss. The kids just wondered around and played on their own! Literally no intervening was needed by parents! It was great, and easy and really laid back! I loved that some guests really got into the dress-up side of it...which is my favorite part! Mallory got way too many gifts... but all really amazing, useful gift (so thank you all).

 

 

 

 

 

I was excited to see how nicely our home and yard held all those people. I never felt cramped! I am really loving this home... and even though we aren't all unpacked yet it is really feeling like ours. I'll have to do a posting about our house one of these days along with an update on Mr. Darren Man... who just might be the worlds most sweet, loving, happy, compliant little baby! I love him!!!!

4 years old

Today Mallory rose turns 4 years old! I can't believe 4 years have come and gone since she into our life and turned us into parents. I couldn't ask for a more perfect little lady, she is feisty and spirited, smart, friendly and tender. I love the little lady that she is turning into...And so excited to see who she becomes.
Today has been a bit of a World Wind day. We started her birthday off with donuts then headed to Darren's 4 month baby doctor visit (which went perfectly aside from the crying from his three shots). We just came back from Costco, & she will soon opening gifts and we are going to try to take all 3 kids swimming this afternoon. Wish us luck!
happy birthday Mallory Rose we love you!!!!