20 Week Pictures!

20 weeks - Feeling Round!

Ultrasound at 20 weeks that really confirmed her little girl status!

I know, I know I'm behind. Today I'm actually 23 weeks along but life has been very busy! In 3 weeks time I actually feel bigger than I did at 20 weeks. She's an active little Toad in there these days. I'm pretty sure she'll come into this world purrring. Lilly still loves to rest on my belly. Here soon it's going to become too uncomfortable for her to do that anymore but for now we're okay. I'm not sure if I mentioned or not but Rex got to feel her kick one night. He was pretty ecstatic. Now he asks quite often if she's been moving. I read today Astoria can actually now hear outside sounds like an alarm clock, a police car and yes, even our voices. I have a pretty good feeling Rex will definitely take advantage of this.

I finished school this past week so now all I have to do is take my TExES Principal Exam January 31st and I'll be certified. I can't believe it's finally over. I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fill my time. Oh yeah, I remember, we'll be starting lamaze classes the second week in January going up until the last week in February. I'm still working part-time at Christopher and Banks until the end of February. I figured at that time I'll be ready to get off my feet at night. I like being there though and it does help with a little extra money here and there.

I have one more week of school left before Christmas break and I'm sure it's going to drag on forever. I'm really excited about being with the families this year for Christmas. It seems like things have been so busy I've missed out on some much needed family time. I fly OKC on December 22nd. Unfortunately Rex isn't going to be able to join us for Christmas this year up there. He has to work. Next year it will be a different story, I hope. We'll begin making our own traditions without losing the family traditions. By next year Christmas at the Johnson's will be quite exciting with two little ones running around (or at least one running, Olivia, and one crawling, Astoria). I can't hardly wait.

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.

A Father's Wish.....Brings On A Mother's Tear

I found this on Rex's MySpace page, not on accident since MySpace is a public place, but just as I was leaving a message to tell him how much I love him. His worry's remind me why I love him so much......

Oct 10, 2008 4:27 AM
A Parent’s Wish
I can't help but think about my future child and the smile I get when I see my wife with the doppler/baby finder thing and she finds the baby's heartbeat inside her. All day long I pray to God that my child have a better life than I have and hope that all the pain and death I have gone through in my life have some how been penance for my child so that they may have the perfect life. I hope to never hear the words that my child has 24 hours to live if they are lucky as my mother had to bear from the doctor that delivered me. I hope I never have to explain why God chose some of us to go through extreme pain, such as cancer, and why some lived and others died, as my mother did to me when I was just a teenager. I pray my child never has to bury their first love six feet below and never see them again to smile. I definitely want my child to never turn to the bottle as a pain reliever as I did in their troubled times.

I hope my child will be braver than I am when it comes to following their dreams no matter how expensive that dream may be. I will push my child to become the person that he/she wants to be, I love my parents like no other, but I wish they would have been harder on me to succeed. I want to teach my child that failure doesn't exist, only lessons learned from life is all that happens. It makes me anxious and nervous because I know my actions will reflect on my child and that is the personality they mirror.

Thank GOD my wife is brilliant, tough and an objective person because any child from my loins will need those traits! I want my child to learn from their mother that actions before thinking aren't always the brightest ideas like daddy does and that's why daddy ends up in the ER.
I feel better now,
Good night.
Rex

My sister's response,
An Aunt's Wish,
I wish that my future nephew/niece has the perfect life as well. She/he has the perfect parents to raise her. One completely dedicated, strong, and independent. The other carefree, humourous, and passionate. Between all of those traits, the baby will either be a hellion or a great asset to the world.

Calm your worries... as I have recently discovered, worrying about baby in the womb is so much easier than worrying about baby outside in the real world. Every car trip, every doctor's visist, every cough, every sneeze.

You will make an excellent daddy just as you have made an excellent husband.I

also hope your child knows no excessive pain. But once again, all of that pain, suffering, and mistakes have made YOU who YOU are. The man who married my sister, the man who is in my life, the man who made my newest family member.

We all love you and little Toad. Yes, times will always be scary and you're heart will forever live outside you.

My response,
A Wife's/Mother's Prayer:
I first prayed I would meet someone who could even stand to be around me and all of my moodiness. I then prayed to find someone who was different than me so I wouldn't be boring the rest of my life. You walked into my life and I couldn't have asked for more. You have stood by me through thick and thin these past three years and yet you're still standing, the biggest feat anyone has done in my life other than my family.

A year passes in our marriage and I begin praying that all of the bad things that touched you in your past have not killed off our chance to bring a little one into this world. God answers prayers. Only two months pass and we get the best 'positive' of our life thus far. Although we may never be out of the woods due to both of our genetics we can only pray that with both of our prayers we will never hear those words your mother once heard.

As my sister mentioned it's much easier to be worried about a baby in the womb than in the outside world but I do believe that together WE can do this. It is no longer about our past lives it's about our life from here on out!

Your wife and the future mother of our child.

What An Incrediable Weekend!

This has been one of the busiest weekends in a long time! Meredith and Olivia came in on Thursday and met me at school for lunch. Friday she came back up to school to 'teach' my students how to make 'dirt babies'. I'm sure many of them will remind me on Monday how awesome my sister is. What they wouldn't give more more arts and craft time in school!

Friday night we all went to the fair. By we I mean Meredith, Olivia, myself, Bree, Sara, Greyson, and Lorelei. It was fun. Going to the fair with that many kids makes for an interesting evening of trying to navigate through lots of people with two strollers. Mere and I did indulge in a corn dog and some fried smores! It was a blast.

Saturday morning we got up around 8:30 because that's when Olivia got up and we went and had breakfast with Rex at Hubbards, a local favorite. Mere, Olivia, and I then went garage selling in my cousin's neighborhood, Woodbridge. We found me a swing that plugs in (save $$ on batteries) a floor gym, and a few maternity shirts. Then we went to a pumpkin patch to try and get some cute photos of Olivia. She didn't really care for the pumpkins and only a few were taken. Other than that it was a beautiful day and Olivia was a perfect baby. After a trip home for a nap we were out and about again to the outlet malls in Allen. We found lots of cute clothes for Olivia (I can only hope for a girl). For dinner we drove clear down to south Mesquite to eat at Johnny Carrino's because Meredith proceeded to tell me how wonderful it was and I'd never been. Never tell a pregnant person how wonderful something is without planning on acting on giving it to her. It was a long drive but an excellent meal :) We got home late and crashed but not before we tried to find Toad's heartbeat. Lately this has been very easy. We didn't find it and I had horrible dreams. We decided we'd try again in the morning.

So this morning with my bladder full we tried again. Turns out Toad has moved to the other side of my belly which is why we probably couldn't find it last night. The heartbeat was fast and strong at 157 bpm. Thank goodness!

Friday is my next appointment. I'm officially 16 weeks along now. A month from now we'll know whether or not we'll be shopping for blue or pink! I can't wait!

How Time Flies!

I just realized it's been almost a month since I've been on here last. Life is so busy these days. Yesterday I officially entered my 2nd trimester. I'm 14 weeks along. This past week on Wednesday I heard Toad's heartbeat on my own with a home doppler machine. The doctor didn't think I'd be able to until about week 20 but who can wait that long to give it a try? So I found it. Still beating at about 158 beats per minute. I called Meredith, my parents, and my grandparents. Poor Rex wasn't home but I left him a voice mail with the message and the heartbeat. It was so reassuring to hear it! Now that I know where to look I've found it a few more times as well. It's a very soothing noise.

I also went shopping for the first time for maternity clothes. So far I've been lucky enough to have clothes from Meredith and Sara but both of them are shorter than me so I needed to find some jeans. Luckily enough I found some and they are pretty cute I think! I also found some cute shirts to go along. All of them still have plenty of room for me to grow into so hopefully I won't have to buy more before it's all over, haha.

This past week also lead to more surprises at school. Turns out there are 5 pregnant teachers this year! I have the earliest due date but everyone else follows along about every three weeks. It's crazy but it should be fun to compare bellies with others.

Meredith is coming down this next weekend for her fall break. I can't wait. It's been a while since anyone has visited me down here. She's going to come on the train on Thursday and then come up to school for a while on Friday. At some point we're going to fit in a trip to the fair. It's the last weekend so she's making it just in time!

All in all things are going very well. I'm not really experiencing any more nausea and today I had enough energy to clean the entire house. I don't just mean clean, I mean clean. I even cleaned off the ceiling fans. It was soooo gross. I don't know how we've lived with it being so dirty, oh wait maybe it's because today is the first day I've felt like I've had any energy :)

Anyway all is well here. We scheduled the 20 week ultrasound on November 21st (which will actually be 21 weeks but the family will be down for Thanksgiving). So we'll all be praying for some open legs on that day!