Ethan Robert is here!

September 1, 2009 was one of the 3 most wonderful days of my entire life; it was the day we met our son, Ethan Robert Klitzke. We arrived at the hospital nice and early (slowed down by a bit of traffic...ugh), and got all checked in and ready to go. It was very comforting to be taken care by people I knew. It really didn't hit us until I was walking into the OR and getting ready to get my epidural that we were going to be having another baby!

This is me in triage getting ready to go into the OR! Last pregnant pic!

They had a hard time getting my epidural to work, which is why Ethan's birth time is a little later than we had expected. I sure am glad they got it to work though :)

So, at 10:57 am, Ethan Robert arrived-healthy and perfect as can be!

This is our first real meeting. I never wanted the moment to end. He was so beautiful and perfect and I couldn't wait to get my hands on him.

Here he is on the warmer bed before they finished cleaning him up.

Finding out how big our little peanut is.....7 pounds 14 ounces, 20 inches long! We were shocked to see such a "small" baby (ie non-giant like his sister).

We came home on Friday, Sept 4, which ironically, was our original c-section date! Here's our little monkey all dressed and ready to hit the road!

And yes, that is a BEARS hat he is wearing!!!!

Stay tuned for more updates. Just be patient with us :) I am getting ready to be home alone with 2 kids starting on Monday. Yikes!

Thanks to all for all of the warm wishes and congrats, meals, gifts, phone calls (and FB and texts), visits etc! We love you all!!!!!

love,

Erika, Matt, Emily and Ethan

A new plan

I have had some issues with my BP again (sigh) so, they have decided the safest thing for both baby and I is to move up my c-section to this Tuesday, Sept 1 at 10am. You may be asking, why not earlier if I am having issues?

Many reasons.....1st being, I do not have classic PIH. I have had high bp's on and off for the past few weeks but not consistent other signs (labs, urine studies, blurred vision, headaches, right upper quadrant pain, etc). My other symptoms seem to come and go (not charactaristic of PIH), like headaches and some blurred vision. Also, my BP does get high, but then usually comes down into the normalish range with rest. The 2nd (which goes along with the 1st), is that unless things are clinically "bad" (like if my bp didn't come down with rest and I was in danger or if the baby wasn't tolerating all of this, which he is), they cannot do a scheduled c-section (or induction, for that matter) until week 39. So, I will be 39 weeks on Tuesday and that is why that day was chosen. Dr L will be doing my c-section. I am going to be seeing him in the office again on Monday am (I saw Dr C in the office again this am for an appointment and another non stress test) just to make sure every thing is still on track.

Emmy and I have had to adjust our routines a little bit. I will admit, I did go to a friend's house yesteday am so Emmy could play and I could couch rest and be with my mommy friends too. There seems to be something very therapeutic for all about being with good friends. We had a fun time and I know the girls did too.

We are just finishing things up this weekend around the house and spending good time with Emmy. I'm not supposed to do anything strenuous so I am trying to do things that involve sitting, laying etc. I am planning to do a little cooking tonight though. I can't help myself and I don't consider that strenuous anyway!

After nap this am, we all laid in bed together and watched Little Mermaid...Emmy's first time for one of my all time favorite disney movies!!! I think she liked it and I don't think it will be the last time we watch it!

We promise to post updates as soon as we can on Tuesday, but if you are on facebook, you might see updates there first. Blogger seems to take longer than I want sometimes and facebook is so fast! We will also send out pics on shutterfly as usual.

Papa Bill and Auntie Kristen (and cousin Drew) are coming on Monday and then my mom is planning to come next weekend and stay for the week to help after Matt goes back to work.

Well, that's the plan for now! No new updates means we are doing well and the plan is on for Tuesday when we become a family of 4!
love
the Klitzkes

The summer summary

We've had a fun and busy summer and with Labor Day right around the corner, I know it's coming to an end. That doesn't mean fun has to end though! We have so many exciting things coming our way this fall! We love fall at our house and not just because it means FOOTBALL (but that does help!).

Here's what we did this summer:
-went to the Milwaukee Zoo with the Davis'
-went to Lincoln Park Zoo as a family
-celebrated mother's day and father's day
-celebrated my birthday, grandma j's birthday
-went to the Sonshine Singer's concert in Ames
-met Uncle Jim and Uncle Dick and Auntie Phyllis for the 1st time
-had a visit from Amanda
-had a visit from GG, Auntie Kristen and Drew (aka Dew)
-played with many friends
-went to the splash park in Grayslake and Mundelein
-played at the beach in Lake Zurich and in the sand for the 1st time
-celebrated the 4the of July with many friends and saw fireworks for the 1st time two nights in a row (Emmy fell asleep before the fireworks in 2008)
-celebrated many little friends' 1st and 2nd birthdays
-went to Galena and Dubuque for vacation
-visited Great Grandma and Great Grandpa P and Uncle Greg and Aunt Mary in Dubuque
-ate watermelon all by herself at the sage picnic in June and again on the 4th of July! It was a hit!
-went to Lamb's Farm and went on the train, saw animals, jumped in the bouncy house and rode the carousel for the 1st time
-went to Libertyville Days and Grayslake Summer Fest and ate my first cheese curd (for the record, she spit out the cheese and ate the bite of breading)
-went swimming in Galena
-went to many dr's appts with Mommy and was very good at most of them :)
-played in the yard, the park and at Grandma J's!
-spent a few days with Papa Mike when he came to help Daddy do some work outside
-spent time with Papa Mike and Gran Diane when Mommy and Daddy went to their friends' wedding in May
-spent time with Grandma J when Mommy and Daddy went to another wedding in July

All in all, it has been a wonderful summer and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I can't imagine anything more fun than being with our sweet baby (toddler/big girl, you know)! We love you Emily Ruth and can't wait to share all of this fun with your little brother soon!
Love,
The Klitzkes

"A" name clue.......and pics of the baby's room!

We had to keep up with our tradition (in a slightly different manner this time) with keeping our baby's name a secret. Tonight we are releasing the first clue. Here you go:
I cannot tell you where in the first name "a" falls but it is there! Happy guessing! Hahahahaha

We also finished the baby's room today as well. We are pretty darned pleased with how it turned out! We are going to use Emmy's crib when she goes into her big girl bed, sometime before she turns 5. Ha ha. We have a basinette to use in the mean time and then we also have the pack-n-play if we need to buy ouselves a little more time before she is ready to move. Here are the pics:

The quote above the bookshelf and changing table reads, "Every child is a story yet to be told". I found it at Hobby Lobby and really liked it. Putting it up was a little hairy......that's a story for a different day though.
Grandma Gretchen made the valances and there are footballs on the ends of the curtain rod.

Below is the changing table we bought at a 2nd hand store and refinished! Pretty proud of our work and find, for that matter.

We are on the countdown now! Just 12 more days (or hopefully sooner) until we meet the newest member of our family! We can't wait!

Love,

The Klitzkes

PS I do realize there are quite a few of you that know the baby's name. Our family and a few of our friends DO NOT KNOW and we want to keep it that way. Please don't ruin the surprise :)

37 Weeks and waiting.....

Many of you know already, but I had a little mini hospitalization on Wed am this week. I was feeling really crummy at work (yes, convenient since I work in post partum/well baby nursery/NICU, and LDR is just a floor away!). So, I tried eating a snack, drank water and put my feet up and then took my blood pressure. My BP was elevated and after trying to see if things were going to "settle out", I was encouraged by my co-workers (ie forced) to page the dr on call. They ended up sending me to LDR for monitoring and IV fluids and labs and let me rest. I finally started feeling better towards morning, so they had me order breakfast and see how I felt then. I went home about 11am with orders for modified bedrest until Friday (today).

So, I actually did follow orders. Grandma J watched Emmy and got dinner together for us 2 nights in a row (thank you Grandma J). I had my follow up appt today and did get released from bedrest but need to "take it easy" over the weekend and I will see them back in the office on Monday. I was supposed to work this weekend, but clearly that is off for now.

I feel pretty good but keep having periods where I feel really dizzy and lightheaded and have had some really bad headaches with visual changes too. More or less, they are just watching me for pre-eclampsia, which can set in any time during pregnancy (I'm not going into crazy medical definitions here, but basically, any time after 20 weeks post conception, and there are other qualifiers but not going to bore anyone....) and can be even more common after 37 weeks.

I will be 38 weeks on Tuesday, so any time this little man wants to be born from here on out is just fine with us! We are almost done with his sweet little room. I can't wait to finish it and show it off. I think it has really turned out nice. We are pretty proud of ourselves for designing his room on a bit of a budget (and it not looking like we designed on a budget). I am hoping that I feel good enough over the weekend to finish things up! I just love putting baby things away and organized. I think I did this with Emmy's room like 10 times before she was born.....I had a lot of time on my hands since she was born at almost 41 weeks!

We have no plans for the weekend. The Bears and Cubs on Saturday evening so we are excited! We are also counting down to Hawkeye Football too-2 more weeks! What could be better, a new baby boy AND Hawkeye football?! Emmy has a new Hawkeye Cheerleading outfit to sport for the season too, plus some cute new shirts compliments of her "Auntie Amanda". She also picked out some cute things for little man too that I can't wait for him to wear.

Have a good weekend!
love
The Klitzkes

Nesting?

Yesterday we had a huge playdate at our house (I am claiming that this is the LAST one before the baby arrives) complete with lunch too! No, I didn't cook for everyone, are you crazy? We ordered from Jimmy John's-yummy yummy!!! Too bad Kate and I ordered it the day before and we had the SAME delivery girl both days. I think she thought I was crazy. Oh well, she got a good tip out of the deal and went on her way.

I don't have any pictures from the playdate, but I think every toy was out in our basement. There was food everywhere and babies everywhere too! It was a great time though and a fun way to see everyone before our baby arrives.

After everyone left, you would have thought I would have been exhausted. Nope. Not me. I cleaned the basement and all of the toys (yes, for real) and then had a brilliant idea. I wanted to go through more baby things that we had put away-bottles, pump things, the carseat etc etc etc etc! It was a little out of control. I washed the carseat cover and put it back together and now it is sitting in a bag in the garage all ready to be put in the car. I went through all of the bottles that we used for Emmy, threw away the nipples and then went through my entire "Emmy cupboard" and reorganized so it can become the Emmy and @#$%^&* cupboard. I could have kept on going but Matt wanted to go to bed (this extended on after nap because I can't do anything like this with Emmy's help).

I actually made dinner 2 nights in a row (actual cooking, not just a frozen pizza or something like that). Actually, I have made dinner every night since Sunday, thank you very much.

I can't believe how much energy I have (and still have some this am too....). Something may be going on I guess! I had a dream last night that we had the baby this week. Someone suggested to me yesterday that once you start nesting, the baby comes within 3 days! Yikers!

I also washed a bunch of clothes (mainly things that were hand me downs) and Emmy's old onsies that we are "recycling" for the baby. Don't worry, they are just white. No pink onsies for our little guy!

I have 3 weeks until my scheduled c-section but I guess only time will tell. I am convinced it might be a bit earlier. I would like to go to at least 37 weeks so hopefully the "3 day" thing won't come true!

We are terribly excited to meet our little guy (or big, knowing my history.....). I am afraid to even think about washing newborn clothes but I don't want him swimming in his coming home outfit! In my dream last night, the baby weighed in the mid 6 pound range. Who knows!!!!!

Have a wonderful day.
love
Erika and Co

Prayers please!

We have a little prayer/thought request for you all; a good family friend's dad passed away on Monday very suddenly. We have known the Hade family since early childhood and both my sister and I spent a lot of time at their house over the years. Bob's passing hit me really hard and I know he will be missed by so many. He has 3 grown and married children as well as 5 beautiful grandchildren (the newest is just a few weeks old) and a wife of many many years (who has been a friend of my mom's for almost 30 years!).

Please give your kiddos and spouses etc an extra hug and kiss tonight. This just reminds me to always be so thankful for every day, every kiss, every hug and every I-love-you. I need to remember to worry less about the little things and just enjoy life :)

Good-bye Bob :) We miss you and love your family and we're thinking about your family and praying for strength for your family.
love
Erika

Here's the link

See, I am trying to come through for you.....
Here is the link to Bella Jackson Photography Blog: http://bellajacksonphoto.blogspot.com/

Check back later today or tomorrow for a sneak peak of our mini photoshoot!

18 months, seriously?

Happy 18 months to Emmy (tomorrow)!!! I'm trying to get ahead, see? She had her 18 month check up with Miss Melissa, her fabulous PNP, on Friday. It was a bit of a challenge and we did some adjusting and tweaking, but got through her exam either way. She got two shots (a combo one that had 4 different vaccines in it and then hep A)...one in each arm. She was NOT pleased but did tell the nurse bye bye and thanked her when we left.

Here are the most current Emmy stats:
Weight: 25 lbs 10 ounces
Height: 32.5 inches
Head circumference: 48 cms

Interestingly, I guessed her height and weight right on. What is my prize? What do you think I should get?

We had a mini photo shoot with Lindsey from Bella Jackson Photography at our house this am. I will post the link to Lindsey's blog later today (really, I will) so you can get a sneak peak at the photos. Lindsey will be coming to our house after baby boy is here for a newborn shoot. I wanted new pics of Emmy as well as newborn pics of baby boy and we though doing both kids in one day would be crazy of us. So, Lindsey offered to come today and do Emmy and then again after the baby is here. I am looking forward to seeing the new pics soon! I think they are going to turn out really cute.

So you may ask, what is Emmy up to these days? Here are some of the things she can do etc:
-she has 16 teeth....and 8 of them came in in June/July. Yes, those were some rough times.
-says over 100 words...I can't keep up so I don't count any more
-says many phrases and said her 1st 4 word phrase at my Aunt and Uncle's house. She is clock obsessed and found their's as well and said to me, "there is the clock!". Yep, she was right!
-walks, runs, kicks a ball
-loves to ride her little people scooter around the house
-can go up stairs alone (yes, I'm behind though, duh), and down with assistance (we are working on this one).
-dances to music and the tv
-sings songs (usually the ones made up by me) and the Barney Song too!
-feeds herself usually with her hands but sometimes with a spoon or fork
-helps get herself dressed and undressed (no more diaper fiascos though, thankfully!)
-loves to go to the splash park, play in the little baby pool, play at the park and playground, push the stroller herself, play with her friends, play with the dogs, play with her toys, especially anything baby doll related

She is growing up before our eyes. We love to peek in on her at night and watch her sleep and can't believe she is our TODDLER and not our baby anymore. We love her more than anything and feel so blessed she is ours :)
Love,
the klitzkes

$8 raspberries and other such fun

Since I got called off work last night and was home today, I decided to find something fun to do with Emily today. I got a little emotional when I realized I don't have much time left to do things with just her but obviously remain excited about becoming a family of 4 very soon!!!



This afternoon we went to the Grayslake Splash Park. We had an awesome time!! We have been there a few other times and Emmy just loves it there! She loves water and all things water related. We played there until she was ready to go. I had planned on going straight to the Grayslake Farmer's Market, but I got way too wet so we had to come home so I could change into dry clothes.



This is the first time we have been to the farmer's market all summer. I don't know where the summer has gone but it just hasn't worked out to go for some reason until today. I think we went almost every Wednesday last summer.



I have my "farmer's market strategy".....I make a pass through all of the stands and then go back and decide on some purchases. I knew I was going to be getting some produce as that is always a given.



We decided on peaches and raspberries, which Emmy just loves! I paid for them, put them under the stroller and went on our way....or so I thought. We were almost to the end of the stands and heading to the car when a woman at a vendor stand stopped us. She kept saying to me "He's going to lose his raspberries," I kept looking around and had no idea who in the world she was talking to! For some reason, I finally looked down into the stroller and found Emmy with a half eaten pint of raspberries in her lap! All I could do was laugh. Only my child would "steal" raspberries.

We walked back to the vendor she "stole" them from, explained what had happened and paid yet another $4 for the already half eaten pint of raspberries. I was somewhat embarrassed but still thought it was pretty darn funny! I just cannot believe she did that! When we were walking away from the stand, she tried to grab ANOTHER pint of raspberries to work on-unbelievable!!!!

We had a great day and we were both exhausted by the time we got home! Have a good weekend!
love
The Klitzkes

Sadie, the magical flying dog.....

Just a quick post to tell a funny story from yesterday........

We have what we fondly call, a zoo, at our house. We have 3 wonderful pets, Max the cat, Raven the terrierIwannabeaprincesslapdogbutweigh40pounds and SadieLoucallmeBoocrazyaustraliancattledog. We love them all dearly, but sometimes the zoo just gets to be too much!

Well, yesterday (while the cat was recovering from a trip to the v-e-t for a bad UTI), Sadie decided to climb out an open window and help Mike, MAtt's dad, finish some painting around the windows. For those of you who are wondering, yes, we have screens on our windows, but we were using the window to get out onto the roof and NO, Emily and I were not even home so there is not a snowball's chance in h@#$ Emily could get out onto the roof. Sorry, had to add that one in.

Anyway, according to Mike, Sadie stuck her nose out the open window, then her whole body, then was standing next to him and next thing he knew, she lept (yes, flying leap!) off the garage roof and onto the grass!!!! She ran around the yard and I truely wonder if given the opportunity, she might try it again!!!

She is absolutely fine (thank goodness) and ran around the rest of the day and today too. I see no outward signs of injury whatsoever. She ate well and slept well and is the same old "Boo" she always is (ie crazy clown dog).

So there, you thought YOUR house was crazy...............

Love
The crazy Klitzke Zoo

Really?

Well, I have a confession to make....I've too been a bad blogger :( What has happened to me???

Well, we've been just a little busy. I'll post some more official updates, complete with pictures to go along with the stories. Here's the general idea.......

-celebrated Grandma J's birthday on June 6, which is also the first day Emmy really walked!
-Good friend, Amanda, came to visit the following weekend. Amanda and I had a blast just being girls and hanging out! Emmy and Daddy went to a special dinner with Grandma J, Auntie Joanie, Seth, Kate and Connor to celebrate Seth's graduation from grad school! Yay Seth!
-GiGi, Auntie Kristen and Drew came to visit from Sunday-Thursday the following week (Amanda left in the am, we threw sheets and towels in the wash, ran to the store and then GG, Aunt K and Drew were here!)
-The following weekend we went to Fort Dodge to visit and go to Papa Bill's Sonshine Singers concert at CY Stephens in Ames. Emmy also got to meet her Uncle Jim, Uncle Dick and Auntie Phyllis, who were visiting from AZ!
-This past week we have been busy with work and trying to make some room plans for Baby Boy :)
-My c-section has been scheduled for September 4 at 0800 with Dr C (a different Dr C than who delivered Emmy but still a fabulous dr, the other Dr C is on vacation that week because her boys are going to kindergarten!)

-I couldn't even begin to explain in small detail all of the fun we have had over the 4th of July weekend. This weekend deserves it's own post for sure!

Hope everyone had a safe and happy weekend :) Stay tuned for REAL posts with pictures!!!
love,
The Klitzkes (all of the names are getting too hard to write out :) )

Headlines of church bulletins

This came from Renee's blog: http://www.myspecialks.com/ but I just had to post it. For many of you that know Matt and I well, we just love Jay Leno's "Headlines" or anything to do with a funny "play on words". Enjoy these "headlines" that came out of actual church bulletins (I hope you almost pee your pants too):

The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

The sermon this morning: 'Jesus Walks on Water.' The sermon tonight: 'Searching for Jesus.'

Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.

Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

Miss Charlene Mason sang 'I will not pass this way again,' giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing: 'Break Forth Into Joy.'

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be 'What Is Hell?' Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.

The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done.

- The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan Last Sunday: ''I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours”

Hope you got in your laugh for Thursday :)
love
Erika

And then there was the diaper incident.....

Just a funny story to share (and I am sure many of you couldn't have possibly also experienced this, ever)....

I laid Emmy down for a nap late yesterday afternoon. We had been at the mall hanging out with friends on a gloomy, rainy day earlier in the afternoon. Emmy fell asleep on the way home (as usual) and so I laid her back down because I knew she was still tired. She seemed like she was ready to fall asleep and was fairly quiet while she was listening to her usual nap time music (Rock-a-bye baby Led Zeppelin, God help us if something were to happen to that cd).

Anyway, I just let her hang out and have her quiet time in her bed even if she wasn't going to truly nap. Matt got home from work and went up to go get her so we could eat dinner and play. I could hear him via the monitor but his exclamation came through the whole house this time...., "Oh God," (and I could tell by the inflection in his voice that nothing was seriously wrong, maybe just a really stinky or overfull diaper or something). Then he said, "You have to come up here". So, I popped dinner in the oven and ran on up to Emmy's room.

I should have taken a picture but I don't know that we ever need to re-create what I walked into. Emmy had thrown off her diaper and had smeared poopie all over her crib and thrown some on the floor too. Awesome.

Needless to say there was a lesson or two learned here, 1) if it's too quiet and you don't think the baby is sleeping, then they probably are not sleeping. 2) never, ever put your baby down in just a tshirt and diaper unless you are ready to deal with the consequences!

Matt gave her a pre-dinner bath (and she cried from the time I walked into the room until we came down for dinner...maybe she realized what she had done was not good??). We could only just laugh because it was basically MY FAULT! Curious toddler + accessible diaper= recipe for disaster!

Hopefully you can all learn from my "mistake" :)

love
Erika and Company

My little walker

Emmy has (finally) reached an all-important baby/toddler milestone- WALKING!!!! She has been standing alone, cruising etc for months. We knew she could walk because she would take multiple steps and then plop on her booty. Well, for some reason Saturday was her magical day. She woke up and decided to walk!!!

She is doing such a good job. It just seems so funny to us to see her walking because she didn't want to for so long! Silly girl! Her wobbly little toddler gait just makes my heart want to burst with pride and joy!

On another note, we are working to wean paci (or "p" is she fondly calls it) to just naps and bedtime. Somehow I got the joy of the 1st day without the beloved P. Thanks, honey.

She had an all out fit in her room this am when I told her P needed to stay in her crib and she was a big girl etc etc etc. She cried on the family room floor and I was 2 seconds away from giving in and getting it for her. The look on her face made me feel like I had taken away a limb or something. It was awful! It required a text to Daddy for support!

She seems fine now but we will see as the day goes on. It seems like if it is out of sight it's out of mind for her. Fortunately, most of the P's are in her room. Wish me luck (I know I will need it)!!!

love
Erika, Matt, Emily and #2

The 15 month check up

We went to Emmy's 15 month check up a week ago with our wonderful nurse practitioner, Melissa. I cannot tell you how pleased we are with her-shout out to PNP Melissa :) We just love her and so glad we found her. Don't ever leave us Melissa!

Here are the long awaited stats: Weight: 23 lbs 12 ounces Height: 31.5 inches Head Circumference: 18 3/4 inches Once again, Emmy has grown! We knew she had grown but we didn't know how much. I thought she was closer to 25 lbs but Daddy guessed she stats almost right on (so he got to choose dinner for the night-Moe's-yum!).

Everything else is right on track for sure! Emmy says almost 40 words now and can point to many body parts-eyes, ears, nose, teeth, mouth, head, tummy, feet/toes and knows where her shoes go (and says shoes...obsessed with shoes-that's my girl!) and many other articles of clothing. She continues to impress us every day! She is so smart (sorry, I am just such a proud mommy). She got 2 shots at her appt-varicella (chicken pox) and Prevnar. We have a few more to do at her 18 month check up and then I think we may be done for quite awhile (thank goodness!).

Have a great weekend! love, Erika, Matt, Emily and #2

We've been super (duper) busy

We have had some fun and busy times in the Klitzke household the past few weeks (ie why I am not posting every day....well, maybe that might have to do with some other things.....oh well). I guess we can start with Memorial Day Weekend.

Here goes: On Saturday afternoon we went to a cookout with our friends Jill, Josh and Loralai and Dan, Cory and Isabella. Jill, Cory and I know each other through our mom's group and our girls have become great friends (and the mommys too!). The girls played and the moms gabbed and I think the dads took their turns watching the kiddos play. Emmy and Loralai had so much fun diving into the Lewis' ball pit with Isabella watching from the sidelines (she is only 9 months old, so someone had to be the ref!). I can tell our girls are going to have so much fun growing up together and playing, though I think Emmy and Lor are going to be sweet little trouble makers together. I haven't decided if Isabella is going to remain the unwilling (unknowing) participant in their mischief or just as "sweet" as Emmy and Lor. I say this out of love for all three girls but wow, look out when Emmy and Lor are like 3 (or 15 for that matter). We'll have to see which way Isabella goes. Ha ha. We had great time at the Lewis'-thanks for having us!!! We were all in bed early that night!

On Sunday, we decided to take a spontaneous trip to the Lincoln Park Zoo! For those of you who don't know anything about LPZ, it is in the city (uh, duh) and the admission is free, but the parking is $$$. It was pretty crowded and crazy but we had a great time. We do still have some questions about the zebra who was under medical care for seizures......hmmm....Emmy's favorite animals of the day were the lions (she kept saying "roar" to them) and most importantly, the cows. She loved the cows. That's my IOWA girl :)

We had a relaxing day on Monday while Daddy was home with us.I think we just played at home and did things around the house. I can't exactly recall so it couldn't have been too life-impacting. On Wednesday we went to my sorority sister, Christine's, house to play. She has 2 girls, ages 2 and 4 and then she also invited another sorority sister, Meg (who was a roommate of mine one year when we lived in the house) and her little guy, Barrett. Barrett is a few weeks younger than Emmy. We had so much fun letting the kids play, while we caught up on life! We had lunch together as well. While we were eating lunch, we noticed Olivia (Christine's 2 year old) was missing in the house. Christine found her upstairs in her Daddy's shaving cream. Literally, she was in Daddy's shaving cream. She was covered in it and though I am sure it wasn't that particularly funny for Christine, we about died laughing! On Thursday, we went to the Milwaukee Zoo to meet up with our friends, the Davis'. Amanda and I have been good friends since my freshman year of college, were ADPi's together, roommates a few different years, went to nursing school together, stood up in each other's weddings and now our first born's are 3 months apart (to the day!). She has been a wonderful friend to me (actually all of us, as she and Matt knew each other through Dance Marathon-they were Morale Captains together)I wish we lived closer and could hang out on a more regular basis but at least we are only 3 hours away from each other now! It is fun that we can now hang out as families though sometimes Amanda and I enjoy our throwback (bk and bh...you figure that one out)days too :) Anyway, we went to the zoo and had a great time. The weather started out a little iffy but ended up working out great! We are really only an hour to Milwaukee. So far, the Milwaukee Zoo is our zoo of choice. We saw all kinds of animals and had a great time. I got to chat with Amanda and Jeff and the kids had fun seeing all of the animals. I think we were all exhausted when the day was done!

Emmy playing with her new kitchen and accessories!

On Friday we had a day of appts but I will post that later. Adios for now! That was just one week of our lives....what will the next weeks bring? What have you been up to?

love Erika, Matt, Emily and #2

Is it summer yet???

For some reason, I have always marked the start of summer with Memorial Day Weekend....so here it is and is it summer yet??? The weather has finally turned beautiful and warm and everything is blooming (just ask Matt's allergies). We actually had to turn on our air this week because it was so warm out!!

These are our late May/June plans so far:
-a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo with the Davis'
-a garage sale
-celebrating Grandma J's birthday
-many playdates and park dates with friends
-a trip to Brookfield Zoo for a fundrasier 5k and then fun at the zoo
-a visit from GG, Auntie Kristen and Cousin Drew
-Papa Bill's Sonshine Singer Concert at CY Steven's in Ames (um yes, I can get you tickets if you would like to go...I know people)
-trips to the pool
-playing in the backyard in the baby pool
-who knows what else we will get into!!!

I generally mark the middle of summer with the 4th of July. We are trying to figure out our 4th plans...they may involve a little mini-cation but not sure yet!
-In the mean time however, we are continuing to get things (and our minds) ready for baby boy to join our family! We are starting to near the less than 100 day mark (and yes, we are getting anxious already!). I am just waiting for the OB's office to schedule my c-section. It will be sometime during week 39, which is the week starting Sept 1!

Which means, by Labor Day 2009 (which I mark as the END of summer), we will be a family of 4!!!!! Don't you think that's a wonderful way to start the fall (and hello football season!!!!!!!!!!)

What are your summer plans this year?

Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!!!
love
Erika

Our early riser.....

For those of you who know Matt and I, you know we both really enjoy sleep (come on, who doesn't?!). I mean, we really enjoy sleeping in! Back in the day (BK...before kids), we would often stay up until whenever on the weekends and would get up whenever in the am (or maybe even sleep until noon sometimes).

And I know we are so blessed to have our sweet baby girl and soon a second little blessing, but man, can't she sleep just a little longer on the weekends? I also know we are so lucky that she goes to bed between 7:30 and 8 at night and we generally don't hear from her until morning (and it has been this way for 7 or 8 months). BUT, 6 am on the weekends?!! Seriously?!

We try and "bribe" her with her milk cup and snuggle time with Mommy and Daddy and Playhouse Disney in our bed but she generally perfers just coming downstairs to play. Which means, Mommy and Daddy get up then too. I don't seem to mind quite as much during the week for some reason though.

I think we spent a long time being spoiled because she would sleep until 9 or 9:30 in the am (yes, you are doing the math correct....13+ hours of sleep). In the past 2 months she has been moving up her am awakenings to closer and closer to 7am. This would also be easier if I worked and lived a normal schedule but since I sometimes work nights and sometimes work PMs (3-11pm) my schedule is messed up too.

Oh well, such is life as a parent......and more importantly, wow, I just love my little girl :)

love
Erika

Happy 15 months sweet baby girl!

At GG and Papa's for Easter and Drew's Baptism!

Our little Oompa Loompa eating spahgetti-yum!

Waiting for Daddy to get home from work and "not" walking in the yard. I was actually trying to "trick" her into walking because I know she doesn't like grass! Ha!

Well, I fully admit it, I've been a bad blogger. In my defense, however, we have been super-duper busy the past month AND, the last blog I tried to publish would not publish and the pics wouldn't upload. Now you tell me, blank blog without pics, or wait until I can actually do a better job??? Ha!

Emmy turned 15 months on Monday, May 11! We cannot believe she is on her way to being a 1 1/2 yr old (I don't know, I feel like this is a turning point for some reason.....)! She is talking up a storm. I think her favorites at the moment are "up", "shoes" (and is obsessed with shoes..,mainly mine) and the naming of other body parts. She knows eyes, ears, nose, teeth (the fav), feet and head. Sometimes she can say the words but she can always point to these parts. She pretends she can't walk but we all know she can. Silly girl! She stands and cruises all the time and then when she thinks no one is watching, will walk like 8 steps. Duh! I think she has just decided that crawling or hopping on her knees is so much fun, why walk?!

We had a fun end to our week last week. Thursday was my birthday...last yr in my 20's :) We hosted a playdate/lunch at our house, went to kindermusik and then surprised Daddy at his softball game. Then, we came home, put Emmy to bed and then ate yummy yummy sushi (yes, cooked). On Friday, we went out to lunch with friends and then did a little shopping in Deer Park. On Friday night, Grandma J watched Emmy so Daddy and I could have dinner at Wildfire-yum! We topped off our birthday celebration dinner with ice cream from Maggie Moo's-double yum!

On Saturday, Papa Mike and Gran Diane came from Madison (actually, they had been in Chicago for a few days so that is technically where they came from....) to visit. We had a nice time together and then they got to spend the day/evening with Emmy while Daddy and I went to a friend's wedding in Evanston. We had a wondeful time seeing many friends from college but I think we talked about Emmy and #2 90% of the time!

On Mother's Day, we got up and had breakfast at home with Papa Mike and Gran Diane. After Emmy's nap, we went to brunch with Grandma J at Flatlanders-delicious! Emmy was not super cooperative but we still had fun. After brunch, we went back to Grandma J's for ice cream and brownies to celebrate my birthday with Seth, Kate, Cousin Connor and Auntie Joanie. It was so much fun to let the kids "play" and all be together! It seems like it's been a long time!

After our yum-city dessert, we came home and all took much needed naps. Wow. We really needed naps. After our naps, Daddy and Emmy took me on a picnic. We picked up KFC (no KGC in this house) and headed to the park. It was pretty cool out though so it was an eat and run kind of picnic. We will do a "make up" picnic so we can actually go hike/walk and eat dinner at some point (which was what we were originally planning).

It's been sucha fun month at the Klitzke house! We are starting to count the weeks until #2's arrival. I think we have a short 16 weeks left until we meet our precious little (or big) man! We are planning on going to look at fabrics when GiGi is in town in a few weeks so we can get started on the nursery. I have my eye on a double stroller....I am hoping I can make some nice profits at our garage sale in June so I can get my stroller :) Too bad the kids' rooms probably need new carpet and blinds first.....oh well, I can dream, right?!

Stay tuned for more posts...promise I won't be a stranger, you can't either :)

love,

Erika and the crew

Happy Nurses Week!

Just wanted wish all of my nurse friends and all of the other wonderful nurses in the world a HAPPY NURSES WEEK 2009! I know, I am cheesy :) I wish I had some pictures of me being a nurse, but I don't! And no, we didn't have caps at U of Iowa or Vanderbilt (but there are some schools out there that still do). Guess I'll just have to sport my nursing school pins sometime this week.

So, give your favorite nurse a hug and tell him/her how a nurse has changed your life!

Erika (my husband would argue that I should end a post like this with my official "title"...so here it is, RN, CPNP-PC, MSN.....too bad my favorite remains, MOM)

More prayers and hope

I have asked for your prayers for this sweet family before. Please send them more well wishes and prayers today. Their little daughter, Kayleigh, may not recover from her most recent surgery (there is a possibility she may be brain dead). It hurts my heart to even type those words and it's not even my baby. Please send them your prayers and hope today as they are faced with such a difficult time. Check out the link I enclosed to read more details from her Daddy, Adam. You just have to click on the title of this post and it will link back to the Freeman's blog.

On another note, Stellan is doing well and recovering from his ablation (http://www.mycharmingkids.net/). All of the orange wearing and prayers for Stellan were a success. His surgery was not a complete success (I think MckMama quoted a 65% success in the words of their dr) and he is not out of the woods yet. He will most likely need a pacemaker somewhere down the road but at this point they are praying for later rather than sooner.

It looks like a beautiful day here in IL! Go out and enjoy some sunshine :) I know we will be later on today!

love and hope

Erika

Hope and Prayers

Two of my "blogger friends" need some hope, prayers and encouragement right now. Check out their blogs for details:

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r208/jennisajoy/BLOG%20DESIGN/ONCEUPONABLOG/KaleighAnnbuttoncopy.jpg" a <>>

Kayleigh was born very early and has been in the NICU for over 9 months. Can you imagine your baby being the hospital that long? Today she is having some surgeries to get her closer to going home with her Mommy and Daddy :) Here is the website in case the button doesn't show up right: http//www.kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com

Here is the link to another blog I follow daily: http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

This is MckMama's blog. Their youngest baby, Stellan, is having intractable SVT, which is an abnormally fast heart rate/arrythmia, which does not fully respond to medications (and he's having yucky side effects from the meds too). The main problem with SVT is that it eventually causes heart failure and can cause pretty severe damage to the heart. He was diagnosed with SVT in utero but they thought he was cured. He has been in the hospital (PICU and Step Down Unit) at a Children's Hospital in Minnesota. They are flying to Boston right now for a 2nd opinion and possible surgery (an ablation, which is very risky for such a little baby and runs the risk of needing a pacemaker). They have 3 other children, all under the age of 4. By the way, the kids' names are "Big Mac", "MckNugget", "Small Fry" (their only girl) and Stellan's bloggy name is "MckMuffin", just in case you want to, um, MckPray for them :)

Have a good day and send some good wishes and prayers out to these people :)

love and hope

Erika, Matt, Emmy and O.J.

I made this blog again...does that make me blogamous?!

In case you were wondering, I decided blog+famous=blagamous. Ha! So, because this is the 2nd time I have "made" someone else's blog, I thought I would post the link to her blog: http://www.myspecialks.com/

I love Renee's blog. The stories about her Special K's are great. Some make me laugh until I pee my pants and some make me cry. They are from TN and take one of their kids to Vandy but I never had the pleasure of meeting them (actually, it would have meant Kennedy was really sick if I had to meet her in the PICU so I guess it's actually a good thing).

See if you can tell which question from her most recent Q & A is mine! Have a happy Tuesday (I almost said Monday...guess I'm a little behind the game)
love
Erika

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter at my parents' house. Emmy awoke to TWO Easter baskets filled with lots of fun loot and some to share with Mommy and Daddy too. She got some new Sesame Street books and an Easter Care Bear in her Easter Basket from us and candy (um, for mommy and daddy, of course), a beautiful Peter Rabbit Pop-Up book and a stuffed bunny (one of Emmy's many "babies") from GiGi and Papa. She got Easter gifts from Grandma J last week before we left-some new springy board books, a "Spring Chicken" Shirt and a swim suit. She also received savings bonds from Grandma J and Auntie Joanie. What a lucky little girl we have!

Emmy also gave her cousin, Drew, a matching (green, of course) Easter Care Bear (Emmy's was PINK!). Emmy had a great time trying to talk Papa Bill into opening all of the Easter candy for her and "feeding" it to her babies. She is so sweet when she feeds her babies! I just love watching how "mature" she is becoming. Maybe I'll have to get her a little mini Boppy so she can sit by me when I am feeding #2.

Drew was baptized at church on Easter and Matt and I (and his uncle Nate, Aunt Andrea and Uncle Al) were his sponsors. We were a little worried because church was at 10:30, which is generally nap time for Emmy. She actually did really well. She fell asleep cuddling with GiGi during church and didn't even get upset when Matt and I had to leave her with GiGi for the baptism. She could see us so I guess maybe that helped. Both babies were exhausted by the time we got home from church! I think Emmy slept almost 2 hours after church while we were all eating.

We left FD a little later than we had planned but it worked out just fine. We made great time coming home and overall, Emmy did great in the car. She was a little grumpy when we stopped for dinner in Davenport but then went back to sleep once we were back in the car. We got home around 11pm and all went straight to bed! We were beat! We had such a great weekend seeing everyone and we feel honored to be one of Drew's sponsors for his baptism.

I will post pictures of the weekend soon. Emmy's Easter dress was just precious on her. My mom made an outfit for Drew to wear too. He is the 1st boy to be baptized in our family (as a baby) so he needed an outfit to wear and then pass along (next up, Klitzke baby boy #2...wow, we are really going to have to think of a better name for him :) )

I think we have decided on a name for our son....but we're not telling! You'll just have to wait until he is born! Ha ha! Maybe we will post clues in late August.

Have a great week
love
Erika, Matt and Emily (and #2, or as we like to call him, O.J.....if you know us well you'll be able to figure that one out....good luck)

Klitzke Baby #2 is a ....................

Sweet, beautiful BOY!!!!!! Emmy will have a little brother in September!!! Woohooo!!!! We went to our ultrasound yesterday morning (after a trip to the pediatrician...more on that later in the post). Everything measured out just fine but they might have us go back in another month to get a better look at the cord (she just couldn't see it very well). But, our little boy is not shy! It was quite obvious what we were looking at and that we will soon be adding some testosterone to our otherwise pretty feminine household.

In other news, Emmy has her 1st ear infection :( She just didn't seem like herself on Thursday. She has had a cold for about a week-very congested and a pretty productive cough (and had had a cold about 2 weeks ago too!). So, I checked her temp (and not really expecting to find anything )and sure enough, temp of 102! I looked at her ears myself (which I don't know that I will be doing again) and they looked pretty nasty to me. So, we took (I) took her in to sick call at the pediatrician's office and yep, sure enough-double ear infection. We started antibiotics yesterday am and have 10 days worth to do. She's now had 3 doses (plus motrin to get the fever down) and she seems like she feels much better already!

We are currently in Iowa for my nephew's baptism and to celebrate Easter! Have a wonderful weekend!
love
Erika, Matt, Emily and #2

PS Congrats to our cousins, Jill and Darren on the birth of their new little boy, Jacob!!!
PPS Double congrats to our other cousins, Elizabeth and Jon, on being pregnant with their first little baby!!! Yay!

A Girl or a Boy?

Well, tomorrow is the big day my friends! We have our ultrasound in the am and will be finding out the sex of our precious second child. I will update when I have news!

What do you think baby Klitzke #2 is?

I have thought boy all along until the past few weeks when I changed over to girl. I just don't know anymore! I can hardly wait...the suspense is killing me. I don't know how people wait 9 whole months to find out!!!!

Until tomorrow.....
love
Erika, Matt, Emily and #2

Mama's been a slacker

I know, I know, it's been too long! Don't give up on up on us though. It's been a crazy few weeks and we've had a lot going on. I really haven't been working a whole lot because work just hasn't been busy-no babies being born and no babies being born too early (so I guess the latter is a good thing). We've been going to playdates with friends and Emmy had a nasty cold the week of St Patty's Day.

We went out for a walk in Emmy's new wagon that she got for her birthday from her cousin, Connor (and his Mommy and Daddy and his Grandma too). Here Emmy is during the maiden voyage:


We also went to the Kohl Children's Museum in Glenview for a family day with our playgroup. Emmy LOVED the chicks but we found that she was a little too little for most of the other exhibits. We are looking forward to going again and probably getting a membership when she is a little older.

Emmy also has 2 new teeth that arrived on March 17 and March 18...in the midst of her terrible cold. She has handled teething so well and this was no exception. She had a fun 2nd St Patty's Day even though she had such a yucky cold.

Emmy and I had a fun girls shopping day yesterday while Daddy was in Milwaukee for a bachelor party. We went to the mall to see the Easter Bunny and get her picture taken. She really wasn't too thrilled with the Easter Bunny but we did get a picture of her not crying. It is a slightly better picture than with Santa. Then we walked around the mall and ran into our friend, Addie, and her mommy and daddy too. We looked at fun spring clothes and then at some maternity clothes for me. Then, we went to Babies R Us and picked out a purple Tinkerbell Chair and a few new sippy cups. I am trying to teach her how to drink from a cup other than the born free cups and something with a little harder spout. I think I may have found success in the Playtex cup!

We came home after our girls day, played, had dinner, played some more and then Emmy was ready for bed! I stayed up and worked on pictures and watched the Final Four UNC-Villanova game. We had a great time together but we were both excited to see Daddy this am!

We are going to FD for Drew's baptism next weekend and we are very excited. We also have our big ultrasound next Friday and we will be finding out if Baby Klitzke #2 is a girl or a boy!!! Stay tuned! Have a wonderful week! We love you all!
love,
Erika, Matt, Emily and #2

We're home!

We arrived home from our journey on Tuesday afternoon. We had a great time being with Kristen, BJ, Drew and my parents over the past week. We got to see Great Grandpa a few times too! On Monday, we drove to Iowa City to see Amanda and Aiden (good friend from college and her little man). We had a great time just hanging out. The babies got to play and then Amanda and I had some good girl time when the babies went to bed. Her husband is traveling for work in France so it was just us this time! We ordered pizza and watched Dancing with the Stars (my 1st time....possibly my last.....) and Jon and Kate.

On Tuesday we got up, had breakfast and then left for Grayslake. Emmy did pretty well in the car again. We stopped in Rock Falls at Culver's (our usual stop). If you know anything about Emmy and Culver's in RF you would be happy to know she redeemed herself this time. Everytime we have stopped there in the past it seems she has had an explosive diaper requiring a costume change. Not this time though! We ate together and she charmed everyone in the restraunt. Then we hit the road and made it back home about 3pm. It was a great trip and one I would totally do again (even alone with her).

Matt got home from work and was so excited to see us (and we were so excited to see him too!!!!!). It had been way too long! After many hugs and kisses for all of us, Emmy had dinner and then Emmy was ready for bed! We ordered pizza and watched some of our favorite shows we had to catch up on.

Yesterday we went to lunch with our playgroup and then back to Ashley and Abby's to play! We had a great time (as always!). We really missed our friends. I have really gotten to know these girls (and their babies) well and they have become such a great part of our lives! Yay!

No big plans for this weekend. Probably just some good playing and maybe going out in the wagon if it ever gets nice again!

love
Erika
PS If you haven't caught on from previus posts, yes, I am PREGGO again!!! We are so excited! I am currently 14 weeks and counting. I am due Sept 8 but we are planning a c-section for the week prior to my due date (due to previous c-section...no VBAC for me!)

Drew is here!!!

My nephew, Andrew Nolan has arrived! Drew was born 3/4/09 at 1910. He weighed 8lbs 1oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. He is precious city! Kristen, BJ and Drew came home last night to my parents' house and are doing great! We are in love with the little guy! Emily isn't quite sure what to think but is interested in him for sure.

Off to meet my niece of nephew!

Well, today is the day I become an aunt!!!! I can't wait. My sister is being induced this am! They don't know what they are having and aren't telling any of the names they have picked out (and it's driving me crazy!!!!). Please be thinking of her and her husband today as they become parents!!! They are very excited but I think a little nervous too. We keep telling Emily that she has a cousin on the way and she looks at us like we are crazy.

We drove to Iowa yesterday. It was a long trip for Emily and I but it went really well. We stopped in to see my Grandma and Grandpa in dubuque and then drove the rest of the way. We only stopped to get gas and that was it. Emily was very excited to get out of the car and play with everyone once we got to my parents' house. I don't know if she even noticed me until it was time for bed!

I will update again once the baby is here!!! We are so excited for Kristen and BJ and Baby Green!!! Yay!
love
Erika

The One Year Check Up

Well, here are Emmy's new stats (as promised!):
Wt: 21 pounds (50th percentile), gain of 3 1/4 pounds
Length: 30 inches (75-90th percentile), gain of 2 1/2 inches
Head Circumference: 18 inches

She is doing great! She had just one shot (MMR) in her upper arm and then had her blood drawn out of her finger to check a lead level and iron level. Her PNP continues to be impressed by her development (and we are too, but we are mommy and daddy-duh!). Still no first steps yet but she is very mobile and will walk any day, we are sure! She cruises all around the room and is talking up a storm! She says "hi", "Bye", "Boo" (as in Sadie Lou....), "cat", "Teeth" (and can point to her teeth), "Ok", "Wow", "Oh Boy", "quack quack", "Ma" and "dada". I would have to say she doesn't say mama and dada all that much but that's ok. It will come! I might be missing a few words here but you get the idea. She sleeps about 12ish hours at night and takes 2 naps during the day. She loves toys, babies (as in baby dolls), and books and loves to play with her friends.

Have a great week! I will have exciting news to share soon......stay tuned!
love
Erika

Daddy's on his way home! Yay!

Whew! We have had our moments but we have survived just fine the past few days without Daddy! We miss him like crazy but it's amazing how each day gets a little easier. Emmy really is such a good girl though so that makes it much easier on me! We had friends over for a playdate yesteday which was a blast! For some reason I keep forgetting to get out the camera at our own playdates. It's been a good week overall but can't wait to see DADDY!

I have been experiementing with chlorine free diapers (better for baby, better for the environment too). I wish I could talk myself into cloth diapers but I'm sorry, I think it's nasty to have to wash diapers (I know I know, what did we do before disposables...whatever). Anyway, I had really good luck with 7th Generation. I bought a pack of those and then a pack of Earth's Best. I can't say I like the EB ones as well. They are very stiff (which I really don't care that much about) but they don't fit as well AND they leak if too full. Emmy woke up with very wet jammies and I felt really had for her this am! No wonder she was crying for me! Who wants wet jammies! So, I am going to try one more brand and then decide which ones I like best between those and the 7th Generation diapers. They have a subscription service you can do on amazon.com and it really makes it a great deal. I think that is what we will be doing once I decide on which diaper I like best. Emmy's bottom looks better already. She would always have just a little rash and I think it was the diapers! Don't ask why it took me this long to try something different in the diaper department.

We have a few more busy days this week. We have a playdate tomorrow am and then a dr's appt for me in the afternoon and then kindermusik! Whew, Thursday will be busy. On Friday, Daddy gets the day off for working so hard at his conference! He made a really funny " The Office" parody video for the conference and then did a bunch of video work while he was there too. He was very busy-we barely talked to him all week! I think he will be glad to come home so he can rest after all his hard work! We have Emmy's 1yr check up on Friday am and then some things to do in the afternoon. I think we are going to hang out with the S-mans on Friday night. Saturday night we have Kate's bday party-the big 3-0! Guess we will be busy little Klitzke bees!

Have a good rest of the week. We will post Emmy's new stats after the appt on Friday!
love
Erika and Emmy

Not me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to http://www.mycharmingkids.net">her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Well, you have all been waiting oh-so-patiently for the wacky things that did not happen at our house over the past few weeks. Here goes:

I did not have Emmy undressed in the bathroom last night while I was getting the tub ready and she totally did not pee all over the rug on the floor. No way. Why would anyone let their 1 yr old be naked while getting ready for bath?

Then, while taking said bath, she did not proceed to poopie in the tub. This has only happened twice at our house and only to me. This is funny because Matt usually does bath....what are the odds that it would happen to me while Matt is OOT?????

This one dates back a few weeks but I couldn't share it then. Matt did not ask me whether or not he was dreaming one night or was I really eating a peanut butter sandwich in the bed in the middle of the night???!!! Only a pregnant lady could fess up to this one and maybe get a small amount of sympathy :)

Here's another one that had to wait a few weeks (actually, more like many weeks but whatever...)I did not take 5 pregnancy tests (all of which came back positive BTW....but the 1st was a "faint positive"......there, that was my justification for the 2nd...what about 3-5????) just to "be sure" it was true! And then when we told my parents, my mom didn't say "Already????" (followed quickly by a congratulations but still, mom, come on!) Nope, I am not a maternity nurse and have no idea how these things work......nope, not me!

Then, last night (remember, Matt is OOT), I did not get up at midnight and decide I HAD to have an English Muffin with peanut butter and then justify it by telling myself "I really only had soup for dinner, no wonder I am starving!". I then I most certainly did not eat said English Muffin in bed while watching the Simpsons. No way. Not me!

And then this am, I did not attempt to put Emmy in bed with me and bribe her with Sesame Street because I was too tired to get up before 7am! And then when she was acting tired again I most certainly did not put her back in her crib and she did not pass out for another hour and then I did not pass out for another hour too. Nope, not me. Not at this house! We do not value sleep that much!

Last but not least, I do not continue to have dreams about my sister's baby who is due in a week. I do not keep having GIRL dreams about this baby and dreams about she names said GIRL (June last week, Erin this week). I do not keeping harassing her about what she is naming my niece/nephew!

Now it's your turn. Make sure you copy the above link and picture to post on your blog too. If you are having trouble, refer back to www.mycharmingkids.net for better instructions (and check out her blog too......you will not be addicted quickly like I am....no way!)

Have a great week! What did you not do???!!!!

Erika

While Daddy's away, his girls will play!

Emily and I took Matt to the airport early this am. So, we started our little adventure as "just us girls". We came home and had our usual morning routine-breakfast, play and then nap (and shower for Mommy). We ate lunch and did a few things at home and then headed to the mall and and Target! Along the way we stopped in to see cousin Connor and Seth and Kate. Very impromtu but fun as always! We really didn't get anything at the mall but we did return something and then did lots of fun "looking" (promise Daddy!). There are so many fun spring clothes out there right now! I guess I need to get on some extra shifts so I can indulge in the cuteness (for Emmy, not me sillys). We went to Target to pick up a few essentials and then came home and had dinner, bath and bed for Emmy! Stay tuned for a possible "Not Me Monday" post tomorrow...we had just a FEW of those today. Yikes.

We miss Daddy terribly and can't wait to see him Wednesday! It's going to seem like forever even though it's just a few days!!! We love you Daddy/Matt! Can't wait to see you soon!
love
E and E

Happy 1st Birthday Emily Ruth!

Oh where to begin.........

On Wednesday, February 11, our sweet Emily Ruth turned 1! Wow. We can't believe it!!! Seriously, we really can't believe it. We really feel like she was just born and we were coming home from the hospital with our new little girl. Now she is our "Big Mommy" (as we call her...don't ask....) and turning into a little toddler before our eyes. She is such a loving and happy little girl (even though she is starting to have a little stranger anxiety, which is of course, very normal for this age and seems to be all about her mama too...I think I've just been spending so much time with her lately because work has been so slow and this has more to do with her preference than anything else). She is so close to walking but no "1st Birthday Steps". I feel like one day she's just going to stand up and walk!

So, on her birthday we had a "onederful" (ha ha) day! She woke up and we ate and played at home. I tried so hard to keep her up until 10:17 (the time she was born). See the picture below:

Yes, the clock is upside in this picture. Oh well. She had a hard time understanding what I wanted her to do! I had this picture in my head and wasn't able to recreate it.

After nap and lunch, we went to a playdate at Ashley and Abby's house! It was so much fun spending time with our new friends on her birthday. We even sang "happy birthday" to her and had a candle to blow out there too! Emmy seemed a bit confused but enjoyed a preview bite of banana cake! Yummy!

Emmy is clapping and excited here....couldn't get her to look at me though. Something about watching all of her friends playing was too exciting, which means mama with camera=unexciting! Thanks moms and babies for making Emmy's day so special!!!

After our playdate we stopped at Grandma J's for a bit. Emmy opened her Valentines from Grandma J and played with her new little purse for awhile before we headed home for dinner and cupcakes.

For dinner, Matt and I made steak, potatoes and salad. We thought Emmy should have the same, so she had a jar of savory beef, potatoes and carrots and ate some of our potato too and also had some strawberries and blueberries (a staple at our house these days). Then we brought our the cupcakes! Emmy's face lit up with excitement when she saw the yummy pink cupcake all for her!

Right before we gave her the cupcake....


Digging in!

Sugar Drunk!




Try some, Mama, you'll like it!

I must get EVERY LAST BITE!

Emmy very much enjoyed her cupcake, so much that she was even picking the last bites that she had dropped in her excitement into her high chair. We went straight to the bathtub after her cupcake and then off to bed. She slugged down her milk and passed out! We were a little worried that all of that sugar was going to keep her up but she was out!!!

Here are some pictures of Emmy on Friday...just being her big girl self. She is really into feeding herself these days so we are trying find things that are nutritious that she can feed to herself. She really can't use a spoon effectively yet so it has to be finger food. I think Emmy could eat banana after banana and never get tired of it. She can eat a whole banana plus some other things for breakfast in the morning. She likes toast and eggs but I think her fav is probably still oatmeal! I think breakfast seems to be her best (and favorite) meal of the day. I guess she is just like her Auntie K!

Feeding herself berries! Yum yum. She's checking the bowl to make sure she got it all.

New big girl shoes!





New monkey hat! It's the same as her friend, Dani's. Very cute! I ordered it on Etsy.com from a lady in Canada who hand (and custom) makes them. I don't think this picture even does the hat justice!

We did have Emmy's big birthday party yesterday but you're going to have to wait for another edition of the Hawkeye Klitzke Blog for that story and pictures. I'm all blogged out for now!

Have a wonderful day! We are so thankful for all of our friends and family who helped make Emmy's day so special. We are so blessed to have such an amazing and loving daughter who we love so much!!! She is the light of our lives!

Love

Erika, Matt and Emmy

Importance of Rear Facing Car Seats

Hey ya'll! I usually don't use my blog to post things like this, but think this is SO important that it just can't go. PLEASE check out this link to learn about the importance of keeping your child's carseat rearfacing (and then there is a link afterwards to learn about 5 point restraints for the older child): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2DVfqFhseo

We had a wonderful weekend and there are sure to be more updates as our week continues! Emmy's 1st Birthday is Wednesday-we can't wait!!! Emmy has been enjoying learning to feed herself more and has been loving it! This morning she ate 3/4 of a banana, prunes and some waffles! She fed all of it to herself except the prunes...that would have been more of mess than I was willing to deal with!

Have a great week and please just check out the link......not trying to preach, just want you all to know the safety info!
love,
Erika

One Year Ago today......

One year ago today was my due date with Emily. She, however, decided she was not ready to be born for 6 (count 'em.....6) more days!!! So, 6 more days until my beautiful angel turns one!!! We love you baby girl and are so proud of the big girl you are becoming. We see wonderful changes in you daily and cannot believe that one year ago, we weren't even born yet!!!! You drink from a cup, you like to feed yourself, you love to play toys and read books, you can almost walk and you love to talk! What a miracle life truly is. Love you angel!!!!
Mommy and Daddy (aka Matt and Erika)

Fun times in the Klitzke house!

This has been a very fun week so far. Emmy got to play at Grandma J's on Monday afternoon while I worked for a bit. On Tuesday we went to a playdate at Dani and Lynette's house. We had a wonderful time. Then yesterday, Emmy's friend, Addie, came over for another playdate! Wow, what a fun week. We have kindermusik tonight, which we always look forward to.

Emmy is obsessed with standing these days. She is also obsessed with toilets. Go figure. Whenever I have her in the bathroom with me, as soon as she spies the toilet, she makes a bee-line for it! It's all I can do to keep her out of it and convince her it's nasty! Gross Emmy! Emmy also got a new phone (she's obsessed with ours so why not get her her own?!) Just kidding, it's not real! Just an FP (that's baby speak for Fisher Price). She enjoys "talking on it", which basically means she picks it up and yells "HI!". She also holds in on her shoulder...pretty funny. She has also been enjoying her little activity table that I picked up for her quite awhile ago...she didn't think it was that great then but loves it now!

We have also been working on some more table foods. We are at such a crossroads...in between baby food and table food. We have found she loves to eat chunks of banana...she can't shovel it in quick enough and then grins at me with a mouthful of banana! I have also found she loves scrambled eggs and toast. We shared them again this am.

She continues to be a little chatterbox. I think she has almost 10 words now! She FINALLY starting calling me "Ma" or some version of it at least. She also said "book" yesterday. Emmy loves her books. Wow, she could just sit and "read" books and be pretty content for quite awhile. She also loves to say "Go"! When we were at our playdate on Tuesday, she and Dani were racing up and down the hallway and Emmy kept saying (or yelling....) "go!!!".

Have a good weekend!
Erika