Christmas Time!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! It was nice to be around family and awesome food!


The kids woke up earlier than normal, of course. Skylar was working, so I snapped a picture of their excited faces first thing in the morning so he wouldn't miss it.


Doing "thumbs up". They were so thrilled to see those gifts under the tree. We obviously had a small, but very nice Christmas this year :) As you can see, they are not in their Christmas pj's. I forgot to do laundry in time for them to wear them to bed, but they were ready to be worn in the morning!


It has been a tradition to go to my parents house Christmas morning for breakfast and more gifts. Because Skylar didn't get off work until 8am, we met him at my parents house and did our own family Christmas later that morning.


I promise he was excited about his helicopter. He has his father's personality!!


Daisy became quite the professional gift opener! She loved every moment of it!

She received a doll and kept squealing with delight! It was so funny! She was so impatient while I tried to pry that thing out of its package.

Back at home, the kids received more toys! I love this picture because of Daisy's face! She just saw that she got another baby doll! Slade got the awesome Mr. Potato Head!

Of course Daisy got a new cell phone. What is a girl to do without her phone?!? Plus, it came with a super cute little purse to put it in.

Slade LOVES his new tractor! He hauls everything around that will stay on the trailer, including a monster truck that he also received.

Daisy stole Mr. Potato Head's glasses. She wears them around the house as if they are hers and she always puts them on, just like that!



CHRISTMAS EVE

Because Skylar had to work Christmas Eve, we went and visited him at the station! Because he's in his probationary year, he gets placed at three different stations within the year. It's fun to meet his new crew and see a different station every few months.

Daisy the Engineer!

Slade the Engineer! He absolutely loves sitting in the firetrucks and never wants to get down.

Skylar giving Slade a quick lesson on what all the different gauges do. Slade wouldn't leave those things alone and would try to turn a few knobs when we weren't watching.

Daisy standing in front of Skylar's seat on the firetruck. They keep their turnout jackets hanging up inside the truck.

It was so much fun visiting the station. While we were there, the engine truck got a call, so we got to watch them leave. Just a few minutes later, the ladder truck, which Skylar is on, got a call too, so we watched how fast everyone rushes to the truck and waved goodbye to Skylar. If you look hard, you can see him waving to us. It was a little weird because I don't remember seeing everyone jump on the truck! It happens all too quickly!

After Skylar left on a call, we decided to head home. As I was buckling Daisy into her car seat, I told Slade to jump in his seat as well. He ran to his side of the car, but didn't get in! I walked around the car to find him doing this!!! I had just asked him a few minutes earlier if he needed to go potty and he said no. He must have seen the bushes earlier and decided that would be a fun place to pee.

DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS EVE

Yes, this is my husbands truck. He went scouting for Javelina east of Florence early Wednesday morning all by himself. It had been raining, so of course the dirt roads were muddy... He was headed back home when the tail end of his truck slid out, turned him 180 degrees, then flipped him on the side. He said the road was curvy, slippery and down hill which are all bad news. Like I mentioned before, he left the house early and I started to get a little concerned around 4pm. He doesn't usually stay out so long when he is scouting or hunting close to home, but I thought that maybe he hasn't seen anything and he wants to make the most of the trip. He finally calls me at 4:30pm and says that he is on his way home. I said jokingly, "So you're still alive, huh?" His reply, "Barely." I asked if he was really okay, not knowing what happened, and he said yes and that he will see me soon. He gets home just after 5pm and I hear the garage door open. The kids and I wait for him to come inside the house, but he never does! I look out the window and see that his truck is very muddy and he has the hood up. I go outside to see what's the matter and I comment on how dirty the truck is. He said, "Wait 'till you see the other side!" Instantly I knew something was up, so walked around to the other side and see that it is full of scratches, dents and the side view mirror is missing!! Finally, the story came out...

Hand prints from trying to get out of his truck!

Ruined tire. He later realized he ruined another tire as well!

Hard to see, but this shows all the dents and scratches AND the wet spots are transmission fluid that leaked.

All in all, I'm happy that he wasn't hurt. His cell phone didn't work out there, so he ended up having to walk 5 or 6 miles to the nearest house to find help. I told him he is NOT allowed to go by himself anymore. I always think of the "what ifs" and knowing that he had someone with him would make me feel so much better. I commented on how his new truck (new to him) is now damaged. His reply, "It's my huntin' truck, babe!" Yeah, it is now! :)

Merry Christmas!

I love the week of Christmas! It's always busy and full of things to do. Also, the kids get to wear their new Christmas clothes to church! Skylar will NOT let me put Slade in a cute sweater, so he got some new shoes and pants, but wasn't in the mood for a picture. Daisy is always up for a photo shoot and this is her new dress and shoes.

Kleven Family Christmas Party

Every year my Dad's side of the family gets together and has a huge dinner party. We meet at a church because there are so many people! We always have dinner, a program and then Santa!

Another tradition we do is sing the CHRISTMAS song. We have a child hold up a letter and we sing the song...C is for the Christ child... you get the idea. Slade was so excited to be able to hold a letter this year! He was so cute up there, waving to us and smiling big. I told Skylar that he is going to be our actor. I'm sure you can image Skylar's response to that, those of you who know him :)

Kleven, Slade and Ethan

Daisy enjoying the program!

My almost 15 year old brother was asked to be the donkey for the Nativity Scene. He did great :) but was somewhat embarrassed I think.

Oh, Santa's Elf's! It takes a special kind of man to be able to wear those outfits :) Can't wait for it to be Skylar's turn! Haha!! Yeah, that won't happen.

SANTA!! He always arrives at the end and hands out presents to each child.

Waiting in line for Santa! She is very unsure of this Santa...probably because he acted a lot like her Grandpa!! Heehee!

I had to post this picture because of my sparkly earring!

The Elf's threw suckers to all the kids while we waited for Santa. Who knows how many Slade ended up eating...

I love that Slade is perfectly okay with Santa this year and Daisy is so scared! I have a picture of myself on Santa's lap around the same age as Daisy and I'm doing the same thing! I think Santa was trying to let her in on his little secret to see if she would calm down. It worked for about 2 seconds and then she really freaked out.

Stock Family Gift Exchange

Skylar's side of the family got together for a dinner and gift exchange. Because Skylar's parents and two siblings live in Utah, it was just us and his two sisters and their families. We had soup, rolls and veggies for dinner and an awesome dessert of ice cream, brownies and hot fudge! Thanks Erin!

This is the picture we captured with our camera before it died. Good thing Erin had a camera handy and was able to take a good one. She did send it to me, I'm just not quite sure how to get it from my email to the blog. I'm sure its easy to do... things like that usually are.

This is Kinley refusing to be a part of the picture! She was quite funny and did NOT want her picture to be taken. Little does she know, Uncle Derek cropped her in the picture and off it was sent to the grandparents!

It was a fun night with everyone and we even got to play Wii for the first time! I played a super awesome game of target shooting and lost the first round to Maddie, who is 7, but won the second time around! We got Skylar to play tennis and he said he actually enjoyed it! He also played a bull or horse riding game, not sure which, and didn't do so great :) It was really fun!

Okay, super random, but I painted Daisy's nails this morning and put a flower on as well. She LOVES it and keeps showing me and saying how pretty they are. I really enjoy having a girl, its so much FUN!


Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you are enjoying the Holidays!

Something to Blog About...

It's only almost noon, but I have already had a pretty eventful morning. Usually, I shower and get myself ready before the kids wake up, but that wasn't possible today. Slade had made his way to my bed during the night (which he does often when Skylar is working) and Daisy woke up screaming at 4am. She rarely screams, so I went to check on her and found her freezing, so I brought her to my bed. The kids woke up about 7am and started playing around on the bed while I tried to wake up. Slade went to use the bathroom and while he was gone, Daisy says, "Yucky poo poo!" I turn around to look at her and she throws a nugget of poop on me!! I scream, she starts crying, and then I notice the brown smudges on her pj's as well as her hands!! That made me wake up! I immediately threw her in the shower, as she and Slade prefer over baths, cleaned her up and then went to assess the mess on my bed. I wonder how long she had been playing in her diaper... At one point I remember that she had played with my hair while I pretended I was still asleep. The thought of poop in my hair made me gag, so I jumped in the shower and washed my hair twice, just to be sure! We then had a nice breakfast of cheesy eggs and toast...

Not much later, I was in my bathroom putting my makeup on when Slade walks in and we had this conversation:
Slade, "What are you doing, mom?"
Me, "Putting my makeup on."
Slade,"Why?"
Me, "So I can be pretty."
Slade, "You's not pretty like that."
Me, "Oh! You don't like my makeup?"
Slade, "No. You's going to take it off?"
Me, "No. Why? What do you want me to look like?"
Slade, "Just like mom."
Haha!! I know I look different without makeup, but good grief, that puts it in perspective!!

AND THEN, after our little conversation, he left and I could hear him playing in his room. When I was finishing up, I noticed that I couldn't hear anything! We all know that no noise means the kids are into something, so I went to go find out. Now, the kids have plenty of toys to play with, (note picture below) and that is just one side, and there are more on the floor behind me! So, I knew they had been in Slade's room playing but they weren't there now...so I went looking in Daisy's room.

Ha Ha! I found them. I had just opened a new package of wipees this morning (the poop story) and the kids decided that they needed a wipee bath. There are more wipees on the other side of Daisy and by the door, too! A quick thought ran through my mind... Why do I buy the kids toys when they would rather play with wipees and poop? We may have to return their Christmas presents this year.

Christmas Pictures and Baby Update #8

Here they are! We are grateful to my sister Kendyl for taking these shots! We will be having more family pictures taken after the baby comes (9 weeks and counting!) so be looking for those! We were able to go to our Bishop's farm and take advantage of his antique (or just old) farm equipment and buildings.

Daisy was constantly distracted by the farm cat that kept walking by.

Mother and Daughter...

Yay! You can see my belly! The kids did a great job and I have to give most of the credit to all the fun tractors and animals that kept them entertained.

Skylar isn't too fond of "intimate" shots, and according to him, these are in that category. He was a good sport though, notice his face :)

I just LOVE Daisy's boots that Kendyl picked up from Idaho!



We tried getting pictures of the kids on the hay, but Daisy was scared!

Father and Son.... apparently too cool to smile!

Baby Update #8

I headed back to the specialist today for more testing. It was so much fun to see the baby again in such detail. I didn't get a CD this time, but they did print out several awesome 3D shots of her. And.... GOOD NEWS!! She has gained 14oz since the last time I was there, which was two weeks ago!! That is awesome! She still looks wonderful and the tests came back looking great. The doctor there told me she is probably just genetically small. I'll take that! Also, my placenta has moved up, so I am out of danger of the possibility of having placenta previa. They want to see me back in three weeks to do the tests again to make sure she continues to do well. What a blessing!

Charlie Brown Tree and Baby Update #7

This is our sad, sad, little Christmas tree. It stands 3 feet tall and fits on my little table thingy that we have by our couch. Its hard to see, but there is a star at the top and it has to be perfectly straight, or else it makes the tree lopsided. The kids keep trying to steal the candy canes, so they have been randomly placed back on the tree. We have had this tree since we were first married, and due to the fact of having a little house at the time and a super small budget, this tree was perfect! As I was putting the tree up, Slade looked at it and said, "that tree is a baby tree, mom. Hahaha!! That's funny!" So, I will be going out after Christmas this year and buying us a bigger tree and better ornaments.

Baby Update #7

Just a quick update about the baby... I had a follow up appointment with my doctor yesterday and he went over everything the specialist told me last week. BUT, he is sending me BACK to the specialist to have the same tests done as a precaution, which the specialist recommended. He questions why this baby is so small if everything came back normal. She shouldn't be in the 2nd percentile if everything is working properly. I was told my babies are on the small side, but not considered tiny like this one. Slade was born on his due date weighing 7 lbs and Daisy was born 6 weeks early weighing 4 lbs 14 oz. My doctor still thinks something is going on with the placenta, but we may not find out until I deliver. I have to be watching for ANY symptoms of preterm labor, and if I have anything questionable, I have to go straight to the hospital without a second thought. My water broke at home with my other two kids, and contractions started an hour later, so that is all I know what to look for. Anyway, I hadn't gained any weight since they saw me last, but I do feel bigger! She moves around a lot and has a strong heartbeat. I also have to visit my doctor every week starting at 32 weeks until I deliver. For now, we just sit tight and pray this little girl won't come early since everything looks good.

*Friday Update: I was at my parents house for dinner with the kids while Skylar was working, and I went to the bathroom and there was blood!! Not just a little... I was told to go to the hospital right away, so my mom drove me while the kids stayed with my dad. I called Skylar on the way to let him know what was going on and told him I would update him once I got to the hospital. So when I got there, I was sent up to L&D triage, gave a urine sample and then was hooked up to the monitors to check on the baby. She was moving around and had a strong heartbeat which was extremely comforting. The results of the sample came back negative for anything, so I was sent home! I am so grateful nothing resulted from that little scare, but now I have to be extra careful and keep a look out for any more blood as well as decreased fetal movement. I hope this little girl isn't going to be as much drama as she is already showing to be.

Baby Update #6

Good news! The baby looks wonderful! We went to the specialist today and had an ultrasound done. They can do some amazing stuff! Turns out that she is just small. The blood flow is normal, her heart is awesome and I have enough amniotic fluid for her to swim around in. They will, however, continue to monitor her growth to make sure she is growing. Because she is measuring so small, but my dates are right on, they will chart her growth on a curve from now on. I will have many more ultrasounds until she is born, which I love because its fun to see her. I go in for a follow up appointment next Thursday, then another growth ultrasound the week after that. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!