It's My Party!!

Madison celebrated her 5th birthday on October 5th!

On her birthday we let her open gifts at home and then took her to her favorite restaurant, Carlos O'Kelly's, for dinner. Daddy sent her flowers on her special day, she also got to take a birthday snack to school and was the leader for the day! She had a great birthday..hard to believe she is 5!!

We had a family/friend BBQ/birthday party that weekend. The weather was beautiful....kinda on the warm side, but a great day for an outdoor party! She had a great turn-out of our family and friends.

Last update....

Well this will be the last update for the day & then you will know everything that has been going on with the Klein family, plus I have only a few minutes left before I have to be at the dance studio for a parade meeting!

The Klein family is growing!!

Tanner is going to be a BIG brother!! The kids are sooooo excited!!! So are Chad and I!!!!

I have had a few doctor appointments already and at my last one we had an ultrasound. Chad and I were able to see the baby, the heartbeat was 154. I still need to look and see what Maddy and Tanner's heartbeats were. I am almost 13 wks now, my due date if May 11th, and for the most part feeling good. I am usually tired by the end of the day, and most nights in bed by 10, but hoping to be over that soon enough!!

I have another appt scheduled in 2 weeks. At my last appt, I saw Dr. Marshall who delivered Madison and I used to watch her stepkids. We asked her when they might deliver the baby since it will be a scheduled C-section, & it should be around May 6th. They should also do another ultrasound around 20 wks, which is a good thing, since we really need to learn the sex of the baby, since we have no baby clothes!

Well I better go, but I will try to update after my next appointment!

Happy Halloween

Ok so Halloween was almost a week ago, but better late than never!! For Halloween, Maddy was a black and purple butterfly and Tanner was Handy Manny. We made the rounds with Alexa, Zach, Katelyn, & Ethan. We meet Aunt Leah, Uncle Matt, and Grandma Rose at the mall, then went & made quick visits to different family members and then hit the streets for a few blocks. It was cold and the kids got too much candy, but they had fun!! We finished the night with pizza at Mazzio's. I don't think that being outside helped T's cold that he had, he has had a really runny nose all week! The kids have only had a few peices of their candy, they don't ask for any, and I don't offer it to them either. It will probably find it's way to the guys that Chad works with soon enough!! Enjoy the pics of the kids!!

Madison is 5!!!

Well.....she is almost 5! I thought I would do this update now knowing I might not have time tomorrow! Tomorrow is a very special day at our house...Madison will be 5 and it's her star birthday! She has been counting down the days & telling everyone when her birthday is! She is excited to go to preschool tomorrow, she gets her pictures taken, and it's her snack day, so she gets to be the leader! That's a big deal!! We will be taking her out to Carlos O' Kelly's for her birthday dinner...her choice! We will be having a cookout this weekend to celebrate her big day!

(I will try to post again after her party & upload a new pic of her!)

Madison's nicknames: sissy, Mads, Mad, Maddy

Her favorite color is purple. She loves to dance, sing, write the letters they have learned at school, she also loves to color, be outside, play with her friends, and vacuum (hope she doesn't outgrow that anytime soon:-). She is very loving, caring, and sometimes has an attitude! We are proud of her and love her soooo much!!

Happy Star (5th) Birthday Madison Renee!!!!

School Days

Well it's that time of year again for Madison.....school is back in session!! Today Maddy started the 4 year old preschool program at Messiah. She goes 4 days a week in the afternoon. Her best friend, Mallory (my daycare kiddo) will be attending with her. They have 11 other kids in their class this year, due to the school district offering free preschool, but we believe in the program at Messiah, so we decided to keep Madison there. With having smaller groups, she will get more 1 on 1, & we liked that fact and I know the teachers since Mallory's siblings went there.

Madison was so excited this morning she came upstairs at 6:30 am and asked if she could get dressed! I convinced her to crawl into our bed for a little bit longer. She was also excited because she got to take snack today & in preschool snack is a big deal!! She helped me make some cookies...so we might have cheated and used cookie dough...but they were a hit today!

Madison before we left home.

Chad also took the day off, so he was able to be there for her first day! We got to school early so the kids got to play on the playground for a little bit. Tanner doesn't understand why he can't stay at school with sissy, I keep telling him next year he will get to go there (but I don't like to think about that, it means he is a big boy!). Madison had a great day and said she can't wait to go back tomorrow!!!

Tanner loves to play at the park!

Inside one of the classrooms.

Mommy, Maddy, & Daddy before class started (Tanner was too busy playing to join us for a picture)

Relay for Life 2010

Last Friday we walked around the hospital lake for the 2010 Des Moines Co. Relay for Life. I have been participating in Relay for the last 6 years, it is a cause that I am happy to support. Cancer has touched many of our loves ones lives, so we walk to remember the ones who have passed and honor the ones who are still with us.

My Grandma's luminary had a Lighting McQueen sticker on it, I thought it was fitting since Tanner's favorite movie is Cars!


My Aunt's luminary

My brother-in-law's, Andrew, luminary

Tanner walking with Alexa

This week I had a few slow days with kids on vacations and summer winding down, today I had a garage sale at Rose's (my mother-in-laws), I have been cleaning out closets here & there & going through toys. I filled the back of Chad's truck & had to put a few things in my car! Yep I had lots of things!! The amount of clothes I had was crazy!! But I sold lots of things today and I will be out there doing it again tomorrow. I am hoping to not bring much home with me...Chad said I shouldn't bring any of it home..but it's nice, clean clothes that may still find their way to the resale shop!

School starts next Thursday, so I will have 3 kids and then our 2, & one of my families is expecting a baby in another week, I am excited to get to watch another one of their children grow! I love my job and will miss my "big kids" as they prepare for another school year!

Getting caught up

Well I feel like I am behind on everything! The last few weeks have been crazy to say the least, so bear with me as I "try" to catch up on what the Klein's have been up to!

I have been staying busy with my daycare kids. I have 8 kids almost everyday, but they are awesome and we have lots of fun!! One morning we took a walk to Perkins Park, thanks to my "big kids" for helping with the "little kids" while crossing the streets & while playing on the playground. Without my "big kids" I would be lost some days...they are wonderful helpers and I really appreciate everything they do to help with the "little kids." I will miss them when school starts in a few weeks!

L-R Tanner (in wagon), Makaylin, Morgan, Blake, Tyson (on fence), Mallory, Madison, Cammie





Madison (standing), Tanner & Cammie (in wagon), Mallory, Makaylin, Morgan, Tyson, Blake

Chad and I decided to start a new tradition with Tanner for his birthday starting this year. Since his birthday is December 28th, we thought it would be fun to have a big birthday party for his 1/2 birthday, June 28th. It is sometimes hard to find time to do his party between Christmas and New Years, and last year he was over opening gifts. So on July 3rd, we had a BBQ at our house for him, we had a nice turn-out of our family and friends. All Tanner wanted for his 1/2 birthday was a big boy bike and a cake. So daddy and I bought him a bike and Grandma Rose made him a yummy Cardinals cake!!

Daddy hid the bike in his truck & we surprised him with it!!!

He loved it & took right off!!!

We also spent lots of time watching my sister, Alexa, & my brother, Zach playing ball for the All-Star teams. The kids enjoy watching them play, & Tanner likes to yell at the players....it is too funny!! They also had fun playing on the equipment at Sunnyside School.






Tanner also decided it was time to potty train!! I was so ecstatic!! He has done really well and we are so proud of how quickly he trained. We still put a diaper on him at bedtime, but most mornings he is still dry!!!!

After his bath..he had to go!!

Over a week ago, Chad's dad, Bob was put in the hospital in Iowa City. He had to have surgery, but he is now home. Chad and the kids went & took him for a drive today down by the river, he still can't drive and I'm sure he was glad to get out of the house!!

Chad's dad had his surgery last Friday, and on last Saturday night, Andrew (Chad's brother) got put into the hospital! He had to stay for a few days to get an IV antibiotic. He is now home also & back to work.


So as you can tell we have been crazy busy the last few weeks!! I am hoping things slow down, so we can enjoy the rest of the summer!