Keeping Busy

Brian is back on the road again so we are in activity mode. I try to plan something every day to keep our minds off our missing counterpart.

Unfortunately, it doesn't necessarily work. Lately, Caden sleeps restlessly, wakes up with bad dreams, and is up for the day before 7. Yikes! Then when Brian returns, he sleeps like a rock. I hope it's just a phase or deployments will truly be miserable. I typically don't sleep well when Brian is gone either, so we'll just be sleep-deprived together.

My latest and greatest activity was the March for Babies 5K walk last weekend. We walked for all babies of course, but in special recognition of Brandee and her daughter Sarah.

Take careful note of Angel's t-shirt

The event resembled a race, but without the jitters and long lines at the Port-A-Potties. I could get used to that...especially the part where you aren't drained at the end. However, I will sadly admit that I was tired by the end of the walk. A trip to Dunkin Donuts afterwards restored my energy. Thanks for a great day, Angel and Brandee. It was truly an honor. AND THANKS TO ALL OF YOU for your fantastic support. The three of us combined had about $1300 in donations.

Speaking of babies, our baby is growing. I'm at 26 weeks and am feeling huge (see above photo). I am beginning to realize we're having another kid soon and I might want to start preparing. So I tackled the new furniture refinishing project, a tall dresser for Caden. Same deal as last time; I sand and Brian stains. I will expect him to have it completed by our return from Iowa at the end of May...okay, Brian?!

Rain has been abundant, so spring is alive in Virginia and I suddenly don't mind living here again. In between storms, we enjoyed several play dates outside this past week. I'm acquiring a farmer's tan. (Great...that will make me look even BETTER in my maternity swimsuit. It's official...I'm wearing a parka to the pool.) He loves mud puddles. He races through them and watches the water splash as he goes. Then he pulls the wagon through and watches the tires. This is extremely reflective of Uncle Jeff behavior.

Always running


Tour de Caden


He decided to just sit in it


Ahhh Mom, my eyes!


He's such an outdoorsy kid that I waited for nice weather to take his 2-year photos outside. My friend Nicole Benitez has a business called Perfectly Posh Photography and was thrilled when I asked her to shoot Caden. We took him Lunga Park and just basically let him play and run around. I cannot believe some of the neat moments she caught. You can check out more of her work at her sites:

http://www.perfectlyposhphotography.blogspot.com/ and http://www.perfectlyposhphotography.com/.

She might be the most patient photographer I've ever met and although she claims she doesn't like getting dirty, she is certainly willing to make that sacrafice if it means a good shot. I love them all and I think I'll be purchasing A LOT of photos. It's nice to know that photo shoots don't have to be stressful...thanks Nicole! Here's a few of the shots.













When we're inside, lately he's drawn to the "TB" and specifically requests Curious George. I try to limit it since there's better things to do, not to mention he zones me out just like his Dad (BIG PET PEEVE). Landen gave Caden his old kitchen so that's been the recent highlight. For whatever reason, he took our can of coins and filled every nook and cranny with money yesterday, which was a pain to clean up!

Curious George


He recently started offering his own prayers at bedtime. He prays mostly for the baby, his friends, and grandparents...but also his toys, trucks, frog, and pacifier. Tonite, he wanted to pray for "tiny oranges." (He loves mandarin oranges, and I figured "tiny" would be easier to say, so that's what we call them. SO cute.) Anyway, I told him I'm not sure we should be praying for tiny oranges...but it's hard to discourage him when he's just starting to get it. So I guess we'll add tiny oranges to the list.

Did he just eat a tiny orange?!


While we're discussing oranges, any time I mention Jeff's girlfriend Tina, he pipes up, tiny oranges! So I hope we kick that before our trip to Iowa in 2 weeks. Otherwise Tina will be puzzled as to why she's being referred to as tropical fruit.

Speaking of tropical, Brian was in Hawaii last week and Florida this week. He relished in being on his old stomping grounds in Hawaii and brought back a Hawaiian shirt for Caden and chocolates for me. He was not thrilled with his race performance, and that's an understatement. Placing 7th out of 350 is awesome in my book, but he was focused on his terrible swim and bike times. It was just a practice race anyway.

Today, he competed in the St. Anthony's Triathlon, a HUGE event that attracts thousands of triathletes, including pros from the US and abroad. Almost the entire Marine Corps Tri Team flew in and competed. The swim was cancelled due to rough waters, so they were disappointed. Brian placed 22nd in the elite amateur category. He never fails to amaze me. He finished first on the team and felt good about his performance, which was a refreshing (and somewhat rare) positive response.

Some of the 2009 Marine triathletes


Now he's bumming for the week with his pal Ethan Copping until Ethan's graduation commissioning ceremony on Saturday. He deployed with Brian in 2003 and asked Brian to be his first salute as Naval officer. Brian will still have to do some work while he's there, but I know Brian...he'll get bored. He doesn't like being too busy, nor does he like too much down-time. Luckily, Ethan has planned some long bike rides and movie outings, so I'm sure they'll have a good time.

Have a GREAT week!!!

Happy Easter!

Brian was gone most of this past week but returned in time to celebrate Easter with us. We went to 8:30 mass this morning and joined some neighbors for a fancy meal afterwards. I made 3 desserts (the Goettsch's will be glad to hear that Gobble Gobble was a hit). We spent the remainder of the day outside, watching the kids hunt eggs and playing some competitive games of bags.

Mad dash for eggs, and Caden jumped the gun

Who thought it was a good idea to hide Cade's big egg in the mud? Thanks Brian.


This was Caden's first Easter coloring and hunting eggs. We colored the eggs in the kitchen and he only gave us a heart attack a couple times. He had an incessant need to recklessly plop the eggs in the cups and then swap them in and out. Messy. But fun.

I want that one. No that one. And that one. That one?


He got a kick out of finding eggs too, but mostly only because of the candy. He's an M&M fanatic and he asks for them frequently. The Easter Bunny brought him a Nascar M&M semi truck. We let him take it to church this morning, which was good and bad. Good because he was well occupied...bad because he screamed "no" if we tried to move it. An elderly lady across the aisle kept giving me the eye. He's 2...give us a break! He looked handsome in his new Easter attire (which acquired a grass stain immediately following mass). The Easter Bunny brought Brian a hat. Apparently the Easter Bunny forgot my gift.

Nice hat, Kenny Chesney.

Leave no soldiers behind


Yet another truck for the collection


Looking sharp (and anxious to eat more M&Ms)

New purpose for the nasty Easter grass


I filled in as a confirmation sponsor at Easter Vigil...congrats Killian!


In other random news, my first ever yard sale had mixed results. We held it at my friend Angie's house. The wind blew our stuff all over the yard and we lacked signs for a while (don't ask). But I did sell some stuff and plan to try again. I seriously thrive off selling things we don't want...it's an addiction. Money for crap? That's my kind of gig.

At the end of March, the Simms from Denver went on a family vacation in DC and Caden and I joined them for touring the American History Museum. I wish they lived closer...Lauren would be a perfect babysitter for Caden. Seeing the Star Spangled Banner was inspirational...and Caden loved looking at all the trains and vehicles.



Brian's race season kicks off next weekend with the Lanikai Triathlon in Hawaii and then the St. Anthony's Triathlon in Florida. I'm just wondering why the heck I'm stuck in Virginia while he's "vacationing" on sunny beaches? While he's gone, Caden and I will do the March for Babies. I haven't been very active since I got pregnant so I hope I can survive 5 miles.

Regarding the pregnancy, I recently traded my headaches for a nasty cold. Eh. People predict that we're having a girl, but I'm on the fence. When I tell Caden that the baby is kicking, he tries to kick the baby back. This baby is sentenced to a rough and tough big bro. Yesterday, Brian was on the phone and out of nowhere, Caden ran from the other room and pounced on him, asking to wrestle. Brian was so proud...his toddler is now a full-blown boy.

And on that note, he sleeps like a champ in his big boy room. No fear, and he actually requests for us to leave. After his story before we even do prayers, he practically pushes us out of the bed, waving and saying "see ya, bye bye." The first night it happened, Brian looked like someone had taken his puppy.

Cade in his QUEEN size bed, covered with trucks


Monkey in a window


Getting his dance on at the library (blue shirt)

Future journalist (that's a Chicago Manual of Style)

Serious sweet tooth


Grandma Klindt has started chemo and will go every other week. After her first round, she was fatigued but not nauseous and her white blood cell counts were stable. Much of the family joined them for Easter and there's nothing they love more than having family around. My Grandma and Grandpa Goettsch are back from Texas again for the summer, so I'm excited to see everyone when we return next month.

Once again, we hope you had a very blessed and happy Easter.

5 Years

Five years ago this month, Brian and I walked down the aisle and said "I do." We've come a long way since then, literally. Honestly, if someone had told me years ago that I would marry a Marine and live in Virginia, I probably would have laughed. But here we are! Five happy years, and things just seem to get better. I guess that's a good thing!



Both of us tried to show our love in unique ways. Brian strategically placed roses throughout the house with special quotes attached. He also asked my Mom for the name of our wedding flowers and gave me a bouquet that would rival the ones we had by the alter. His letter was the best gift...it made me cry.

I wanted to give Brian a meaningful gift too. After wandering the aisles of Michaels, I purchased a wooden crate, stained it, and painted it. Here's why...when I attended the retreat a few weeks ago, the speaker talked about your heart as a keeping place for all the things dear to you. She also specified how we need to protect our keeping place and make sure outside distractions don't interfere. So, this sparked an idea of giving Brian a "Keeping Box" to hold special letters, cards, and photos. Yeah, I suppose this is a "girly" gift, but I tried to make it look masculine, and I sent him on a photo treasure hunt to find it, including one photo from every year we've been together. What a walk through time, and boy did we look young 9 years ago?! We finished the day with a dinner date in Fredericksburg (thanks again for watching Cade, Brandee).

Caden's gift (thanks to Angel)


About the retreat...wow...what a vacation. Of course I missed my boys, but would it be terrible to say I could have stayed a week? We stayed in an old lodge from the 1800's, went hiking, had home-cooked meals prepared for us (including dessert), and listened to one of the most inspiring women I've ever encountered.

Angel, Susan, Me, and Brandee


I think one highlight was randomly hiding ham in Angel's bag and calling her Hambone for the remainder of the weekend. Brandee and I laughed so hard our faces hurt.

Thumbs up to Hambone


It was my longest time away from Cade, and he did just fine with Brian. In fact, I was disappointed that he wasn't overly enthused to see me when I returned! Brian took him to Prince William Park for a 2-hour hike. Brian excitedly described to me how they waded out to an island and Cade was actually in the creek, WAIST DEEP, and he did really well even with the currents. My eyebrows shot up but what can I expect from my two mountain men.

Pat and Pam graced us with a 5-day visit this week. Brian took some time off and we enjoyed shopping and sight-seeing in Fredericksburg and DC. We toured the Museum of the American Indian and the National Cathedral.



Breathtaking


It rained but Cade loves being outside regardless and it wasn't terribly cold. The navigation and parking was flawless and Caden was an absolute angel. Perhaps it helped that (a.) we had a GPS, and (b.) I fed Cade snacks like they were going out of style. We had some pretty impressive meals too...I think Brian was trying to show off his cooking skills to his "chef" Mom.

The Capitol


Ew


Caden is talking in sentences constantly. Recently, after we finished supper, I said, "Now, what do you need to say to Daddy?" He walked over to Brian and said, "Nice meal." I expected the normal thanks, but nice meal? That's creative. He attempts 3-syllable words (important ones, like chocolate) and counts to ten, skipping five and eight. He's quite a lover and hugs and kisses constantly. He'll see birds fly by in the sky and spread his arms and gaze upward and say, "Hug." He sure loves his grandparents too. He was glued to Grandma and Grandpa the whole visit and needed to know where they were at all times.

Hug to the ducks

Boys and their toys


He adores his Dad


Dad taught him this


Supastar

Mom and Dad proud of their Marine

Neighborhood lawnmower races (Good strategy, Thomas)


Junior G's arrival is fast approaching, so we're moving Caden into his big boy room tonite. We started another dresser sanding project and bought a double stroller 2 weeks ago. My 20-week ultrasound was uneventful, aside from the fact that they were unable to see everything because the baby was hiding. The nurse tried to push the baby to adjust to a better spot, but the only response was a sharp kick and zero sign of cooperation. The nurse joked and said, "No offense, but I think your baby has an attitude."

Brian competed in 10K here on base yesterday morning, his first race for the year. He's been battling low energy the past couple weeks but felt great yesterday and held 5:30 pace most of the way (until they had to run 2 miles on slick muddy trails!). He stayed with his running buddy Tyler the entire race. It's a strange dynamic as they're friends but also prime competition. They tend to trade off as to who wins the races, but Brian edged him this time by 1 second.

My Grandma Klindt had surgery on her colon 2 weeks ago. They removed 14 inches and a sizable polyp. Post-op, she told them her pain was at a zero and she didn't want to take pain meds. Her reasoning was, "Well, farm wives have to be tough." She was at home recovering but hasn't been feeling well the past few days and couldn't keep food down. So she's back in the hospital. They will begin therapy for the cancer as soon as she has healed enough. Thank you for your numerous emails and prayers. Your support is appreciated more than you know.

Almost halfway

First and foremost, my Dad and Grandpa Goettsch had birthdays yesterday. Happy birthday and all our love!

The beginning of the year brings a lot of birthdays in our family. Mine was last week and it was definitely memorable. Brian went above and beyond. Breakfast in bed, homemade tiramisu, cards and flowers, a surprise party with the neighbors including ice cream cake...what more could a girl want? I treated myself to some shopping as well. Caden cooperated, aside from knocking over a clothing rack. Embarassing.

Brian's tiramisu masterpiece


Anyway, thank you for all your well wishes and cards. I felt loved. It was Ash Wednesday as well, but we still endulged ourself on some cake anyway. Well, aside from those that gave it up for Lent! (Sorry girls...)



Brian has been around, which is great. A month without trips is virtually unheard of. He had a positive experience in Florida for his triathlon training camp, although it was hard on his body. Five hours of workouts a day would make anyone sore. He found out that he will be sponsored with a (free!) Cannondale ITU bike to use for the year. We haven't made it to Philadelphia yet for the fitting, but plan to go in the next few weeks. He starts racing again next month.

I'm road tripping four hours to Pennsylvania this weekend for a church retreat with my friends Angel and Brandee, minus the boys! The retreat focuses on helping military wives stay connected to God and family throughout the process of moving around the world. I can't wait. Brian absolutely wanted me to go, but I knew he was inwardly calculating two days of meals, coordinating babysitting for workouts, and adhering to the basic daily schedule. They'll survive. :)

Caden is talking up a storm. He will attempt to say any word you ask of him and learns a couple new ones every day, especially 2-syllable words. Daddy taught him "tattoo" recently. Uh hem, I tend to lean toward more constructive words. He told both Grandpa's "Happy Papa," which is close enough to happy birthday. He folds his hands to pray before meals and says amen. He runs everywhere, loves to wrestle, and generally obeys our wishes, which is helpful. We sometimes let him drive the car around the alley (1 mph, and assisted of course) and he plays in his own Cozy Coupe car nonstop when we're outside. He eats sizable meals but still grazes 24/7...definitely his father's child.

Cheese! Now can I open?!


Weekly playgroup with Caryn, Brayden, Cade, Me, Gabe, and Paige


The pregnancy is going smoothly. Would you believe I'm almost 19 weeks?! That's nearly halfway! I'm definitely showing (too much, I think) and feel movement. The ultrasound is March 19th. We are not going to find out the gender again, so we're sorry to disappoint the curious ones. I'm feeling well, minus some chronic headaches.

17 weeks, and I think I've doubled in size in the past week


Caden understands that a baby is on the way. Early in February, during the pre-nap story, he spontaneously sat up, lifted up my shirt, and kissed and hugged the baby. I melted. Now he does it frequently, and often at inopportune times, specifically Sunday mass. He likes to share his frog, his pacifier, and his trucks by pressing them to my stomach. So, I think he'll like being a big brother.

He got a chance to practice this weekend when my friend Laurie visited with her 13-month-old daughter Honor. Caden shared his toys and enjoyed her company, minus being disgruntled about infringements on his space here and there. She's a sweet kid and the experience made me want a little girl.

Spoonfeeding applesauce to his girl...ahhhhh.


The bath pics they will hate us for during their teenage years


Pillow mountain


Having Laurie around was AWESOME...I miss her. We even took advantage of Brian's babysitting expertise and left both kids with him so we could have a girls night in DC.

Neighborhood girls' night + Laurie + a baby (Nice hat, huh? Thanks, Beal.)


This is a hard way to end my blog, but I have something very important that I need you to help pray about. My Grandma Klindt (my Mom's Mom) has been diagnosed with colon cancer. She was supposed to have surgery on her shoulder and that's how they stumbled upon some spots on her lung. They are still doing some tests and will start treatment soon. She's very upbeat about it and feels well most days. Grandma said they're just going to take one day at a time. That's the right attitude.

But please keep her in your prayers. We love you Grandma, and we'll help you fight through this.