happy turkey day!

if i look a little sleepy, you know why...all the triptofan :)

but really, thanks aunt kacy, for my 1st thanksgiving shirt....it is perfect!


we celebrated at home with g, pop, and aunt amy...it was a relaxing day!

a few firsts

here's max, getting ready to head to the hospital for a jaundice test...we think this picture is so funny because his feet look huge...and we all know, he didn't get those from his mom!



and here he is checking out his swing for the 1st time...seems to like it, huh?!?

baby v is here!

Maxwell Craig Vanderveer

born Saturday, November 22

at 9:46 am

6 pounds 12 ounces

20 1/2 inches

God is so good! We feel so lucky to have this little boy in our lives...isn't he amazing?!?!

our 1st family picture...with many more to come!

for those of you interested in details:

Friday

4pm kyle goes to hospital with high blood pressure

7pm we are told that we will be spending the night and inducing in the morning

11pm-4am kyle gets no sleep due to uncomfortable monitors, but joey rests a little

Saturday

5am we are told we need to start pitocin, but we ask for more time and get it :)

7am we walk to help labor move along and pray

8am kyle's water gets broken and she is dilated to a 3

8:15am labor gets more intense very quickly

9:00am labor is very intense and kyle begins to question her natural labor plan
9:30am kyle continues to question this natural thing but joey is a wonderful coach

9:31am dialated to a 5

9:39am kyle feels like she needs to push but knows its too early

9:40am kyle can't help pushing and is dilated to a 10

9:46am it's a boy!

9:50am kyle feels like her old self and is so glad that it was a natural birth :)

we are all doing wonderful.....kyle feels good, joey is a natural daddy, and max is awesome!

we'll post more soon but for now, its time to rest!

how to beat bedrest boredom

as i was looking back over my blog, you can see that my spirit is up a little today....

maybe because of this...

that's right, i was able to get out of the house and still stay off my feet. here i am at walmart (my mom and sis took me) returning a few items and doing a little shopping. it's a funny world riding around in a cart...people move out of the way, yet no one asks you any questions. it seems like just about anyone could sit down and take a cart for a ride, as long as you drive responsibly. but the best part is that no one misses the fact that the cart is backing up....a distinctive "beeeep, beeeep, beeeep" could be heard down the whole isle if i needed to reverse.

i wouldn't be surprised if joey made us go to walmart this weekend just to see this live....he couldn't stop laughing at the picture :)

38 weeks

i've reached the 38 week, full term milestone! we've been waiting for this as our dr really wanted me to reach this point to guarantee that baby v's lungs were fully developed....so now that they are, the big question is, when will baby v make his/her grand appearance?!? my prayer is before thanksgiving...a baby is sure something to be thankful for!

bedrest boredom

just thought i'd give an update on my bedrest situation. i went to the dr again this afternoon and there aren't any major changes to report...my blood pressure continues to be high (but luckily not too high) and therefore bedrest is still pretty strict. i am dilated to a 1 (which is the same as last week at this time) and baby v has an estimated weight of 7 pounds.

although i am so thankful that everything is healthy with baby v, i'm a little frustrated tonight. i'm bored being on bedrest and can't help but wish that i could go for a walk or do something that might help labor happen naturally. we so desire to have a natural child birth and with induction on our dr's mind and ours, its just hard to sit here and wait to see what my body does.

i go back to the dr both on friday and monday...monday is when the dr said we will have a more serious discussion about inducing, but my prayer is that baby v will decide to come on his/her own before then.

God has been so good to us through this pregnancy and we just praise Him for his sovereignty...hopefully I can just rest in Him!

baby v's 3rd shower

last thursday was an exciting day...not only did i find out i was going to be on bedrest, but i also had my school shower for baby v. i was looking forward to this shower as it was going to be a reunion with friends that i no longer work with and a great way to end my teaching career!

my friends (and lovely hostesses) laura, molly, and lyndsay

the cute and very yummy cake!

a bunch of great teachers (and friends)

molly, dedra, laura, diana, alison (holding chloe), lyndsay, dina, me, kimberly, and tricia

even though i am really looking forward to being a full time mommy, this group of ladies has made the past 4 years of my teaching career so wonderful and i will miss seeing them everyday!

bedrest and blessings

on tuesday, the swelling in my feet and hands and the dull headache i was experiencing started to make me a little worried so i decided to call my doctor. she had me come in on thursday to check my blood pressure and make sure everything was okay. even though it had occurred to me that i may have to go on bedrest, i was surprised when she actually said it. it caused a slight panic as i realized that things weren't ready for me to stop working and that i would be out of commission without feeling necessarily bad.

but then i realized that God is in control and that this was a part of His plan. small coincidences became how God had prepared me for this. i feel blessed to have an opportunity to rest before baby v arrives, and also that i have such supportive friends and family who understand how hard this will be for me and have already offered to keep me preoccupied. not to mention an amazing husband who has already surprised me with his willingness to help around the house.

i go back to the doctor on monday and my prayer is that she will allow me to get up a little bit just so i can get ready for baby v...and maybe that she thinks baby v will be here a little early so that bedrest doesn't have to last for 4 more weeks!