babymoon: day five

wednesday, september 7th (written by kyle)

today was a great day! as if the previous four days weren't great as well.. we woke up at 9am (probably won't sleep in once we get home!) and i started making scrambled eggs while andrea got ready. me, andrea and pampaw had a nice breakfast while mamaw got ready. then, we said "bye" to mams and pamps and got ready to hit the road. andrea packed lunch, and we drove to lowdermilk beach/park. it was supposed to be the "pretty" beach but it pretty much looked the same as naples pier beach, but it was less crowded. we sat on our beach chairs so andrea could dip her toes and read her kindle. my chair was just a bit smaller...and i felt like i was sitting on the ground. andrea thought it was funny.

kyle playing in the waves...

we played in the waves, which was an awesome time again, and made sure to apply plenty of sunscreen! we ate lunch then the weather started to turn bad - gray skies and the wind really got going. just as we got to the car, it started to downpour!

once we got home, we relaxed and then got ready to check out some shops at a place called mercato. we got there, but it pretty much looked like any other indoor mall so we passed it up. (later, we found out it's really awesome, mostly outdoors.) we instead decided to go to the waterside shops. this was probably the fanciest mall i've been to - you could eat off the floors it was so clean, even though it was outdoors! there were fountains everywhere and of course, top of the line stores. we stopped in banana republic and ended up having a little shopping spree, mostly for me since andrea is a little "in between" sizes right now. It felt great to spoil ourselves a bit...

we went back home again, and started to make our fancy steak dinner. i manned the grill while andrea made baked potatoes and salad inside. everything tasted great, and it was just nice to spend time with me wife. we ended the night with dessert - apple pie and ice cream. like i said, it was a great day!

babymoon: day four

tuesday, september 6th (written by andrea)

we woke up in the morning ready to go! we ate our cheerios (of course!), said goodbye to mamaw & pampaw (they went off on their own to explore naples) and were off for our adventure day! first we were going to stop at corkscrew bird sanctuary to start off our day with a little walking, talking and wildlife, well, we found out it was $10/person and an hour away... so, we skipped it and were ready for the real adventure - an airboat ride!

we drove about 45 minutes south to the everglades to speedy's airboat tours. we were able to get on a boat right away - with 4 other people visiting from england & our driver, freddy. the ride started off through the groves in the swamp. they were made out of skinny trees that formed an umbrella over us, just perfect for the airboat to fit under. i liked how the roots of the trees were all exposed above the water. so, we rode through several groves hunting for gators, but never had any luck!

our favorite part was when we would come to an opening in the swamp, and freddy would really step on the gas! that's when we would put on our sweet headphones to block the loud sound of the boat. we would really get flying around! kyle had both hands gripped onto the boat railing - i thought he was scared :) but he said he was just more comfortable that way.

flying around in the boat, we really got a good breeze, so thankfully it wasn't too hot and our sunburns didn't bother us. after an hour, we saw no gators but still had a blast! we actually ended up telling the people on the boat baby girl's name (i know!! don't be mad!!) - they really liked it, which made us even more excited! that was the first time (well, other than giacomo) that we told anyone her name!

we did stop by a nearby park freddy recommended. he said we would mare than likely see alligators there. guess what? no gators. but we did see some crazy birds - one swimming underwater - and a turtle. so we did get to see some wildlife on our adventure day.

after getting home, we relaxed and napped. mamaw and pampaw started making our dinner feast - pork tenderloin, green beans, mashed potatoes, crescent rolls, AND apple pie with ice cream. YUM! - while we ran to target. we ended the night with another round of hand and foot. sadly, the guys won the series, winning 2 out of 3.

babymoon: day three

monday, september 5th (written by kyle)

another morning of sleeping in until 9am. It felt amazing! after having a great night's rest, andrea and i went out on the lanai and had our cheerios while we prayed and read the Bible. it was awesome because i've missed praying with andrea...

after breakfast we ventured out to "Tin City" which andrea really wanted to see (i had no idea what to expect, but i think she knew it's be just a bunch of shops filled with stuff that no one would ever really need). wow - it was a gold mind for tchotchkes! it made me a little sad to be in there...but we did end up buyinga few shells for .$39 so we could make "marcel the shell" (a little joke gift for mike & kate for their wedding)

checking out the docks at tin city

after tin city, we went to target looking for beach chairs where andrea could read & "dip her toes" at the beach - her favorite thing to do. we found them & headed home to meet mamaw & pampaw, andrea's grandparents who drove down from the tampa area to visit.

we were happy to see mams & pamps, and we all decided to eat lunch before going golfing. we make burgers on the grill, then pamps and i went out to hibiscus golf club. i actually shot pretty well (107) which actually almost beat pampaw (103)!! we played 18 holes in 2 hours & 45 minutes then headed home...

we all got cleaned up went to check out naples. we drove around 5t ave south and third street south. we went to tin city again, this time to try to find a restaurant for dinner. unfortunately, since it was labor day, they were all closed. we tried one more restaurant by the docks, but instead of eating there, just took a few pictures. we actually ended up just stopping at wendy's and grabbing a bite to eat, but we were happy mamaw & pampaw got to see a bit of naples. after dinner, we returned home for some hand & foot (a card game). the girls won but no worries, the guys will have their revenge...

babymoon: day two

sunday, september 4th (written by andrea)

what a way to start the day! we actually slept in a little (9am!!). one of our favorite things to do - when we are able - is waking up and jut relaxing, hanging out and chatting together in bed. what a treat to get to do that today!

eventually, we got out of bed and out of our pajamas, too :) we ate our bowls of cheerios together at the kitchen table and made plans to explore naples. our first stop: the beach!! kyle saw pictures of naples pier & wanted to go there. so we packed our lunched, put on our suits & were ready to go!

on the way, we got our first "real" view of naples. we drove down 5th avenue south - the main "downtown" area with lots of upscale shops & restaurants. we passed by some big, big houses along the way! finally, we parked the car and made it to the pier.

my favorite part of going to the beach is the first glimpse of the water. the area we walked up was pretty clear, so we saw the gulf of mexico as soon as we walked up! we went down the entire pier (a lot of people fishing!) before we found a spot on the beach.

i was very, very brave (or crazy!) and wore a bikini to show off the pregnant belly (well, really to get some sun on it!) i didn't realize how embarrassed i would be to take off my cover-up, but kyle reassured me i looked cute :) we both agree we loved jumping and diving into the waves - kyle loved it, and was like a little kid again! we ate our lunch, relaxed a bit, and walked along the water. k tried to join in a couple volleyball games, but never got a chance to play :( we wondered if we were getting any sun and found out later we were both burnt to a crisp - including my belly! after the beach, we strolled around third street south a bit, but were way too hot and headed home.

the aftermath of the sunburn...

one red belly & back!!

once back, we relaxed and watched a bit of a movie. then, we got ready (all dolled up!) and headed to 5th avenue south for one of our "celebration" dinners - for our 4th anniversary and for our growing family. we picked bistro 821 - they had a 2 for $30 special that included 2 entrees and bottle of wine (just for kyle to enjoy! we took most of it home!) we talked about being parents and raising our little girl. after, we got giant ice cream cones for dessert, but with our sunburns (especially my belly!!) we were ready to head home and call it a day!

babymoon: day one

kyle and i kept a little journal during our vacation so we could remember all the memories we made. so, we thought we would share our babymoon adventures with you. kyle actually wrote some of these entries! enjoy!

Saturday, September 3 (written by kyle)

we woke up super early but super excited to start our trip! loaded the car, said goodbye to jackie and headed for the airport. we had no problem getting on our flight out of milwaukee, but getting out of indy was another story. we couldn't get on our scheduled flight to charlotte, because we were flying stand-by (thanks for my dad). a flight cancellation earlier in the day back loaded all the passengers!

thankfully a flight to philadelphia opened up, and we went there instead (the philly airport was real busy, and kind of junky!). then before we knew it, we were off to ft. myers! (i sat next to a very interesting man - who after 10 minutes sitting next to me & talking, said "it's not you, it's me" and went to another seat!) andrea was pretty hungry though out our travels, so we grabbed junk food here and there. i felt kind of guilty feeding baby girl such garbage all day!

finally! about 6:30pm, we got into ft. myers and went to pick up our first ever rented car. we reserved a "compact" variety and totally expected a chevy aveo. but to our delight, the guy directed us to a 2011 dodge avenger, which was awesome! it felt super cool driving a fast car around florida.

cruisin' in the avenger

we got to the condo and were amazed at our home for the week! (we stayed in aunt kathy & uncle terry's condo - thank you thank you thank you again!!) it was so nice, much better than anything we could afford for a week! another blessing from the Lord!

our home for the week!

we went to publix, stocked up on food for the week, got a frozen pizza and watched a movie on the couch... time to relax after a day of travels...

baby name game

hi all! i am currently at a hotel in new york anxiously awaiting our good friends mike & kate's wedding to take place! kyle is in the wedding, so he has groomsmen activities all day. so, i thought i would say hello to all of you in the meantime :)

we'll post more about the babymoon - but it was just perfect, exactly what we needed! we had beautiful weather, a wonderful time, and the only complaints we have are about our sunburns. even my belly got a little burnt... more on that later

BUT many of you have been asking about baby girl's name. we do have at least the first name picked out, and we are so so very excited about it! we think it's perfect :) we decided to wait until she makes her big appearance to announce her name. which has left many people just a tiny bit sad (cough....mom...cough :) she even said, "how am i supposed to get anything for this little girl if i don't know her name! haha...). so we thought we would do something a little fun. every week or two, we'll post a hint about baby girl's name. though, we're not telling the name, one of you just may figure it out before her birthday!

without further ado, baby name clue number one is:

The meaning of her name is "joyful"

good luck :)

Off for the babymoon....

hi all!!

just wanted to let you all know we leave bright and early tomorrow morning for our babymoon! some of you are wondering, "baby what??" so here's a little definition:

Babymoon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A babymoon is a period of time that parents spend bonding with a recently-born baby.

More recently the term has come to be used to describe a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby. Babymoons usually take place at a resort that offers appropriate services like prenatal massage.

obviously we'll do plenty of special bonding once baby girl is here, so for now we're following the latter part of the definition!

so, we are off to naples, florida for much needed rest & relaxation! (thank you so much to aunt kathy & uncle terry for allowing us to use their condo & to kyle's parents for setting up our flights!) the past few weeks have been busy busy here. kyle has been working like a dog in the OR and I currently have a pretty mean case of bronchitis. this past week really has been a blur - full of work, running around, sleepless nights with lots of coughing... but of course baby girl letting us know she's still here with lots of kicks!! (ps- this week, at 27 weeks pregnant, she is the weight of a cauliflower!) so this trip is here at a perfect time, not only for kyle and i to soak up time together, but to just sit back, r-e-l-a-x, and have nothing to do!

we would love it if you could pray for our travels - especially our many connecting flights. please pray our bodies would feel well-rested and i would be healed of this mean ol' bronchitis. there are supposed to be scattered thunderstorms all week - if we could get just 1-2 beautiful days at the beach, i would be a happy girl. but most of all, please pray this would be a trip that brings kyle & i even closer together, a time we can reflect on where God has brought us, how He has blessed us, and the amazing future He has for us, especially as parents.

thank you for being a part of our lives & our journey to becoming mommy & daddy. we love you! be back in a week!!