20 Weeks Pregnant and the Crib Is Up!

Astoria's Crib


Rex's little helper.

The one little mishap!

Today has been a busy day. The crib was delivered to the store yesterday and it took all of my will power to not go up there immediately and get it. Good thing we already had dinner plans with friends. So this morning I got up (well sort of, I had lots of DVRing to catch up on and Rex was changing out his water pump) and laid out the game plan. Since we've moved into the house the 'baby room' has been a guest room while the second bedroom was a craft room. I was hoping to have a place for people to sleep when they came to visit since we live apart from all of my family but I wasn't sure if we'd be able to swing it. Well after moving things around in the craft room (I know, I know, I won't have time for crafts after a baby anyway) I was able to put the bed in there and it looks great! There is actually more room than I thought to walk around. That left the baby room wide open and ready for the baby! Astoria was not real happy about me doing so much. She moved today more than I have ever felt her. Rex, Larry (my father in law), Scott (my brother in law), and I all went to go pick up the crib. Thank goodness they have a mini van. After dinner Rex and I got busy and an hour later it was put together. Only one little mishap with the front legs but it was smooth as pie (the picture with Rex's annoyed face)!

I may be a bit biased but I think it's gorgeous! I'm so happy I looked around for one that has a solid back. You'll notice the sheets have Elmo on them playing sports. For the longest time we all believed it was going to be a little boy, those will change to pink before too long.


So next week mom, dad, Mere, and Olivia will be joining us for the 'official' ultrasound and Thanksgiving and I'm happy to say mom and dad will still have a bed, Olivia will get to break in the crib and every one will be comfortable. Sorry Mere, you'll still be on the couch.

A Long Weekend

The funeral service for my grandfather was on Saturday and we are finally home. It's weird to think we're going to go about life as normal knowing he'll no longer be there for questions only grandpa would know. The service was beautiful. Since he was a retired police officer and long time friends with the current Oklahoma County Sheriff he had a full police escort along with an honor guard (roughly about 20 police officers) at the funeral. The guard even did the 21 gun salute which jars me every time I have to sit through the shots. Granny lovingly gave me three of the shells from the guns. One for Rex, Astoria, and myself, we will always cherish them. One of his requests was that the song 'The Saints Go Marching In' be played at the funeral. We did even better. A Shriner band came to the graveside and played at the end of the service (he was a 32nd degree Mason and a Shriner as well). We found out they would be coming about a week before he passed and he laughed and said 'good'. It's just what he would have wanted.

The service was beautiful. My cousins and uncle led the service. They told stories of our days growing up with grandpa. The main theme was 'there is the right way, the wrong way, and grandpa's way'. Even now I can hear him in my head telling me things I should and shouldn't do. It will be a long time before we all completely heal, if we ever will. We miss him dearly!

I'm officially 19 weeks along. It's amazing to think that next week I'll be halfway through my pregnancy. I've started feeling her every now and again. Mainly when I'm bending over doing things. It feels like she's doing complete body rolls. Mere calls them alligator rolls. Finding clothes is still difficult. My wedding rings no longer fit so I've moved them onto a silver chain that was once Rex's grandmothers. I've realized with the weight gain my feet no longer fit into my normal winter shoes but I'm too cheap to buy new ones so I may be wearing tennis shoes a lot this winter.

Everything else is going great. School is almost over for me thank goodness! I'll be done with classes the first week in December. I'll take my Principal Certification test in January and then start looking for jobs. I don't expect anything this year, being 8 months pregnant and looking for a job isn't really ideal.

Thank you all for your support in this tough time. It's meant a lot to me over the past few weeks.

A Final Goodbye and a First Hello...

Last night, November 10, 2008, my grandfather passed away. After a long battle with emphysema and a short battle with pancreatic cancer he is with God.

This past Thursday I got a call from Meredith to get home as soon as I could. I'm so happy my sister called. I flew up to OKC Thursday night and I got to spend all day Friday with him talking and laughing as we always had. No, he has not been the same Grandpa for a long time but for that glimpse of time he was there in the present. He talked to my belly and I teared up. I'm so sorry he is going to miss the baby's welcome into the world but so happy he knows I'm pregnant. He told my Granny he only wished he could see that baby. She told him he will. Matter of fact he would be the first to see the baby and tell it stories about what a wonderful it will live. He winked and smiled at her. If only he knew what was up his granddaughters' sleeves. Meredith mentioned we should contact a place to do an ultrasound and find out the gender.

Saturday morning came without much change in Grandpa. He was still in and out of it. At noon we walked in to get the ultrasound. We will be welcoming Astoria Annette Kleckner into this world in April. The ultrasound was surreal. I now wish I had a machine to keep an eye on her in there. The first call I made was to Granny to pass on the news. Now Grandpa will know who to keep an eye on up there. I hope the nickname Toad will be to her liking. It's going to be hard to explain to her how such a great man gave her the name Toad. But then again I was given Turkey for the past 29 years.

Sunday was a hard day. He had a bad episode in the morning and was not conscious the rest of the day or when I left that evening. It was so hard to leave yet I knew I couldn't do much for anyone there. I almost felt as if I was a burden to those around. All I could manage to do was cry. Rex and I made the trip home without much noise. I'm not much of a talker when it comes to things like this.

Granny called that night once we were home to let me know she would match the money Grandpa had given the great-grandchildren a couple of months ago. The money will go to Astoria's crib. It will grow with her forever and she will know it was a gift from her Grandpa.

Monday, today, was uneventful in OKC. The stats were unchanged. Then tonight at 11pm I got the call from Mom. He was gone. I know he is in a better place with no pain but boy do I miss him already. It's hard to think I'll never hear his whistle again or listen to him tell the story of Meredith and I dancing in the airport. Don't worry though Grandpa, Astoria will always know to pick up the phone and call, she'll never have to explain why I should come and get her from somewhere. You granted me that security and I will pass it on to her. I love you.