The Gulliver's

Two years old!

2009-12-02T16:58:00.004-05:00

Ava Grace Gulliver, born 11/30/2007
Kylie meeting her baby sister for the first time-a moment I will never forget...
Two years later...Ava's birthday party, 11/28/2009
The big two year old-what a ham!
She sure loves the camera!

Our sweet Ava Grace is two years old! It is so amazing how fast time flies. I feel like we were just announcing to the world that Ava had finally entered the world and here I am talking about her 2nd birthday! What a sweet girl she is and it has been so much fun to watch her learn more things everyday. I must admit that she has a bit of a fiery streak in her that she shows when she doesn't get her way! She is talking more and more everyday and absolutely adores her big sister, Kylie. Kylie loves to read Ava books and play pretend with her little sister and yes, she loves to boss her little sister around too. But hey, what are big sisters for, right Tia? :) Just kidding! (Tia is what the girls call my sister, Noelle.) We had a fun party for Ava this past Saturday and had a quiet celebration with her at home just the four of us on Monday, her actual birthday. It made me sad to realize that this is most likely my last "baby" and it was hard for Mommy to put her one year old to sleep on Sunday knowing that she would have a two year old the next morning. Why do kids grow up so fast?
I have much to update on but need to get dinner ready. Happy birthday Ava!! We love you so much!!
Mommy, Daddy and Kylie

Can it be?!?!

2009-09-16T10:28:00.003-05:00

Kylie at 1 day old-so precious
My sweet girl-again 1 day old
Kylie-almost 6 in this picture!
Kylie-the big sister
Mommy and Kylie right after she was born-what a miracle

That Kylie is SIX years old now? It is so hard for me to believe that Kylie had her 6th birthday yesterday! Aaron and I took her (and Ava) out to dinner at Applebee's to celebrate last night and Kylie immediately informed our server that it was her birthday. Such a change from two years ago when she was hiding behind me when the servers came out to sing happy birthday to her! She was soaking up the attention she got last night! We then took her to Toys "R" Us after dinner and she got to pick out her birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy. She picked out a couple of Barbie items to go along with the Ken doll and Ken doll outfit that Ava (with help from Mommy!) had given her earlier that night.
I will add some pictures when I get home from training tonight of my big six year old! Happy birthday sweet girl! Daddy, Ava and Mommy love you SO much!!

Mr. and Mrs. Walker!

2009-07-16T19:35:00.005-05:00

My cousins, Amy and Justin-so excited that I can now call Justin my cousin!!!!

Showing off some dance moves at the reception

Mr. and Mrs. Justin Walker--July 11, 2009

Miss Kylie Jane

Amanda and I at the rehearsal dinner

Me and my BEAUTIFUL girls-they were the best flowergirls!!

Sweet sisters

Amy, myself, Adriane and Amanda at the rehearsal dinner-I feel a little left out at all these A names. :)

This past Saturday, my cousin, Amy, married the love of her life, Justin. They had a beautiful ceremony at Mayflower church where of course I bawled my eyes out the whole time. Then we had a fun time on the party bus in between the ceremony and reception with a stop to the Gerald R. Ford museum for picture taking.

The reception was held at Fredrick Meijer Gardens and was SO much fun!! I seriously lost two pounds by dancing all night long and I have never sweated that much in my life! Aaron, Kylie, Ava and I were so honored to be part of Amy and Justin's special day. They mean so much to us and we are so excited to welcome Justin into our family. We love you guys and wish you nothing but the best! It was also so wonderful to see all of the family that came in from out of town and Aaron and I want to give a big thank you to my parents as well as they helped out so much with Kylie and Ava over the weekend and taking or dropping them off when they needed to be somewhere. Thank you!

These are just some of many pictures but I wanted to give you a little preview of the pictures. Sorry I have been so bad at posting lately. With my new job, I am in training in Lansing for two weeks and I don't have too much time when I get home to do "computer" type stuff as anyone with two kiddos will tell you. :) So that is it for now. Hope to update again soon!

Great Wolf Lodge Pictures

2009-06-19T08:52:00.003-05:00

Mommy and Ava

Andrew & Ava-ready to hit the pool!

Me and my beautiful girls!

Daddy and his darlings!

The magician at dinner and his special helper, Kylie!

As promised, here are some pictures from our trip to Great Wolf Lodge last week. I have more at home that I'll have to put on here but here are a few from my mother-in-law, Julie. I wish we were back up there again! We had so much fun!

New Job!

2009-06-16T10:42:00.003-05:00

Although I did announce this on Facebook, I thought I would update our blog as well with my exciting news! I will be starting a new job on Monday, June 29th. I have accepted a job with the State of MI as an Assistant Payment Worker for Ionia County. I am excited to see what this new opportunity will bring for not only myself but it has a flexible schedule so hopefully I will get to spend a little more time with my family as well.

I am sad that I will leaving my "second" family, the people that I have worked with for 4 years at DP Fox. I have so many wonderful memories and am so thankful for the four years that I've been with that company. I will miss my friend, Michelle, SOOOOO much. Words can't even describe how much how sad I am to be leaving her. I will miss our morning chats and our lunch time workouts! I know that we will be constantly emailing or texting each other but it still will not be the same. I will truly miss you Michelle!!

My last day at my current job is on June 24th, as I am taking two days off in between jobs to spend some much need quality time with my girls! Well that is my big news! I know that some of you thought I was pregnant, as I saw on facebook!! :)

Our family did go to Great Wolf Lodge this weekend as I will get pictures up shortly! We had such a blast! Then it was off to Beulah for our cousin, Adriane's open house. Congratulations Adriane! We had a great weekend with some awesome weather! Pictures of the weekend to come!

4 years and counting......

2009-05-28T12:11:00.003-05:00

Happy 4th Anniversary to my wonderful husband!! I can't believe it has been 4 years already and I can't wait to share the next 60+ years with you. You are an amazing husband and such a loving Daddy to our girls. Thank you so much for all that you do. I love you so much!

My Mom & Dad

2009-05-28T12:02:00.002-05:00

My mom and dad-aren't they cute?

Sunset-my dad takes amazing pictures!!

Goats eating on the top of a restaurant that my parents ate at! You don't see this everyday!

Beautiful scenery

My dad emailed me a few pictures of their trip to Minnesota today and they are so beautiful, I just had to post them on here. My dad takes some amazing pictures and has a pretty nice camera to take them with. My parents are in Minnesota for the week and although Aaron and I and the girls miss them dearly, we are glad they are getting some R & R together and enjoying their stay. We miss you and love you Mom and Dad! (Kylie and Ava miss their Nana & Papa so hurry up and come home already!) :)

Better late than never....

2009-05-15T13:56:00.004-05:00

Precious Ava

My sweet Kylie

Kylie, Andrew and Ava-Bunny cousins

Ava Bunny!

My beautiful family-I am so blessed!!

Kissing cousins!! :)

My little Ava's bunny butt!

The Gulliver grandkids! My mother-in-law, Julie, always finds the most creative outfits for the kids!

So here are some of our Easter pictures. We've been pretty busy lately so I haven't had much time to post a new blog lately. We've had a wedding, bridal showers, birthday parties, kindergarten roundup and so much in the last month so hence why the lack in updating here. Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day and Easter. It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through May!

Kylie's last day at Mayflower Preschool is on Tuesday. She's been there for three years so I think I will have a hard time saying goodbye even though Ava will be going there in 2 years. Mayflower is such a wonderful school, we have been so happy with it. Kylie will be attending Knapp Charter Academy next year, starting in kindergarten! Aaron and I decided to hold her back a year and have her do Pre-K this year as she will be 6 on Sept. 15th and could technically and academically be in 1st grade next year, we feel that socially it would be good to wait another year. So we are excited to see what next year brings for her. Kylie is already reading and passed her kindergarten roundup assessment with flying colors!

Ava is becoming more and more vocal and more and more of a Mama's girl. But don't get me wrong, she loves her "sissy" and her daddy too. I love to watch the girls interact now that Ava is a little bigger and can do more things with Kylie. They are so cute. Ava loves to give out kisses and play "catch me if you can". She will wait at the front of our hallway and then look back at you, her eyes daring you to come get her. When one of us tries to run after her, she turns and runs to her bedroom, laughing with delight. It is so fun to watch. The new favorite thing for the girls to do is to take their baths together. Ava loves to splash the water and Kylie loves to make Ava laugh by blowing bubbles in water.

Aaron is done with his first class and got the highest grade on his final exam out of the whole class! I am SO proud of him and I know he can't wait to dive into this new career path that he is studying for. Well, I will post more pictures soon, I promise! I have to download the pictures on our camera to the computer.

Recent pictures

2009-03-26T14:36:00.003-05:00

I love this picture-so sweet and innocent!

Then....BUSTED! Her new favorite thing is to climb into the cupboards either in the kitchen or bathroom! Silly girl!

Is she gorgeous or what?! This is one of my favorites of Kylie-I can't believe how old she is!

Sweet smile for the camera! (Yes, we still use her Christmas bib in March!) :)

Ava is such a happy girl! Love the pigtails!

Cousins hanging out at Gee Gee and Ma Goo Goo's!

Kylie playing dress up-her favorite past time!

Here are a couple of recent pictures of the girls. I wish we had some of Aaron and myself but we always seem to be behind the camera. Hopefully I'll get some good ones of the two of us soon!

Park time fun!

2009-03-26T14:23:00.005-05:00

Aaron and I took the girls for a walk and for a quick visit to the park by our house a couple of weeks ago. The girls just loved the park-Kylie is a master at the monkey bars and Ava LOVED to swing! She was very upset when we had to take her out of the swing and walk back home. I can't wait for more nice days to take them to the park again!

Twins!

2009-03-11T13:44:00.006-05:00

Ava at one year and one month old

Kylie at 2 years and one month old

So they may look like twins but are just 4 years apart in age! :) I was looking through old pictures of Kylie and Ava and could not get over how much the girls look alike. Ava has so much hair unlike Kylie, who didn't have much hair until she was 2! I have some major updating to do but that will have to wait until I get home from work tonight. I have not updated this blog in awhile and have some cute pictures that I need to get on here.

Happy 1st Birthday Droopy Drew!

2009-02-02T12:34:00.005-05:00

Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Andrew, happy birthday to you! Here are some of my favorite pictures of you buddy! Hope you have a wonderful birthday today and we are sorry that we couldn't come to your birthday party. It is hard for Aunt Katie to believe that just one year ago, Ava and I were at the hospital waiting for you to be born. What a special day that was! Mr. Drew-we love you!!

Uncle Aaron, Aunt Katie, Kylie and Ava

Angel Babies

2009-01-30T10:02:00.003-05:00

I am writing this with an extremely heavy heart and the tears are streaming down my cheeks. Our friends, Michelle and Scott, lost their triplets early this morning. Michelle went into labor at 21 1/2 weeks and Amelia, Elijah and Addison were born at 11:54 p.m., 12:51 a.m. and 12:53 a.m. I don't know too many details but please keep Scott and Michelle and their families in your thoughts and prayers. They are such wonderful people and I know that they will get through this extrememly difficult time in their lives. Scott and Michelle, we are here for you guys if you need anything so please don't hesitate to ask. We love you and are praying for you.

Much needed update!

2009-01-15T12:38:00.002-05:00

My oh my, I can't even begin to explain how hectic our lives have been over the past few weeks! I'm sure many of you can tell by the lack of updates on this blog!

First off, a quick update on my friend, who is pregnant with triplets, Michelle, and her husband, Scott. Michelle was in the hospital last week but was able to come home on Saturday. The babies are still doing really well and Michelle has now been put on complete bed rest. This means she has to lay on either her left or right side all the time. She can sit up for 20 minutes to eat her meals and can only get up to go to the bathroom. These are two wonderful people and I ask that you just keep them in your thoughts and prayers for a smooth pregnancy and that these babies will stay nice and cozy in their Mommy's belly until at least the end of March!

I have been keeping really busy with my "new" job. I have taken over for Michelle, while she is on leave, as Dan DeVos' assistant. This new job keeps me extremely busy and I have big shoes to fill now that Michelle is gone-I don't think anyone could do a better job than what she did! But I am starting to get the hang of things and hopefully things will start to feel more comfortable to me a little more everyday as they have been.

The girls are keeping Aaron and I pretty busy as well. Kylie is now an official member of the Tiny Team at ANA gymnastics. She had a tryout for the team a couple of weeks ago and passed with flying colors. She is taking a few private lessons from Miss Kelly so that she can catch up with all of the other girls on the team since Kylie is coming in later than the rest of them. I got to take her last Saturday and see her in action. She is awesome, if I say so myself! :) We bought her a mat to use at home because she does her cartwheels, roundoffs, splits, where ever she can find the room!

Ava is cruising all over the place. She is still not walking yet but crawls at a lightening fast pace if she sees something that she wants, for instance, our dog's toys! For some reason she is drawn to Maya's bones or chew toys! Got to keep an eye on that little cruiser! She has 3 teeth on the bottom and three, almost 4 on the top. She is getting over yet another cold right now. It seems like at least one of us in the Gulliver household is sick all the time! Got to love the winter/cold season!

Aaron started school again on Tuesday night. He is starting school again and will be in the respitory therapy program at Ferris University (Grand Rapids campus) as of next year. He is taking his general classes right now though. I am really excited for him to start this new journey because I know he will do very well in this field. He is such a people person and is so caring, which you definitely need to be in this field. I am so very proud of him for going back to school. I know it can be hard to go back after a few years.

I will post pictures when I get home from work tonight. There are lots of them to post since it has been awhile!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2008-12-30T13:04:00.004-05:00

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!

2008-12-17T14:59:00.008-05:00

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!

2008-12-03T14:05:00.008-05:00

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!

2008-11-19T13:52:00.003-05:00

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!!!

2008-11-11T16:27:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-10T13:23:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-10T13:18:00.005-05:00

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!

2008-10-31T14:28:00.004-05:00

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?

2008-10-24T13:45:00.003-05:00

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...

2008-10-07T14:52:00.004-05:00

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

2008-10-07T14:30:00.009-05:00

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!

2008-09-15T13:06:00.004-05:00

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!

2008-09-05T12:13:00.006-05:00

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!

2008-09-05T12:06:00.006-05:00

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...

2008-08-27T13:27:00.002-05:00

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!

2008-08-21T14:52:00.003-05:00

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

2008-08-14T15:20:00.003-05:00

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

2008-08-01T13:11:00.008-05:00

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!

Happy Birthday Uncle Ja-Ja!!!!

2008-07-24T14:10:00.003-05:00

Noelle, Jonathan and myself at Jonathan's wedding last July

Today is my brother Jonathan's 29th birthday! We are having a family dinner tonight to help him celebrate his big day and are fortunate to have my Grandma and Grandpa Bair in from Arizona to help us celebrate. Aaron and I love you very much Jonathan and the girls love their Uncle Ja-Ja!

Gulliver Family Vacation

2008-07-07T14:39:00.012-05:00

The Gulliver Family

I love this picture-Ava is holding on to Drew's leg!

Daddy and his girls!

Kylie and Isaac

What sweethearts!

Matt, Amanda and Andrew

Mommy and her beautiful girls!

We had an amazing time last week in the U.P. with Dad and Julie, Rob and his family and Amanda and her family. Aaron, Ava and I were only able to make it for half of the trip but we had such a great time and wish that we were still there on vacation! (Kylie got to stay the whole time, thanks to Dad and Julie.) We all got to relax, enjoy the sun and each other's company, watch a parade on the 4th of July and the kids swam their little hearts out! We really had a great time and more pictures are to come as these are just a few of them!

The big 2-5!

2008-06-24T14:46:00.003-05:00

I am now officially part of the "quarter of a century" club as I was informed by one of my friends. My birthday started out with me getting to sleep in, thanks to my wonderful kids and husband! (Mostly Aaron!) He took the girls out to pick up my present-a diamond necklace-and then stopped by Dad and Julie's house so I could get some sleep. I slept until 11:30! It has been a long, long time since I have done that and I felt so refreshed. Aaron and I took the girls to the museum downtown and just had a nice leisurely time. Kylie enjoyed riding the carousel with her daddy. Ava and I watched-Mommy doesn't handle carousels very well!

After the museum, we had a fabulous dinner with Dad, Julie, Matt, Amanda and Drew. We had homemade chicken fettuccini, which I can't wait to make at home one of these nights. We all went for a walk after dinner since it was such a beautiful night outside and we needed to burn off all that good food that we had just eaten! After Dad and Julie's, we stopped by my parents' house later that night so I could see them on my birthday. They had just gotten back from a sailing trip for a week and I missed them so much! It was a wonderful birthday and I am so glad I got to spend it with the people that I love most in this world! We celebrated with my family on Sunday with dinner at Logan's. Thank you everyone so much for making me feel so loved!

Happy Birthday Isaac!

2008-06-12T14:41:00.003-05:00

Today is our nephew, Isaac's 4th birthday! He had his birthday party last Saturday-he had a pirate themed birthday party as he is a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Happy Birthday Isaac-we can't believe you are 4 years old already!
Love, Uncle Aaron, Aunt Katie, Kylie and Ava

Day of fun!

2008-05-30T12:15:00.007-05:00

The girls have MaGooGoo (Aaron's step-mom) day today and I have received some pictures from today that she sent me. She is also watching Drew today.

Nap time!

Snack time!! (If you know Julie, she always has the good snacks around!)

More snacks!

Play time! Kylie is such a big helper!

Looks like they are having a great time! I will be leaving work shortly to go pick up the girls. Ava has her six month doctor's check-up today (more shots-boo!) and then we are all off to Detroit to see our friends, Jason and Fran Johnson and their kids, Aydan and Esme. We are all going to the Detroit Zoo tomorrow and hopefully the weather will cooperate for us.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!!!

2008-05-28T13:42:00.003-05:00

May 28, 2005

May 26, 2008 (2 days before our actual anniversary)

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband! In these three years of being husband and wife, we've been through many things, such as buying our first home, the birth of our second daughter, adding a cat and dog to the family, purchasing our first (and hopefully last) minivan, etc. I can't wait for the many more years to come! I love you!!

Blast from the past pictures

2008-05-22T08:20:00.004-05:00

I love these pictures I found of me and Kylie when she was a year old. I was watching her last night while out shopping with my mom and sister and the girls and I couldn't get over how big she gotten. She is such an amazing little girl and is growing up so fast in front of our eyes. She just finished up her 4 year old preschool and will be in Pre-K next year at Mayflower preschool. Doesn't time just fly by?

Here is a picture of me and my hubby from our wedding. This is one of my favorites. It will be our third anniversary on May 28!

Recent pictures from the Gulliver Household

2008-05-22T08:07:00.008-05:00

Kylie and Mommy at the park-I can't believe she is almost 5!

Yum, my toes taste good Mommy! Who needs a pacifier or a thumb when you've got toes?

The Gulliver Girls

Our smiley Ava Grace

I'm over here Drew!

Misha, our cat (Kylie was dressing her up in doll clothes)

Maya, our spoiled puppy! (She had just gotten her "summer" haircut!)

Ava update

2008-05-14T08:14:00.004-05:00

Just a little update on Ava. She will be six months old on May 30th and is changing everyday. It is amazing to watch. Ava is now rolling over from her back to her stomach. This morning I had her on her back on the floor and she was rolling up a storm. She was really trying to figure out how to roll back over onto her back when she gets to her tummy.

She is now starting to eat baby food although not much luck in that department! We started with rice cereal but she was not a fan of that whatsoever! We have been feeding her applesauce and the first time she seemed to really like it. However, the last few times I have tried to feed her applesauce, she'll stick her toungue out and spit all the applesauce out and most of the time comes flying out at me. She laughs afterwards and thinks she is pretty funny! It is hard not to laugh but we try not to as we don't want her to get into the spitting food out habit! Bananas are next, Kylie always loved them so we will see!

Tonight we are taking Julie out to La Cantina for Mother's Day! Kylie loves La Cantina and is very excited! Yum, I can't wait!

I love this man!!

2008-05-14T07:52:00.003-05:00

I cannot even begin to put into words how much I love my husband, Aaron. We've been through so much together and I am so glad that he's been there for me no matter what. He not only works so hard at his job but also helps SO much around the house and with our girls. I am so honored to be his wife and so glad that he is the best Daddy for our two girls.

Aaron surprised me for Mother's Day and our anniversary (3 years on May 28th!) with a gift that I never would have expected...a diamond anniversary ring!!!! Let's just say when he pulled out that ring box, I was in complete shock! It is absolutely beautiful! Aaron is my best friend and I am so deeply in love with him. It is hard to believe that we've been together a little over 5 years! I love you Aaron and I always will! Thank you for my beautiful ring!

Sweet Sisters

2008-05-02T13:32:00.003-05:00

Ava loves to suck on her toes, now that she has discovered them!

Do they look like sisters or what?

Sprinkler fun!

Aaron's mom came to our house, from Thursday until Tuesday, to watch the girls while Aaron and I were at work, while my mom was out of the state. She took these pictures of the girls one of the days she was at our house. It is so amazing to see how much our girls look alike! Kylie loves her baby sister, Ava, so much that she told me that she wants me to have 4,000 kids. I told her that Daddy would leave the country if we had that many kids! I just love the things Kylie comes up with! Ava adores her big sister, Kylie, and we can tell already that our two girls are going to be the best of friends. It is hard to believe that Ava is now five months old and Kylie is going to be five in September! Where has the time gone to?

Drew's Baptism

2008-04-22T07:35:00.005-05:00

Andrew's Baptism!

The Meerman Family (Aren't they cute?)

Amanda, the proud Mommy, with Drew

Our handsome nephew, Drewster

On Saturday, our nephew, Andrew was baptised at his church. We were so honored to be there at the special event for Drew and his parents. He did really well and didn't seem too mind the water on his head too much! After church, Matt and Amanda had everyone over to their house for dinner. We had a great time and can't wait to watch Drew grow even more!

In other news, Drew has his cousin, Ava, beat in the weight department but she's got him beat in the head department! She is in the 90th percentile for her head, just like Kylie was when she was a baby! Drew's mommy, Amanda, went back to work last week for the first time since Drew was born. She had a great first week back and we were glad to hear that the transition went smoothly.

Irelynn, Rob and Stephanie's daughter, is getting bigger too. She is six weeks old now. Irelynn has the same problem as Ava and Drew, she does not like sleeping lying down! Ava still will not sleep lying down and will only sleep in her car seat. (But she sleeps through the night so I can't complain!) We've been trying to lay her down in the pack and play but everytime we lay her down flat, she wakes up either right away or in about 10 minutes. Drew and Irelynn do the same. Hopefully all the babies will soon learn to sleep in their beds! :)

The Johnson Family expands...

2008-04-17T08:15:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to our friends, Jason and Fran Johnson on the birth of their second child, a little girl, Esme Frances Johnson. Esme was born on the 15th and looks absolutely beautiful from the picture we received from them. Jason and Fran also have a son Aydan. Congratulations again to the Johnson family and we cannot wait to meet your precious little girl!

Kylie and Ava's Dedication

2008-04-14T15:12:00.007-05:00

Last night, Kylie and Ava were dedicated to our church, Blythefield Hills. We vowed as their parents to help teach and guide them so that one day they will know Jesus as their own personal Savior. I was so proud of my husband as he spoke about our two girls and had a hard time holding back the tears. I cannot tell you how blessed I am to have such an amazing husband and father and two beautiful little girls. I feel like the luckiest woman! We have such amazing families who came to show their support for us last night and we all celebrated afterwards with pizza at our house. We thank everyone so much who has played a part in our girls' lives so far and know that they will continue to do so.

Our two goofy girls!

2008-04-01T10:56:00.002-05:00

I just love these two pictures of our girls. Kylie is wearing my socks with her beautiful leotard and Ava took Daddy's seat and remote control! She thought she was pretty funny! Who knew that having kids was so much entertainment!

Easter pictures

2008-04-01T10:38:00.011-05:00

Mommy and Ava

Baby Bunny Ava

Big sister Kylie

Do you like my bunny hat Mommy?

Kylie's (with help from Daddy) Easter eggs

Nana & Papa with their girls

Our beautiful family

Our two sweet angels-I love dressing them alike!

Kylie leaving the Easter bunny his carrots!

Handsome Drew!

2008-03-28T15:12:00.002-05:00

Drew on Easter-watch out girls, he is going to be a heartbreaker! :)

It is so hard to believe that our nephew, Drew, will be 2 months old in just a few days. I just talked to his mommy and he weighed in at 13 1/2 pounds for his 2 month doctor's appointment today and had to have his shots but he did really well. He is 9 weeks younger than his cousin, Ava but Ava is only at 12 pounds as of last week. But boys are bigger than girls so he is just perfect. We love you Drewster!

Look at all those babies!!

2008-03-19T08:45:00.009-05:00

Ava Grace-3 months old

Sweet sisters-Kylie and Ava

Kylie & Ava with their cousin, Drew

Ava-15 weeks, Drew-6 weeks & Irelyn-5 days

Rob & Irelyn, Amanda & Drew, Aaron & Ava

The proud Ma Goo Goo and Gee Gee of FIVE grandkids! Don't they look too young to have grandkids?! :)

The whole Gulliver family, minus Dad & Julie

We had Sunday lunch over at Dad & Julie's this past Sunday and our family has grown a bit since last year, with the addition of three new grandchildren! We had a great dinner and it was baby headquarters over there, with diaper bags, feeding times (which normally was the same time for two of the three babies), and car seats. We'll be back there again for the Gulliver Easter on Saturday and can't wait to get more pictures! Hoppy Easter everyone! :)

New Baby

2008-03-12T08:45:00.004-05:00

Aaron's brother, Rob, and his wife, Stephanie, had their baby girl last night around 7:00 p.m. Her name is Irelyn Rene and she was 7 lbs. 8 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. We haven't seen Irelyn yet but hopefully will see her soon. Congratulations to Rob, Stephanie and big brother, Isaac!

Got to love the bow!

2008-03-06T16:59:00.005-05:00

Here is Ava modeling her pretty smile and her first bow! I can't believe she is three months old already!

Ava & Andrew-Best Bunnies!

2008-03-03T15:45:00.004-05:00

Here is our adorable daughter, Ava, and handsome nephew, Andrew, having a fun play date together at Ma Goo Goo and Gee Gee's house today. They sure are the cutest darn bunnies I have ever seen! They even took their naps together, how cute are they? Andrew is now 1 month old and Ava just turned 3 months-I can't believe how fast they are growing!

Andrew Ellis James Meerman

2008-02-12T11:29:00.001-05:00

As promised, here are pictures of our new nephew, Andrew, with his cousin, Ava, Aunt Katie, Uncle Aaron, and Mommy and Daddy. He is still doing great and we got to see him again last Friday where Aunt Katie got to love on him lots!

Miscellaneous Pictures

2008-02-12T11:18:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to post some pictures from the last month or so from our family. Several of the pictures are from Bounce Party, which we went to with my whole family. We had such a blast together. Kylie was so fearless climbing up the huge slides! Aaron and I took aim at each other in the gauntlet pit but Aaron was able to knock me over quite quickly! Also are some new pictures of Ava Grace and her beautiful smile!

IT'S A BOY!!!!

2008-02-04T11:46:00.000-05:00

We are a proud aunt and uncle to a beautiful baby nephew!! Our sister, Amanda, and her husband, Matt, welcomed their first baby, Andrew Ellis James Meerman, on Saturday at 7:09 p.m. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. Ava and I were at the hospital all day Saturday, Aaron was there for most of the day but had to go home and stay with Kylie after Amy had to leave. (She was babysitting for us.) He is so beautiful and absolutely perfect and we are so excited that he is finally here. I have pictures of him but haven't downloaded them yet so I will try to do that sometime this week and post them as soon as possible. Congratulations to Matt and Amanda and we can't wait to watch Drew grow up!

Ava had her two month check up on Thursday and she is 10 pounds and 9 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. Her new cousin, Drew, isn't that much smaller than her and they are 9 weeks apart in age! :) Ava is in the 3rd percentile for her height and 50th percentile for her weight. She also got shots which was so traumatic for Mommy! I was in tears! :( Ava was a trooper and I think that is the first time she has really cried. She is doing well after the shots.

Life with our two girls...

2008-01-10T17:07:00.001-05:00

Ava and her Nana, my mom
Mommy and Ava, Ava at two weeks old
Kylie and her Ma Goo Goo at Kylie's Christmas concert at church
Ava Grace Gulliver, four weeks old (still wearing her preemie clothes!)
Our two beautiful girls!

I cannot even believe that tomorrow will be Ava Grace's 6 week birthday! Time is just flying by and although I am extremely sleep deprived, :) life with our two girls has been great. Kylie is now adjusting very well to being a big sister and finally got over her "little hurdle" over not being the only child anymore. Thank goodness! That was a rough period of time for awhile there! I've posted more pictures of our girls on here. We are anxiously awaiting the birth of our newest niece or nephew. Aaron's sister, Amanda, is due at the end of the month but babies have a mind of their own so it may be here sooner than that! We can't wait to meet him or her! Aaron's brother and his wife are also expecting and are due in March. So many babies!

Hope everyone is doing well in the New Year. I can't believe the weather we have been having lately! I love it! Well, Ava is needing some Mommy cuddle time so I better get going and snuggle with my little bunny. Kylie is with my mom so I can give Ava some attention without Kylie becoming jealous.

Christmas and New Years!

2008-01-01T16:15:00.000-05:00

Hoping that everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here are some pictures of our girls from the holidays. Ava is already a month old, where has the time gone?? Kylie is continuing to adjust to having a baby sister but loves her baby sister "forever" as she tells us daily. She says, "I'm going to love Ava forever!" It is hard to believe that all of the festivities are already over but we had a good holiday season.

Ava Grace is finally here!

2007-12-08T10:05:00.001-05:00

Ava Grace Gulliver was born on Friday, November 30th, 2007 at 8:03 a.m. She was 17 days early but weighed 6 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long. Everything went well in the labor and delivery although my epidural did not do much good as I felt EVERYTHING! But it was well worth it, as Ava is finally here and we are so excited!

Kylie is adjusting to being a big sister, challenging at times, as she is used to being the only child but does love her baby sister very much. She likes to give her Baby Ava many, many kisses and always gets me diapers and wipes for Ava.

Ava is a great baby and hardly ever cries. She only whimpers when she gets her diaper changed but other than that, the only noises she makes are her little baby squeaks. Ava did have to have a special blanket when she came home from the hospital as she was quite jaundice and they were concerned about her levels. She had to have a special blanket with a light attached to her 24/7 for the first 3 days after coming home from the hospital. But after a couple of doctor's appointments, she is much better and got to come off of the blanket on Wednesday.

Thank you to all of our friends and family who have stopped by with flowers, meals, visits, etc. We appreciate it all so much! Above are some of the hundreds of pictures we have already taken of Ava and our new family of four. The very top picture is of Ava on her one week birthday, yesterday. It is hard to believe it has been a week already!

Baby G

2007-11-21T08:22:00.000-05:00

Well, Baby G may be here sooner than we know it! We had a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon and I had my strep B test and the doctor also checked me to see how things were going since two weeks ago when he last checked me. (I was at 1 1/2 cm. dilated then.) Well, I am at 3 cm. dilated and 80% effaced! The doctor said it could be any day now! I haven't been feeling any contractions yet so it could be another week or so before Baby G makes her arrival. Thankfully I have the rest of the week off of work due to Thanksgiving break so I have a nice long weekend and don't have to worry about missing work if I go into labor in the next day or two! We'll keep you all updated!

On a side note, I wanted to just thank God for Noah Michael Ayers, son of Mike and Kathryn Ayers, (Kathryn is one of my best friends) who was born on November 17th. He was born with the cord wrapped around his neck 3 times and had to spend some quality time in the special care unit of the hospital. He is doing well now and hopefully I will get to see my "nephew" this afternoon before his little girlfriend, Baby G, arrives! God answered prayers and I am so glad that Noah is okay. Congratulations Ayers family! We love you!

We hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Aaron!!

2007-11-19T14:35:00.001-05:00

Today is Aaron's 26th birthday! I can't believe it has been 5 years since Aaron has been in my life, I am truely grateful and very blessed. Aaron is the best husband and Daddy that a girl could wish or hope for. Aaron did tell the baby last night though not to come on his birthday so they could both have their special days and not have to share with each other. So far so good on that request. Baby G is still nice and snug in her home for the time being so I guess Daddy is getting his birthday wish!
Here is a picture of Aaron and I at a Michigan game last year.

Here is a picture of our family even with Baby G in the belly! Kylie and I love you very much Aaron! Happy Birthday!

Halloween Fun!

2007-11-06T14:41:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of pictures when we carved Kylie's pumpkin for Halloween. We thought she would not like the gooey pumpkin guts because Kylie is a very girly girl but she surprised us and loved helping Daddy and Mommy scoop out the squishy pumpkin guts! Here is a picture of Kylie and Daddy scooping out seeds and guts and then Kylie with the finished product, her very own jack 'o' latern! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Putting up the crib!

2007-11-06T14:27:00.000-05:00

Aaron put up the baby's crib the weekend of October 13-14. We wanted to be well prepared in case Baby G decides to make an early arrival like her big sister, Kylie, did! Kylie was born at 35 weeks so I told Aaron that I wanted everything to be ready by the end of October for Baby G. Here are some pictures of the proud Daddy and his little helper, big sister, Kylie!

Belly Shots!

2007-11-06T14:07:00.001-05:00

I haven't been very good at posting belly shots so here they are! Better late than never, I guess!
2 months:
3 Months:

4 Months:

5 Months-It's a Girl!

6 Months:

7 Months:

8 Months:

It is so incredible to see how the human body adapts to a growing life inside of you. Sometimes I swear that my stomach can't get any bigger but in fact, it can and is still growing!

Smile for the Camera!

2007-10-11T13:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Kylie had her school pictures and Ma Goo Goo (Aaron's stepmom, who was watching her for the day) was helping her practice give her best smile for the camera in preparation for the pictures! I can't wait to see how they turn out and I will be sure to post them as soon as the pictures come in.

We are at 30 weeks and 3 days for Baby Gulliver! We cannot believe that in about 10 weeks (or sooner as I had Kylie at 35 weeks), we will have another little girl to bless our lives. We can't wait to meet her but do hope that she enjoys her safe home in my stomach for the 10 more weeks! We will be picking up her crib tomorrow or Saturday and then we will be painting the girls' room (as they will be sharing a room for awhile) pink and then we can set up the crib once the paint is dry. Once we have the crib all set up, I think it will start to feel VERY real, not that it doesn't already!

My two awesome friends, Katie and Michelle, are throwing me a shower in a couple of weeks and I am so blessed to have them as friends. They are so very thoughtful and since I didn't get to have an official shower with Kylie with my family and friends, they are graciously throwing me one for this baby. I am very excited and can't wait!

Happy Birthday Kylie!!!!

2007-09-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

Kylie at the zoo with Ma Goo Goo and Gee-Spring 07

Kylie sledding at Nana and Papa's house-Winter 07

Kylie at Mommy and Daddy's wedding-May 05

One of our engagement pictures with our precious little girl with us!

It is so hard to believe that tomorrow, my little girl is going to be four years old! I keep telling Kylie that she will always be my baby, even though she is and tells me that she's a big girl. I also told her that I wouldn't let her get any older but she didn't like that too much!

Kylie has brought me and Aaron so much joy in our lives and we couldn't imagine our lives without her. We probably wouldn't be together if it wasn't for our angel. It has been a blessing to watch her grow and form her own little personality. Children are such a blessing from God and we are very fortunate to have Kylie as our daughter. We can't wait to see what the years bring for her.

We are having a Princess birthday party on Sunday at our house, finally we have a house that we can have it at! Aaron and I have a wedding tomorrow evening and I am having a very hard time with the fact that I will not be with Kylie the entire day of her birthday. But I know that her Nana and Papa will take good care of her and spoil her rotten for her birthday, although they spoil her rotten anyways, even if it is not her birthday!

We love you so much Kylie Jane and wish you a very happy birthday!!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Weekend Happenings at the Gullivers

2007-08-20T07:45:00.000-05:00

This was last weekend but I've been slacking on posting these pictures. We went to the annual St. Joe festival last Sunday and Kylie got to play games, ride on a couple of horses, and see her second cousin, Finleigh, which they both rode together on a cute little train around the church yard. It was pretty hot out that day but we had a great time! Also, Kylie got to spend the night at her Granny and Grandpa Ben's house on Friday (Grandpa Ben was out of town so Kylie kept Granny company). She had so much fun and thank you Granny for having so much fun with Kylie!

Another big thing at our house is our newest purchase...I am officially a soccer mom, I guess! Aaron and I bought a 2003 Ford Windstar, yes, you heard right. A minivan!! I always told myself that I would never own a minivan but with two kids (in the near future) and a dog, it is really the best car for a family. It's got all of the bells and whistles, including a TV/DVD player in the van, which will come in handy on trips with the kids! I'll have to get a picture of the van, to prove that yes indeed, the Gullivers are a minivan family! :)

The belly is getting bigger, I'm at 23 weeks today. Baby G is quite a kicker and Aaron finally got to feel her kick on August 9 for the first time. We were pretty excited about that. Still haven't thought of any names yet though! Aaron and I went and registered for my baby shower this Saturday, that was fun! Aaron loved holding the scanner and scanning the items!

Thank Heaven for Little Girls!!!!!!

2007-07-31T13:33:00.000-05:00

We are very excited to announce that the Gulliver family will soon be joined by another precious little GIRL! We had our ultrasound last night and she was very active, moving all over the place while her pictures were being taken! She is weighing in at about 12 ounces right now, almost a pound! It was so incredible to see the miracle of life that God creates. We got to see our new daughter's mouth opening and shutting and we even got a picture of her waving. We think that she was waving to her big sister, Kylie! I will have more pictures of my growing belly to post soon! I've attached some pictures of our new daughter!

Baby G's First Concert!!

2007-07-20T14:45:00.000-05:00

Last night I went to the Rascal Flatts concert at the Van Andel Arena. We had awesome seats and Baby G was kicking away as Rascals were jamming away! Either Baby G is a girl and was going crazy because of Rascals or Baby G is a boy and loves his music! A little more than a week and we'll know for sure! I've included a couple of pictures from the concert, along with a picture of a Rascal Flatts t-shirt. Can't wait for the next concert!!

A Beautiful Wedding Weekend!

2007-07-17T11:32:00.001-05:00

It was a beautiful and busy weekend! My brother, Jonathan, got married to the woman of his dreams, Lee Marie, on Saturday, July 14. We had a little scare with the rain in the morning but by the afternoon, it had cleared up and they were able to go through with the planned outdoor ceremony. It was a beautiful wedding and Aaron, Kylie and I were so blessed to be part of their special day. We had a great time and look forward to what the future brings for Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Bair! We love you both and wish you all the best!!

The pictures above are: (in order)

a) The beautiful bride, Lee, and the handsome groom, Jonathan

b) Me and my new sister!!

c) My immediate family

d) My mom, sister, Noelle, and me

e) Jonathan, Lee, and Kylie

f) Sibling picture: Noelle, Jonathan, and me

Belly Shots!!

2007-07-11T10:11:00.001-05:00

The top picture is Kylie performing the "ring" game on my stomach, trying to determine the sex of the baby we are having. You put your wedding ring on a necklace and then see if the necklace swings in a circle or back and forth. If it goes in a circle, it predicts the baby is a boy and if it goes back and forth, it predicts the baby is a girl. Kylie really wants a baby sister so she was making the ring/necklace swing back and forth but when Amanda tried it on me, it did actually swing back and forth, therefore predicting another girl. When I tried this on Amanda, it also predicited a girl as well! We will see! This is another one of those wives tales you hear about prediciting the sex of your baby so not accurate by any means!

The second and third pictures are of Amanda and my bellies! She is at 11 weeks and I am at 17 weeks.

Here are some of the latest happenings in the Gulliver Family:

2007-07-10T13:33:00.000-05:00

Aaron and I had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Baby G is doing well and his/her heartbeat was 140 again, as it was in June! This baby is one consistent baby! I am also VERY proud to report that I have only gained half a pound in my entire pregnancy! Yeah for me!

We scheduled our 20 week ultrasound, which is a little less than three weeks away, I can hardly believe it! Hopefully Baby G will cooperate and we will get a good view of you know where so we can finally know if Baby G is a boy or a girl. I am still thinking it is a boy, which we have the name picked out for a boy, but have not picked out a name for a girl yet. So if it is a girl, we need to hit the baby names book to come up with something! I will definitely post the results of the ultrasound as soon as we have it done!

Baby G will be in his/her first wedding on Saturday. My brother, Jonathan, is getting married to Lee Marie on July 14th! I am so excited for the two of them and can't wait to see all of my family that are coming in for the wedding this week. It will be a very fun and exciting weekend! I can't wait! I haven't seen most of my family since my cousin Josh's wedding, about two years ago!

Happy 1st Anniversary Matt & Amanda!

2007-07-03T11:40:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, Aaron's sister, Amanda, and her husband, Matt, celebrated their first wedding anniversary. It is so hard to believe that it has been a year already since that special day for them. We got to spend some time with them on Sunday at their house but I just wanted to wish them a very happy anniversary and am so glad that they are in our lives. They are such wonderful people and ver much meant for one another! Above are some pictures from their special day. The first one is of Kylie and her Aunt Minnie and the second one is obviously me and Kylie.

We love you Matt and Amanda!

Aaron, Katie, Kylie and Baby G

Cheerleading Camp!!

2007-06-27T08:04:00.000-05:00

Kylie attended her first cheerleading camp June 12-14 at Catholic Central High School. My sister-in-law, Amanda, is one of the head coaches for the varsity cheerleading team so Kylie got to go and find out all of the cool things that "big" cheerleaders do, as Kylie says. There was a preschool division that Kylie participated in and she went for three days, 2 hours each day. She learned a couple of cheers but most of all, had a lot of fun! The varsity cheerleaders helped coach the kids and her coaches were Lauren and Mara. To this day, she still talks about them. They are way cool in her book!

On June 14, all of the cheerleaders in the cheer camp got to perform their cheers. Aaron, his step-mom, Julie and I all watched with such delight as Kylie took center stage!! Julie and I had tears in our eyes! Well, she didn't really do anything but just stood there-I guess she was a little awestruck at all the people but I couldn't have been happier and more proud of her! It wasn't until about a day after her big performance that she started jumping around in our living room (with just me present) and shouted her cheers at the top of her lungs! She will only do her cheers if it is just me there, she won't do it for anyone else, silly girl! We are very proud of her and know that we have a future cheerleader on our hands!

Aunt & Uncle!

2007-06-25T16:01:00.000-05:00

Aaron and I found out almost a month ago that we are going to be an aunt and uncle!! Aaron's sister, Amanda, is pregnant with her first child and we are six weeks apart from each other. We are so excited for Matt and Amanda and couldn't be happier for them. They are very special people and they are going to make awesome parents. Amanda is due at the end of January and we are so thrilled that our new babies are going to be so close in age.

Amanda and I are going to be taking pictures together with our bellies so I will post them on here soon! I still have to figure out how to load pictures on here. Congratulations to Matt and Amanda and we can't wait to meet their new little one!!

Love, Uncle Aaron and Aunt Katie

Big Decision!

2007-06-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

So, we (okay, I) have finally made up our minds and we are going to be finding out the sex of our baby. I am usually great with surprises but I just have a gut feeling that this baby is a boy and if it is, I need BOY things! (I have tons of little girl things already!) Also, my sister-in-law, Lee, is going to be throwing me a "Sprinkle", a shower for this baby. Things were very, very different for me and Aaron so this time we will be able to include all of our families in the celebration of the upcoming birth of our second baby. So since I am having a shower, I want to be able to register for boy or girl things!

I am at 14 weeks today and still feeling a little sick but by now I am quite used to it. The weeks have been flying by already and I cannot believe I am three and a half months pregnant! I will post pictures soon of the ever enlarging belly! Nobody ever told me that with your second pregnancy, you get bigger faster! I look like I'm about 5 months along, not three months!

BABY NEWS!!

2007-06-04T14:13:00.000-05:00

We are proud to announce that we are expecting our second baby! He/she is due December 17, yikes, a week before Christmas! Needless to say, the holidays are going to be a little chaotic this year! But we are very blessed to be expecting another baby. Kylie is very excited to be gaining a new brother or sister, although she is convinced it is going to be a girl. We keep telling here that God may give her a brother and she's not so sure about that. Aaron and I are debating on whether or not to find out the sex of the baby but we kind of want to be surprised at the time of birth! I keep changing my mind about it so I need to make a decision soon! We'll have another ultrasound at 20 weeks, 2 months away.

I am entering my 12th week of pregnancy and am really hoping that now that I am entering my second trimester that I will start to feel better as the days go by. I have been experiencing extreme fatigue, nausea and back pain. I have a gut feeling that this baby is a boy this time but time will tell. I will add the ultrasound that we had done at 8 1/2 weeks soon! I have to figure out how to post them on here!

First Blog!

2007-04-03T11:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I am going to attempt to start this blogging thing!
Aaron and I have been married since May 28, 2005 and have a wonderful, beautiful, and smart little girl, named Kylie who is three years old. She is our pride and joy! We also have a new puppy, Maya, who is 9 weeks old today! She is very energetic and we definitely don't ever have any peace and quiet around our house! We also have a cat named Misha. Aaron and I just bought our first house in January and we are enjoying being homeowner's after about two years in apartments! We have been busy already with yard work and are anxious to do a lot of work on the house when the weather is nice again.
We look forward to reconnecting with old friends so please leave us a comment!