Long time no update

Hello again to all -

So I again have been a total blogging slacker! Oh well life gets away from you when you are juggling a new house, puppy and baby. I have a few new pics to update everyone. Bethany is now 6 Months old. My how time does FLY when you are having fun. I also FINALLY have some pictures of Nellie!

This is a picture of my Bethany. I love this big smile! And yes her smile is ALWAYS this big.

Bethany and Chris on her first trip to the state fair. I don't think she got much out of it because she slept most of the day. It was quite hot out but she was really well behaved.

This is how we make sure Bethany is ok if we have to run out of the room for a min. Nellie is a GREAT babysitter for a few min.

Now that she is on solid foods things have gotten more interesting. This was her first morning that daddy had to feed her... oh what an experience! Can you tell what Chris thinks of what she is eating? Take a good look at the face he is making!

Last but not least...this is Bethany's newest way to get around. She doesn't crawl yet...but she sure does hold herself up and push herself around to get from place to place!

More pictures of the family and the house to come. I can only download so many at a time on the computer before needing to do something else! Hopefully this post finds you all well and in good fall spirits!

3 Month Pictures are here

Hello from Westfield again. Things are going well...Bethany is growing up. She is 3 months old today. We had her pictures done on Saturday this week. She wasn't the most cooperative...but we managed to get some pretty cute shots. She is really starting to get big. She has started laughing a lot and she smiles all the time now. Her motor skills are starting to take off as well. She loves to stand on our laps and sit up like a big girl.

As you can see she is starting to reach towards toys and be fascinated with the colors and shapes. She sings along with us now when we sing to her. She is starting to try to hold her bottle as we feed her...which is proving to be a challenge because now it is another toy for her and she doesn't understand yet that if she pulls it out of her mouth that she can't eat anymore...and she crys. We laugh!

We are really excited for Bethany's first hunting season. We have the outfit all ready...all the way down to the camo boots. (Thanks to the Pearson family) Chris already talks about taking her out into the woods and getting her used to being dirty and playing in the sticks and dirt with him. That is all for now. More to come with Pictures of the house and the puppy.

I am writing to update everyone again. Bethany is getting so much bigger. She had her 2 month doctor visit last week Wednesday. She is now 11lbs 10 oz and 23.5" long. She eats all the time and grows more and more every day. She is starting to be more and more animated as well...she is smiling and giggling and cooing up a storm. She still eats a million times a day and it seems like even when she is done eating that she is still hungry. OH well...let the girl grow. I will get some pictures up soon, we have been really busy so having time to get on the internet to get stuff done has been a challenge...but isn't everyone busy in the summer?

Here she is - I know I know I am a huge slacker. I haven't gotten any pictures of our little girl up until now. Bethany is doing great. These are some of the pictures that we had taken professionally of her at two weeks old. She is growing like a weed. She goes into the doctor next week for her two month checkup. It is hard to believe that she has been around for 8 weeks already!

Things are going well with the new house as well. We are in the process of getting all of the landscaping done, but with weather being as it has been this spring we have been mighty limited as to what we have gotten done thus far. I will post more pictures of the house as I get them.

Other than that we don't really have a whole lot to report. I started back to work last week (May 11) after celebrating my first mothers day with my parents and Chris's parents at my house. Chris, unfortunately, had to work that day so he couldn't partake in the yummy meal my dad made for all of us. Oh well the leftovers were just as good. I have also started working at the Longbranch Saloon in Germania WI. (I know I know...where the hell is Germania WI - it is about 20 min from our house and the bar is owned by some of our friends so it was easy to get in there and I am only working a few hours a week to make some extra money on the side.)

I hope all is well with all of you and hope to see some of you soon and hear from others as well.

Much Love

Marit, Chris, Bethany and Nellie

This was our first official family photo. This was taken about 45 min after Bethany was born.

Holiday Greetings

Hello to everyone - So I have been very slacker like in this whole blog only because there hasn't been much to report. Nellie is now home with us. She is growing like a weed. She is just as sassy as can be but over all quite the good puppy. She has a wonderful personality and is full of energy which is to be expected of a puppy. She is a very fast learner and is doing very well with all of the training that it takes for a puppy to be good! For 11 weeks old she has come quite a long ways already and we know that we have a long ways to go, however, she is doing well. Deer season this year was less than eventfull. Chris shot a buck, nothing to write home about or hang on the wall but still puts meat in the freezer for another year. The first week and a half were uneventful, but the Friday before closing was the day of the kill shot. As many of you know, Chris and I have an accepted offer on a house in Westfield. Thank goodness for that! Well we have run into a few snags along the way and so the closing has now been pushed back from Dec 19th until sometime first part of January. The new well must be dug before we can move into the house. I guess that everything happens for a reason but I would have loved to have been in the house before Christmas...so our Christmas decorations consists of cardboard and tupperware boxes this year. Nellie, by the way, loves to chew on the corners of the boxes...whatever keeps her out of trouble. So the house has been put on hold through the holidays but we should be in shortly after the new year comes around. I will try my best to keep everyone posted on the closing and moving dates. This is the house - obviously this picture was taken back in the nice weather - before we got the 10 bazillion inches of snow. As many of you also know - I am entering my third trimester today. 28 weeks today to be exact. I am more than excited to be in the final stages of pregnancy...I know I know...enjoy it while it lasts but I really want to know what I am having and be a mom. The time off of work will be a huge added bonus too! I will try to have some pictures after christmas of both the puppy and how big I am getting...well I could throw Chris in there too. Hopefully this posting finds you all deep in celebration of the holidays and maybe in a little less snow than what we have here. Wishing everyone happy and safe holiday travels and a very MERRY CHRISTMAS (yes you can say that to me...I don't take offense) and a Happy New Year! Love to all and hope to see you soon! Love Chris, Marit & baby Klapoetke

HELLO EVERYONE- This is the newest addition to our family. She isn't home with us yet and she doesn't have a name as of yet either...we are trying to decide what to call her. She is 4 weeks old here and as CUTE as can be. She is one of 8 in the litter and man was it a tough decision to pick her out but hey, we sure picked a keeper. We will keep you posted with names and fun pictures as she grows up. I now some of you are thinking we are NUTS getting a puppy when I am about to have a baby but we have wanted this one for a LONG time and we are ready for this new adventure too! Love to all and talk to you soon!

Hello to everyone - Join the big news

Hi to all - As I am sure most of you know by now, I am in my second trimester of pregnancy. Chris and I are both very excited to become parents for the first time. So far everything has been going rather smooth and I am doing quite well. I don't sleep a whole lot but that is to be expected. Both sets of new grandparents are rather excited from what they have expressed to us. No ultrasounds have happened yet but we have heard hearttones and we have a strong heartbeat at 158bpm. It really makes things real when you can see the growth in the belly region and hear the heart beating in there as well. We haven't started to set up any rooms...as we are planning on buying a house in the near future. We have started the process of getting our mortgage set and will be looking at some houses up in the Marquette County area. We have decided that we will build some equity in a home, and then eventually when there is a bit more money available we will build our house on the farm. I have taken my former position back in Portage Dean Specialty Clinic doing the same thing, just much less of a drive (once we move that is). This will be a good move as we have worked many of the kinks out before I go back, and I know what I am getting myself into before I go. It will be much nicer to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city of Madison finally, yet still be close enough to have a convenience of what Madison offers. We are looking forward to what our future has in store for us. Please feel free to leave your comments. Hope all is well with everyone and all of our friends and family. We will be keeping our blog up to date with details so make sure to check in from time to time.