The Bebej Blog: August 2013

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Landscaping

When we bought our house and agreed to put in the yard ourselves (though with a lot of help from family!), we knew that it would occur in many stages. Last fall, we put in the edging and planted the grass, trees, and shrubs. By early spring, everything was still growing and doing well--including the weeds that we didn't plant! Unfortunately, we don't have any "before" pictures that document how bad the weeds became--out house almost looked like a foreclosure! But we were eventually able to put down barrier fabric and stones to help keep those weeds at bay--hopefully for many years to come. We also planted some flowers, put up a small retaining wall by the AC unit, and had gutters put onto the house. We still have a lot of work to do in the backyard, but that will probably be next years project.

Helping Daddy put some mulch in the backyard

It's always time for a wheelbarrow ride!

Making sure that the grass level :)

Side of the garage

Front of the house

Corner with Kyler's redbud tree and the small area for planting flowers

Side of the house with the small retaining wall Ryan built

It looks pretty good!

Much delayed announcement of Baby Bebej #2

So most of you already know that we are expecting another little one around October 26. We found out in June that this little "Bean" will be Kyler's baby brother, and we hope they will have great times playing and exploring together. Just like Kyler, this little one has given his mother terrible morning sickness, which required fluids given through IVs to rehydrate. We have been truly blessed to have family close by to help out on the most difficult days, and Ryan has really been amazing. Please keep this little one in your prayers as we prepare for life with two wonderful little boys!

Here are some of the 20-week ultrasound photos:

Bean's little face

His profile

He already has long legs!

Kyler -- June 2013

Kyler had some fun events this month, including his baptism, 18-month checkup, first time watching Daddy play softball, and finding out that he is going to have a little brother. We decided to wait to have Kyler baptized until we felt that we had found a church home. In Bourbonnais, we were still settling in when Kyler was born and hadn't yet decided on a church. Then, once we started to settle down, we were not sure we would be staying in Illinois due to the job opening at Calvin. We moved back to west Michigan last July, where the prospect of "shopping" for a church is daunting due to the number of churches in the area. It took a while for us to find our new church home (Fairway CRC), and then it took even longer for our membership to officially transfer (from Ann Arbor CRC). So this June, we finally baptized a fairly squirmy 18-month-old in front of our friends, family, and new church family. Kyler did very well, and we are truly blessed to have him in our lives. After the baptism, we had a nice family cookout to celebrate, and Kyler and KayLynn had fun playing with all the outdoor toys.

Kyler's 18-month appointment went really well. He is going to be a very tall boy, already measuring almost 3 feet tall (35.25 inches)--the height of some 3-year-olds, according to the pediatrician. He was pretty upset being cooped up in the examination room though and continued to cry the entire appointment until we left the building. I guess he does not like to be confined... Kyler also got his second haircut, and this time we just held him still through all the crying and flailing limbs so that it would just finish quicker. We headed out to watch Daddy's softball game one night, but spent most of it playing on the playground. At a local strawberry farm, Kyler had a great time meeting a little bunny; he squealed with delight anytime it touched him!

During our first month of summer, Kyler already accumulated more time in the water than some people do in their lifetimes! Kyler loves his kiddie pool, but does not think about the shoes he is wearing. So we bought a pair of water shoes and some sandals that he can wear outside and in the pool since they dry so quickly. Part of the fun of the kiddie pool involves throwing rocks (from the landscaping) into the water and making large splashes. I am never surprised to see him reaching into the water to take out rocks from a previous play time, but one morning I was surprised--more like stunned--to see him lift up a dead chipmunk by its tail! That was quickly removed, and the pool was promptly emptied! Kyler also had a lot of fun playing by and in Grandpa and Grandma's pool. He loves to throw things into the pool, and before long, he became brave enough to jump into our arms off the side--typically with his trademark lifted leg. Later in the month, Kyler even started to jump off the diving board into our arms. We have a brave little boy on our hands when it comes to water!