The Bungalow

This made me laugh out loud!

I love it that kids toys can challenge adults. And even though the kids toys say, "ages 4 and up" the toy clearly isn't made for kids that are four.

My mom has LOTS of toys at her house that are for the kids. And sometimes the adults find themselves enjoying the toys more than the kids. She has a puzzle, just like the one here (thanks Melissa) and Jen, Russ, my mom and I have had competitions to see who completes the puzzle first....Sam and Elli just like stacking the blocks up and knocking them over. They have no interest in the puzzle. Interesting how that works out, huh?

Things I want to do before BK comes...Continued

~~1. Make a pie~~
~~2. Go to the apple orchard~~
3. Make a snow angel and try to make it look pregnant
4. Walk to school
5. Update my phone contacts and make it organized (I tried this and then plugged my phone into the computer and LOST ALL THE WORK I DID BECAUSE IT REVERTED BACK TO MY OLD CONTACTS - SOOOO FRUSTRATING!)
6. Go to Michigan three times in the next three months - going this weekend!
7. Go to the zoo
8. Eat a donut at the cider mill and feed the ducks with Sam and Elli This weekend!
9. Take a nap with a baby
10. ~~Send Steve~~ a care package every month (I crossed off two words, because so far he has gotten two packages from me :))
11. ~~Donate one~~ thing every month to goodwill
12. Update the blog at least 4x/month
13. Teach all my first graders to read
14. Write in my journal to record all that God has done for me in this transition time
15. ~~Take a bath~~
16. Get over my fear of swimming at the YMCA and just do it
17. Run/Walk at least 2x/week (doing great! This week I worked out 5 times!)
18. Write for a military online magazine (I have all the info, I just need to write the article)
19. And to end it all, I want to have a baby.....Then Steve can come home and celebrate with us!

Apple Orchard

I had so much fun picking apples at the apple orchard with Jennifer and Melissa. Even Alice enjoyed herself!

(Isn't she just adorable!)

It wasn't quite the same as a Midwest apple orchard, but I did get a whole bag of apples and made homemade applesauce....Boy, it was delicious. I am pretty sure I ate it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...

In school I am teaching my kids about healthy habits and we are talking about how eating things in moderation is good for you. And, even though things like carrots, are good for you, it is not good to just eat carrots because you need a balanced diet. After talking through this, one of my kids raised his hand and said,

"But, Mrs. Klenke, then eating all that applesauce was not good for you, or the baby!"

You are right kiddo....But sometimes pregnant ladies make exceptions.

I didn't get to ride in a tractor, but I did get to squeeze my hips into a wagon.

20 Week Ultrasound

We are going backwards a bit, but thanks to my friend Melissa I was able to get a couple pictures of our 20 week ultrasound. Melissa is a super star and even got this nice lady to do a 3D ultrasound. Melissa always asks the right questions and this lady did her best to answer them...When she couldn't she would just say, "Well, let me show you on the 3D ultrasound!" It was perfect, thanks Melissa!

The Baby Moved! (22 weeks)

Yesterday I was laying on my back in bed and working on the computer. All of a sudden I felt this strange push. I moved the computer and put my hands on my stomach and sure enough, there was Abby! She kicked! Not like the flutters I have felt before, but a real, hard, jab to my stomach! What an exciting day...She did it several times and I just sat there laughing with my hands on my stomach for at least 10 minutes. It was great.

22 Weeks! You can see it now!

And....the baby bump is here! I wore a sweater over this outfit for most of the day because I wasn't sure how I felt about wearing a complete, black, spandex outfit...But it sure does show off the bump. (The marks on the wall are a reflection of the mirror that is on the floor by my feet. I now understand what Melissa meant when she said that each week she has to take at least 20 pictures to find one that actually works...The positioning and timing of taking a picture of yourself sure is tricky!)