Diaper Party at Dublin Square

Thanksgiving Eve was the night of the Men's Only Diaper Party! Jason got this brilliant idea from someone and neither of us can remember who now. :) Jason thought, "Why do only women get to have all the fun?" He planned a night where the men just had to bring any size of diapers to come and enjoy hanging out with each other. He decided to spice things up a bit with a few games as well. A big hit was the "Guess the Poo" game where Jason and I melted popular candy bars into diapers. That was hilarious how real-life it looked! I like the picture of Joe with his face right in the diaper! :) Jason also introduced the Due Date 50/50 that evening. Everyone could buy raffle tickets and guess the date/time that they think Baby Redoutey will come. The board is filled with blue dots now, and we're just waiting to see who will win the raffle. It sounded like the party was a success! Thank you men for contributing to the diaper cause. Baby Redoutey appreciates it!

So Thankful!

This Thanksgiving was no less special than any other year, but we certainly have a little something to look forward to! After the festivities are over, I realize how much I do have to be thankful for this year.

• A baby boy who I can't wait to meet and appears to be strong and healthy since he loves to kick and roll around mommy all the time!
• A healthy pregancy with no complaints besides aching hips and uncomfortable nights. Isn't that normal though?
• A loving husband who works so hard to provide for our growing family.
• A family who was willing to change their Thanksgiving tradition to spend it with us in MI. Thank you mom, dad, and Jodi! You are the best!
• Two families who get along so well! Laughter can always be heard around the Aaron's and Redoutey's.
• A dad who makes the best grilled turkey ever! (and leaves us leftovers!)
• Family and friends who have been so generous with gifts for the baby. WOW!
• A loving Heavenly Father who knows every detail about the future! Because of that, I have no reason to worry!

2 weeks till DUE DATE! Who's counting?!

Michigan Baby Shower

Becky Redoutey (my mother-in-law) hosted this shower at her home on October 20, 2007. I know that Lindsay and Alisa ( my sisters-in-law) and Aunt Beth also helped out so much! We had a great afternoon and many family, church friends, and some piano students were able to come. We started the shower by opening gifts! As you can see, Baby Redoutey is going to have so many cute things. :) Becky provided delicious snacks and cider. We played a couple of games. The first was one where I brought around a tray filled with baby items. Most people assumed they had to remember the items on the tray, but the questions were really about me! We also played a game where you guessed what kind of baby food was in the jars. Thank you Becky and everyone that came or sent gifts! It was such a fun shower!

Baby Shower in Peoria, IL

Lisa Sanderson hosted this wonderful shower at her home on October 7, 2007. The shower had a baby/fall theme with everything decorated with gourds, sunflowers, baby shoes, wood blocks, and more. Close friends and family from Illinois were in attendance. We played a game where you could not say the word "baby." I was not very good at it! We also were given ice cubes with a baby in it... the first person who's "water broke" won the game. The other game we did was trying to guess what kind of white powder/substance was in different ziploc baggies. That was challenging! The guests decorated diapers and onesies for Baby Redoutey. I can't wait to read them in the future. I hope someone will make me laugh when I need it at 3 in the morning! It was a wonderful afternoon. Thank you, Lisa, and everyone who came. Jason and I went back to Michigan feeling so blessed!

It's a Boy!

This summer I went to Maine with my family for a vacation. My wonderful husband stayed home to work, so he unfortunately could not join us. We had a great time camping (yes... in real tents!) at Acadia National Park. One of the most memorable (not necessarily a favorite) parts of the trip was getting the opportunity to use the "hot" showers accessible for those of us who chose to camp at Blackwoods campground. This campground did not have showers in the bathrooms, but $1.25 could get you 4 minutes of "hot" water if you were willing to wait in line at the showers right outside the campground entrance. We would literally schedule our activities to try to beat the rush to the showers some days, and even then we weren't guaranteed hot water for 4 minutes. I realized how quickly 4 minutes goes by too! Just try it next time you take a shower. :)

Anyways, Jason and I were scheduled to have our 1st ultrasound the day after I returned from Maine. All along we both did not have an inkling about whether this baby was going to be a boy or girl. All I knew was that I was definitely more comfortable with the idea of having a girl! So, the last night in Maine I had a dream. In my dream I had a baby boy and was changing him and taking care of him. When I woke up, I felt such joy and peace that I just knew we were going to have a boy! I shared this only with Jason when I got home. When we went to the ultrasound it was confirmed we were going to have a boy! I was very thankful to God that He had given me that dream, so I wouldn't be upset it wasn't a girl. I know God's plans are far better than my own, but I tend to create expectations sometimes. If they aren't met, it is difficult to not feel disappointed. I'm so thankful that life is a journey, and I am constantly changing and growing as a person. It's so exciting to think about what Baby Redoutey will look like! I do know he will have a wonderful father and grandfathers to look up to.

Telling the New Grandparents

It was challenging keeping the pregnancy a secret for a week, but we really wanted to tell our parents in person. It worked out perfectly though! Grandpa Redoutey had a vision that we were going to start a family. God lead him to ask the Aaron's if they wanted to join in giving us a blessing for our future family. Little did they know... we were already pregnant. :) We met on Sunday, April 22nd in Michigan City, IN which is exactly halfway between Peoria, IL and Lansing, MI. So in front of Chili's where we were going to eat lunch Jason said, "This is going to be a fine looking set of grandparents in 8 months!" It was so great to be able to see their reactions at the same time! It was a beautiful afternoon. This will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family, so we were very happy to share our news finally.

We're Pregnant!

April 14, 2007 - Jason and I had decided to audition for The Amazing Race in January. It's one of our favorite shows, and we thought it would be so much fun! They were hosting auditions in Lansing, so we decided to go for it. We decided if we didn't get on the show we would start trying to expand our family. Well, needless to say, come March we figured we hadn't made the show, but we were okay with it! We got to start trying to have a baby. A month later... I wasn't feeling quite my normal self. :) April 14th, I had played for a trombone recital earlier that evening and we decided to see if I was pregnant that night. I guess we knew how the test was going to turn out, but we were still so nervous and excited! Seeing the positive sign on the test was crazy! Jason felt ecstatic and intimidated... he's been waiting his whole life for this but are we ready?! I felt the same way, but also relief. God truly blessed us quickly. I knew we had 9 more months to "get ready."