We have a niece!

After a long labor, we are very excited to have a new addition to our family. My brother and sister-in-law welcomed their new little girl this evening - Kara Morgan. She weighed 6 lbs. 5 oz., the exact same as Hannah! Mom and baby are doing great. We are thrilled to finally have her here (and know her name!).


Proud Daddy


Look at those eyes!


Another girl who has him wrapped around her finger.


We wish all of God's blessings on you, sweet baby.

Happy Mother's Day

I'm still getting used to the idea that I actually get honored on this special day. Yes, I realize that I'm a mom, but I'm so used to thinking about my own mom and Jason's mom that it's still seems strange that I actually get to partake in the tradition now as well.

Jason and Hannah actually gave me my "gift" on Friday. Hannah got to go to Jason's parents' house for the weekend, so I had Friday all to myself while Jason worked. I enjoyed a nice, long walk with my friend Sara and her precious baby Jake. Afterward, I headed to the mall where I treated myself to a few new things for the summer and lunch. Jason then surprised me with dinner reservations at a restaurant in Grand Haven right on the beach where we enjoyed the sunset, good food, and great conversation. Before turning in for the night, we stopped for a drink and dessert while listening to a fun cover band. It really was the perfect Mother's Day present.

Since our moms both live on the other side of the state, sharing the day is pretty tough, so we spent this year with Jason's mom and family. We went over to Owosso Saturday afternoon and enjoyed spending time catching up with his parents. Sunday morning, we all went to church where we met up with Jason's grandparents, aunt, cousin, and her daughter. After church, we went out for brunch and then back to his grandparents' house to visit. It was a jam-packed day but nice to see everybody and especially spend time with his mom and grandma.


4 generations


Hannah with the men (minus Jason's dad - where was he???)


Once we were home, I finally managed to get a picture of Hannah with me!

Happy belated Mother's Day to all of you mom's, especially my mom who I wasn't able to see. I can understand so much better now how much my mom loves me and how much she's done and sacrificed for me. My mom truly is a blessing to me. I couldn't be the mom that I am without having had such a wonderful example to follow. I know I don't say it nearly enough, but now I really know how good it feels to hear it from your child - I love you, Mom!

Girls-Only Day

Hannah and I got to spend a girls-only day together today, as Jason was up north with his dad. We took full advantage of not having Daddy around to do some fun mother-daughter things.



We started out the day teaching Hannah how to bargain hunt by hitting up a bunch of garage sales. We found a few things, but not as much as I had hoped. We did come away with a practically new pair of Keds for $1!



After her afternoon nap, we headed to the park for some swinging, sliding, and stick-finding.

We then picked up a ham and pineapple pizza for dinner -pizza that we never get b/c Daddy doesn't like it. We thoroughly enjoyed it! I'm hoping that one day Hannah's vote will overrule Daddy on the pizza toppings :-)

Then, as a an extra special treat, we finished up with chocolate ice cream for dessert. Even though we ate it in a bowl, Hannah still isn't convinced a spoon is necessary. Hopefully someday she'll catch on to manners!

Of ourse, all of that stickiness called for a bath, where Hannah practiced her new swimming skills by splashing nearly all of the water out of the tub. All of the day's activities must have worn Hannah right out b/c she fell almost immediately to sleep. Ahh...

Welcome baby Jacob!

As I mentioned in a previous post, our good friends Brian and Sara welcomed baby Jacob Maxwell into their family last weekend. Last night, our small group (consisting of Eric, Jill, and Claire and us) took over a pizza, so we had the opportunity to meet him for the first time. (Hannah's had a runny nose the past week, so as not to expose the baby, Jason stayed home with Hannah, but I'm sure she'll be meeting her potential boyfriend soon :-)

What a sweet little guy! He weighed 6 lbs. 4 oz. and 19" long when he was born, almost the exact same size as Hannah. Holding him made me realize just how quickly time really does fly. It seems like just yesterday I was holding Hannah in my arms, and now she's a toddler on the move!

We are so excited for this new family and pray for all of God's blessings to be on them in the years to come. Congratulations again Boven family!

Little Fish

With summer quickly approaching, we thought it would be a good idea to enroll Hannah in a swimming class to get her acclimated to the water. However, for kids her age, it's not only a baby swim class, but a parent class as well. Since Jason will have class on Tuesday nights starting next week, I got to be the one to go in with her.

Oh my goodness, this little girl loves the water! We literally were holding her back before going in. Once we got to the edge, she immediately started kicking and splashing.


Hannah's teacher is Miss Katie. There are only 3 other babies/toddlers in her class, so we got lots of personal attention.


We sang some fun songs and did some neat things, like blowing bubbles, floating on our back, and even going under water!


I think she's definitely excited to go back next week!

Babies!

We've been on baby watch for my sister-in-law Courtney, and friends Sara and Jennifer since they were all due in the beginning of May. However, we were surprised to learn that our friends Aubrey and Brian had their little boy first. Little Trevor Scott was due in the middle of June but God had other plans, and he came a little earlier than expected. I'm very happy to say that Mom and Baby are doing very well. In fact, Aubrey's baby shower was on Sunday, and she was feeling good enough to attend. She looked fantastic! Trevor is still in the hospital, but he's a real trooper. In fact, he's doing so well that they're hoping to bring him home very soon. Congratulations Dean family!!

Guys Night Foiled

A couple of weeks ago, I went out for a girls night with my friends Jill and Sara. Sara was expecting their first baby at the beginning of May, so we decided a night out before baby comes was in order. Since 2 of the 3 husbands did babysitting duty that night, they lined up a guys' night out for last Saturday. As it turned out, guys' night out was cancelled when Sara started having contractions and thought that her husband being out in a boat would not be the best idea.

Not wanting such a beautiful evening to go to waste, Jason and Eric devised plan B, which included all of us meeting up over in East Grand Rapids where the guys went out for a boat ride...




...while Jill and I relaxed in the park with the girls.


Afterward, we went back to Meulenberg's house. After all of the activity of the day, Hannah was more than ready to get to sleep in their pack-n-play. Once the girls were down for the night, we had some delicious bbq chicken pizza (and of course a pepperoni pizza, too!), drinks, and adult conversation. A perfect end to a great day!

(By the way, it was a good thing Brian skipped out on guys' night. Sara and Brian welcomed little Jacob Maxwell into the world early Saturday morning. Congratulations!!!)