Baby #3's name

We are so excited to announce Number 3's official name. We've had this name picked out for a boy since I was pregnant with Grace & we still love it. It's biblical yet unique, uncommon but not unheard of.

Deacon - to serve; messenger

The middle name is after Kyle's twin brother Nathan. We added the "iel" because it flows a bit better that way.

Nathaniel - God has given

His full name will mean:

Deacon Nathaniel - servant/messenger whom God has given


Meanings of our other children's names:

Noah Matthew - rest/comfort in the gift of God

Grace Christine - the grace of Christ

Here's a picture of the nursery all ready to go!!

The First Five Years

Jauary 27, 2007

I looked forward to that date with great anticipation for several months.

Now it's hard to believe that was 5 years ago! And what a busy 5 years it's been.

Where should I start?

We graduated, got married, moved into an apartment in Devon, studied for and took our board exams, started our first jobs, got pregnant (what?!? only 3 months after getting married?!), went excitedly to our first OB appointment, all to find out we had lost the baby (it took them 4 weeks to confirm so we were on an emotional roller coaster for all of June 2007), finally said goodbye to our little sweetheart on June 29, 2007, spent the rest of the summer healing, got pregnant with Noah in September 2007, bought a house, had Noah in June 2008, quit my job to stay home, discovered Dave Ramsey in fall 2008, I went back to work and we worked harder than ever and paid off ALL our debts by August 2009, Kyle became a pharmacy manager, then I got pregnant with Grace,  Grace was born in April 2010, and now we are expecting baby number three in just a few short months.

Whew! Are you tired yet? I am.

In our short 5 years of marriage we've faced it all. The biggest 'stressors' in life - marriage, buying a home, starting new careers, graduating college, loss of loved ones (our sweet baby in 2007, Kyle's grandmother Ree in 2008, and my grandfather last year), and of course having children.

Everything that we've done and that we've been through has only brought us closer together. Time may say we've only been married for 5 years, but to us 5 years just doesn't do it justice.  The quality severely outweighs the quantity. 

Over the last 5 years we have learned to

laugh together

cry together

lose sleep together

fight battles together

work together

and

sacrifice together

There is no one on this earth I would have rather been through it all with. We know how to be strong when the other is weak, to be open minded when the other is closed, to be serious when the other is going crazy.

During these first five years we've also been extremely blessed in so many ways.  Our children are perfect and healthy.  They are wonderful kids that love us and are learning to love Jesus as well.  We are expecting a third healthy child and we are just so thankful for that! Our extended family has also grown with the addition of nephews (no nieces yet on either side!) and in-laws.  We've enjoyed Chritmases, and birthdays, first steps, first words and first days of school.  What more can you really ask for?

 There is a song, and it's super cheesy, but so fitting for our lives together.

"He must've heard every prayer I've been praying,

He must've knew everything I would need

When God made you He must have been thinking about me"

Looking back out our innocent little wedding pictures I'm so happy I opened those doors and walked down that aisle. I may not have known exactly what I was walking towards, but I would do it all over again.

BEST. DECISION. I. EVER. MADE.



Looking forward to the years to come...

Gender Reveal Party!

Is it a boy or a girl???

Tonight we had family over and had a low key party to reveal the baby's gender.  The guests were supposed to come dressed in blue or pink - their vote as to what they thought the baby was going to be.  Only my parents came dressed for the theme - one in pink, the other in blue. 

The food at the party consisted of anything pink or blue that I could find.  We had pink and blue jelly bellies, pink and blue m&m's, strawberries & blueberries, pink oreos (who knew they existed?!) and green oreos (unfortunately no blue, but green still works).  It wasn't exactly the healthiest gathering, but it was fun.

Pretty much everything else we served were cravings that women in the family had while pregnant.

Cheddar sun chips & yorks (my cravings this pregnancy)

Pickle juice (Lauren's craving)

Cherry salad (Kyle's sister Jess's craving)

Pickles (Kyle's moms craving)

Hershey bars (my mom's craving) 

 This piggy bank was at my baby shower 4 years ago when I was pregnant with Noah, and all of the guests signed it.  Now here it is 4 years later still in use and still relevant...how cool is that!

The BIG reveal

I made cupcakes with a 'surprise' inside.  Everyone at the party received a cupcake that when they took a bite the gender of the baby was revealed either through blue or pink filling.

A video of the reveal - it's a little chaotic but you get the idea



My crazy dad!



So yes, we are having a little BOY!!!!!

I am so excited for Noah to be getting a little brother - he SO needs it!  I hope this little guy is tough because he'll NEED to be.  He's got a big brother and big sister that LOVE to wrestle and play.  I will say that  I'm a little sad for Grace that she won't have a sister (yet?), but it had to go one way or the other.  The whole pregnancy we've been thinking boy since this pregnancy feels so much more like Noah's than Grace's. Strange how that works! 

Note: I put the kids in pink to throw people off about whether it was a boy or girl, Kyle and I wore blue!

During the ultrasound I actually saw the evidence that it was a boy, and turned to the sonographer and asked "It's a boy isn't it?" and she brushed over it claiming she hadn't yet checked (we had told her not to tell us but to write it on a piece of paper).  Later when we caved and found out it was a boy the sonographer said "He was a rockstar" because he kept showing off his stuff and she kept trying to hide it from us....oh boy!!

The name coming soon....



20 weeks: Ultrasound!

20 weeks!

Today was one of my favorite days - the 20 week ultrasound! I love this day because it's such an amazing experience.  I am so grateful to God for this precious child.  Unfortunately, I know what it's like to stare at an ultrsound screen desperate for any sign of life only to leave the room in tears so any time I get to watch a living, moving, healthy creation, it's pure joy. All of those hours I've spent nauseated and hanging my head over a toilet just completely disappear. 

The baby is healthy. Amazing.  I was worried throughout the ultrasound because she kept going back to look at the baby's heart, and I didn't see the clear cut 4 chambers I'd seen with my 2 previous babies.  In the end they said everything looked perfect.  I'm obviously not a sonographer so I trust that she and the doctor know what they were looking at and that the baby's heart is perfectly fine. 

Throughout the ultrasound Number 3 constantly had his/her hand next to his face.  It seemed as if Number 3 was trying really hard to figure out how to get that thumb in the mouth.  We even saw during the 4D part Number 3 opening his mouth - much like a newborn that is rooting.  Finally at the end of the ultrasound when they were getting the final profile shots Number 3 finally got that thumb in his mouth and started sucking away. (Apparently sonogaphers can tell when they are sucking their thumb or not --who knew??)  Watching the little one's success made me laugh, which shook the baby, and the poor thing lost his thumb and was back to square one! Poor baby! 

who doesn't love a baby foot right?

Now the big question.  Boy or Girl???

Last Christmas Video of 2011

Forgot I had recorded this on my iphone on Christmas Eve! 

The kids all dressed for the Christmas Eve service at church. 

Don't the look great???

I'm not sure how the clarity will come out but I hope it's okay.

Christmas Aprons

This year my mom decided she wanted to make Grace (her only granddaughter so far) a Christmas apron.  This led her to think she should make one for me to match Grace, which led her to thinking she should make one for herself to match Grace and I.  This then led her to want to make one for my sisters (and sister in law) to match us, which led her to want to make one for my grandmother to match all of us.  Therefore one small little idea led her into making 7 different Christmas aprons!

My mom designed, sewed, and made them reversible and coordinating! Impressive, right?? 

My mom, Grace & I

Grace's apron had a little bit of everyone's patterns.

All of the aprons (minus Lauren and Grandmom)

Needless to say we wore the Christmas aprons all day on Christmas, and I think we will every year from now on!

Thanks mom for all your hard work!  These aprons are a treasure!