Our remodelling is finished!

Actually, it has been finished for a few weeks now. We have just moved Ryan into the bedroom that we added downstairs so I thought I would share some before and after photos.

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Basement Before and after

My kitchen is the best room in the house. We have a pantry now and two more walls filled with cabinets that were bare before. There is a lot of great lighting and it seems so much bigger than before.

The basement was one huge room that served no purpose except for storing our junk. Now there is a bedroom and a computer nook and we are planning on using our fireplace this year for the first time ever! I am so excited. We are going to make the downstairs family room a small room for reading or relaxing. Also with the fireplace, we should have a lot of good heat without running the furnace as much.

Oh and one more picture...

Isn't he so cute?!?!?!

Kelley

Ethan stories

Here is the latest news about Ethan. For those of you who know, Ethan was born with hydronephrosis which is an enlargement of the kidney. We have known about his kidney since my 20 week ultrasound. Well, long story short, our pediatrician has been on top of it and set up an appointment for us to see a pediatric urologist at Children's Hospital in St. Louis. That appointment was last Wednesday. He had a couple of tests done here which led our dr. to believe that there was a blockage in the tube that leads from the kidney to the bladder. Knowing this, we had discussed the possibility of surgery to unblock the tube. When the dr. examined him in St. Louis, he told us (after a couple more tests) that the tube was not blocked, but the bladder was refluxing back into the kidney. Something he may very well grow out of without surgery. Great news for us and Ethan. He is on a low dose of antibiotics so he does not get a kidney infection and he will have another ultrasound of his kidney in 6 more months to see if it is getting smaller. That was great news!

He is a really good traveller. We took him to St. Louis for his appointment and he did really great in the car both ways. We took him to Quincy to meet my family there and he did exceptionally well going and coming back. He loves the car.

He has been fighting some really bad colic. We have changed formula twice which helped but not totally fixed the problem. He would cry and scream for hours with no relief. Eating would make it worse. He would cry through his feedings and sleep only for little bits at a time. The pediatrician prescribed Prevacid wich is something they give people for heartburn thinking he had acid reflux. It didn't help. Next we were given Levsin which is a medication given to people who have irritable bowel syndrome. It has worked really well. He is eating better and sleeping better and when he is awake, now instead of screaming, he is taking in his surroundings and smiling and making contact with us. We still have some occasional setbacks, like today for instance, he has been crying most of the day, but for the most part, he has done much better.

He weighs almost 9 lbs now. He is changing every day. He is becoming more interactive with us and his appearance is changing a lot also. He is a really cute baby. We are still not getting much sleep but it could be a lot worse. I am glad I am not working right now. That would be tough.

In other family news, Chris and Stacy are engaged! I am so happy for them and Stacy will be a wonderful addition to our family. I am looking forward to having her as a sister in law. Lily is now 4 months old and sleeping through the night. I wish she could teach Ethan to do that.

Carrie is finishing up her last year of school and doing well as always. David is going to be coming back to the states around the first part of November. He will be in Kansas at Ft. Riley. We are looking forward to that. Ryan is a Junior now and is enjoying band and singing in choir.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you are all doing well. Until next time...

Kelley

Ethan Robert Gelnar

Ethan was born on August 13, 2008. He weighed 7lb, 4oz. and was 20" long. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me besides my sweet husband. I will just post some photos because to me, there are no words to describe the miracle of this precious little boy.










Ethan is a healthy baby and he is really good too. He only gets us up twice during the night. We had some difficulty with him in the beginning because he could not tolerate his formula. We went through two formula changes in the first two days he was home. He is doing 100% better now though.

He has a kidney problem on the left side. That kidney is partially blocked. They found this out during one of my prenatal ultrasounds. The pediatrician says it is a fairly common problem especially in boys. He may need to have it removed. The dr. would send us to St. Louis to a pediatric urologist. He may need to have a stent to keep the ureter open or they may need to go in and surgically remove the blockage. We had a test done at the hospital to see the extent of the blockage. It is not a problem at all for him now but as he gets older and the kidney grows, it can cause pressure on the kidney and he can suffer kidney damage when he gets older. So now is the time to fix it. But say a little prayer that we don't have to go at all. That is a possibility too.

Well, my little guy is asking that I feed him now so I better go.

Thanks for all your prayers and support.

Kelley

Baby on the way!

Well, just two more days until Ethan's arrival. I am excited, nervous, anxious, relieved, scared, elated and every other emotion you can think of. It is hard to believe that it has finally come to this. After years of thinking we could not have children, after almost two years into the adoption process, a baby is born! I can't believe how blessed we are.

I don't have his room ready yet. Our house is still under construction. However, good news is that the kitchen should be finished today! Just in the nick of time. Then they will be working in the basement anyway and that will be much better. It will still be a couple of weeks before Ryan's room is ready. Then we can move him downstairs and start the baby's room. I do have the bassinet ready. Linens are washed and it is stocked with diapers, wipes, blankets and other necessary things that he might need. His little clothes are washed and put away in his dresser. Today I will try to install my carseat base and get that ready. Then tomorrow, I will pack my bag and his and we will be ready to go to the hospital on Wednesday!

I am a little nervous about the c-section but I think that looking forward to the baby is over-riding that a little bit. I have one more dr.'s appointment tomorrow before the big day.

Well, wish us luck and I will try to post pictures as soon as I get home from the hospital. Talk to you all soon,

Kelley

A lot to tell you....

So many things have been going on lately, it is difficult for me to know where to begin. So let me try to begin from the last time I left off.

David came home from Korea for a visit and he went to NJ for Carrie's pageant. He was home for almost 10 days and we were so excited to see him! He looks great and seems to be doing really well there. He will be home again in Nov. and then in the states for a few months.

Here are a couple of pics of him and some of the things he brought back for us.
In the first picture, he brought us back a piece of the fence that separates North from South Korea. Very interesting piece of history. The next picture is of my guys in New Jersey.

Carrie placed 4th runner up in the pageant. The best she's ever done so far! Congratulations Carrie! She won a nice scholarship for that. She also tied for first on Friday eve for the swimsuit competition. She has one more year to try and I think she is going to do it! So we will be going to New Jersey next summer and we will have Ethan to help cheer her on!

She was Cinderella in the parade. How cute is that? The next picture is after she placed in the top 5 and the last picture is with one of her directors.

I just bought a new car! One thing we have accomplished before the baby comes. We bought a RAV 4 and I love the thing! It gets great gas mileage and has a ton of storage area.

We gave the Corolla to Ryan for his 17th birthday. He was really surprised. It will be a great vehicle for him to drive.

And finally, my great friends had a baby shower for us. We got a lot of great things for the baby and I am so grateful to have such good friends. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law came all the way from Oklahoma to be at the shower. Chris' girlfriend Stacy was there with her sister and of course, Lily. Several other friends were there and I am thankful for each and every one of them.

They are still working on our house. I haven't taken any pictures of it since they started demolition but they are slowly putting it back together again. The kitchen actually has paint and lights now. The downstairs bathroom has paint and lights and the rest of the basement has been primed and is ready for the last coat of paint. They will hopefully finish up lighting tomorrow and maybe start on the tile flooring. So anyway, it is coming together now.

Just 7 more weeks until the baby comes. I have a weekly dr. visit and ultrasound and non-stress test. All is fine. The baby is getting a lot bigger now and of course, so am I. It's getting harder for me to move around like I used to and if I bend over, I feel like I am cutting off my own blood flow. My belly gets in the way of most everything and none of my maternity t-shirts fit anymore. They are really tight. My ankles are swelling and it gets a little harder to eat or sleep. However, this is just a status report, I am not complaining in the least! I am glad to be pregnant mostly because I never thought it would be possible. The small miracle moving inside of me every day reminds me that Ethan is just that - a miracle. There is no experience like it on this earth. I love every minute of it. Ok, maybe not the nausea but that was over a long time ago.

Carrie is coming home for the birth of the baby. I am so happy that she wants to be a part of it. I am really looking forward to her being home with us for awhile.

Chris is getting ready to close on his house tomorrow. Dad's house will be gone. Not a terrible thing, I am sentimental because it is the house I grew up in but on the other hand, it has cost him a lot of money in upkeep and is requiring a lot of maintenance lately. I am glad to see him out from under it. His new house is really great and I hope he will be happy there. They will have a great place for Lily to grow up. We are helping them move this weekend.

Well, that's all for now. Hope you are all well.

Until next time...

Kelley

Things not to say to a pregnant woman...

Pregnancy comments 101:

Here are just a couple of things NOT to say to a pregnant woman. (These comments were made to me)

1. Friend: "Oh, do you know if you are having a boy or a girl?
me: "yes, we are having a boy!"
Friend: "I could tell you were having a boy because when I was pregnant with my little boy,
my butt got really big too!"
me: ??????????? Thanks????

2. Friend (different friend than the previous one): "How far along are you?"
me: "Well, I have about 10 more weeks to go."
Friend: "Wow! You are really big and still have 10 weeks left!?!?"
me: *%^?#!!!

Now for the updates...

The renovations on our house are still going! It has been 2 months now. However, they now have all sheetrock in and taped and puttied. One more coat of putty, then sanding then we are ready to paint! They will start laying flooring hopefully the week after next. Then kitchen cabinets and counters! Maybe my house will be back together before the baby gets here. I will be painting the baby's room probably the night before my c-section, so if anyone feels they are talented in the painting area, please let me know. I am accepting any and all volunteers for helping. I am not too proud at this point in time to ask for help.

David has been home! It has been 7 months since we have seen him and he looks GREAT! He has also changed a little bit. I think the military has been good for him. He has made a lot of friends and is much more social than he was when he lived here! We are proud of him for all of his accomplishments and we are especially proud that he is serving his country.

Everyone is in New Jersey right now except me. Carrie is in this year's Miss New Jersey pageant again this year. My doctor has advised me that it probably would not be a good idea for me to travel this late in my pregnancy so I am staying home holding down fort Gelnar for now. You can see more info about the Miss New Jersey pageant including pictures at http://missnewjersey.net/



I am going to Quincy tomorrow to see my favorite niece! She is 3 weeks old now. Chris and Stacy are doing really well. They should be moving to Hannibal very soon into their new house that they bought! It is so cute! They have a lot of good things going on for them now and I am really happy for them both. They are finding out very quickly how to operate with no sleep right now. Chris says that Lily does not sleep very much at all and she eats all of the time. She is so cute, I can't wait to see her tomorrow.



Well, that's all for right now. My favorite show 20/20 is on and I have to watch. So farewell for now.



Kelley

I have a new niece!

Chris and Stacy had their baby on May 23 at around 12:15. Her name is Lily Marie Kuhn. She is the most precious little girl I have ever seen and she is a very good baby so far. She is just precious. Did I mention that she is precious?

Anyway, Mom, dad and baby are doing fine and came home from the hospital today. Chris is going to be a really great dad. Stacy is a good mom already and they are so cute with that baby together. Here are a couple of photos of her.

Sorry I forgot to rotate the last one but you get the idea. Stacy was induced Thursday evening and had her Friday. She weighed 5 lb, 15 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. She looks just like Chris and she even makes the same facial expressions. She has Stacy's nose (thank goodness!) Sorry Chris!

This is a short one but I couldn't wait to post photos.

Hope you are all well.

Kelley & Dwaine