Birthdays, Birthdays and MORE Birthdays!

We've been busy the last month or so celebrating birthdays of our nieces and nephew. Birthdays were a big deal when we were growing up . . . mom always made us feel really special. And I can see that my siblings are carrying that on with their families. The parties were crazy and loud and . . . so much fun! The kids were spoiled with lots of love, attention and presents from the people who love them most. Happy birthday kiddos!

With her matching "Sophie" doll

Cousins . . .

Pirate Party!!

2 little monkeys, jumpin' on Ria's bed!

20 Weeks!!

Half way there! Yippee! Nothing major to report, but Brook can now feel our baby boy. I’ve been feeling him since the end of January and it’s great that Brook can do it, too. He definitely has distinct patterns of activity. Like right now, at 9am, he is moving like crazy in there. It’s quite fun trying to hold forecast meetings when he’s performing somersaults and back flips for an hour! :-) He also gets active in the afternoon and early evening; it’s like an early glimpse of his personality. We have another ultrasound tomorrow – our “real” one. Can’t wait to see how he’s changed since the first time we saw him.

Other than the baby, we have been staying busy . . . Friday night, we celebrated Brook’s dad’s birthday at Trent and April’s house. It was great to see everyone and now Rick and Cindy are in Mexico, enjoying a 10 day vacation – lucky dogs! Maybe Brook and I will get a vacation in before this baby arrives (that’s the hope anyway), but between 3 weddings in the next 6 months (and the showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties that go with them), birthdays, graduations and baby showers, it’s not looking like it will happen. Oh well, we live in Grand Heaven and every day’s like vacation here. Haha! (I can see you rolling your eyes! ;-)) It's the 2nd happiest place in the US, right Veronica?

Saturday, we went to a fundraiser at church, which included taste testing various soups, chilis and desserts from around GH. It was fabulous and I even won an hour long massage. I can’t wait to use it! Sunday, we got together with our friends, the Kings, and got to meet their beautiful daughter. It was great to catch up and compare pregnancy stories. Oh, how our conversations have changed in the last few years! Instead of our dating lives, we now talk about labor and delivery. They should make a TV show about us – “The Real Housewives of . . . Grand Rapids.” I’m sure we’d get a ton of viewers. Haha! I am so thankful for my girlfriends and the support they provide.

It's a . . . Continued

We didn’t stay long at Brook’s parents’ b/c Veronica , Jaime, Sophie and Zack were coming to stay with us for the weekend. We rushed home - giving April & Trent and Hannah a call on the way to share the news – and got there just in time for their arrival. It was Sophie’s birthday that day, so she blew out her candles and then they found out it’s a boy when she dug into her cupcake. They were a little ticked that they were the last to find out (Wes kept a good secret), but we HAD to tell them ourselves; especially, since they were staying with us!

Saturday morning, Jaime and Veronica got their hair done while I watched Zack (what a good baby!) and Brook took Sophie to the GH Winterfest. Later that day, we made a trip to Rivertown to do some shopping. We stayed in Saturday night . . . ordered pizza and Applebee’s and relaxed. Hannah and Maria joined us for Mass on Sunday . . . then, they left (tear, tear.)

(Don't mind the mooch of a dog in the background!)

Week 18 shot

(A lady at work said to me yesterday,

"Wow, you've really popped out. You must've eaten a lot over the weekend."

Gotta love it!!)

It's a . . .

BOY! Yes, "Baby Bisonet" is a boy! We found out last week, when I was 17.5 weeks along. I was a little nervous that it might be too early to tell or that the baby might not co-operate. So, I drank about 15 oz of OJ before the ultrasound and he was a "wild child," as the tech said. (I hope it was the OJ!) He also made it very clear to us that he's a boy. :-) I know I said before that we weren't going to tell the gender, but once I started thinking about it, what's the difference if everyone's surprised now or in 22 weeks? Plus, it is SO hard not saying "he" in conversation! I had the day off Friday and we drove down to Concord to surprise my mom. (My dad was in on the surprise.) The look on her face, when we walked in the door, was priceless. We don't often "drop in," since we moved 2 hours away. That morning I had made cupcakes and dyed the batter blue. So, that's how they found out!

On the way home, we stopped at Brook's parents' to tell them the news. His dad was also in on the surprise. When we walked in, his mom just said, "Oh, hey." LOL. She had no clue. Then, I say, "I have a cupcake for you." She still has no clue. So, I say, "It's special cake." She asks, "Oh, does it have rum in it?" I am dying at this point! After that, I think I told her it was "baby cake." She got the hint then! :-) She broke open the cupcake and started crying. Carey and Meghan came over shortly thereafter (Meghan had sent me a text saying, "I'm so excited, I'm going to burst!") and they did the cupcake thing. I think Meghan jumped 2 feet off the ground when she found out!

We have a name picked out, but really are going to keep that on the DL. ;-) We also have a very cool story to go with his name. It's such a God-thing and I love it!

"Hi Mom and Dad!"

Blowing bubbles . . .

It's amazing that he looks so . . . complete.

Yet, he only weighs about 6 oz.

What a miracle!

It's Not Too Late . . .

for another Christmas post, is it? What? It's only February 2nd. What's worng with a little Christmas re-cap? :-) On Christmas day, we went to Mass in Grand Haven and then over to Brook's parents' place in Grandville. It was different going to Christmas Mass this year . . . I haven't gone on Christmas morning in ages (usually the Midnight Mass) and it was the first year I wasn't with my family. Lots of changes this Christmas . . . it was beautiful, none-the-less, but there is something about being surrounded by family at church that makes it even more special. I struggle with this, as we prepare to bring our little one into the world. Our baby won't be going to church with its aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. There won't be the after church breakfasts, where 20 of us take over the Whirligig Lounge (the restaurant at the Holiday Inn). Don't ask me why we went there, we just did! And those were some good times! What's great, though, is that we have met some wonderful people here in GH. I am hoping they will become our "church family" and our kids can have the same wonderful experience I did growing up.

Well, I got a little off-topic there! Like I was saying . . . we went to Mass, then rested for awhile (that would be me who rested!) and went over to Mom and Dad Bisonets'. We had a nice dinner and opened gifts afterward. It was relaxing and nice to just catch up with everyone and enjoy being together.

Whoa . . . scary! :-)

Anna & Livia got their new cousin some books for Christmas!

What a lucky baby!

Nice Trent, nice! :-)

16 Weeks

I had another appt at week 14 and the midwife said everything was progressing “perfectly.” Yippee! Hopefully, it continues like that. She also said at 20 weeks I’d start to show, b/c my uterus would be at my belly button. Hmm, after looking at the picture below, I don’t know what to say about that! At the next appt, we get to set the date for the ultra-sound and find out the gender of our sweet baby. I can’t wait! I’ve had about a half dozen dreams about the baby and sometimes it’s a girl and sometimes it’s a boy. We shall see!

Every time I write that my nausea has subsided, it comes back. So, I have asked Brook to not let me write that anymore!!! At 16 weeks, I was hopeful it would be gone for good, but not so much. It does make things difficult, but I am learning to live with it and not let it dictate my life. For the first 2 months, I seriously wanted to hibernate. I almost had a phobia of going out or being around people. It was the weirdest thing and hard to describe. It’s still hard for me to plan things, b/c I never know how I’ll feel. Being pregnant has, for the first time in my life, taught me to live day-to-day and sometimes even moment-to-moment. I am a planner. It’s hard for me to “be in the moment.” But not now. I can’t even plan this evening, let alone next week or month! Our friends and family probably think we are just avoiding them (ok, not “we,” but “me” – Brook is just the poor soul suffering with me!) But really, that is NOT the case AT ALL! So, if you’re reading this and have thought we were avoiding you over the last 3 months, I hope you understand. Accept my apologies and know when I feel like I don’t have the flu every day, I will be more social. Speaking of the flu, it hit our house last week. Well, not really our house . . . just me. Lovely. Oh, and Brady also thought it would be a good idea to vomit a few times, as well. Really?

Though I am nauseous a lot, I have never known hunger like I do now. And it didn’t just start, either! Since about 10 weeks, I wake up in the middle of the night completely ravenous. That happens at least twice a night. My heart is racing and I can’t go back to sleep until I eat something. This is a change for the girl whose food motto was “After 8, it’s too late.” And when I wake up in the morning, I’m starving, too. An hour after a completely filling meal, I’m hungry to the point of pain. I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly and it is something I’ve definitely had to get used to. Extreme hunger and nausea are quite an interesting combination!

Even with all the "fun" pregnancy symptoms, I am ecstatic to be in this place in my life. And sometimes, I'm still in shock that I really am pregnant. Just yesterday, I thought, 'I'm pregnant!' and it took my breath away. There was a time, not too long ago, where I wondered if we'd have biological children. There were many tears and many prayers . . . and now, here we are. We sang this Psalm at Mass on Sunday . . . it seemed so fitting for us:

"I have waited, waited for the LORD, and he stooped toward me and heard my cry. And he put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God." (Psalm 40)

Mama and Baby are growing!

Stevens Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with my family on the 18th this year - it was the first time I didn't see my family on Christmas and took some getting use to on my part. Change is hard, especially on such a special occasion. It was great to all be together on this day, though. We had a great dinner, opened presents, played games . . . and of course thanked God for sending His son into the world so we might have eternal life. (You know, just a small part of Christmas, right? :-))))

What's a party without a pinata? This isn't a very good picture, but look at how Brook is standing. Maria whacked him at least twice with the bat. I was rolling on the floor, dying of laughter! Ok, ok, I DID have the blindfold on her at that point, but still. Haha! Brook is such a good sport.

An intense game of Wii Amazing Race!

He cracks me up!