SMILE!

Here's Avery showing off her smiles. (and double chin...hee hee) Cute, huh?

Big News

JENNI AND BRAD ARE GETTING MARRIED! I'm a little slow in posting this but didn't want to leave it out. We are so excited for you guys and can't wait for the big day. Love ya!

Happy Thanksgiving

I can't describe well enough how we feel this Thanksgiving so I will just say this...

We are blessed.

Hope your Thanksgiving was filled with good food, family and great thanks!

(Avery says "Thanks for the cute 1st Thanksgiving outfit Aunt Jenni!")

Rub-a-Dub

Avery loves bathtime. She is always wide-eyed and checking things out. Bathtime is one of my favorite time of day.

Two Weeks Old

Avery is 2 weeks old today. Let me just say- THIS IS THE GOOD LIFE! Sure-I don't really sleep anymore and everything has changed but it is so GOOD! We are having so much fun with her and she can't even do anything yet. This is what I have waited for my whole life! Enjoy these pictures of Avery. I took these this week one morning when she was very alert and content. Isn't she beautiful?! :)

First Halloween

Here is a couple pictures of Avery on her first Halloween. Doesn't she look excited?

Welcome Avery Lynne Kuipers

Praise God for a healthy baby, born Sunday October 21. After being induced on Saturday, Avery was born at 2 am on Sunday. Everything went very well. We are amazed by God's goodness. She is a beautiful baby and our love for her is unexplainable. Hope you enjoy the pics of her first days! Love you all.

Heading Home

Here's Avery all ready to head home. It felt great to leave the hospital and head home and begin our lives as a new family.

Life at Home

We are all settling in at home now. This is a picture of Avery in her swing-she really seems to like it. Things are going well. Every night is a little easier. We just look at her and are amazed over and over again. Our love for her is unexplainable.

Ahhh....October

Well, the month of October is here. It feels kind of like an accomplishment to me. We only have 3 weeks left based on our "due date". Can't believe how fast it has gone. I still feel quite content-some days very uncomfortable but I remind myself it's worth it. I love this time of year. Cooler temps and beautiful colors.
I had my last shower last weekend. We are incredibly blessed with wonderful family and friends who have showered us with gifts to help us prepare for our little one. Thank you to you all. I hope to post a pic soon of my big preggers belly but my computer at home has not been working. Grrr...
We'll keep you posted- every day is one day closer to meeting our daughter! Keep us in your prayers.

Happy Anniversary!

Happy 2nd anniversary Kraig! On this day, 2 years ago, I married my best friend and every day since then my love has grown. Kraig- you are my everything. You make me laugh, you protect me, you provide for me, you encourage me, and most of all you love me unconditionally ALL THE TIME! Two years has gone by so fast, yet sometimes I can't remember what it feels like to not have you in my life. The Lord has blessed us so much already and I can't wait to see what else he has in store. I'm sure life will bring it's trouble, but I know that it will be okay with you by my side. Thanks for all the good times, for being there for me in the bad times, and most of all for the promise of a great future. I LOVE YOU!

A Moose Indeed

Well...maybe a moose indeed. I had an ultrasound last Wednesday and the ultrasound predicts that she weighs about 6lbs 8oz right now. Now, she did say give or take a bit but that still sounds pretty big to me. We'll have to wait and see to know for sure. So, now we think that her nickname is appropriate. I know some of you think that it is mean to call her that but we say it with LOVE! :) Everything else on the ultrasound looked good. She moved like crazy the whole time making the ultrasound techs job a little tricky at times. We saw her little foot again and right now it's about 8cm. How cool is that- God is good! We are more and more excited everyday and can't wait to meet her and share her with all of you!

We call her "Moose"

"Moose" is the nickname that Kraig and I have lovingly given to our daughter. There is speculation on my Dr's part that she may be a big baby. I think he might be right given the size of myself. :) I will be having an ultrasound next Wednesday so he can take a look at her and see how she is doing. Everything is still going very well. She and I are both doing very well. I feel very blessed to have such a nice pregnancy. I may move a little slower and be a little more irritable but who wouldn't be when you are this big! We can't wait for the big day when we finally get to meet our Moose. Love you all!

The Good...The Bad...&The Ugly

The Good...Our closet doors in the nursury are hung and they look great. Thanks Kraig!

The Bad...We still do not have a dresser in the nursury because when we FINALLY received it, it was damaged.

The Ugly...The assembly process of the doors for Kraig (apparently, they are a pain to put up) and then there was my reaction when I saw the dresser. You really shouldn't mess with a pregnant chic who wants something! We get REALLY mad.

Oh the joys... :)

Gettin' Ready

As the picture shows, we worked on the nursury this weekend. We-meaning me and my mom. Thanks Mom for always being willing to help me with the painting projects. I truly hate to paint but the end result is always worth it. The nursury is not complete, we are waiting for a few more details but I wanted to share a sneak peak! (The green is not as bright as it looks on the computer though.)

Silly Dog...

Thought I would share this funny picture with everyone. I think he thinks this bed is for him. Hmmm...think we might have some jealousy issues??

Sorry, again it has taken me forever to post but I feel like I have to have something exciting to share and life's been somewhat calm here. We've been to more weddings, spending time at the lakes, enjoying the summer. Well, in the AC that is. :) I had a Dr. appt last week and everything seems to be going very well. She is growing and so am I. She moves a lot more now and it is very fun to experience that. We get more and more excited every day to meet her. Only 11 weeks left. Can't believe it is going so fast. Love you all!

It's been awhile since I have had time to post so now I have a bunch to catch up on. First-Congrats Kara and Brad! We had such a great time at the wedding. The pictures show only some of the fun we had. We also had fun the weekend of the wedding with the other side of the family. My cousins from Florida were here and we had a great time with them out at Sandy Pines. We celebrated some summer birthdays and took our traditional pic of all the girls. We do it every time they come here. The 4th of July we enjoyed the day at the cottage. This weekend we were up north at Intermediate Lake with some more family. We had beautiful weather and a GREAT time. Thanks everyone for a relaxing and fun weekend! We enjoyed it. I'll post some pics soon.

It's Dad's Day

Happy Father's Day Dads! Sorry, I have to get mushy-it's just how I am. Father's Day brings a new meaning to us this year and I can't help but think of all the influence my dad had on my life. Thanks Dad- I can't say it enough. You were always there for me, even when I resisted your presence in my life. I thank God every day for the great example that you set for me. Thanks for all the great memories and I look forward to many more as we start this new chapter in our lives. I love you.
Also, Happy Father's Day to Kraig. I can't wait to see you hold your daughter for the first time. I pray that God will give you the wisdom to be a good father. I love you very much and am looking forward to experiencing this with you.
Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there-may you enjoy your day!

Today's the Day

Hello to All!
WE'RE HAVING A GIRL!!! And here she is...
I have promised a lot of people that this blog was coming. Well...here it is. It will be fun for us to post updates on how we are doing, how baby is doing and about our life in general. Right now, our sweet baby girl is about the size of and weighs as much as a can of soda. How tiny! We had our ultrasound last week and were amazed to see her moving around, her arms moving all over the place and to see each of her 10 toes! :) God is good! We hope that you enjoy reading about this journey to parenting as we experience it.