Pat & Al's 60th Wedding Anniversary

Alex's grandparents on his dad's side are wonderful people and we are pretty close to them. While we were in Costa Rica, I was chatting with Pat and she revealed that she had NO PLANS to celebrate the big 60th wedding anniversary (which is Sept 12)! Well, as you can imagine, me being the planner that I am told her "Don't worry about it, we will do something fabulous for you! This cannot go uncelebrated!"

So the plans began. I decided I wanted the party to be special and different from the family gatherings we usually have, which take place at their house on Lido in Newport or at Ken and Solange's house in San Juan. Also, I didn't want her to have to lift a finger to set up, prepare, or clean up for this party. So we decided to have it at one of their favorite restaurants, Sabatinos in Newport.
We chose the date of Sept 22, which also happened to be Joe's 21st birthday and only a few days after Olivia's 21st birthday, so it was wonderful to all be together to celebrate so many milestones.
We decorated the room and arranged it so Pat and Al would remain in the dark about the whole thing, and they were surprised!
It was wonderful to celebrate them with the whole family, and dinner was delicious (even more so since nobody had to clean up!)

 

 

We went back to their house to celebrate Joe and Olivia's birthday with cake, and watch an amazing photo slideshow of photos from Pat and Al's life that Ken made (complete with music and impressive transitions!)

Pat surprised us all at the end of the evening by getting out her WEDDING DRESS! It was a blush pink lace, off the shoulder gown and still looked AMAZING! So incredible to see that after all these years.

All in all it was a wonderful evening spent with family to celebrate the matriarch and patriarch of the Klingensmith family. They are truly an inspiration of commitment and love and their kids, grand kids and now great grandkids, are beyond fortunate to have such an incredible example of what a marriage should be.

Grady's Baby Shower and 9 months

My wonderful Momma hosted a beautiful beachy baby shower for Grady and I at our home recently. We invited family and a few friends to celebrate our son. My mom impressed everyone with her delicious food and we played a few fun games, and of course I was showered GENEROUSLY with blue and green gifts galore! We couldn't be more touched by everyone's excitement for little Grady's arrival and it makes the whole experience of having a third baby much more thrilling than one would think. We still can't believe we are having the little boy that we both have dreamed of and won't fully believe it until he is in our arms in LESS THAN A MONTH!

Enjoy some pictures from the shower!

 

Amazing spread made with love by Nana

Best and prettiest group of moms ever!

So fortunate to have them in my and my kids lives

Nana and her 4th grandchild, first grandson!

My Aunt Kathy, cousin Danielle and her daughter Hailey, Sis in Law Lauren and baby Penny, and my brother Corey.

"I'm the Little Brother"

Little boy's closet is the envy of his sisters! STUFFED!

 

 

As of 9/20 I am 36 weeks pregnant, technically 9 months. But as you may remember from my explanation when I was this far along with Harper, women are actually pregnant for 40 weeks which is 10 months. So we are 1 month away, let the count down begin! I have 4 doctors appointments left on the books, though I am hoping to not make it to my last one scheduled the day before my due date.

I am feeling fine still, though big and hot. I am still sleeping ok as far as comfort goes, but the "baby insomnia" is kicking in a bit. My mind is full of thoughts of my baby-to-be and how anxious I am to meet him and check things off my list before his arrival.

Aside from him and I both measuring a few weeks ahead, there haven't really been any signs of him coming early, unfortunately. I have had Braxton Hicks contractions, but normally when I am doing something I shouldn't like lifting a giant toddler, hauling grocery bags in and out of the car, and bending down excessively to pick up stuff off the floor.  Ah the joys of a third pregnancy! I am starting to get mild swelling in my feet and hands by the end of the day, but nothing too bad.

My hospital bag is packed and I am currently washing all the bed and bassinet linens, and getting the car seat ready.

 

 

When I hit 37 weeks after my next appointment, in which I should get another ultrasound to check his position and my fluid levels, (he has been head down for weeks and my fluid has been in the high range of normal) I intend to start drinking Red Raspberry Leaf tea (which is supposed to bring on contractions which "tone" the uterus for labor) and taking Evening Primrose Oil supplements (which is supposed to aid in cervical dilation and make labor easier). I will also stop being lazy (ha! I wish) and start to walk as often as I can and bounce on the ab ball to try and get things going!

In summary, we are ready. Ready to welcome the newest and last addition to our family. Ready to introduce our son to our wonderful daughters. Ready to not be pregnant anymore or EVER AGAIN!

 

Nursery Progess and 7 months!

Grady's surfer room is almost done! We have removed the futon, added the glider, put up some more wall art and have displayed his name on a custom decorative surfboard we got from Splinters Wood Surfboards on Etsy.

 

I have plans to add a decorative valance above the small window in this pic. Also want to add a canvas hamper to the left of the crib for toys and get a pouf to rest my feet on while sitting on the glider.

 

 28 weeks!

I am now officially 7 months pregnant and feeling large and in charge. I am dolled up for Alex's 32 birthday dinner in this shot, and discovered that that will be the last time I wear those pants as they are uncomfortably tight! Oh the joys...

 

Some updates: I have passed 2 glucose tests so it is safe to say I do not have gestational diabetes.

 

At my last appointment, I was measuring 3 weeks ahead, so my OB did an ultrasound to check baby's growth. He was measuring right on track, estimated at 2.5 pounds. My fluid levels were on the high end of the normal range which may explain my measuring ahead. The fluids fluctuate throughout pregnancy and neither the doc or I are concerned.

 

I am planning a natural hospital birth this time. While my drug-free delivery with Harper wasn't intentional, and while I swore I wouldn't do that again, I have changed my mind (as we women frequently do!) The delivery was terrifying and painful but also empowering and incredible. The recovery was so fast and simple that alone is worth a few hours of pain. I have read a few books and have plans to take a hypnobirthing class in Sept to prepare myself for labor. Harper's labor was 4 hours from when my eyes opened at 5:30am with my first contraction to when she was born in the hospital at 9:31am, so I am betting on the good chance that this one will be just as fast if not faster. We changed my insurance this time so we will deliver at Scripps Encinitas and we tour the hospital on Aug 5.

 

Being pregnant in the summer, I am hot most of the time. I have had some pretty uncomfortable bouts with acid reflux and take Tums daily. I have tested low for Vitamin D throughout this pregnancy and my doc has recommended I take 3500 uls of vitamin D supplement, which I do daily.

 

More updates next month!

 

 

 

Avery's First Ballet Class

This summer we decided to sign Avery up for one fun activity before school starts in September for her. She chose between the few the city offered for her age range and the dates we would be available to take her...Karate or Princess Fairy Ballet (no recital) were the choices. Not surprisingly, she chose ballet and Nana was sweet enough to outfit her for her lessons with all the necessities!
We have been watching ballet videos and working on the positions when she wants to. I made sure she knew what it meant to point her toes and put her heels together and hold her arms in a circle.

When she got to class, there were about 15 little fairy princesses there as well. The teacher, Miss Candice, provided crowns, wands and wings for each of the girls to wear during class. Music from all the Disney Princess movies played in the background while the girls watched and listened to their teacher. Avery was in heaven. She was a great listener and was in front of the class most of the time, willing and eager to volunteer and watched the teacher and did what she was told (like daughter like mother!)

All the moms were snapping and filming away as the cuteness unfolded. Enjoy the pictures!

Trying on her outfit at home

Getting her crown on

Ready for class!

 

This was so funny...teacher put her leg over her head

and the girls were dutifully trying to model her!

Waiting patiently (I was impressed!)

Pique, pique, pase

Dancing fairies

 

Getting fairy dust on their ballet slippers

glitter

 

 

Whistler Trip

My fantastic husband has qualified for all-expense paid trips two years in a row because he is so good at his job. Last year we went to Kauai and decided to bring the kids (Harper was just 6 weeks old!) but this year's Whistler, Canada trip was just for mom and dad! We left only 2 days after getting back from Costa Rica, and while the timing was not ideal, it ended up working out perfectly for us. My wonderful in-laws were thrilled to come stay at our house for 4 days and 3 nights taking care of our little rugrats. While I am sure they could use another vacation of their own, the girls did great and we are so appreciative to them for letting us have a stress-free break from our little ladies.

While traveling to Whistler proved to NOT be stress-free, fortunately the rest of the trip was incredible. Our connecting flight from SFO to Vancouver was bogusly cancelled by United, and a lengthy 5 hours later we were literally the last people to walk on another flight. Not surprisingly, our bags didn't make the connection and we would spend some frustrating time everyday on our trip trying to track them down. The bag ended up being in San Diego when we returned 4 days later...oh well! We got to do a little bit of shopping in Whistler and Air Canada will supposedly reimburse us.

Anyway! After a 2.5 hour drive from Vancouver to Whistler, we finally arrived at the Four Seasons, and even at midnight we could tell it was gorgeous. The hotel staff did their best to supplement our lack of toiletries and we hit up the pharmacy the next day to get a few essentials.

We spent the rest of the trip exploring the area, walking a LOT, shopping a little (heehee), and thoroughly enjoying being together. We took a helicopter ride and saw snow-covered mountains, thick forests, a glacier and natural lakes tinted green from natural minerals. We took a chair lift up Blackcomb Mountain, a 4 mile gondola ride across a deep valley to Whistler Mountain. It was amazing and a little scary. The best part was walking around in flip flops on top of a snow-covered mountain! Then we took an open air chair lift down Whistler and had a refreshing lunch of oysters and fries!

The Four Seasons

 

Walking into the village

Roaring river just a few steps from our hotel

Whistler Village and Olympic Plaza

Enjoying the down time

 

Kind of freaking out...

Pilot Rob (who is expecting a baby boy Oct 14!)

Incredible views

natural lake

glacier

glacier

 

We survived! Queasy-ness aside, it was wonderful!

Unique baby bump shot

Canada Dry-eh!

That tiny red spot is another gondola! The ground is FAR below!

Inappropriate footwear thanks to Air Canada!

Amazing time with my true love

Heading back down the mountain, the fresh air was fantastic

 

So relaxed

Oysters and truffle fries

 

Vancouver

Jazz Festival in Vancouver