November News . . .

Aside from Thanksgiving (of course!) , our major development for November was the Ultrasound appointment where we found out the gender of our upcoming bundle of joy! =) I've already blogged the discovery from that appointment (another little boy--if you somehow missed it) since we were stoked to share the news! Already having one of each, I personally did not have any preference. I would have been happy with either gender. I'm just excited to know now so that I can move forward with the nursery and other preparations. And we definitely have!

***Cute Jams***

***I'm addicted to buying fun baby things***

***Newborn diapers are sooo tiny and cute***

I dug out all the baby boy clothes, washed, folded and put them away already. The rest of the nursery is almost done. As it stands now, it is almost completely functional. We just need crib bedding. Since we got a mini-crib for our *mini-nursery*, the crib bedding we had for Justin is too big for this crib. Aside from that, there are just a few decorative type things I want to get to cute-sy it up a bit. I want to find some boy-appropriate wall decals so the walls don't feel so bare. I also want a cover for the changing pad we've got. Another thing on the list I just remembered is to sanitize and clean the old baby toys we've got from when Angie and Justin were babies. Also wash some bottles. Other than these few details, I think we're physically ready for this new little guy! Now if only we could agree on a stinking name....   =P

I'm really excited about this *mini-nursery* idea that we've decided to go with. I was stressing a bit about having to squish 2 kids into one bedroom. Both kids' rooms are decent-sized, but because they're both so spoiled, they just barely fit in their rooms with all their toys as it is! So I was stewing about how to make 3 kids work in a 3 bedroom apartment.

The mini-nursery thought process started as I looked at our large walk-in closet and began brainstorming...  but I quickly realized that our full-size crib would not leave room for much more in the way of furniture. So I got online and started researching MINI-cribs. They looked so cute! Most of them look as if you had just taken a full-size crib and shrunk it. In my research, I stumbled upon tips for a small nursery, and then found TONS of other parents who use walk-in closets as nurseries! I was thrilled to discover I wasn't the only one who wanted to shove my baby into a closet. =D LOL! I'm not abusive OR insane! Hooray!! So, we ran with it!   

We purchased an armoire/wardrobe thing and moved all of our clothing and other stuff out of our closet and into that. It fit everything and worked PERFECTLY! I then had an empty room to create with.

***The beginnings of the closet transformation***
(view from outside doorway)

***Corner for the crib***

We moved a dresser we had in there that not only fits all baby's clothing perfectly, but also doubles as a changing table! So, next we got one of those table-top changing pad things. Voila! Dresser and changing table! Then we got a small trash can for random garbage as well as a diaper pail. It's like a diaper genie, but supposedly better. I guess we'll see!

***Other end of the room with the dresser***

***Some additions***

I wasn't really impressed with the diaper genie I had for Angela. It didn't seem to work very well at containing the odor. But, being in an apartment, with the dumpster a good 100 yards away (okay maybe 50), we don't particularly want to hike out there several times a day with hazardous waste. =) And management doesn't look kindly upon leaving said hazardous waste in the hallway. Go figure! So hopefully this *new and improved* diaper pail works well!

Next we put in a small fan for air circulation and white noise, a lamp, a nightlight and the baby monitor. We were finally able to find a gorgeous mini-crib and got it ordered and set up. We then added a super-nifty diaper-supply organizing thing which hangs on the wall right by the changing area.

***More additions***

***The crib!!***

This brings us to our current state. Just have the *finishing touches* to add. I can't wait to see the room in action! =) It was a fabulous idea in my opinion! Everyone gets to keep their own room, and the baby is close to us for late-night partying, but still in his "own room".

A good friend of mine (who is also expecting her third in Feb!) came over and together we sewed our very own baby pouch slings! We picked out our fabric from the craft store and got sewing! It was really easy to do and they look super cute! I'm excited to try it out since I've never done the sling thing. It seems as though it may come in really handy, especially with already having 2 little ones that will need chasing. =)

***The fabrics I chose***

***Finished product***

***Angie even had a go at the sewing machine***

The day we found out the gender of our little bun in the oven, we had friends and family over that night for games, cake and ice cream, and most importantly to unveil the news! I had pre-made 2 cake layers that morning. I then bought white frosting and food coloring. After the appointment we got our kids and went out to a special dinner to celebrate and share the news with them. Justin didn't really get what we were talking about, or perhaps he was too "busy" to care! =) Angela had been hoping and praying for a little sister, so when we told her she got an exasperated look on her face and said, "Aww maaaaaan.... Brothers are TROUBLE!" LOL!! We all got a good laugh out of that. But in all reality she's just as excited as the rest of us about a new little baby. Even if it's going to be another "troublesome" little brother. =)

After dinner we returned home, and Angie helped me mix up some BLUE frosting which we then hid between the 2 cake layers. The rest of the outside of the cake we frosted plain white to hide the blue. After some visiting and game-playing we served everyone dishes of cake and ice cream (which were covered with paper towels). Then once everyone was served, we all pulled off the paper towels at once and chaos erupted. Most everyone was guessing it'd be a girl, so it was a fun surprise! =) Then while everyone was eating we watched the recorded ultrasound. We visited a little longer and then called it a night. It was fun to have everyone together to share such a special announcement, and we wish those that weren't there could have made it. It's always fun to throw parties!

***The mystery cake***

***Remains of the cake--notice the blue frosting!***

***Cute profile pic***

***The Tell-Tale Picture--notice the arrow =) ***

***27 weeks***

For Thanksgiving it was relatively quiet and calm. Lots of family, fun, and food! My 3 favorite things! We started by sleeping in (yay!) and then headed over to Mom and Dad Christesen's for our first feast. Yummy dishes that I can remember from years ago, still tasting just as yummy! Then we played some games and relaxed a bit before heading over to Mom and Dad Knobel's for our second feast. We ate some more delicious food, and took turns going around the table saying what we were most Thankful for this past year. We all laughed and enjoyed each others' company. After helping to clean up, us brave (or perhaps INSANE) shoppers gathered around, armed with the Black Friday ads, and discussed our game plan for the next 24 hours. We ended the feasting with some scrumptious pies at Grandma and Grandpa Dean's (Kaleb's grandparents). I was DEFINITELY ready to go home and just pass out in bed. But, did I??? Of course not! ; )

***HAPPY THANKSGIVING!***

Every year I go shopping in the cold, dead of night with all of the other *crazies*. And every year I find myself wondering, --WHY???? I stayed up all night and stood outside in lines, cowering in 10 layers of clothing and a large quilt. It was freezing cold and everywhere was a total MADHOUSE! But I got most of the Christmas shopping done and got some pretty good deals. And after a large, warm, yummy breakfast at Village Inn and a nice, long nap, I found myself thinking, "Ok...  maybe it wasn't THAT bad..."   And I am pretty sure I will torture myself once again next Black Friday. =)

Our Halloween!! - And other Fall Festivities...

I am going to try desperately to keep up on this blog through the holidays so that I don't end up with a MOUNTAIN of updating to do! =P

Kaleb always gets excited about Halloween. It's pretty cute. LOL. It's totally his favorite holiday. That's taken some adjusting from me since I quit being *really excited* about it years ago when Dad decided I was "too old". =D And I was okay with that since Halloween was never really my *thing* anyways. Once I had Angela, there was a new kind of excitement over it for me -- Dressing my baby up and showing her off. Then, when I met Kaleb, that first Halloween after we were married, I was informed that it was mandatory for me to dress up! And so a new tradition was born! Each year now we ALL dress up and go out and have a good time. I'm thankful for Kaleb's persistence because Halloween has been kind of *re-born* for me now. It's fun to brainstorm costumes for all of us, work on them together, and go out. =)

I decided to not be boring this year. Instead of just snagging pumpkins while grocery shopping, we went to an actual pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, the day we picked to go was right after the first "snow" of the year. The snow had basically melted, but everything was cold, wet, and MUDDY!! Our shoes were caked with about 5 pounds of mud each afterwards, but the kids had fun running around, pushing the wheel barrow, and selecting the "best" pumpkins in the field. =) The nice guy even gave us a discount on the punkins since the weather wasn't the best for punkin-pickin'.

***A Pic Of My 7 Cute Punkins***

We promptly returned home, ditched our mud-- I mean, shoes, and started carving away! Justin thought the Punkin Guts were disgusting and we couldn't convince him to touch them with more than one finger. He DID help design his own face but that was about it. Angie Mae dove right in and her and Mommy were master cleaners while Daddy did the carving. They turned out super-cute!

***Left To Right : Daddy, Mommy, Angie, Justin, & Baby Fred***

***Posin' With The Punkins***

***Punkins All A-Glow***

This year we all dressed up as characters from a show we love to watch on the BBC. It's called "Dr. Who". It's a strange show, but we've ALL become addicted to it! Even the kids will request to watch episodes! So, Kaleb was Dr. Who, Justin was the Doctor's nemesis, (a robot-alien creature called a Dalek), Angela was the Doctor's sidekick, (a blonde girl named Rose), and I was the Doctor's spaceship, (an old blue british police telephone box). There's a story behind why it's a "blue box", but I'll spare you the details. ; ) One funny fact about the spaceship I must share is that it is MUCH larger on the inside than on the outside. Kaleb joked that it was a fitting costume for me this year since I am also currently *bigger on the inside*. =D

***Rose from Dr. Who***

***A Dalek From Dr. Who***

***Dr. Who***

***The TARDIS***

***And Here's Our Version***

We started off the festivities with the costume parade at Angela's school. It was fun to see her with the rest of her classmates and her teacher all decked out and itching for the coming holiday. It was quite a big turnout and I was glad I had gotten there early and snagged good seats.

***Parading Through The Gym***

***Angela's Class***

***Cute Face!***

***Posing At Her Desk***

Then, the very next day, we headed out to Kaleb's work for a trick-or-treating costume parade. Kaleb was stoked to show off his family and all his co-workers thought the kids were darling, even if they had no idea who/what they were dressed up as! LOL! They loaded up on candy before actual Halloween night (literally, Angie's bucket was overflowing!) and we joked that now we didn't have to really go trick-or-treating since we already had a stash of goodies. We got blank stares from each of the kids that translated into : "Uh, no...."

***Our Little Dalek***

***He LOVES The Daleks***

So for Halloween night (technically the night before since we live in Mormon capitol here and Halloween happened to fall on a Sunday this year) I was super glad it wasn't SNOWING, but it was still pretty cold and wet. However, we all managed to have a good time and the kids ended up with another humongous stash of goodies once it was all said and done! I'm pretty sure we've got enough candy to last us through til next year! =D

We've also started another new tradition recently. Kaleb and I take turns each week trading off the kids and spending some quality one-on-one time with them. We've dubbed it *Date-Night*. So one week Angie and I will have a *date* and Kaleb and Justin will have a *date*. The next week, vice-versa. The week after Halloween it was Date-Night for Angela and I. We used some of the trick-or-treat goodies to make some interestingly yummy caramel apples. It was a fun (and delicious!) activity.

***Our Finished Apples***

***YUM!!!***

It's A . . .

BOY!!!

We had our Ultrasound last Monday and found out we are adding another little man to our family! We are sooo excited! His profile pic in the ultrasound looks a lot like Justin, in my opinion. =) Him and his big brother will hopefully be best buddies! And not cause TOO much trouble! ; )

For some reason I'm having issues uploading the ultrasound pics right now so we'll have to add those later! He's a cutie though! =)

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall!!

End of July brought us to the Mighty River Run. It was a blast! Both of my sisters and their families were able to be there this year, which made it even more fantastic! We hadn't had the entire family together up there for a few years. It was great to be able to all be there together. We also were able to have some good friends of ours join us with their 2 adorable boys. We just LOVE spending time with them. Such fun people! The rapids were phenomenal, the campfire warm, and all the food delicious. It was wonderful to see all the other extended family that were able to make it there this year as well. We had a fun family night with Grandma's delicious rhubarb pie to top it off. Yum! It was a fun, water and sun-filled week, but as usual, we were all happy to finally get home at the end of the week and have a long, hot shower and sleep in our own real beds. =)

***My Cute Little Rafters***

***Thor & Justin All Suited Up***

***My Cute Kids***

***Trevor & Logan On The Way To The Dock***

***Testing The Water***

***Such Beautiful Country***

***Ready To Go***

***Adults Headed Into The Mighty Rapids***

***The Floating Head In The Water Is My Husband -- He Was Awarded The "Round Bottom" Award***

***Our Little Fire - Tender***

***Supervisor Of The Fire - Tending***

***The Mighty Fire***

***Dirt = Boy's Best Friend***

***Apparently Girls Like Dirt Too***

***Cutie-Pie***

***Grandpa Setting Up Grandkids For Fishing***

***Grandpa Had His Hands Full***

***Justin Caught One***

Beginning of August Angela started ballet lessons. Her and I have both wanted to get her into dance for awhile now. We bought her some cute dance gear and she is doing AWESOME! Her first dance recital is coming up in December and they are already learning their dance number for that. She loves to twirl and leap and learn all the new steps. She's a perfect little ballerina.

***Warming Up***

August was also the beginning of school again for Angela and I. Little Angie Mae is officially a big FIRST-GRADER! I just can't believe it! Where on Earth has the time gone??? She was so excited to start eating lunch at school and to meet a bunch of new friends. I was partly sad, and partly excited, to see my "little" girl head off to school all day long. It didn't take me long to figure out what to do with all my "spare time".  ; )

***First Day Of First Grade***

She's doing excellent so far with spelling tests, math homework, and reading. She is such a good little reader! Her teacher will soon be adding on Vocabulary and I'm excited to see how she does with that. She just keeps getting smarter and prettier every day. She's loving her new teacher and new friends. Her teacher has this glass jar on her desk into which she puts "warm fuzzies" when the class is behaving well. These "warm fuzzies" are just the little soft pom-pom balls. Once the jar gets full they earn some type of a class party. They just recently filled the jar and had a Popcorn/Movie party. Needless to say, Angie was VERY excited!

Her school also just recently had their annual Fun Run. It was a lot of fun! Lots of music and mascots and hyped up kids. Angie is a super runner! I know it's not supposed to be a competitive race, but having done the running thing in my younger days I can't help but get all worked up about it. ; ) She came in around the top 100 of her ENTIRE school (which goes up to 6th grade). I was super proud of her and she was pretty pumped up over things as well. Once she gets a little older, if she's willing, I would LOVE to get her into some Cross Country and/or Track!

***Chillin' In Line***

***Stretching Before The Race***

***Me and The Bubbers***

***Me and My Princess***

***Tough Chica After The Race***

I also started back up in school. I'm currently taking my next Math class. It's going really well. I had worried a bit after taking the summer off that I wouldn't remember what I had learned in the last class. However, it hasn't proved to be any trouble at all. I just had my midterm and I did really well. All in all, I am expecting another "A" from this class as well. Yippee!

I'm trying to decide if, with the baby coming in the Spring, I want to take the Spring off, or maybe try to sign up for an easy online class. I'll need to decide soon since registration for Spring is coming up in a couple weeks. Anyone know anything about a Nutrition class? Would that be an easy class to take online? I'm thinking, compared to the other ones I need to take, Nutrition might be the easiest one to try and do with a new baby. However, my advisor suggests I take the next Math class to keep the Math rolling since we tend to forget Math really quickly. *sigh* I guess we will see!

September was a relatively slower month. Basically all of us just trying to settle into the new School and Work routine. I did receive a new calling in our Ward. I am a committee member for the additional meetings in Relief Society. Yeah... when they extended the calling to me I asked if they had just made that up. =D But, apparently it IS an actual calling, and so far I am loving it! It used to be for the Enrichment Meetings, but there were some changes regarding the meetings that the Relief Society holds, one of those changes being a name change from "Enrichment" to "Additional". Anyways... I, along with a handful of other ladies, help plan and put together dinners/meeting/etc. We've had one already and I actually really enjoyed being there and helping pull it off. It was a success, and I really like all the women that I'm working with on the committee. That's always a plus! I think it will be a rather enjoyable calling for me. =)

For Labor Day we spent the weekend camping with my parents up in Idaho at a beautiful little place called Warm River. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the fishing was superb! It was great fun for everyone, despite the couple of bad windstorms and occasional skunk sightings around the campfire at night. I figure they just wanted some s'mores too!

***Fishing With Grandpa***

***Dipping Toes In The Water***

***Enormous Marshmallows***

***The Remains Of The Enormous Marshmallows***

***Ahhh, Fire***

While stopping in "town", we ate at the local Frost Top. That place was where my parents met for the very first time and eventually fell in love. It was neat to stop there with my own kids and watch the reactions on Angela's face as she heard the fun story of their first meeting. We're all glad that Grandpa thought the "girl behind the counter" was "cute". ; )

***Kids Riding The Piggy At The Frost-Top***

***My Cute Parents In Front Of The Place They First Met***

About mid-September was when we said "Sayonara" to Justin's beloved binky. We figured he was getting old enough that he should be able to cope without one. Also, with the baby coming in March, we wanted to be sure to have enough time lapse between *bye-bye binky* and *hello new baby*. I worried waiting any longer would cause issues or relapses when baby does arrive. And he has done fantastic with it! The first couple nights were pretty sad. But I would daresay now he's pretty much over it. There is an occasional, random request for the binky, which I just try to ignore and direct his attention elsewhere. That usually does the trick. Also, he got a fun, new toy as well as a new snuggly animal for bed time out of the deal so I think that kind of helped soften the blow. I'm so proud of him and the big strides he has made this year with potty-training and now ditching the bink. At the same time it's a little sad to see him grow up so quick. Why do kids have to do that????  =(

I truly can't believe October has come and gone already! This year has really FLOWN by! I hear it only continues to zoom by faster and faster the older you get too! Yikes! Speaking of getting *older*, Kaleb had his birthday on October 3rd. I swear that man is the HARDEST person to try and surprise! It gets pretty frustrating sometimes! He's either too smart for his own good, or one of the kids blabs about something, etc...  ugh! Oh well... I was, however, able to *partially* surprise him with a printed page showing confirmation of an online purchase from The Apple Store. He's officially addicted to everything Apple. He'd been talking about the new Apple TV for some time and I kept putting it off saying we didn't have the money, etc. And since I was unable to surprise him with the little getaway we took over the weekend for a few reasons, at the last minute I pounced on the Apple TV idea. So this was totally after the fact, and I was finally able to surprise him with something! Hooray!

The kids also had picked out some gifts all by themselves to give to Daddy. And since he's not much of a cake person we got him a King Size Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and stuck a candle in the middle. The kids loved singing to him, and Justin kept preemptively blowing out Kaleb's candle mid-song and giggling his head off over it. Little stinker!!

***Happy Birthday To Daddy***

***Love You Baby!***

The weekend getaway we had was super nice though, even if it WASN'T a surprise! =) We stayed downtown at The Little America Hotel. We are truly in love with that little place. It certainly isn't the *biggest* or *fanciest* hotel down there, but we've really grown quite fond of it. The service is impeccable, as well as the food. And their top-notch suites are beautiful WITHOUT costing an arm and a leg! Can't beat that!

***On The Bed When We Arrived***

***We Love Their Suites!***

We splurged for dinner and ate at The Roof. Those of you who have never been there should really try it! It's a fancy-schmancy buffet by candelight situated high above Temple Square facing west. You can watch the sunset and be serenaded by their very own pianist (who also takes requests). And when the Temple lights come on the view is simply breath-taking! We had the perfect window seats. Although, really, I don't think there IS a bad seat in the house... It's a really neat experience.

***The Roof Restaurant***

***Our Table - I Made Him Pose =)***

***Us By The Windows***

After dinner we headed back to the Hotel and did some swimming and hot-tubbing, and then headed back up to our room and promptly hung the *Do Not Disturb* sign on the door. ; )

We had ordered the Bed & Breakfast package, so we woke the next morning to a private breakfast fit for Kings. A whole plate of fresh fruit, a whole plate of pastries, fresh fruit & nut parfaits in wine glasses, Hot chocolate, and then our two personal plates with ham, eggs, english muffins, and scalloped/hashbrown-type potatoes that were absolutely to DIE for!

***Our Yummy Giant Breakfast***

We stuffed ourselves full and then, went back to bed simply because we COULD! =D After check-out we browsed the shops a little before heading back to our little monkeys who had spent the night at Grandma & Grandpa Knobel's. It was such a wonderful weekend! Wish we could *getaway* more often. But I guess since we don't, it always makes it that much more special when we do. =)

I seriously am just head-over-heels, madly in love with my husband. I can't even begin to put into words the love that we share together. It's truly a case of "I married my best friend". I am so happy, so content, so comfortable sharing and creating a life with him. I really can't imagine myself anywhere else with anyone else. Even our rough patches...  In a heartbeat, I would take our "bad days" together over a "good day" without him or with someone else. Him and I have talked occasionally about what we would do if something happened to the other. Not in a weird, morbid way. But just honestly what we would do. And I truly find myself feeling that if something were to happen to Kaleb, I would not re-marry. I wouldn't. I have tons of family support here for one thing. And, more importantly, I wouldn't want to. He is my everything. He fits me and complements me so completely, so perfectly, in a way I never thought possible. I thank my lucky stars and cherish each and every day with him. Eternity truly won't be long enough! What I have found and cultivated together with Kaleb is not something that comes along twice. I love him with every beat of my heart, with every breath I take, with every inch of my very soul. He is my "42"....