New Year, New Adventures

2016. What a year! So much happened this past year. Some good, some great, and some really tough moments.

2016 brought the loss of my Grandpa Van Gorp to lung cancer in February, and we also lost AJs father in June.

Jack turned one and Eslie turned FOUR (how is that even possible?!)

2016 was our first full year with Jack, and it was a wild ride! (The kid doesn't believe in sleep, and his no-fear mindset will give me anxiety issues one day.) But we have loved watching he and Eslie's relationship grow as they begin exploring this adventure of life together.

Eslie started "school stuff" with Mommy once summer ended. She is super smart (sometimes too much for her own good) and loves the one-on-one time, crafts, lessons, and challenges. She would literally do "school stuff" all day if it were up to her. (It sure makes it easier on this Mama!)

2016 was also the first year (ever) that we actually spent Christmas at HOME. (We went to Iowa early.) It was so fun (and a little weird) getting to spend Christmas with just our little family. No rushing around from place to place, and we could finally start some traditions with the kiddos. (And it was almost 70°?!)

2017 will no doubt be a big year of new adventures! We have a big move coming up in a few months, Jack will turn TWO this summer, Eslie will start SCHOOL in the fall, and she will also turn FIVE. (What will I do with only one kid at home?!)

2017 will no doubt be a year of adventure. Let's do this.

Caught Rolling Over

F i n a l l y  caught this crazy boy rolling over! I have a feeling he is going to be just as stubborn as his big sister (so we are in  BIG  trouble!)

He has been consistently rolling over for about a week now, and this makes any tummy time Mommy tries to give him nearly impossible!

First Captured Smile

This boy. As long as his tummy is full, he is happy. And he eats  a l l  the time. He has been smiling more recently, but I can never catch a picture fast enough!

I finally won today :)

New Bike

Somebody got a new toy today!

For a little girl is usually scared to try new things, she is catching on rather quickly! She just needs to look  U P  a little more often so she can see where she is going, especially since she has no idea how to use the brakes :P

It's a Boy!

The word is FINALLY out!! Eslie is going to be a big sister in July! She is pretty excited about a little baby, we just have to now convince her that baby is a BROTHER rather than the SISTER she was is determined she is getting :)

20w 1d

C-ya!

It finally happened. The day I have been hoping would still be in the distant future is here. It's the first "next step" that has really struck me that she is growing up. I've been more than excited for all the other milestones of rolling over, sitting up independently, eating food, crawling, walking (which took FOREVER to happen!), talking, feeding herself with her own silverware, but this? I'm not sure I am ready for this, but I know she is. To say that she is excited is quite the understatement. She even got to pick out her own pillow and pillowcase (pink, of course...is she really my child?!)

Good-bye crib. Hello big girl bed!

Trash Walkin

One of Eslie's new things is throwing garbage away in the trash. So why not? It excites her enough to even walk! (FINALLY at 14 months!!) Still crawling, yes, but we are making the transition! :D

What Does The Fox Say?!

We have been working with Eslie on her animal noises for a while now. I mean, if she can't say a whole lot of real words yet, why not at least know your animal sounds?

Most of the time working on these animal noises consists of Eslie grunting while pointing to an animal. I respond with whatever the animal is, such as "frog" and then make the animal sound..."ribbit." She usually stares at me, grunts for me to do it again, or simply nods her head "yes."

FINALLY this week she has shown that my seemingly endless efforts to respond to her cave-woman speech might actually be getting through! She saw a monkey and when I said "monkey" she responded with "ah ah oo oo!" HOORAY!! Backwards, yes. But its a monkey sound nonetheless! :D

We were practicing her wooden puzzles today and she showed me the piece with the cat, so I responded with "cat" and she let out a loud "eOWW! eOWW!" Yes, perhaps the cat is attacking her and causing her pain, but again, it is progress! :D

Getting to be a part of this little girl's life and watching her learn and discover all the things around her has been the best adventure. Ever.

Oh, and in case you were wondering what the fox says, it barks kind of like a dog. According to one of our books anyway ;)

The real queation is: What does the Giraffe say?!

New Year. 2014

Resolution #1: Keep up with this crazy blog! I always say I am going to get back into it, and it always dies. Within a day. Hopefully changing that to keep people better updated on our lives!

Resolution #2: Take more pictures. I know one day I will be glad I captured more of those special memories, and they always make the scrapbooks more fun to put together.

Resolution #3: More family activities. We haven't really 'tried' to do many yet with Eslie being young and somewhat difficult to cart around and work around her eating/sleeping schedule. But now that she is one and very interested in doing new/different things, we will definitely have to explore our options :)

Resolution #4: Get Eslie walking. Period.

Eslie Jai: Birth Story

We quickly learned how stubborn our daughter was going to be when she decided to watch her due date go by and remain on the inside. After hitting that "40-week" mark, we had 2 appointments scheduled at the OB office. The first was just a routine appointment to see if I had progressed any farther than when I had been in a few days prior. Unfortunately that answer was a 'no' as I was still sitting at 2cm and 90% effaced. The second appointment was the fetal non-stress test to monitor baby's heart rate and movements to be sure she was not stressed in there since she was taking her precious time. Thankfully the results of that test were positive and baby girl was still doing well. We then had our induction scheduled for Friday, November 23rd at 7:30am when I would be 41 weeks pregnant.

That week went by quite slow. Thankfully though, AJ had already started his paternity leave that week, and I decided to start my maternity leave that week as well, so we had that last week to enjoy each other and the limited time we had left as just the two of us. We even spent Thanksgiving day as just us and made ourselves a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with all the fixings. It was simply delicious :)

We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 Friday morning for our induction. After getting all the paperwork signed and filled out, I was hooked up to the IV and the Pitocin was running by 8:00. The first few hours went pretty slow as we just sat around as my contractions became stronger and more regular. Around 11:00 my water broke (which was okay with me since we were still waiting for the doctor to come break it for me!) After that happened, things started to pick up quite a bit. I was dilated to about a 4, and decided to go ahead and get the epidural after not being satisfied with the IV pain meds. After getting the epidural I felt wonderful and was able to relax a little more. By 5:00 I was at a 9, and then I stayed there for almost 5 hours even with the different position changes. By the time I was 'complete' at 10:00pm I wasn't allowed to push yet because the doctor was in surgery, and because baby was at a 2+ station, they didn't think it would take too long once I started pushing. After waiting an hour (11:00pm) I was given the okay to push. I then proceeded to push with every contraction for 2 hours. But baby was 'sunny-side-up' and trying to come out face-first, so she wasn't getting anywhere too quickly. And by 1:00am I was completely exhausted and the doctor gave us 2 options: keep pushing not knowing how long it could take, or just opt for the c-section seeing how exhausted I was. And as much as a c-section was the absolute last thing I wanted to have to do, I knew I didn't have the strength left in me to keep trying, so I broke down and accepted the offer.

The time surrounding the c-section isn't completely clear to me as I was beyond exhausted and then suddenly full of different pain meds at the same time. I do know that it wasn't the most pleasant experience as I could feel everything they were doing, and even though I told the anesthesiologist this, he claimed I was merely feeling 'sensations.' But last I knew, the pain of being cut open wasn't one of them!

Eslie Jai Krueger was born at 1:39am on November 24 and she weighed 8lb 10oz and was 20.75in long.

Once she was out, I could only hear her crying, I couldn't see her. Finally a nurse brought her over to me for about 5 seconds to show her to me and then she was gone again. And then AJ brought her over to me again a bit later and the first thing he said was "she has hair!" (we were both determined that she would be bald as we both were.) But then she was gone again as she needed to go to the NICU since I had a fever during labor, so they wanted to make sure she didn't have an infection.

I didn't sleep well at all that night as I had to be checked on every 15 minutes for the first 2 hours following surgery and then every 30 minutes after that, and because AJ wasn't there, as he was in the NICU with Eslie. He came back in around 3:00am and brought my mom and step-dad in at 3:30 who had been waiting in the waiting room. They decided they were going to go home and come back the next morning to see her since I hadn't been able to see her yet.

I FINALLY got to go up and see and hold our baby girl the next day around 10:00am. I was a little frustrated with my nurse when she told me that I needed to get up out of bed, eat breakfast, and walk around a little before going up to see her as I was awake and wanting to go see her around 8:00. I was not happy about this as I felt like I hadn't even had a baby since I hadn't had anything to do with her yet. But she wanted to make sure I didn't get sick while up there, so it was only out of good intention to be sure that I was feeling okay.

It was literally one of the longest days of my life waiting for this little lady to arrive, but she is absolutely perfect and I would do it all over again just for her :)

Results!!

And the announcement you've been waiting for: the Krueger's are having a GIRL!! :)

Everything checked out great at our ultrasound, and baby girl is measuring right on track (3 days ahead even!) Her heart rate was at 150 and she weighed just over 3/4 of a pound. She's a very active little girl, but she wasn't so sure about all the poking around Friday morning (especially at a time of day where mommy is usually just waking up!) Regardless, she decided to cooperate with us and give us some cute faces and show off her moves :) Getting to see her again (after 11 weeks!) and getting to watch her and see how much she's grown and how amazing she truly is makes us SO anxious for November to get here so we can finally have her in our arms :) We are beyond blessed with this little girl, and we cannot thank God enough for giving us this precious gift!

(sticking her little nose up in the air while yawning)

Oops! Almost forgot!

I guess that in all the craziness of our last blog entry and trying to think of everything we have been up to the past few months, we completely (or purposefully!) forgot to mention ONE other thing that happened in March...

We found out we're expecting!!

Here's little baby monster at 9 weeks 3 days, and looking cute as ever :)  (even at only just over an inch long!)

At our first appointment everything went perfect and baby's heart rate was at a healthy 172 bpm. We are SO excited to start this journey and we cannot wait to meet this little one this fall :)

Yellow Ribbon Program: Freedom Salute

This past weekend we attended the Yellow Ribbon Event and Freedom Salute supporting the 334th Brigade Support Battalion and 185th Combat Service Support Battalion and the service and sacrifice they gave for our country's freedom in the recent deployment to Afghanistan. It was a weekend full of multiple seminars to educate the soldiers and family of the changes and adjustments that will take place now that the soldier has returned home as well as what benefits are now available to these soldiers now that they are Veterans.

I will not bore you all with all the information we received and sessions we sat through all weekend, but I did want to share with you the awards Axton was given to thank him for his service to our country.

First is this certificate.

"Since the birth of this, our great nation, it is the American Soldier who has been distinguished as the cardinal defender of freedom and liberty. You have proven that the timeless values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage are so much more than mere words, and are a living testament to the highest hopes and ideals upon which our forefathers founded a new republic, The United States of America. Wherever freedom is threatened and liberty attacked, whenever there is a threat to our way of life, The American Way of Life, you are there, ever faithful, steadfast and ready to defend. Whether in times of peace or conflict, no matter how great or small the task, there you will most assuredly stand. Your Country, Your People, and Your President salute you. You are what makes this country great. You are an American Soldier. You are The Guard."

Next are these two lapels.

"The Defender of Freedom lapel insignia is issued and worn, exclusively, by the citizen-soldiers of the Army National Guard, as a token and symbol of distinction, in recognition of their selfless service, and thusly the significant sacrifices made on behalf of their country."


"The National Guard Team honorary insignia is awarded in limited quantity to designated civilians, specifically family members, friends, and employers, in recognition and appreciation of their role in supporting 'their' individual citizen-soldier and the efforts of the Army National Guard as a whole."

Next is this coin.

And then this medal.

"We will not waver, we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail. Peace and Freedom will prevail."

And lastly, this flag.


"This flag is presented to a true American Hero in recognition for your service and sacrifice in the cause of freedom. Your service will never be forgotten. From the grateful people of this nation."

Again, thank you ALL for your continued love, support, and encouragement through this deployment. We are SO grateful that he is home safely, but most importantly that we have such amazing friends and family who were more than willing to support us through this in whatever way we needed. We could never thank you enough!

Welcome Home!!!

As some of you may have noticed, the "Afghanistan Time" clock that used to be present on our blog is no longer showing up. That is because calculating the time difference is no longer necessary as Axton finally returned home on July 14th!!! [Yes, this post is over a month late--BUT things have been a little busy around here!

The welcome home ceremony was held at the high school in Boone at 1pm. As the gym filled up quickly with friends and family waving their American flags and holding up their 'welcome home' posters, we all got a little impatient as the buses our soldiers were riding on did not arrive on time. The ceremony finally began around 1:40 as the bagpipes walked in with our loved ones in uniform marching in behind.

The ceremony was quick (thankfully!) and the soldiers were thanked for their service to our country. And then it was time for the words we were all waiting for "DISMISSED!" Before you knew it, the gym floor was flooded with friends and family rushing down to grab onto their soldier and take them home after waiting a long year for this moment. It was definitely a sight and experience I cannot fully describe, but it was beautiful.

AJ and I want to thank you all for everything you did to help us get through this deployment. It was definitely a huge struggle at times and I remember him leaving like it was just yesterday and thinking I was never going to get through it. An entire year without him? Impossible. But we serve a God who makes ALL things possible, and we have such an amazing group of family and friends who were able to offer us the encouragement, prayers and support we needed. We honestly cannot thank everyone enough, and your love and support is something we will not soon forget!

Graduation 2011

After having attended school since my kindergarten year, my education has finally come to an end. Yesterday on April 30, 2011 I graduated from Grand View University with my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing. The 'big day' did not exactly get started off on the right foot, but I still made it to graduation with 20 minutes to spare! It was a nearly two hour ceremony with speeches from the President, elected Student, and also our guest speaker Fred Hoiberg (the ISU basketball coach). After much anticipation it was finally my turn to walk across the stage. After a round of photos with the family the day was finally over as we headed out to get some dinner together. Now the only thing lying between me and getting a job as a Registered Nurse is taking my Boards test this summer. Bring it on. Until then, here are some photos from the day!

One Year

It's official! We've been married for ONE year now!! :) And we can't wait to see what the next many years will bring :) To celebrate, AJ had a few things sent to me (just because he's that amazing!)

A "Lady and the Tramp" figurine with our names painted on it :) A dozen beautiful red roses :)