Our Pumpkins

Here are the pumpkins we decorated for fall. I say "we" because it was my idea and I taped them off, but Craig spray painted them for me since I'm not supposed to be around spray paint while pregnant. Turned out pretty nice, huh?



And here's our other little pumpkin:



With his buddy Brutus:







Every time he's in the garage, Will LOVES to sit on the lawn mower!





Last week, Will learned to make some animal sounds. He says a high-pitched "Arf!" for doggy, "Mmm" instead of "Moo" for cow, and a soft "mow" for kitty-cat. When we sing "itsy bitsy spider", Will brings his hands together to try to make the spider motion.


We've also switched to just one nap (instead of two) over the weekend. He lays down at about 12:30 or 1:00 now for 2-3 hours. I can't believe how fast he's growing up! We're already making plans to prepare him a new "Big Boy" bedroom for when the new baby arrives. We're shifting the "office" to the basement (Craig's getting into full-project-mode) and Will will move into that room across the hall. The nursery will stay a nursery for the baby and Will is getting to use a big bed (a full size!) in his new room. He seems so young for that now! But I'm hoping by age 2 he'll be ready. I haven't officially decided if we'll make the transition before or after the baby arrives, since we'll keep him or her upstairs in the bassinett with us for the first few months.


Decisions. Decisions.

First Ultrasound Pictures

These are back from week 8, but I finally got them scanned and uploaded to post. They're not very clear but you get the idea. The head is on the left and the second photo is showing the heartbeat. So much has changed since these photos - baby should be about 3 inches long now with all organs and systems in place and functioning!

Here's our little gummy bear:

Will's Pumpkin

In case you did a double take, it's TRUE! We're having another baby!!! We used this pumpkin to tell our families last week and now we're excited to share the news with all of you. Craig & I wanted to wait till after the wedding to make our announcement and I almost didn't know if we'd make it that long... I feel like I'm showing MUCH faster the second time around and my belly is undeniable now to people who know me well. I've been dressing to disguise it as best I could for the past few weeks.

So I'm 12 weeks along now and due at the end of April. We were a bit surprised at first - two kids under the age of 2... Ahhh!!! But the shock has worn off and we are so excited now. We're also especially excited about another announcement: my sister Casey is pregnant too! She found out a little over a week ago and she is due mid-June. Casey and I are elated to get to go through pregnancy together and have children close in age. It's so cool and our families are super excited too.

I found out (tested) on August 18th after a gut feeling that I might be pregnant, and announced the surprising news to Craig by having Will carry the positive test to him when he walked through the door after work.



For several weeks, I felt considerably more nauseous and tired this time compared to my first. But that is subsiding now that my first trimester is coming to an end and I'm trying to stay active again with walking and a little running. Will definitely keeps me on my toes, so I'm sure that plays into my frequent fatigue as well.

Anyway, I'll continue to post updates here throughout the pregnancy as my belly and our new baby get bigger. Thank you to everyone who have already shared Congratulations. We truly feel blessed.

I LOVE the fall!

This is by far my favorite season. I love the colors. I love the smells. I love the activities. And I especially love the seasonal flavors in cooking. Squash and honeycrisp apples and casseroles and baking... I get all fired up about cooking when the weather cools down and, despite the warmer temperatures this weekend, I have been cooking up a storm! We had balsamic chicken with butternut squash risotto last night. And I've got baked ziti, spinach lasagna, and roasted acorn squash ready to go for this weeks meals.

Craig doesn't always share my taste for certain foods, i.e. the spinach lasagna and squash. However, he's playing on a flag football league every Thursday for the next several weeks and he has an evening seminar this week too... so I'm planning to cook the spinach lasagna while he's out and just freeze portions for my lunches. If I'm trying something new that sounds good to me one week, I just plan to make one of his familiar favorites to make him happy (like the baked ziti). It's a good balance.

Also in the near future, I'm planning to make pumpkin waffles with maple/apple/walnut topping (YUM!), garden minestrone, roasted vegetable penne, etc. And this weekend is Craig's 30th birthday! So we're going out with friends on Friday and having people over for a get together on Saturday. I'm making my grandma's awesome chili on Saturday and ordering Craig's favorite cake - strawberries 'n creme from the place that made our wedding cake. Mmm! I'm getting hungry!

As for fall activities, I visited our little town Farmer's Market on Saturday morning and then took Will to Maumee Bay State Park for a visit to the Nature Center and hike on the boardwalk. We saw some cool turtles and snakes in the Nature Center. And after our walk, we played on the playground and he had a blast in the tunnel. We also had a snack on the beach while he watched in awe at the sea gulls... who were vying for his apple slices.





Will HAD to carry his football with him for the excursion.









This one cracks me up. Look at his expression when he realized he was too tall to STAND inside the tunnel. Haha!



It was a warm day, but a little cooler on the beach.



Another one of my favorite fall activities every year is going to the Apple Butter Festival in Grand Rapids with my friend Jill. We meet at her house about 7 and get an early start before the huge crowds hit. It's an All-Things-Fall craft/activity/food festival and we always have such a good time. I got a few Christmas gifts purchased, bought some fudge and some cute new cookie cutters, and checked out some really cute shops. It's also fun to people watch there - by 11:00, you're bumping elbows with people and squeezing through crowds just to get to each booth. It's crazy, but so much fun. Will spent the morning with dad to avoid the chaos. He went last year in the front carrier (strollers are impossible) and it was an adventure.

Will updates: We attempted using a fork and spoon at mealtimes a little more last week. It went OKAY - definitely needs some work. He would fling food off the tray in an effort to get it on the fork. And I laughed when he finally got food successfully on the fork and then, instead of sticking the fork in his mouth, he pulled the food OFF the fork with his free hand and proceeded to eat that way a bit. But he's trying and that's a start.

Over the wedding weekend he started saying "Uh-oh", with a heavy/loud stress on the "Uh" part. It's really cute when he uses it in context like if he drops a toy. He also holds his play phones up to his ear correctly now to "chat" and can stack his blocks into a mini tower. Yesterday, he learned where his eyes were. I'll ask him "where's your eyes?" and he'll start squinting and blinking them. It's adorable. And he smacks his lips and smiles now when I give him "fish kisses".

Oh, and we painted our pumpkins from the pumpkin farm awhile ago so I'll post pictures of those soon. They turned out pretty good!

More Wedding Photos

I uploaded a bunch more photos from my friend Jill's camera. Enjoy!

Here's me giving the bride a high five after the ceremony - she's MARRIED!



Here's some of our best friends: Mike & Jill and Mike & Julie.






A back-view of our up-do's.



Mike & Craig - goofing around.





A cool shot of the bride.



Waiting patiently for professional pictures.







The bridesmaids by Kelly & Steve's new rock waterfall.



Julie & I shivering in the shade while we wait for the bride & groom to finish pictures.




Bustling Kelly's dress.



At the reception.

A Beautiful Wedding Weekend

FINALLY! After all the planning and work and time put into this one big event, it has come together for a beautiful (though exhausting) wedding weekend.

I took half days at work on Thursday and Friday to help get everything set up. We had chair covers to put on and tulle bows to tie around each chair, flower petal pouches to tie up, and lots of other odd jobs and decorating. Thursday was rehearsal night and it was super chilly! Thursday also happened to be Craig's and my 4th wedding anniversary! We obviously did not celebrate, but we at least acknowledged it and will go out just the two of us sometime soon.

As for the wedding day, I have no idea what I would have done without my mom. She was soooo helpful with Will. He ate a big breakfast and took a good morning nap for me. Then I gave him a bath and took him over to my mom's house while I headed to the salon with the girls and Craig went to Kelly's for last minute set up. Mom fed him lunch and got him down for an afternoon nap. She then brought him over to Craig's parent's house where we were all dressing and Will & I got to ride to the ceremony in a horse drawn carriage with the bride! Later in the evening, mom took Will home around 9:30 or so to get him to bed for me so Craig & I could stay and remain involved. Sunday morning she fed him breakfast and got his morning nap in before I picked him up on the way back to Kelly's for gift opening. What a woman! My mom bends over backward for me time and again and always unselfishishly tries to make my life easier. She is the best! I love you mom!

We could not have asked for prettier weather... a smidge warmer perhaps, but it was just gorgeous. And so was the bride. Kelly is a timelessly beautiful woman and she looked stunning all made up in her dress and veil.

Will was very good the whole day. He rode gallantly up the aisle in his white, decorated wagon and sat pretty well during the ceremony. He did spot Craig standing up at the front and excitedly repeated "Da!" over and over. But other than that, he was quiet.

The food was delicious. The flowers were amazing. And the whole event went off without a hitch.

I'm sorry to tell you, I don't have a ton of pictures at the moment. I didn't take any with my own camera except some initial set up pictures at the farm while the place was still empty. But I have a few from my mom to post and will have many more from my friend Jill soon. So look for more pictures later! But here's a handful to tease you with:

Initial set up.









The bride getting all made up at the salon.



Getting ready to head to the ceremony.



Arriving at the ceremony.



Craig escorts the mother of the bride up the aisle.



Here's my entrance.



And Will.



Here comes the bride!



The handsome ringbearer.



Our friends Mike and Jill.



Our little family at the reception.





Will dances with Grandma & Papa Riedeman. The expressions in this picture crack me up.



On Sunday, we had a big brunch/gift opening/cleanup party. My whole body hurt by the end of the weekend and I anticipated the exhaustion. So I took Monday off from work and relaxed at home. I also got a wonderful massage using a gift certificate from my birthday back in January! Now the new Mr. & Mrs. are off to Hawaii for 2 weeks and life as we know it can get back to normal!