A Big Ouchie

I was trying to enjoy a hot shower on Saturday while Jeff was going to take the kids with him to run errands around town. I had gotten the kids dressed and ready to go and left the rest to DH. After a few minutes in the shower, I heard Averey screaming at me and telling me that something happened to Elsa, "and she almost died". I asked what happened, and he told me that she ran into the truck. I immediately imagined the worst, thinking that a moving vehicle had hit her. So I jumped out of the shower, threw on a towel, and as I came out of the bathroom, I could hear Elsa screaming. I asked DH what happened and he said that Elsa was walking around the back of the truck, but didn't see the open tailgate and she ran right into it. She had a pretty nasty gash on her forehead, and seeing it made me nauseous and light-headed (which is why I could never be a nurse). Thanks goodness for the few medical supplies DH has at home. He used some steri-strips to tape her head together so it should heal in about a week. I'm just sad because Elsa will probably now have a scar on her forehead for the rest of her life.

This being said, we got a phone call from my mom on Sunday morning letting us know of the news that had been given to hear earlier that morning. My sister's FIL, Jim Kleis, had a stroke during the night on Sat. night. They life-flighted him to Sioux City and performed surgery to remove and alleviate bleeding on his brain. The drs. said they were very pleased with the surgery and Jim was talking to visitors yesterday, and his mind was working great...remembering birthdays, nicknames, etc. At this point, there is no movement or feeling on his left side. I think about he and his wife, Sharon, a lot, and realize how quickly their lives have changed in such a short amount of time. I'm just faithful in asking God to be in charge of Jim's recovery (and Sharon's for that matter). Please join me in praying for their family.

Getting Acquainted in Grinnell

12 weeks already...almost through the 1st trimester and just had my first dr. appointment last Wednesday. Got to uncomfortably meet one of DH's partners at the clinic, but more excitedly, I heard the baby's heartbeat. It was 160, which the dr. indicated, that the wives tale says a fast heartbeat means it's a girl. We'll see if it stays at this rate. I do remember Averey's heartrate being in the 130's and Elsa's was in the 150's.

On a different note, we're trying to get settled in Grinnell. It's been very difficult moving to a smaller house, when we accumulated so much stuff living in Sibley. Thank goodness for a huge storage room. Anything that doesn't have a spot goes in that room, and if guests come over, that door will be shut and not willingly shown as part of the tour. There are many little things that take a lot of getting used to such as: 1)the annoying "bonk" in the floor everytime you walk in a certain area over a cold air return, 2) the tiny bathroom vanity, with drawers so small, they're almost useless, 3) no closet light, so have to turn on bedroom, bathroom and hall light to even guess what shirt I'm pulling out, 4) the cold air drafts that come in through the windows, 5) the fact that we're already outgrowing this house, 6) our neighbors are so close to the back of our house, that I can see directly into their den and saw, the other night, that they were watching a movie on Lifetime. Now that I've gotten all, I should say most, of the complaints out of the way, I need to also include some of the great things. Since moving in a week and a half ago, I've met all kinds of great people. I've been to a mom's group, Elsa went to a "lunch bunch", Ave started "tiny sharks" swimming lessons, people have brought us food, gifts, wine (which will unfortunately have to age for another 6 months or so), and all kinds of warm welcomes. We've been to the brand new, huge library twice (mostly because I was going crazy with no internet access at home, but we did check out lots of books), downtown to the Jolly Holiday Lights festival, to the high school basketball games, and even a few trips to good ol' Walmart. We've got lots on our calendar, which is good, because I've been lonely as a single parent, especially at night. The only benefit is that I can watch what I want on tv after the kids are in bed. We definitely look forward to DH finally being able to move up here permanately at the end of Dec. In the meantime, it's been so nice having my parents so close. They've been such a great help to me already.

Week 6 = Siesta

Well, I've officially made it to week 6, and the baby is now the size of a lentil bean. One of my friends is also pg and she commented how funny it is that the baby is always compared to food. If I remember correct from the past two pregnancies, weekly updates from babycenter.com compares the baby to food for the rest of the pregnancy. Maybe it's easier to compare it to food because all pregnant moms are hungrier than normal (well maybe not all, but I sure am).

I must say that I've been extremely tired this week, but napping is something to which I won't succomb. There's too much stuff to do, and so far Elsa has not taken a nap this week, thus making it difficult for me to get any kind of shut-eye. Unfortunately, she really needs the nap time because she is sick with croup right now. We had quite a scare last night, as she woke up having a hard time breathing, she was barking, choking, etc. I got nervous, but DH stayed calm and just held her, and got her to calm down. I think I got very little sleep because I kept checking on her, making sure she wasn't laboring too hard to breathe. I hope she's better by tomorrow because we are planning a trip to Rock Valley to visit gma. Knobloch. I sure hope I have some credit at the consignment store, too...it's nice to get cash at my "consignment" ATM.

I experienced something else new last night...we sold our dining room set on CraigsList. I'm not sure how I feel about selling on craigslist, though. Out of 3 emails I received regarding my post, 2 of them were scammers. Thank goodness for "J" who came to the rescue and hauled most the the dining room away last night. Considering we used that dining room table less than 10 times, I felt ok selling it. We decided it was (catch this) "too nice" to use as an everyday table with 2 children. It had upholstered seats and was counter-height, so it just wasn't practical for us to move and use in our new house. We will use the money to buy a more casual, family-friendly kitchen table.

Name game and Misc.

Today at the table, DH and I were asking our kids to say some of the names we've put on a list to see how they sound coming out of their mouths. It's cute to listen to Elsa try to pronounce them so clearly. Averey was very opinionated on the names he liked, although he said he wouldn't want that to be his name. I wonder how long before they start asking us why all the talk about babies and names. I'm sure I will be announcing our news sooner than later this time, because once the kids hear about it, it will not stay a secret. It's a good thing that there's so much time for parents to decide on what to name their child. It may take an entire 8 or 9 months to come to an agreement, although I think the mother should get a little more pull (or push) because pregnancy and labor is such hard work. DH doesn't like any girl names that end in the sound "ee" because it reminds him of a fat girl's name. He likes very unique, yet tactful names. I am a fan of older, traditional, unique names...definitely trying to stay away from trendy names my kids will hate me for later in life. However, I also don't want my child being one of 4 "Emma's" or "Carson's" in their class.

I get a weekly update from babycenter.com telling me about what's going on with the baby, and my body (like I can't tell myself?). Here's a quote from last week:

You may notice some pregnancy-related discomforts already. Many women report sore breasts, fatigue, and frequent urination starting in the early weeks.

Really?? Hadn't noticed! Just kidding...

It's really interesting to get a visual on how big the baby is. I think last week, it said the baby was the size of a sesame seed, and looks more like a tadpole. How amazing to think that something so small can grow and transform inside of a woman's body, in a short 9 months into a precious baby. It said that this week, the baby's heart will form into the 4 chambers and begin beating.

Every day I'm praying for a healthy baby. I don't have an opinion on whether I want a boy or a girl (although I at least have girl clothes leftover from Elsa)...just a healthy baby. I'm also praying for friends who have been struggling to get pregnant. I know that God has a plan for all of us, and I pray that His plan includes children for this couple. They will be wonderful parents, and will raise the child(ren) to know and love the Lord.

Still in Shock

Well, after much denial, and ruling out any other possibility...we officially must switch to "zone defense" in June, 2010. Jeff, my DH, has been very unyielding about only having two children, thus playing "man-to-man" defense. He argued that once we have more than two, we're then outnumbered, forcing us to switch it up to zone defense. It can't be that hard, right? I played basketball, and we'd switch from man-to-man to zone defense more than once during a single game. Although the only issue now is that we can't switch back. Hmmmmm...it will definitely shake up our world, but it will definitely be exciting to welcome another Knobloch baby into the world. I can't really say this was an accident...we're grown adults, and DH is a doctor, for cryin' out loud...we know how babies are made. I guess timing is everything.

It's still very early into the miracle of this process...only 5 weeks in the making, but this mama is noticing the symptoms right away. Extremely tired, nauseous in the evenings, and others that you probably don't care to hear about. Now that the news has slowly sunk in, I find myself consumed with thoughts about this pregnancy, the baby, baby names, where the baby will sleep (since we're moving to a smaller house in Dec.), whether or not to find out the sex, how much weight I'll gain (and have to lose...yuck), when to share our news with people, going through labor again, etc. DH is still in shock, although he's been giving his fair share of opinions on name possibilities.