Baby in My Belly :-P

I love feeling this new little baby boy, Keegan, moving around inside my belly :)
He is getting big enough that I can both feel and SEE my belly move when he rolls over or kicks or whatever. :) It just makes me smile.
That is all.

:D

Happy Birthday to Me ;-)

Today is my birthday! And I'm all grown up, the big 2-1. The one where most people go out and enjoy there first real drink, but alas, here I find myself pregnant and unable to partake in such activities. (I mean, not that I would anyway because I attend a christian university where that is highly frowned upon...) ;-)
But I am seriously looking forward to next Saturday when Ryan can take me out for my first Strawberry Daiquiri, (virgin of course, I have to look out for little Keegan!).

This last weekend we went to Lansing to my family get together. There was a pretty good turn out at the park and it was really nice to see everyone.
Hunter had fun at his first playground experience! I am really looking forward to taking him again soon! He LOVED the slide and the swing set! :D I wish that he was walking around so that I could have let him play more on his own, but that will come soon enough.

After the park we visited my dad. It has been about a month or so since i've seen him last so that was really nice to see him too. I will admit, one of the best parts was getting my birthday present, $100 to cover the cost of my license and plate renewal! It came at a great time because we just had to buy Hunter's new carseat, and we all know that isn't cheap! So not having to worry about the extra cost of my plate renewal was definitely a blessing! (Thanks dad!)

A ton has happened the last 21 years. I am very thankful for all of the great things God has blessed me with over the years, most recently a wonderful and caring husband and a beautiful little boy who always makes me smile :D I am also very thankful for all of the wonderful people who have crossed my path and who have become great friends (you know who you are ;) )
I promise I wont get too sentimental here, I wanted to take a minute to express my gratitude to all my friends and family who have always been there for me with support and love. Thanks guys!

Now here is what you have all really been waiting for... Pictures of Hunter enjoying his time at the park :D and like always, check out the link for more photo fun!

Cute father son picture :)

Hunter enjoyed bouncing on the bridge

and he absolutely loved the slide!

aww, my growing belly!

Having SOOO much fun swinging!

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020839&l=2cb83&id=178200794
for more photos!

Presidential Debate

FRUSTRATING! This is the only word that can describe this debate. The key issue in tonight's debate is the financial crisis. We are in the worse economic situation since the great depression in 1929. Obama made a reference, which has almost become a catch phrase for him, "from wall street to main street." By this he means that he is going to help the working man in middle class USA, and that he is going to stop putting the stock market above common citizens. What is ironic about this though, is that when asked about the financial crisis, NEITHER candidate stated how it will affect their presidency. All these two can focus on is how the other [candidate] is against key issues that they feel the American people care most about. I wish that politicians would forget about defaming each other and focus on the public. Here are a couple of key points about the financial situation and why this "bail-out" plan is infuriating and about politicians. We the people are paying a lot of money to "bail out" lenders and banks because they had irresponsible lending practices. So, you and I are bailing out these companies so the financial market can stay afloat and our country's financial infrastructure doesn't collapse. Okay I can see that. But when I overdrew my bank account by just a few dollars, I was charged $36 per item that cleared while my account was in the negative, whether it was my fault or not. My bank wouldn't bail me out when I was in a financial crisis? Why should I bail them out? I love having decisions made for me by people who don't struggle financially. I don't struggle any more, but I did at one point. My next point about politicians. I LOVE how they defame each other. If I said some of those negative, untruthful things about the person next to me, I would have a civil suit against me for defamation of character, but out presidential nominees can do it? Both candidates are doing fairly well, but the best person in this debate is the moderator, Jim Leher from PBS. He is a hard hitter and not afraid to read into what the candidates are really saying. I just wanted to vent for a minute and use my freedom of speech. :o) I hope you all have a good night. This is Ryan, by the way. Good night!

Thoughts for the Day

So I don't really have a plan for this post, just some thoughts as this day comes to an end.
It has been a long day with Ryan having to work a double last night then doing his usual shift today. I have started to feel the effects of being 6 months pregnant, I was tired two hours after I woke up today! I kept telling myself that if Ryan can work 16 hours, get 4 hours of sleep and work another 8 hours, I could handle not having a nap today :)

Hunter is getting SO big! He weighs 20 lbs now which is super exciting because we can finally have him facing forward in his car seat! We just went a few days ago and got him a new car seat that will also turn into a booster seat when he is ready for that. Now all we need is a double stroller and we'll be ready for this new little one! And that can wait a while because now that I have a Peapod Baby sling (Thanks Kasey and Kaelyn!) I will be using that for a month or two when we all go out.

School is starting to get busy (which is why i'm online procrastinating ;-) ) but I really enjoy my classes this term. I'm counting down the days until i'm finished with school though. It will be so nice to be able to go to work everyday and know that I am making money for my hard work instead of getting further in debt with student loans!! (Ryan is really excited too, he wants a new GPS unit and a Samsung surround sound. hehe)

This weekend we're taking a trip up to Lansing to spend the day with my family. It's my birthday on Monday and there are a few other fall birthdays in the family, so it's an excuse to get the family together for lunch :) It will be good to see my Aunt and Uncle, they live pretty close to us, but we get so busy that we haven't seen them in a long time. I'm not sure about seeing my sister and her boyfriend after the drama two weeks ago. (some of you know what i'm talking about). But I guess we'll see on Sunday.

Ryan teases me about finally turning 21 and still having to order a virgin drink. :(
oh well. I will enjoy that virgin drink ;)

Back to this new baby coming, I get heartburn ALL the time! (i'm actually getting it again right now) Hunter came out with a ton of hair and I just know Keegan will have even more, if that's even possible!

Well, I guess that is about it for tonight. More will come on Monday (or Tuesday depending on when I have time) about how the weekend went. Hopefully things go well Sunday.

Goodnight everyone!

p.s. I hope you are enjoying the new background :D

Hairspray... or something like that

Hunter has been eating everything we eat, but tonight while I was starting to prepare dinner I could tell that he was just getting really hungry. So, instead of making him wait I just made him a PBJ to go with his peas. I like to let him eat with is hands as much as possible now because he has fun with it, and I can eat while he does (or in this case, make my dinner while he eats).
He thoroughly enjoys peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and was eating the sandwich bites nearly as fast as I could get them on his plate.
So after he finishes eating, I'm still in the process of getting dinner in the oven so he decided to keep himself occupied by running his fingers through his hair, (which are VERY sticky with peanut butter and jelly) and rubbing his head. This created quite the hair-do for my little man!

The Jelly had dried in his hair at this point.

Mom. should I try combing it?

A good attempt, but hasn't quite mastered how to use the comb ;)

Maybe if I just use my hands...

I think this one was after washing his hair with some wipes...

This one was definitely after washing out all the jelly :D
But he still needed his hair combed!

I absolutely LOVE it when he does stuff like this, it is so cute!

Peek-A-Boo!

I'm in the bathroom one day just brushing my teeth, doing my hair, you know the usual. Well Hunter decided that he wanted to play in the bathroom while I got ready. After many times telling him not to pull on the toilet paper and to stay out of the trash (he was after an empty roll of toilet paper) he busied himself with the shower curtain. Before I knew it he was laughing and jabbering at the tub, hiding behind the curtain! It was too cute! I just had to grab the camera. I tried to get video because he was laughing so much, but by the time I grabbed the camcorder he was more interested in what I was doing. hehe.









(you can kinda see hunter behind the curtain in this one)

Hawley Wedding :D

I really enjoy going to weddings, especially knowing that the couple is going to live "happily ever after."
This last weekend a long time friend of Ryan's (they have been friends for about 10 years) was married to a wonderful young lady. (Congrats Dustin and Sarah!)


The wedding was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, the pastor had a great sense of humor and the two little flower girls were absolutely two of the cutest girls I have ever seen! :D

Plus I was able to "sneak" some pictures of my handsome husband in a dashing tux. ;) It was a busy weekend from the start. Ryan got out of work at 3:45 and we left the house at 4:30 to make the 2 1/2 hour trip "up north" to Ryan's home town. He was able to get his hair cut before the wedding rehearsal that started at 7:30. We stayed at the Rehearsal dinner until about 10:00, spent some time
with is dad, and finally made it back his mothers house at 11:00 or so. after getting the baby to bed we stayed up talking to his mom for an hour or so. late night! The next morning we slept in a little bit (8:30am) and Ryan left to go golfing with the guys at 9:00. I was able to enjoy a nice relaxing morning with my mother in law and sister in law. (both of whom I get along with well).
Then it got busy again (for a little while). We had to be at the church for pictures before the wedding at 2:30, and the guys didn't get back from golfing (all 18 holes) until 2:15. I was very impressed that Ryan was able to eat lunch, shower, get dressed and get to the church all in about 35 minutes! (We ended up being the first ones there, as far as the other groomsmen who were out golfing with him).
The rest of the evening was wonderful and relaxing! I was able to sit back and enjoy the wedding while grandma (Ryan's mom) watched Hunter. that was really nice! It has been a while since Ryan and I have been able to have more than an hour together without the baby.
There was a live band at the reception, and the food was amazing! They did a great job all around with the wedding and reception. It was great to have one last weekend away before I had to start classes on Monday. (If you want to see more pictures I'll have a link posted with the photo albums of Hunter. )

Oh baby...

Hey everyone, this is Ryan updating. Well Melissa and I have come to an agreement about a name for the new baby. Come the end of December, (hopefully December for tax purposes. hehe) we will be introducing Keegan Michael Betz. I am very excited and cannot wait to meet the new little guy, and with as small as Hunter was when he was born, I'm sure Keegan will be just as small.
Hunter is doing very well, he is eating real food now and we have stopped using formula completely and only feed him baby food if we are traveling or haven't made anything for him. He eats the same food that we do with the exception of fruits that have a high sugar content and fruits that are very acidic. He sure is getting big though; which is a very good thing. :)
Work is also going very well. I have been training on first shift (8am-4pm) and I start on second shift tomorrow. (3pm-11pm) I am feeling very good about the decision to take this job and believe that I am a very good fit at the clinic. My team at the clinic is very knowledgeable and I can learn a lot from them.
Melissa has started classes and she is going to enjoy them very much. (So she says right now) Being that they are classes that pertain to her major and she has no labs, I'm sure that this semester will be a whole lot easier than last. It's hard to believe that we have a year and a half in the Arbor before Melissa graduates and joins the real world. :) I'm very proud of her and she has worked very hard to get where she is today. Thanks for reading and enjoy the final days of warm weather! :o)

Family

First off, I love my family very much despite us not always agreeing on things. I mostly just needed to post something to try to get some of my feelings out so that I can focus on the rest of the day.

I am not going to go into detail, but please just keep my sister and her boyfriend in your prayers. That they would not make any hasty decisions, that God's will and plan for their lives will be foremost. Please pray that they will seek him in all things, and not rush into something if they really are not ready for it, and consider all people involved in their decisions.
Thanks everyone, this means a lot to me.