Art, Donuts, & Football

We chose to stay home this weekend to rest our bones and, well, to be home for a weekend. There was an art fair going on here in Wausau that was quite large and it was fun getting Christmas gifts and to try and win an item or two at the silent auction.

Painter just painting behind his tent.
Presh.

We have made a tradition to get donuts every Saturday so we walked to the donut shoppe and decided before we got there that we would split a donut. Well it turns out I am pregnant so I got two and Caleb got one. I was ashamed only after eating both and then I got over it quite quickly after that. We did go to a co-workers home to watch the Iowa vs Iowa State game. We are not HUGE fans but it is fun for a big10 team to lose against anyone so that the Badgers can still look great. On Sunday it was, well, a day of football as any Sunday is in this household if September is here. We all know who won the game of the week but my husband lost so we just keep it as a statement and not a paragraph. We did both win our fantasy games against a couple other brothers so that was worth it. I am not sure what brother Tim was thinking by not changing his team but I didn’t mention anything to him as I didn’t mind the free points. Nathan did however pick up a Packer player (Jones) after the game so I think he may be scheming a trade offer in the coming weeks to this sole Packer fan. I am catching on, Nathan, carry on.

Week 31

• A pineapple little one… over 3 pounds and over 16 inches. I measured 32 weeks today at my appointment so I am think we have a big one or momma is getting chunky. The first option is my guess. ☺
• All five senses are willing and able but smell will not be used until air hits it’s face. Nothing to smell in the amniotic fluids, I hear. 
• Lil Gibby has irises and can see and react to light. I will be testing this tomorrow for sure! 
• Major brain and nerve development have occurred this week. I am fine with this and test both these by pushing on it’s feet and waiting for Gibby to shove back. 

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I don’t really have anything to report this week that hasn’t already been claimed in weeks prior. I still don’t sleep that well, I am slow to wake and early to bed. I still don’t move around that great but I am trooper and I just need Caleb’s hand to keep up and then I am able to keep up. This little baby loves to move around and remind ma that there is a growing one in her way to live a life.

We are home this weekend again but will be busy as we are on a birthday weekend itinerary. Yes, peeps, we celebrate my birthday for a full week. Embrace the love (and presents) my husband is willing to give me.

Chicago: Memory Lane, Wedding Aisle, and Wis Dells Scenic Path

We’re baaaaaaaack! From Chicago this weekend, that is. We were off to celebrate a weeding of one of Caleb’s confidants in grad school, Micah. It was a blast being at the wedding and seeing three boys laugh about how life is now in the professional world. I did not understand half or any of the verbiage they were using but it seemed very higher ed. One of the friends came from Missouri with his wife so we shared a hotel together and hung out the whole night. It was great to see them and to catch up.

The wedding was gorgeous. I loved the feel of it, almost like a Martha Stewart spread for the tables and the floral. They had the whole night at the wedding which was great for all and there was no dance. Instead, they played the movie “Father of the Bride” in the gym. We did not stay for this portion but sure thought it was a great idea for them especially.

The night prior to the wedding, Caleb and I came down to the condo in the Dells and hung out eating frozen pizza and watching a movie. In case you were wondering, “Aloha” is literally one of the worst movies to watch. It is pitiful. Caleb and I started out the morning leaving early enough to get into Chicago to eat our traditional breakfast at “Baker & Nosh” on Wilson where we went every Saturday living in Chicago. It was so nostalgic and I was so happy to be back. We got the last of the treccia (pastry) by literally 5 minutes and that is what we were looking forward to the most. Thank you very much! Please see link below to see how to make it and also the owner of this fine establishment.

http://wgntv.com/2015/08/04/lunchbreak-treccia-from-baker-nosh/

We also played cribbage, another tradition, but the master, Caleb, schooled me. After breakfast it was time for a walk down memory lane to Andersonville to see what was new or changed and then Caleb got his hair cut at a local barber. He waited it out two months to get his haircut and man did he need a beard trim. Don’t get too excited, he only cut two inches. That is a lot to cut off, I know, but for that face hang-piece it is minimal. He looks oh so good! Before we went to the wedding, we stopped by "Oven Grinders" downtown Chicago and ate THE BEST PIZZA by far for me. It was like a casserole and was just so delicious. Peeps need to visit this place ASAP.

Adding to the scatterbrain of this post, we woke in the morning after the wedding to free hotel breakfast and a journey to our church in Chicago. This weekend was a lot of driving but each destination was worth it. At church, they are doing my favorite series where they take a song and its lyrics and hone it back to Jesus in some way. This sermon was about a song written by the songwriter in “Once” and it was acapella. It would be great if I could think of the song, but I cannot. You are welcome. Pastor Kevin came to the service with his wife and all I could do throughout the sermon was thank Jesus for saving his life in the scooter accident and pray to Jesus for continued healing. For those that do not know, Kevin Bruutsema was involved in a hit and run while he was riding his scooter. He is not mobile from the neck down and isn’t to the level past a 4th grader for social interaction. HOWEVER, he was fully at church this weekend and remember stories that Pastor Chad was telling through out the sermon. It was incredible to compare the before, during, and after accident progression. After the service, we chatted with people from our former small group and headed off the Nathan and Kelly’s for the NFL fantasy draft.

Oh man, did we miss our nephew Miles like a ton. Walking in the door and him acknowledging us like we have never left Chicago was great thinking back. He misses Caleb so much and even told the group on Sunday that Caleb is his “best friend sometimes”… precious for a 7 year old to affirm Caleb. I stunk doing the draft but all others in the room did great. For some reason, I cannot do picking players that are not on Green Bay and taking players that “should” do well this season. I will get better and I will beat my siblings this year. I hope.
After the draft, Caleb and I went back to the Dells and hung out for the night before waking the next morning to go for a walk to High Rock on the river and just lounged around. A very relaxing weekend.

Woof, this post was way too informatory and long. Please remind me not to get this excited about a weekend again.

Week 30

As long as a cucumber… 16 inches and 3 pounds. Holy cow… that is crazy business and doesn’t seem like a cucumber measurement at all. It sounds huge though. I think I am in for a wake-up call when this Gibster is born in 10 weeks ( I hope not sooner!)
A wrinkly brain and smooth skin are the progressions of my child this week, both good things to focus on lil one!
Lastly… Gibby has enough strength to hold my finger. Oh for cute, am I right. I want to hold your hand, lil one. Stay safe in there.
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I try really hard to protect my belly but sometimes when you trespass on DNR property and have to squeeze through a fence… you bruise your belly and have to make your first call to First Nurse. All is well with the baby but mom sure felt the pain of being quite larger than last time going through that fence.
I don’t sleep through the night any more and am okay with it. I am getting used to being tired throughout the day and having no energy when I get home. I am secretly loving this stage of having a reason to lounge but I know I should buck up and keeping these muscles strong.
I am working on getting my feet up so this swelling that has begun stays put where it is but some of my shoes are not quite fitting. Oh well, it is apart of the mom-to-be gig.

Wausau weekend is ahead, Caleb couldn’t be happier to have a home weekend. No driving for him!

Northwoods Camp and Extra Look at Baby

Hey yo! We went on a trip to the cabin this past weekend. It was so fun. We love it up there. There isn’t much to do and that is just the way I like it. We started out the weekend stopping at the only restaurant in town, Northcountry Inn. The fish is just so good. I mean, it is so good. I got blue gill and Caleb got walleye. He got a heaping portion of fish and I got a heaping pile of fries so we packed up the extras to cook over the fire the next day.

We got to the cabin around 7:30p and set-up camp. We proceeded to start a fire and ate s’mores for days that night.

I did not sleep very well that night as I am pregnant and those beds are three generations old so they have no support any longer. Caleb on the other hand slept fine and we slept in until 9a. It felt good to have no agenda for the day so we made the famous camping breakfast of potatoes, bacon, and eggs in the Paul Bunyan skillet. What a tradition that Caleb really enjoys.

We then packed up and went to get our fishing license and bait for an afternoon of fishing on Lily Lake. Caleb was a hero for getting the boat on the car all alone and pampering his primary princess the entire weekend.

Peeps, we went at high noon practically, dumb us, so the fish did not bite and we got a tad over heated. Lesson learned. After fishing, we came back and had hot dogs on the fire and Caleb mowed the land. As he was mowing, I gathered wood for burning in the pit. I was very proud of myself and gathered a heaping pile. How did I get it all back to the cabin you ask? Well I put a tarp on the ground like a blanket and gathered all the wood on top and drug it back. Okay, I did not drag it the entire way due to the weight but my studly husbo helped in the end. I was way proud of myself and Caleb thought I overdid my task for sure. Caleb and I made burgers on the skillet for dinner and we enjoyed the fire throughout the night. I made a KILLER fire to start off the night. Something about the campfire that I really enjoy. I am very opinionated when it comes to fire making, I came to that realization this weekend.

We woke in the morning to me sleeping great and Caleb got a neck cramp in the night so woke up very early to pain. Poor guy. Clean-up day is never fun so we just packed up and gathered in the morning, ate breakfast and lunch on the fire. Played a quick game of cribbage (a tradition) and headed home. I drove my baby home because of his lack of sleep and pain which the journey felt like it took forever.

In other news, we had a third ultrasound for Gibby. It turns out if your placenta grows over your cervix, baby baby can’t come into this world with out a c-section. Who knew? The good news is that this issue arose during my 20-week ultra sound so this ultra sound was to let us know that it has moved and I am back on the “normal” pregnancy spectrum. Jesus is very nice to this girl. This kid is just the cutest. It was smushed up against my belly so we were not able to get 3D images. It is okay though because we saw Gibby open it’s eyes, hiccup, and he/she was just longing with it’s arm above it’s head having a leisure day in the womb. Just the cutest to have it inside my belly moving CONSTANTLY!

Week 29

• An acorn squash is present under my shirt this week measuring 16 inches long and a lil over 3 pounds.
• Supposedly I am running out of room in there for the lil cutie so jabs and kicks are my future and present days. I do not mind feeling this kid on a constant basis though. 
• Hiccups should be felt starting this week which I am very much looking forward to. I feel like it would be great to feel those!

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• My headaches are all but gone. Isn’t that just the best? I am now taking 350mg of Tylenol when I feel a headache coming on and it has worked like a charm and dissipate within a couple hours. Heavenly. 
• No new stretch marks to claim quite yet. This whole hydrating your skin thing is new to me but is working out great.
• I get those belly pains every so often and they scare me so much. I feel like something is the matter with my kiddo so I get quite emotional (ask Caleb, ha ha.) and freak out a bit. Oh the life of a hormonal wife, my husband. 

Long weekend is in store, yippee!

Cake and Celebration

You ready for this one, my friends of the web? I celebrated quite an occasion this past weekend… peeps, my momma got married. Yup, she is all married off to the man of her choosing and I was honored to stand next to her during her day. It was a small party with just immediate family who were invited and it took place on her deck overlooking the Wisconsin River. Last weekend wasn’t just spring cleaning but more like wedding preparation, my mom asked me to clarify because she felt as if last week it sounded like she created slave labor for us.

Caleb and I were so blessed to be apart of the wedding and I feel like it could not have gone any better. Please join me in welcoming Dennis to the family and for many memories to be shared together.

MARRIED!!!

This is the back drop to the ceremony.

Super cute, just precious.

Week 28

• An eggplant-sized cutie pants this week becoming about 2.5 pounds and almost 15 inches long.
• Those cute lil fat chunkiness traits are forming this week and wrinkly skin is starting to become smooth. I told some of you that I promised my kid would be cute, we will not fail you in this.
• Gibby has lungs that could survive in this world now BUT ma isn’t ready to even think about calming your midnight and midday storms so keep cooking, Turkey.

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• Don't mind tubbie-face over here, I feel great. I have just gained a couple pounds and my "face will surely show it" as the weeks come on.
• I started focusing on drinking water like a week or so ago. Did I tell you that? If so, I am great at repeating myself so I will share again. 100 ounces a day is the goal for water consumption and I am getting to that point more days than not. However, this past week I drank 30 ounces in about a minute and this child got super cramped in my belly and my organs did too. I ended up having to just lay back and let the works of God in my stomach figure itself out as I lay in agony. I had forgotten that I did this large consumption and I cried to Caleb that I was worried our child was having problems, oh the woahs of hormonal wives. Ha, ha.
• I can no longer thrust myself into the drivers seat any longer as the slosh of my belly doesn’t bode well and quite frankly, hurts pretty bad. Lesson learned. I am now the grandmother-paced, sit then swirl in type of person instead. 
• I did another purge of clothes to the basement as my belly peeked out of some of my clothing options and I have the essentials for the rest of the time, I hope!

That is it, that is all. For this week at least.

Work Weekend & Working Baby

I must say that this week was a little anti-climatic but I was able to visit my mom for the weekend to help her around the house. It was time for her to clean up the house and we offered to help. Caleb did far more than what was asked of him in the extreme heat from the weekend and I did just fine in my baby-carrying state in assisting inside the house. We grilled out with chicken one night and brats the next which was fun for Caleb and I seeing that we are not able to grill in Wausau unless we drive to a park or something. The food at mom’s is always good even though that most times it is just the basics. Something about being home and eating together makes the food taste so much better.

We went to the last concert in the park last night and it was a really great band that was young and reminded me of The Fray. Caleb and I have found a great, cheap pizza joint in town that we have gone to now twice. They have crazy flavors to their toppings and sell by the slice. It was perfect little snack for the Gibster.

Week 27

• We got a Rutabaga on our hand for size comparison. I love rutabaga and I am not going to lie… this week I think I started to officially love my baby and have emotions about being a mom. Nervous, anxious, excited, motivated, etc. 
• Size? About 14 inches long and over 2 pounds. :)
• This little baby is working on lung capacity this week. Isn’t that just the cutest to think about… a little person just practicing for the real world? It is scary out here, Love, so just keep practicing for ma. 

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• I am so tired these days from doing close to nothing. I hope that it changes but if not, I am hoping these thunder thighs and side chunks don’t grow too big while I sit on the couch and moan about being pregnant. 
• My belly doesn’t fit into my t-shirts very well anymore which means I am putting away clothes for post-baby after each day practically. I am okay with this but I am attached to some staple items in my closet that I feel like I will miss dearly when I just want to be comfortable.
• I can no longer slouch all day in my desk chair like a normally do because lil Gibby gives me a nudge of discomfort right under the ribs letting me know that there is some changes needed in my posture. Best wishes to me on a nasty habit to be altered for now.
• The drive is getting annoying to work officially but I am keeping in mind that at the end of each drive is a reward (a paycheck or my loving husband’s company) which make my attitude change pretty well. 

I think I am getting close to third trimester so this is getting real, folks! See ya lata alla gayta.

Parentals and Soon-to-be Parents

Hello, world!

Hmm, what did we do this week... We went out to eat on Friday with Caleb's co-worker and husband which was quite fun. They are our same age so they just finished master's programs as well. He is a dentist and she is a orthotist. We had fish fry obviously at a new restaurant in town, Thrive. After dinner, we went over to their place at the other side of town and play "Ticket to Ride". Caleb whooped the rest of us the whole game but then we didn't know a rule or two so Amy ended up winning by a point or two. Competitive Laura got internally frustrated that this happened but don't fear, mom, I was a good sport and didn't show the hosts they were in trouble.

Saturday came and baby sister Anna flew to Belguim for a whole year. We will miss her so but we know she will do great. LOVE YOU, ANNA! Mom and Dad Klinge dropped her off at the airport and then came to see our new place. It was great to have them in town and chat with Anna with them here. I think they are having a harder time of Anna being gone than Anna is. Ha! While they were here, we were able to go out to eat, go for a walk on the river walk, tour the downtown, visit a new church, and set-up hand-me-downs from my sisters. People, I got some quality stuff to use on this baby, be jealous. More details about that at a far later date when I premiere the nursery.

All in all, what a great weekend we had. Thanks for the visit, parentals!

Week 26

• A head of lettuce, all curled up in there this week. We are talking about 14 inches long and a possible 2 pounds of baby I am carrying. Just sounds fun to me this week that I get to carry this kid for awhile still and it just keep growing. 
• The eyes are SO close to being able to open and the pretty eyelashes of this one are fulling lashed.
• Antibodies are the food of choice these days to get ready for outside-mama life and breaths are being taken to practice for this as well. Given now, it is amniotic fluids but still good practice for this oxygen we call the life juice.

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• NOTE TO PHOTO: Please excuse the gross shape of my belly, I am going through a stage with this child that equals a belly that is not cute or appeasing. Just a lil brat in there making mom a lil-odd shaped.
• No headache/migraines to mention. Thanks, Jesus!
• Fatigue hit me yesterday after doing, well, not a whole lot at all. I didn't get tired during first trimester so I am hoping this was just a day and not a life change. 
• I had my first miniature stress out when all this baby stuff came in my house and I started to imagine the being inside me to be coming out to be with us. I will be a good mom, I will be a good mom, I will be a good mom. 
• I am also starting to think about all the hands on help I am going to need with the first couple weeks/months. Anyone want to start a sign-up sheet to come to my house and hold an infant while it's mom take a tiny break or two to take a breath of fresh air. Who ever does this will gain another jewel in heaven I am sure, I will talk to the big man for you. Who is first?

Boys Weekend, Girl Shopping, and Baby Update

Well folks we seemed to fill our time here in Wausau and beyond this past week. Caleb and I went our separate ways on Friday night and all day Saturday. Caleb was able to go visit his friends for a weekend of ping pong and rafting amongst some nonsense I was informed of in foggy details. Boys will be boys. All this to say, Caleb came back $20 richer from winning the annual ping pong tournament, a gun shooting sheet filled with bullet holes, and ankles full of scrapes from goofing off in the river rocks.

While I was home, I was able to watch junk television and go shopping. I am shopping for a wedding coming up and need to find a dress that isn’t like anything I have so… I must buy one. Oh what a shame, wink! Peeps, I got tired from all the work it takes to try dresses on and off. I forget sometimes that this little one doesn’t love to be tossed around and so I had to take some small breaks but had a lot of fun trying on items and finding store gems here in Wausau.

This is the breakfast I made withOUT
Caleb's help. It was a proud moment.

I watched the kayakers behind the
Farmer's market for a lil. They are there
every weekend. Pretty talented.

I love this dress so much BUT it is too
busy for the wedding I am going to.

When Caleb got back, we put together a bed he bought from Ikea in Mpls for people to use when they visit us and for our growing baby to use after the crib. It was a great purchase for us, we think. We also went to the Wisconsin Woodchucks baseball game for the night. I had a great time and the weather was perfect. They played the Madison Mallards so I was able to wear one of my Mallard shirts and cheer on the visiting team. Mallards won and it was a pretty entertaining game.

On Tuesday, we went to a Switchfoot concert here in Wausau while they were at the fair. The fair sucked but the concert was actually quite fun. Jon Foreman is quite fun to watch and they played flashback oldies that I LOVED singing along with. We paid money for reserved tickets not knowing that the performance was free with a fair admission so we were bummed that we "wasted" money but it is what it is.

Caleb loved this guitarist and called him an old.
(He isn't old, peeps)

He came into the crowd SO close to us.

Week 25

• Well this week, lil baby is about 2 pounds and is over a foot long. A size of a cauliflower but I dont want to EVER think about my baby looking like that, sounds like it has ugly and it certainly won't, I promise. However, for some reason, my belly doesn’t seem to be carrying a baby that large. I suppose it never sprawls out completely but I feel like it has to be so cramped in there. 
• Gibs has figured out what is up and what is down this week so we are getting somewhere to letting the babes know which way we prefer in order to deliver naturally. We hope.

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• I am just about to the point where if something falls on the floor, I am groining as I pick it up. It isn’t an actual issue yet but I am learning to bend from the knees and not the waist as my child has reminded me that there is no such thing as a waist with a decorative pillow-sized belly stuffed under my shirt. 
• Sleeping has gotten a lot better this week as I am now used to waking up every time I need to switch sides and I now use three pillows to cradle my knees, belly, and head. I understand the need for a c-shaped pillow but this girl isn’t partaking in that inner circle of cool kids if she can steal her husband’s prized pillows instead.

Other than that, this week we are looking forward to the parentals coming to visit. Caleb’s parents will be coming to see the scenery in this neck of the woods.