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

Quick update...

Hi again,

I know I am bad about posting. We have been furiously busy this last month. Mostly because our house is completely torn apart. I will attach some pictures at a later date. Our remodelling project has finally begun. It started just over a month ago. Our kitchen has been gutted down to the studs and so has our basement. It will be so great when it is finished. We are adding a bedroom in our basement and finishing the bathroom downstairs. So far, they have completed framing of the bedroom, electrical work as well as plumbing in the downstairs bath. The shower has been installed and plumbed. Still no sheet rock but I think when that gets started it will go pretty quickly. The kitchen has been wired for the most part and we have run into a couple of little problems with wiring in the kitchen. We are also replacing the shower valve in the master bath because it leaks and the only way to get to it is through the kitchen so that will have to be fixed first as well.

We have done a lot of eating out. I am familiar with Subway and Arby's especially. But the bright side is, I haven't had to cook much. We have become master chefs with the microwave and toaster oven. I can make a mean grilled cheese in the toaster oven. At least the weather is nice enough now that we can use our grill.

I am feeling pretty well. I have been apparently having a few contractions lately that my doctor isn't really crazy about. I just have to get off my feet and rest awhile. I have been trying to do that but it is really hard for me to sit still most times. I am not able to make our trip to New Jersey for Carrie's pageant. I am really upset about that too. The doctor does not really want me going anywhere just in case I would go into labor prematurely. I would rather be at home if that does happen. David is coming home for a quick visit in June. We are really looking forward to seeing him again! We haven't seen him since last Labor Day. Ryan is going to Hawaii for a band thing. That little rat! I don't think it is fair that he gets to go before we do! I know he will have a good time and I hope he at least brings us some souvs.

It seems that Chris may have sold the house in Qcy. He got an offer today and I think it is a good one. I hope he takes it. He is looking at buying a house in Hannibal. Dwaine and I are going to run up there next weekend and check it out. Sounds like a cute little house he is looking at. It is a brand new construction with a nice yard! Lots of room for the dog and a new baby! Which, by the way, is due anytime now. I can't wait to meet my little niece! She will be here very soon!

Well, that's all for now. Hope all is well. God bless and we love you all.

Kelley

Update

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to touch base with you all. Mostly I wanted to enclose our latest picture of Ethan. So here is our cute little boy!

The tech who did the ultrasound said he had my nose. What does that mean?! He is cute, though. I can't wait to see him in person. Anyway, I am doing fine. I'm getting bigger every day it seems. But I am feeling pretty good now.

We have started our home improvement projects. We will be really busy for the next couple of months so if I don't write very often, that's why. Our kitchen has been gutted and our basement has too. We have stuff stored in every room of the house and garage. It is a huge mess and I can't wait until it is finished. It is going to look so great when it is finished! After the basement is done then I will start on Ethan's room. Not much time and so much to do. Mostly it will involve painting for both of us.

Well, I know this is short but I must get ready to leave for work. So I will try to write again soon.

Hope you are all well, Love you,

Kelley & Dwaine

Here's the rest of the scoop.

OK so here is the rest of the story, as Paul Harvey says. I am so excited! Like I told you all, we are having a little boy. The ultrasound took at least an hour but the tech was very knowledgeable and very nice and explained everything she was looking at. She took several measurements of the head, chest and different parts of the baby's brain. We saw his cute little arms and legs and hands and feet. He has 5 fingers and 5 toes. His head circumference is normal and so is everything else she checked out. The only thing that she thought could be slightly questionable was part of his kidneys. Not to worry, they are within normal limits, just at the upper end of normal and she said that it is common for male babies to have this type of thing and it is fine. We saw his cute little face and she said that he has my nose. It looks like a ski slope. She got the greatest picture of his face from the front. She was measuring his nose and upper lip (to check for Downs syndrome) and we could actually see his sweet little face. Dr. Moreton said that he weighs about 11 oz. now. He is about the length of a banana.

Next we talked about the due date. Since I am OLD, he wants me to go before my due date. So I of course say, "how about a c-section?" He says, "That would be fine with me" YEAH!! That's how I want to do it. So we will probably schedule a c-section for a little before my due date. He said he could induce me but because of my size, there is a chance the baby may not fit through my pelvis really well and he also would not let me labor for too long. If I labor too long, he would do a c-section anyway. I guess I am delicate for my old age. C-section is fine with me. I am not too good with pain tolerance so the idea of laboring for hours and pushing and all that stuff does not appeal to me at all. I love to have the experience of being pregnant but not so thrilled about the experience of giving birth the normal way. Hopefully you all won't think I am a big sissy. But really I am. So that is the story.

I have scanned a really great picture but I'm not at my home computer right now so I will enclose it later on. Also, his name will be Ethan Robert Gelnar. We liked Ethan or at least I did. Dwaine would rather have Andrew but he is ok with Ethan too. His middle name is my dad's first name. We are using it in honor of my dad. I know that if he were here he would be so excited to have a grandson. He was great with little kids and they loved him too. Hopefully sometime soon after Ethan arrives, we will be making plans to get Ryleigh. I can't wait until they are together. Life is so exciting now!

Well, that is the whole story. I am looking forward to getting his room ready now. There is a lot of work to do between now and then!

Take care, everyone,

Kelley

The moment you've all been waiting for....

Well, we went to have the ultrasound today and.............

It is......

a

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pictures will follow at a later date! Soon - I just need to scan them.

Kelley & Dwaine