Theo's 5th Birthday Party

I'm 5!

Holidays and birthdays in particular are when I really start to notice the similarities between Theo and myself.  While Theo may change his mind about what he wants his Halloween costume to be everyday, he is very serious about his birthday plans.  He planned them out months ago and would tell anyone who would listen what his agenda was. 

This was Theo's birthday planning sheet that he made a few months back.  He decided early on that he wanted a Star Wars birthday party and so this represented his party plans:  Pizza and Lemonade for food, bobbing for apples, Goody Bags, a Darth Vader cake, Storm Trooper cupcakes, pin the light saber on Darth Vader, pin the light saber on the storm trooper, presents, pinata, checkmark (that it all gets done), 5, T (for Theo), and a heart (he loves us).  Haha.  This was the staple for all party planning.  I was mostly nervous that we'd have enough little friends to invite to the party by the end of September.

Playing Star Wars bingo (a present) before bed

We had his party on October 1st and it was everything he could have dreamed of!  I think he had a BLAST.  We invited a few friends, and they mostly played when they arrived, we had a Star Wars themed lunch, played a few party games, had cupcakes, opened presents, and kiddos went home and we all took naps.  I'm so thankful for all of Mason's help with the party since I had hosted a big squadron event the night before, but it all went smoothly and was pretty relaxed.  Theo had fun and that's all that mattered to us.

Woodrow and I prepping the food

Theo read about bobbing for apples in a Bernstein Bears book almost a year ago and has wanted to do it since. 

Kudos to Dad and his Darth Vader drawing

Pinata!

Birthday hangover

 

Baby Kehs 3 Update

Pregnancy.  What a strange time continuum.  How can nine months seem so long and so short all at one time.  We found out I was pregnant with BK3 on February 13th and we kept our little secret between just Mason and I until I was 10 weeks pregnant.  In Minot we had to wait until that point to get an ultrasound and OB appointment.  Talk about an agonizing time.  For me it's a hard time because you are so excited at the news of pregnancy, but there aren't really any indicators that baby is doing well and thriving.  I much prefer the stage where I can feel those baby kicks all the time.  So it was a long first trimester keeping a secret, being excited/nervous, and I was exhausted and didn't feel great.  Add on top of that preparing to move halfway across the world, and just not really being able to ask for extra help without explaining why. 

Before leaving Minot we told 3 of our closest friends our exciting news.  It was so great to finally be able to tell our friends, who were super supportive and loving.  When we traveled around the US before our move we got to tell all of our family in person that we were expecting BK3, which was fun since with Theo and Woodrow we didn't get to tell anyone in person.  It was another several weeks from that initial 10 week appointment to the next appointment here in Guam, so more waiting!  Even then my first appointment here was a paperwork appointment much to my dismay and I had to wait another week until I actually got to hear that little heartbeat again, at almost 16 weeks. 

With my two previous pregnancies I was seen at an off base facility and saw the OB that I had chosen for the entire pregnancy.  Here in Guam I am being seen at the Air Force base clinic and will deliver at the Naval hospital.  The first woman I saw in Women's Health was actually a nurse practitioner who had been my doctor back at Sheppard AFB.  I came home in tears to Mason that she was going to be handling my care.  Her bedside manor is terrible and we did NOT have a good relationship back at Sheppard.  I looked into transferring care to the Naval base, but I still would have seen family practice doctors and not OBs, and the drive is a 45 minute trek, which would have been fine for those appointments that are a month apart, but I didn't want to really do that once I was having weekly appointments.  Things aligned and the devil doctor was scheduled to PCS off of Guam, and so I was able to see a different practitioner in Family Health.  I personally liked her, although sometimes I think she erred on the side of SUPER cautious, and I felt like I left her office every time needing blood drawn and some sort of additional test, but she was thorough and listened to my concerns.  Fast forward to six weeks ago when she told me that she was going to the States for a 6 week training and would be handing my care off to the devil doctor.  After a series of rescheduled appointments I said I would just wait to see someone else.  So, while I should have been having weekly appointments, I went a month without.  But, I was at the point where I can feel the baby all the time, so it wasn't too horrible.  My last 3 appointments are with Dr. Google.  He's a family practitioner and you can tell OB is not his specialty.  If I was a first time mom, I would not be pleased, but this time around I just sort of have to laugh. 

Overall this pregnancy has been really great, although it hasn't always felt like it.  I know that I am so blessed to be having a healthy baby and carrying this baby.  I am so thankful I have that opportunity when I know so many of my friends and women in general don't get the experience I am having.  Mason has been my rock.  I don't know how I could have done these past nine months without him by my side, because there have been A LOT of emotions.  A month or two ago the physical pain in my hips and back was so awful that I would spend a lot of the day just in tears telling him that the baby HAD to come out NOW.  I went to the chiropractor a few times, and fortunately the pain has subsided a great deal.  Sleeping still isn't comfortable, but the constant pain is gone.  Mason was in South Korea last week for work and the baby did good and stayed put.

Today I am 39 weeks and 3 days.  I'm eager to meet this little baby, we don't know boy or girl.  The end always has me very anxious and antsy.  I had two previous c-sections and was hoping for a TOLAC/VBAC with BK3.  The Naval hospital seems pretty firm in their policies here and what they are willing to negotiate.  Mason and I met with a Dr. from the hospital to discuss our options and I've prayed so much.  The next few days will reveal how this little one wants to enter the world.  I've felt very conflicted about just letting my body do the work vs. how much to try and help things along.

The big brothers are very excited about having a new brother or sister.  Originally Woodrow kept saying he was having a sister, but recently both boys have been team brother.  We keep reminding them that we will love our baby whether it is a sister or a brother.  Theo thinks we should name the baby Liam Jones and Woodrow has suggested Yoda.  Which may end up happening if Mason and I can't come up with a boy name that we both agree on.  We do have a few girl names lined up if this baby is a sweet girl.

Meeting Heidi Murkoff at the Guam's USO Special Delivery event

The nesting urge kicked in this past week, and the baby room is all set-up and a little more organized.  We have baby gear placed around the house and bags are sort of packed...last week after my appointment here on the AF base my doctor sent me straight to Navy to have a non-stress test (NST) and have my fluids checked because he was calculating them high.  Mason was in Korea, so I quickly picked up Theo from a friends house, threw together overnight bags for all of us and headed to the hospital.  Obviously things were perfectly fine, but that did jump start some feelings of "oh yeah, this baby could arrive anytime."  We do have some friends lined up to watch with the boys when the baby does arrive, which is so amazing, but a little stressful too.  It's hard for me to ask for and accept help, but we have to since we don't have family coming to town for BK3s arrival.  Fortunately being in a military community so far from loved ones, people get it and are willing to help out.  Mason will have 10 days off of work which will be HUGE.  He's an amazing help and a wonderful father.  I'm so blessed that I get to spend my life with him as his wife and as the mother of our children. 

It's a little daunting to think that soon we'll be a family of five, but it's going to be amazing at the same time!  I can't wait to meet BK3 and introduce him or her to the world! 

Trying to feel for baby kicks

Theo Turns Five

There were many days leading up to Theo's 5th birthday that I wasn't sure if this kid was going to survive.  I don't think that I was adequately warned/prepared for the attitude and tantrums that were showing their ugly head.  There were several days where we looked at Theo and wondered 'what happened to our child?'  Theo got to have a lot of quiet time in his room and went back to some napping.  But, he's 5 and things have leveled out a bit more, although we're still having some BIG emotions and tantrums that we didn't have before.

5!  I can't really believe that I have a 5 year old since it feels like he was just a little guy.  Sometimes I have a hard time relating to this big kid that wants to be independent and not curl up and snuggle all the time.  Theo is definitely our artistic, free-spirited philosopher child.  If he can be doing any sort of art project, he is.  If he can be "reading" a book, he is.  He's gotten much better about free playing with his legos and he uses his imagination all the time when he's playing.

These days Theo is much more vocal with strangers and will talk to people he's just meeting.  He's gotten better about interacting and playing with his peers, although he definitely loves having Woodrow around as a built in playmate.  Theo likes living in Guam, although he frequently asks when family will be visiting us or when we get to go to their houses.  He's gotten much better about adventuring and LOVES swimming.  He's starting to figure out swimming strokes, but is not what we'd call an independent swimmer yet.  He enjoys his one-on-one time when he gets to go on special outings/hikes with Mason and he's recently gotten much more coordinated with riding his bike.  Hopefully we can ditch the training wheels soon.

If Theo could go to school all day everyday he would, and I sincerely hope this love continues.  It's great to see him so excited about learning.  He works hard to earn a sticker at school every day so he can pick a treasure from the treasure box on Fridays.  He eagerly waits until it's his day to bring snack (once a month).  He loves to make pictures for his teacher.  It's fun to hear him start to talk about friends in his class by their names and not just, "the kid with the Paw Patrol backpack."

Theo is a HUGE helper around the house.  Most of the time he feels great pride in being able to help out and it's been awesome since I've been achy and huge these last few weeks.  Theo's a great big brother, despite the daily arguments with his little brother.  I'm so excited to see him with the new baby in a few weeks.  It will be interesting to see the relationship that they have versus the relationship that he has with Woodrow.

Theo is definitely into Star Wars, Ninja Turtles, and building with legos.  His imagination really soars and while sometimes it's overwhelming to look at all the toys around the house, it's fun to see him play with them and create these little imaginative worlds.  Theo's also our sensitive little guy, so when things don't go his way, it can devastate him.  I have no doubt he's going big places in this world and I pray that Mason and I can help him grow in all the ways he needs.  We love you buddy!  Yay 5!!!
 

Fun in the Sun: Gun Beach , Gab Gab Beach, and Ritidian Beach

Gun Beach:  
A few weekends ago we wanted to check out a beach close to base but it was closed due to the beach conditions.  We've had several different Tropical Depressions pass near the island, which has mostly just caused rain, but there were some wavy days too.  Since we weren't able to go to the beach we were attempting to get to we ended up checking out Gun Beach which is on the North-side of Tumon Bay, about 30 minutes from where we live. 

This beach ended up being more of a local hangout that a tourist spot, which was enjoyable.  The beach was clean and it was wavy.  The kiddos enjoyed playing in the waves, but we had to keep a hold on them so they didn't float away.  They enjoyed burying toys in the sand, some of which got left behind when they couldn't find them...There was a small trail nearby that Mason walked along to take a few pictures.  The colors of the sky and water were so pretty as a storm was in the distance.  It was a very nice, relaxing family day. 

Gab Gab Beach:

We were lucky enough to steal Mason away for another weekday afternoon for a trip to Gab Gab beach a few weeks ago.  We've been here before and the snorkeling is really nice, and lots of scuba divers start out near here.  The beach is located on the Navy base and is about an hour from our house.  We decided to swing by the Navy's Outdoor Recreation office and rented life-jackets for the kiddos for the day, since the area we like to swim in is deeper water and they can't touch.  This ended up being a huge lifesaver for the day because the surge and current were very strong.  There would have been no way to manage both of the kiddos solo (while the other adult snorkeled).  Woodrow had a hard time adjusting to the life jacket at first, but it took a few minutes for me to realize that he liked to be upright with his "feet straight" instead of horizontal.  Theo enjoyed having some freedom with the lifejacket and started putting his head in the water more and more to see the fishes.

One of the funniest parts of the day to me was when Theo asked to jump off this huge ledge into the water.  This was the boy who didn't want to jump off the diving board at swimming lessons this summer, but he decided that he wanted to do this.  The first attempt he decided he didn't want to do it anymore so Mason ended up going solo, but before we left for the day he asked to go again and jumped about 10 feet into the water.

Ritidian Beach:

Last weekend we were able to spend another fantastic family day and go to Ritidian Beach near the base.  We've tried to go to this location a few times since we've been here, but it's frequently closed and has limited hours.  The day was so perfect.  The water was by far the clearest water we've been in since arriving in Guam and the snorkeling was great.  The water was pretty shallow, but it was nice because the kids were able to see lots of fish.  Theo's confidence has really improved and he was floating and "swimming" around quite a bit with his face in the water checking out all the fish.  It was a really nice beach and it got pretty busy as the day went on, but it never felt crowded.  It was definitely a hangout location for the Japanese tourists.  We were able to take a lot of fun underwater pictures with our GoPro.

There were lots of moments where I was able to sit back and enjoy watching the boys play in the water and sand, see Mason snorkel, soak in the sun and clouds and appreciate all that I have.  Days and times like this made me feel so blessed.