Thoughts from the Gut

*  I am 24 weeks pregnant today.  I look like I did when I was 28 weeks pregnant with Taryn.  Considering Taryn weighed 8lbs14oz at birth, this scares me. 

*  Looking down, I can officially only see the very tips of my toes. 

*  They say that you carry boys lower.  I don't know if it is the 2nd pregnancy thing or the fact that it is a boy, but it definitely seems low.  I feel like Peter Griffin when he is naked and his belly goes down to his thighs. 

*  While pregnant with Taryn, I was pregnant from, like September until May.  This time it will be February through October.  I think the winter pregnancy is definitely easier!  I am sure it doesn't help that this has been a hot, dry summer.  Besides the heat, during the summer you are wearing shorts and sandals.  This means you need to shave your legs and paint your toenails.  Both are a challenge with the belly.  But, I am not yet ready to go with the "If I can't see it, it's not there" approach.  Then there is the dreaded maternity bathing suit.  "Maternity" and "bathing suit" just don't go together!  Finally, there is something about summer (and being off work all summer) that makes you want to drink.  I mean, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Saturdays...  All great drinking days during the summer.  And a Busch NA is just not quite the same. 

*  I wondered if feeling the baby kick would be as amazing the second time around as it was with the first pregnancy.  It absolutely is!  I could sit with my hand on my stomach for hours of the day. 

*  When you've had your first, you can't even imagine loving anything in the world so much.  But, I know it happens and am prepared to be just as blown away by Cole as I am with Taryn.  The point above gives me a glimpse of what this whole 2-child thing is going to be like.  (Part of this is probably the only child factor.  I don't really get the whole sibling thing just yet!) 

*  This pregnancy seems to be going so much faster!  To think (if c-section is necessary) I may only have 13 weeks left is pretty unreal!  And I can't wait to meet my little man!

Class of 2027?

                                                                                 How old does that make you feel????

Father's Day 2012

Thank you Michelle for reminding me to post this...  For Father's Day, I actually took something from Pinterest and FOLLOWED THROUGH ON IT!  Amazing. 

3 is such a great age for a gift like this because the know just enough to be hilarious.  I mean, she was right on the money with Lee loving to watch basketball...  But, I would venture to say she was a little off when she said he loves going to the park and drinking water.

Summer Break - 2012

As we near the middle of my summer break, I wanted to update what Taryn and I have been up to...   

Thankfully, quite a bit of this...  SLEEP.  Taryn hasn't exactly been a champion sleeper, but she still sleeps a good 11-12 hours a day.  I sleep a good 8.  That's nice.  There was one day where I think I logged 13!  That has to be a record since, like, my early 20's! 

 We had a garage sale a few weeks ago.  While I did a good 95% of the work, Lee decided to confiscate most the profits and buy this rifle.  So, this weekend we took my mom out to learn how to shoot.  Taryn and I spent most our time watching from the safety of the car. 

 FIND WATER.  Sprinklers, pools, baby pools, wherever!  In this picture, Taryn is actually standing in the Wabash River which is at record levels of LOW this summer.  We could really use some rain in these parts.

One day while my mom and I were talking, we coined the term "Toddler Tiring Business".  That definitely feels like my job description for the summer.  Naps are elusive these days.  You have to really wear her out.  Your timing has to be impeccable.  And then you just need a little bit of luck thrown in for good measure.  On this day, she was SO. WORN. OUT.  But, refused to nap.  She finally was laying on the floor by my feet throwing a fit and just fell asleep right there.  She slept on the carpet for a good hour.  Toddlers.  Why do they hate sleep so much?  It is glorious!!

Naked knights?  Yeah, I have no idea. 

Gymnastics classes have started back up for the summer.  Most classes have gone really well except for last week when she decided to have a case of the cling-to-mommys.  She is in class with two children of a couple that went to high school with Lee & I.  It is nice to be able to sit there and chat while the kids get their workout. 

If you know your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes, you should remember the  episode where they build a birdhouse for Baby Redbird.  Well, on this day I was cleaning off the bookshelves in Baby Cole's room and Taryn decided she wanted to build a birdhouse.  If you look closely, there are two stuffed animal birds in there. 

Annoy the cats.  Always a fun pasttime. 

And finally, my own brand of homeschooling.  I want to get Taryn ready for preschool starting in September, so we have been working on stuff at home.  Usually, if we have a free day, I'll spend about 45 minutes with her doing stuff.  She is great with numbers, but her letters aren't quite as mastered.  We also work on cutting paper, matching, patterns, puzzles, etc.  My goal is to have her writing her name before preschool.  We'll see...  I have gotten a lot of great stuff from this website:  Confessions of a Homeschooler.  

So, I guess this is a good summary of our first 6 weeks of summer.  On the agenda for the 2nd half is a lot more of the same...  Plus robot art camp with Grandma, a baseball game with the Klemme family and a lot more work around the house!! 

Baby Cole Says HI!

I know it takes me a long time to make it official in the ol' blog world and most of my readers know already, but October 20th, 2012 is our due date and we're going to be having a BOY!  He will be named Cole Leroy Klemme.  The Leroy is after Lee's grandpa. Lee is actually named after his grandpa Leroy and his other grandpa Leo.  Whenever baby names are discussed, the name Leroy is always first on Lee's list. 

Catching up...  How has this pregnancy been going? 
Pretty well, really.  I was pretty sick from weeks 9 to 12, but never actually tossed my cookies.  I think I was more sick this time than with Taryn, but it is hard to compare.  When I was pregnant with Taryn, I was working from home and more importantly I didn't have a 3 year old to keep me on my toes.  Just about as soon as the sickness ended, the headaches started.  They aren't horrible headaches, but they are frequent.  Fortunately they go away with a little bit of caffeine.  Those have dwindled since the end of school though (hmm, imagine that) and I have been feeling great. 

How is Taryn handling it? 
Taryn is incredibly excited.  She refers to it as HER baby and often tells us what the baby is doing in my belly.  Sometimes he's just hanging out, sometimes he is playing, a few times he has been laughing at her.  She has quite the imagination.  At first she was sure that the baby was a boy, but one day she realized she wanted a sister and suddenly it was always a girl.  She has accepted the news that it is in fact a baby brother now and has been watching more Max & Ruby in order to prepare. 

Is Lee excited to have a son? 
Um, yes.  He says he has always wanted one of each and if we had a boy first he would be wanting a girl right now.  But, more importantly, I'm pretty sure he has dreams of coaching Little League in his head.  Not that girls can't do sports...  But, at the moment, Taryn insists she is going to be a cheerleader and I don't think Lee is interested in coaching that! 

Will we be having more kids? 
NO.  After Taryn, I always said that if the next one was a boy, we would be done.  If it was a girl, we'd probably be done.  So, unless Lee grows a uterus, we're done. 

While Cole is due to make his appearance around October 20th, there is a chance that I will be having a c-section closer to October 1st.  We will get another ultrasound at the end of July to see if the c-section will be necessary.  Honestly, I don't care either way as long as I have a healthy baby.  And considering my first bundle of joy was almost 9 lbs, having the baby 3 weeks early may not be the worst thing ever.  We will see, but I am prepared for either! 

This pregnancy is going by much faster than the first.  It is hard to believe that we are just about 4 months from the big day!  I can't wait for my family to be complete!!