Crazy Holiday Weekend!

True to form, we spent the last 72 hours driving a few hundred miles and attending no less 3 parties and hosting one at our house!
We began this crazy weekend by driving to Newport to have lunch with our good friend Nancy and Lucas at the Cannery before settling into our home-away-from-home for the weekend, the apartment above Alex's grandparents on Lido Island.
That night, thanks to Yaya and Papa staying behind with a very tired toddler, Alex and I were able to attend a surprise birthday party for our friend Julie in Irvine, thrown by her husband Shai. We had a great time catching up with them (they live in NY!) and eating delicious food, Avery-free.
Saturday, we decided to take a quick trip to Valencia to attend another surprise birthday party, this time a lunch at BJ's for my dad, thrown by his wife Katherine. We stopped by the Coleman's to exchange some Christmas gifts then we were on the road again!
Saturday night was the annual Newport Boat Parade party at Alex's grandparent's house. As always, we had a great time seeing those we haven't seen in a long time and of course, showing Avery off to our many admiring family and friends. She didn't stay awake for the parade, but she missed it because it was a really good one this year! There were many really impressively decorated boats.
We topped the weekend off by having breakfast at Charlie's Chili where Alex's cousin Jessica works, and then we hurried home to get our house ready for our first Holiday Family Sweater Party! We had a great time with all our friends, and Avery loved sharing her toys with all the kiddos that joined us.
This holiday season has been so much fun this year, I can't wait until Christmas this weekend!
Enjoy the pictures!

The fam at BJ's for Dad's birthday

Don't forget Corey!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

NB Boat Parade party

Avery and Jess having a moment :)

First Christmas at our house!! Love it

The Horgans at the Holiday Sweater Party

Sevon, Sunny and Jeff

Lucas and Jonas with some awesome sweaters!

The Scarfeos

Alex and me

being silly!

Me and Nikki posing in our holiday finest!

And It's A..............

Drum
Roll
Please...


GIRL!! Alex and I (and especially Avery) are THRILLED to announce that we are having another sweet little baby girl! I have always wanted a sister and I am so thankful that Avery will have a built-in best bud joining her in a few months. I have a lot of close girlfriends and of course a wonderful brother (and a new sis by marriage!) but from what I am told and what I have observed, there is no relationship more rocky, rewarding and ever-lasting than the one between sisters. Avery is SO LUCKY to get to experience that.

For those that have asked, we do have plans to have more kids after this if we are so fortunate, and while we would love to have a boy eventually this little girl is everything we hoped for.

And since I have also been asked this question, no, Alex is not upset or disappointed in the least about having another daughter. Alex is one of those very special men that was meant to raise little girls and these two are so fortunate to have him as their daddy.

Here are some pictures of our healthy little one from our 15 week gender ultra-sound.
Enjoy!

Little beauty, 15 weeks 3 days

Waving hello!

Avery practicing carrying around a baby

Seems like it might fall out...yikes

I made pink cake pops to reveal the gender to the family at Thanksgiving!

Valencia Playdate

This weekend, Avery and I drove to Valencia to meet up with Val and Zoe at the Coleman's house so we mom's could chat and the girls could play together. Court made us and the girls a delicious lunch, and Val and I got a little dose of what it will be like when we have 2 kiddos at home! Challenging but fulfilling, and when Court told me how full her heart feels when she has both girls in her arms at once, it made me that much more excited to welcome our second little peanut to the family.
It was a chaotic and wonderful day. I wish we lived closer so we could do it more often.
Thanks for making the drive, Val and thanks for having us in your home, Court! Love you girls!
Enjoy the pics :)

Court and her beautiful girls

Sweet baby Reese (10 weeks)

Abbie (2) and Zoe (18 mos) giving hugs!

Avery "checking" on Reese. She was very interested in the baby, that is a good sign!

Ball!

The girls kicking the ball

Zoe and Avery in Pearl's Pad!

Avery is going to be a BIG SISTER!

That's right, we are expecting baby Klingensmith #2 on May 11, 2012! We are absolutely over the moon with this news and are so fortunate to have been blessed with another pregnancy. We tried for many months before successfully conceiving and we got the wonderful news just when we had "given up" temporarily, and that seemed to make all the difference!
Avery and I found out while Alex was at work so we waited to share the news with him until he got home. The plan was to dress Avery in a shirt I had bought for her when we first started trying that said Big Sister on it and see how long it took him to notice. Well, she went down for a nap late that day and of course, Alex came home earlier than expected. I had to wait for an hour with him home and not saying anything until she FINALLY woke up (that was the only nap she has ever taken that I wished wouldn't have lasted so long! haha!) When he volunteered to go get her like I knew he would, I watched in the monitor as he changed her diaper and then noticed the shirt. I got out the video camera and taped him coming down the stairs, asking "Honey, do you have something to tell me?" He was shocked and when I showed him the test he was still in disbelief!
We had our first appointment when I was 8 weeks along and we saw the heartbeat and confirmed my due date. It was really great visiting some of our favorite nurses, Teri and Sherry, that helped us through our pregnancy with Avery. They were so happy for us and loved seeing how big Avery had gotten.
We recently had another ultrasound appointment in which we heard the heartbeat (160 bpm) and saw how much bigger our little poppy seed/blueberry/peach had grown! They weren't able to tell the gender so we will just have to wait a few more weeks for that.
Avery doesn't really understand what is going on, but she can point at my belly and make the sign for and say "baby" so we think she will get the hang of it all soon enough. Now, if I can only stop her from wanting to bounce up and down on my belly!
Enjoy some pictures!

Proof! Aug 30, 2010

Happy Mama with a baby in her arms and her belly!

The Big Sis and a happily surprised Dada

8 weeks

13 weeks

Halloween!

Normally, I am not a fan of this holiday. Anyone who knows me knows I do not enjoy being scared or scary stuff in general. The costumes I have worn in the past have been uninspired and last-minute and I would gladly skip the whole holiday altogether.
But this year was so different! I had SO MUCH FUN sharing the tradition of dressing up and trick-or-treating with Avery, who loved every minute of it. This year, she was a kitty cat (true to form, a last-minute costume) which consisted of printed pajamas I already had, some kitty ears I made out of construction paper and hot-glued to a headband I already had, and a bushy tail made out of my robe tie. Add some eyeliner whiskers and VOILA! Instant, adorable kitty cat (or cheetah...whatever).

We started the festivities with a party with one of my meet-up groups at Chuck E Cheese on Monday, then we had a double-fun Saturday where we went to a street party in downtown Carlsbad and then off to Legoland's Brick Or Treat festivities. On Sunday we went to a block party in our old neighborhood on Maple Leaf and it was so great to see all the kids from last year grown-up and running around! On Monday night we took Avery out trick-or-treating around our neighborhood. I wasn't sure how she would do with the dark and the scary decorations but she LOVED IT! She took her little candy bucket up to each door and said "Meow" b/c she couldn't really say "trick-or-treat" and each person commented on her adorable-ness and allowed her to choose candy and put it in her bucket! Back at home, she made it her personal job to run to the door when the bell rang and hand out candy to each person. Needless to say she slept well last night!

It was a long and exhausting weekend but I loved every minute of sharing it with my little family. Now I can't wait until next year! Maybe I should start planning our costumes now....
Enjoy the pics!

Our family of pumpkins

Nikki and me with the kiddos at Halloween on Elm

Gimme candy, Meow!

In the bounce house! Spent 90% of the time

getting up from falling down, but she loved it!

My cute kitty cat

At Legoland, building something with Dada

I think Legos will be on her Christmas list!

Avery in front of our old condo

Bates Nut Farm

Apparently, going to Bates Nut Farm in the fall if you live in north San Diego county is THE thing to do! So, of course we had to join in the rest of the families in the county and check out the pumpkins, petting zoo, pony rides, inflatables and fair food!

We had a great time and got a few good shots of our little pumpkin.
Enjoy!

Avery, 15 months

Our barrel of pumpkins!

Me and my girl on a BIG one

The only way to get her to sit still was to let her play with this little pumpkin

She much prefers to run everywhere!

Especially when there is a cute doggie who needs a kiss

Or a bunny that needs a pet!

Avery, mama and "Chocolate Chip"

Saying "thank you" to her horsie

Happy Fall!

I haven't been on here since August! I apologize to my (5) avid readers for such a long absence. I have gone back to school and it has been kicking my butt! I am taking 7 units of prerequisite classes at a local junior college in preparation to apply for a Lactation Consultant program. I am taking Anatomy and Medical Terminology online, though the Anatomy class requires me to attend a lab portion twice a week. Antatomy is SO hard and SO time consuming, I am literally counting the days until I am done with it (assuming I pass!)

Anyway, as per usual we have been busy busy busy these last 2 months! Avery is 15 months old now and weighs 30 lbs and is almost 33 inches tall. She is wearing 18 months clothes but not for much longer. She is saying a LOT of words and we get a kick out of hearing the new ones she seems to learn every day. Her first word was Baby and now she can clearly say most B words (bubble, ball, bath) and she says I Love You, Hello, Bye, milk, more, up, please, down, Roo and she can repeat A-E of the alphabet.

This past week she dropped a nap and now she only naps once a day (boo hoo!) around 12 until 2:30ish, and goes to bed around 7:15. She is still in her crib though since she is so tall I am anxiously awaiting the day she realizes all she has to do is hoist herself up a bit and she could be over the rail! Yikes!

Here are some pictures of what we have been up to these past few weeks.
Enjoy!

She is getting very good at using a fork and spoon (despite the picture!)

Swimming at Yaya's house with Dada

Cute little bikini!

Visiting Abbie and her baby sister Reese in Valencia!

Kitchen pretend fun

 

Hanging with Logan at Brayden's first birthday party

Playing with Grampa's motorcycle boots

Ready to go!

Grampa and Avery

At the Del Mar Pumpking Station

Loved the carousel :)