Plug

Well, sorry about the TMI posting but tonight, after a very long/busy/stressful day at work I lost my mucus plug. Not that it means anything besides the fact that my body is getting ready to have a baby (duh)...but it is fun to realize how imminent it is! Looking back I lost Mallory's 2 weeks prior but I appenetly forgot to write it down with Wesley...bummer. Any way just thought I would record this one.

Prebaby Do

Each time that I've had a baby right afterwards I  have severely chopped off my hair and afterwards regreted it a little bit. This time I thought I would follow the example of Janie and do a prebaby hair cut/style...hopefully detouring me from shaving it all off in a hormonal craze. So far I'm loving the new do.

Awesomo 3000

The other day Mallory came walking out into the living room with a box on her head (she was 'hiding'). It only took moments before my dad had drawn a face on the box and Matthew started to call her "Awesomo 3000"! She had a blast walking around pretending to be a robot and I loved the fact that as a robot, she HAD to do what I said! :)

35 Weeks ( and 33 and 34)



33Weeks: BK3 is about 17.2 inches long... and just so happens to be the exact length of this beautiful multicolored tower that Wesley built (and left on our bed).



34 Weeks: 17.7 inches long. Just about the same as the kids Seek and Spell toy.

35 Weeks: Our little baby is right around 18.2 inches now. No wonder I have to pee ever 10 minutes!

Things are going well... but I a really tired! Plus I got the kids little bug so I am feeling extra exhausted! (I actually have napped twice already today)!!!!! I am starting to feel a good deal of pressure on my undercarriage now, and my walk is turning more and more into a waddle by the day! Contractions are occurring multiple times a day though nothing painful or prolonged... just preparatory I'm sure. But I'm betting that this little one is not going to make it much past 37 weeks... everything just feels so ready.
This baby is so strong and active. It lives under my right rib cage and has taken on a new pastime... it feels like a combo of Zumba and Cardio-kickboxing. unfortunately the 'class' takes place from 2-2:30 AM every morning! Crazy kid!
Yesterday as Matthew and I were sighing with exhaustion at our other two little ones and I was wincing at the rib kick that BK3 took, Matthew asked me a frightening question. He asked which baby has been the most active (in utero)?... That was a easy and unfortunately frightening question... THIS one!!!! I'm not sure we'll be able to handle another high energy/super charged Klein kid. Someone pass me the Zanax! ;)

Wesley Turns 2!

On February 13 our Little Man turned 2! I can’t believe it! It seems too short a time for someone so wonderful to have blessed our lives so deeply! He is a joy and a constant sores of amusement to everyone he is around. He is kind and thoughtful and wild and out of control all at once. He FINALLY is starting to talk in more than single words or grunts… though still most of the time I have no idea what he’s saying. But his voice is tender and scratchy, and I love how it sounds and the sweet little way he cocks his head to the side like a little bird when he asks a question.

 

On his actual birthday I sadly had an emergency 3 ½ hour surgery that didn’t end until WELL past bed time. I felt horrible. Like the worst mom ever. I have to admit I was actually in tears over it (even though I know he won’t remember me not being there… I will). My sweet husband surprised me and brought the kids over (and dinner) and all three of them stood outside the operating window watching, waving and smiling as I, once again tried not to cry.

We ended up celebrating his birthday the next day on Friday (valentine’s day), which worked out beautifully. Wesley didn’t know the difference and loved the ice cream cone that he got. Matthew and I ended up getting him a small little 4-wheeler (that goes all of 2 miles per hour) and he LOVES it! Though he hasn’t figured out how to steer yet. Hopefully that will come in the next 14 years or we are all in trouble.

Sunday was his birthday party, it was a Race Car theme and he was in heaven! There was a huge turn out! I was shocked at the number of adult friends/family that actually wanted to be there. Thankfully I had made a pretty big cake and had plenty of snacks. It was a beautiful day and the entire party was held outside (which I was not counting on but VERY grateful for).  He got a ton of cars, trucks and tractors (though his favorite for the moment is the garbage truck from Papa Klein).

We love you Wesley Robert, happy birthday!

Yummy!

 

Hey, it might not be the most nutritious breakfast... but at least he's using a fork. Right?!?!

32 weeks and then some

Week 31: 16.2 inches… proved to the THE most difficult to find. Finally I had to improvise and combo two of Mallory’s old puzzles. But the good news it is that it’s the EXACT length (I know you were all worried).

Week 32: 16.7 inches, the size of the baby dolls highchair.

I can’t believe that this little one is going to be here so quickly. At my doctor’s appointment Monday everything was spot on. Measuring great, my weight is right on average for me (33 pounds) but the one little ‘hitch’ was the babies heart rate… not that there was ANYTHING at all wrong with it… it just has thrown me for a loop. It has been in the mid 140’s (as was Mallory) but has now dropped to high 120’s/low 130’s… which is even lower then Wesley (an no, he/she wasn't asleep). So is it a boy?!?!? I had myself all convinced that I was growing another little girl ever since I found out I was preggers… now I’m having a hard time re-adjusting to the thought of a boy. I guess in 5-7 weeks we'll all find out!

Good Bye Home... Hello Adventure!

It's official. We are all moved out of one house and moved into my parents! The kids had fun "House Camping" on our final night (since practically everything was cleared from the house at that point. The final papers should be signed today and the keys handed over tomorrow night. Jeff, Lindsay, Matthew and I are all going to go out to dinner to celebrate! Should be fun... and maybe a little sad! I am personally looking forward to a much less crazy month (and getting these contractions to mellow out... I've probably been over-doing it again). Shocker!

 

Thanks for being such a great home!

Vegas

Up until a few days ago I had never really been to Vegas (I guess I was there when I was a little kid... but I don't remember... so it practically doesn't count). I went there this past weekend with Matthew and my boss. My boss and I had a 2 day C.E. course on advanced tooth extractions/oral surgery. It was AMAZING!!!!! Matthew came because it just so happened to be the worlds Rugby 7's tournament... which he was watching not playing in. We stayed with my bosses friend Renee, who is an amazing lady and spoiled us silly the entire weekend. We really did have a great weekend and learned a ton! Though we were in Vegas we didn't see the strip, any shows or go into any casino... we didn't even have to go out to eat. So I'm not sure if this trip even counts as the 'traditional' Vegas experience. The kids stayed with my parents... which worked out well since we are moving in there TOMORROW!!!!!
Yes you read that right. TOMORROW!!!!!! We are about 85% packed up and will be totally out by Saturday! I can't believe that this is happening. That it is SO real! There is still nothing on the market that we are interested in bidding  on, but I have to have faith that this is the right move and something wonderful will come from this entire crazy process.
It might be a little while until I post again as we get unpacked and all settled in. Plus I need to search mom and dads house for toys that are as big as this GIANT baby I'm growing (since most of our are all packed up now).

30 weeks

BK3 is growing like a weed, and pretty sure she/he is already practicing to be a member of the Rockettes! Seriously from 3-4  am every morning there is a full-out dance party going on inside my uterus! I can't believe that I am 3/4 of the way there! That means if treads continue (as they did with Mallory and Wesley) I'll be early... which means possibly in 7-8 weeks I'll have this sweet little baby in my arms and finally know what and who 'it' is!!!!

 

Week 28: 15 inches and 2 pounds...just about the size of the adorable Owl that my mom knit for Wesley before he was born.



   Week 29: 15.5 inches and 2 1/2 pounds makes him/her the size of Tickle Me Elmo... better known  

    as 'Big Elmo' around this house.

 

    Week 30: 16 inches and about 3 (+) pounds so roughly the size of one of Wesley's trucks...  if the

     top/lid is open. (Its getting hard to find toys that are big enough).  

Mazatlan

2 weeks ago Matthew, mom, dad and I flew off to Mexico for a wonderful (kid-free) week long vacation in Mazatlan! I actually didn't bring my camera (figured that mom had that covered for us all), so I don't have the pictures to prove what a beautiful and amazing time we had. But it was wonderful! Despite the fact that my life right now is in utter disarray I was thankful for the forced relaxation time. (Good thing this trip was set up 4 months prior)!  We stayed in an all-inclusive resort RIGHT on the beach (it looked really snazzy... but turns out was pretty run-down... heck it's Mexico, what did we expect?) Our first room (on the 15th floor) had a water leak that happened on day 2, our second room (on the 19th floor) the toilet literally fell apart as my pregnant unbalanced self went to sit on it, and our final room (on the 26th floor) was large and beautiful with multiple rooms... but by the end of the week the odor coming from all the drains smelled as though the sewer was backed up all the way up to the 25 1/2 floor and getting ready to spill into our 'home' at any minute! Aside from the room-issues, the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful... in a fantastic sort of way!

We did a ton of laying by the pool, swimming, reading, walking on the beach, sun-set watching, eating and drinking (my drink of choice was the virgin Pinna colada). Yummmm!

My saint of a mother-in-law and John watched Mallory and Wesley the entire 7 days (and were alive to tell about it)! Poor Wesley ended up at the doctors twice and the E.R once before finally being diagnosed with Bronchitis. (I was just happy to hear that it wasn't the H1N1 virus that spread like wildfire while we were tanning by the pool). But he's doing well now... after having to use 2 different inhalers, antibiotics and steroids. I'm secretly glad I didn't have to deal with him during that time... sick kids make me sad.

The other thing that was great about the trip was that it gave the 4 of us time to be roommates and see how this upcoming move will go. We all go along great, and were able to address issues right away or before they even started. Seems like this should be a smooth transition into their home in a mere matter of days!!!!!  :)

Christmas 2013

Christmas was a bit of a blur this year. I feel like it snuck up on me and I was actually still shopping a few days before (normally I am finished shopping by November). But I’ve had a bit on my mind, and a ton of things to do.

In case you couldn’t figure it out, we did not get the house, but are still going through with the sale of our house to my brother. So literally in a mere matter of weeks we will be out of this home and into mom and dads. Gulp! So instead of shopping and wrapping gifts, we have been house hunting, and packing up our house and moving it into storage. It’s all going well though.

So Christmas was unfortunately a lower priority than normal. Things still got done. People still got gifts… they were just a little more generic (aka Gift Cards). The kids loved it all though. We started the morning at our house and then headed over to my parents until naptime. Back home for naps, then off to Joyce and Johns for the afternoon/dinner. It was a very family oriented day. It was lovely, just not very relaxing since we were going all over the place. Friday we went to Roberts for dinner and more gift-giving. Now we are just settling back into ‘normality’ and trying to wade through all the gifts, toys, boxes, and bubble wrap that is now our home.

Oh, and if you look at the top right picture of Mallory in the green mask... that's a mask/hat that mom knit her for her alter-ego-superhero that she created (and named): Superhero Leaf-Girl (she then added onto it... Superhero leaf-girl-peter pan-mike the knight). I love it! I especially love that there is absolutely NO reference to anything princess-y! Way to go Mallory!

We have totally been slackers in the baby-toy-comparison department.

Week 25: 13.5 inches the size of a butterfly art project Mallory did

 

Week 26: 14 inches, The size of the Little Peoples playground structure

 

Week 27: 14.5 inches the exact size of Mallory's "Baby Anna" (its' kind of creepy looking at the doll and realizing that my baby inside looks fairly similar)

A Little Scare

I had a very eventful day today. It started out fairly normal, I didn't have to work so the kids and I were running around doing Christmas errands and then we met matthew out at the mall so the kids could sit on Santas lap. Around 11:30 I took Mallory to the bathroom and I realize that I was having dome bleeding. I called my mom right away to talk with her. At first it was just a brownish discharge and soon progressed to is light red-red color. Mom immediately came over to watch the kids and I went into the hospital. Thankfully after having a full exam, an ultrasound and being monitored for 3 hours I was released. The only real abnormality was that BK3 is sitting head down directly on my cervix with no fluid cushion at all...which I guess overtime they worry about that causing my cervix to dialate (which it is not at this point)! We are all still unsure why I started bleeding but they think a big part of it has to do with all of my activity, stress and work. That being said I am going to try really hard to take it easy and not overdo it. Which is going to be difficult considering I love to work, I love to play, I'm packing an entire house, Christmas is one week away, and I'm pregnant. But like my mom said the most important job for me right now is to grow this baby so I have to remember that... despite my obsessive needs to be superwoman! :)

Past Weeks Update

Our life is steadily marching onward… still no concrete news on the house (should have a REAL answer by tomorrow). Regardless the packing is well underway! The new baby’s room has become the box-storing room and most of the paperwork for selling this house is complete!

Last Monday was my 33 birthday! It was a wonderful day. Just what I wanted… mellow, low key and productive! Mom came over and helped me start on the packing then dad brought over Chinese food for lunch. Matthew and I were given tickets to the symphony from my bosses so we went out to eat and enjoyed the beautiful child-free music! Best gift of all was that the kids were AMAZING! I mean very, very, very little whining, crying or fighting! (I wish that would have lasted longer then one day).  Today is actually our 7 year anniversary…no such luck on the kids being super good today (they are already little monsters).

This past week has been tough… Wesley came down with Croup and had to be put on steroids for the swelling/breathing issues. Mallory got the winter bug and has been coughing up a storm… so I guess it makes sense that they aren’t exactly the happiest of campers.  But they are getting better, and Matthew and I even took Mallory to her first Movie theater experience yesterday (while Joyce watched Wesley). We saw Frozen! She loved it, I loved it and Matthew loved the fact that we loved it. It was fun! She even woke up talking about it this morning.

 

Oh, we got our Christmas tree. That was another fun adventure. After getting it all decorated we had to removed about ever ornaments within Wesley’s reach because he wouldn’t stop playing with them. So now the bottom 1/3 is pretty bare. Now Wesley just walks around the tree with his fake saw (which I think is pretty clever considering it was a pre-cut tree).

 

The baby is getting bigger and bigger. 25 weeks along! I don’t have a 25 week toy picture yet… but here are the other weeks
23: 12 inches, the exact size of Dog-Dog (Wesley’s stuffed dog he sleeps with)

24: 12.5 inches… the size of one of Wesley’s semi-truck toys

A Leap Of Faith

I have so much that I want to write about… getting a tree, birthday, life… but I want to fist talk about the latest/ more nerve-wracking, exciting changes that are happening in my family’s life.  

About 11 days ago I met my dad for Sunday morning coffee (a tradition that we have on the Sundays that I have to work). It’s a nice little 45 minutes to just sit, talk and enjoy each other. He mentioned that he thinks it’s important that even though we aren’t in the market to buy a new house that I keep my feelers out there. And that was pretty much the end of the conversation. Later that day I had a slow moment at work (something that rarely happens) so I looked to see what houses were out there for sale in the area that we would like to live. And low and behold there was a home that looked great! A little over our budget… but just by a titch. It was a 4 bedroom 3 bath tri-level on 1/3 of an acre and double the size of our current home!

We thought that it would be worth a ‘look’. So a few days later we went to see it. It was one of those surreal moments where you walk in and it just feels ‘right’. The house needed a fare amount of work (inside/out and in the yard)… but the ‘bones’ of what we would want/want were all there. The next day we brought a ton of the family with us to see it. They all loved it too and my parents offered to help us with the monetary boost that we would need for 20% down. So, we decided that we would make an offer. Unfortunately that offer HAD to be contingent on us selling our house in 17 days. GLUP! Unfortunately there was an open house already scheduled for that coming Sunday. I had to work, so Matthew brought the kids and his dad by to introduce himself to the realtor (to make it more personal and all).

Well, just about that time I mentioned to Jeff and Lindsay (who have been looking for a house to buy) that we were going to be selling our house so that we could buy this new house (totally confident that we would get it). They came through and looked at our house with that BUYERS eye and decided that THEY would like to buy it… as long as we got this other house of course.  SWEET! We revised our offer that day to make it NON-contingent on the sale of our house… now we should be a shoe-in!

 Well multiple offers came in… and we got 2^nd place! Boo! I was so sad. Despite the fact we were told that about 1/3 of 1^st offers fall through… it meant we still lost. I felt like I was in mourning. Even though the house was never our, I had pictured us there. I had seen Mallory as a teenager with her buddies hanging out in the back yard. It just felt so ‘right.’ But apparently it wasn’t meant to be. So I grieved for that day and went to bed with tears in my eyes.

The very next morning the first thought into my head in a voice loud as thunder was ‘It wasn’t all about ME.’

WHAT???? How and when is MY life not all about me? And then it dawned on me, maybe it wasn’t about me getting that house, but about Jeff and Lindsay getting THIS house. Because never would we have considered selling if there wasn’t the REAL and tangible home for us to buy. But after that realization I felt great! Actually happy! Now I just had to convince Matthew that we should still sell to them. Just the thought of broaching the subject actually made me a little nervous.  I called him as soon as I dropped the kids off as I was heading into work. I started the conversation with; “Now hear me out…” (probably words that no spouse ever wants to hear). But after I gave him my selling pitch, he kind of chuckled and said that he woke up thinking the same thing! WHAT!?!?! Turns out so did BOTH my parents!!!!!! Ok we couldn’t ignore such a blindingly obvious message from God!

So I talked with Lindsay and she was thrilled and said that they would love to still buy it and even let us rent it back from them until we found ‘our’ home. Sweet! Later that day both mom and dad had the same thought of extending the offer to let us (all 4 ½ of us) come move in with them… rent free, until we found our new home and that way Jeff and Lindsay and Connor could move in ASAP. My initial thought was ‘gee, thanks for the offer, but I’m an adult…I’ve got a family, a job… heck I’m a doctor… why should I move in with my parents’. But then Matthew (of all people) brought it up and was actually encouraging of the idea. Save money. Help Jeff and Lindsay move in faster. Live-in-kids-help. Rent free. TEMPORARY!

SIGH!!!!!  Don’t get me wrong I LOVE my parents! I have been blessed! They are wonderful, helpful, caring and we have an amazing relationship. I guess I was a little afraid to ruin it! You know how it goes when you live with someone… things are always strained. But we met with mom and dad, talked out our worriers, concerns, expectations and we are going for it!

Yep. We are moving!!!!! We are still on the lookout for ‘our’ house (or there’s the chance that the 1^st offer could fall through)… but either way we are moving… in like 6 weeks! I get all excited and sick when I think about it! I LOVE this home! It was our first! We literally grew our family here (I’m actually starting to cry now… lets blame it on the pregnancy hormones). We have poured so much love into these walls… this yard… that it’ll be really hard not to be here…especially when I don’t have any clue where my family is going to be! But the joy I have when I think about Jeff and his beautiful family here is undeniable! So I know its right! It feeling like I’m not truly losing it… I can visit and help pick peaches and cherries and enjoy the home as it morphs into THEIR home!

So… The packing process has begun! Nothing like being 6 months pregnant, working full time, parenting, wife-ing (is that a thing?), packing and having NO idea what is next! But I guess that is the epitome of FAITH!!!!! So I have been essentially, constantly giving this entire situation over to God, knowing that I obviously have no control… and trusting that He does!

For your Feet

If you remember from a few posts ago, the kids had been loving playing barber/hair cutters. They now both walk around with toy saws cutting each other’s hair at the same time (it’s like dueling stylists). The other day as they were dueling it out, Mallory grabbed both the saws and shoved them blade side down into the edge of the coffee table so that just the handles were stick up. She then said, “Wesley now you lay down, those are for your feet.”

If you aren’t roaring with laughter, you obviously haven’t been to a gynecological/pregnancy appointment in a long time… I’ll give you a moment to let your imagination run wild............................................................................................................................................

I think we have a future OB doctor or midwife on our hands!

Comboed

Last week we combined Wesley and Mallory into the same room. We wanted to do it early before BK3 came for a few reasons, 1) they could get used to it, 2) I could still help with the move before I got TOO big. Any way, the move itself went great, I love the way the room looks, the curtains that I made turned out perfect, the kids are having a blast together... the down side? They have woke each other up at 5:30/6 am for the past week!!!!! Booooooo! They used to sleep until 7:30! It's killing me! Any tips...aside from putting them back into separate rooms?

PRE-combo

 

 POST-combo

3 Week Recap

There has been a little more than the usual/typical/expected busyness happening here in the Klein household lately. That’s my excuse for being a few weeks behind on the posts. So here’s a recap:

Halloween: Mallory and Wesley went as a Chocolate Chip cookie and ‘Cookie Mouse’ (the mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). I made Malloy’s costume and my mom made Wesley’s mouse hood. I have to say I thought that it was a very cute and unique idea! Cousin Connor was an adorable monster. We all (the three kids, followed by 4 parents and 4 grandparents) went trick-or-treating around our neighborhood (though it seemed like no one was home… or just pretending not to be home)…  The kids had fun and got a TON of candy.

 

Sonny: The next day I took Sonny into work and had our orthopedic surgeon remove one of Sonny’s toes. Because about a week prior I had found a strange mass on his toe that he was licking. It turns out that Sonny has Squamous Cell Carcinoma. I took radiographs of his chest and abdomen and I didn’t see anywhere that the cancer had metastasized to… so fingers crossed we got it all and got it off early. He has spent the past 2 weeks in an e-collar driving us all BONKERS! The kids have been wonderful with him, helping me with each bandage change, stump cleaning and suture removal. He’s pretty much all healed and the collar came off 2 days ago.

 

Ultrasound: 2 Weeks ago I had my big ultrasound. Everything looks good. BK3 (Baby Klein 3… as Michelle Shira coined for us) was being a typical Klein baby… already hating pictures and being uncooperative. This was the best profile picture that the ultrasound tech could get. But the rest of the images looked good… hands, arms, feet, booty… SHE and SHE alone knows what sex BK3 is. She was really good about having us look away a ton as she got different measurements and whatnot. Mallory is REALLY excited about the new baby and kisses, loves on and talks to my tummy all the time.

 

Vacation: Through all this craziness Matthew and I were able to take a little 2 night vacation just the 2 of us! The original plan was to go to Monterey and stay in a cute B&B. But the week prior when I called to confirm our reservations I found out that they had just closed 5 days ago! (If I hadn’t of called we would have just showed up to an empty B&B!) Luckily I found a great deal of Groupon for a B&B in Calistoga! Soooooooooooo much closer, yet felt worlds away! We had a great time; we took advantage of the massages/baths that are offered throughout Calistoga, took lots of naps and ate a ton of delicious, quiet, kid free meals!!!!! A special THANK YOU to Joyce and John for watching the kids for us!

 

Lastly…here are the past few weeks of baby size pictures:

Week 18: 5.8 inches… Head to booty is about the size of one of Wesley’s toy cars.

 

Week 19: 6 inches…The same size as the toy fire truck from one of the Cars movies.

 

Week 20: 6.5 inches…the same size as Mr. (or Mrs.) Potato Head.

 

Week 21:  10.5 inches (now we measure from head to toe…) so turns out that I’m caring around Dora the Explorer.

Hair cut

Yesterday we gave Mallory her very own pair of kid scissors… and she has been having a field day cutting up papers during arts and crafts time. They have a special home and she knows NOT to touch them without permission and supervision.

This morning I was doing a little ‘fall-cleaning’ and was finishing up vacuuming at the other end of the house, when I heard Mallory yell “Mom, I gave Wesley a hair cut!!!!.” I RAN down that hallway sooooooo fast! I was completely terrified at what I was going see.

Thankfully they were just playing ‘pretends’ and she was actually ‘cutting’ his hair with a fake saw (so it looked more like she was doing a craniotomy then giving a hair cut…)! I was so relieved. Not like it would have been the end of the world, since I could just shave his head again. But ALL those blond curls are really growing on me!

 

Wiggle-wiggle

Little #3 started to wiggle around  last week (well actually I was finally able to feel it wiggle last week). I love that feeling. Its like daily/hourly conformation that the baby is doing well. I start to feel less 'fat' and more pregnant when the baby starts moving... like it's a reward for the 11 pounds I have gained already! It makes it worth it, being reminded that there's a reason for that weight. Starting yesterday the movements went from flutters to more forceful or purposeful pushing-type movements. Love it! (not really looking forward to the karate kidney kicks or the bladder head-butting... but I guess I don't get to pick and chose the movements.)