The Hepting Family

Happy 6 month birthday to Makenna!

2011-06-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

Our precious little girl is 6 months old today and she was such a little angel today! She was up later than usual last night (like way later) but slept in until 8:15 this morning. Took a nice, long nap this afternoon and during her wake times, was just so much fun. Lots of smiling and talking... she's just too cute.

We have her 6 month appointment on Monday so I'll be curious to see what she weighs. I am guessing 18 or 19 pounds...she's a little chunker! Luke was 20, I believe. Here's an update on what she's doing these days:

*still not sleeping through the night consistently. Every once in a while, we get lucky. Had 3 nights in a row a couple of weeks ago but no matter how much we try and replicate that night, we can't get it to happen again.
*still nursing and it's finally going well. we had a rough go earlier on but with a lot of hard work and determination and herbs and a prescription and lots of pumping (phew) we are finally in a more consistent routine. and i would be okay if i never saw a pump again. :)
*started some solid foods but her sensitive tummy hasn't responded well. She enjoys eating and actually has done quite well with the spoon feeding but I'm going to hold off until we see the pediatrician to ask some questions about her tummy's response.
*she's just about sitting up all by herself.
*she still only has 2 teeth but I'm pretty sure I felt another one coming through the gum. We've had a couple of rough days and nights accompanied by yucky diapers and a low fever here and there sooooooo.... if that's not proof enough...
*she LOVES Luke. She just lights up when he's around. It's actually quite helpful. :)
*she also LOVES her daddy. It's so cute how excited she gets when Jeff gets home from work.
*she loves to watch Mooshu too but hasn't shown the same amount of excitement... yet.
*anything & everything goes into the mouth.
*she's talking a lot. She has muttered "ba ba ba" and "da da da" the most.
*she laughs a lot. We can get a good chuckle going and it's absolutely precious.
*we are still swaddling her with one arm in. I know, I know.
*she naps pretty well... at least two naps per day, sometimes 3. One of these naps will usually last around 2 hours. Funny thing though, and this happened with Luke too... she usually wakes up 30 minutes into it and we have to go in and rock her again back to sleep. We figured this out after getting her up and unswaddling her as if nap time were over only to have her be completely cranky and rubbing her eyes. The efforts that go into nap times some days ... well... there should be awards for these sorts of things!
*her personality is actually quite cute. She's pretty happy most of the time, she can be very loud and she can also be very mellow. She's expressive in that we usually know when she's hungry or tired or needs a change of scenery but unlike Luke, she's been easy (for the most part) to figure out.

We are blessed to have two beautiful children and although some (or most some weeks) days are challenging, we have a lot of great laughs and know that these moments will be gone in the blink of an eye. I try to remind myself when my grace meter is low that God chose me to be the mommy to these two little ones and I have a lot of opportunity to show them love and grace every single day. This has been an adjustment for all of us but all in all, I couldn't love my family more!

xoxo

Hello! My Name is....

2011-05-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh... !! Where have we been?! I know, I know... it's been way too long. Especially when we have two sweet ones to keep you informed about. Well I can't promise I'll be back more frequently but I'll do my best to try. :)

So, our last post, Makenna was about a month old and now she's 4 1/2 months old. Crazy! She has been rolling over for quite some time, has two teeth, babbles, blows raspberries, jumps like crazy in her jumperoo and I think will be sitting up and crawling before we know it. It's amazing how quickly they develop. She has had a hard time teething, which of course translates to interesting days/nights for her mommy & daddy. But aside from that, she is the sweetest little thing and we just love her to pieces. She is still not sleeping through the night but most nights is only up once to eat and most nights will settle back to sleep fairly easily, keeping me up only about a half hour or so. We do, however, have a night or two a week where it's much longer or she's up really early or she's up several times a night. It seems to be getting more consistent though. Her napping is pretty good. It'll definitely be easier when it isn't as frequent. She WILL fall asleep in the car which is great, Luke never would. But she naps longer at home in her swing so of course I prefer that. Her "long" nap is usually in the afternoon during Luke's nap so I've been fairly lucky that that has fallen into place where it has. So a couple of short naps and one longer nap of around an hour and a half to two hours and then bedtime is around 7-ish.

Luke... our little parrot. He is just too fun right now! He had a rough first couple of months with Makenna becoming a part of our routine but he is absolutely so sweet with her now. He loves to greet her when she awakes from her naps, he loves to tickle her, swing her in her swing and whatever he can do to get her to smile. He truly adores when she smiles at him. It's very sweet. He is saying anything and everything so we have to watch what we say (he he). He's still very into garbage trucks, monster trucks, riding his bike and reading his books, not to mention Max & Ruby (ugh).

So life with two: In many ways, it's harder and in many ways, easier. Harder: I have NO time. For anything. It's getting better and more balanced but it's been a tough reality for me. Washing my hair once a week, unable to connect with friends/family the way I would like to, limited computer/phone time, too tired to exercise, grocery shopping, cooking dinner, cleaning my house, LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY AND MORE LAUNDRY, eating, peeing and even napping. The days I finally get to the point of laying down for a nap are the days Makenna decides to sleep for like 30 minutes. I know, right? My grace meter tends to empty more quickly on the days Makenna's not napping as well or her teeth are bothering her. And Luke's misbehavior can get to me more quickly too. Some days I feel like maybe we were meant to have only one? And other days I feel like supermom... those easier days: naps fall into place, we've made it to nap time with no tantrums or time outs, we've run an errand and it's gone smoothly or we've gone to the park and left happily. Then I came home, folded the laundry, tidied the house and made dinner. Or maybe this only happened one day. Or maybe I dreamt it. :) However it happened, it felt good. :)

Anyhoo, of course I could go on and on because it's been so long but I'll try and come back sooner with another update. I'll have to let you know how their dedication went at church and how Luke did when we took his pacifier away and with his "big boy bed" transition and what Makenna's percentiles are... she's a chunk! :) Lots to still share...

Below are some recent photos...

xoxo

Luke meets Makenna:

Makenna at 2 months:

Makenna at 3 months:

Luke and Makenna:

Luke helping daddy mow the grass:

Luke in Palm Springs having so much fun at an indoor arcade:

Luke, at almost 2 1/2, the day of his dedication:

The Big Four

2011-01-08T12:48:00.000-08:00

Well it's been almost 4 weeks for this family of 4. We are still adjusting to life with a newborn and a toddler but all in all, it's gone better than I thought it would. Luke has been SO much more accepting of his little sister and has been trying to "help" mommy & daddy with certain responsibilities involving her. He likes to help push her in the swing, pat her back for burps, turn her light on in her room if we're going in there, hold her bottle when she has one... it's pretty cute and although it's not much, this has been pretty exciting for us to see. Now if I can just get him to not help me put her down for naps... somehow that never gets done quietly! :) He does cry sometimes when she cries.. not so fun for us, especially for mommy and especially when we're in the car. I try not to ask him to do something quietly because it seems to encourage him to make more noise. I might revisit this in a couple of weeks or even momths. We'll see. I think some of this is related to his not feeling well. Sadly, Luke got sick the first week we were home from the hospital and again this past week. It seemed to be just a 24 hour of something but he had a very high fever with the chills both times. So strange (and heartbreaking) but we're just praying that was the last of it. And we're grateful that nothing passed on to little Makenna.

And speaking of "little"... we may not be calling her that for too much longer! She's definitely getting a bit "chunky" ... it's quite adorable! She's finally fitting her newborn size clothing and I'm sure will soon move up a size. She's eating and sleeping well for the most part although it's been quite tough to keep her awake for her feedings and I think that's been affecting her sleeping during the night. And she's also been keeping us up with her grunting. We did not experience this with Luke but from what the doctor said, as well as some of my other mommy friends, this is normal. Boy is it loud. But Jeff & I both agree that if that's our challenge with her, we'll take it! She doesn't really cry and once she gets out what she's grunting about, it's peaceful again. But it does take a while and we're not quite sure why it tends to happen in the middle of the night... what about 4:00 in the afternoon? Please? :) I'll have to video it one of these nights for you to give you an idea.

We had forgotten how quickly these little ones change! Makenna has been smiling for the past week now and she is holding her head up as well. She's definitely strong like Luke was. She enjoys her baths ... when she gets them... :) Funny how baby #1 gets a bath every night and #2 is lucky to have one in a week's time! She still smells good though so we're not too worried about it. :) Like her older brother, she does not like her carseat, but unlike Luke, she will fall asleep in it. We'll see how long that lasts. Not much more to report .. she's leading a pretty repetitive life consisting of eating, sleeping, pooping and smiling so far. Oh and grunting too. :)

Life for us as husband and wife has once again been dramatically changed. It's definitely an adjustment going from one to two kiddos and so we are learning new routines and trying to give Luke the love and attention he needs and deserves while we continue to get to know Makenna and learn how to parent her. I've been lucky that they've napped at the same time most days (so far) but some days, Makenna just wants to sleep on me and some days, Luke only naps for an hour. Most days, I'm lucky to get a shower in before our day starts or get out the door at all. And this dishes stay dirty longer than I would like and the laundry sits for days before getting washed and then a few more days before it's folded but we're still working on finding that balance of what works best for us. I mean, it's only been four weeks, right? :)

Here's the latest picture of Makenna taken by one of my most thoughtful, talented friends, Steph. For not being a "professional" photographer, she sure takes some awesome photos. And in addition to that talent, we are excited that she is creating Makenna's birth announcement. Stay tuned for that! :)

We'd like you to meet....

2011-01-01T20:08:00.000-08:00

our little Makenna. Makenna Evelyn Hepting joined our family at 11:55 a.m. on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 7 lbs 2 oz and 19.5 inches long. She is absolutely precious and we have really been enjoying getting to know her. So far, she has been pretty relaxed. She's eating really well and sleeping a lot (gotta love the first weeks of life with a newborn!). We were in the hospital from Tuesday through Friday since she was delivered by c-section. We were hoping and praying for a vaginal delivery but we knew all along it was in God's hands and for some reason that He only knows, she wasn't meant to arrive the way we were hoping. But in all honesty, this experience has been FAR better than what I went through with Luke. Perhaps because I didn't labor at all beforehand and so it was easier on my body but whatever the reason, my recovery has been much, much easier. Praise God for that.

Many have asked how we arrived at the name "Makenna". To some of our friends and family, this is a name they've never heard of. All I can say is that we both had heard of the name and we just really liked it. We decided to go against the most common spelling which is "McKenna" only because it made us think of the menu at McDonald's but either way we went, we knew it'd never get spelled correctly anyhow. I think it's just one of "those" names. :) The middle name we chose, "Evelyn", is my grandma's name and since we chose a family name from Jeff's side for Luke's middle name (Henry), we really wanted to honor my side of the family as well. My grandma is very special to me so I am really happy that she has a "normal" name for us to use. :) It will be a meaningful moment when we can share with Luke and Makenna who their middle names are named after.

We have had two doctor appointments since leaving the hospital. Makenna is gaining weight very well and is in the 33rd percentile. Luke was always in the high 90's so it is just amazing to us how tiny she is! When we left the hospital, she was 6 lbs 10 oz. At her first dr. appointment, she was 7 lbs and one week later, she was 13 ounces heavier! Her doctor said she definitely had a growth spurt! She's still such a little peanut but you can definitely tell that her cheeks are filling out.

Luke is adjusting pretty well. We've had some challenges but almost three weeks into this and I can see a huge difference. He's warming up to Makenna and will actually go near her now... and touch her. He had asked to hold her a couple of times when she first came home but quickly changed his mind and would pull away from her. I could tell he was hurt by me too as he didn't really want to cuddle with me at all and wanted Jeff to do everything for and with him. It definitely hurt me as it's been an adjustment for me too (and I have crazy hormones :) but I know he doesn't understand. It breaks my heart when he asks something of me that simply isn't possible due to Makenna. We're getting into a groove though. Jeff has been working from home the past two weeks but goes back to the office on Monday. I am dreading it!!

Many of you may have seen this already, but if you haven't, you can click here to see the slideshow the hospital provided. Makenna is 2 days old here. The password is AZS121610bMakenna .

December is here!

2010-12-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

November and December are so much fun, aren't they? I love looking forward to Thanksgiving and then Christmas. We enjoyed Thanksgiving at Jen and Ryan's house... I can't believe I didn't take any pictures! :( We went just before Luke's nap time and he slept while we ate. It was quite nice to enjoy great company and a delicious meal without the struggles of feeding a toddler in an environment outside of home. Jen outdid herself once again preparing pretty much everything and allowing me to bring a cheese ball... gee thanks! :) It was a pretty tasty cheese ball if I do say so myself AND it was nice not to be slaving away in the kitchen. She's a very considerate sister in law. :) And a great chef. Everything was absolutely DIVINE!! This prego mamma thoroughly enjoyed herself. :)

We put up our tree Thanksgiving morning and decorated it the following day. And Jeff had started the outside lights a few days prior. I've gotta say... it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! :) We've minimized our interior decorations only because I don't have the energy to say "no" to Luke a million times a day and he just seems to be fascinated with everything these days. No thanks! We've still done quite a bit though. Luke just LOVES the tree and the lights. He plugs it in every morning and if we unplug it during the day, he plugs it right back in. He also looks at our stockings and says, "daddy's, wuke's, mommy's, sister's". It's precious!

And speaking of "sister"... any day now! I am 39 weeks and will see at my appointment on Tuesday how I'm progressing. At my 38 week appointment, I hadn't made much progress but was also measuring a week behind. The doctor is supposed to start some natural inducing procedures next week but needs a little progression for that to happen. We're still praying for a vaginal delivery but if it doesn't happen, she'll be here on the 14th. 11 days from now at the latest... CRAZY!! Things to do before then: clean the house AGAIN, finish painting in the nursery (we decided to do just one wall due to a little mishap), finish Christmas shopping (two more gifts to get!), anxiously await the arrival of my new baby book from Ruby Love recommended long ago by my friend Steph, pack our hospital bag... hmmmm, that might be it! :)

We really appreciate all of the hand me downs we've received thus far and have had numerous friends & family, who are adamant about gift giving apparently :), ask what we need for baby girl. My friends Laura and Heather, both with two little girls of their own, have graciously given us oodles and oodles of clothes. My friend Kim has given us a crib mattress and mattress pad. The Bacchus family gifted us this past weekend with a new diaper pail... THANK GOODNESS! This was one of the "must haves" on our list. We have been so touched by the thoughtfulness and generosity of our family & friends. Truly. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It's such an awkward moment for me when people ask "what do you need? what can we get you?". We certainly aren't expecting anyone to get us anything but for those who have been persistent in asking, here is what remains on our list of what we are looking to purchase in the next month or so. We very much realize that there are a few big ticket items here so obviously, gift cards would be a big help. Okay, here we go: a hamper, white noise machine (this is the same one we've used for Luke, my old alarm clock, and have grown to really like it. it reflects the room temperature which has come in quite handy), a double jogging stroller (we have been keeping our eyes on craig's list hoping to find a slightly used one), and a crib (we may have found one on craig's list.. just looking for a used one this time around). We would obviously never turn away any "fun" gifts like cute outfits, soft blankies or anything else "girlie" but just thought we'd share our little list for those who have been asking what we "need". And again, thank you for being so generous. Our response: spoil yourselves with all of those great deals going on out there! :)

Anyhoo, that's the skinny around here. Below are a couple of videos of Luke... still trying to play catch up. :)

xoxo

Here's one from this awesome indoor place we went to while in Canada this summer. Luke LOVED it!! It was honestly the fastest slide I've ever been on, called "the lava slide". They have warning signs to cover all skin and let me tell ya, I had capris on and left with burn marks!:

Luke's first time with a punching balloon. I love the jumping!:

And we'll end with a bit of a longer one. Now Luke actually says "auntie" and "uncle" before the names, but here's a run down of the fam:

Video Updates

2010-11-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

It's so funny (and a bit strange) to revisit video from just a few months ago. Luke has come such a LONG way with his vocabulary and pronunciation. This was a cute one from when we were in Texas visiting my mom and we skyped with Jeff one night:

This video is from when we were in Vancouver. While in Vancouver this summer, we visited this "random" place close by called "Art Knapp's". It's a landscape nursery which also sells home decor, collector cars/trains, has a mini-golf course, a small playground and offers train rides around their grounds. It was actually quite a fun little place to visit.

We also visited White Rock Beach with some friends. You can see sweet little Kayden Glups crawling in the background. :) Luke saw, touched and picked up his first crab. Pretty cute. (and gross, but I think only to me :)

I have quite a bit more... soon to follow!

Things are great around here. Just getting as ready as we can for this new little one to arrive. Visiting our blog probably freaks me out the most ... seeing that little ticker on the side... yikes! Today it says "23" days!!! The nursery is mostly done... we still need a couple of smaller items and a crib but nothing that we NEED to have before she comes. With Christmas shopping on the horizon, we've decided to wait on some things for the nursery and also on a double stroller and a new monitor. I'm still researching the strollers.. I just can't decide! And I definitely want to upgrade our video monitor at some point. I am excited to share that we HAVE decided on a name! It's not my "number 1" name but that's okay... marriage is about compromise, right? :) It's a beautiful name and I know it will fit her perfectly.

Luke is awesome. What a fun little guy he is! We definitely have our challenges some days but for the most part, he's pretty darn good, I must say. :) He's very into the Toy Story movies right now. I hear "Woody Buzz Woody Buzz" about a million times a day. And if we see them somewhere, like on a poster or shoes or something, we have to stare at it for a long time and there are usually tears when it's time to move on (and not from me I might add :). He still loves his trucks, specifically monster trucks and garbage trucks. We bought him a little balance bike for his birthday and he's been riding that a bit more often too, which has been really fun to see. He's still wearing diapers, enjoying his pacifier and sleeping in his crib and we don't plan on changing any of these things any time soon. :)

xoxo

October Photos

2010-11-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine shared this site with me and said it's her favorite to use for photos. I checked it out and I like that you can speed up or slow down the viewing of the photos (use the - and + in the lower left of the picture box). It's good for those of you "older" folks who have a hard time reading the small print quickly. :) If you move your mouse over the photo, you can read the captions. That's the only part I don't like but maybe there's a way to get that and I haven't figured it out yet. Will keep you posted. Enjoy the pics! :)

Someone turned two!

2010-10-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the big 3-4 in our family earlier this month and then a little 2 on October 18th. I cannot believe I am 34! Ugh. We're getting old, people. I have to remind myself that I'm extra "crickety" right now due to being 33+ weeks pregnant and not because I am aging! :) It was fun to celebrate though. We went to Brio for dinner with our dear friends, Scott and Erin, and then off to the movies to see "The Social Network". That might sound lame to some but I quite enjoyed myself. No kiddos.. just adult conversation, no curfew and a box of milk duds. Perfection. :) And Jeff's parents had us over for dinner on my actual birthday with a delicious homemade cake to end a wonderful day. I have a lot to be thankful for at this time of my life and I enjoyed reflecting on that.

And now on to the very momentous 2ND birthday celebration!! Oh I just can't believe how fast the time is going. I know, I know... "wait until he's 5, 10, 15, etc.". Well he's not there yet. And next year you'll hear all about how I can't believe he's THREE!! :) He was SO excited for his birthday party. He was up extra early that morning and took a very short nap. That really excited mommy and daddy! (not) :) He knew he was having some special people come over and would name each one of them and we kept hinting at the gift we got him so all weekend he kept asking to ride a bike. He's been riding it ever since his party... super cute. Gigi and Don were here to celebrate too and Luke LOVES his slide from them. Grandma and Grandpa H got him a monster truck and that is one of his favorites too. I think his most favorite anticipation was his Lightning McQueen cake that mommy was making for him. I made my first attempt at a homemade cake and I have to say, it wasn't too shabby. It took HOURS to make but I learned a few lessons that will save me a lot of time next year. It was definitely fun to hear him talk about it and to see the look on his face when he saw it so I think I'll do it again next year. Pictures to come soon. :)

Update on baby girl... we THINK we have a name finally. :) We still waver a little so we'll see. We finally ordered and received her crib bedding. I LOVE it! I can honestly say that I saw it a million times online and did not like it at all. Then I was in a store here locally and saw it displayed in one of their cribs and I just knew it was what I was looking for. The colors are much more vibrant and I love the different fabrics. It's so cute and feminine, I just love it. :) We are refinishing the guest bedroom furniture and hope to have that done in the next week or so. I think we've decided to get a middle of the line crib from Target or Babies r Us for now and invest in better furniture later. I just like things to match so I'd rather get the bed when we're ready to get the add'l pieces.

Luke is dressing up as a Lion for Halloween. It's our first year trick or treating with him since he was sick last year so we're pretty excited. He's also talking NON-STOP these days. I love it .. most of the time. :) Hearing the words "bulldozer" and "garbage truck" 100 times in a row gets a little old sometimes. He's saying 4 and 5 words together now and counting to 10. He says "hi Jesus" when we drive past the church. He's been doing great going to class on Sundays. And everything is "self". His independence is becoming very important to him which we try to encourage in most circumstances. He still has A LOT of energy so we keep pretty busy. But we LOVE this stage. He is so fun and so cute and we just love this little boy so much. We feel so blessed that God has entrusted him to us.

Pictures and video to come soon.... :) xoxo

September Stresses

2010-09-26T21:52:00.001-07:00

Update on potty training: never happened! :( We hope to try some time soon but we have been under a bit of stress lately thanks to a certain tenant of ours. Long story short he was in there for 3 months and now is gone. What a mess that was! Total God intervention though and we re-rented it within a day of him being gone and have been hard at work getting the house cleaned up and ready for its new occupants. And not only did we re-rent it but we didn't have to take less. Crazy how it all happened! Again, total God thing and we are so so so very thankful.

So that's what we've been busy doing. Still no name for this sweet little girl yet. Still no anything really. And I can't believe we have less than 11 weeks to go! But nursery/name/necessities for baby #2 are next on our list. :) We do have our names narrowed down to just a few so at least we're not starting with a clean slate. I'm down to visiting the doctor every two weeks now. Where has the time gone?! We scheduled our c-section for December 14th which will take us past 40 weeks. Not my first choice as I was excited about being able to have her around 39 weeks and not have to endure that very last week. :) However, we've decided that if I go into labor, we'll try to deliver naturally and avoid another c-section. Going to 40 weeks gives us a little extra time to allow that to happen. And if it doesn't happen, then it doesn't but I don't want to wonder if it could've later. Either way, we are very much looking forward to her safe and healthy arrival!

Luke is doing awesome! His verbal skills are improving everyday and it's super cute and so much fun. Well, except when he repeats the same word 50 times in a row, then it's not AS cute. :) But now he loves to say "mommy's car" or "daddy's truck" or "my blankie". There's something new everyday. I am proud to say that he is ALL boy. He's still very much into his trucks (dump trucks, monster trucks, garbage trucks, fire trucks, really any truck!). He recently discovered the cartoon, "Max and Ruby" and is obsessed. He likes to shovel the dirt in the backyard and ride his quad. He is VERY high energied and definitely keeps us moving! One of his newer words that I love to hear him say is "cuddew" and he LOVESSS to cuddle. A few short minutes later, it usually turns into climbing all over us and then transitions to jumping on the couch but it starts off very sweet. :) Hard to believe he is going to be TWO next month!! Seriously, where does the time go?!

So I think that's all for now. I just posted pictures below and I still have some video to sort through. I am so behind! If anyone's available to do that for me, let me know. Oh and if you could also put my photos in a photo album, finish my laundry (which is clean, just on the dresser in my room), clean my bathrooms, mop my floors, put together our nursery and maybe pick a name for our baby (pending our approval of course), that would be SOOOO helpful! :)

xoxo

Summer Pictures

2010-09-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

A Visit to Vancouver!

2010-09-03T13:31:00.001-07:00

We are home! Oh my goodness was it nice to escape the heat for the past three weeks! This is the first vacation we've taken in the past 3 years where Jeff actually didn't work. It was really great to spend some quality time together as a family and to see Jeff able to relax too. We got lucky on our way to Vancouver and had a row with an empty seat so we decided to take Luke's car seat on the plane and see how he did. He did great! Luckily there was no one sitting in front of him because he did kick the seat an awful lot. That should be fun in the future! And as we suspected, he did not sleep a wink. Our flight was from 8 - 11 p.m.! Little stinker.

We experienced our first road trip the day after we arrived. Jeff's family rented a lake house in Kelowna, the main motivation for the boat purchase. Luke's not ever been in the car for much longer than an hour but surprisingly, he was a champ. I don't think he whined even once during the 4 hour drive! We did have videos and snacks for distractions so I'm not sure how he would've done without those but you know, happy baby = happy mommy = happy everyone, right? :)

We spent the last 11 days of our trip in Surrey at Jeff's parent's house. Luke had SO much fun playing with his cousins. It was really cute to watch them play together. Last year, they seemed to play more side by side but this year was very different. It's amazing how much can change in just a year with these little ones! Katie even got in on some action with the boys! All three of them were just adorable.

In addition to great quality time with the family, we enjoyed lots of great weather, boating, park time, walks on the pier, beach time, some shopping, time with friends, reading and I'm sure I am forgetting what else. Luke was talking SO much while we were there and he even counted to SIX! He did it for the first time in front of both of us and it was so surprising and cute! We didn't even know he could count to one! It's been really fun to hear him talking more.

So back to reality. And to the heat. We should finally see some cooler temps soon and I can't wait! We've been catching up around the house the past few days and next week's focus is Luke's birthday party in October. Hard to believe our little boy is going to be 2! He is such a little sweetie. He is just so active! He hardly walks anywhere... why walk when you can run?! He seriously loves to sprint. He just learned to jump so that's his new thing. It's hilarious. He still loves anything with wheels, his books, puzzles, Elmo, Cars, and cuddling. "Blankie and soother" are major attachments but boy do they make everything better when need be. We'll have to work on the soother attachment at some point.

Just 13 more weeks to go until our little number two is due to arrive. I have been feeling really good. A little extra tired thanks to the two "two year molars" that decided to interrupt a week's sleeping habits. But tomorrow is Saturday and that means I can sleep in... HOORAY!! :) Thank goodness teething is done! After Luke's birthday, we will focus on the nursery and picking a name for our little girl. Funny how all of this was done by now when we were pregnant with Luke. To be honest, I have gone through two baby name books and although I've come up with a little list, there aren't any names that are really jumping out at me. And of the names I've come up with, Jeff's not doing cartwheels over any of them. It'll be interesting to see what name we agree on. :)

This weekend we are going to attempt potty training. Should be interesting! :) We have NO expectations and if it doesn't work, we'll try again after the baby is born. We're not going to stress about it one bit. I felt we should try ONE transition before the baby comes. Transitions include: weaning off the white noise, pacifier (aka "soother"), big boy bed, potty training. All but one of these is related to sleeping. If Luke could continue sleeping well when the baby comes, I think that would help tremendously so potty training it is! He's been telling us when he's going and when he needs a diaper change so some of the signs are there. Wish us luck and I'll update next week on how it went.

That's about it for now... we'll get pictures posted and I have some super cute videos too. Stay tuned!

xoxo

Summer Updates

2010-08-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from visiting my mom in Texas. Boy was it hot there! You really do get used to the "dry" heat in Arizona. I couldn't believe how sensitive I was to the humidity! It was my first flight experience by myself with Luke and it actually went really, really well. Even with our delays! I really can't complain about the way there or the way home. We got lucky and had an extra seat next to us both ways so it was nice that he didn't have to stay on my lap the whole time.

Due to the weather, we didn't get to do too much while we were in Texas. I did have the chance to visit with my friend, Stacey, that I know from Scottsdale. I enjoyed a night out with her and a couple of play dates with her and her kids. She actually flew out to Scottsdale while I was there to help her sister whose son Jack is currently fighting Neuroblastoma. She's an amazing person and it was so great to see her. Luke and I also played a lot with the other kids on my mom's street, we visited with my Grandma a couple of times and also with my Aunt. I hadn't seen them since Luke was 4 months old so it was really great to catch up in person and spend time with them. And of course, Luke had a great time with Gigi and Don. I can't imagine I would want to go on a trip that long again with two kiddos until they're a bit older so I'm glad we got the chance to spend that much time with my mom while we were able. And I have to admit, I was homesick! It was so great to get home to Jeff and I realized while I was away how helpful of a daddy he is.

Since home, we've been keeping busy! I attended the first mom's night out event hosted by Scottsdale Moms Blog co-founded by my very creative, talented friend, Steph. I had a great time and was even more excited when I won a facial at Bleu Pond Spa which I will enjoy next weekend! :) We had our last soccer lesson too. Not sure we'll do that again although it was a fun experience. I just think Luke would have just as much fun in an open play gym. Maybe we'll try again in a couple of years.

We head out next week for Vancouver already. We're so excited! It'll be great to see family, friends and cooler temperatures! Stay tuned for pictures....

Is it too obvious that I figured out how to do links finally? he he.. :)
xoxo

WE'RE HAVING A ...............

2010-07-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

GIRLLLLLLLLL!! :)

15 weeks plus photos & video

2010-06-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Today begins week 16 and what a blessing that I was able to feel the baby move for the first time this morning and he/she has been nonstop since then! I am so busy with Luke that I forget sometimes that there is this sweet little baby growing inside of me. Well, I forget until I try on my pants and can't get them buttoned! :) Just a couple of more weeks until the big reveal... yay!

We've had a great weekend after fully recovering from Jeff having food poisoning (not from my cooking thank you very much) and me having a stomach bug. Bleck! Luke's been great though! He had lots of fun at swimming lessons with daddy on Friday and on Saturday they had great quality time together. Jeff took Luke to do a few errands in the morning... his parent's house to add chemicals in the pool (they are in Vancouver), Fry's to pick up a few things, Home Depot, Leslie's Pool Supply and then after his nap, they spent the afternoon in the pool. I loved watching from the window and hearing them laugh together.. it was so cute! :)

Here are some recent photos & video we thought you would enjoy!

xoxo

Home Sweet Home & Happy Father's Day

2010-06-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

We are home from a great time with the Peitsch family in Castle Rock, Colorado! Thank you Randy, April and Isaiah for hosting us. We had a wonderful time. Luke absolutely loved playing with Isaiah and Isaiah had so many fun toys which he graciously shared with Luke. Lots of cars, trucks, trains, and balls. Hopefully there are some pink dolls in April and mine's futures ... lol :) We also enjoyed a trip to the Aquarium and Cheyenne Zoo. I was able to visit with my friend, Joelle, from high school while the gang went to the Aquarium. It was so nice to see someone I grew up with and to catch up in person! We figured out that we have only seen each other twice in the past 8 years. I flew out to Las Vegas for her wedding 8 years ago and she came to Phoenix for mine 4 years ago. Hopefully it won't be so long next time and hopefully next time I'll take a picture of the two of us! And just a side note that Joelle was my only friend who showed up to my birthday party in 4th grade following hurricane Gloria. Now that's a good friend! :) Love you Jofa & loved our time together!

Traveling with Luke this time was almost perfect! If he had slept, he'd get a higher grade but he was really, really good. I couldn't believe it! I know he's getting older so his attention span has grown but I also felt we made a great effort to be prepared. We didn't know if anything in our traveling with toddler survival kit would work but it boosted our confidence to have options. I had read a lot of other mommy blogs and decided on a few things that sounded very Luke. We bought a portable DVD player and brought a couple of movies we rented from the library that Luke became obsessed with. We hid them a few days before so they seemed more new. We brought a coloring book, crayons, stickers, a travel doodler, lucky charms and a new matchbox motorbike. They actually all came in handy but mostly the video "There Goes A Firetruck" which is so cheesy but apparently his favorite. We'll see if these all work during our next flight in a few weeks! Off to Texas to visit my mom, grandma and aunt!

And to finish this post, I would love to wish my husband a Happy Father's Day! I prayed for a long time that God would not only bring a man into my life that would be a loving husband but also a loving daddy to our children. And that he is. I am touched on a daily basis by the way Jeff spends his time with Luke. There's something very sweet about being a part of watching your husband grow as a daddy. I feel very blessed to be a part of these moments. And grateful to his dad for being a Godly role model who spent countless hours of quality time with Jeff growing up. Two great dads to celebrate... Happy Father's Day!

More pictures and video coming very soon! xoxo

Obsessions

2010-06-16T07:59:00.001-07:00

If you've got little ones at home and you've never heard of these sites, they are awesome! Check 'em out... they're my newest obsessions!

www.mamabargains.com
www.zulily.com

**NOTE** I am not totally savvy when it comes to this blog thing. I worked for about a half hour to try and make these direct links and I just can't seem to get it to work. So, a little extra work for you to cut and paste. And I'll start practicing to improve my blogging skills. :)

Pregnancy FAQ's

2010-06-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I have completed 14 weeks of pregnancy! Sometimes I think, "that's it?" and other times it feels like it's flying by. I had a great doctor's appointment this past week and heard that sweet little heartbeat. I just love it! I did have some red spotting last week for a few days, in addition to some cramping in my side the week before, and it was making me anxious so I bumped our appointment up just for peace of mind. I had spotting also with Luke but definitely not as frequent or as red as this time. And definitely not accompanied by any kind of sharp cramping. The doctor felt it was most likely related to my exercising (grrrrrr) which I had of course stopped once these issues started. So I'll be taking it easy around here.

Anyhoo, to answer some very common questions that we seem to get asked, here you go:

1. When are you due? Somewhere between December 10th and 14th. We'll find out for sure at our next ultrasound.
2. How did you tell Jeff about the pregnancy? After sanitizing my little stick, I wrapped it in a box and put it in his Easter basket. He knew though because I was very anxious for him to open it! :)
3. How have you been feeling? Great! Still needing that nap every other day or so.
4. Have you been having any cravings or food aversions? I have, so far, craved yogurt, granola (there's a certain kind at Albertson's that I just love. It's called Erin Baker's Oatmeal Raisin.. mmmmmmmmm.), fruit juice, and fresh fruit. As far as aversions, I've been having trouble with raw meat and bacon definitely grosses me out.
5. Are these the same cravings/aversions as when you were pregnant with Luke? No, I don't think so. I remember craving french toast and donuts, more pastry like foods. And I wonder why I gained almost 60 lbs!! And I don't recall any aversions.
6. Are you showing/wearing maternity clothes? Well, we can tell that I am showing but I doubt you could unless I showed you, which I probably won't. :) My maternity clothes from before are still too big for me but a hair rubberband helps keep my pants from cutting off my circulation if I'm not wearing sweatpants or a dress.
7. Are you going to find out what you're having? YES! ON JULY 12TH! :)
8. Do you think you're having a boy or a girl? A BOY! :)
9. Are you hoping for a girl this time? Kind of an unfair question. I wouldn't say I am "hoping" for a girl. I think it would be really cool to have a girl for a few reasons. A.) I am such a girly girl myself and I have always imagined having a sweet daughter someday to spoil and do girly girl things with as a mom. B.) It'd be fun to have one of each. C.) I really like pink. And purple. And tutus. I would ABSOLUTELY NOT be disappointed if we had another boy! Luke is so absolutely precious. I think it'd be so fun for him to have a little brother and for our family to be "me and the boys". :) It's truly a win win!
10. Are you stopping at 2? Well, let's just take it one kiddo at a time. :)

Anyhoo, I think I've covered 'em! More to come soon.. we have a cute video of Luke "driving" the boat! :)

xoxo

Birthdays, Boats & Ear Infections..OH MY

2010-05-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

A happy belated blog birthday wish to my hunky husband! Jeff turned blankity blank last weekend and thanks to some dear family friends who offered to watch Luke, we enjoyed a Saturday night out with our friends, Josh and Katherine. Did you know you could eat free at Benihana's for your birthday? We both really like it there so we took full advantage of that! Followed by some delicious Yogurtology... I love that place!

Here's what I got Jeff for his birthday:

Ha! Yeah right. My gift was WAYYY better than this. (ha! yeah right.) Let me introduce you to the newest addition to our family... well... shared custody. Jeff, Jer and Dad have bought this little black beauty and we look forward to lots of fun with it during our lake trip this summer. We're going to take it for a spin on the lake next week some time (waiting on a life jacket for Luke) and Jeff's parents will drive it up to Vancouver for some summer enjoyment (which includes our Kelowna vacation!) and then it'll come back here in the fall. This boat will get around!

This week's not been the greatest as far as vomit, poop and ear infections are concerned. BLECK! Sooooo... we picked Luke up after our Benihana outing and the ever so sweet Mr. and Mrs. Glups reported that he was such a good little boy... but he vomited his entire dinner all over the place. WHAT??!! Oh how bad we felt! You never want someone else to clean up your child's vomit. Heck, we don't want to clean it up! So we brought him home and he vomited again. Poor little guy. It was a late night getting everyone and everything all cleaned up and off to bed. The next day he wasn't too bad but he still wasn't quite himself and on Monday... not good. So off to the doctor for a diagnosis of double ear infections. Accompanied by a fever, nasty cough and runny nose. Besides some loss of appetite, slight irritability, excessive dirty diaper changing (thanks to the antibiotics), one more night of vomit, and an extreme overdose of Veggie Tales, the week wasn't too bad! Crazy what we get used to as parents. He still slept well at night and took pretty good naps so that helps make everything else seem a little bit easier. We treated him tonight to McD's chicken nuggets and he ate 3 so I think he's on the mend! Below is a photo from the other day at approximately 5:00 p.m.. For those of you who know our child, you know that this is highly unlikely to ever happen!

On to "bigger" things... :-) I am still feeling pretty good. There are always little fears that creep into my mind at this early of a stage so I definitely look forward to my next appointment. Two more weeks! Hearing that little heart beat and the "okay" from the doctor gives such a great peace of mind. And I'm not really much "bigger" than before .. just was making a joke. He he. :-)

We're off in a couple of weeks to enjoy some cooler weather in Castle Rock, Colorado. We'll be visiting Jeff's cousin, Randy and his wife, April and their little boy, Isaiah, who is turning 3 very soon! April is also expecting and our due dates are super close. We'll both find out in July what we're having. Come on pink!! (or blue of course) ;-) He he.

More soon! xoxo

December 14th!!

2010-05-17T15:19:00.001-07:00

We are excited to share our joyous news that another precious Hepting baby will bless our family at the end of this year! We will find out if #2 is a boy or girl in July. Please keep us in your prayers!

I have been feeling good.. just tired. Almost everyday I take a nap, which is a really hard thing to do when you have a little one to clean up after and a house to tend to. But for anyone who's been pregnant before, I know you know what I'm saying. It's like you just can't function without that nap! I've had some nausea but that came and went. And this darn stuffy nose is back. I had this with Luke too. It's very annoying. I've had a greater desire to exercise this time around so on the days I have the energy, I've been taking advantage. Otherwise... I can't complain just yet.. I'm sure that's to come in the months ahead!

Luke's separation anxiety has been SO SO SO much better! The past few Sundays, not a tear. This past week at the gym, not a tear. This past Saturday with a babysitter, not a tear. Who is this child? :-) I am so grateful.

We started swimming lessons a couple of weeks ago. The first lesson was not so fun. Luke cried quite a bit, along with the other kids too, so I know it's mean to say but I'm glad I wasn't the only one there with a whiny toddler! Last week was much more fun. He only cried a little and it was because he wanted to continue playing with something when it was time to move onto the next exercise. Hopefully it continues to get better.

We start soccer in a couple of weeks... that should be interesting. :-)

We'll keep you posted!
xoxo

Dancing, Apples and Helping Daddy

2010-05-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

Shake your groove thang: (p.s. I have seen proof that we are not the only ones allowing our fragile child to dance on the coffee table! :)

One of Luke's everyday words (and snacks):

Daddy's little helper:

Sunday's Separation Scenario

2010-05-02T21:40:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for the response we received as a result of our last blog post. Thank you to those of you who shared your experiences and much appreciated words of wisdom and encouragement.

After thinking and praying more about it, Jeff and I came up with our plan! We had given both church service times a try (allowing several weeks for him to become comfortable in each one) and felt that if we had to choose which one he did "well" in, we would choose 1st service. It wasn't close to nap time or lunch time and would give us some wind down time when we got home before nap time. In addition, Jeff is going to change his ushering commitment to 1st service so we can be there as a family. So I'm really excited to stick with this! Well, maybe excited isn't the right word but I feel encouraged! :-)

And I'm happy to report that Day 1 of this brilliant plan began today. After a late night watching Avatar (great movie by the way!) I wasn't so sure how pulling us all together earlier in the morning would go but we did it! And Luke did REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WELL in the toddler room today! He started crying before we even reached the doors and cried a bit harder and louder as we handed him over so I was feeling confident our big red number would be flashing before we even sat down. But they didn't! And when we picked him up he was happily playing with toys and smiled when he saw us. I felt so relieved. Miss Carrie said he calmed down quickly and played very nicely the whole time. I cried. :-) We'll be praying for the same turn out next Sunday.... we'll see!

xoxo

April Update

2010-04-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

April's been a beautiful month here. We've had great weather and Luke loves to be outside. We have often enjoyed jogs, trips to the park and play time in the backyard together. He has also loved his "active" role in helping his daddy with outdoor projects. Jeff's put some new plants in the backyard and front, as well as laid over four tons of river rock in our front yard. We got Luke a little wheelbarrow for Easter which was quite helpful in transferring the rock. So cute! And our front yard is finally feeling finished.. it looks great!

We spent Easter at Jen and Ryan's house and Luke ate his first jellybean. Or should I say first fifty jellybeans! He loved opening the eggs and was surprised each time they would scatter everywhere. And of course then he would eat them off of the ground. Gotta love it. He was spoiled, as usual, too. I had so much fun filling his little wheelbarrow with presents. We got him a couple of cd's (toddler tunes and praise music, so cute!), a Veggie Tales video, a new bathing suit and a few pieces of chocolate. He also got some cute things from Auntie Jen and Grandma/Grandpa, as well as an "Easter package" from Gigi and Don!

Last weekend, Luke turned 18 months! We had our usual dr. appointment on Tuesday and Luke weighed in at 28 pounds putting him in the 77th percentile for weight. This is the first time he's been under 90% since he was born. His height and head circumference continue to measure in the high 90's. So he's fairly proportionate and continuing to grow strong and healthy, as we always hope and pray for.

So what is Luke up to these days? His vocabulary is gradually increasing. It's hard not to grow impatient with his progress! It's so cute to hear him communicating that I just want to hear more. :-) Some of his "newer" words are: car, dirt, potty, rock, duck, book, ball, balloon (which he doesn't "fully" say but yes Jer, it counts!), surprise (he says "prise"), food, and more that I can't think of at the moment. He still loves his books, legos, blocks, balls, puzzles, and sadly, watching TV. I try to limit it but he does enjoy Yo Gabba Gabba, Sesame Street, Veggie Tales and occasionally we revisit the old days with Baby Einstein. He LOVES to run around... FAST. And then he usually falls. Lately he has been having "quiet time" in his crib with some of his books. He likes it and initiates it so why not?! :-) I leave his door open and he just calls for me when he's done. It's quite nice. I actually get to get a few things done around the house.

I wish we could report that his separation anxiety was improving. That would be my biggest frustration right now. The past several Sundays at church have not gone well.. one resulting in him throwing up. So, I'm not sure what we're going to do there besides keep trying but it's hard not to feel discouraged about it. It's such an effort! Of course, despite the challenges, he still lights up our lives! His cuddles and sweet laughter make up for it so I guess we'll keep him. :-)

Next month we look forward to swimming and soccer lessons and Luke will have the pleasure of doing both with his sweet little friend, Nora. So fun!

More soon... xoxo

Video Overload! :-)

2010-04-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

Nothing exciting but here's Luke just before his Easter egg hunt:

Running at the park:

Lots of fun with the cousins:

I think this might be from November?? Just thought it was cute:

Pictures!

2010-04-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

March Update!

2010-04-21T20:13:00.000-07:00

I am the worst blogger ever. I think about blogging at least once each week but I just never get to it. I don't know why it seems like so much effort when it totally isn't. I just stink but as usual promise to try and be better. :-)

So since our last update, we enjoyed a visit from Jer, Tammie, Josh and Katie. Luke finally made it to the zoo for his first time. He played quite a bit with his two little cousins. We celebrated Jeff's parents' 45th wedding anniversary. Jeff enjoyed some golf. It was a busy, fun time!

March 18th, we celebrated our 4th anniversary. Gosh, 4 years?! An amazing blessing to celebrate. Sadly, we didn't do much that actual day (bad wifey). In fact, I think we had leftovers and caught up on some TV that night. Pretty boring but welcome to marriage after four years and being exhausted after putting your toddler to bed. Can I get an amen?! But we did head out to Palm Springs the last weekend of March for our first "vacation" without the little guy. It was SOOOO fun! Jeff's parents got some good bonding time with Luke and as we anticipated, Luke did not miss us at all. Didn't cry once. I, on the other hand... well... I didn't CRYYYY per se. I might've teared up a bit on our way out and once or twice over the weekend. But all in all I could've handled another night or two. It was really great to relive the earlier days... staying up late, sleeping in, relaxing pool side, dining out just the two of us... all in silence! It was pretty blissful, I cannot tell a lie. :-) And even though it was a perfect weekend and I'll look forward to the next time, it was a long three days to be away from our sweet boy! We loved getting home and seeing his reaction. He seemed pretty happy ... he started showing off right away and doing this little dance that he does when he's excited. Very cute.

I'll update for April soon and will shortly post pictures and video! You are going to be impressed at how quickly our next blog update comes! :-)

xoxo

Olympic Fun!

2010-03-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

It's raining today... the perfect day to blog. :)

February was a fun month for us! We enjoyed a visit from my mom and Don who came thanks to a great deal Southwest ran a couple of months ago. It's always so nice to have an extra set of loving hands around. We had a relaxing weekend together with lots of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having. We look forward to seeing them again over the summer... we'll probably head to Texas at some point for a visit.

A week after mom and Don left, we headed to Vancouver for a week. So fun! Luke was his usual hyper self on the flight out there but slept through the night most of the time we were there. Unfortunately he did get sick towards the end of our trip which made the trip home a bit longggggg. He was SO naughty on the way home. Kicking the seat in front of us, throwing things over the seat in front of us, temper tantrums... so not fun & so embarassing. But he slept until almost 9 the next morning so he was forgiven. :) But I digress!! (the story of my life since Luke has entered it)

The hype in downtown Vancouver was fun to be a part of! The streets were blocked off with crowds everywhere (which made for very long lines) and there were people from all over the world there to cheer for their home countries. It was really cool to see. The weather was beautiful that day and we enjoyed the day with Jer and Tammie (without kids!). And although I didn't LOVEEEE the hockey game we went to, at least we can look back and say we attended an Olympic event. Who can say that?!! Now had we been at the Canada vs. USA game, that'd be a different story. Wasn't that a great one to watch?

So what is Luke up to these days besides misbehaving on airplanes? Well, he is busy as usual and sweet as can be. He is still working on talking but trust me, just because he is not talking doesn't mean he isn't making noise... this kid is loud! Screaming seems to be his new thing which means more discipline will be our new thing. And that's never fun. I'm not sure if you've heard of "Yo Gabba Gabba" but I have to tell you that there is one episode that we watch over and over called "New Friends". Have you heard of the actor, Jack Black? He is the guest actor for the episode and it is seriously outloud funny! That has been Luke's new favorite thing and it's the only show he actually sits and watches from start to finish so if you need an extra 30 minutes... ;) He still enjoys his books, puzzles and blocks and he loves to be outside or in the garage. It seems each day brings more cuddles our way. He is finally giving voluntary hugs and kisses which, of course, melts our hearts. Such a cutie!!

Tuesday brings more fun as Jer, Tam, Josh and Katie arrive for a fun filled 10 days. "Uke" can't wait to play with Josh and Katie again. They are all so cute together!

Will post pics and video some time this week... stay tuned!
xoxo

Luke is 15 Months old!

2010-01-20T17:54:00.001-08:00

We can hardly believe our sweet little boy is 15 months old already! We had our appointment with our pediatrician this past Monday and were pleased to hear that Luke continues to be growing, physically and developmentally, right on track. He's pretty consistent with his "stats", remaining in the 80th percentile for weight and 96th percentile for height. Not a small boy by any means but he's healthy, which makes us happy.

What I don't like about these appointments is the shots and how they affect Luke. Ugh... ! It's been a rough few days. Swollen leg, fever, chills, runny diapers (FIVE yesterday!!), loss of appetite, crankiness, extra clingyness, etc. His reactions have been the same with past appointments so we're usually somewhat mentally prepared for it... that seems to help get through it a bit easier. Only two appointments left and then we're done with shots for a long time. I will say, though, that we do enjoy the extra cuddling with our sweet boy. It's pretty precious!

Here are some pictures from this past week... enjoy! xoxo

Luke and his "gf" Nora enjoying a ride on the quad together:

Luke and Nora "playing" in the ball house. I think Nora lures Luke in here for some "alone time" :)

Nora is such a sweet little girl and she loves to share:

Luke, on the other hand...:

And I just couldn't resist this one! He loves his new slippers from Gigi:

Pictures!

2010-01-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

Okay so let's start with one of my New Year resolutions: BLOG MORE!! :) We'd like to wish everyone a very belated Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The past couple of months have been so much fun with Luke! He enjoyed his first Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixins, courtesy of his Auntie Jen and Uncle Ryan. We enjoyed spending the day with their family and some friends from church.

This is probably the first December that we haven't been totally on the go and it was actually kind of nice. I had my office Christmas party, an ornament party with some great women from church, some birthday parties and I think that's about it! We've been busy with Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts and lots of playdates and time at the park. Jeff took it easy with our lights this year so we weren't the brightest house on the block this season. It took us about a week to get our house decorated with the little guy running around but we finally got 'er done!

My favorite time of year is Christmas! I love everything about it... the lights, the music, the Christmas tree, the decorating, the chill in the air (yes, there's a chill even in Arizona!), time with family and most of all, the story and celebrating of the birth of a little baby who came to save the world. The Christmas Eve candlelight service is also my favorite. Jeff ushered at both services this year so I stood in the back with him and since Luke did not do well in the toddler room (again), he got to be with us as well. We hosted Christmas Eve festivities in our home with Jen, Ryan, their girls and Ryan's parents who were in town visiting. And then off to their house for Christmas Day dinner. It was fun!

Opening presents with Luke was VERY fun! He actually did quite well opening most of his own gifts, although I am sure the fun for him was tearing the paper! And he was spoiled... THANK YOU SO MUCH to our generous family & friends for all of the gifts you gave/sent him. He has loved his new books, videos, and toys.

New Year's Eve we spent with our dear friends, Scott, Erin and sweet Nora Bacchus. They made a wonderful dinner for us and we enjoyed some game time when the kids went down for sleep. We don't get much time together sans kids so it was a lot of fun. And we all made it to midnight... who'da thought?!! I have a feeling next year might not be too different!

And now for a Luke update:

*He is signing a few words: more, water, eat, thank you (sometimes on his own and sometimes with some coaxing)
*He is saying a few words: up, yes, dog, mama, dada
*He makes animal sounds: oinking, bocking, mooing, roaring
*He is pretty much sprinting... it's hilarious!
*He wakes up usually between 7 and 7:30, sleeping occasionally until 8
*He naps from about 11:30 until 1:30/2:00 most days
*His bedtime is anywhere between 7 and 7:30, occasionally closer to 8
*He's been off the bottle since shortly after he turned one... he has a sippy cup of milk when he first wakes up and a sippy cup of milk with 1/2 banana at bedtime.
*He eats pretty good. For breakfast he usually has fruit with one waffle or a piece of toast or a nutrigrain bar. He has a mid morning snack with some juice. Lunch is usually a cheese stick and 1/2 pbj sandwich or grilled cheese or quesadilla. He has a mid afternoon snack with some milk and then dinner at 5:45. He'll usually eat what we are having. Since he doesn't know any better, he usually enjoys what I've made. :)
*He is VERY into anything with wheels.
*He is VERY into his books.
*He is VERY into light switches.
*He is VERY into Mooshu. I have to say that Mooshu comes in quite handy some days. She is SO good and gentle with Luke and Luke loves to provoke her.
*We are still struggling a bit with separation and stranger anxiety. I am praying that doesn't last much longer.
*He is almost done with teething, with the exception of his 2 year molars. I can't say I've enjoyed this process.
*He is a major cuddler... he loves to sit on our lap and nestle his little head into our necks while reading or watching a video.
*He is absolutely attached to his blankie, teddy and soother (pacifier). Uh oh??
*He sleeps with white noise on and he actually sleeps better with it a bit on the loud side. We have it set to "rain". I think he'd sleep really well without it if we ever moved to Vancouver! :)
*He has not tried to climb out of his crib yet, surprisingly!
*He is climbing onto the coffee table, the ottoman and his toy box. He is quite proud of himself too.

This might be information overload for some of you so I'll call it quits as this list could go on and on and on! We are very thankful for a healthy little boy. He brings an abundance of joy to our family and everyday he is learning something new. It's just amazing to be a part of and I am grateful for the privilege to be his mommy. Now remind me I said this next time he wakes up in the middle of the night screaming! :)

Here's what going on the next few months for us: we've decided that if we get a "great deal" on flights that we will head up to Vancouver to watch the Olympics with our family. We may not get to go to the actual Olympic Games but that's okay. My mom will be here for a visit in early February. Jer, Tam and our niece and nephew will be here along with Jeff's parents in March. And I am hoping to make it to New York in April to introduce Luke to so many special people!

Pictures to follow shortly... and I hope to be blogging again soon with some Luke updates! xoxo

Our little 1 year old

2009-11-01T21:07:00.000-08:00

We can hardly believe that Luke is ONE! We actually have a one year old. It's just crazy. We had a fun little birthday party for him at our house and in attendance were his family (that could be here) and his cute little friends. We're so lucky that Jeff's parents and my mom could be here to celebrate this special day with us. We know Luke doesn't know any differently but it means more than I can express to Jeff and I. Thank you for being here...

Luke is definitely on the move! He is busy, busy, busy. He absolutely loved all of his presents which included, trucks, Elmo toys, books, puzzles, blow up house with balls, stuffed animals, legos, pajamas, clothes, money, etc. The list goes on! I can honestly say that there hasn't been a gift he hasn't played with everyday since! Most of all, though, I think these have been gifts for me too! He's been playing so much more independently which means less clinging onto mommy! Yay! :)

So Jeff and I were talking about this past year and the surprises we encountered as first time parents. We knew it'd be challenging, yet rewarding, but honestly, now that I have experienced it, I realize how clueless I was before!! Here are a few "highlights" of our discussion:

1. How on earth a little being can poop so much - seriously... it's ridiculous! And that they poop that much and still gain weight..
2. How hard it can be on a marriage - it's a whole new understanding of expectations between one another and they constantly change as the baby changes too. It's hard but of course so worth it.
3. How important sleep is... for mommy, daddy AND baby - it's hard to come by early on and sleep deprivation is hard to avoid. It can really take a toll on us all - physically, emotionally and spiritually. I heart sleep. :)
4. How every month brings more joy, love and laughs to our lives. Each stage just gets better and better! I LOVE it!!
5. How we can love love love our sweet boy so very much ... more than we ever could've imagined loving anything or anyone. I can just look at Luke and begin to cry and thank the Lord for such a precious gift. He is just the light of my life - even when he is misbehaving. It has helped me comprehend God's love for us so much more than I did before.

So this list could go on and on and this list changes for us on a daily basis! But all in all it's been a year of great blessings. Challenging yet rewarding, just as all the wise women tell me. :)

So these days Luke is climbing on everything, is opening drawers, is reaching onto the counter tops (even though he can't see anything he just knows something's within reach!), loves being outside, loves his walks and runs in the stroller, is practically running, falls a lot, enjoys his books (or usually the same book over and over and over again), is learning to follow instructions (for example: can you bring this to daddy?), brings me his shoes and sticks his foot out for me to put it on (even if we're not going anywhere), still enjoys his Baby Einstein videos, is eating well, is sleeping well (and later in the morning... yay!), should be saying his first word any day now (he talks A LOT but no "real" words yet), is down to one bottle at bed time which only has milk in it now, has all of his baby teeth with the exception of his incisors which are currently on their way, and laughs a whole lot! He is a very, very sweet little boy with a lot of energy and a lot of smiles... truly a precious gift.

And as for Luke's mommy and daddy... well... we are great! We are not planning on baby #2 any time too soon for those of you who keep asking and for those secretly wondering. We'll let you know when the time comes though. :) I am not working too much which has been a blessing but a sacrifice at the same time. I absolutely love (most days) being home with Luke but obviously not working full time means less of an income which means a little more sacrifice on our part. Jeff's job is going really good right now... praise God for a job, right? We really can't complain.

We'll be staying home for the holidays (boo hoo) but will enjoy another visit from my mom in February (yay!) and Jeff's parents will be back for a couple of months come March (yay!). Jer, Tam and our sweet little nephew and niece will be here for Spring Break again and so we are very excited for what's in store the first part of next year! I am getting closer to feeling brave about traveling to NY with Luke on my own but I'm not quite there yet! Hopefully we'll get there some time in the next year or so. We have so many special people to see!

So here are some pics to enjoy! Love to you all! xoxo

Summer Time Fun

2009-09-06T21:29:00.001-07:00

It's been so long since we've posted! I honestly cannot believe how quickly time is passing these days. We just returned from our summer trip to Vancouver and thought it'd be a good time to post. Let's see... what have we been up to? As many of you know, Luke is now walking and he is walking very well. He took his first steps the day after he turned 9 months and it took a few weeks before he got past about 15 steps or so. But I wouldn't be surprised if he started running tomorrow... he's just so sturdy on his feet!

Next month, Luke will turn one! We're so excited to celebrate this special day and we've been taking some time recently to reflect on this past year. We both agree that it's been the most challenging year we've ever had in our lives but at the same time are overwhelmed with the joy and love Luke has brought to our family and even just to each of us as individuals. He is an amazing little boy with a very sweet, but active, personality. And when I say active, I feel that's an understatement! He's crazy but so so much fun too. Most people say "well, he's a boy!" but I think he's even more hyper than most other boys I've seen! So we're hoping for a little mellowing out over the next year. :-) But all in all I am really enjoying this stage with him. He is sleeping well, eating well, "speaking" well, playing well... it's definitely my favorite stage so far.

So enjoy the photos and we hope to be in touch sooner next time around!

xoxo

Just for fun!

2009-07-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

These are sure to bring a smile to your face! How cute is he?! :)

He is FINALLY starting to say his B's. He's also saying his G's and maybe a K? We're not sure what the sound he makes with that one is. And he has said "M" a couple of times. It's music to our ears!!

And here he is just totally cracking up. So cute! :)

Luke and his cute laugh...

2009-06-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

Luke "Half Walking"

2009-06-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great first Father's Day honoring Jeff and all he does for our family. He has been so wonderful with Luke and so helpful to me. It's been so fun to watch Luke light up when he sees Jeff first thing in the morning or when Jeff gets home from work. He most definitely LOVES his daddy and I get teary eyed watching their interactions. I love it! We enjoyed an early morning at the driving range, then church and then we had our friends, Scott, Erin & Nora over for a BBQ. Nora is Luke's BGF (best girl friend). :) Luke surprised daddy with an "andex chart" as his Father's Day gift. I think it might've been his favorite gift ever! (nerd) :)

Luke is doing really well. He has eight teeth now and you'd know it if he got your fingers in his mouth! Those things are sharp! EVERYTHING goes into the mouth right now. I've read that it's part of their developmental process but when you see him putting rocks in his mouth, it kind of makes you wonder. :) But yes, he is our little explorer. He is crawling and pulling himself up every chance he gets. And he loves to have us help him walk. He is also standing on his own for seconds at a time. He's so strong and we're thinking he will be walking on his own pretty soon. YIKES! It definitely has changed things... I'm a lot more tired at the end of the day trying to keep up with him! But at the same time, it's SO much fun!

So that about sums it up... pretty exciting stuff. :) The weather's heating up and we're hoping for some type of escape out of the heat at some point this summer. Hopefully we'll get the opportunity but we don't have any summer plans... for the first time in a long time! My, how life has changed!

We'll be in touch again soon... xoxo

Conversation with Luke...

2009-05-17T09:34:00.000-07:00

5 Longgg Days

2009-05-17T08:31:00.000-07:00

Jeff comes home from his golfing trip tonight and we are so excited! I showed Luke a picture of Jeff yesterday and he started waving his arms really fast and doing this fun little noise he does. Although it's been a long five days all by myself with the little guy, it's been really good for the most part. The whining tends to get on my nerves after a while when it is non-stop but the poor little guy was cutting his 3rd tooth! I found it yesterday.. his upper left one. Finally! It seems like we've been waiting a while for this one to come in! Also yesterday, I went into his room when he woke up from his nap because I heard him crying and there he was... just sitting up in the middle of his crib! He has been sitting up by himself for a while now if we put him like that but this was the first time he actually pulled himself to this position all on his own. And I know it won't be long before he is pulling himself up and standing. I can see him trying really hard already. I think I'm gonna have my hands full! :)

Our First Posted Video - Luke crawling .. err... kind of! :)

2009-05-13T17:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter - a little late!

2009-05-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

Luke will be 7 months old in just 9 days! I honestly cannot believe how quickly the time passes. He is a busy little boy and we have been a very busy mommy & daddy these past couple of months! We have had so much going on ... both good & not so good.

We received joyful news of the early arrival of our new niece, Kaitlyn Marie. She was born on April 3rd and is absolutely precious! We were in Vancouver last week and it was a huge blessing to meet her! She is very, very cute and we can't wait to see her again later this year!

Sadly, Jeff's great Auntie Kay passed away at the end of March due to a fall she took that did some irreparable damage. She was a great woman and we appreciated the support she showed us throughout our relationship. Quite a few people traveled here for her service but it was especially nice to visit with Jeff's Auntie Lorraine and Uncle Ed. Uncle Ed was here for a few days and Auntie Lorraine stuck around for almost two weeks. This time turned out to be even more of a special gift than we had thought... Auntie Lorraine passed away on April 24th due to a fall she took down her stairs. She was Jeff's dad's youngest sister .. such a fun loving, easy going woman .. we will greatly miss her.

A few weeks ago, we said good-bye to our good friend Michael who moved to Tokyo, Japan to teach English. He has been living in San Diego for the past few years but we've kept in great touch and have enjoyed his many visits. We're so excited for him but it was still sad to see him go.

Kelsey and Kristin Lindberg came for a visit on Easter Sunday for a few days! I hope they had a good time. :) It was SO nice to have extra hands around and I know Luke enjoyed having some new faces to look at. :) They were supposed to babysit Luke so Jeff and I could have a night out but he got his first fever and ended up being pretty sick for a couple of days. Bummer for us but hopefully they'll be back!

So off to Vancouver we went last week for Auntie Lorraine's service. Luke did very well on the plane, both ways. He did get sick on our way there so the first couple of days he slept wonderfully and was pretty low key. He really enjoyed waking up with grandma and grandpa though and I enjoyed it too because I was able to go back to sleep. :) We spent a week there but Jeff was working remotely so we didn't get out as often as we usually do. It was so nice to see family and friends that we hadn't seen in a while and we're looking forward to our trip back later this year.

Now on to the Lukester! He's eating lots of different foods and I'm pretty sure he's enjoying them. It's so hard to figure it all out but I think we've finally got it down. He's been sitting up all by himself and today he started crawling! It was so exciting and such a proud moment for us! It wasn't 100% crawling... more like 1/2crawl 1/2 mermaid?? But I think it still counts. :) He's not talking much more than he was before. I'm hoping to hear a little "da da" "ma ma" some time soon though. :) His nights are "okayyyy". He was doing really well sleeping through the night and then the teething began. And then he was sick. And then he was starting solid foods so you don't know if he has gas. It's always something! So he's back to waking up once or twice per night... we're working on that this weekend.

We DO have a video camera now... thank you tax refund! :) We'll try and get a little video of Luke posted soon. It'll be so fun to give a glimpse of his personality to those of you who have never met him! But for now, enjoy the slide show below and we'll try to post again sooner next time!

View all

Get your own

Two Celebrations: One for 3 Years & One for 5 Months!

2009-03-21T14:37:00.001-07:00

Gosh, where does the time go?! Not only did we celebrate Luke's 5 month "birthday"... we also celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the same day! Although we didn't do much on the actual day, we'll most likely go to a "nice" dinner next weekend and Jeff's parents will babysit for us. I really enjoyed the evening though because Luke was in bed by 7 which gave us an earlier relaxation time. We ordered Chili's take out and watched The Biggest Loser and it was perfect! And it's actually exactly what we did last year too! :) I wonder what we'll do next year!

Luke is becoming more and more like his own little person and it's amazing to be a part of. He is such a sweet, curious, active boy! Not to mention extremely cute! :) This past month we endured "cry it out" bootcamp! For those who have not heard of it, we got the "okay" from Luke's doctor to start letting him cry for lengthy periods of time during the night because he was unable to put himself back to sleep. Although some moms let their babies cry until they fall asleep without going to them at all, this was not the approach we took. We did go in and let him know that we loved him and did not "abandon" him at specific time intervals that we were comfortable with and it ended up taking about 3 nights. It's been three full weeks now and he generally goes to bed around 7/7:30 and doesn't wake up until about 5:30/6:00 but will go back to sleep once we give him his pacifier until about 7/7:30. We're happy with that! And at that point he usually wakes up pretty happy and will play in his crib until we come in. There's nothing better than starting the day with his cute little gummy smile! Welll... maybe not so gummy anymore...

This brings me to the news of announcing Luke's first tooth! We found it this morning and it is his bottom right one. He's had a lot of other recent firsts too... he went swimming this weekend and he started eating cereal. Everything has gone better than expected and it's been so much fun! So what else has he been doing? Luke has been rolling around, talking a lot (and loudly! mostly "ahhhhhh" and grunt noises), trying to sit on his own, attempting to "army crawl", and he likes to stand like a big boy too. We also started him on a sippy cup which he doesn't quite get the hang of yet but we were impressed with how well he did for his first few times.

Luke was able to meet his Canadian friends, Finn Sawatzky and Vienna Voth, last week while they're here visiting for Spring Break. Finn is almost exactly two months older than Luke and Vienna was born the day before Luke. The three of them were pretty cute checking each other out. It's times like this that we question a possible future move to Vancouver! Luke would have so many friends there ... as would we! :)

Next month we welcome Kelsey and Kristin Lindberg's visit during their Easter break! They are the daughters of Jeff's cousin coming from Michigan. They are 17 and 15 .. is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking? BABYSITTERSSSSSS! :)

Enjoy the pictures and we'll be in touch again soon! XOXO

In the upper right hand corner of the slide show is an "Options" tab.. if you click on that and check the box for "captions" it'll include my notes for each picture. Not sure why it's not showing up automatically!

http://share.shutterfly.com/view/flashShareSlideshow.jsp?sid=0IZMWzdm5asXkQ

Some of Luke's "firsts"!

2009-02-24T12:50:00.001-08:00

Sucking his thumb! (this was in early January)

Wish he'd find it in the middle of the night! :)

Sitting in his Bumbo chair a little too soon!

Hanging out in the bathroom sink while mommy did a few things.

I'm honestly surprised he hasn't been there sooner!

On his way to Texas to visit his grandma, great auntie and.....

his great grandma! He was so much fun the whole time we were there!

Luke is 3 months old!

2009-01-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

This past weekend our dear friend Stephanie Flies took some photos of Luke to capture some sweet moments on his three month birthday. Steph is our friend who took his pictures at the hospital when he was born too! I knew I would never be able to take them as good as she could so thank you Steph, once again, for your thoughtfulness and for the time you took to do this for us!

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=85efc47b2503c717&sid=0IZMWzdm5asXgA

Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

Kristina: The holidays have come and gone so quickly this year. I was sad as we took down all of our Christmas decorations this past weekend. We had a wonderful holiday season especially with Luke joining us in the celebrations. We also had a visit from Jeff's brother, Jeremy, his wife, Tammie, and their son, Joshua. Josh turned one this past August and will welcome his new sibling some time in April of this year. It was so fun to see how much he's changed since we last saw him in early August! I think he had fun too playing with his cousins, Alyse and Olivia. They were quite the little helpers with Josh and Luke and are going to be great babysitters one day!

Christmas Eve is always special as we attend the candlelight service at church and sing Christmas carols & hymns. This year was a little different since Luke "preferred" to be in the lobby instead of the sanctuary but I still got to listen from there. I ended up taking him to the nursery and playing with him in there which kept him quite happy. After service, we went to Jeff's parent's house with his parents and Jen, Ryan and the girls. Luke stayed quite alert for the whole evening and that night... a Christmas miracle... he slept straight through until 6 a.m.!! After feeding him, I put him back down and he slept until 8 a.m.!! It was the best gift ever! He hasn't done it again since but that's okay... it's coming... :)

Christmas Day we spent at our home in the morning. Luke had a few presents to open which we of course opened for him but he did take the time to look at each gift and reach out to them. He received lots of Baby Einstein videos, some cute outfits, a book, a very colorful musical elephant and some great toys. He also received a savings bond & some money (Jeff is excited to open Luke's very first bank account!). We appreciate everyone's special thoughts & generosity!

The rest of the week was spent mostly with family and it was good to bring Luke out and about to see new things. I think he gets tired of being in the house so much but I'm still not quite confident enough to be toting him around with me unless we're going to a friend or family member's house. Especially when I know how cranky he gets right before his naps! He's napping for about two hours about every hour and a half to two hours so there's not a lot of awake time in between when you factor in his feedings. He's done pretty well though for as much as we were on the go this week.

New Year's Day and the day after marked another special time for us... Luke rolled over! The first day from his tummy to his back and the next day from his back to his tummy! It was so exciting! It's just amazing how strong he is getting. We also put him in his Jumperoo on New Year's Day. He can't quite reach the ground yet so we put something under his feet and also something around his torso to keep him upright. His head is very strong now but he does get tired after holding it up for so long that he'll just slump over. I've caught him a couple of times with his head on the tray of the Jumperoo and he's just sucking on a toy or the tray itself while resting his head! We also played Peek a Boo for the first time and he just giggled and giggled. The next day though he didn't even smile for Peek a Boo. Funny how something works one day and the next .... not so much... oh well!!

Anyhoo.. that's the latest and greatest from the Heptings here in Arizona. We wish you a very Happy and Healthy 2009! May you and your families be blessed!

XOXO

Your Christmas Card

2008-12-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

Kristina: Just couldn't get to it this year! We took the photos and even uploaded it all to Shutterfly but by the time we would've finished it, ordered it, bought stamps and addressed all the envelopes, Christmas might've just come and gone! So, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from the Hepting Family! :)

Gratefulness & Smiles

2008-12-09T08:47:00.000-08:00

Kristina: Every year when the holiday season approaches I feel as though time is just flying! It's hard to believe that another year has passed and I wonder if I truly take the time to thank the Lord for all the wonderful blessings He's bestowed upon my family & I over the past 12 months. Sometimes I can't think of this without being overwhelmed with emotion. I feel truly grateful for our family, for our friends, for our church, for our home, for our jobs, for our cars, for our health, for so many things. And of course, I am most thankful this year for our beautiful son, Luke Henry. He is growing so fast ... 7 weeks old already! It's amazing to witness the changes in him on a daily basis. He brings us such joy... as well as frustration at times but let's focus on the joy! :)

This past month has been a time of major adjustment in our lives. The first few weeks, Luke was so easy. All he did was sleep, eat and poop. And while he still does these things quite often, just after 3 weeks something changed. We've been up at night a lot with him, we have been comforting him during his hours of crying in the evening and sometimes for hours during the day. But through all of these trials, he has also learned to smile and has been doing this since week 4. His smiles are much more frequent now and just completely melt our hearts! Whenever he is with just one of us and the other comes in to say hi to him, he smiles so big! He is also cooing which he does most on his changing table. The mornings are my favorite! He can be on his changing table for an hour just smiling and goo-ing and ga-ing. It's the sweetest sound and no matter how frustrating he can be at times, it's these moments that make it all worth it.

We are overjoyed to be spending this Christmas with Luke and teaching him each and every year what the true meaning of Christmas is. We love this little guy so much and want him to know how special and loved he is, not only to us, but to Jesus as well.

We welcome your prayers as we continue to adjust to our new lives as parents. Specifically, good rest for Luke and for us! :) Love to you all and best wishes for a wonderful December! We hope that you'll take the time during the busyness to reflect on the true reason why we celebrate Christmas.

xoxo

Luke is 4 weeks old!

2008-11-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Kristina: 4 weeks have come and gone and we are still adjusting to our new roles as mommy & daddy. The first three weeks were manageable but I think it might've been because we were on cloud nine. This fourth week has been tough! Jeff went away to Michigan for a wedding and the day after he left, Luke was a completely different baby. We were up one morning at 1:15 and never went back to sleep! That same day, my sister Toni was here for a visit and the following day my mom arrived. It meant so much to have them here spending time with our precious little guy... although he might've seemed a little less precious to them! He was very fussy, fussier than usual and he cried A LOT! I ended up taking him to the doctor on Friday and found out that he's been constipated. I also found out that our little whopper junior is now almost 12 pounds! No wonder my back is killing me! Soooooooo we're just trying to get him "regular" again and hoping that it happens fairly soon. It's so hard to hear him cry so much... and so loudly!

I don't have too many NEW pictures, but here's a link to some that we have uploaded on Shutterfly that you may not have seen. We'll have more recent ones up next time.

share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0IZMWzdm5asXOw

Luke Henry Hepting has arrived!

2008-10-24T16:43:00.001-07:00

Kristina: As many of you know, our precious little boy is finally here! We are so in love with him and are enjoying every minute together!

It all started last Friday when I started having painful contractions that were between 3 and 5 minutes apart so off to the hospital we went around 8:00 p.m. They admitted us and set us up for monitoring and we found out that I was only experiencing "early labor". Had I not been 41 weeks pregnant and scheduled for induction that same weekend, they would've sent us home. We're thankful they kept us there but it was a longggg night! The room we were in at first was SO small and uncomfortable. At 2 a.m. they started me on Pitocin. It was impossible to sleep during my contractions and poor Jeff was sleeping in a chair! At 7 a.m. they took us to the delivery room and I finally got the long awaited epidural. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad. My doctor came in at 8 a.m. to break my bag of water only to discover that I hadn't progressed in my dilation and my cervix was still high. So they increased the Pitocin dosage and she came back at noon to try and break my water again. Noon came and she discovered, once again, that there had been no changes. I LOVE my doctor and totally respect her in every way so when she suggested we consider having a c-section, I trusted her. She felt that either I had a small pelvis or the baby was going to be big and for one of those two reasons, he was not preparing himself to come through the birth canal. When we found out that we could have the c-section an hour from then and that we'd be holding our little baby shortly thereafter, it seemed to be the right choice. There was no way of knowing how much longer the Pitocin would take and it had been such a long night already... I was exhausted and so was Jeff. Soooo, in we went & out we came with our little 9 pound 8 ounce 21 and 3/4 inch long bundle of joy!! He was born at 2:36 p.m. on October 18th.

We came home on Tuesday and it's been a great week. The recovery process for me started out pretty rough but one look at Luke reminds me that it's all worth it (percocet seems to help too!). Jeff has been amazing this week and has really taken to his role as "daddy". He's been very hands on with Luke and so helpful with me since I've needed some help getting up and around too ... I don't know what I would do without him. It's been so special already in many ways and I'm just so grateful that God has given us this beautiful gift ...

So yes there are, I'm sure, sleepless nights ahead and other challenges as well but we are doing our best to learn together and embrace each moment. We look forward to keeping you updated on little Luke and the many ways he keeps us smiling!

xoxo

The Countdown Is On!

2008-10-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Kristina: Long time, no blog... sorry! I've had no desire to sit down for an hour to type out the past month's happenings and upload photos. But I will try to be better since we'll have more to keep in touch about very soon! :)

Things have been good lately. We had a wonderful time with our friends Colin and Dev who visited from Vancouver. We stayed quite busy during the 10 days they were here and thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. I was also able to visit with my cousin Nikki and two of her little boys during one night of her stay in Arizona. It's definitely interesting to catch a glimpse into the lives of little boys ... I hope we're ready for this! :)

Jeff has been under a bit of stress at work as they have handed him some pretty big projects to manage recently. While all that is good, it just comes at an awkward time considering our circumstances. But he handles it well and we're just so thankful for his job during this depressing time in our economy. I have been done with work for quite some time now although I volunteered to fill a need at my office for 3 weeks. It was for 24 hours per week and since it's not our busiest office, I caught up on emails and read "baby" .. it wasn't a lot of fun but it definitely helped pass the time a bit as I was starting to go a little stir crazy in the house!

As many of you know, we celebrated my 32nd birthday last week. (I cannot believe I am 32!) Saturday night, the 4th, was our "big" night out. We enjoyed a nice dinner out together and then met our friends, Josh and Katherine, for a comedy show. It was SO much fun! We just happened to catch Last Comic Standing on TV this summer and the final five contestants were here in town to perform. We are obsessed (healthily) with one of the comics, Jeff Dye. Unfortunately, he wasn't the winner, he came in third but that remains mind boggling to us. He, BY FAR, had the most laughs and the longest line at the autographs table during intermission. But that's besides the point. We met him during intermission and bought one of his CDs, shook his hand, and took a pic with him. One of the things we've liked about him from the beginning is that he doesn't tell "crude" jokes but still manages to make us cry from laughing so hard. Come to find out at his performance last Saturday that he is a Christian and takes a stance in not using profanity in his stand up. Now, we bought his CD and there were a couple of things on there that were a bit more on the "edgy" side but still... in comparison he is pretty clean and all I can say is that he is HILARIOUS and everyone should go see him! :)

So on to baby news... my dr. appointment this morning revealed that I am now 1 cm dilated. The baby hasn't dropped yet and my cervix is still quite high so there wasn't much the doctor could do to help labor start progressing. If I haven't gone into labor by Friday, I will go in on Friday for a "foley catheter" and we are scheduled late Friday night through Sunday for induction. The hospital will call us any time between those days for us to come in & we're expecting it to be shortly after midnight the first night. I have to say that I have been feeling pretty good lately. A couple of days this last week I have felt pretty tired but I think it's because I cleaned our entire house and was just busying myself with things. I'm definitely big and I'm definitely uncomfortable 80% of the time but I think knowing that by the end of this upcoming weekend our little guy will be here just puts me at ease a bit. Our nursery is pretty much ready and has been for a couple of weeks now. Our house is clean. Our bags are packed. Jeff's parents arrived late on Friday and my mom and sister, Toni, have booked their flights to come out. What's left??!!

Oh and we thought we'd include a 39 week belly shot... below is a link to view our progression:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=10x03nej.4fvehonf&Uy=3zg66f&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=864309858471_583000125603&localeid=en_US

Please keep us in your prayers this week! We would really love to experience going into labor naturally rather than being induced but we trust God in all of it and are preparing ourselves for however baby h will come into this world. We are very much looking forward to introducing our precious son to you all and we can't wait to finally hold him in our arms!

And happy Thanksgiving to our fellow Canadians! We hope your Turkey dinner tonight was as yummy as ours! :)

xoxo

35 Week Photo Update!

2008-09-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

Warning! It's big! :)

You can also see the "Belly Album" by going to:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=10x03nej.4fvehonf&x=0&y=3zg66f&localeid=en_US

Just click on the album and it will allow you to look through the 4 pictures... you don't have to register for an account.

5 Weeks To Go!

2008-09-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

Kristina: Here's an update on what's been going on since our return from Gatlinburg:

My sister, Jodi, came on out for a short visit so that she could be here for my baby shower. It was very sweet of her to come and we really enjoyed having her here... it's too bad it wasn't for just a tad bit longer! My shower was wonderful and we can't thank our family & friends enough for their love and support. We received so many gifts from our registry and that has been so helpful to us. Friends at work are having a shower for me the third week of September and hopefully after that we'll be able to complete our nursery. It's coming along quite nicely so far and I just can't help going in there everyday just to look at everything! It's all just too cute!

Our friends, Scott and Erin, stayed with us for a while and were able to move into their new house right before Jodi got here. And last week on August 25th, they had a beautiful baby girl, Nora Grace. She weighed in at 8 pounds 10.5 ounces and is very precious! It's kind of nice having someone I'm so close to go through this process first .. I've been asking a lot of questions and stealing organizational ideas for the nursery. It's been a big help!

Jeff & I finished the last of three birthing classes that we took at the hospital this past Wednesday night. We would highly recommend these classes to anyone having a baby for their first time, but I won't lie... it definitely put a little more of a "scare" into the labor/delivery aspect for me! I do think, however, that it gave Jeff more knowledge and confidence to be a great support and coach while we're in the delivery room. I think he said he might even go get himself a whistle! :)

Our front yard is progressing too as Jeff has been hard at work the past couple of weeks. All of the old rock has been removed, new dirt has been brought in, mounds have been formed, plants have been planted ... oh, it's coming along. He still has more planting to do and then will bring in our new rock. It's so labor intensive and I can't understand why he enjoys it so much, especially when it's 100 degrees outside but he definitely puts a lot of heart into it and it shows. Wait til you see it! :)

We look forward to a visit next week from our friends Colin and Dev from Vancouver and the following week from my cousin Nikki from NY. It's hard to believe that by the time that's all said and done, we're at the end of September already...

Gatlinburg Adventure!

2008-08-14T20:52:00.000-07:00

Kristina: We are back from our latest adventure and it is good to be home! We had a wonderful time with Jeff's family and it was so good to see everyone and I enjoyed getting to know them all a little better. Gatlinburg was a neat little town to visit and where we stayed worked out perfectly for each family. The grounds were beautiful with lush landscaping and tall green trees. It was a nice change from our brown desert landscape we see here everyday! Some of the fun outings we had included dinner with the entire family we were there with, a night out at the Dixie Stampede, hiking to a waterfall in Smoky Mountain National Park (I wasn't sure I would make it!), riding the tram up the Ober Gatlinburg which offered us wonderful views of the city and then the rest of the family (not me... I watched Josh and the purses!) enjoyed the Alpine Slide up at the top, we enjoyed breakfast at the Pancake Pantry, mini-golf (my favorite course ever I must say!), touring through downtown Gatlinburg, and many late nights enjoying the company of Jeff's cousins and playing games in the game rooms we had in our cabins. We had pool tables, Ms. PacMan, air hockey, foosball, Wii... It was quite the week!

Once we checked out there, we headed to Atlanta to visit with my friends, Heather, Dave, and their two little girls, Claudia and Juliette. Jeff got to see and catch his very first firefly! It was a momentous occasion! :-) We really enjoyed our time there and it gave us some valuable insight to parenting a 3 and 1 year old. Life's going to be busy the next few years! We only stayed for one night but itworked perfectly and gave us time to enjoy a nice dinner & breakfast, courtesy of Chef Dave, and an afternoon at the park watching the girls play. It was a great way to end our vacation!

12 Weeks to go and counting....

2008-07-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

Kristina: We're happy to report that all is going well in the life of the Heptings! Baby h is still showing off his moves and they are definitely getting stronger and more noticeable to the outside world. The books are telling us that the baby now gets startled by loud noises which is kind of funny. I can totally feel an abrupt movement from him at the sound of an unexpected, loud noise. He's probably just over 2 pounds right now and almost 15 inches long!

I continue to feel pretty good for the most part which I am so grateful for. Believe me, there's always something a pregnant girl could complain about but when you put it all into perspective, it's minor on most days. :-) My biggest battle recently has been my swollen feet and my acceptance of my new "cankles". That has been HARD!! So I am just trying to watch my sodium intake a little more carefully and attempting to elevate my feet more often. Hmmm.. can you say bon bons??! :-)

My wonderful sister in law will be hosting my shower probably at the end of August some time so I have recently braved the registering process. That was an overwhelming but fun experience. I had LOTS of notes from many friends who have had babies in the past couple of years ... it was awesome to have recommendations based on recent experiences! Plus I did my own research so I had a lot of information and felt very prepared. It was such a feeling of accomplishment once I was done!! It did feel surreal though... I won't lie! And this topic gives me the opportunity to "showcase" a talent of one of my dear friends, Stephanie Flies. She has decided to take her passion to the next level and is now creating invitations, birth announcements, etc. I've posted a link to her website, IDesign, under the add'l blogs listed on the right side of our page. Whether you're near or far, you should take a looksy... she is very creative and talented and will be doing my invitations, thank you cards and birth announcements. I'm very excited! Even her blog is so fun to read! There's a link to it from this page if you have time to see what I mean. :-)

Jeff has started a new project of re-landscaping our front yard. Now for those of you who don't know Jeff too well, not only does he enjoy projects, but he LOVES his yard! He is so creative and so good at keeping everything so nice, neat and lush looking. He does have a tendency, however, to wait until the absolute hottest days of summer to do these outside projects! Drives me nuts! So now, at 110 degrees outside, Jeff is raking and shoveling rock, removing and replacing plants, bringing in and shoveling down new dirt and laying down new rock. His hard work always pays off as I know we will love his new creation. I'll have to remember to take a picture and pass it along once we're all done.

We are looking forward to our friends, Scott and Erin, moving back this week! And we head out the 1st of August until the 10th for our family reunion vacation in Gatlinburg, Tennessee! So it will be probably be a while until our next "hello". We've attached a few pictures below for your entertainment...one is from a night out with my sister in law and her family. Jen's birthday was on the 14th so we all enjoyed a nice dinner at "Roy's" together. Unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy a glass of wine as I normally would dining there, but only 12 more weeks, right? :-) And the other photos are of my growing belly. I have completed 28 weeks! Here's a link, also, to show the progression over the past 8 weeks. They're the same photos you've seen on here but you can see the "growth" a little more clearly this way. Just click on the album... you don't have to have sign in or have an account:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=10x03nej.4fvehonf&Uy=3zg66f&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=629001619002_120458182603&localeid=en_US

25 Weeks - 15 to go!

2008-06-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

Kristina: It's been a while! I can't believe how quickly time passes! Baby h is still movin' & groovin' and we're at a fun stage now where Jeff can feel and see him moving in my tummy. This whole process continues to amaze us everyday! I have been feeling pretty good although struggling w/ some lower back discomfort, sore ligaments, swollen feet (the list could go on!) but have been trying hard to focus on the "good" of it all! :-)

Gosh, so what have we been doing the past 5 weeks? Well, we've been getting Le Marche ready for its new tenant... we've had yard work and painting and fun things like that to do. And our tenant finally did move in this weekend only to discover a flood in our kitchen the day she got there! Sooooo... down to Le Marche we went... a couple of times... just when I thought we were done! All should be good but the washing machine valve got us when we weren't looking and caused some minor damage that we're working through. Luckily, God has blessed us with someone patient and understanding... well she is for now anyway! :-)

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining the youth ministry's high school camping trip at Lake Powell as a volunteer leader. I've been involved with them since about last October, leading a high school girls' small group each Wednesday night at our church since January. It's been fun getting to know them and fun to reminisce to myself about what it was like to be in high school.... oh the worries we had back then... Yeah right! :-) But despite all of the challenges we had, and trust me, there were TONSSSSS, we had two kids come to Christ and one rededicate her life to Him. And in the end, that's what it's all about!

Last weekend, Jeff & I took a trip to San Diego. We thought it would be nice to get away for a weekend out of the heat & as a bonus, we would visit with our friend, Michael. Michael moved from AZ to San Diego about 3 years ago & he was a GREAT tour guide! We really enjoyed the time we had w/ him and with each other...even if it was San Diego's hottest weekend on record! Oh & we don't recommend Sea World when it's hot & if you're pregnant! :-)

So it's almost July now and there are so many things we are looking forward to over the next few months! We just found out that our close friends, Scott and Erin Bacchus, are moving back to Phoenix. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! We've all been praying for this for quite some time so we're very, very excited! And since Erin is 32 weeks pregnant, they are planning to be here by the end of July and I am just overjoyed that they'll be here for the birth of their baby and for the birth of ours! We are also awaiting our upcoming trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which will be the first week of August where we are going for Jeff's Family Reunion. Every five years, he and his cousins plan an "FR" in a fun location that everyone agrees on. Gatlinburg came through in first place so off to the Smoky Mountains we go! It'll be very fun for everyone to be together again! Once we're back our baby & I will be "showered with love" by my dear sister in law and we'll start our birthing education classes. Jeff's really excited about that one! ;-) That will take us through the end of August... my how time is flying!

We appreciate your prayers more than you know and thank you for your love and friendship! We'll do our best to update our blog again in the next couple of weeks!

20 Weeks - Half way there!

2008-05-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Kristina: We have officially concluded 20 weeks of pregnancy and are half way to our October 11th deadline! I had another dr. appointment last week and got to hear the little guy's heartbeat again.... boy, is he squirmy! But I look forward to that sound every month. I can feel him moving quite frequently and have been feeling his little kicks. Perhaps he's already practicing to impress his daddy with his soccer skills!

We celebrated Jeff's 35th birthday this past week! God had to remind me that no matter how hard I try, I just will never be a good cook! It was a poke to the eye after I had spent 3 hours in the kitchen and nothing went right. But we had some good laughs about it. And I won't be cooking next year... that's for sure! (FYI, I do have a few good meals that I can cook... I'm not ALL bad!)

Jeff: Where's the nearest McDonalds?

Kristina: Hardy har har... ANYHOOOOO... moving along... we had a HUGE answer to prayer this week as we found a new tenant for the house we used to live in. We were very unsure how we'd be affected by the tragedy that occurred at the house w/ our previous tenant. Although legally we didn't have to disclose what happened, we felt it was the right thing to do even though it might bring us some challenges. We had two potential interests that we never heard back from once we shared the information with them. This left us feeling nervous & unsure about how long this process might actually take. A few days later, we had two more potentials who were still interested after we told them. We're not sure how we, ourselves, would've responded had we been "the tenant" so we are very grateful that God provided this person for us, one who we feel extremely comfortable & confident with moving forward. PHEW!!

For you Americans, we hope you've enjoyed the long weekend! :-) We ask for your continued prayers (U.S. and Canadian please) for the health of our pregnancy. And as promised, here are a few more photos! I'll try and make them more colorful next time! xoxoxo

Busted...

2008-05-14T22:05:00.000-07:00

Kristina: Okay, so I've been called "busty" and it's been requested that I wear a more "fitted" top to show the belly. Sooooooooooo... thanks for the feedback (I think! :) and the pictures that were previously posted have gone bye bye. I will try to take some over this coming weekend... I'll see what I can find in the "dressing room" for something a little more loose up top and a little more snug at the bottom. But to give you an idea of how I feel and look, the gal on the left pretty much sums it up!

xoxoxoxoxo

Our Ultrasound!

2008-05-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

We're having a . . . !!!

2008-05-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

Kristina: Well... I am 18 weeks and 3 days pregnant and I feel amazingly great. Minus the constant pregnancy sniffles, a few aches & pains, and some extra added "fluffiness", I have so far felt really well!

We experienced today what we both described as the most amazing day of our lives! We had our 2nd ultrasound today and received the wonderful news that so far, our baby contains all the right ingredients for a healthy baby boy! We are overjoyed! Everything looked to be as it should and we are so thankful for this 7 inch, 7 ounce miracle!

Since I have been repeatedly asked for photos of my expanding mid-section, we have finally replaced our broken camera and are granting these wishes! (now leave me alone! :)

We will soon upload photos of our ultrasound for your viewing pleasure and we ask for your continued prayers! We'll be in touch again soon and send our love to you all. XOXO