Gunny Geraghty

We have good news...BRIAN GOT SELECTED FOR GUNNY! He was up for promotion last year and it didn't work out, so this year was pivotal. I knew he would get it but he is never as confident.

To clarify, Brian will be a Gunnery Sergeant, an E7. There are 9 levels in the enlisted ranks, so I teased him that he's getting old. He will not actually be promoted until later this year, but at least we know he's selected. I'm relieved because he definitely deserved it. (Not to mention, the pay raise is welcomed with the baby on the way! Now we can spend all that new money on fun stuff, like, um, diapers.)



I guess this put him in a good mood because he got ambitious and took care of some loose ends this weekend.

I mentioned in the last blog that Caden is attached to his pacifier and it needs to go. Otherwise, there will undoubtedly be arguments when he tries to steal the baby's pacifier, or begs for his pass 24/7 since the baby has one...etc. So, I brought this up with Brian, pointing out that it was good timing now that we're both here and we don't have any guests for a while. We both knew it needed to happen, and we were both dreading it. Caden straight up adores his paci. He LOVES going to bed, and we know that is partially because he gets his frog and his pass.

Needless to say, we assumed this would probably be several days of h*ll, maybe more. Great.

The pacifier dependence annoyed Brian even more than me, and I guess he just decided to take it upon himself and get rid of it. I went to dinner with friends on Friday and returned home to a very smug husband. After asking about my dinner, he said, "So, guess what...?" I didn't have a guess even remotely close to what he revealed. "Caden is sleeping without his pacifer." Um, what?! How?! WHAT?!!!

I was dumbfounded. During his bedtime routine, Brian simply informed Caden that big boys don't have pacifiers. He used some examples..."Landen doesn't have a pass. Bryce doesn't have a pass." And so on. Caden repeated, "Landen no pass...Bryce no pass..." and finally threw it in the sink. He immediately regretted it and cried for it back, but Brian kept repeating, big boys don't have pacifiers.

So that was pretty much it. He didn't fall asleep immediately...I ended up laying with him from 11:30 until midnight...but he fell asleep after that and didn't wake till 7. We did have a couple meltdowns when he found some long-lost pacifiers around the house. He would grin impishly with it in his mouth and bolt. Of course those were immediately confiscated and deposited in the trash, and that did NOT go over well. But aside from those 2 incidents, I'd say we're home free!

Well, unless my Dad intervenes. Here is an email he sent Caden:

"To My Grandson Caden... I will send you a new Pass UPS ..You better hide it reallllllllllllllllllllly good though..Your mom might find it and get mad at me...GPG"

Caden at 3 weeks, showing his undeniable love for his pass

His last photo with his beloved pass


Brian, THANK YOU. You never fail to surprise me.

On top of that, I finished sanding Caden's new dresser, and Brian took it upon himself to do the first stain. We have some fixes to make, but we've made progress. Maybe we WILL be ready for the baby after all. On that note, my 33-week appointment was boring and pointless (but necessary). Everything is good. I go again in 2 weeks and then every week after that. So I guess that means I'm getting close. I officially weigh more than Brian, so that's cool. (Sigh.)

My friend Paige is on the homestretch too. She's due two weeks after me. We threw her a baby shower last week and our four boys got in some hardcore playtime.

Brunch on the deck

The boys may be enjoying the shower more than us


Getting drenched (So is this before or after Caden bit Jake? Proud moment.)


My Grandma Klindt is feeling well, and had a CAT scan this week to assess how her cancer treatments are going. I'll let you know the results. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

Last but not least, Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there, especially to my own amazing Dad and father-in-law. Can't wait to see you both in August!

Oh, and of course, Happy Father's Day to my husband. Taking away Caden's pacifier single-handedly secured you the father of the year award. So does that mean you deserve a really good gift?! Crap.

Caden loves to put his hand on my face and give me soft kisses

History in the Making

I have a surreal story to share...or perhaps you have already seen it on CNN or my name on the Internet!

Brian's sister Shannon is visiting this week and the only tourist attraction she wanted to see was the National Holocaust Museum. This is NOT a place for children, so I arranged a sitter for Caden (thanks Brandee) and Shannon and I headed up there this morning, June 10.

We had been at the museum a couple hours and I had already made 1 trip out to the car to re-supply the meter. Security at this museum is tight...a guard opens the door for you and about 4 or 5 more greet you inside as your possessions are scanned and you pass through a metal detector. On my way back in from the 2nd trip, they randomly selected me for a special search to make sure my purse didn't contain explosives. I caught myself thinking, I wonder if this security guy has ever found anything?! I almost asked, just for friendly conversational purposes, but for whatever reason, refrained. I took my purse and walked about 20-30 feet toward the main portion of the museum.

Then I heard a thunderous bang. I am not sure how to describe it, other than that it sounded sort of like someone had dropped a concrete block from the 4th floor. The sound came from behind me, and I turned around out of curiosity. Then immediately 2 more loud bangs echoed and complete chaos and panic ensued.

GUN SHOTS.

My first instinct was to get out of that huge open area so I looked for the closest door. I scrambled to get inside an exhibit called "Daniel's Story," which is completely enclosed. People were screaming and shoving (I was one of the shovers...don't mess with a pregnant lady!) until we got as far back into the exhibit as we could.

Now what? I called Brian, and hearing his voice invoked tears. I also realized maybe that hiding spot wasn't ideal, as it was one winding hallway with only two doorways. Being separated from Shannon made it even worse. She didn't have her cell phone and I had no way to make contact with her.

So I talked to Brian and waited. He helped calm me like no one else could. He evenly and methodically asked questions and assured me things would be okay. Thank God for my Marine and his incredible sanity in high-stress situations. After about 5 minutes, a security personnel entered and ushered us toward the back exit. I caught myself hesitant to cross the main entry again...I looked around warily and hurried across. It was eerily empty except for the stream of people exiting Daniels' exhibit.

Once outside, I was a one-track mind to get to the car. This was my only way to reconnect with Shannon. So here's me, 7 months pregnant, pretty much sprinting and weaving through the streets of DC! Traffic was already bogged up and cops were EVERYWHERE. Sirens were nonstop. 14th street was already completely blocked off. I had to walk all the way around the Department of Agriculture (which takes up an entire LONG city block) but finally I made it to the car. No Shannon.

So I waited. And watched. I walked to the corner of 14th and C Street and could see the front of the museum from that corner. I saw one stretcher with a man loaded into an ambulance and they rushed away. More cops, fire trucks, news vans, and helicopters continued to show up. Meanwhile, Shannon kept her wits about her and borrowed someone's phone, calling her sister first to get my number (and only revealing to Heather that it was a "security" issue) and then getting a hold of me.

The police blocked off streets and made it difficult to navigate, but after an hour apart, Shannon and I found each other. It was literally a running/hugging reunion. I'm sure it looked corny, but we didn't care! After a quick interview with some random reporter, we hopped in the car and got out of there as quickly as we could.

Looking back, it still doesn't seem real. We watched the news when we got home and learned that the gunman was an 88-year-old white supremacist. He shot the nice, tall security guard that had opened the door for me moments before. The other guards returned fire. Sadly, the security guard did not survive. The gunman remains in custody in serious condition.

I'm honestly relieved I didn't actually see anything. I was just far enough around the corner that I could not see the entrance from my vantage point. That would have been an image etched in my memory forever that I'm glad to do without.

Shannon actually saw the gunman for a few seconds. She heard the noise from the 2nd floor and went over to the window to see what happened. She doesn't recall hearing the other shots but saw a man come into view, pointing and then waving around a gun with a long silver shaft. She immediately backed off the window. She was essentially quarantined on the 2nd floor for 10 minutes until they were ushered out.

Part of me wonders how things could have been different. What if I had struck up that conversation with the security guard and stood there for a few more seconds? But I guess we could wonder things like that all day, huh. It just wasn't my time, nor Shannon's, thank God.

Even though I never would have considered bringing Caden to a place like that, I still felt such relief that he was safe in Quantico. Brian called me repeatedly, especially after he saw the news, and I think he was taken aback by just how close I was to the crime scene. Poor Shannon...this isn't what she had in mind when she asked to visit the Holocaust Museum. Me neither. She did joke about how efficient the city was in handling it. There were even caterers on the sidewalks handing out food and drinks within 20 minutes of the shooting. As she put it, "they've done this before." Sad.

News travels fast and I've already received a ton of phone calls. My Uncle Jim heard about it and put the Omaha World Herald in touch with me. I spent a lot of time on the phone with them and cannot believe the huge article they printed. I'm sort of embarassed: http://omaha.com/article/20090611/NEWS01/306119952. I went to Google and typed in "Holocaust Shooting and Geraghty" and my name came up a bunch. Shannon's does too. I even found myself in a video fleeing the scene: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/local/061009_raw_video_visitors_run_from_museum. (It's about 30 seconds in...I'm in a black shirt and green gauchos.) Probably the most unusual is my friends Emily and Paul Blake live in the UK, and they discovered my quote in the Metro, the most widely circulated paper in the country.

Crazy story, huh. That's the kind of thing you see on the news and empathize with, but it certainly takes on a whole new spin when you are actually there. I'm still replaying it in my mind.

***

It's been a while since I've updated the blog so I'll fill you in. I promise the remainder of the blog will be more positive! The trip to Iowa in May was a good experience overall, despite some stressful times with Caden here and there. We spent the first half with my family on the west side of Iowa and then visited Cedar Rapids for 5 days to see the Geraghty's. Caden's new cousin Marcus is a doll. I think he knows that he's the 5th Hasley child because he is such an easygoing, happy baby. Heather has had an excruciating recovery from the C-section but is finally feeling better.

Marcus at 17 days


Caden and his cousins played well together now that they're older. Caden followed Lawson around like a puppy. Him and Isabella seem to have a cute love/hate relationship.

The cousins


Kicking contest


Maybe Cade IS ready for a baby brother/sister?!


We spent one day at Shannon and Dane's house. Shannon graciously allowed Caden to play with her kittens, or perhaps torture would be a better word? He couldn't get enough of the fuzzy toys. Grandma Pam took joy in sharing her horse Shadow with him as well. He had absolutely no fear and hopped up on her no problem. He helped groom her and fed her carrots and apples by hand. I love my farm boy.

Note the orientation of the cat


He still talks about Shadow


Grandpa's buddy


With all these happy moments came some tough ones as well. Caden didn't sleep well the majority of the trip and still hesitated to get out of the car. At times he was virtually inconsolable and a bit crazy. I don't know why, other than that he was overwhelmed by all the new places and faces. Thank goodness he's back to normal here in Quantico.

Brian kept plenty busy working, training, and camping while we were gone and left on a trip to California the day before we returned. He competed in the All Armed Forces Triathlon on June 30th. He finished 12th overall and 3rd out of the Marines. Five of the guys that beat him are professional triathletes so he was up against stiff competition. He achieved a PR at 1 hour, 58 minutes. He improved 4 minutes over last year and 17 places. He said the weather was good, his swim was vastly improved, and his bike was his fastest ever. He cramped up on the run but finished strong. Overall, he was comfortably pleased with his individual performance. For anyone that knows Brian, that in itself is an accomplishment. I just wish I had been there. I haven't seen him race yet this year and am looking forward to joining him in Philadelphia next weekend.

Brian with his tri team boys


Caden about jumped out of his skin when Brian returned home that Sunday. We were at the park behind our house swinging, and as soon as he saw him, he started kicking his legs, grinning, and laughing. He clung to Brian the remainder of the night and refused to let me join in "their" play at the park. I didn't mind. I love seeing the connection between my two boys. And 3 1/2 weeks apart is a long time.



Caden truly loves being back in his normal environment. He begs for his pacifier more again though, so I think that needs to go soon. He sleeps through the night and has been eating like a horse lately. When we were in Iowa, he spontaneously starting hugging and telling me loved me. I absolutely melt.

Shannon's visit this past week was awesome, and yesterday's drama made it, um, memorable. She's such an easy guest and she even cleans the house and does our laundry. I want to keep her. We went to the pool, shopped, ate yummy meals (she's taking 4 recipes home), and watched movies. Caden let her read him a story the last night, a special privilege.

The boys made us a cardboard fire


Looks safe huh


I'm now at 32 weeks and that Aug 2 due date is drawing near. The neighbor girls recently threw me and Junior G a baby shower at a local Mexican restaurant. Our waiter was a little off the wall and we were probably incredibly loud and scared off all the other patrons. It was a blast. A BIG thanks to Brandee and Angel for hosting and also to all my Quantico girls...your friendship and generosity is treasured. I mean, not all friends would make special M&Ms that say "Baby Button"!!!

I'm pretty pumped about this gift...let's just hope this baby actually likes the swing!

Thanks for the baby's new crib mattress, Grandma...


...but the box is the most fun.


Junior G is growing (A LOT) and moving (A LOT). I finally bought my prego bathing suit and feel pretty hot! (NOT.) My glucose test results showed that I am anemic, so that explains why I am tired, winded, and easily bruised. I'm on supplemental iron now and perhaps that will help.

The zigzags must be helping to distort my size...trust me...I'm bigger

Caden's first trip to the pool for the year, and he's smiling


That's plenty to throw at you for now. God bless the security guard that died, and his family. For me, it was a close call, but sometimes those wake-up calls are not all bad. It keeps your priorities aligned. I don't have much to say about the gunman, except that he's proof that the hatred we viewed in the halls of the museum is unfortunately still alive today. We can all make a difference by recognizing these problems and displaying a complete intolerance for racism, hatred, and violence.

Here are some more fun photos. Enjoy!

Hanging with cousins Andy and Jordy at the American History Museum last week

Helping Grandma with chores

Caden occasionally beats up on Collin, but he's forgiving and continues to hang with him...you're a peach, Collin

Supper with cousin MaKenna, and they played soooo well together

Great Grandma Klindt does some serious rough housing with Cade, Brian style

Happy birthday Grandma Pam!

Helping Grandpa Pat plant the garden

Fighting fires at the Omaha Children's Museum

Planting soybeans with Papa, probably his favorite activity of the whole trip


#27, Caden's calf (the one he saw born)


Hagen and Caden get their cake on


Caden and cousin Cody were thick as thieves


Meeting Lesley Carlin for the first time...she likes us! And doesn't a boy AND a girl look pretty in my arms? Girl girl girl...

Vacation in Iowa

Brian returned from his trips to Hawaii and Florida tan and relaxed. Hmmm...where's my vacation?! Yes, he's typically the worldly traveler while Caden and I wait back home, but we've swapped roles for the month. We arrived in Iowa last Thursday and left a sad Brian behind. More time apart...but we should have the remainder of the summer together after this trip. He's got a lot on his plate this month anyway with catching up on work, fixing his bike, and training for the All Armed Forces Race on May 30th.

For good reason, I get a tad anxious for travel days. Flying solo across the country with a toddler can be a 3-ring circus. He's a good traveler, but there's still tedious planning and a constant need for entertainment. Also, after losing our luggage for a week at Christmas, I was prepared for Armageddon.

To my relief, everything went smoothly. Caden normally won't sleep with other people around but he zonked out for an hour and a half on the plane. I was bewildered and practically held my breath for fear I'd wake him. Post-nap, we scarfed down gooey Midwest Airlines chocolate chip cookies and watched the movie Bolt on my work laptop. He wore his seat belt almost the entire flight without objection. The nonstop turbulence was annoying but I'll take that over an antsy toddler. The only downer was I somehow managed to leave his pack of DVDs in the terminal. DUMB. But that wasn't the end of the world. I mean, they brought us our luggage...that in itself was a miracle.

Is this my kid...sleeping on the plane?!


We had a hectic, but nice, Mother's Day weekend. Jen flew in the same day so my Mom was thrilled to have all her kids present for the holiday. We joined G&G Klindt up at Cuppy's Grove for church followed with a BBQ at her house, and then steaks that night with G&G Goettsch. Brian had some beautiful flowers sent to the house, Jen gave me a card, and Mom spoiled us with ridiculously good food.

4 Generations

Swing me, Gramma!


Hanging with the big boys


A flower bed, literally (and GG Klindt didn't even mind)


Caden didn't seem to have gotten the memo that it was Mother's Day though. He was periodically cranky throughout the day and screamed as I tried to take him into church. Turns out, he was running a fever and had caught a bug. After a couple sleepless nights, he's back to his normal, happy-go-lucky self, aside from the fact he's scared to get in the car or leave his car seat. Apparently, he's overwhelmed and the car seat is his safe-zone. He begs for me to re-buckle his seat belt and wants us to go without him. Poor Caden...we're always shaking up his world.

At least he's sleeping beautifully. My Mom created a John Deere bedroom just for him. She also digs out new "old" toys for him every day. He likes to explore the farm and would sit on my brother's tractor all day if we'd let him. My Aunt Marj brought over Dylan's old motorized ride-on motorcycle and that has been a hit as well.

He's understanding more about farm life. He already did a little planting with my Dad and I'm sure there will be more. Every tractor he sees, he thinks Papa is inside. He keeps asking about the combine so he has his seasons swapped. Planting, Cade...harvest is later! Mom and Dad are shocked at how much he talks, most of which they can understand. He learned "windmill" on the way to Atlantic last night.



A ride on the 720 with Uncle Jeff


Ruining Grandma's walls


Chasing rabbits on Grandma Goettsch's golf cart

Yesterday, Caden witnessed something special for the first time. Dad needed to check the cows and I jumped at the chance to go with. We had been cooped up inside due to rain, and I was ready to get out. Caden disagreed, but I'm glad we went anyway. As soon as we arrived, his tears subsided and he wanted out of the truck to see the cows and run after the kitties.

And then, WE WATCHED DAD PULL A CALF!!! She was a big one and the cow was too exhausted to do much. They're both fine and Caden got a taste of REAL farm life. He didn't understand that he should probably be quiet though...he just kept jabbering away about Papa, fences, cows, and kitties. I haven't seen a calf being born in probably 15 years. It was pretty cool, and also a reminder of the labor I will endure in 2 months. Alarming. At least my baby won't be 50+ pounds and sporting hooves.

We plan to spend Memorial Day weekend in Cedar Rapids with the Geraghty's. Marcus Andrew Hasley joined the family on May 7th! He weighed in at 7 lb 6 oz and is doing awesome. Our nieces Gabrielle and Allie argue over who gets to hold him and are still in awe that he's really "there's." Heather is healing as well as can be expected following a C-section. She pushes herself too much, but luckily our saintly Aunt Diana is spending the week to help and will FORCE her to rest.

Caden's 5th cousin, Marcus Andrew Hasley


Regarding Junior G, all is well! I have to go to appointments more frequently now, which I JUST LOVE (not). This kid appears to be doing a triathlon 24-7 and is still sitting low. Now that I'm getting bigger, my back is killing me. I had back pain with Caden so this is no surprise. Brian and I are still tossing around ideas for names but nothing even remotely nailed down. Maybe we'll just let Caden name the baby. (And in that case, it would probably be "tiny oranges," "combine," or "froggy.")

Me & cousin Angie...we feel huge.

Grandma Klindt has another round of chemo this week. She feels great but tires easily. As you can see, her appearance doesn't show any indication that she has cancer. I stayed with her and Grandpa during one of her treatments yesterday. She has a comfy recliner to sit in and the hospital looks new. We're trying to fatten her up and I coerced her into a peanut butter cup on the ride home! They will re-evaluate her in 6 weeks, after she has 2 more rounds of treatments. They upped the chemo this week because she is taking it so well. Please keep praying, and also for the many people out there that have been diagnosed with cancer. Seems like it's popping up frequently with family and friends.