Awful Beautiful Life

Catching UP

2011-12-10T13:51:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! Poor Deandra. She's grown up so much over the past seven months or so, and hasn't a blog post to show for it!

Here are some of her first big smiles. Once she figured it out, this grin became an almost permanent fixture on her face!

Found her toes!

Pretty six months smile!

Celebrating D's half birthday on October 4.

Cabbage Patch cheerleader for Halloween!

Playing in the leaves in the front yard.

Love the rollllls!!!!

Happiest baby EVER!

This brings us to present day. Deandra is so pleasant (though santa wasn't her favorite). She is practically crawling and enjoying real food very much! What a joy she has been. Sorry we haven't shared her with you more.

Heavier AND Lighter

2011-05-22T14:06:00.003-04:00

Deandra's hair looked lighter today, and she is still packing on the pounds! For those of you who don't remember Enola getting chubby like Deandra is, yes she did:Enola - 6 weeks

We're ready for summer. Are you?

Like Mother, Like Daughter

2011-05-18T14:04:00.002-04:00

In life jackets at Lutheran Lake

Four Weeks Old!

2011-05-02T14:35:00.006-04:00

Deandra is doing well! As you can see, her cheeks are filling out nicely. She grunts and squeaks a lot, and likes to be held and walked around the house. Deandra is still slightly confused about day and night. She takes lovely, long, peaceful naps during the day, and seems to be either awake or grunting really loud at night. Hence, the cradle is now in the kitchen (where we can hear her when she really wakes up, but don't have to listen to her baby noises all night long)

Here are some other happenings in April:Enola enjoyed an Easter egg hunt at Bunk and Bap's house. Thankfully it stopped raining long enough to fill the basket!We got to spend lots of time with the cousins over the past couple of weekends. Here are Cole, Bode, Enola, and Deandra...the four GREAT grandkids!Enola keeps growing! She makes me laugh so many times a day. She has been singing along with the radio, "sneaking up" on me (she hunches her shoulders and bends her knees and walks up to people with this goofy smirk on her face), she's been "sharing" with Deandra (laying bows, books, socks, etc. on her belly) and giving lots and lots of kisses to her baby sister. Here she is watering the weeds in the driveway and tring on Daddy's church shoes. Thanks to those of you who came to visit and for all your well-wishes and prayers. We are slightly sleep deprived, but doing GREAT! a few hours of sleep is a small price to pay for so much love and joy in our house!

Deandra Lee Vandercar

2011-04-04T16:09:00.003-04:00

Our new bundle of joy.

born at 9:40 am on 4/4/11

6 lbs 10 ounces

19.5 inches

BOILER UP!

2011-02-03T19:32:00.003-05:00

We are so excited that shel and Eliza are home to visit for a while! Nana got the girls some snazzy Pudue outfits and we went to the Student Union for a photo shoot. As Shel said, "Pigtails AND bows AND hand holding AND smiling is asking a lot!" But the girls did great and made our day! READY? OK!

Also check out Emily's blog today for some cute pics!

Goggles, Teeth, Hair...

2011-01-20T07:47:00.002-05:00

...the funniest things about this picture - not necessarily in that order!

Holidays

2011-01-16T21:27:00.004-05:00

The Vanderkids came down to visit a few weeks before Christmas with Nana and Papa and helped me make cookies! Levi cut out a lot of trains!The house looked so festive with our beautiful tree from the tree farm. Enola did a good job leaving the ornaments on. She liked playing with her nativity, but lost Baby Jesus almost a week before Christmas. I found him just the other day under the oven.

Here we are (all three of us) in our special dresses ready to go to our Christmas Eve services. Enola is sporting a new outfit from Grandma and some cute pigtails. She is rockin' to her new MP3 player and sitting infront of the awesome toy box her daddy made for her for Christmas. Because Enola and Mommy are BFFs, we're predicting somewhat of a trying adjustment period come April and new baby. BUT Enola is showing many indications of being a great big sister. She loves Baby Peter, Cole, and Ellie, and, as you can see, takes care of her dolls so nicely. It will be a great adventure!

Let It Snow...She's Ready!

2010-12-05T13:39:00.002-05:00

Enola got a new snow suit, boots, hat and mittens from her Nana and Papa. We got bundled up to go see the Living Nativity in Waymansville on Friday night. She was happier once we got there and saw the animals and had some cookies.

We woke up Saturday morning to a snow-covered forest. It's beautiful out here!

Her Own Thing

2010-11-20T15:10:00.008-05:00

Side note: WHAT? Two posts in one day? A Saturday afternoon to myself is a rare thing!
On with the cute pictures....

Now that Enola has become entirely independent in her mobility, she is also developing independence in her activities. She enjoys helping me with chores and carrying things around the house. Today, she took the contents of the bread drawer into her bedroom and put them in the washing machine. Luckily, I found the bagels and honey wheat before I ran a load of laundry. Her toy camera, on the other hand, was not so lucky:

A few days ago I showed Enola how to cover her Bitty Baby with a blanket and feed her a bottle. After a few minutes of suspicious silence I went to her room to see what mischief she was up to this time. There sat my perfect angel:

Enola has a wonderful library, mostly thanks to you! However, lately she's been bringing me books from the big shelf in the dining room:

Today she also found my old US Synchronized Swimming Rules guide. She was trying out some of the moves! (I promise, I did no posing here...it is all her!)

Her pike:

Her ballet leg:

Yes, the extension needs some work, but if I recall correctly, that was always the criticism I got, too!

Up North

2010-11-20T15:01:00.003-05:00

We went north last week to see Grandma Elser and got to visit with lots of family! First we stopped in Lafayette where Nana and Papa were online with Eliza, James and Shel. These bffs miss eachother! Then, it was up to Steph and Elden's where we got to spend time with lots of family! Enola is sometimes shy (with Elden, and men in general) but she attached right to Grandma....All weekend E would walk right up to her for a quick snuggle, and follow her around. :)

The girls in their snuggly pjs. This is one big pile of cute!

2010-11-16T19:53:00.007-05:00

We had an ultrasound on Monday. Everything looked really good with no concerns. The below image is a 4-D Realtime picture. The baby was really moving around a lot and never was in a very good position for pictures.

This picture is of the baby's foot.

Check out the link below for a movie of Enola's first experience with processing a deer. She was surprisingly helpful according to her mother.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck59c3gW0aw

Mums and Punkins

2010-11-07T22:29:00.003-05:00

My Punkin with mums

Here are some fun fall shots from a few weeks ago. Enola got a new Bears shirt in time for football season. You can kind of see our nice new landscaping in this picture. It was taken BEFORE the deer started eating my mums.

A "Mum's" Punkin

Dave's design (my execution)...a portrait of Littlest Baby...did not win us any prizes or titles at this year's pumkin carving party. It was pretty close to being size-accurate! Cute or creepy? You pick.

Strawbaby

2010-11-04T21:14:00.003-04:00

Enola was a strawberry for Halloween this year. She wore the hat for maybe three minutes at a time. She looked oh-so-cute, but by the time the Harvest Party at church actually started, she was pretty worn out, and this was the closest to a smile we could get. Sadly, I cannot take credit for making this costume.

Give me a hand...

2010-10-07T20:53:00.003-04:00

Isn't this amazing and wonderful? Littlest Baby is now 14 weeks along (just finishing up the 1st trimester)...I can't wait to hold those little hands!

(not our baby's hands....this is an image from the Internet)

Miss Enola is growing fast, too! She's walking independently much more often now, and loves to "help" me unload the dishwasher. She gets to visit with little friends at the babysitters, and we read lots of books together at home. She is "talking" more than ever; mostly random babble, but she attemps words here and there. This week she's saying "baby," "bye-bye," and she tried "amen" tonight at dinner (she wanted to pray multiple times throughout the meal...kept folding her hands and expecting me to do the same).

Little Fuzzball

2010-09-06T13:04:00.003-04:00

To announce my pregnancy to my students, I did our daily devotional reading from Psalms about being fearfully and wonderfully made, and formed carefully in our mothers' wombs. I also handed each kid a craft fuzz ball (you know the colored ones you glue to stuff?) because they were just the right size - about 1 cm in diameter. We held them in our hands, imagined being so small once, and marveled at the fact that God knew us and cared for us even then....even before then. Then I exaplined to the students that my newest baby was just that size. :)

Well, we went to the doctor a couple weeks ago Thursday, and being about 9 weeks along, our little Fuzzball was about 2 cm big and due on April 6. Everything looks great! We're now at 11 weeks and everything is still going well.

Catching Up

2010-08-31T21:29:00.003-04:00

In the next few posts, I'll try to recap our summer. We had some good times! We spent lots of time with family, and we enjoyed the lake almost daily! Enola just kept on growing and was bigger everytime I turned around.

Our summer began with a couple busy weeks at home. We had a fun Youth outing and VBS. After that, Enola and I headed to PA to see my mom through her last few days of school. Enola got to bond with the PA fam:
The Adamses gave her an early birthday gift of a baby doll. Enola knew what to do right away; she immediately hugged, kissed and patted her baby (sure there was some prompting, but it didn't take much). I believe in intuition! E also learned to climb a step at Gma and Gpa's house because we don't have ANY at home. It is now one of her favorite pasttimes.

This brings us to July. More on that later.

Guess What!?

2010-08-22T16:27:00.004-04:00

That's right, Enola will have a little sibling in (we're estimating) early April!!! We are so excited:)
Sorry about the lack of posts this summer. Maybe we'll have a more regular routine during the school year and this blog will be a part of it!

Love to all!

P.S. We have to give Tammy props for the t-shirt...THANKS TAM! It was in the hand-me-down box from her girls (I remember Emma wearing it...did Evia, too?). As soon as I found it, I put it away hoping I would get to use it!

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T11:13:00.003-04:00

To all our favorite Dads!Please notice the stylin' tie Enola made for her daddy. He was agreat sport and wore it to church today!

WE LOVE YOU!!!!

Little Big Girl

2010-06-18T18:07:00.002-04:00

Enola seems to be growing up so fast these past few weeks. Maybe its just because I'm now out of school and with her 100% of the time. It's been great. Here she is getting ready to crawl over and check out the camera:She's making this face often now...not really sure what that's all about. I could swear I heard her whistle once, though!

Enola now has two teeth (on the bottom). I've been trying really hard to get a picture of them which has only resulted in a lot of close-ups of her adorable face. I don't know how, but she's managing to hide them with her tongue here:

Eventually she got tired of the camera up in her face. When she gave me this look I decided to stop. Wouldn't you?

She likes standing at her wagon, unloading the toys, and them picking them up to put them back in again. I realize that from these pictures, it kind of looks like we're hermits. We do go outside, really, it's just that the camera stays home. You should come join us on the dock sometime!

Kissin' Cousins

2010-06-06T09:40:00.006-04:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend at the Lake with the fam. Thanks Mom and Dad for making the trip out. Enola and Bode shared a little pool on the dock: It was reminiscent of the previous generation of lake goers:

(Whit on the left, Erin on the right) Enola and Bode enjoyed eachother's company (mostly). There was tickling:

There was poking:

There were snacks:

And there was LOTS of LOVE!

Tubes

2010-05-25T20:47:00.002-04:00

Because she had been having recurring ear infections, the doctor recommened that Enola have tubes put in her ears. He found that she had fluid trapped behind her ear (it has bacteria in it), and as long as that was there she would keep getting reinfected. Rather than continue to shoot her up with antibiotics, we took her in Monday morning for the very quick (5-10 minute) surgery. It went great. She was SCREAMIN' mad when she woke up from the anesthesia, but after she nappped on the way home, she seemed to be back to her normal cheerful self. She's had a great day today, and we hope this surgery will have its lasting intended good!

No teeth yet!

We got all dolled up for a wedding Saturday night. Enola bobbed along to the music on the dance floor with me and finally crashed in a friend's arms at around 9:30. A few people have told me how drastically tubes seemed to affect their kids' hearing. Dave and I wondered if that meant E would no longer be able to tune out the blaring music and sleep through wedding receptions (as she has a habit of doing).

We're Five!

2010-05-23T13:52:00.003-04:00

This weekend Dave and I celebrated our fifth anniversary! I got a gift certificate to the Indiana State Park Lodges from Verna for Christmas which we used Friday at the Canyoun Inn at McCormick's Creek State Park (just west of Bloomington). On the way we stopped in B-ton to have dinner at Yogi's. It was delicious. The Inn was beautiful:
The rooms were very cozy with rustic log furniture. Now, we would normally camp out in a tent, but thunderstorms were threatening, and this was especially easy and relaxing:
While hotel-like, the Inn had a great rustic lodge feel, complete with coon-skin caps! Enola almost wore one long enough for a picture:
Saturday morning we took a hike on the trails at the State Park. It was a beautiful day, and the trails there were very nice. The hike we took ended at a pretty waterfall!
Enola got her nap in:Spending time hiking through the forest was a great way to spend our fifth anniversary - it's something we've loved to do together since even before we were married. We're so excited to continue enjoying God's beautiful creation with our children as our family grows (except that the kid in the pack is only going to get heavier!)

Naps and Snaps

2010-05-20T17:05:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago when the weather was actually beautiful May weather (and not the cold rainy yuckiness that's going on now) Enola and I spread a blanket on the front lawn for the afternoon. I read a book for my class and (eventually) Enola napped.
When she woke up, my little explorer was fascinated by the shiny snaps on her onesie.

There's something about her pretty little grin in this picture that I just love, but I can't put my finger on it. Is it the wonderment of something so simple as snaps? Is it her precious baby innocence? Maybe there's a little mischief there? In any case....what a beauty!

My Sunshine

2010-05-18T19:45:00.002-04:00

First Swim of the Season

2010-05-14T17:16:00.003-04:00

"Inflatable pool

full of [Mom]'s hot air

I was [nine months] old

splashin' everywhere

And so began

my love affair

with water"

Than you, Brad Paisley for yet another witty (and very relatable) song. Thanks also to MaryAnne for the pool and Grandma for the hat!

It's funny that no matter how many awesome pool toys there are floating by, Enola likes the empty water bottle best.

The girl already has four adorable swim suits, so why she's skinny dipping, well, Iguess I don't know. She is the daughter of the bathing suit queen!

Happy 29th Birthday!

2010-05-13T12:49:00.000-04:00

Man Weekend

2010-04-22T21:53:00.003-04:00

I'm having a hard time moving the pictures and putting them in the correct order, so with this post you'll have to play "match the photo with its caption!"

The Vanderboys had thier annual spring camping trip ("Man Weekend" as Shel refers to it) so Enola and I headed to Lafayette for zome quality time with the ladies. On Friday night we walked to the park so the Es could swing together. See Shel's blog for the picture of that!

Saturday we went shopping, more swinging and laid in the sunshine in the yard eating (and drinking) bubblies!

Eliza introduced Enola to biter biscuits...and they shared the mandatory post-biscuit-bath.

On Sunday we all squeezed into the tiny clown car to meet the boys and hang out at our house for the afternoon.

It's so fun to have the girls together! Well, we think so anyway. Eliza may have a different opinion; Enola spent most of the weekend taking her toys and grabbing her face.

Do Your Ears Hang Low?

2010-04-13T22:00:00.003-04:00

Do they wobble to and fro? Do you get infections every other week for no apparent reason?....

Enola went back to the doctor yesterday morning with yet another ear infection. She's on the antibiotic again, but because this has happened so frequently we probably need to do someting else about it. Tubes? Injections? We're not sure and will have to talk with Enola's doctor when we go in next week. She still manages to be cheerful most of the day. We're very blessed.

FEED ME!

The 4 Es

2010-04-09T17:13:00.003-04:00

Emma, Enola, Evia, Eliza!

Look at Enola's farmer's tan! Poor baby.

Happy Easter!

2010-04-08T21:56:00.001-04:00

"E" Mail

2010-03-26T17:27:00.002-04:00

Thanks for the packages, Grandma! The clothes are so adorable, and I'm excited about making Easter cookies! Sounds like a good tradition to me! Love you!

Crazy Eight

2010-03-23T21:12:00.003-04:00

Look who's eight months old already!

Who, me???

On Saturday we tried out the backpack (just a few laps around the front yard, but we wanted to see how it fit)! Thanks, again, Rices and Adamses! We're going to have lots of adventures with this, I know it! Does Enola look like an old man in this picture? The combover doesn't help.

Youth is serving the last Lent supper tomorrow night before service. I can't believe next week is Holy Week already. That's crazy! Our eighth graders are being confirmed this weekend (these kids were in my first class as fifth graders) and time just keeps a-flyin' by!

Back Home in Indiana

2010-03-20T10:31:00.002-04:00

It was a long drive, but we made it back home verrry early Friday morning. We were stopped dead in traffic for over an hour, so Enola got out of her carseat to "drive" for a little while. We've got the weekend to recoup and its back to school on Monday! Thanks for a fun vacation guys!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T16:41:00.003-04:00

Thanks for my tee Aunt Shel! Happy Birthday!

Battleships and Bombshells

2010-03-17T16:34:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we took a field trip to the USS Alabama in Mobile where we got to climb all over the ship and walk through a WWII submarine. It was pretty cool!

Then, we went to Historic Blakely State Park where we toured a civil war battlefield. We got our exercise and education for the week!

A Day at the Beach

2010-03-16T10:46:00.002-04:00

What a vacation!

Down by the Bay

2010-03-15T09:58:00.002-04:00

We arrived at Camp Dixie near Gulf Shores, Alabama on Saturday evening. The camp is great and sits right on Perdido Bay. It was in the 70s and sunny yesterday. Beautiful.

...a little windy, though.

Six Month Photo Shoot

2010-03-12T21:26:00.005-05:00

These pictures were taken on Feb. 2. I don't think she's changed too much since then.... She is a very cheerful and easy-going baby. We're very blessed. This week she's suffering from ear infections (again). She is on the antibiotic now and will hopefully get over it fast!

The EnolaVirus

2010-03-11T16:56:00.004-05:00

...a "nickname" we hadn't considered (You know, when choosing your baby's name you're supposed to be real about all the awful things kids might potentially call her on the playground, then decide if its worth it.) Anyway, a few weeks ago Enola began vomitting in an Exorcist-type fashion pretty consistently on the hour for about twelve hours. She was happy between pukes and didn't have any other symptoms, so we didn't cancel our Valentine's dinner plans. We realized that it was in fact the stomach flu when

Mommy got it the next day...

...and Daddy, the next evening...

....and Ingrid, the following day...

...and Craig, the day after that. It was Craig who dubbed it 'the EnolaVirus'

Its hard to keep germs to yourself when you're so darn cute!

Check it off the list

2010-03-07T21:59:00.003-05:00

At each regualr visit, the doctor asks us to fill out a sheet documenting the developmental milestones Enola has reached. One I thought was funny at her six-month check up was, "Does your baby make high-pitched squealing sounds which are not crying?"

I circled "YES."

That's How I Roll...

2010-03-06T17:32:00.002-05:00

It was beautiful outside this afternoon and we finally got to take the wagon on the road! Everyone was glad to be out of the house for a little while. Thanks Nana and Papa for the wagon (and the sunglasses, too)!

Doomed

2010-03-05T20:40:00.003-05:00

I was sitting in the waiting room at public health a few weeks ago, watching another mom with her little girl who was probably a year and a half old or so. The mom took out a sweet little zipper pouch of hair bows, bands, and accessories. She sprayed some detangler or something in the girl's hair(it wasn't tangly anyway), combed it out, pulled up a cute little pony tail, took it out to readjust it, pulled it up again (only a half a centimeter from where it was the first time, but better this time, for sure). Of course, the hair bow matched the outfit perfectly. The girl looked very cute.

Now, I can braid and I certainly appreciate a hairbrush, but I'm too "low-maintenance" to even think about putting product in my hair, let alone my kid's hair. Poor Enola. Is she doomed to bad hair forever? I'm confident in my mommy skills, but this may be one area where my daughter simply has to suffer the unfortunate fact that her mom is a second-rate hair-do-er.

Double the Fun

2010-03-04T22:34:00.001-05:00

Nothing wrong with a healthy self-image!

Any way you look at her...

2010-03-03T21:36:00.004-05:00

shes cute! Enola spent 99.9% of the first six months of her life laying on her back (when she wasn't being held, of course, so we're not really talking about much time here at all.) She's now discovering she likes rolling to her side to sleep...
And sometimes she will lay on her belly for a little while without getting angry:

How cool is Dave's job? On his to-do list last week was "research zip lines." NICE.

Enola sits in random household objects

2010-03-02T17:36:00.004-05:00

BUCKET: Enola was the product tester at Kim's baby shower last weekend. Bunk bought a baby bathing bucket (how's that for alliteration?) and we just had to try it out! She seemed pretty content!

LAUNDRY BASKET: It contains her well, and it's good and portable! She's playing with today's new favorite toy... a pot lid.

Finally online

2010-03-01T15:17:00.006-05:00

You've whined and cried that I never read your emails.

I've missed birthdays and Bible studies.

You've made me feel guilty that the blog is over six months old.

I get family news from friends who see it on Facebook.

You've had to pick up the phone, strenuously dial eleven numbers and leave messages on my answering machine.

Well, friends the end to all our communication troubles has come. We now have the internet! It is an exciting thing. I have over six months of adorable Enola to share with everyone, and I'll do my best to update regularly. (But, let's face it. You all know me.) See you in cyberspace! (You can still call me anytime. I like to hear your voices.)

Enola at five weeks as she began smiling on purpose.

Happy to have auntie and cousin here for a visit this weekend!

"Someday, 'cuz, we'll go out and play in the snow together!"

Four Weeks of Enola

2009-08-20T15:27:00.005-04:00

They have been a beautiful four weeks! Sorry it took this long to share with everyone. Thanks to you all who came to visit or sent gifts or cards! Enola has been so blessed by you!

Week 1: We had a nice stay at the hospital. All of the clothes we brought along looked HUGE on Enola so cousin Morgan went out shopping for preemie sized girly clothes. They are so cute! We got to go home Saturday afternoon and ENola was baptized the very next day! Her sponsors are her Uncle Luke and her cousin Erin. We had a party back at the house with so much good food and lots of family and friends. Thanks to all who helped and came! What a way to welcome Enola home!

Best birthday ever!!!!

Week 2: Enola already outgrew her preemie clothes! She was back up to birth wieight at 4 days, and at two weeks was 7 lbs and 2 oz! We got the hang of breatfeeding just fine, apparently! She is sleeping well and is generally pretty happy!

Mom re-fashioned a preemie nightgown into a t-shirt and hat for my growing baby doll!

Week 3: Enola got to go to her first baseball game and her favorite player hit a home run! One of my students, Sam, was in the regional championship for the Little League World Series. It was awesome. She also likes to hang out with her cousin Bode.

Week 4: Enola swam in Lutheran Lake this week and really likes it! Here is Enola in her August onesie made by Aunt Shel! All her weight gain is in her cheeks! There are hundreds of pictures...I wish I could share them alL!

2009-07-30T17:44:00.021-04:00

Here are some pictures for you to browse through.

Bap's large hands and little Enola.
Whitney and Enola.

From our wonderful Church Family. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. Your are a wonderful blessing to our family.

Enola wore Whitney's Families Baptismal Gown for the Ceremony. The gown was first worn by Enola's Great-Great Grandma 'Enola'; and has since been worn by everyone in the family. It is over 100 years old.

A table of mischief, especially the one on the far right. :)

I would like to appologize to all that we did not keep informed throughout the last couple of weeks. As I am sure you understand we have been quite busy. We thank the Lord that we have so many people around us that are so interested and involved in our lives. We love you all.

2009-07-24T10:49:00.003-04:00

This is Enola Lynn in the nursery about 30 minutes after she was born.

We took this video this morning so that everyone could get a good look at her face.

Hope you all enjoy.

Whitney is doing good. The doctor was in this morning to check up on her and said that he would be fine releasing her today since she is doing so well. We will likely stay until tomorrow though, since they have to take the 48 hour blood tests later tonight anyways.

Enola has been healthy in every sense of the word. We thank God so much for this precious Gift that He has entrusted to us. We also thank Him for the wonderful family and friends that we are surrounded by. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers, you all have been a blessing. We look forward to raising our little angel in the presence of all of you.

I hope you are having a wonderful day. We will see you all soon.

Love,

David, Whitney, and Enola.

Baby Girl!

2009-07-23T08:50:00.003-04:00

Enola Lynn Vandercar

arrived on July 22, 2009 at 10:36 pm! She weighs 5 lbs. and 14 oz. She is 20 inches long and sooooo precious! Thank you for all your prayers and phone calls! More pictures to come!

Belly Shot

2009-06-19T15:04:00.003-04:00

As requested...Sorry if you were hoping for bigger....I'm working on it!! Love to all!

Still Alive!

2009-06-02T13:58:00.004-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posts! It was a crazy (but very fun) May. Now school is out and I can sit down for a few minutes to update everyone on what's happening lately.

Dave has been busy with projects around the house. He's nesting more than I am!
First, I told him I would like a buffet for our new dining room. He's a handy man, so instead of buying new, he found this one on Craig's list (solid oak and eight feet long!) for only $60. He revamped it to match our kitchen. Good job, babe!

Dave removed the very ornate doors and built some new ones that look just like our pantry doors. It is all very coordinated and fancy!

He also helped construct new benches around the devotional fire pit at camp. Thay are high class...like everything else Dave does.

Next, he built me a riased bed where I can plant my vegetables. I'm hoping they actually grow considering all the hard work Dave put in! This picture doesn't show it filled (or planted) but that's all happening now!

Between projects we went to Kristen's Wedding! It was a great time, and yes, pregnant ladies can dance! A little bit of ABBA and Craig shook me all night long!

We also went camping with the Jungs, Mom, and Rachel over Memorial Day weekend. This was our amazing campsite. The rest of Beaver Creek State Park (eastern Ohio) was OK. But we had good food, some nice hikes and great company. I think Mom and I were the dominant team in CornHole.

And the latest news around the Vandercar house is that three new kittens showed up on our porch last week! Jade is showing some maturity in that she hasn't eaten them yet. I think she likes the company.

Also, Welcome to God's Family Isabel!

Baby is doing well and moving around like CRAZY! We're able to feel features now, instead of vague bumps...there are times when that's definitely a foot or an elbow or a butt. Time is flying and we are so excited to get to see and hold Baby!! Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts! Much love to everybody!

Nesting

2009-04-17T15:37:00.003-04:00

Thanks, family. You were so nice to come and work at our house over Easter weekend. We 're really excited about our new room and all the space we seem to have now! It was amazing that there were fifteen people at our house for dinner on Saturday and we ALL fit! Next stop, landscaping and baby's room!

Bode's Here!

2009-04-01T16:11:00.003-04:00

Bode was born on March 16th and baptized last Sunday. Welcome to God's family Bode!

This picture was dark so I had to mess with the resolution. He's not really that orange. In fact, he's perfect!

Baby Face

2009-04-01T15:57:00.004-04:00

Last Thursday Dave and I visited the OB once again. These were the first pictures the ultrasound tech. took, and it's a good thing because after this, the baby turned over and wouldn't look at us anymore. This was the "big" ultrasound where we could have learned the baby's sex, but Dave and I decided not to peek. It seems, though, that the general consensus from family and friends is BOY based only on the face. (If it is a girl, I'll be sure to let her know that eveyone thought she looked masculine in the womb!)

And yes, as baby grows, so do I! This is 24 weeks. Thanks to the Tammy/Alyssa tote for the top! I like it!

Porch Construction

2009-04-01T15:51:00.002-04:00

Our previously screened-in porch got windows last year. Finally, we have it well-insulated, and a few weekends ago, Dave's dad and other fantastic helpers came over to put up the drywall. The goal is a interior room-like space! This week Dave is spackling and sanding, hoping to be ready for trim, paint and flooring soon!

BEFORE:

DURING:BIG thank yous to MIKE, JOHN and Uncle BRIAN!!!

AFTER:
We're excited to get to spread out a little bit!

Crazy March

2009-03-27T15:38:00.004-04:00

Sorry about the infrequent posts! Here are some pictures from our trip to Georgia last week. It was great fun. I realize that none of them show the bump (as requested) but those are on the way, along withour most recent ultrasound pictures!

Also, here is a picture of Dave with his "other" babies (Jade was supposed to be in this picture, but she ran off). Mom said she still hadn't seen the truck! We love it!

The Bump has Arrived!

2009-02-15T18:18:00.003-05:00

It seems like just last week pants started to get tighter and (very politely) people began to comment on my belly...except for the dear seventh grader who suggested I run laps with the basketball girls because I was "starting to pack on the pounds." He was just kidding. I'm excited about the little bump (check it out!), and a few friends have been very generous with their wardrobes :)
We dressed up for Valentine's Day dinner at the Jung's. It was a fun time!

It'snow problem!

2009-01-30T16:11:00.002-05:00

We had a four day mini-vaction this week because of all the snow! I did not accomplish much (other than driving to Indianapolis and back for a conference that got cancelled anyway).

We went back to the doctor's office today for a check-up and everything looks good! Thanks for all of the congratulations and well-wishes! This baby is already SO loved!

Something to Share!

2009-01-20T16:36:00.000-05:00

Dave and I visited the OB yesterday and had some pictures taken! My initial reaction to the 3-D ones was "kinda creepy" but of course they're adorable and precious, too! The baby was doing headstands and all kinds of neat acrobatics. The technician estimated that the baby is about 13 weeks old (about 1 week younger than we thought). Cool, huh?