We're Having Another Baby

I know I already mentioned this in our previous blog (My Parent's Visit), but I wanted to let everyone know that we are pregnant and our due date is April 24th. We are very excited! Besides hoping for a healthy baby, Kris is pulling for a boy, Alyson wants a baby brother, Kourtney doesn't understand why she can't have a baby in her tummy, and I am excited about feeling a little baby growing, and eventually kicking inside of me. Thanks for all the congrats we've received, and we'll keep you posted as the pregnancy progresses.

These are pictures of Alyson and Kourtney when they were babies.

Alyson at 8 months being mischievous, and a picture of Alyson in her blessing dress.

Kourtney's birth announcement picture and picture taken in her blessing dress.

My Parent's Visit

Mom and Dad came to visit us for several weeks and just left yesterday. We had so much fun together, and really enjoyed their stay. The girls especially loved seeing Nana and Papa Bear, and getting to do special things we don't normally get to do.

These are a pictures of Mom and Dad at Kroger with Alyson and Kourtney and then with Kourtney at McDonald's for her birthday breakfast.

They arrived August 23rd and took a few days to get used to the heat and humidity. Besides already being in a drought, August is the hottest month of the year here, and it took it's toll a bit on dad. But he stuck in there, and watched me play softball two days in a row. One reason for their timely visit was to watch my softball team play in the Women's East Slow Pitch National Tournament over Labor Day weekend, otherwise, a visit in the fall would have been more ideal for them.










The ball game.

The morning of the day that my parents arrived, Kris and I were pleasantly surprised to find out that we are pregnant. It has been something we've been trying for for a long time, however some of the symptoms I was having were alarming to me and the doctor, so I secretly kept several blood tests a secret from my parents until we could find out the results. Everything came back normal, however the doctor told me to stop exercising and to reduce any kind of exertion until further notice to help prevent a miscarriage. So, the trip to Nationals had to be cancelled. If there was any reason we couldn't go, we are so glad that it was because we are pregnant!

We took a family trip to Spring Mill near Mitchell, Indiana in place of our trip to Florida. There were several advantages to this...First of all, Mitchell is only 45 minutes away versus the 15 hours it would have taken us to drive to Auburndale, Florida. Secondly, we could have been subject to rediculous heat (however, we later found out it rained every day of the tournament). We found comfort in our air conditioned hotel rooms when ever we felt we needed it. We also got to explore several parts of the state park that we hadn't previously done including a boat ride into Twin Cave, and looking around Pioneer Park now that the girls are old enough to enjoy it.

Pioneer Park and the boat ride into Twin Cave.

However, there were of course disadvantages to not going to Florida. Kris and I had been looking forward to the trip to Florida for a long time and had spent so much time fundraising and preparing for it. We tracted our neighborhood for candle sales, yard sale donations and handed out fliers for fundraisers. We also recieved several monetary donations from friends and collegues. My parents were also so excited to see me play ball again. Luckily they got to see one of my practices and a game before I had to quit exercising.

We also took my parents to McCormick's Creek State Park in the cool of the evening and then Brown County State Park on Labor Day. Kris and I have fallen deeply in love with Indiana state parks because they are maintained so well, offer nice accomadations in their campsites for families with small children, and because they have a lot of trails and caves to explore. They will be something we'll miss a lot when we move next summer.

Kourtney's 3rd birthday was soon enough upon us, a birthday she has been anticipating for months. We drove down to Bedford and ate at Mr. Gatti's, a pizza and arcade restaurant. She loved it, and we all had fun watching the kids play and getting the chance to play a few games too. It was my birthday two days later. I spent the morning at work, and then that evening we went to Longhorn Steakhouse and rented a movie.

Mom and Dad left the following day for Nauvoo, Illinois. It was a bitter sweet goodbye because we enjoyed their visit so much. But we also knew that we'll be going home for Christmas and they'll be coming out for their 15th grandchild's birth, or shortly thereafter in April.