23 weeks

Baby K is getting big! 

I put together this little collage of all the weeks since my birthday on May 22 when I was 15 weeks! Can you see the difference between 22 and 23? 

I have a theory that when he has a growth spurt I end up really tired, weak, and sometimes pretty sick. Last Tuesday was a really rough day for me but I bounced back immediately. I've been eating non stop since, I can't get enough food! While I feel like I have great energy, my legs feel like I've just run a marathon every day. I've been really slow walking around hilly Golden and getting up our 38 steps! Jeff says he has to get used to it as he is usually huffing and puffing to catch up with Piper and me! Now I'm always 10 feet behind. I'll take that as a compliment?

We started our registry at Target last night. It was really hilarious to see Jeff get all excited and goofy. We have received so many awesome items from friends here that it's hard to fill up a registry! I think there are plenty of things we'll need for Baby K's first year that we can continue to fill up though.

No big news this week, Jeff and I are just working away!

23 weeks, July 18

Jeff giving our stroller a test ride! My parents got this for us when it was on sale a while back, car seat included. The other Target displays have them tied down so we were really excited (Jeff even more than I) to test it out!

A few photos from the garden. I'm on a huge veggie kick lately so I can't wait to enjoy some of my own harvest! The top left pepper is a Pinot Noir bell pepper...I hope I get more than just this one but it's pretty awesome! 

21 & 22 weeks

I'm getting too to blog! That's a good thing though!

Things have been up and down since our last post. Mostly up, fortunately.

I was still getting over the nasty sinus infection and finally bouncing back when I got another round of something, seems like a stomach virus. Today is my catch up day, just trying to take it easy to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Baby boy is healthy, I feel him kick and move around a lot. He is most active in the evening it seems, Jeff has been able to finally feel some good movements more recently. I'm reading he is really developing his motor skills and reaching around to touch and discover. I'm definitely feeling that!

Lots of concerts and baseball fun since the last post! We had a ticket fairy visit us recently with some unexpected events :)

Umphrey's McGee at Red Rocks on July 3: Our friends saved us spots in the 4th row! We love this picture from the show and may have to frame it for Baby K's music themed bedroom!

Jake from Umphrey's McGee shredding guitar in the background of the Baby K bump!

Bill & Jillian Nershi on July 9: This was part of the Clear Creek concert series which is usually outdoors. Bill Nershi (of String Cheese Incident) draws a huge crowd and once again, our forecast was calling for rain. So they moved it inside in anticipation. It was awesome, but an indoor show is a little too much for me we learned. I prefer outdoors much more at this stage in pregnancy!

Rockies Firework Game July 10: We got tickets from Jeff's boss who decided her family was too tired. The seats were great, Rockies won, and there was a rain delay for the fireworks. That's how the Klenske's do it, rain delay! The fireworks were spectacular and we decided we are definitely doing this next year with the little man. If you're in the right sections for the game, they let you go onto the field for the fireworks display! Jeff wants those seats!

Avett Brothers on July 11: This was a last minute decision for us, and it helped our friends had tickets available the day of! We love the Avett Brothers, Sturgill Simpson opened, he's been on Jeff's short list for a while.

Wilco on July 14: This was tough for me. We got the tickets for free, but I was recovering from a really rough day. Our seats were close to the bathrooms which makes a big difference for me at Red Rocks with all the stairs. We went late and I sat through the whole thing but we really enjoyed it. Love Wilco!

Jeff's picking up extra hours at Anthony's right now due to some of his co-workers vacation schedules. I'm hit or miss on summer lessons; kids have been out with activities or sick, and I've had a roller coaster of sick days. I will be doing more baby sitting before summer is over and am currently ramping up for the school year. I'll have 20 piano students that I'm trying to coordinate into weekday evenings. I'm also teaching my music class through Virtuosity Dance Centre on Fridays starting in August. I'll also be teaching their Story time and Art & Movement classes! More to come on those.

My music class will probably still take place outdoors up through the end of October, weather depending, the parents really like the outdoor aspect. I plan to teach up until my due date if I can and then go back to work in January when school starts back up. My kids are still planning on a holiday recital and participating in Olde Golden Christmas. That should all be interesting with a little baby tagging along, but I'm looking forward to it and keeping optimistic all the way around.

I included some pictures of our recent fun, and hope to update again soon!

Umphrey's McGee, 20 weeks

UM!

Lemonade and Beer at the Rockies game

Rockies Fireworks display

22 weeks, July 11

Piper fetching in the creek

Avett Brothers, 22 weeks

Avett Brothers

Beautiful Red Rocks

I call this Red Rocks in Utero :)

Gender Reveal

It's a boy!!

The appointment went great. The doctor used the word "perfect" to describe our little man. Perfect! I wasn't aware that was a medical term :) 

We couldn't be more thrilled for a Klenske boy. I'm totally outnumbered in the house, but with my emotions these last few weeks that's probably a good thing.

Here are some photos below of our ultra sound and gender reveal party! 

The big reveal!

It's a boy!!!

All the silly wives tales said girl!

Measuring 5 days ahead weighing 15 oz.

20 weeks!

I hit 20 weeks on June 27th! Halfway point!!!

I've been suffering from an awful cold and sinus infection.....and cough. It's been absolutely miserable to be honest. I stayed home 2 days to rest, got better, hit a set back getting sick again, and then just had to suck it up. We worked and danced at the Rapid Grass bluegrass festival over the weekend in Idaho Springs. I easily could have skipped out and our crew would have understood, but who wants to miss out on being a part of what makes a festival a success? And a success it was. We really enjoyed Saturday and Sunday and drove home each night to care for the dog and get some rest in our own bed. I have been a bit better this week, I can smell things again :) but the cough is just ridiculous. It's working it's way out of my system and I'm taking care of myself. The doctors say I can't really do much and it's not harming the baby as long as I don't have a fever. I think she felt pretty bad for me, haha. Oh, the joys of a summer cold *from Hell!!*

We are awaiting our big anatomy scan and gender reveal on Thursday! I can't believe it, it feels like the biggest event of our lives thus far, it really does! Of course an even bigger event will happen this fall and every day from there on out. To me, it's being able to say we are having a son or a daughter. Those words ring so strong in my head. I am really excited and prepared for the baby to simply not cooperate leaving us questioning the gender. Hoping mainly for a healthy appointment with great news on how Baby K is growing along.  It is going to be so fun to see this 10 inch growing life inside me!!! Grow, Baby, grow!

You may (or may not) have noticed the length from last week to this week went from 6 inches to 10! Interesting "fact" according to my books and Baby Bump phone updates: before 20 weeks the baby is measured from head to rump as the legs are usually curled up against the body. So this measurement (also according to an average by the books) is from head to foot. We should be able to find out Thursday what the baby is actually measuring and the doctor can get a good look at all of baby's developing parts and organs. Pretty cool, huh? What did we do before all this technology??? 

Below are some pictures from our big week! This week will be even bigger! I LOVE the 4th of July :) 

 

Happy 20 weeks! Setting up dinner for Sam Bush and The Travelin' McCourys!

20 weeks on June 27.

Happy parents to be.

Scout and Kindell Thompson decided to match me....

So Cassidy had to join in as well.

Sam Bush! Such a nice, funny, down to earth guy. And one hell of a musician :)

Coral Creek performing with a guest appearance from Sam Bush!!!!

Enjoying Rapid Grass with our dear friends Josh & Dawn Walker.

19 weeks

Almost halfway there!!

We got a crib last Wednesday from a friend along with some other fun baby stuff. We've really been discussing and moving forward with cloth diapering, this may be tough in an apartment so more to come on that journey! On Saturday we took a trip to Steamboat Springs for some camping!

I put up the crib last Thursday by myself while Jeff was at work. I really wanted to surprise him and had this image of getting the "baby room" close to set up! I started with a trip to Goodwill and found awesome deals on closet organization, exactly the items I had in mind, too! Plus a huge bag of clips for hanging clothes and diapers to dry or for hangers. I'm all about the closet and room organization in this tiny two bedroom. I felt a little panic as I realized how much STUFF we have and how little room we have to store it! I'm currently looking for a small storage space to rent by the month but it's pretty pricey. I think our best bet would be some sort of out door storage on our back porch, I just worry about weather with what we need to store. Jeff has an amazing collection of Rolling Stones magazines and CD's that I'm just not willing to ask him to get rid of. People tell me to get rid of all "the fun stuff" because we won't need it anymore, but we like to think that bringing a baby into our worlds is just that: bringing a baby into OUR worlds. We have already exposed this kiddo to so much live music and outdoor fun, why on earth would we stop that after November? So our camping supplies, Christmas decor, and CD's and magazines need some good space. I'm also storing the clothes I stopped fitting into during pregnancy, and will need to store my current maternity wardrobe for baby #2 of course! I've been pretty good about playing a real life game of Tetris in every nook and cranny of this place. Needless to say the crib took a while and ended up frustrating Jeff more than pleasing him when he got home from work. I ended up fixing the problem (that I'll admit was my mistake to begin with) and I was able to get it all set up with the rest of the room still full of STUFF! We'll get there.

On Saturday, June 20 I hit 19 weeks! Measuring about 6 inches and 8.5 oz, one online app. compares Baby K to the size of a zucchini! Ha! I'm feeling lots of flutters still from the inside and every once and a while I think I can feel it with my hand outside my belly. I just wish they were more prominent so I didn't have to wonder, I hear it will happen soon enough. We are almost half way there! Can you believe it?

Saturday we started the day off with another Golden Farmer's Market, one of our very favorite things to do, then packed the dog and our Subaru and headed to Steamboat Springs! We had never been and figured we should check it out now so we know what to expect if we want to venture back next year with our tiny camping buddy in tow. We checked out two new breweries (numbers 85 and 86 on our list) and I enjoyed smelling some of the beers as Jeff tasted. We keep a spreadsheet on these breweries and since I've been pregnant we have added a column for whether or not they brew their own root beer! Storm Peak Brewing (our favorite of the two in Steamboat) had Oscar Blues Root Beer on tap, Butcherknife Brewing (so- so) didn't have any. I had a couple weeks of rootbeer cravings a while back but now it's kin of a turn off. Our camping spot was awesome along Buffalo Pass Rd. We were up pretty high, I'm curious what our elevation was. As you can see by the photos, our view was unbeatable. I did NOT sleep well, however. This was to be expected being pregnant, I don't even sleep well on our pillow top at home! Add our uneven and slanted surface....it was a tough night but totally worth it. Now I've come down with either a cold or some sinus irritations, perhaps from the campfire? It's giving us 2nd thoughts on camping for Rapid Grass Music Festival this coming weekend in Idaho Springs. We are scheduled to volunteer at the festival. It's only a 20 minute drive but camping alongside all our friends sounded like a lot of fun. Tune in next week to find out what we end up doing!

Speaking of next week, we are finally nearing our anatomy scan date! It's scheduled for July 2 at 2:30 pm. We get to see Baby K again and hopefully find out the gender if the baby is cooperating. At this scan they check and measure all details, making it the longest and most detailed look we will have of our baby until it enters the world this fall.

19 weeks, June 20

Baby K's new crib

 

Fish Creek Falls, Steamboat Springs. June 21.

Our little slice of Heaven for the night.

18 weeks

I hit 18 weeks on Saturday, June 13.

According to all the apps, this means Baby K is the size of a sweet potato; approximately 5.6" and weighing 6.7 oz.

Physically, I feel great. I went for a walk/run with Piper last week and felt amazing from it. I eat well, crave fruit for the most part, and don't really get "morning sickness". The headaches I was getting subsided after about 2 weeks, they were kind of rough. I do get dizzy from time to time and don't sleep the best, but it's all very manageable. An old wives tale says if you're having a boy you have a happy mood during pregnancy, and if you tend to me more sad and emotional, it's a girl. I don't believe in any of the wives tales per se, but I certainly seem to be more sad and emotional! I know it will pass and I'm just keeping focused and busy. Such as counting down those days to our gender reveal! (16 days!)

During week 17 we went to a U2 concert, felt Baby K's first movement from the outside, and kicked off the 3 day Golden Music Festival with some volunteering. The kicks happened on June 11, Grandpa Klenske's birthday, while we were waiting for dinner. I thought I felt it from the inside so I put my hand there and sure enough, I felt some movement! I thought for sure Jeff would get to feel it that evening at home and that from there on out I would feel all sorts of Baby K kicks, but nope. That was it. Totally normal from what I'm reading, some women don't feel anything until 20-22 weeks which has been the case for most of my friends. I am definitely feeling the little nugget on the inside a lot, so that's exciting!

Below are some pictures from the U2 concert, my 18 week bump, the Golden Music Festival, and my little running adventure with Piper! I just love how happy he is in the picture! I'll be sure to update what week 18 brings...we are hoping it will be Baby K's first camping trip! :)

18 weeks, June 13

Golden Music Festival, June 12-14

Ice cream and beer for the Golden Music Festival! June 12-14

Running with Piper!

U2 at Pepsi Center, June 6

Our Golden Family

We feel so blessed and grateful for our Golden family!

We went to garage sales last weekend and knew a couple of the families we stopped at. They could hardly charge us full price (which was a steal as it was!) let alone charge us anything for some of the items. "You do enough for our kids!" "It all goes full circle" "It's good to know it's going to you!" On top of that we have already received many baby clothes, a bath tub, changing table, nursing supplies, and offers for more! The support we receive here is overwhelming. Despite my previous post of comments made by others, the families I have been so lucky to get acquainted with through nannying and teaching have gone above and beyond and I'm so happy to know they'll be around when Baby K is here! They may never know how informative and supportive they've already been. Not to mention the fact they support my business and our livelihood as first time parents.

It's hard to be away from family in Iowa but again we are lucky for the support and their happiness that we will raise our babies in this Colorado community. Someone in Iowa said to me a while back, when Baby K was still just a glimmer, "Well it won't even matter when you start having kids because you live so far away!" This was before my sister moved to California with her daughter and husband. As joking as it may have been the words haven't left my mind and still hurt a little while we prepare out here for this big event and change in our lives. Please know that your support, kind words, and encouragement can be felt and are greatly appreciated! Many parents can relate to those days when they were preparing to become first time parents themselves. It can be a little scary, even down right terrifying. I find comfort knowing that is totally normal and that my husband has mastered dancing to live music while holding a baby and drinking a beer (a test one of our friends felt he needed to pass last week!) and also from your words of encouragement no matter how close or far away you live.

Speaking of our Golden family, I'm off to teach some lessons this afternoon!

17 weeks

I'm 17 weeks today! Baby is about 5.1 inches long weighing 5.9 oz, according to the books :) It's about the size of a pomegranate. I had my 16 week check up on Thursday, the heart beat was in the 150's and Baby K was moving around quite a bit.

The most recent food craving has been Italian sub sandwiches for some reason. This is a new one for me as I don't really like meat and haven't wanted to eat it almost at all since the beginning of my pregnancy. I still can't seem to eat enough fresh fruit. Cherries, grapes, blueberries, and cantaloupe have been huge on my list!

We enjoyed our first Red Rocks concert this week, Ryan Adams on Thursday night. The show ended a bit early due to a lightning and hail storm. We are excited for U2 tonight! Baby K will be exposed to lots of music through concerts and my teaching! We try to walk as much as possible although Piper is a bit of a struggle for me sometimes if Jeff isn't with.Walking near a tennis match or ball game is high risk with him!

We will find out the gender of Baby K on July 2! We thought we wanted to wait but decided we just can't do it. We know we won't be able to hold it in either so we really hope to tell as many of our family and long distance friends in private before celebrating with our friends in Golden that evening. Post your guesses! We both think girl and would be thrilled with either! I've had 3 gender dreams and it's a girl each time, although I don't have a strong enough feeling to say I'll be shocked if we're having a little Jeff :)

17 weeks, June 6