A video update

It's hard to believe that Kyler is already one month old! But then when I look at the videos we've taken of him since he was born, I can definitely see how much he's changed. In an effort to get a little caught up on the blog, below you can see videos of Kyler taken each week since he was born. Enjoy!

More pictures

So things have been busy with a newborn. Right now I am typing this up with him in his bouncy seat right next to me. I am also totally expecting to stop and start this blog post a million times before it actually gets done. Right now mister Kyler is staring at the computer, probably because of the noise my typing makes. He has been such a joy, even with the lack of sleep, but what you all really want is more pictures right? So here are a few.

Kyler with Grandpa Wiersum

Snuggling with Aunt Sarah

Sleeping in his pack n' play

My cute Daddy's All Star outfit, which he has since grown out of. 

Snuggling with Auntie Lynsey

I am going to try and post some newer pictures soon. These pictures are all of the first week that he came home, so November 20-27th, but we need to download the rest of the pictures we have been taking. There is even the possibility of some video in the horizon.

We're so thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! This year, Melissa and I have many things to be thankful for--most notably, the birth of our son Kyler William (aka Peanut)!

The labor was a long one. Melissa needed to be induced early in the morning on November 17, and we were expecting to see him later that day. But he ended up waiting until the wee hours of the morning on November 18 to make his arrival. He was already a big boy, weighing in at 9 lbs and 23 inches in length, but Melissa did very well during the delivery and got him out in less than an hour once she started pushing. We spent the next couple of days in the hospital, and we were able to come home on November 20.

We're so thankful for all of the visitor's we've had--both friends and family--and we're grateful for all of the meals brought over by my colleagues at Olivet. We've already had a few long nights (though a couple of easy ones too!), many dirty diapers, urination mishaps, and some challenges while nursing, but we could not be happier to have such a healthy and adorable little boy.

 

Peanut Coming Early?

For our first delivery, we figured that Peanut would be showing up AFTER his due date, never thinking that he might be here before! Ryan and I are discovering that if you plan on anything with a baby, things tend to change. Flexibility is the rule!

The due date saga began when I went to the OB on Friday for my 39 week appointment. I had not slept well the night before and was feeling a little nauseated, which led to me being a little dehydrated. When the tech took my blood pressure, it was a little high. By high, I mean 126/78--so not super high for a pregnant lady. The reason they were concerned was that my blood pressure is usually really low (110/68), and when not pregnant, even lower (90/56). Since I have never had high blood pressure, it was the last thing I thought would be my problem. (My OB in Ann Arbor actually suggested that I take Sudafed to increase my blood pressure.) So I was REALLY surprised when my OB told me that she was concerned enough to suggest induction that day (last Friday) or Tuesday (today). I thought that maybe it was just a one time deal and that maybe I was just fighting a little bug, so I asked if I could just come in for an appointment on Tuesday to see how I was doing, as I would really prefer to go into labor on my own!

So Tuesday rolls around, and Ryan and I are prepared for anything, including the hospital bag if we are sent to the labor/delivery unit for induction. They took my blood pressure again and now it was 124/82--not much better, but not much worse either. The OB said that since things were staying the same, it was not an emergency, but that it would not get any better until the baby was born. Since Peanut is already term, there is no reason to wait much longer, especially since the only thing that could happen would be my blood pressure could just get worse. I am disappointed that I will not get to wait and see when my body would decide to deliver Peanut, but the ultimate goal is always a healthy baby. So keep Ryan and I in your prayers as we go to the hospital at 6:30am on Thursday to have this baby!

Guessing Game

So today we are 39 weeks pregnant, and as much as I would love for our son to make his arrival I am trying to not get my hopes up until after our due date. To pass the time we sent out emails and posted for our friends and family to guess when "Peanut" will make his debut.

Here is the chart of what we got...

Guesser	Peanut’s “Name"	Weight	Date of Birth
Dana C.	Joshua (11th most popular)	Not 11 lbs	Friday 11/11
Meghan D.	Bremerton	7 lbs 4 oz	Friday 11/11
Jen T.	Ty’Shawne’E	7 lbs 5 oz	Saturday 11/12
Melissa K.	Isaac Nathaniel	8 lbs 2 oz	Tuesday 11/15
Vergil P.	Hunter	10 lbs	Tuesday 11/15
Laura H.	Abcde	8 lbs 2 oz	Wednesday 11/16
Mandy I.	Remington	7 lbs 6 oz	Thursday 11/17
Becky J.	Caleb Matthew	8 lbs 4 oz	Thursday 11/17
Emily P.		7 lbs 10 oz	Thursday 11/17
Susan D.	Xavier	8 lbs	Saturday 11/19
Cheryl B.		8 lbs 10 oz	Saturday 11/19
Bill B.		9 lbs 5 oz	Saturday 11/19
Laura B.	Rex	7 lbs 4 oz	Sunday 11/20
Britani S.	Gabriel (Gabe)	8 lbs 6 oz	Sunday 11/20
Kellie S.	Jacob Ryan	8 lbs 1 oz	Sunday 11/20
Lois B.	Luke William	7 lbs 10 oz	Sunday 11/20
Nicole S.	Ezekiel Matthew	8 lbs 8 oz	Sunday 11/20
Kim C.	? Matthew or William	8 lbs 1 oz	Sunday 11/20
Jen K.	Jacob	8 lbs	Sunday 11/20
Jan W.	Justin Bebej (Bieber)	8 lbs 2 oz	Monday 11/21
Julie M.		8 lbs 4 oz	Monday 11/21
Carol Y.	Dede Cece	8 lbs 2 oz	Monday 11/21
Matt J.	William (Liam) Ryan	7 lbs 12 oz	Tuesday 11/22
Jess M.	Matthew William	8 lbs 10 oz	Tuesday 11/22
Matt and Courtney R.	Clark Kent	8 lbs 13 oz	Tuesday 11/22
Ginger E.	Xavier (Zechariah) Matthew	8 lbs 2 oz	Tuesday 11/22
Dawn O.		8 lbs 3 oz	Wednesday 11/23
Sarah S.	Corbin Matthew	8 lbs 4 oz	Wednesday 11/23
Matt W.	Cedric William-Pujols	7 lbs 12 oz	Wednesday 11/23
Emily S.	John Jacob Jingleheimer	7 lbs 8 oz	Thursday 11/24
Chrissy P.	Tyler Rex (T-Rex)	7 lbs 15 oz	Friday 11/25
Andrew S.	Ian William	9 lbs 6 oz	Saturday 11/26
Karyn H.	Levi William	8 lbs 8 oz	Sunday 11/27
Dave K.	David Eric	68 lbs	Wednesday 2/29
Dawn B.	Matthew William
Scott S.		8 lbs 4 oz
Phil K.	Tony Albert

We will keep you all posted...could be any day! Oh and P.S. no one guessed the name, not even close =)

The Puppy-Pregnancy-Pillow Problem

This is a more light-hearted post about how difficult Ryan's sleeping arrangements have become. Being in my last month of pregnancy (almost 38 weeks!), I have been very fortunate to not have too much trouble sleeping. Sure, I wake up at least 3 times each night to go to the bathroom, but from what I gather, sleeping at all at this point is a true blessing.

Right now I sleep with 4 regular pillows and a long body pillow that Ryan and I--well, at least I--have affectionately dubbed "The Celery," since it is long and green. Not only does this plethora of pillows spill over to Ryan's side, but Duncan is no longer able to snuggle up to me and tends to take extra space from Ryan. The picture below demonstrates the problem.

An early morning photo. As you can see, my side of the bed is full of pillows. Duncan is now forced to spill over completely onto Ryan's side of the bed.

Duncan is not a morning dog. He will often stay in bed long after Ryan and I have gotten up and ready for the day--sometimes almost 11am or later!

Every Day is a Gift

It amazes me how each day we just assume that we will wake up for the next day. We live each day looking forward to what is to come and not cherishing what we already have. Being pregnant, it is almost impossible not to think about the future and wish time would go by faster. I cannot wait to meet my son, feel less pregnant, and move on to the next phase of our family with Ryan. Last week I realized that this is not always what happens--today might be all we get.

Last Friday, Ryan and I were shocked to find out that Ryan's sister Nicole lost her husband Bill (our much loved brother-in-law) in a tragic work accident. They were so in love and happy together--an inspiration for us all. They were truly meant to be together. On October 9th, we were so excited to be present for their marriage. It was an amazingly beautiful autumn day, and they both seemed to glow in each other's presence. They spoke vows that brought tears to almost everyone present, and they made God a strong presence in their relationship. Only 12 days after their marriage began, and a couple of days after their return from their Hawaiian honeymoon, Nicole lost her soul mate. Here is a picture of the wonderful couple.

Please keep Nicole and family in your prayers as we all mourn Bill's death. The funeral and visitation were both overwhelming--so much support and love. Now that the planning is done and family has gone back home, the tough part of moving on with life begins. It seems that the world should stop for such pain, but yet it continues to move on. I pray, especially for Nicole and family, that peace rises to meet you in the mornings and that love surrounds you when you need it most.

Into the home stretch -- 35 weeks

Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather we've been having and took Melissa's 35-week bump portrait at Perry Farm (which has become our favorite location here in the Bourb). We walked through the woods along the creek and came out near the infamous Indian Caves. Duncan had a great time, and I think Melissa did too (though at the end of the walk, she no longer had the energy to suppress her super cute pregnancy waddle).

Here are a couple of other shots from our walk this afternoon:

A view into an area of the Indian Caves

Milkweed pod

 

Brains! (osage oranges)

Peanut's room

One of the perks of having fall break is that it gave me the time work on my "Honey Do" list around the house. Some of these things were random things that needed to be done, but several of them revolved around Peanut's impending arrival. Today we finished decorating Peanut's nursery, and we wanted to share it with you.

As Melissa and I look around this colorful room, we become overwhelmed by the immense generosity of our family and friends. We couldn't have done much of this without you! Peanut isn't even here yet, and we can already feel all of the love you have for him. Thank you all so much!

To the eighth month -- AND BEYOND!

Sorry for the lack of September updates. Life here has been very busy! Ryan is immersed in his first semester teaching at Olivet Nazarene University, and he has had very little time to do much online social networking or blogging. Melissa has been keeping herself busy too. She even spent a week up in Michigan in anticipation of her cousin Sarah's wedding, which included making the wedding cake for the now newlyweds' big day:

But throughout all of this, Peanut has been continuing to grow! The last two check-ups with our new doctors here have gone splendidly. Melissa is measuring right where she should be, and Peanut's heartbeat is always very strong. Here's Melissa at 32 weeks:

This past weekend we were blessed by the Bebej side of the family with a huge co-ed baby shower/get-together. It was a really great day--Aunt Dawn and Grandma Linda sure know how to throw a party! And the generosity of our family and friends was SO overwhelming--we are very thankful! This kid is going to be so well-dressed!

Melissa's mom and dad were also able to come down for the party. But we put them to work during their visit too. They've pretty much become our own personal paint crew. Any time we plan on painting a room where we live, they come on over with their rollers, brushes, and drop cloths in tow. This time we painted the nursery. While the nursery is not 100% ready for Peanut's arrival, it's really starting to come together. Here are a couple of shots of the nursery now that the walls are painted. Even without the bedding set up yet, the Mesozoic theme is already obvious (please note the awesomeness of the lamp on the dresser, which ultimately won Ryan over in choosing these Jurassic and Cretaceous reptiles over a mammal-themed nursery):

We'll try and be better about posting in the coming weeks!

Long time, no bump

I know that Melissa and I have been slacking off on this blog since we moved, but we've been pretty busy. So busy, in fact, that we haven't taken a picture of Melissa's bump in over six weeks! Here is what she and Peanut currently look like:

 Melissa and Peanut at 28 weeks

In other pregnancy-related news, I am happy to report that Melissa successfully passed her 3-hour glucose test! I wish that she hadn't had to take this awful test in the first place, but at least now we know that her blood-sugar levels are normal. Let's celebrate with cupcakes or fro-yo or some other sweet delicacy!

It's Been Too Long!

So it has been a long time since I have updated our blog, and a lot of things have happened in those short weeks. So I thought that I would update just a few things, but in this post--THE MOVE!

We had a lot of great help getting our truck packed up on Friday July 29. Thank you Matt, Phil, and Jesse for coming to help! My mom and dad, Lynsey, and her new fiancé Darrel also came to do the heavy lifting while I watched Duncan, directed traffic, and picked up lunch. Things got packed really quickly, and we had the afternoon to explore Ann Arbor one last time and allow Ryan to play his last softball game. That evening there was even time to play some Dominion Prosperity!

Dominion being played on the only surface we could find: the Dyson box.

After a night of sleep on air mattresses, we packed up the last of our things and headed out to Bourbonnais. Here are a few pictures before we took off.

The Bebej family with our very loaded truck

Our huge truck with the morning commuters (and my mother taking the picture)

My new pet names?

So I am almost 24 weeks (Friday) and I am feeling--shall we say--much larger? Due to this change in my body, Ryan and I have had some pretty funny conversations.

One day I was doing something that Ryan was worried about, so he made the comment that I was carrying precious cargo...
Me: "So you're just worried about my cargo, huh?"
Ryan: "No, it's like you're the Ark of the Covenant--important on the outside AND carrying precious cargo."
Me: "Um...thanks, honey." =)

Another day I was saying how I feel much larger...
Me: "I feel like a whale!"
Ryan: "I think you underestimate how much I like cetaceans."
For those who do not know, cetaceans are whales, and my husband did his Ph.D. dissertation on the movement of ancient whales.

6 Year Anniversary

On July 16, 2005, I got to marry my best friend. To celebrate our 6th anniversary this year, we went out to dinner at a local restaurant called Pacific Rim. The food was excellent and the restaurant was so beautiful with all its wooden decor. We started out with pork confit mu shu tacos (tender slow-cooked pork confit with a shiitake-jicama slaw and scallion mu shu pancakes), followed by soup (Ryan got the coconut curry soup, and I got the special chilled avocado with crab soup). We then had a nice spring salad while I sipped the house lemonade and Ryan drank his Coke.

For the main course, Ryan got a pan-roasted pork loin chop: Black Oak Farm pork loin chops crusted with panko and togarashi, with shallot soy-mustard sauce, lentils, and grilled zucchini, eggplant, and asparagus. I was limited in what I could eat due to the fact that so many of the dishes contained raw ingredients, but I was really satisfied with my grilled lemongrass chicken: lemongrass-marinated Miller Ranch all-natural chicken breast with rice, grilled vegetables, a chili-lime dressing, and scallion oil. After dinner we walked around downtown Ann Arbor and visited a few favorite shops, such as Vault of Midnight, and The Cupcake Station for dessert.

Then we went home for the rest of the evening. Ryan and I have the tradition of watching our wedding video, slideshow, and reception video on our anniversary each year, which always makes us smile at the people who are in our lives and realize how much has changed since we got married. We also wrote in our anniversary journal (another tradition), in which we write down the highlights and lowlights of that year of marriage while reading back over (and sometimes laughing at) what we wrote in prior years. So much has changed in six years, but one thing that has not is how much we love and adore being together.

Speaking of change, my baby belly has gotten bigger in recent weeks. Ryan even felt Peanut kick for the first time last night! Here I am on our anniversary at 22 weeks:

And here I am snuggling with our furry baby Duncan after we got back from dinner on our anniversary: