NST's & OBGYN's & Baby is A-OK

18 days. The countdown continues as we near the scheduled date of Baby's arrival, and I wanted to let everyone know that we're doing well. These last couple weeks, along with my routine OBGYN appointments, I'm having weekly Non-Stress Tests to monitor Baby's activity, heartbeat and my contractions, and today, the Doctor said that Baby seems "happy". And if he's happy, I'm happy - well, as long as he doesn't get too comfortable in there. Ready or not - 18 days - here we come, Little Fella!

A Happy Easter

I Remember...

Easter 2009

Easter 2010

And now... We Celebrate Easter 2011

My Beautiful Girl - the Queen of Style
Claire had her heart set on wearing sneakers with her Easter dress, and I just couldn't say no.

Our growing family on Easter Sunday

Decorating Easter Eggs with Aunt Laura, Sylvia and Gracie

Coloring a pretty pink egg

Final Ultrasound

Our last look at Baby before the big day!

Baby was once again hiding behind his arms, so we didn't get a great picture of his face. I'm convinced he wants us to be surprised at his arrival. I can't get over his chubby cheeks. I can't wait to kiss them.

As far as the ultrasound goes, nothing new to report. He is growing nicely. In fact, he now weighs 4 lb 13 oz - which was how much Claire weighed when she was born at 35 weeks. I'll be 35 weeks tomorrow, so I attached some pictures of her when she was born to give you an idea of Baby's current size.

Oh, she was so cute! It seems like just yesterday she was born; she's grown so quickly. And now her little brother is already working on catching up with her! Not too fast, Buddy!

Fiesta Friday

Ole!

It's been a fun week, and we finished with a flourish as we celebrated Fiesta Friday with some South of the Border food and fun, and of course, a much needed "siesta" for each of us! Hope you all had a wonderful week as well!

Sweet Home Southern Thursday

Today we celebrated Thursday with a Sweet Home South theme. And what better way to begin the day than a dip in the ocean...and since that's not available in West Michigan, how about a swim with the Sternbergs at the Grand Village Inn pool. Even better - no jellyfish!

Joe, Claire, Mike, Andrew and Gracie swimming
in the ocean...er, pool.

...and Sylvia, too!

After swimming, we made and enjoyed snow cones (Side note for sweet Sylvia who asked for the recipe: add flavored syrup to crushed ice - your mom will know how to do it!). And we also cooked up a good ol' fashioned southern dinner, complete with country music.

Wednesday in Washington D.C.

*** Welcome to Wednesday in Washington D.C. ***

Our day was filled with patriotic food and fun, including an All-American breakfast with our friends the Harts and a patriotic piano recital by Joe, but we also took the opportunity to fulfill our civic duty of filing our taxes. So proud to be an American!

While we didn't get to mingle with President Obama in the Oval Office, we had a great day in Grand Rapids. Come back tomorrow for our Thursday adventures.

A Tropical Tuesday

Aloha from our living room!

While we have been anticipating Spring Break for some time, unfortunately our circumstances of life (i.e. Claire's potty training and Jen's pregnancy) prohibit us from traveling too far from home. So we have devised a plan to bring vacation to us.

Today, for example, has been declared Tropical Tuesday. We started the day with fresh squeezed orange juice and ended the day with homemade Hawaiian pizza, and indulged in other tropical treats along the way. We even turned our living room into an oasis and, of course, boogied to some Beach Boys!

Stay tuned to see what Wednesday has in store...