Baby #2- 12 Weeks! Our little Lime!

Last Thursday I had another check up and was pleased to hear the very strong heart beat of our little baby who is growing well in my tummy. I swear, I can feel the baby move every once and a while. It's the unmistakable flicker and thump of a baby who is wiggling inside of you. It's not strong enough to feel from the outside yet. I also found out that I have gestational diabetes AGAIN!!!! UGGG! I'm not looking forward to the finger pricking. Please pray that I don't have to use insulin as I did last time. Here is what Baby Center has to say about our little 12 week baby ...

The most dramatic development this week: Reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over two inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Here's a picture of a 12 week baby...

Ruthie is 14 month old!!

Once again, I'm a little late in posting... I went away this weekend to the Woman's Retreat hosted by my church. It was a wonderful weekend... but it was full of tears- because I missed my baby girl! :) Even though it was hard to leave, I'm super glad I went!

Ruthie has been VERY busy this month!! :) Here are some things she's accomplished.

* she's found her belly button.. and mommy's and daddy's!!

* she had her 4th (top left) tooth and her 5th (bottom right) tooth cut through. We're still busy cutting more...

* She's been introduced to some new food. Among her favorites are: hot dogs, cheese toast, and peanut butter toast.

* Her absolutely FAVORITE book is Barnyard Dance. Aunt Holly gave her this book for her birthday. She LOVES it, but she calls it "cluck cluck". She'll say "cluck-cluck" and look all over for it and hand it to you to read. Then she sits on the edge of her seat as you read it. Some days I have to read it 10-15 times IN A ROW!!!

* She still says that Horses say Cluck Cluck (from that book). She'll also argue with you if you correct her... her cluck cluck gets louder and louder!

* Says moooo for cows

* Loves to play peek-a-boo with my curtains!

* Hates carrots. She spits them out of her mouth as soon as they go in.

* Was totally weaned as of Aug. 30th

* feeds herself w/ finger food

*Love to look in the refrigerator. Which is ok until you want to close it. So I say, "back, back back" and she says, "ba-ba-ba" but doesn't usually move!

* Has a list of new words she's saying...
nigh-nigh= night night (says that when she's getting tired)
oh= cherrios
papa= paw-paw (Tony's dad)
hah-ee= Aunt Holly (she's been working on that w/ Ruthie when she babysits for me!!)
ga-ma= Grandma (both my mom and Tony's mom- sometimes, if she's being lazy she just says ma-ma for grandma)
da-to-bo= Beethoven (our dog!)
ta-tu= Thank you (the other night Tony was praying for our food, and he must have said "thank you for this food" or something similar because right in the middle of the pray Ruthie belts out the best "ta-tu" she's said yet. It was so sweet... Her first prayer!)

She's working on Ruthie and other family names. She also said "na-na" for Donna and "da" for Ed- a couple in our couple's Bible study.

* She's pulling up on her own. I walked in her room last wednesday and found her standing in her crib after her nap! She's been pulling up ever since. Maybe one day, she'll even walk!

Here are some pictures of her this month!

She loves balloons


Don't you love the food face?



Diva Ruthie & Daddy (at her friend Abby's birthday party!)


Reading in her bed while mommy and daddy get ready for church...


Standing... after pulling up for the first time! (and chewing on her bed rails... beaver style!)

William Wayne Kleinjan, 1912-2008

A month ago today, my grandpa, William Kleinjan- Bill to most- went to be with his Lord. He passed into heaven peacefully with his wife of 72 years and 2 of his 3 daughters by his side. We miss Grandpa, but we know that he is enjoying every moment praising the Lord on High with the heavenly Host and he is probably dancing. Dancing is something that he enjoyed and did well until his ol' knees wouldn't let him.

Grandpa was a very strong man. He was strong in business and strong in family, and strong in the Lord. He was the rock of our family. He was funny. Always wanting a good laugh, he was up to no good. Sometimes it meant stealing your dessert or pulling a prank on his brothers. He was loving and kind. He was giving and forgiving. He was handsome. He enjoyed fishing and golf and smoking cigars (much to my Grandma's chagrin).

He left a legacy through his family. He left a legacy through his life. He lived to show others an example of Christ's love. And, he was loved very much. His wife, three daughters, five grandchildren and their spouses, and 12 great grandchildren (13 with the one on the way) all benefited from his loving, caring spirit and will strive to pass that same fun, love, and faith on to future generations. All for the Glory of God.


Here are some pictures of him...

And BABY makes FOUR!!!

Yep, you guessed it!! The other thing I didn't mention about Ruthie turning 13 months is that she is going to be a big sister!!! Here's a picture to prove it!



Sorry for the bad lighting, but if you've ever seen an ultrasound at 8 weeks, you know they all pretty much look like the same little blob!! But, the baby's heartbeat is strong and steady at 174 beats per minute! I've waited a little while to put this up on the blog (my family and church family has known for several weeks) because we've been going through a little. To make a long story short... at about 5 weeks they thought I might be having problems with the pregnancy. So they did some extra ultrasounds and some blood work and found out that my numbers were sky high. A few more ultrasounds later and they told us we were having twins. However, it was still early and there were no heartbeats yet. We were told to wait 2 weeks and come back to see if both babies were healthy.

Sadly, when we went back, there was only one heartbeat. So, little baby B went to be with Jesus. We know that God's plan is perfect and He is soverign. The Lord is to be praised when He gives and when He takes away. For us, it happened that He did both at the same time. I wasn't going to blog about the twin thing but I decided to for a couple of reasons. One, I wanted to celebrate the little life that went to be with Jesus. Two, I wanted to bring Glory to God for what He is doing in our lives and our hearts. Together, trusting the Lord and His perfect plan, Tony and I want to always Praise the name of our Lord.

So we are SUPER EXCITED about our new addition and have already started to make plans about our little bundle and the changes that will be made in our house to accommodate another one! We are due April 3 but will have a planned C-section so I'll let you know what date that is when I know!! And for now, please pray for the little life growing inside of me. Stay tuned for more updates on the Little Bitty.

Ruthie is 13 months old!!

*** Edited to add something I forgot...***

We are late in blogging as Ruthie has been 13 months old for a week now!! But, better late than never!!!

Here's a list of what she accomplished while she was 12 months old:

*** She says "uh-oh" when anything drops. She loves saying that so much that she often "drops" thins on purpose just to have a reason to say it!! ***


* She now signs the word "please"

* She Loves fruit... but Blueberries and Strawberries are her absolute favorite. She gobbles them up!

* She says "cluck-cluck" for a chicken and "Quack-quack" (which sounds like cluck-cluck) for a duck.

* She used to say neigh-neigh for a horse, but apparently now the horses in her world say "cluck-cluck" :)

* She cut her 3rd tooth (the top left one... and the other top tooth is starting to cut through)

* She is now throwing fits. When she doesn't get her way or when you're not meeting her needs fast enough she lets you know. of course, we're doing our best job of squelching this new move. But, it's really hard to reason w/ a one year old. "I'm coming w/ your lunch" just doesn't go very far for a hungry Ruthie. Any ideas? I thought I had a least another year before this started!!

* She met her cousins once removed from CA and loved playing w/ them... especially Kate who was closest to her age.

* When she eats something that is tasty she says nice and loud, "mmmmm" it's so cute. On the other hand, when she eats something she doesn't like, she spits it out. Not very cute at all!

* she has a baby sign language book and there is a picture of cherrios. Every time she reads that book and gets to that page she always says, "mmmmm" gotta love a girl who knows what she likes!

* She said to me one day at the beginning of the month "no kisses" much to mommy's chagrin. I let her know that mommy ALWAYS get kisses!!

* As the month has gone on, she turned a new leaf and is now VERY kissy. In fact, all you have to do is ask and she'll plant a nice wet one on your mouth. With the added sound affects of "Mu-wa" She even gets into these really affectionate moods where she'll kiss anything that she can get to... your arm, leg, face. It's so cute. She just kisses over and over. She's even been known to kiss her favorite books and the dog!

* She's crawling on her hands and knees now, along w/ her own style of army crawl. That's how she gets around. She does it fast! But, she's not the least bit interested in walking. She does pull up to her knees regularly now.

* She's been doing this for a while, but she holds her books up with her foot behind the book and her two hands holding the sides so she can see it better. It's so cute.

* Said goodbye to Great Grandpa and went to his funeral.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:


Crawling w/ piggy tails


Our family in Ft. Laud in the pool


reading her book


W/ Uncle Matt!

Grandma's 90th

Well, it's been a while... this month has been a whirlwind.. we've experienced many things... some good, some bad... all will be blogged about in the next few days... so check back often so that you can keep up!! This is a long one... don't say you weren't warned!!


At the end of July all my family (from CA and NC) met in Ft. Lauderdale to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday. This is the Grandma that Ruthie is named after!! We were all so excited to be together as it was the first time my extended family was able to meet her!! We all stayed at a beautiful hotel on the beach (can we say NICE!!) for an entire week!!! I'll walk you through w/ pictures!

This is our view!! Our hotel is a beautiful suite! We have a full kitchen (w/ granite counter tops) a king size bed, and a whirlpool tub!! Plus, the living room w/ a flat screen TV!!! Talk about luxury!


Meeting cousins for the first time (from L to R) Chloe, Ruthie, Kate, and Claire


Ruthie and Great Grandpa- Who stayed in the hotel all the time we were there. We would all meet in their room to eat and to hang our at night!


Grandma ready for the Beach (her favorite thing)


The cousins (really all the cousin's kids) ready for the beach (from L to R) Amanda, Chloe, Ruthie, Lauren and Claire (Kate is napping in the hotel & Colin already at the beach)


Daddy and Ruthie playing in the sand


Uncle Matt and Aunt Rachel


Ruthie HATES the sand! But LOVES the water!! She didn't mind the salt water or the waves at all!!


Under the umbrella away from the sun!


Napping on the beach!!


Amanda the sand monster and the culprits all around


All of us in front of the church on Sunday morning - except Grandpa who stayed at the hotel w/ a nurse.


Grandma and Grandpa


All of our immediate family w/ Grandma and Grandpa


Gotta love the Piggy Tails!!


Grandma and Ruthie at Grandma's Big Birthday dinner. We went to the Sea Watch- a lovely seafood restaurant right on the ocean!! It was beautiful and delicious!


Grandma and Her birthday dinner!


Grandma putting Ruthie to sleep


Me, Melissa (my cousin) and Rachel (my sis in law)


Cousin Shelley reading to Ruthie!



We all had a wonderful time together. We were able to spend quality time loving on each other- and loving on Grandma. Although it was Grandma's birthday, Grandpa got a lot of attention as we all knew that he was very sick and we wouldn't have much time with him on earth. He ended up falling the last morning we were there, going to the er, and coming home w/ fused vertebrae. (That is very painful) At home, they had everything he needed including a hospital type of bed and he ended up staying in that bed until his last day on earth. This was the last time our family was w/ him. Such a sweet time that the Lord gave our family.

Ruthie's First Birthday, Part 3

We didn't open presents while everyone was here for the party because Ruthie started to get tired and needed another nap. So, we held off and opened them later that night with just our families present for the presents...

Here are SOME MORE PICTURES so our loving and gracious and generous friends who brought her wonderful gifts can be a part of the "presents!!"





















We tried to get a picture of everything but we inevitably missed a few. We're so sorry if your present isn't on this post. Know that we appreciate all you did and gave to our sweet little girl and that we will be thinking of you every time she uses it or wears it!! You all can be looking in the mail for your thank you... they'll be on their way in a couple of days!! :)