and baby makes three!

or five if you, like us, include your animals in your family count!

We are thrilled to announce to our readers that we are expecting a little peanut into our family this winter, December 2, 2014, just in time for Christmas! What a perfect present!

We have had a beautiful experience so far. As for this mama and her symptoms, there haven't been many! When little things pop up sporadically (heartburn, sleepy days, achy back) we look at the majority of great days and are so thankful that this has been a pleasant experience so far! I say we because although it happens directly to me, Rob is the one who so sweetly gets up in the middle of the night for tums, etc. How very blessed I am to have him with me on this journey and always!

It's truly amazing for us as first time parents to see the growth of this child. We know that he or she is a gift from God and when we saw the first flutter so early on we were hooked. SO in love. Now it becomes more real at every appointment; from hearing the strong heartbeat to seeing a little bouncing baby on an ultrasound it's an amazing feeling to know that one day we will be able to hold this little person! 

13 week ultrasound

The greatest excitement so far (aside from learning of the news ourselves) has been telling those we love most! Our parents were the first to learn of this fabulous news and what good secret keepers they were, almost 9 weeks of keeping quiet and they managed! Our grandparents and families learned after we crossed into the second trimester and once everyone in the family knew, we took the news to Facebook. We tried to be creative as we told people our news! Below you can see how I told Rob he was going to be a daddy (obviously I didn't trust just one test haha!) and how we told my side of the family at Sunday dinner. I signed up for dessert thinking it would be fun way to make an announcement without any leftovers, haha!

We have been overwhelmed by the cards, sentiments, and prayers everyone has lavished upon us, we are so thankful for so many wonderful people that will be in this babe's life. You are all so special to us.

 

This card came from my dear friend Katie E. and I burst out laughing in the driveway as I read it! So thankful to have such thoughtful friends that know my sense of humor so well!

I am now nearing the 18 week mark, that halfway point is still ahead of us but finally in sight! We are thrilled to be working towards such a fantastic goal. We have started the process of (slowly) transforming our house to give the baby a space of his/her own and make some more family room as well. We will post about the steps we are taking as we move forward!

Thanks, as always, for checking in with us! We are so happy to share our excitement with you! 

For all our fellow Hope College Alumni our there,
you will understand how I couldn't resist
the urge to have this for a boy or girl!
It was too perfect to pass up!