A little catch-up for you with the Kluver Family.  

Aa celebrated his first Christmas up North at Grandma & Grandpa Kluver's house.  Here he is (3 mos) laughing with cousin Danielle.  

Sampling the Christmas Cookies - Gotta make
sure the Big Guy will like them.  

The Kluver Cousins (well, minus the Cali bunch).

Aa is just so gosh, darn HAPPY!

We Celebrated Berry & Buddy Too's birthdays.
Both turned 8 (56) years old!

Then we celebrated WD & Sutton's birthdays in February

Pool Party w/ Rowan & Sutton for WD's Birthday! 

Then to the Farm for cake and ice cream for the birthday boys
(WD & Sutty).

October & Halloween Fun

This month WD, Peanut & I had a play-date with friends at the Botanical Center.

Leia, WD and Peanut pose = everyone looks happy except Peanut. :-)

This is the Jack-o-lantern pizza WD and I made on Friday night of Halloween weekend. We sat at the kitchen table eating him up, and watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Our town has Pumpkinfest as a fall celebration, so WD dressed up for trunk-or-treating and pumpkin painting.

The proud big brother finally gets to feed his little bro. WD asked almost daily when he could feed Peanut from the day Peanut came home, but we made WD wait until he was over his cold. Well - the rest of us caught it soon enough so we gave in, and WD was thrilled. Interesting how the first time was so exciting that WD hasn't asked to do it again since.

Daddy gave WD his first wrestling lesson. It didn't last too long (just as long as WD's attention span) and no one got hurt so that's good.

Our Latest Addition!

We had a busy week at the Kluver household last week. On Tuesday McGee Roofing showed up and started to tear off our roof and replace it. Being 2 guys down they didn't finish it until Wednesday afternoon. Well - Wednesday I had an OB appointment that didn't tell me much of anything but after I got to work at noon I started having contractions. They were a pretty steady 4 minutes apart at 1pm, I worked on closing up shop at work to go home, only to have the contractions stop completely by 2:30pm. Already ready to go home and thinking that it was "a sign" I left work, arriving home to hang out and watch a movie with my brother Rob and his 2 boys. They worked on making supper and hanging out with us only for my contractions to start back up around 4:30pm. Dave and I walked to get WD at the sitters (3 blocks away) and on the way back at about 5:40pm we knew we'd be going to the hospital right after supper.

We arrived at the hospital at 7pm and I was disappointed (an understatement) to find that they didn't think I was in labor "enough" to warrant an epidural - even though my contractions were 2 minutes apart. They nurse was awesome though (even though I really wanted to punch her until she gave me what I wanted) and suggested the whirlpool. After 15-20min in the tub - which helped mask the pain a little initially - I was dilated to a 5 - and they called the anesthesiologist (can I just add that I love Dr. Weaver and his "skills"). I got the epidural at 9:40pm, "napped" for about 20 minutes, but then the contractions were too strong and woke me up - well actually my water "popped" (literally - I heard and felt a pop) and that woke me up in addition to the contractions. I called the nurse in who checked me and I was dilated to a 10 in just 80 minutes. They called my OB in, got set up and I pushed for less than 5 minutes before welcoming Aaron David into the world. One snag - he had the cord around his neck but the doctor said about 33% of babies do so she was watching for it, and it was loose not tight - so no problems. AD was 8# 10oz and 20.5" long - arriving at 11:26pm. So really - labor from 5:30-11:26 = 6 hours. Not too bad... unless you ask me about it before I got the epidural... then I'd say something else.

Aaron slept though most of his first bath.

WD is a proud Big Brother!

The whole family... minus the pups. Was cool that I got a suite with a double bed... so Dave could stay and fully experience how many times I was woke up to feed Aaron. Dave didn't really care for that part, but he was too happy and proud to let it bother him. Granted - the next night he stayed at the house. :-)

Counting Down

So the updates are slower and slower, and I'm not even in school right now. But needless to stay - we're still keeping plenty busy. I'm currently 39 1/2 weeks pregnant with Peanut (our second) and thought that I should update everyone at least once more before Peanut's arrival. And yes - we call the baby Peanut as we have chosen not to find out the sex - which is more annoying the closer to it's arrival!

Here WD and I are at 31 weeks (Aug. 4th), and WD shows off his belly too.

Here I am with my good friend Becca and our 2 boys (JT & WD) - and our bellies. I believe I am approximately 36 weeks here, and Becca is approximately 34 weeks.

WD and his new friends, Bella & JT (our friend Becca & John's kids). WD had so much fun when they came to visit (he's between Bell & JT's age so it was a good mix).

Three 3-year-olds saying cheese? At times you would swear by it! Uncle Rob and Uncle Mike came to visit (Sept. 7th) one last time before Uncle Mike (and Aunt Kim) packed up and moved back to N.C. I'm not sure who loves playing more, WD or his uncles!


WD hams it up for Daddy & the camera.

WD and I (and Peanut) at 38 weeks.

I delivered at 38 weeks to the day with WD, so now we are in a holding pattern - just waiting. And while I'm working hard at not wishing this pregnancy away, I really don't like just waiting. I don't have a caseload at work (but have been trying to help my swamped coworkers out) and I have been on break from school since Dad's death in April. But other than that we have been pretty much ready for Peanut's arrival for several weeks. So Grandma Frances (and a Christian song)'s words are echoing through my head "this is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. I won't worry 'bout tomorrow, I'll trust in what you say."

Of course I also think of myself when I look at a plaque I have that says "God give me patience... but PLEASE HURRY".

Cliffs Notes Update on the Kluvers (thru June 2011)

It's been a long time with no update. As some of you know - there has been a lot going on for us since the new year, but here are a few of the bigger moments for us in first half of 2011 - mostly in pictures.

We should start out noting that we are pregnant! We are due Oct. 2nd, 2011 and we have chosen to NOT find out the sex. This has created some interesting conversations with WD about names and what he prefers (a brother or sister). Some boys names that he's suggested: Jesus and Chachana (his newest creation). And for girls: Zoe was his recommendation for the longest time - until his recent idea of Chanana. (Yeah - they're both jibberish to us too - not sure where either came from.)

WD celebrated his 3rd birthday at home with Grandma Karyn & Grandpa Ray stopping up to help. He wanted Yellow Cake with Blue frosting and sprinkles. So he got yellow (lemon) cake and with blue icing, and big globs of homemade frosting peaks and sprinkles... but he's not spoiled or anything.



WD got his first haircut - by a professional. His beautiful curls were starting to frizz out more and more, so I broke down and went to a local salon. Above is the BEFORE.

This is the AFTER. I almost cried! Such a difference and I wasn't prepared for it. I vowed to let it grow back out ... probably to get "my baby" back - even if just in looks.

Then there was my car accident. I was about 2-3 months pregnant (so... it was in March) and was on my way to class downtown one afternoon and I had the green light at the intersection of 9th and High I was hit by someone who also thought they had the green light (but I had a witness to support me). Doesn't look like much - but the poor Lincoln was undrivable and totaled. This stress wasn't really needed - but thanks to unbelievably awesome in-laws we were bailed out (We love you guys!!!). And Peanut (what we call the baby) is fine - no harm done thank God!

Then there's Dad. My dad got ill and on April 3rd Mom called Rob and Mike out to "force" him to go to the hospital because of it. Dad never returned to the house. On April 30th he passed away in hospice. This had been a struggle for all of us to deal with. I know I was in denial initially - thinking that we'd all been here before several years ago and he came out of it with a new lease on life. I guess I just expected that to happen again, but it didn't. It was actually affirming to hear someone tell me this very thought just a week or 2 ago, as I thought maybe I was just cold and preoccupied with my finals at school (which I managed to pass - 2 As and a B+. Guess Dad would be proud about that.). I have leaned hard on 1 passage in particular to help me through this. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." Many times I've recited it to my self through tears... but I know it's true and so I lean on Him.

Williamism #3

About 6 weeks ago Dave was home with WD one evening. Raspberry really wanted out.

Dave: WD - do you want to help me let the dogs outside?

WD: No.

So Dave walks downstairs and let the dogs out. WD erupts into tears, running to the gate at the top of the stairs.

WD: NO! Bad Daddy. You ought to know better [than to let the dogs out without him].

2010 "Christmas Card"

WD holds the ornament he picked out for our 2010 Christmas tree - a silver bird.

Well - as most of you may have noticed I did NOT write a Christmas letter this year. I barely managed to get any cards out. Some of you got Thanksgiving cards, some of you got Christmas cards, and those of you who didn't get any cards...I'm sorry. I promise you it doesn't mean that I weren't thought of. Here's an update and a blog-version of 2010 in the Forsythe-Kluver household.

The Dogs -

I haven't mentioned the pups in some time, so I'll start with them. Poor Raspberry and Buddy Too have taken such a back seat to everything else. Raspberry has battled ear infections all year off and on, and is now 6 years old - but my math must be off. She has to be older than that. hmm... And Buddy Too - he is aging gracefully as well. He's estimated to be roughly the same age as Berry but he's graying a bit more in the face, and this year has some growths that we are concerned about. We drag our feet getting them removed and checked for fear we don't want to know what they are. Raspberry is still all mine, and Buddy Too is all Dave's. You should see them try to weasel in when WD is on our laps, they are gentle, but certainly not shy about where they want to be.

Raspberry & Buddy Too keep WD company when he's not feeling well.

William -

WD turns 3 in February and is all attitude. He has been growing like a weed and we no longer have concerns about his language skills (see the Williamism posts). I'd like to get him into 3 year old preschool but transportation to and from the sitter, plus the cost of it in addition to the sitter, just aren't feasible. I think he will do just fine waiting until he's 4 anyway.

WD got to know some cousins he's never met on vacation, and do so many fun things. Here he is with his cousin Daimon (who lives in CA), as Daimon shows off his very first catch!

WD and his cousin Caeden enjoy a boat ride at the Lake of the Ozarks.

WD in his new Christmas apron. He likes to help Mama cook in the kitchen and now he has his very own apron. Right after I took this he ran around saying "You can't catch me - I the gingerbread boy!"

Dave -

Dave is well. He occasionally looks for other jobs but rarely finds anything he's very interested in, and places he is interested in aren't hiring. He did get some new toys to play with, a compound bow for Christmas last year, and a new Benelli shotgun for his birthday. Now if he could just get out and use them. My school schedule and William don't really allow much of that. Most recently he purchased a contractor-grade table saw, then got attachments for Christmas. If he had much time to play in his wood shop he'd find that his toys have outgrown his space and I'd lose my laundry area. Maybe keeping him busy is a good thing so we can continue to have clean clothes. ???

Dave and WD reading a library book together.


Amy -

I've had a busy year. I was officially admitted into the Masters of Social Work program at the University of Iowa last spring. I had been taking classes but as a non-admitted student until this past September. I started taking more classes per semester, and they started charging me tuition (that's the biggest bummer). I also changed jobs with this admission. My previous job as a gambling counselor (at MECCA) couldn't/wouldn't accommodate my class schedule needs, so I resigned. My company said they didn't see that coming [really?] and scrambled to work with me. The arrangement that worked out was a residential substance (and gambling) counselor position (still at MECCA). I work a block from where I used to with a slightly different clientele. I really like it. Not sure if it's the job I like so much as the change (I had been doing gambling counseling for almost 5 years by that point). On break for winter I'm full of anxious energy - not sure what to do with myself. I'm sure I'll just learn to relax as the spring semester will start. Only 3.5 more years left, I'm sure it will fly by.

Not my best pic - but pretty natural huh? Lots of laughs on vacation this summer.

Other things that came up for our family involved my health. While WD had his share of minor illnesses, I had a few bigger issues. In April I had 5 moles removed, 4 from my face and mostly for cosmetic/OCD purposes. Turns out one of them was skin cancer! Talk about a shocker! But all went well and I started to be a bit more of a sun-screen Nazi to family and friends - complete with several hats that are big enough for flight! Then over the summer I started having increasing spells of light-headedness. The final straw came when I nearly blacked out driving. I ended up getting a referral to a the Iowa Heart Center, and after a barrage of tests I was diagnosed with Dysautonomia. It's not a heart condition at all (but some with it do have heart problems), it's a malfunction of my central nervous system. When your blood pressure would rise, mine can fall. Or when your heart rate would increase, mine may not. It's believed that I have had it all my life, as it can essentially go in a "remission". This explains my syncope spells in high school, and I believe that my pregnancy with WD triggered it into activity as the symptoms had been increasing since then, including inability to tolerate heat (even from a hot shower) and "poor exercise tolerance (yeah - you read right). I was happy to have some answers as to why I was feeling the way I was, including why I went from running 5ks and putting in hours in the yard in the summer to feeling so sick at just the thought of it. My system was sabotaging me. I now manage it with medication, and trying to get decent sleep and limit my caffeine (but grad school and parenthood don't help me with those). I have good days and not so good days, but I do overall feel better. Then just last week I went to my dermatologist to have a standard mole-check, and to check my skin cancer site as it had been changing. Turns out they believe my cancer is back and I am scheduled for a surgical procedure and repair in early February. While it is cancer - it's slow growing so no need for immediate alarm. But I will put a plug in to all my family and friends who are sun-worshipers... WATCH OUT!!!

So as well all are into 2011 now that I'm finally going to post this (I started it way back in 2010), let's all be safe, count our blessings and remember to have a little fun while we're here! (This is WD Christmas Eve sledding in our yard. He came to an abrupt stop at the end when he crashed into me blocking him from going into the timber. Hardest hit I've taken since rugby!)

Take care & God bless!
The Kluvers