Gabriel James Van Hemert

We're so happy that our sweet little Gabe has finally arrived. He was born February 17th at 11:23 pm. He weighs 7 pounds 6 ounces, is 20 inches long, and is so very special. John has a photo site that we will probably update more often than our blog...much faster. Check out our bundle of joy: http://picasaweb.google.com/vh.john/GabrielJames#

Almost Semi-Professional Pregnancy Photos....sort of

So we hung up a black sheet and took some pictures. Countin' the days!!!

Christmas with The Lambs!!

We had a wonderful Christmas with my parents and brother and were spoiled rotten as usual. We received lots and lots of toys and treasures for Gabe. We are really, really looking forward to taking Gabe out for walks in the AMAZING jogging stroller we got from my parents. It's heavy duty for sure!!! Check out the photo of Gabe's adorable robe...another highlight! It was a great Christmas and will be even better next year when Gabe's around! He'll be here sooooon!

Baby Gaby!

This weekend we did a 3D/4D ultrasound and had a blast...despite Gabe being uncooperative. When we first began, he decided that he needed to hold both his hands AND his feet over his face. Eventually, he moved his feet but preferred to keep his hands right over his cute little face. We got a few good shots and were even able to see him yawn, which was so stinkin’ cute. His measurements were perfect…to the day! We can’t wait to see him in real life!! And there are NO doubts about his gender! There are some photos to prove it, but I thought you could just trust me. Hehe.

We got LOTS of shots like these. He just didn't want to move those hands. He's got the cutest little lips and nose!!
Finally a shot of his face.

And another one. He looks so comfortable in there.

I just had to post his profile. It's the cutest profile I've ever seen!

And we ended the ultrasound with him covering his face once again. Oh Gabe.

29 weeks

Time sure is flying by. Gabriel's wind chime just had to make an appearance. It's so darn sweet. Gabe is moving around all the time. We can now see his body parts protruding from my belly…creepy but really, really wonderful and exciting! We took a childbirth course this weekend and really learned a lot…especially John. I think he thought my water would break, we would drive to the hospital, and Gabe would make his debut right away. He sure would have been in for a surprise. Hehe.

Christmas in Valley Junction

Last Thursday, Debby, Matt, Mattie, Craig, and I visited Valley Junction for the Christmas Open House. We had a blast and were very impressed by the festivities my mom had planned. Mattie got to sit on Santa's lap and we were all able to ride in a horse-drawn carriage. We painted bricks for the Christmas gingerbread house. As you can see, I painted Baby Gaby’s name on my brick. I think my favorite picture is of Debby with the life-sized old lady doll. What a riot!

Ralphie the Wonder Dog

It only took Ralphie about 2 minutes to master the treadmill. Isn't he cute??

My Boys

Could they be any cuter? I just don't think so. As far as dog-owner behavior goes, I don't think the Dog Whisperer would consider this to be submissive behavior...at least not on Ralphie's part.

Weekend in the Wilderness

We had a great weekend with the Van Hemerts in a beautiful cabin (called The Grand View, a very suitable name) in northeast Iowa. It was very chilly outside but we stayed warm in our little cabin with an ever roaring fire. We played fun games and ate way too much food. It somehow made me even MORE excited for Christmas!

Fun Photos

Here are a few funny pictures of John discovering that a ladybug had landed right in the middle of his face! Also, a recent photo of Gabe and me at 25 weeks.

23 weeks

Twenty three weeks and so excited!

Baby Gabriel

Here is a photo of Baby Gabe from the ultrasound a few weeks ago. Turns out, we don't have access to a scanner. I took a photgraph of his ultrasound print so it's kind of poor quality. I may be partial, but I think he's pretty stinkin' cute.