Overdue update - part 2

Since we got back from Denver, it's been a whirlwind of activity for both of us. We'll start with the home renovation project.....

We started the bathroom project back in June and possibly bit off more than we could chew. It's coming along and we're finally getting to the stages of having it look completed and not just a messy work zone. The tiling actually went in this evening so we have a floor! All we need to do is tile the walls around the tub, paint and install the appliances and fixtures. We've definitely made a lot of progress. This is a good thing considering the fact that the nursery is packed full of construction materials and we haven't even started setting up baby furniture.

Here is Brina, being a good construction dog.

Also here is a picture of what the floor looks like! Still messy and needs to be grouted and cleaned...but here's what it looks like!

Hopefully final pictures of the bathroom and nursery will be coming in the next few weeks!

Brian is busy in school. Brian is very busy in school. Any spare time is now dedicated to finishing the bathroom as well so life has been a bit crazy for him. It will definitely be a relief for him when he can focus more attention back in lab again.

I'm finishing up a summer class right now and continuing work at church. It will be a relief for me when this class is over and I can focus more attention on preparing for baby. We've been attending childbirth classes at Johns Hopkins (where we will deliver) and that has been really informative for both of us. We got a tour last week of the labor and delivery department and got to see the nursery with the cute tiny babies. That was definitely a highlight....knowing that we'll have one of those soon! I hit 32 weeks today which is a big and important landmark. If I go into labor now and deliver baby now, he'll be small but will be more or less fully developed. So now we just wait and see how long he decides to stay in there! Hopefully until the bathroom is done. I've started having lots of braxton hicks contractions. I'll take that as a good sign that my body is starting to prep for arrival day. Hard to believe we're getting this close! I don't have any up to date prego shots but this one is from 29 weeks so it'll give you an idea. Sorry I have such a sour look on my face in this picture. I'm bigger now...but not much. I'm waiting to "pop" but it hasn't happened quite yet. I was shopping in Old Navy in the maternity section the other day and the sales attendant walked up and said "excuse me..you know you're in the maternity section right??" I just nodded my head yes, not sure how to respond. I guess it's better that than people thinking I'm 40 weeks when I still have 8 left to go.

So there's a brief update from the Roelofs household. We're heading to the beach this weekend with our Bible study for a retreat. We rented a beach house and we're getting our year going with some fun in the sun! Will continue to post as more starts to happen!

Overdue update- Part 1

Hi everyone

I know it's been ages since we last posted....so probably nobody is even bothering to read anymore...but here's to getting readers again before baby arrives!

First to fill you in on the goings on in the last few months. We took our second major vacation of the summer and went to Denver for a week in the beginning of August. We spent the majority of our time up in the mountains with the family. Having niece Makenna (2 1/2) and nephew Levi (5 months) around all the time was good practice and gave us a good idea of what is in store for us in the next few years! We relaxed, did some hiking, biking, saw a musical, Brian went fishing, played games and overall had an awesome time. Thanks to the Denver family for an awesome vacation!

Then we came down from the mountains in time for a weekend of showers and fun! Sister Emily, cousin Rachel and bff Lindsay threw a wonderful baby shower on Saturday. I was literally "showered" with amazing gifts, and wonderful words of wisdom about parenting and being a mother. Thank you so much guys for all the hard work! Thanks also to everyone who came for the wonderful gifts! I can't wait to start posting pictures on the blog of baby wearing all his cute new things! Then Sunday came and there was another shower from my Denver family! It was so wonderful to see everyone; even got to see Tazelaars who live in Arizona who we never get to see! I love getting together with everyone. It reminds me a lot of family get togethers up in the mountains when we were little kids. Again, we got lots of wonderful gifts that we can't wait to use! Brian and I each brought an extra suitcase along and we filled all 4 of them to the brim to get everything back to Maryland. Thank you so much everyone for everything! What a wonderful vacation!

Third Trimester- Baby Crash Testing Begins!

Hi all- I'm posting first then will hand the computer off to Brian to post as well.

We are officially in the 3rd trimester!!!! Time has gone sooo quickly and it's hard to believe we've come this far and have so little time left to get ready! In some ways I feel like we just found out I was pregnant. In others, I'm ready to be done and ready to meet baby _____. (insert boy name here)

I have been avoiding looking at baby stuff for the past few months partly out of fear and partly because we just didn't have time but I managed to go to Babies R Us the other day and at least start a registry. If registering for a wedding is stressful, registering for a baby is 100 times worse. Not only are you trying to pick out things that look nice, but you have to factor in safety, durability, etc. The list they give you of everything you'll need for a baby combined with the sheer volume of product available made for a short and stressful trip. I've since learned that registering online is the way to go. I have a few books (given to me by a friend from church) with Consumer Reports guides to baby stuff and all the products with the highest ratings and those have been really helpful. So we're more or less registered but still need to add a few more things.

Over to Brian for more from the Roelofs family.........

Hello All,

Since I'm not able to actively participate in the growing of the baby - let's face it... hunter-gathering to provide for the pregnant wife just isn't what it used to be, and in our current family situation I wouldn't even deserve the title of hunter-gatherer, I've decided to prepare for our baby in another manner - crash testing. We've got a perfectly suitable baby model in Brina as I don't think we'll still be using the basinet or the stroller when the baby is 55 pounds, so anything that can hold her should be a-okay for him. This idea led to the particularly perturbed and annoyed look on Brina's face last weekend when I managed to get her in position to test the basinet with her red bone (in case our baby has a toy in there with him).

The basinet held up GREAT. Thus, one item has been cleared to go and the bedding is in the process of being cleaned (in case any mothers - grandmothers I guess - were upset about this practice). I hope Brina keeps being a good sport as we've got a stroller to test, two pack and plays and probably a crib coming soon too and I intend to fulfill my role as crash test coordinator.

I've spent all of my other time lately crawling around in the attic and pretending to be a handyman rebuilding our bathroom. We couldn't let well enough alone and just leave our bathroom expansion at just an expansion. We decided to gut the old portion and put in new tile, a new vanity, an exhaust fan and paint. So far, I've just demolished the old stuff and have just about finished the wiring of the exhaust fan and the light fixture in the expanded area, and put those two fixtures in. We've also got the drywall/greenboard to go up, so I hope to have that done by the end of this week - I'm going to post some pictures soon but I have none right now. If anyone feels like making a visit to do a little construction, we have an open invitation - I've got to get this done by October!

Well I hope you're all keeping well and that concludes my portion of the post. More to come on the crash testing and the bathroom building as it proceeds...

Update 2 of 2

Post #2!!

While I was away at Synod, Brian and friends from church started a home renovation project in our upstairs bathroom. For those of you who haven't seen our bathroom, it's barely big enough for Brian and I to stand in it together. So they knocked out a wall and we're expanding the bathroom to almost double the size. It'll be sooo nice to have some extra space! We took out a small section of the soon to be nursery, but there will still be plenty of room for baby. After the addition was built, we kind of decided "why not just re-do the entire bathroom??" So....all the tile came up, the drywall came out and we are in the middle of a complete bathroom renovation. Right now we currently have no sink, no toilet and no walls.

This past week we went on vacation with the Roelofs (Mom, Dad, Chris and Anne). We went down to the New Jersey shore to a beach town called Wildwood. We were in a beautiful house right on the boardwalk and less than a block from the beach. We were at the beach every single day and had plenty of downtime to relax, read and recover. We went to a wonderful nature preserve on Cape Ann and saw lots of interesting birds. We ate well (probably too well :) ), played lots of games and came back refreshed and ready for work again. It was great to hang out with everyone since we don't get to spend much time together. Thanks to Mom and Dad Roelofs for the much needed vacation! We had a great time!

We'll try and do a better job keeping the blog updated. Please pray for Brian, the other leader, Justin, and the 6 high schoolers who will be going to London, Ontario next week for our church's SERVE project. Pray for safe travels and a wonderful time of work and spiritual growth.

Have a great week everyone!

Update 1 of 2

Hi everyone

Sorry it's been so long since our last post! We've been super busy lately with lots going on and just haven't had time to sit down and post. So....since we have a lot to fill you in on, here is post 1 of 2.

Right after our last post, my parents came to Maryland for a few days. Just like Lyle and Laurie (Brian's parents), they worked really hard getting things done in our house. I'm realizing that our parents have far more energy than either of us do. It's quite impressive. Thanks to both sets of parents for all the work!!

Taking a break from work to play some Wii. I'm going for the knock out against Mom in Wii boxing and Dad is looking on enjoying the show.Mom and Dad rocking out in Guitar Hero

Anyway, after working for a few days, we took off for the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We stayed in an awesome bed and breakfast, ate great food and had a fun time together.

We rented bikes and biked around the town of Rock Hall.

After my parents left, I had a few days to get to work before leaving for the Christian Reformed Church's annual meeting of Synod, held in Palos Heights, IL. For all of you in the CRC, look for my picture as the "youngest delgate" in the July issue of the Banner (http://www.thebanner.org/). I also wrote an article with some thoughts about Synod that will be published in that issue. It was an amazing experience to attend and see the inner workings of the denomination. It made me realize how much I love this church and will hopefully serve it faithfully as long as I can. Some highlights- being seated on the floor of Synod and realizing how much of a "minority" I was: 25, asian, female and pregnant. I got to catch up with lots of friends and family both at Synod and on a short trip to Grand Rapids on our day off. It was definitely a nice to not catch the dreaded norovirus that plagued almost 70 of the 180 delegates. I don't know how I managed to stay healthy but counted my blessings. Would have been even better if I didn't get sick right when I got home......

Finally- I'll post a bit on Baby Boaz (as he's been so fondly named by our friends at church). He was in a strange position in the first sonogram so they didn't get to see everything they wanted to. We went back in again a week later to see if he would cooperate. They told us everything looks great and he looks healthy and is growing well!! What a blessing!

We also asked the tech to check one more time to make sure it was a boy. She did check and very kindly labeled this picture so everyone can clearly see that yes....he is a boy. Brian and I kind of laugh because when she pointed out his "boyness" we thought it was his leg....oops. We are happy to report that all is going well. He kicks like a champ and is growing every single day. He is growing...and that of course means I am too! Here is my 23 week shot. Over half way there!

It's a .........BOY

Hi everyone
Quick post letting you all know that we're having a boy!!! We went to the doctor this morning for a checkup and also for the 20 week ultrasound. Everything looks great so far and the tech was sure it was a boy! They didn't get views of everything they wanted to see because the boy was up against his back and they couldn't get him to move so we're going back next week for another ultrasound. It was amazing to see HIM moving around and see how much he's grown since we last saw him! We'll let you give your opinion when we post the ultrasound pics later this week but we both think he has my nose :)

So now we need help from you all with coming up with boy names! I was convinced it was a girl....and we had several good ideas for girl names but nothing for a boy. So leave suggestions if you have any!

More to come later from the Roelofs family (Brian, Katie, Brina, Boy)

Memorial Day Weekend

Hi all-

Giving you an update on baby's "first memorial day weekend." We've had a really busy last few weeks and a super busy weekend but we're finally getting around to posting!

We are slowly starting to accumulate stuff for baby. Last week I received an AMAZING present from one of my best friends, Kim. She got me into long distance running and has always been a great source of encouragement. This is the BOB Ironman jogger she got me!! The picture doesn't do this thing justice....it is amazing. I am so tempted to put a 15 pound weight in it, or put Brina in it and go for a run because I want to try it out!

Brian's parents were in town over Memorial Day weekend. I feel guilty because their "vacation" turned into a weekend of working around the clock doing home improvements in our house. They arrived on Saturday afternoon while I was at work and by the time I got home they were already busy working in the garden and painting our guest room and nursery! Here are some "before" and "after" pictures of the new nursery! The "before" shot is the room with primer and tape. And the "after" shot is the final product! Baby has a room! By the way....the room was not painted blue because we know baby is a boy....we chose a very light blue thinking it would work well for a boy or girl depending on how we decorate!

We also got lots of other work done around the house, like fixing an outlet, fixing our awful squeaky door, yard work, etc. Thanks to Mom and Dad Roelofs for all their help!

Baby kind of ran his/her first race this weekend as well! 2 years ago, Lyle, Brian and I ran a Memorial Day 5k and Lyle and I decided to do it again this year. 2 years I ago I won my age group in this race.....definitely did not happen this year being 4 months pregnant!! But it was still fun to run in a race again. Being pregnant is lots of fun...but I'm looking forward to running like a real person again.

That's about all from us for now. We're back into a busy work week and looking forward to the Ritsema parents coming next week! We also find out if baby is a boy or girl on Monday so we'll be sure to post then! Thanks for reading!