Happy Birthday Mommy!

we made you a yummy cake...

Sweet Tooth

Evan LOVES to get things out of the refrigerator...his favorite is the whipped cream but lately he's liking the maple syrup and even apple juice.

Evan's thoughts about turning 8 months old

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary Ken & Donna!

We all had a great time in the Smokies celebrating Ken & Donna's 40th wedding anniversary. Jon, Heather and Stephen joined us as well but we didn't attempt another photo after this one :-)

the views

enjoyin' the ride

Evan took Anna for a ride!

our happy boy

our joy

Sweet Anna

check out http://kesslerkido.blogspot.com/ for more great pics! ... including the bear we saw

Meet Mia!

Our dear friends Graham & Elizabeth had a baby girl on October 5th . We went to meet their little bundle of joy and how sweet she is!

Dog Gone Cute

out to eat

the views from our balcony

fun times!

sand in my toes

at the beach!

crab chasing

what Evan had to say about the beach

can I go to the beach like this?

7 months old!!

My First Car

Happy Guy

Birthday Fun

I had lots of fun at my cousin Anna's birthday party even though I was so tired. But I have to admit I had even more fun with the party favors when I got home (and after my long-awaited nap)!

Mommy remembered how much my friend Chloe loves the party blowers so she couldn't wait to see if I did too--check out the video to see how much I did!

Nemaw's 'lil Yankee fan

6 months old!!

Last Wednesday Evan turned 6 months old! Today he went for his 6 month appt and all is well! He is still in the 97% for height, measuring 28 3/4 inches but slowed down a little with his weight, weighing in at 19lbs 11oz (must be all the exercise he's getting in his walker!) He had his first fruits this weekend and loved 'em and he loves his high chair too, as you can see in the pic :-)

Play Date

Labor Day Weekend

what can I do today?

pray first

exercise next

gotta go potty!

playing, sitting and walking

is this really gonna help me sit up?

Like my 'do?

Tummy Time

another Happy Couple

The Happy Couple

The Beautiful Bride

The Cake

Cute Cousins

Yummy Toes

Swing Time

Mommy said she can feel my tooth poking out of my gum...















that explains all this drool and why I'm not feeling so hot :-(

4 month appt.

Evan went for his 4 month appt today...he took his shots like a champ and is in the 97th percentile for height and weight--27 3/4 inches and 17lbs 11oz
(you can see above how well he was doing Monday pm)

Friends in Town

Our friends Brian, Noelle & Everett are in town from California. Evan & Everett enjoyed meeting each other but Everett wasn't so sure about Mommy holding Evan :-)

4 months old!

Farewell to our Grandparents

Michael and I both lost the last of our Grandparents this year. My Grandpa Jim passed just a few days after Evan was born and although he didn't get to meet his great grandson, he did get to hear about him. Michael's grandmother was able to see Evan some over the last four months but went to be with the Lord on Friday--we miss her already.

4th of July

Granpa Scott

found his toes

Go Braves!

Daddy strikes again

Happy Father's Day!

Evan's dedication

Family here from VA

Teething!?

Evan's been a little fussy the last few weeks in the evenings but it's gotten bad this week--during the day and night. He slept a lot over the weekend and I read that means he's getting ready to develop somehow--we figured another growth spurt. Monday night he was rolling over halfway alot (he's done it a few times before) so we wondered if that was his "development". Well after a rough day of him crying and refusing to eat and sleep yesterday, I decided to get on google and saw that he has all the symptoms for teething! He started drooling a few weeks ago, not sleeping well, fussy and chewing on his hands more, as well as mommy & daddy's shoulders (which I misred as being hunger). His development can be seen clearly here on my shoulder :-) Normally teeth don't come in until 4-7 months but sure enough we see a little white spot on his bottom gum where one is starting to peek through!

3 months old

Our Little Man

Look what Daddy did to my hair!

Congratulations Sean!

Here's Evan celebrating his step uncle Sean's graduation from high school

Evan's buddy

So, Evan does have some friends that are taller than he is :-)

Shake that rattle!

I was shaking this rattle in front of Evan and he snatched it right out of my hand and started shaking it himself!

All dressed up for church

Reading Time

Evan enjoyed his book I read to him today about Noah's Ark...his favorite animal was the zebra :-)

Evan & Anna

Evan finally got to spend some quality time with his cousin Anna, and while she's 6 months older than him, you'd never know looking at them side by side...see for yourself.

Daddy Time

sleeping through the night?

at his 2mth appt on Monday the dr. said to expect Evan to start sleeping through the night soon but I didn't get my hopes up as he's been consistent with his night routine and it was far from sleeping through the night--so my hopes were for him to do so around 3 mths...well all of a sudden he did it! Mon pm he slept for 4.5 hrs (which he's only done a few times since birth), Tues pm he slept 5.5 hrs and last night...almost 7 hrs!!

SOOO big

Evan went for his 2 mth check up today and they said he's perfect...which his parents already knew ;-) And we also knew he'd grown a lot since birth but we were still surprised to learn that he is 13.5 lbs (almost double his birth weight) putting him in the 90th percentile for weight and has grown 4.5 inches since birth putting him at 25 inches, which is 97th percentile for height! He grew out of his newborn clothes fairly fast and his 0-3 month even faster! His 3-6 mth clothes are a little big on him (see above) but I'm sure in a week or so that won't be the case...

Mother's Day

Of course I couldn't resist putting this onesie on him for Mother's Day :-) I wasn't sure it would fit as it's for a 6mth old, but we've got a big boy! Lots to Love!!

he smiles....he talks

me & Mommy

The Happy Family

what do you mean mom's not here?!

WHO'S GONNA FEED ME?!

Brendan came to see me from Virginia!

Like Father, Like Son

So I come upstairs the other night and look at what I saw...too funny!

Growing Fast!

Look at the post from 4-4-09 and see how much I've grown in 3 weeks!

Evan loves his Grandparents!

Lookin' Good

Mommy's sweet friend Elizabeth got me this super cute polo outfit--thanks!

Our First Walk

Due to the pollen we haven't been able to take him out during the day so we took a walk at dusk--he really enjoyed it!

ONE MONTH OLD!

Tryin' out his seat

Lovin' his swing

Crazy hair!

Bath Time!

Such a sweet face

2 weeks old!

Evan had his 2 week appt Monday and all is well! He's already grown an inch and a half...which puts him in the 90th percentile for height. Looks like he's going to take after his uncles on Daddy's side and cousins on Mommy's side!

Look at all that hair!

Sweet baby!

We're in love

Quiet time with Daddy

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Evan Michael Kessler

On March 16 at 8:04p Evan Michael Kessler arrived weighing 7 lbs 6oz and 20 1/2 inches long

Showered with Love

I was blessed to have another shower given by the ladies from my church. I was showered with not only gifts but prayer as well--the best gift! And I'm so glad my mom was able to come for both showers :-)

Our Growing Family

In between my showers a very wonderful thing happened...Michael's brother Jonathan and his girlfriend Heather got engaged!! How exciting... and how quickly our family is growing! Here she is at my shower getting ready to share the details of Jon's sweet proposal :-)

Diaper Decor

How creative AND useful! Joan Stone's daughter made this beautiful diaper cake for one shower and my sweet sister-in-law in Virginia sent the diaper wreath with my mom for the other--too cute!

One month to grow!

Okay so I went from not even looking pregnant to 4 random people in two days saying things like "do you need a doctor?" to "you look like you're ready." I'm still not that big but I still have a month to grow! I have a dr appt tomorrow so we'll see how much I've gained after my week of baby showers--which I of course enjoyed all the yummy food...maybe too much?!

Family Time

We went over to my dad's to visit with my Aunt Stacey who was in town from Missouri--always great to see her! She said I look like I swallowed a bowling ball :-)

Baby Shower

My dear, sweet friends Casey and Elizabeth hosted a shower for me at my house. It was great to have friends and family here to celebrate this special time. We were so blessed with all the gifts for our son as well as prayers & blessings and words of wisdom.

the nursery

Anna's Dedication

Today we dedicated Anna to the Lord... and how sweet it was. She is such a blessing to our family--the joy and reality of it literally brought tears to my eyes.

Along with Bryan & Angie, Drew & Bethany dedicated their sweet girl Chloe, and Brian & Tanya dedicated their sweet girl, Hannah Grace.

2 months to go!

So I'm 30 weeks now and measuring right on--everything is great with mom and baby. This has been such a blessed pregnancy...thank you Lord. I think I'm officially nesting now as the reality of how close his arrival has hit--since last weekend we registered and pretty much got the nursery together. We can't wait to meet our son!

UGA Bowl Game

We had a great time on New Years Day watching the bowl game with Doug, Annette & Emily and Brian, Noelle & Everett. Here's the proud papas and their 'lil UGA fans!

Friends in town

Michael's good friend Brian was in town with his wife Noelle and 'lil baby Everett from California. Michael hadn't seen him in 3 yrs so it was fun catching up--here they are on Brian's birthday.

Michael & Anna

Here's a sweet picture of Michael holding his niece Anna--she's adorable!

6 months and growing

Well, I'm almost into my 3rd trimester and our son is growing every week and still movin' bunches. He's almost 2lbs now and is a little over a foot long. It's been a great pregnancy other than being tired. We've just started to work on the nursery and plan to register this month as well--can't believe 2008 is almost over!

New York by night

Radio City Music Hall

My mom treated us to the Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall. Although it was at least the 4th time I've seen it in my life, it was just as enjoyable as the 1st time I went as a little girl.

Times Square by day

Monday we got up and went back into the city to walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds of the city--

View from Hoboken

Michael was tryin' out my new camera I got for my b'day and took a pic of the view from where we stayed.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sunday we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with my mom and cousin, Richie. We spent most of the day enjoying room, after room after room of art--my fav was the Monet's, Michael enjoyed all the rooms filled with things from ancient Rome.

My Birthday

On Friday, Michael & I flew into VA and had a b'day get together with my brother & his family. Then Saturday we woke up and drove up to Jersey with my mom to spend a few days with her family. Here we are having my b'day dinner at our fav place to eat in Hoboken, Renato's.

5 months pregnant!

Well many of you have been waiting, watching and wanting for me to show and it's finally happening. In the last few weeks I've "pooched" out quite a bit. We had our 20 week appt on Tuesday and I've gained 5lbs in the last month, so about 10lbs for the whole pregnancy!

To know...or not to know

As many of you know, I didn't want to find out the gender of the baby until the day it's born and Michael wanted to know. We prayed a lot about it and decided to wait--but also surrendered it to the Lord. So we told the ultrasound tech we didn't want to know but since she had to look anyways, we agreed to have her put it in a sealed envelope.

Baby is growing and doing great!

It's about 10 inches long and weighs around 10 ounces--still kicking and moving a bunch (which I can even feel sometimes). It even crossed it's little legs at the ankle...so cute. It was actually moving so much that I saw something...

Our early surprise...

I was a bit in shock, as I hadn't expected to see anything nor be able to tell so easily. I didn't say anything...even when the tech had us turn our heads while she looked, I kept quiet. After it was over we were walking out and I asked if he saw anything and he said "No, did you?". We had made an agreement before the appt that if one of us saw something we'd tell the other so I knew I had to...but when was the question. I waited until after dinner and gave him a card with a clue, leading to another clue, and another, until finally he found the envelope...which we opened and confirmed to me what I saw...it's a boy!

Short Getaway....LONG hike

We went minutes from our house to enjoy the afternoon at Red Top. I let Michael pick the trail and a little over 3 hours later we finally made it back!

Michael lovin' on Anna

Me and my new niece!

She was spending some time with me and her little cousin, in my tummy!

Anna's Home!

Bryan, Angie and their beautiful baby girl, Anna Kathryn, came home on 10/8/08!! She was born on 9/22/08 weighed 6lbs 15oz and was 19 in.
We're all in love :-)

Me, Michael...and Baby too!

We're looking forward to bringing our baby back here to enjoy this place as well, but for now we're enjoying little quiet getaways :-)

Sweetwater Creek

Michael and I went to check out a park not too far from our house and it was beautiful.

Our Little Jumpin' Bean!

We went for a sonogram on Tuesday and learned that I am officially 12 1/2 weeks pregnant! Due date is March 17th (Michael's b'day)! Baby is just over 2 inches long and weighs about half an ounce. What started the size of a poppy seed has already grown as big as a lime!

Either we have have an EXTREMELY active child or the tea I drank on the way there woke us both up! Even the lady doing the sonogram couldn't believe how active it was. Bouncing all over the place, kicking it's legs and swinging it's arms around! Donna told me later that Michael was her most active in the womb so maybe the baby is just taking after Daddy!

This one you can even see the baby's eye! We read that the color developed this week so we're wondering....Blue or Brown?!

We're pregnant!