Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from the Gulliver girls! (And their Mommy and Daddy too!)

Ava's 1 year picture

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We had a great Christmas and enjoyed spending time with all of our family this past week. Santa sure did spoil the girls this year and so did their grandparents and aunts and uncles! As for New Years, we are just staying home for New Years Eve and then are leaving the next day for Boyne Mountain for the weekend with my side of the family. I'm sure I will have lots of pictures after the weekend! I will post more Christmas pictures also once I have downloaded them at home. Happy New Year!!

Catching up!

Me and my sweet husband!

I loved the bathroom and enjoyed several long soaks in the tub!

The most comfortable bed ever!!

Sorry it has been awhile since my last post. A lot of things are going on right now, especially with the holiday season quickly approaching!

I realized that I never posted what I got Aaron for his birthday back in November. Well, I surprised Aaron with a night away at the JW Marriott hotel downtown. He was pretty surprised and I had a bag of our stuff packed, the kids were staying with Dad and Julie for the night and our cousin, Amy, was taking care of Maya while we had a night away to ourselves. We had a great time just getting to spend time together. We enjoyed the pool and hot tub and got room service while we watched a movie. It was so much fun! As you can see above, I have posted some of the pictures from our stay.

Bugs, bugs everywhere! Everyone in our household was struck in some way by a nasty stomach virus in the past 2 weeks. Yuck! Kylie and Ava were both sick for about a week and a half and then Aaron and I caught it as well. Now that everyone has recovered from the stomach bug, I am feeling pretty lousy and have just come down with a nasty head cold. What a bad time to be sick right before the holidays. Hopefully the girls or Aaron will not catch this!

Just a quick update for now. More to come later!

Happy 1st Birthday Ava Grace!

At her 1st birthday party in her new seat from Grandma and Grandpa John

Our little reader!

6 months old

5 months old-Easter

1st Christmas with her big sister

Ultrasound picture-July 30th, 2007 (She was born exactly 4 months later to the day!)

Happy 1st birthday to our sweet Ava Grace. Mommy, Daddy and Kylie want to wish you the happiest of birthdays! It is so hard to believe that you are already 1 year old and it is amazing how fast this year has gone by. It has been such a joy to watch you discover this big world around you and to see you experience so many of your first things, such as crawling, your first tooth, first smile, etc. Those are priceless moments that we will always treasure. We love you so much baby girl!

Mommy, Daddy and Kylie

Ava had her first birthday on November 30th. I am a little late posting as I had to catch up on a lot of work these past couple of days after having a nice Thanksgiving weekend. Ava's birthday party was on Saturday and it was a lot of fun, so much fun that Ava fell asleep in her high chair eating her dinner at 6:00 p.m. that night! Poor thing was partied out! It was a great party with our family and friends and Ava was very lucky and got a lot of wonderful toys and adorable clothes.

At her 1 year check-up with the doctor, here are Ava's stats:

Weight: 20 lbs., 10 ounces (50 percentile)

Height: 28 inches (25 percentile-she is a short little peanut!)

Head: 97 percentile!! (The doctor says that big heads means big brains!) :)

Overall she is doing perfect and the doctor and nurse couldn't get over how well behaved and beautiful she was. She survived her 4 shots although Mommy had a hard time with them. Aaron and I are so lucky to have two beautiful little girls and can't wait to celebrate many, many more birthdays with them!

Happy 27th Birthday Aaron!

I just wanted to wish my hubby a VERY happy 27th birthday!! I won't make this too lovey-dovey-I already gave you a card that told you just how much you mean to me. I am so honored to be your wife and can't wait to grow even older with you! You are the best husband and the most wonderful daddy that I could ever wish for. I love you SOOOOO much!! (I still can't tell you what I got you for your birthday though because it won't be in until Saturday.) Three more days of suspense... :)

EXCITING NEWS!!!

No, I am NOT pregnant again! I knew some of you would think that! :) My best friend, Michelle and her husband, Scott, are expecting TRIPLETS!!!! We are SO excited for them (can you tell?!?!) and hope that everything goes smoothly in the pregnancy. We can't wait to meet these miracle babies, which should be arriving sometime in the early spring. Michelle is dealing with a lot of all-day sickness and I hope for her sake that it goes away shortly. Congratulations Scott and Michelle. We wish you nothing but the best and will be here for you if you need anything!

Pictures from Grandma's visit

Ava-poor thing has another nasty cold! :(

Kylie, the friendly dog!

Enjoying the beautiful weather last Friday.

It is hard to believe now there was snow on our deck this morning! Grandma came to watch the girls on Friday and then Grandpa John joined us on Friday night for dinner as we celebrated Aaron's birthday a bit early. (His birthday is on the 19th.) I can't wait until I give him his birthday present-he insists that he knows what I got for him but he has no idea...he is going to be very surprised! I will share once he has gotten his present in a couple of weeks!

More Halloween pictures

Dorothy (a.k.a. Kylie) I don't think Kylie was too sure about the witch...

Ava looks pretty excited about all that candy!

The trick or treaters sorting out the candy!

The two pumpkins and Dorothy-aren't they adorable? (I'm a little biased!) :)

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Gulliver Girls!

Kylie as Dorothy-homemade costume made by Ma Goo Goo!

Our little Pumpkin-her first Halloween!

These are just a few pictures before the massive amounts of pictures are taken tonight before trick or treating! Kylie had her school Halloween party yesterday and got to dress up in her costume. The costume is gorgeous! My mother-in-law, Julie, made the costume and it is just perfect! Thanks Ma Goo Goo! My mom did a great job with the braids too! Hope everyone has a safe Halloween and more pictures to come next week!

Happy Halloween!

The Gulliver Family

Anyone with advice?

So these past few weeks have been exhausting for me, both mentally and physically. My workload has increased significantly and I've been fighting a cold for almost two weeks. Needless to say, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I have been wondering lately, how do I balance things out as I work full-time and am a mommy/wife full-time? How do I not let the stress of my work affect me or my family when I come home at night? How do I get the things I need to do at home when I feel like I am always at work? Don't get me wrong, I love working and have a great job but sometimes I feel as though my girls are growing up and I am hardly there to see any of it. I just needed to let some things off of my mind as my week comes to an end and as I prepare to get a couple days off to spend quality time with my husband and my kids. I'm sure once I am not so overwhelmed at work that things will return to normal but in the meantime, I could use any advice that anyone may have.

Enjoy your weekend and give extra hugs and kisses to the ones you love!

Just like his Uncle Aaron...

Our nephew Drew is wearing one of his Uncle Aaron's old sweaters, from when Aaron was a baby. Aaron's mom gave Amanda (Drew's mommy) this sweater for Drew to wear. Drew thinks his Uncle Aaron is pretty cool and wants to dress just like him! :)

Little Pumpkins

Drew thought leaves were a delightful fall treat!

Happy girl Ava-always has a big old smile on her face!

Happy Fall everyone!

Hmm...does one of these pumpkins look different than the rest? :)

All of the kids and grandkids (yes, I had my hair chopped off!)

The Gulliver/Meerman Families

On Sunday, we had lunch at Dad & Julie's and then all headed over to Robinette's for a hayride and cider and donuts. Yummy! Julie had gotten all of the babies matching pumpkin outfits and of course we had to take a ton of pictures of all the cuties! It was a great fall day and a lot of fun!

On a another note, Ava is finally crawling!!!! When I came to pick up the girls at my mom's house on Friday after work, I was coaxing Ava to come see me. Sure enough, she crawled right over to me! My mom and I were so excited that we were practically screaming, which Ava wasn't too sure what all the commotion was about but now she is crawling all over the place. We really have to keep an eye on her now because she has a tendancy to want to play with the dog's toys! Her two front bottom teeth are just now peeking through the gum. For awhile there, she was in so much pain because of getting those two teeth at once. Poor thing. She is getting to be such a big girl!

Our 5 year old!

Daddy and his "bug"

Mommy and her "bug"

Today our Kylie bug is 5 years old! I feel like I was just writing a post about her turning 4 years old and here it is, another year gone by. Kylie, we love you so much and you bring so much joy and laughter into our lives. We are so blessed to have you as a daughter and although growing up may be tough at times (for both of us!), we will always be here for you no matter what. We wish you a very happy birthday and love you so much!!!! Ava loves her big sister very much too and wishes you a happy birthday too with lots of hugs and kisses! (Birthday party pictures are to come and yes, these pictures are from last July at my brother's wedding but I love them!)

Love,

Mommy & Daddy & Ava

Fun with Nana & Papa!

Ava, Papa and Kylie swimming at Forest Hills Aquatic Center-they love their Papa!

Kylie on the carousel at the Hudsonville Fair-doesn't she looks so old?

Ava having fun!

Kylie on the balance beam at her gymnastics lesson-my sister takes her on Mondays

Both girls at the Hudsonville Fair that Nana took them to-they were showing off their face paintings. (Kylie had a butterfly and Ava has a heart)

We are very blessed to have my mom (Nana) take care of the girls Mondays-Thursdays while Aaron and I are at work. (And Granny, Grandma and Ma Goo Goo on Fridays!) We can't thank her (or them) enough for helping us out and the girls just love spending time with their Nana and Papa. My mom and dad do so much for our girls and are so special to me. We just want to thank them for all that they have done for us. We love you Nana and Papa! We can't wait until you are back from Alaska!

Summertime fun!

Ava-9 months old

Busha's 92nd Birthday Party at Aunt Marcia's-Kylie loved the pool!

Uncle "Wally" a.k.a. John with Ava

Kylie riding Uncle Wally's horse, Lucky, at the St. Joe festival

Ava's first time swimming-Kylie was showing her how much fun it was!

Ava and Andrew-best buds! This is the first time Ava pulled herself up!

Finally...

Two big accomplishments in our household:

1) Our kitchen is now complete!! As of last Monday, our new counters, sink, faucet and microwave were installed. We now have a fully functional kitchen again, thank goodness! How sad is it that the first night that we had the kitchen back, we had McDonalds for dinner? We were actually out and about that night-that is the only reason why we ate out! I am thrilled with the results of our kitchen and must give a TON of credit to my handy man hubby, Aaron. He did most of the hard work with his own two hands, with help from his grandpa and grandma (tiling) and his dad (installing cabinets, microwave, etc.). Thank you to all of you who helped!

2) Ma-ma-what a beautiful word! Ava finally said Mama as of yesterday!! I am thrilled she can finally say it and she thinks she is big stuff too. (Although she does wonder why I get so excited whenever she says it!) Da-da was her 1st word, Nana was her 2nd word and Mama makes number 3. It is amazing how much she is changing everyday. We are expecting her to start crawling any day now. She saw that her cousin, Drew, crawls and she wants to join in on the fun!

Future heartbreaker!

I just got this picture of my nephew, Drew from his mommy. He will be seven months on September 2, hard to believe. He is so adorable and this is an awesome picture of him! Lots of hugs and kisses Droopy from Aunt Katie!

Festival time

This Sunday, we went to the St. Joe festival in Wright, Michigan with Dad, Julie, Matt, Amanda and Drew. It is a big festival to help raise money for the church and we always have a great time every year we go. Ava was feeling a little under the weather and was beginning to come down with a fever. While we were all enjoying our chicken dinner, Ava threw up all of her apricots, that she had just eaten, all over my lap! Thank you Amanda for the wipes! Ava slept off and on while we were there.
Kylie had fun playing in the kids tent and she got to ride Lucky, Uncle Wally's horse. That made her day to ride Lucky-she always looks forward to seeing the horses at the festival. Kylie helped Dad and Julie with a couple of games and ended up winning a new Barbie and a box of groceries for Ma Goo Goo! She was their good luck charm! I took a lot of pictures but will have to add them on here later. I don't have them downloaded off the camera yet.
On the home front, the tile is done in the kitchen and the counters will be installed this Monday!!!! I cannot wait to have the kitchen all done-it already looks amazing! I am so excited!
My parents are off to their third trip to Alaska in two weeks-we will miss them but hope they have a good time. They will be back for Kylie's 5th birthday. I can't believe that a month from tomorrow she will be FIVE years old!! Well, that is all for now. More to come later.

Gulliver Family Update

Our two goofy girls!

Ava Grace-8 months old!! (She put the balloon up there by herself!)

She sure loves to bounce!

Ava with her Great-Grandma Bair-she just loved her!

Ava, Kylie and Drew (Aunt Minnie bought the two younger ones matching shirts-Drew has puppies and Ava has kitties on her shirt)

I haven't updated in awhile-sorry! It has been a little crazy around the Gulliver household lately. First of all, we are in the process of remodeling our kitchen. Aaron installed all new cabinets and just ordered our new countertops. We bought a new sink and facuet as well but can't install those until we have the counters. Let me tell you, I miss my counters and kitchen sink! I do not like doing the dishes in the bathtub! We have been using a lot of paper plates and such as it is easier to just throw them away after our meals. We are also tiling our kitchen floor. Aaron and his grandpa and Dad will be starting this project tomorrow morning, bright and early! So needless to say, we are somewhat without a kitchen and although it is a mess right now, the end result will be worth it! I will post some before, during and after pictures as soon as the kitchen is all done.

Kylie is enrolled in Tumble Bugs at a local gymnastics center, which my sister takes her on Kylie's "Tuesdays with Tia" day. (Tia is aunt in spanish and what she has always called my sister.) She is phenomenal at gymnastics and several times the teachers have told my sister that Kylie has a natural gift and will go far in gymnastics if she sticks with it. Kylie loves to show us all of her little routines and everyday I watch her, I feel like she is growing up more and more right in front of my eyes. In just about 6 weeks, she will be 5 years old. As Kylie tells me, "That's a whole handful!" (As in how she shows someone how old she is with her fingers!) She will be starting preschool again after Labor Day and will be going Monday-Thursday mornings. She is anxiously awaiting going back to school. I'm sure one day when she is a little older she will not feel that way anymore!

Ava is now 8 months old as of July 30! Seriously, where did the time go? I swear I was just pregnant with her. We actually found out a year ago on July 30th, that we would be having another baby girl, hard to believe it was a year ago already. Ava finally said her first word as of last Saturday! And the word........"DA-DA!" Yeah, I have been trying for 8 months to have her say Ma-Ma but Da-da is what I get! I will tell her, "Ava, say Ma-ma!" She will look at me and just laugh and say, "Da-da, da-da, da-da." That silly girl! She is becoming more vocal everyday and isn't close to crawling yet. She would rather just roll to where she wants to get to. That's okay, I'm not in a rush for the crawling stage to begin just yet.

Aaron and I are busy with the kitchen project and taking care of each other and the girls. We are looking forward to our tubing trip with our cousin, Amy and her fiance, Justin and others next Saturday. It should be a nice and relaxing day. Hopefully the weather will cooperate for us. Well, that's about all at the Gulliver household as of now. I will try to do a little better at updating this blog more often!