Lake Tahoe.... 1 year later!!!

I know I haven't used this site in a LONG time. I've been enjoying keeping everyone updated on Caelen's website, but I also can't make up my mind and do appriciate the format of this site.
Anyway! I wanted to use to to post a few pics of our trip to Tahoe this past weekend. :) We had a wonderful time with Caelen's Grandpa Kevin and Grandma Janet on King's Beach, North shore. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! In the 80's at least every day.

Little bug loved it and had a lot of fun in the sun. She played with her Leap Frog table that her grandparents brought along because it's her most favorite toy ever. Thomas spent a lot of time reading Lord of the Rings, while my mom and I read Harry Potter. The evenings were devoted to poker games (once Caelen was asleep.) She will be a future card shark if her love of poker chips is any indication of her future :)

Thomas and I went jet skiing on Saturday for an hour which was so much fun. I haven't done it since I was about 15. Thomas even let me drive! LOL. We only got it up to about 30 mph but it felt like we were flying.

We enjoyed our dinners out and it was nice to have other people to walk with her when she got cranky so that I could finish my dinners. She would just stare at the waiters like, "Hello, who are you?" while they were serving us. And Grandpa taught her how to go underwater... kind of! She guled a whole bunch of water and sputtered all over, but she didn't cry once she gained her breath back and then about 15 minutes later she put her face flat down into the water! LOL

Bug Stats

Weight ~ 14lbs
Height ~ 24"
Current Feats ~ Can hold head up, roll onto her side, put anything and everything into her mouth, laughs

Caelen is 3 1/2 months already!

So no posts on my blog for a long time, I know. Lord knows how many people are still reading it since I send most of my news through E-mails or myspace these days. But I feel like an update is in order :)
Life revolves around Caelen until 7:30pm and even after that most of our conversations are about how amazing she is (because she truely is!) LOL. She's so smiley these days and laughs occasionally. She loves new people and gives everyone she meets a big grin. It's very endearing and it's no wonder people just fall in love with her! She's a loud talker and loves to entertain herself by yelling, "baaa blah nah nah ha ahh" or whatever combination of sounds she thinks sounds good at the moment.
She can hold herself up on her arms while laying on her tummy and look all around, she'll roll onto her back from that spot too. When I place her in her crib she'll talk to herself and spin around the crib. I usually find her at least 180 degrees turned from the way I placed her in there. I think she just puts her feet on the crib walls and walks around.


Bedtime is nice and routine and so Thomas and I get our evenings to ourselves which is beyong theraputic and I look forward to 7:00 as a time to almost "clock out". But of course I miss her too hehehehehhe.
She wants to stand, all the time. Doesn't want to have anything to do with sitting, she wants to stand and once she's standing her left foot starts going, like she's keeping time.
I'm sure all parents feel their child is the most special and it's definitely true of us!! She's amazing and being a mom is better than I ever thought it would be.
I asked Thomas today if he ever misses the days when it was just us and without hesitating he said, "nope." I don't either. Life's so much more fun and full with her in it!!
OK there's your cheese for the day.... LOL

More adventures in parenting

So the bug will be 6 weeks on Monday and we have found the best way to keep her happy is to carry her around in the Baby Bjorn on my chest. She'll nap all day if I just have her close. She hates being abandoned to a room by herself to sleep. So I carry her around a lot now and I'm able to get so much done! Besides, one day she'll be 14 and way too cool for me, so I'm enjoying the fact that she wants to be so close to mommy all the time :)
We were given a mold to make of baby's first hand print so I decided since she was asleep I'd give it a shot. Well she doesn't ever stop moving those little hands and when I put her hand in she grabbed a whole bunch of the mold and wiped it everywhere. So I tried again (well the first attempt looked like crap!!) and the same thing happened. So now we have a mold of a little hand grabbing at the mold in two places and I had to give her a bath and change both our clothes!! LOL It was pretty amusing.


Here she is playing with her Papa. She's getting so interactive!! She smiles alot and has a lot to say these days. Lots of different sounds come out of the little girl and she'll chatter away at you if you'll listen and if she's in the mood.


It's hard work being a mommy, but man is it worth it ;) Here we are at 8:00 pm, we don't stay up too late around my house these days!

Bug Update

Sorry no pictures today :( Caelen's been sick since Christmas. She just got another bug (haha bug..... just like her) on top of the one she had last week, so now she's coughing along with the snuffles. Poor girl. But the doctors say she's fine because she's still eating well and has no fever. Today we went in again and she now weighs 10 lbs 7 ozs!!! That's 3lbs 5oz gain in 4 weeks!! So we're doing infant tylenol, humidifiers, saline drops and steamy showers. Speaking of steamy (for all you Grey's Anatomy fans) her Dr.'s name was Mark Sloan! LOL, but he was no McSteamy :)
Today I also went into the bank and let them know that I wouldn't be coming back. That went really well and everyone was very understanding and also a bit sad. I did really enjoy my job, but I have one now that's beyond a millon times better!!

BUG STATS
Current weight - 10lb 7oz
Current feats - Rolled over (once on New Years Day, and just to prove it was no fluke, 3 times yesterday) Smiling back at people. Talking (well saying "ah-goo" counts right?) Holding head up in some positions.

More pictures of the bug

Here's Caelen doing push ups already at just over 3 weeks old. Last night she almost rolled herself right over and got very frustrated when she couldn't!

Here's Caelen getting burped by her Papa, but the face is just flippin' priceless!Here's a new hat she got from Adria and Tyler. It's been really chilly here lately and so she has to bundle up everyday!

And here's the bug lying on her Grandpa Kevin's chest, eventually she lifted her head to check him out. She can't lay on her tummy without moving around!
So I just thought I'd add some more pictures for everyone to see. Life is fabulous with her here. It's wonderfully scary and overwhelming and totally worth it in every way. Everyday we make it through we get more comfortable with each other and discover new ways of being a functioning family. Having a baby makes you look at the world in a completely different way, I think you begin to discover the truely important things in life for the first time, in ways you couldn't possibly have imagined before.

Caelen Abigail

Our little bug Caelen Abigail came into the world by C-section on Monday December 4, 2006 @ 12:18pm weighing 7lbs 2oz and was 20" long. She is wonderful and beautiful and I don't miss being pregnant at all! ;)

This is seconds after she was delivered and right before they whisked her and Thomas away and I got stitched up. You can't see that I had tears pouring out of my eyes :)

This is the day she came home from the hospital, looking at her papa.

Already filling out in the face! This is today at 9 days old! They change sooooooo fast!

Waiting......

The carpet is done, the crib is up, her room is pretty much set and we are totally ready for her to arrive now! I'm due Saturday, day after tomorrow, in 2 days, Dec. 2nd, but it's looking like she's gonna make us all wait just a little bit longer to meet her. I went to the Dr. today for a check up and she pretty much told me I wasn't progressing toward labor anytime soon. (In more graphic terms of course ;) I was slightly upset since I had been having a lot of false labor all week, which can be very painful at times, and all of it was for nothing. So we made another Dr.'s apt for Monday to come up with "a plan" she said. Basically meaning we would need to talk about induction, which I'm not really excited about, since your risk for a C-section goes up when you're induced and I would really like to avoid that. But we gotta do what we gotta do.
So in the mean time I'm trying to enjoy these last days with her in the belly, I'm reminding myself that it's going to be anyday now whether I go past due or not, she'll be here soon. I was reading What To Expect When Expecting and they were reassuring me that there's never been a pregnancy in the history of the world that DIDN'T end. I know that sounds obsurd, but it was a really nice reminder for me at this stage in the game :)
Besides waiting around for our little bug, life consists of working at my Mom's (we are incredibly busy and very thankful that business is booming) taking naps, visiting with friends, and watching Grey's Anatomy. I got the first 2 seasons on DVD from my mother in law and we've been watching those. After we finished them, I got caught up on the internet. I really love that show, it's fabulous! So tonight is a Grey's night, I will be on the couch by myself, since Thomas will hopefully be out winning us some money at a poker tournament with his buddies. heheheehehe
So I'll keep you posted.... hopefully we'll have some news soon. Have a good weekend!

I didn't want to come home!!

We just got back from Lake Tahoe, that's why ;) It was absolutely beautiful. We went up for three days this week to just get away one last time before the baby comes, and maybe for awhile after that too! It was uncrowded, beautifully clear 70 degrees during the height of the day. Our hotel was right on the water on the North shore.

This was the view from our room, looking out to the little private beach that our hotel had. There wasn't a cloud in the sky :)
The first night we went to a mexican restaurant called Blue Agave in Tahoe City and then we hit the sack early. The next day we ate breakfast at this cute little breakfast house in King's Beach, we did a little tourist shopping in Tahoe City and then we drove all the way down to the south shore. We probably wasted about $10 on slot machines all day because I found on little machine that liked to pay me about $1.50 every few tries. We then spent the afternoon on the beach.

I looked at some real estate magazines just to torture my self while Thomas read a book. It was soooooooo relaxing! We went to dinner at Jason's that night in King's Beach.

On the way home today we drove by Emerald Bay and came home by way of highway 50.

The best part was the time of year that we were there. Not only was it not crowded, but the everygreens were interspersed with other trees that were turning yellow, orange and red for the fall and it was absoluetly just gorgeous up there. Thomas and I couldn't stop marvelling at it.
Anyway, now it's back to reality :( Well at least reality consists of some new exciting events coming up, but I'd still like to stay in Tahoe forever ;)

Sick in September

Ugh, we've been the house of the sickies. Thomas got sick last week and just when I thought I was in the clear, I caught it! Only difference is I can't take medication. Well.. I can take SOME meds, like sudefed which makes me feel like I took speed and the Dr. actually told me not to, and Claritin, which does absolutely nothing! I took one yesterday and I'll be darned if that thing even TOUCHED my cold becuase I was pretty miserable. Today I think I might just get desperate enough to try a sudefed again. At least those things keep my face from draining all over the place!! LOL
Great news! Our bathroom is pretty much done now. I'll post pics when I get a chance because I think it turned out really cute. Now we get to touch up the bedroom and hopefully move back in in the next couple weeks. Then it's on to the carpet. After that the big projects are officially over (inside the house). It will just be finishing touches from here on out, thank the Lord!!!
I went to the Dr.'s yesterday and she gave me my leave date. So my last day of work will be Nov. 3rd. I think that'll be good because I want that time to get ready for Thanksgiving, Christmas and of course the arrival of the baby. Everything else looked good at my appointment. My blood sugar levels came back normal, which is a great thing, because my poor friend has had to re-do that sugar test 2 more times, and it's yucky! The Dr. also talked to me about recognizing signs of labor so that I can call if I have any indication that this baby wants out :) Then I realized, man we're close. She only has 7 more weeks until she's considered full term, only 11 til she's due. YIKES!!
Next time I'll post some pics of the bathroom. Here's hoping ya'll are NOT sick!

Just another day in paradise

Just a couple of quick photos and an update.
Here's Thomas putting the tile in our tiny little master bathroom shower. It's such slow going, but he works really long and hard hours on these re-model projects. I just want to be DONE!
Here's me yesterday. Now I think she was crooked in there because I felt extra large all of a sudden and my belly is sticking out so horizontally that she must have been doing some sort of contortion LOL. She is supposedly 13 inches long and 1.5 pounds. She also should have her hair by now too. I can't wait to see her!

Ready? Set? AHHHHHH

So we only have 3 1/2 months left before we get to meet our daughter and we are feeling the pinch! Of course there's all the baby stuff to get ready, all the birthing, and breastfeeding, and late pregnancy classes to schedule. Also getting state disability and maternity leave all figured out, so that's all on my mind.

But.... now there's something else. It's always been hanging over our heads that we WANT to move outta the suburbs to the county. Well now it's looking like, WANT to or NOT we probably HAVE to move. It's all financial of course. Our mortgage is insane and since I will be a stay at home mom, we are going to be forced to make other living arrangments. Luckily my hubby is a VERY talented carpenter, so plan A is, we buy a couple of acres, put a modular or temp home on it and live there for a couple of years before we build our home. This is very feasible and looking like the best option we have. It's just a matter of getting the land to work out.
Thomas went out to look at some property last weekend and ran into the owner. Turns out he's also the owner of the last property we put an offer on (we withdrew the offer because it was contingent on a ground water test that wouldn't take place for many months, so we let it go, but still love that land). Anyway they had a great talk and this week we're going to make another, better-for-us offer. Hopefully it passes the ground water test.
All that to say please be praying for us as we have to come up with some sort of plan, since we can't stay here LOL. (Niether of us ever really wanted to anyway, it is slightly ghetto).

So a baby AND moving Woo hoo. HEHEHEH Anyway THomas is working this weekend on our shower and hopefully will have the bathroom done soon, so we can get on to getting carpets replaced.

Life's not boring that's for sure!

Feeling huge

So far this is definitely the best part of the pregnancy. Caelen moves all the time and about 5 other people have felt her or even seen her kicking around in her little home. She has a favorite position and a favorite place to kick me, it's so fun to feel like I'm getting to know her already. Feeling her moving everyday and respoding to our touches and voices makes everything (all the throwing up) way worth it.

Yesterday she was really going to town and she stuck her foot WAY out and I poked it and she sucked it back in. I felt like I actually touched her! It was very cool.

The third trimester is almost here and so of course I'm feeling pretty big. I know I'm no where near what I'm gonna be, but my stomach feels squished, my back hurts at the end of the day, and the belly just feels enormous. I wish I could take it off, set it on the couch next to me for a little bit and then put it back on when I was ready! LOL But overall I guess I can't complain much, I feel pretty good, alot of people are telling me I look good, and my hubby still tells me I'm beautiful everyday, so I'm pretty happy. :)

Our days pretty much consist of working, and then coming home eating dinner and watching 24 on DVD. My parents have been going through the seasons and they let us watch them when they're done. It sucks you in and you become obsessed with it, it's absolutely the best show ever. We never want to stop and go to bed, but we know we have to! On the weekends we're still working on the master bathroom and bedroom. But hopefully we'll have it done soon. I really want to start getting Caelen's room all ready. She already has a good collection of clothes, but the problem with little babies is they outgrown stuff so fast, you have to buy a few sizes in advance. So it looks like a lot but it's a collection of sizes to fit through the whole year.

Anyway I can't believe we only have about 3 1/2 months left to go. She's about a foot long and 1 1/2 lbs. Time sure flies!! Before you know it she'll be here and it'll be Christmas :)

It's a little.......

GIRL!!

What an awesome day. The first thing we saw when he put the ultrasound wand on my tummy was a shot of her bottom and her legs. I asked what we were looking at and he said, "We're looking at her legs." I said, "HER!?!?!" He said, "Yep, that definitely a girl." And it was for sure.

She moved all around and we got to see her from practically every angle. He said everything looked perfect and healthy. We saw her stretching her legs out in a jumping motion (and I felt it too of course.) She was putting her hands in her mouth and wiggling them all around. We saw legs, tummy, head, brain, heart, ear, fingers, arms, lips, the umbilical cord and of course, the lack of anything in the nether regions.

These pictures are pretty cool. In the first one she's holding up four fingers, and in the second one she's pointing!! The tech said he had rarely seen ones like that in the 15 years he'd been doing it.
Anyway, it was really neat to see, I could have sat there all day long and watched her move around. She's very active too. Last night Thomas had his hand on my belly and she kicked him so hard he jumped. It was pretty cool.
She measured exaclty to the due date so on Dec 2nd, Caelen Abigail Kline is due to make her debut. LOL

Woodrow and Baby

We were taking some pictures this afternoon and Woodrow wanted to join in, so we thought this was a pretty darn cute picture!
Tomorrow is the BIG day. Hopefully all goes well and we can see what we need to see because we are sooooo excited to know whether it's a boy or a girl. Only 14 hours to wait LOL. I also can't wait to see a better picture of the baby as it will have grown so much by now. I feel them moving all the time now, and it's strong! Thomas got to feel it once. I sat at work today and was just entertained by the baby moving against my hand. Definitely one of the coolest things about being pregnant and I know it'll only get stronger.
Tomorrow is also my friend Danielle's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANIELLE!!

Talk to you guys tomorrow

POP!

Holy crap I think I "Popped" :) They say at some point in the pregnancy you just pop and all of a sudden you have a belly. Well I think that time has come. This pic was taken today at 17 wks and 4 days.
It's big like this even in the morning. And now people are asking me left and right if I'm pregnant. I love it! And I'm feeling like I get bigger everyday now.
Things are getting uncomfortable now, like sleeping and bending over. The baby is moving like crazy everyday which is so fun. I feel like they are saying Hi, or if there's music playing I say that the baby is dancing.
My parents took me out to buy some maternity clothes this weekend which was really fun. I did end up getting all dizzy and out of breath so we had to go get some chicken nuggets :) Dr. said protein was the answer for those out-of-breath episodes. But I got some really nice outfits to wear to work.

Here's a picture of Daddy painting the nursery. He's worked so hard getting some new windows in, new closet doors, and painting it all. I can't wait to put all the baby stuff in it, but first we're gonna move ourselves into the nursery while he remodels our bedroom. When that's done we'll put carpets in all the bedrooms and be pretty much done with the house.

We're still looking into moving somewhere with a couple acres and building a house. The hardest part is finding the land, but we think we may have something in the works which would be the perfect plan for us so I hope it really works out.

It rained today. That's the second time in June that it's rained, and that is not normal! It never rains this time of year. I guess it was some tropical storm up from Mexico affecting us. Very odd.

Well, not much more to say. Just growing day by day and enjoying the summer. Less than 2 weeks until we find out if we have a he or a she!

I get a kick out of you

Today was the frist day that someone who didn't know I was pregnant guessed that I was pregnant. I'm 16 wks and 2 days. One of our customers at the bank (her husband actually works with my sister at Raley's) saw me standing and asked one of the other tellers if I was pregnant. When she found out she was so excited, she wanted me to stand up again and show off my belly. She said she didn't want to ask me yet just in case, but that she thought for sure I must be! Very exciting ;) I finally look pregnant!!

Another exciting step in the pregnancy journey is feeling the baby move! I first felt a flutter at about 3 months which is really early. I didn't feel the baby again until 2 weeks later and now I feel them every day, multiple times a day. This one's a mover and I have a feeling they'll be kicking me like crazy from now on out :) Thomas has not been able to feel it yet, I think it's still too small (only about 5 inches or so long), but I told him, it's definitely HIS child in there because it's already being difficult. ;) The baby will move and wiggle and as soon as I have Thomas put his hand on the belly, the baby stops, until he gives up and takes his hand away and then the baby's going to town again.

We've started registering for baby stuff which is sooooo much fun but also overwhelming. We've never done this before obviously, and it is so hard to know what to get. Which brand is easiest, good value, has longevity?? And then, of course, everyone has their own opinions, which is wonderful, but they never agree with each other! Ugh. I think we'll just go in to the store, goof around with some strollers and then pick one.

Oh yeah, and we already have people suggesting books for us to read on how to disipline our children. Now...... our child is still a fetus......they are not going to be even ready to greet the world for another 5 months, let alone be disiplined for how ever many months after that.... And, God bless 'em, these people totally mean well and are trying to be helpful, but crap! I thought we could wait until the kid was born before people started telling us how to raise our children, guess I was wrong. ;)

My friend finds out on Monday if she's having a boy or a girl and then on July 11th we get to find out what we're having!!! I can't wait. And then by that point I'll be about 5 months along and half way through the pregnancy already. Geez, once the vomitting stopped, time really started moving!

So the votes so far are BOY - 6 GIRL - 2. Other people are hoping and guessing and whatnot, but of all the people with a strong opinion, those are the votes. One friend says I'm exuding femininity so I must be having a girl. A coworker just wants me to have a girl so bad she's convinced thats what it is. But Thomas and I and most of the family think it's a boy. We would be totally excited for either one though, and just can't wait to know.

The Bump

I just wanted to post a quick update of the bump. I'm finally eating normal foods for the most part. Some days (like today) are still a little queasy, but I'm feeling so much better overall!

Just taking a nap

Here's a couple more pictures of our baby from today. It's taking a nap!!! I went in for my 12 week check up today. We couldn't hear the heart beat with the little machine (which can happen when you're only 12 weeks along) so she busted out the ultrasound and we saw this! The nurse saw the little heartbeat and I said, "It looks like they're taking a nap!" She agreed because the baby wasn't moving around much. But everything looked great she said.
On the pic on the right (in real life at least) you can see the arm and the fingers!! The top circle is the head and the bottom circle is the tummy. And it's just resting up against the wall there sleeping.
I have officially gained NOTHING. I weigh exactly what I weighed when I found out I was pregnant. I guess I'll be happy for it when I don't have as much to lose after the baby is born :)
Today was also a good day as far as being sick goes. I even ate a doughnut, yes I know that's not healthy, but man I feel somewhat normal and that is so exciting!

In other, not so exciting news, my co-worker Pam and I got tickets to see Kelly Clarkson in August. That'll be fun ;)
Oh yes and how could I forget, tomorrow is Thomas' birthday. He's gonna be 24, woo hoo! I got him the choclatiest cake I could find, so I think he'll be very happy.
I am also enjoying reading Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, good book if you're looking for one. It looks like it would be sad, but the way it's told is really great and makes the book really intriguing. It's also pretty funny at times.

So that's it, just really wanted to share the baby pictures ;)

Back from being MIA

I hate being faked out. I totally thought I was on the road to recovery, travelling AWAY from the morning sickness until this weekend when it came back with a vengence! I have gained all of 2 pounds in this pregnancy and judging by the size of my belly I think I know where it's all going! :)
Anyway I am SO excited to finally be showing a little (very little.) I can't fit in my old clothes anymore, thank God for the invention of the belly band. I leave all my pants unbuttoned and just throw the band on over and it keeps my pants up, but loose, which is what I'm all about these days. I'm loving my sweat pants!!
Now for a bit of exciting news. I know I'm only a little more than 12 weeks and they say you usually feel the first movement around 18-20 weeks if it's your first, but I swear I felt a little somersault in there. It totally shocked me but I felt a big flutter way down low in my "tummy". (It was NOT gas I know that for sure.) I haven't felt it since, but I can't wait until I feel it all the time! I have been chatting online with other women who are due the same time I am and they're beginning to feel it too. Most of them have had other babies, but they agree that's probably what I felt.

On the non-pregnant front, we finally have some closure on the bank robbery. He took a plea bargain for 13 years. Now he is headed down the the bay area to stand trial for his other robberies, so he'll be looking at more time. We never have to go and testify! I am so happy. I would have liked to go in and make his life miserable, but now it's over and I never have to think about it again and I am thrilled!
OK back to the baby! Here's a pic of a baby right now in a 3D ultrasound. (This is not OUR baby, but A baby at 13 weeks.) The baby's tooth buds and fingerprints have already all formed! And it's about 3 inches long!
We also think we have decided on names. If it is a girl she will be Caelen Abigail Kline. If it is a boy he will be Thomas Morgan Kline but he will go by Morgan. :) Yay so exciting!!