Two more appointments

I've had two more doctor's appointments since we talked about the baby last. On May 20th we started our weekly check-ups. Trever went with me this time and got to sit behind the curtain while the doctor checked me and listened to the heartbeat. At that point the Doctor informed me that things were still pretty tight, but that the baby's head was definately down and I might be about 1 centimeter dialated.

I went back last night for another check. She said that I was "thinning out" but I got in a bit of trouble for not drinking enough. That's usually not a problem since I tend to drink all day, but since my special water bottle broke I've not been drinking as much because I have to refill more often. The baby's head is still down.

Many of our friends and family have us convinced that the baby is going to come early. However, the doctor thinks differently. She says most first time mom's go long and she has put her bet on June 20th. I'm sure the baby will let us know when she is ready!

Besides the doctor's appointments things are going pretty well. I have my days when I feel really good and then the next day it takes a lot of work to get off the couch at night to go to bed. As long as the weather stays cool I do ok, but my feet and ankles let me know when it's warming up! Let's just hope it stays cool for a few more weeks!

Caisey goes to State!

Our niece, Caisey, participated in the IESA 2A State Track Meet on Saturday. We were very excited to be able to watch her run in the 7th grade girls 4 x 100 meter relay. Caisey is only a 6th grader running on the 7th grade team so that is pretty impressive! She told me that their time was the fastest they had ever had as a team, I think it was 56 seconds.

Here are some pictures of the speed demon!

Caisey is in the blue uniform in the middle with her head cocked.

Handing off to the 2nd runner.

Because of Caisey's big day on Saturday, we were lucky to have house guests Friday night. Ron, Kyla & Maddison got to our house around 8. We spent some time hanging out before Maddison's bed time meltdown. We introduced Maddison to Rally & the cows and kept Neela locked up most of the night. We got up Saturday morning and Trever practiced his diapering and dressing skills before we headed for Peoria.

Here is Uncle Trever with Maddison!

Carley Calf & Cupcakes

On May 3rd we came home from Grandma Builta's house and saw this from the house...




Carley Calf was the first calf born at Black Nugget Farm's West Ranch. The night of her birth was a bit dramatic. The cow's udder was sooooooo big that the calf couldn't nurse. So, Trever decided that she needed some help. After a few hours, a big bruise on Trever's arm, a few tears, and a broken bottle, Carley finally started nursing on her own. Tonight, Trever let Carley and her mom, Lady, out in the "big" pasture to play with the other cows and her new friend Callie.






Of course, since I had the camera out I had to take some pictures of Trever's best friend. I've never seen a man so attached to an animal like Trever is to Rally!






I also gave my new cupcake book a try. Even though they didn't look that great, at least they tasted yummy.

This is what they were suppose to look like....

And this is what they actually looked like...

A busy weekend

We had a very busy weekend this weekend and it showed when it was time to get out of bed this morning. We didn't realize how worn out we were until it was all over with!

Friday night we headed to Bloomington for a graduation party. After a quick but expensive trip to Walmart we headed to Pub II to celebrate Lizzie's graduation from nursing school. The hour long drive home made for a late night.

Saturday morning we were up and at 'em at a decent time. I started making cupcakes and cleaning up the house before I headed to a bridal shower for Nicole. After a couple of quick stops for errands I was back home to decorate cupcakes, clean, and take a nap before we headed out Saturday night.

Trever was EXTREMELY productive on Saturday. He mowed and raked the yard, finished putting pavers around our front flower bed, planted a garden, scraped the cow lots, and got everything outside ready for Sunday.

Saturday night we went out with April, Andrew, Nicole and Molly. We had a really good time and I actually stayed awake late enough to close the place down! Trever claims it's the latest he's ever seen me awake!

Sunday morning we slept in a little bit since the cows and the dog were all quiet. (The dog was quiet because he was at the neighbor's). We did some last minute picking up and preparation before church. When we got home from church we finished everything up and waited for our guests to arrive. We hosted 14 of our relatives for Mother's Day. We grilled out and enjoyed each other's company...even though a few of them thought they were going to blow away.

Once everyone left Trever, Rally and I enjoyed the weather outside for a while. We went in and put away all of my mom's garage sale bargains for the baby and organized the nursery a little bit. We now have the carseat ready to go in the car, and our hopital bags are mostly packed. Just a few more weeks and life will get even more interesting!

Another appointment

I had another appointment last night with the doctor. Once again it was pretty routine. We go back in two weeks. I'm planning on taking Trever with me so hopefully she doesn't cancel our appointment! At that appointment I will have a Group B Strep Test and they will check my cervix (sorry if this is too much information for you!). After that I will be going back every week until the baby decides to come.



The doctor also informed me that even though I have 6 weeks until my due date, I only have 3 weeks until I'm considered at term. That means that if I go in to labor after the 28th of May they will let me go and won't try to stop me from having the baby! I know that Mike V. picked a date in May for his guess in the baby betting last weekend at the shower. That might be pushing it a little bit.



The doctor also mentioned that she starts her next round of deliveries with a scheduled C-Section on May 26th. And apparently she delivers babies she camps out in the labor and delivery department. She mentioned that she will typically go about 3 weeks and not deliver a baby. But once she gets started she gets it all taken care of in a short amount of time. So, she expects us to go early just because that seems to be how it works for her timing.

Besides that, things have been going well. The baby is definately running out of room and has found a nice comfy spot to stick her foot near my rib cage. This afternoon she kicked me so hard that my enitre body literally moved in my chair. Normal activities are getting to be a little more difficult as I noticed last night when I tried to turn to look behind me as I backed my car in to the driveway and getting out of bed to pee 3+ times a night has become a bit of a chore. But overall I have been extremely lucky to have a fairly easy and uneventful pregnancy.

Showering with friends!

On Saturday we celebrated the upcoming arrival of Baby K with some of our good friends and family. Our good friends Amy and Ryan opened up there new home to us and, with the help of Josh, Maggie, Owen, Marla, John & Jeremiah, threw us a great shower! We are extremely grateful for all of the great gifts that we received, but we are even more thankful for our friends and family who are looking forward to our baby's arrival almost as much as we are!

This wasn't your typical baby shower. The only games we played required gambling and no one had to sit through hours of unwrapping presents. Bets were placed on what Baby Kuipers would weigh and measure as well as when and what time she would make her appearance. I'm sure if anyone else wants in on the bet they could just talk to Amy! The hosts also suggested the idea of a display shower. Instead of wrapping up the gifts, guests could simply display them in a way where everyone could see them. This way the boys in attendance didn't have to ooooo and ahhh and say "oh, that's cute" when they really didn't mean it! :) Plus, everyone could see what everyone else gave at their pleasure! It really was a great idea!


Here are some pictures from the party!


One of the most unique gifts was a book from the Bruckers called Hello, Cupcake! She gave it to us so that I could be that over achieving mother that sends extra special birthday treats to school! Kate is also making us a quilt that you can kind of see hanging over my arm.

Here is a shot of all of the loot that we took home with us! We have a carseat so we can bring the kid home from the hospital, a pack 'n play so she has a place to sleep, a baby monitor so that we can leave her unattended for long periods of time, a few clothes so she doesn't have to go naked and LOTS of burp rags so that we don't ruin any of our clothes!

We also had some wonderful cake! It came from Janet's Cakes in Bloomington and is absolutely amazing! We have one more piece saved for dessert tomorrow night!

Thank you to everyone who came and showered with us! Only a few more weeks and baby will make 3!