happy fall!

We had a very busy weekend! Saturday morning we participated in the 3 mile Walk for a Cure for breast cancer in Boca Raton. Gracyn was so over it after one mile in the stroller! We cheated and cut out after mile 2.

Last weekend we ventured to crazy IKEA and bought a new table and chairs for Gracyn. I stained them a rustic teal and green. As you can see, it makes the perfect play dough station. When I take a look at her sitting at the table, I can't help but wonder.....where did my baby go???

Today we met up with the Heggerick's and Miller's to go to the pumpkin patch. Gracyn and Sarah were all over the place. For all you Minnesotians....they do it a little bit differently down here in Florida. The pumpkins were not in a field but on the side of a road....instead of the beautiful changing leaves in the background, plam trees.....instead of hot cider, snow cones were served! Gracyn loved the snow cone! So did baby Schipper. The baby was moving like crazy when I had a few bites. We are excited to carve the 2 pumpkins that we got today, but have to wait until the day before Halloween. Since it is 85 degrees and humid, they will rot if we carve them any sooner!!!

As for baby Schipper, so far so good. Luke and I had a doctor's appointment and heard the heart beat. We are excited for the end of the month when we have our BIG half way ultrasound.

grandma schipper to the rescue!

Grandma came to help relieve the Schipper household for a few weeks. Mashed potatoes and baked chicken dinner..............yummmmy! She's been so helpful in giving us a break to take naps and study! Unfortunately, Grandma got sick a few days after she arrived with a nasty sinus infection that has knocked her out for the majority of the visit. She is thankfully feeling much better today. Despite feeling under the weather, we've managed to venture out for a little fun! Today, Luke and I went to our friend's Lisbeth and Jarrod daughter's baptism. Katie did such a great job in the spot light. We are excited that Grandma is here until Wednesday.

I am feeling much BETTER! I think that nausea is finally subsiding. Everyone always told me that each pregnancy is so different. I was so hopeful that I would not be so sick this time. I keep thinking......it must be another girl. I'm 15 weeks and already starting to show a little bit. I think that I actually felt the baby move this weekend, which is makes it so much more real. I REALLY am pregnant!

gracyn is going to be a big sister!

We are having a baby! We always said we wanted our children to be two years apart, and two years it is. We are due March 19, 2009.....Gracyn was due March 13th! We are so excited and overwhelmed at the same time. I've made it past the first trimester and like my last pregnancy, it has been horrible! I feel like I have the stomach flu 24/7. Luke has been so awesome these past few months taking care of Gracyn and I. He is exhausted! I'm anxious to feel better....hopefully soon! We look forward to our surprise baby in 6 months!!!!

Luke took Gracyn to the sunrise this weekend so I could sleep in. He got some great shots of her. We also attempted making chocolate cookies for the first time together. Grandma B sent Gracyn her very own apron! Thanks Grandma B!

Stay tuned for postings of my growing belly.......

labor day

We had a relaxing Labor Day weekend. Since it was so hot outside, we hung out inside for the majority of it. We built forts, danced, read A LOT of books, puzzles and ate lots of ice cream!!! On Monday we went over to the Miller's house for swimming and a BBQ. The girls LOVED the water. Gracyn is getting used to the idea of going under and Sarah is already a water bug! She can even jump in the deep end!

where did august go??!!

Why haven't the Schipper's been updating the blog this month? That seems to be the question of the week. Yes, we are all doing well, no need to worry. The month of August has been jammed packed!

Luke went up to The Loonschip Lodge in Morson, Ontario for a week of fishing with mom, dad and Dan. He had a great time and of coarse, lost the BIG one! He enjoyed his walleye fish frys and drinking Labatte Canadian beer. While Luke was fishing for "the hog" Gracyn and I had Auntie Lora come spend the week with us. We had such a great time catching up and hanging out! We spent our days at the beach, park and in the house....lots of time in the house with this Florida heat!

We also experienced our first tropical storm of the year, FAY! We got over 10 inches of rain and a day off of work! Besides that, for us, Fay was a non-event.

Below are some pictures at Gracyn's school. They had a magic show and every other day have water play.

minnesota vacation.....and it's summer!

After 3 1/2 years of only returning for cold winter holidays, we finally made it back to Minnesota in the summer. Despite waiting on the runway in Atlanta for 3 hours, we made it exhausted but excited to be back HOME!

We headed straight to Addi's 2nd birthday party for a few hours then headed up to Duluth, the place where it all started with Luke and I. Thanks to Grandma Schipper, we had a luxurious ride in her new Toyota Camry. We stayed at Great Grandma's fancy new condo right on Lake Superior. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect Duluth day. The weather was absolutely beautiful.....no humidity! Grandpa Schipper and Oreo joined us in Duluth for the festivities. We then headed to Grand Rapids to see Grandma and Grandpa's newly remodeled home.

Our road trip continued back to Minneapolis to stay with Uncle Adam and Katy for a few days. We were spoiled by the two of them with great food (stuffed french toast) and drink! Grandpa and Grandma B came up to visit for the day and loved up on Gracyn. I was so good to see the two of them. In between we saw lots of good friends and family.

The week ended with Luke and his brother playing in a softball tournament, and Gracyn and I headed to Spicer for a GIRLS ONLY weekend at the McDonald's cabin. Even 4 week old Chole made it up. Addi and Gracyn were trouble together to say the least. It was so great to catch up with my girls. I miss them so much already!!!

Thank you to everyone who made time to see us. We had such a great vacation! Check out the 3 slide shows below....yes, I love to take pictures.

happy 4th of july!

We had such a great relaxing weekend! We stayed home on Friday and hung around the house. We had our own private fireworks display right in our own backyard. Our neighbors blasted $$$$ worth of fireworks across the swamp. It was comparable to the Austin, MN show!!!

On Saturday we headed up to Hutchinson Island, 60 miles north, to our friend's condo right on the ocean! The Heggerick's were so generous in having us stay for the night. We enjoyed our time on the beach, in the pool, and lounging in the house. Gracyn fell in love with Laddie, the Heggerick's golden retriever! Wherever Laddie went, Gracyn was there! Katie is already almost 4 months old and is smiling like crazy! She was such a trooper! It was so much fun spending time with them. The highlight for Luke was going fishing this morning. Luke, Jarrod, and Jarrod's dad headed out on their boat early this morning. As you can see from above......there was plenty of action! Just think, next week at this time we will be at Addi's 2nd birthday party!!!!

Chloe Elizabeth Yung!!! Gracyn got ear tubes!!!

GIRLS RULE!!! Our very good friends Jamee and Jeff welcomed a baby GIRL to the world on Saturday! We are so excited and anxious to meet her in July.

Gracyn got tubes put in her ears this morning. She was so brave.....much braver than her mama. She is doing great despite the fact that she is getting a few more teeth. Here is our attempt at a family photo this morning.

dada's day, grandma b & aunt carole, AND pearl jam

We had a very busy Father's Day weekend with Grandma B and Aunt Carole in town. We hung out a lot in the Florida sun. Grandma and Carole were determined to leave with blisters.....and blisters is what they got! We had a great time relaxing, although both Gracyn and I were battling pink eye. I also ended up sick with bronchitis!!! Just my luck! We miss them already.

Although I was not feeling well, we made it to see Pearl Jam in both West Palm Beach and Tampa. Gracyn did not enjoy the 3 hour road trip at all! Yes ladies, Eddie is still as gorgeous as when we were in the 10th grade! He looks and sounds better than ever.

We hope you all had a great Dada's Day weekend! Miss you all tons! Only 4 weeks left until MN....

getting ready for grandma b

Grandma B will be here on Tuesday with Aunt Carole! Luke took Gracyn to see the sunrise early Saturday morning while I got to sleep in until 7:30! We stayed close to home and cleaned most of the weekend in preparation for Grandma and Carole. Again, another 90 degree day! The pool was even hot!

Luke and I are going to see Pearl Jam Wednesday in West Palm Beach and Thursday in Tampa. Luke is so excited he can hardly contain himself! Ahhhh Eddie Vedder!!! We are lucky that Grandma is here to babysit!

Memorial Day Weekend

I can't believe that it is already Monday night! This weekend flew by. Probably because we worked on the bathroom for a majority of it. We finished laying the tile on Saturday night. On Sunday we attempted putting in the new toilet and sink. Needless to say, we ran into a few hiccups and will be reattempting later this week. Something to do with the wax ring???!!!

Gracyn got her first set of golf clubs! Grandpa J is so proud. Her swing needs a little work, but her form is flawless! We hit the sprinkler on Saturday to cool off in the 90 degree weather. Gracyn was not so sure of the crazy caterpillar sprinkler head! On Sunday we headed over to the Heggerick's for a Memorial Day BBQ. Baby Katie is already getting so big. Gracyn also met a new friend to hang with, Jake! On Monday we ended the weekend with a BBQ at John and Julian's house. We played a little Wii Bowling, our first time, and ate some delicious cheeseburgers.

The highlight of the weekend was the toilet box. Both Gracyn, daddy, and Abe spent many moments in that box this weekend!!!

Notice the bite mark on Gracyn's left arm.....someone from her class took a big bite.....ahhhh the joy of being in the toddler room!