Three Years of M-A-R-R-I-A-G-E

Hooray for love. Caleb and I celebrated three years together on Tuesday and really had a great time celebrating. It is amazing how the years come and go but the love for someone just gets stronger and more unconditional. Caleb is still amazed that we got to where we are today through it all and how the roles have changed. Peeps, my boy was obsessed with me through college and I was such a tease. Now being married, Caleb is amazed how the girl he waited for forever could be so obsessed with his every move. I cannot put my finger quite on it but I just think he is the bees knees and the best thing on this earth. Obsessed is an understatement. Sappy no longer, okay.

Caleb and I went out for fish on Friday at a place literally steps away and loved it. It will be a Friday fish staple now. We spent the weekend working on the crib together and being intentional to do things together. These days we are zombies when we come home from work and just stare at the TV all night until it is time for bed, we are just that lame and lazy.

SIDE NOTE: It snowed on Wednesday night and Caleb got SO excited. He was like a true child staring out the window and hoping for a snow day. Snuck this photo in to prove the obsession with winter Christmas.

Flowers on anniversary. So sweet!

On Tuesday, we went out to eat to a Thai/Irish establishment and enjoyed ourselves. Caleb tried curry for the first time and loved it. I had steak and potatoes because I had been craving it all week. It was a very small place so we were able to enjoy our time together with little interruptions. After, we indulged in the yearly slice of cherry pie brought to you by Dixie's Lunch Deli in Antigo, WI. We got home and popped in a movie, If I Stay. It was only subpar so we went to bed before it was over. That is how the date went down and now we are back to love and prepping for baby.

Notice the napkin, that belly gets into
ALL food.

Pie eating, he got a "hey, Laura!" look from
me. Good work, babes.

Week 37

• Yay! Baby has reached full term. 
• Gib-baby is about 19 inches long and weighs probably 8 pounds. This is like a real baby size that you visit in the hospital. Where has this kiddos growth spurt coming from? It is so ready to meet ma and dad. Come out lil one!
• Gibby is gaining about 1/2 ounce each day from now on as well as inhaling, exhaling, sucking, gripping and blinking . SO BIG!

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• I haven't really started to nest yet but I have been pretty particular of our home turing into a wood working station. It is dusty in here and there are tools in every room of the home. 
• Caleb and I have decided sleep is better than not so, due to my snoring episodes, we are trying remedies for that. Any suggestions?
• I have been using the restroom more often but this lil one has not dropped so we aren't thinking that we are going to be parents this week. We shall see though!

Big Doings in MKE - Last Baby Shower Before Baby

I FORGOT TO PUBLISH THIS POST, oops:

This is just the weirdest for me to think that I am a week from being okay to deliver this baby. I am so ready peeps, it hit me on Monday that I am just uncomfortable and so puffy (really I am just feeling like a hippo and not digging it.)

I am so thankful from my time in Milwaukee this past weekend. I was able to have some good time with my mom and grandma as well as see some of my family that are sincerely excited for me. I was able to visit my IL Corning family for my cousin's baby shower on Saturday and spend time celebrating her baby boy. I sincerely have a place in my heart that flutters as I get to visit those folks. That have so much life to share and just a love for Jesus that inspires my walk.

Cousin Elissa & Justine. Please excuse my chubby cheeks.

Momma with Cousin Emily & Elissa. They're the cutest.

For my shower, I didn't really take any photos so you will just have to imagine a brand new home, with 25 very loving family members, a mom that made everything perfect, my mom's cousin put on great food and activities, over load of love via gifts for the Giblet, boys downstairs watching football, and a mom-to-be feeling very pregnant but very blessed. I did so well at my shower but TOTALLY crashed once the party was over. Thank you all who came and could not.

Please pray for these next nesting weekends to come as I am at home in Wausau until baby is here.

Week 36

Just me as I woke. Please excuse my facial expression.
Woof!

• All body systems are ready for the real world EXCEPT baby's lungs
• Gums are rigid and skin is soft
• We have a honey dew baby this week with 18 inches long and 5.5 pounds

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• Mom is puffy from head to toe. Trying to embrace my only shoes that fit: Birkenstock sandals
• Sleep is sporadic and I am consistently lazy feeling
• I have my birth plan done and my checklist on track
• Our home is organized with all the things we received and the nursery is ready. EEEEEK!  

Next up? Our anniversary weekend close to home and anniversary on Tuesday. Last one as a family of 2.5! Oh how life is about to REALLY change.

Northern WI in Fall, A Beaut

I made it. I made it in the car for the two hour stints. Last week, I was celebrating 6 hours one way and this past weekend I struggled with 2 hours one way. This body is an aching machine and I get so incredibly uncomfortable. Enough about the trying times of Laura.

We went to the cabin this past weekend and it was so fun for us. We hiked some trails in parks and in the woods out back as well as going fishing for a lil.

No fish but it was a relaxing weekend for sure. We tried out the new restaurant that reopened in town for fish fry and it was actually quite good. We made specialty s'mores with Reeses and Cookies n' Cream Hershey's. The latter was gross but the first was SO delicious.

The colors were so perfect last weekend and it was like a painting everywhere we looked. Bear season was over and it was only bow hunting so it was peaceful and non-eventful, well except for when we arrived.

The car battery died when we got to the cabin because of 5 minutes of the battery solely being on. This equals we need a new battery. The initial fright of being a mile from the nearest actual road and me being um, well, pregnant... led to terror but then we remembered the neighbors (the only ones for 6-8 miles) were up north this weekend too. Mind you it is dark and I, Laura, am not willing to seek help... Caleb went over to them once they got home around 10:30p. The neighbors were skeptical being that they have never seen anyone up at the cabin really and my husband has a long beard, sweatshirt with it's hood up, and a man coming "out of the woods" but luckily they agreed to jump it the following morning. It was totally Jesus helping His kiddos on this scenario. He is so good to us.

Week 35

• We are to the point where length will not change much now but weight will. Hmm, I am thinking this is fun to think that I will have an 18in chunker on my hands. Seems tiny still though, eh?
• A coconut of a cutie for this week's visual at about 5.5 pounds now. 
• Gibby's ears are sensitive these days as high pitch noises can wake this being up from a slumber. 
• We were listening to music and  baby LOVED to "dance" to it. Just precious.
• Gibster's little hand made a debut this week pushing on ma's belly a couple times. It felt like the tiniest nudge I have felt. I almost cried in the name of love when I realized what was happening. 

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• My uterus is 1,000 times as large as it normally is as of this week. Oh wait, did I write that correct. Oh, yup... what is this business of baby growing doing to my naturalness. Taking it for a ride on elasticity, that is all.
• I still have to pack my hospital bag and finish with my birthing classes. Tomorrow I will get to that. Umm, right... I NEED to get to that.
• My husband has informed me that I am now affecting his sleep pattern so I need to "go back to normal so I am fun again" and he can "get some needed sleep". Oh brother, my husband. If you only knew you are not comparable to change like I am. Oops, did I compare pregnancy apples to apples? Is that fair? TBD.

NEXT UP: To see my mom's new home and have a big baby shower for this lil squirt this upcoming weekend. I am so excited as I have not seen my love of a mother for 2 months. I am squealing a lil to think about hanging out for the weekend (and seeing the rest of the family of course).

IA is for Family & Babies

So it is Sunday? I am a little behind in this game of week 34 but I made it through so we are doing just fine. This past weekend Caleb and I made the quick 6-hour trip to IA to visit our family and to celebrate this baby. It was a weird drive as contractions (fake) were present throughout the whole trip there. I only got worried after like hour three and then just went with it seeing that I was not in pain. We left a lil early so we were able to get to Beth's for dinner. When we got there, we were given a craft project that the twins made for us. It was a precious little paper and fabric masterpiece. Caleb's wrapping was even colored up nicely. Cypress made a 1 minute appearance before going to bed for the night. That girl is just the happiest, cooiest baby there is. She was all smiles and just goes to bed with no fuss. What a girl. The night ended with Pitch Perfect debut of Caleb and my life and we I enjoyed it a lot.

Just a moment captured by Beth.
We love each other.

Saturday began with snuggles and sprinkle muffins from the girls as well as getting ready for the shower. Beth and I were left with Cypress as the boys and twins went out for breakfast. It was nice talking with Beth and pinching Cypie's cheeks uninterrupted. The guests of the shower came for the party a little early and Tim/Carrie brought the babies after lunch so we had a lot of time hanging with family before the shower. It was so nice to just chat all day and not have a care in the world. I was spoiled rotten at the shower and this Gibster is getting pretty geared up for the debut. Let's not forget the four-wheeler fun, gun shooting, Pitch Perfect sequel, and family spaghetti dinner that was had. It is always chaos with my family but who doesn't love a little chaos.

The girls and Caleb decorating gma's
gift to baby Giblet.

Just my lil helpers. I love my nieces.

Don't mind the hippo...

Shower guests.

Uncles are for climbing on.

Boys on their toys.

The girls LOVED being "trapped"
in the box.

SIDE NOTE: The girls routine for bed was as follows ( I supervised): pjs in the living room, brushing (sort of) in the bathroom, books (normally 1 but they schemed me with 2), songs, prayers, and tuck in. Pretty normal. right? These girls wanted to read "top 10 stories of Bible" and Bernstein Bears (so stinking long) concluding with Jingle Bells and ABCs. There prayers were ultra precious and tucking in a little girl with three mandatory blankets is a process.

Week 34

• We have a 5 pound baby that is the size of a Butternut Squash (more than 18 long). Big lil thang. 
• Gibby is now recognizing songs and voices so we are listening to plenty of oldies and watching our oh-so-fowl language (um, yeah right). It is great to know that it can hear us and recognize us as ma and dad. 

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• Less than two months left, peeps. It gets real as of now for me. I had my first official "I am not ready for this" cry-fest in the car on the ride home from work and I grunt constantly as I move. 
• My belly button area has turned a different color and I am totally not into this change. I feel like things with my belly need to just stay normal and not do a Lisa Frank color change. Please and thank you. 
• I now use the facilities on a VERY consistent basis and am getting irritated with the constant up and down I am being asked to do with this child. Does Gibs not understand I am barely able to do that these days. Be easy on the Ma, kiddo.

Next Up: Cabin Visit with Baby Gibby

MN is too good to me and babyface!

Peeps, I had such a good time seeing my friends in MN last weekend. I just really miss having friends first off and second, having those friends near me. I even got to see my dear friend who moved to CA (now lives in IA) 5 years ago and we don't see each other really that often. Most my friends have babies these days and it is so evident by how many babies were present at my shower. It is so precious to watch them grow up to be lil squirts for their moms. Makes me nervous to watch mine grow so fast but at least I got these mommas to rely off of to answer my panic questions. Please enjoy my pics recapping my shower:

Thank you SO much Lee & Jenna for such a nice shower with food that was so yummy and games that were perfect to shower me. Thanks to my friends present and from afar... We (babes and Lo) feel so loved. 

Week 33

• Baby is the size of some sort of exotic fruit that isn't worth my time to describe weighing about 5 pounds (that seems HUGE to me) and measures about 18 inches. 
• This kid keeps its eyes open when it is awake and it's bones are hardening. This is getting nuts, can I just preview you lil one and then send you back for more roasting when I am done staring? If only ultrasounds were free and weekly. Momma is getting eager but not as eager as papa bear next to me. Caleb is just ready for Giblet to announce itself to the world. 

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• I am warm all the time but especially at night and while I sit in the car. Woof, Jesus has seen some embarrassing moments where I lose my patience with the clothes that are stuck on this awkward baby. I have little patience but when I get stuck in outfits and I am hot, it is a lose situation for all parties in the general vicinity. 
• Other than that embarrassing trait I am working to overcome, I am just the "normal" preggo Laura over here in the Northwoods.

See you in IA, Klinge Fam, for a shower to celebrate yet another weekend for this precious lil bundle hiding inside me.