Braces, Tents, and Heat, oh my!

Braces....
So last week Keeley got her new braces! They are covered with flowers and butterflies with pink straps! Keeley doesn't seem to bother wearing them; in fact, she has brought them to me on occassion. I guess she likes the stability that they give her. Now the orthodic shoes they gave her are a bit big. We call them her baby "Shape-Ups"! At first she looked pretty awkward trying to walk in them, but she is getting the hang of it!

And she has been doing so well in them that her physical therapist thinks we can cut back on appointments even more! Yesterday at PT she was a whole different girl around Ben (her therapist). usually Keeley refuses to let go of me and cries until he can distract her enough with some toys. But yesterday, she was all smiles and willing to play all the games he brought to her...I think she liked it best when they were working on kicking a ball!

Keeley should be able to wear most shoes while wearing her braces, however, we need to go up a size because they don't fit in the shoes she currently has. Guess that means a shoe shopping trip is in order!

Camping......
TJ and I were counting down the days until it was time to head to Yogi Bear's Jellystone Campground in Goodfield, IL. With all of the crazy weather lately, TJ has been working nonstop and he was in need of a well-deserved mini vacation! We left our phones in the car, and only looked at them to check the time. We were officially technology-free.

We had previously picked out our camping site, just across from the playground and a short walk to the bathrooms. Our first day consisted of TJ putting up our HUGE tent and getting everything organized. Of course we had our air mattresses and fans to help keep us comfortable, but we did go sans DVD player this time. Really roughing it, I know!

During set up, Landon and I found a tiny, tiny frog. Actually, I thought it was a spider at first, then perhaps a mini grasshopper, and then realized what it was. Landon got to pick it up and was excited that he had an excuse to start looking for more! And of course HE saw plenty up in the trees, not to mention the dinosaurs and "African Cats" he saw!!

Both kids did great during the night, and Keeley only got up once! And it was amazing waking up to fresh air and birds chirping. After my walk to the bathroom (gotta love being pregnant while camping) I checked the phone to see what time it was: 6:00AM!! YIKES! After some coffee cake, donuts, and bananas we went for a stroll down to the lake. To Landon's disappointment we did not see any turtles; although, he tells us that he saw some fish and frogs!

By 9 o'clock it was already reaching the upper 80's with a heat index of almost 100! We decided to take the 15 minute drive back home to shower and enjoy some AC. We ended up seeing Cars 2 and had some yummy Culvers! Once it had cooled to a bearable temperature we went back to the campgrounds. Landon enjoyed roasting marshmellows, but then didn't want to eat them!

Similar routine the next day, although I slept in until 6:30! We decided to come home, get showered, and then head to the Morton pool. Jellystone does have a pool, and we attempted to go there the first day, but it is 3 feet at the shallow end, was overly crowded, and we had the joy of having smokers right next to our towels. The Morton pool has a great kiddie pool that Keeley can walk/crawl around in, and has enough things to keep Landon busy! Landon spent probably about 90% of the time underwater wearing his new gblobbles (goggles). Looks like we have another fish on our hands!

It was so nice to not have to be anywhere at a certain time. We enjoyed sitting by the fire at night. Landon loved it that he was allowed to help throw some firewood on the fire. Not to mention the he used to squirtguns to help "put out" the fire each night. It rained throughout the evening of our final night. I woke up several times to be strangley at peace with the sound of the rain hitting the tent.....if only I didn't have to pee so badly!

Overall, camping was a big success! We enjoyed spending time alone with Landon and Keeley and just enjoying feeling free! I see lots of camping in the Welte's future.....although, perhaps we will not choose 4th of July weekend!

The Welte Clan Continues to Grow!

A few months ago TJ and I decided that we wanted to have more children, but this time around, there was no "rush" or timeframe like it was with Keeley. So, we enjoyed the lack of stress that was involved two years ago!

I was disappointed when last Monday, during my 2:30 wake-up call from Keeley, to take a home pregnancy test and to have it come up negative. But I thought, "maybe next month". Well, Thursday morning during my lovely early morning rise and shine I took another test, and to my dismay I only saw one pink line! And just as I was about to throw out the test, I noticed a faint second line! Now, keep in mind that this was VERY early in the morning, so I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I waited another minute, and sure enough that pink line, while still a lot lighter than the other one, was there!

TJ was asleep, but I could not get back to sleep! I was soo excited! When TJ woke up, I asked him what he thought about the name Margarita (a joke about the night baby was probably conceived) and he looks at me like I'm crazy. And then when I told him that I took a test and it came back positive, I saw the biggest smile I had seen on his face in a long time! It's hard to say, but TJ might even be more excited about baby #3 than me!

Keeley clearly does not have a clue what is going on, but Landon says that he is excited about another "baby in Mommy's belly"! He tells me that it is going to be another girl. We will see! I had my bloodwork done and got the official news Thursday afternoon, along with the relief of having great numbers, so no supplements are needed!

Unofficial due date is February 27th, 2012!