July...

I am really having a hard time believing it's August already! June was a whirlwind because we were busy adjusting to having a new baby, and the beginning of July was crazy with family being in town for Jim's wedding... and after all that, I think we kind of shut down for a while to get back to "normal" around here and catch up on the sleep we'd been (and continue to be) so deprived of. And now it's August! Wow! So... I guess I'd better start by filling in the details of the month of July. :)

The fun started at the tail end of June, when my sister arrived with her family. It was so wonderful seeing the kids together and getting to meet the newest edition to the DeBoer family! There's probably too many details to put into one blog post, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words so I'll let the pictures do the talking... and put my two cents in where it's needed. :)

Caleb and Elin getting to know each other ~

My sweet niece ~ the rose among the thorns :)

Micah and Luke in their theater seats :)

Bath time after a long day of playing ~

Caleb meeting Great Uncle Randy ~

July 1, 2011 was my brother's wedding day... and what a beautiful day! The weather was just about perfect, despite predictions of 100 + degree heat, and the bride and groom looked happier than ever. I'm bummed because I don't have many pictures from the day... but I guess that's what happens when you're in the bridal party AND trying to keep up with 2 little ones. :) Here's what I do have from Jim and Julie's wedding ~

Cutting the cake ~

The handsome ring bearers watching the cake cutting ~

The boys got a little bored inside, but found a golf cart outside to play on :)

The day after the wedding, my parents had an open house at their place like they did after both Lisa's and my wedding, and the boys had a ball playing in the alligator pool in the back yard. I think Luke was trying to make sure Micah knew he was bigger and stronger... for now... as he tackled Micah in the pool. :)

We've got to be careful not to leave these two unsupervised for too long! :)

At the parade on the 4th of July ~

Sleepyheads ~

Playing with Nee Nee ~

We had a great time with my sister in town! And we can't wait to see them again over Thanksgiving! :)

* * * * * * * * * *

Once the dust had settled after all the excitement with the family, we got to work settling back into our everyday life and routine at home. Which included...

Micah's culinary expertise being shared with the family ~




Setting up Caleb's crib and getting the boys in the same bedroom... a transition we're still working on ~





Learning to share ~ it seems to come pretty naturally to Micah :)




Various construction projects ~



Fun in the water ~





And some family bonding ~

It's been a whirlwind month, and I apologize for my lack of blogging during July. Hopefully, now that things are back to whatever "normal" is for our family, I'll be more consistent... but no guarantees. :)

Settling in...

Well, we've been a family of 4 for just over 2 weeks now, and have been home and settling in for most of that time. (thankfully, we didn't have to spend the entire 5 days in the hospital after Caleb was born... I was anxious to get home to Micah!) I think I mentioned that Micah received some big brother gifts from Caleb and Pops and Nee Nee in my last post, but what he hadn't received yet was his gift from us. We decided to save that for when we got home, since we didn't think the hospital staff would be too keen on him playing with it in the halls of the maternity ward. :) Ever since the Touch a Truck festival in early May, Micah has become obsessed with cars and trucks and buses... basically anything that goes "vroom vroom" (a sound that Micah makes VERY well!)... so Aaron and I thought a cozy coupe would be a great thing to get for him as a big brother gift. To say it was a huge hit would be putting it mildly. Micah was very excited about his new toy and plays with it every chance he gets! :)

I LOVE the look on his face in this picture! :)

Checking out his new wheels...

...literally!

Making sure the horn works ~

Vroom vroom!

Aaron had the week right after Caleb was born off from work, so we had some good family bonding time that week, and it was great to have him around to help. Here are a few pictures of our first week together at home ~

Caleb settling in ~

Micah settling in ~

Micah has taken a major interest in the seat we have for Caleb. Interestingly enough, when Micah was Caleb's size, he was never terribly interested in the seat... which can also be used as a swing... but now that he has to share it, he's decided it's his new favorite thing. :)

My 3 favorite boys ~

So far, everything has gone pretty smoothly with the boys. Aaron went back to work this past week, but my mom came over and helped me out with the boys since I'm still not supposed to be lifting anything over about 10 pounds. I think that has been the hardest part of the whole recovery process. Since Micah is well over 10 pounds, but can't really comprehend that mommy just had major abdominal surgery and really can't be lifting him, the emotional side of recovering has been really tough! My heart just breaks every time Micah comes over to me with his arms up, wanting to be held, so (not surprisingly) I haven't exactly stuck to the whole "no lifting over 10 pounds. But, overall I'm feeling good and we're doing well as a family of 4.

I LOVE our life! I LOVE my boys! God is SO GOOD! :)

Boy, oh boy!

As of 11:38 a.m. on June 2, 2011, I am now out-numbered 3 to 1! Aaron and I are thrilled to announce the birth of Caleb Wilson Klingenmaier. He weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs., 10 oz. (so I guess it was a good thing I was scheduled to have him by c-section!) and was 22 1/4 inches long. He's a BIG boy, but more importantly than his size, he is a BIG blessing to our family!

We got to the hospital at about 7:30 Thursday morning, to check in for the c-section, which was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. But... due to labor and delivery being pretty busy that day, we got to wait. Apparently, the women who are in labor get priority over scheduled c-sections. ;) We didn't have to wait too long though, before we were brought back to get ready... which included getting dressed in our oh-so-flattering hospital gown and scrubs, (sorry, not too many pictures of that!) having an IV started in my hand, and then more waiting to be brought back to the operating room. They brought me in at about 10:55 and first thing they did was start a spinal block for my anestesia. It's almost the same thing as an epidural, but from my memory of the epidural that I had with Micah, the spinal block works a LOT faster! And it's just one shot, instead of having a needle stuck in your back for the duration of your labor and delivery. I felt a good deal of pressure as they stuck me and gave me the medicine, but once that was done I had about enough time to lay down on the table before I lost all feeling from the waist down!

They got the curtain set up... I can't imagine anyone really wanting to watch as their insides are exposed to bring a baby into the world... and brought Aaron in to be with me. He sat by my head and peeked around the curtain from time to time to see how the progess was going, and actually, we did have them lower the curtain a bit as they were bringing the baby out so I got to see his full head of hair before he was completely out. :) And before we knew it, Caleb Wilson was born!

Aaron got to cut the umbilical cord and had Caleb's footprints stamped onto his arm... which they also did when Micah was born, and I think that's one of the coolest things to have done! :) Aaron didn't wash his arm for a week after Micah was born, and has yet to wash it this time around. (though they were a little stingier with the ink this time, so the footprints are already starting to fade)

Then we were moved back to the recovery room, where I was FINALLY able to hold my new son. That's the only drawback to having a c-section... not being able to hold the baby right away. But I did say that I prefer the scheduled c-section to being induced, laboring for almost 24 hours and then having a c-section, because I actually remember a lot more of what went on this time around. After Micah was born, I was so exhausted I think I just passed out. I don't even remember being taken to the recovery room or Aaron calling our families or anything! This time was a lot different. I remember the ride from the OR to the recovery room and I got to be part of making phone calls to our family. :) And I got to hold Caleb a lot sooner than I got to hold Micah... at least as best as my memory can tell. Let me tell you, for as big as he is, he still seems tiny! I know there are 3-month-olds that are smaller than my 5 day old, but he is still a newborn, and regardless of size, needs a lot of care and attention. (which there is NO shortage of!) :)

After our time in the recovery room, we moved up to our room in the maternity ward and waited for my parents to show up with Micah. He's a resiliant little guy, but I know this is taking its toll on him. When they first got to our room, Micah wasn't too sure he even wanted to come in, which has been hard on me. Thankfully, it only took a few minutes (and a few prizes from baby Caleb to big brother and from Pops and Nee Nee too) and Micah was his usual self. And when Uncle Jim showed up, it was party time! :) I know we've got a big transition ahead of us, and we greatly appreciate your prayers for this adjustment time. But while I'm not expecting our life will settle into "normal" immediately, I have no doubt that Micah will be a GREAT big brother. He is already so affectionate... and has been all of his life... and loves to give his little brother kisses and lots of love. It melts my heart to see the two of them "interact". :)

But I think that's enough words for this post. Bottom line... we are thrilled to welcome Caleb Wilson into our family, we are all doing really well, and are excited to introduce Caleb to the world. :) Here are a few pictures so you can see our newest addition. Enjoy! :)

Our last picture as a family of 3 ~

Our BIG boy ~

Aaron holding Caleb for the first time... and I actually remember him bringing Caleb over to me as they were sewing me up. I don't have much memory of that with Micah.

Getting to hold my new son for the first time ~

Pops and his newest grandson ~

Nee Nee and her newest grandson ~

Our family of 4... and my FAVORITE picture of us so far ~

Aaron and his boys ~

Aaron's "tatoo" ~

Uncle Jim and Caleb ~

Uncle Jim and his nephews... I think these 3 could be trouble together :)

Meeting the Klingenmaier side...

Grandpa and Grandma K ~

Grandpa K ~

Aunt Tracy ~

Uncle Eric ~

Micah sure was a trooper during the time I was in the hospital. Unfortunately, there isn't much for a 17-month old to do on the maternity floor of the hospital... unless you think numerous trips to the ice machine sounds like fun. So, we were (and continue to be) very thankful that Micah's goofy uncles could come visit, and entertain him for a little while. :)

Fun with Uncle Eric ~

Hide and seek with Aunt Tracy ~

We are loving life as a family of four! God has blessed us with two amazing kids, and we are SO thankful for them!!

Welcome to our family, Caleb Wilson! We love you more than you will ever know!