Wednesday, September 14, 2011

There's a Very Pregnant Lady Living in Riverside, IL.....

And here she is!

Thought you might enjoy seeing what Rachel looks like these days - she has just one more day of work and then will be starting her maternity leave, and of course the baby is due in about 2 weeks!

Katie and I had a blast attending the Renegade Craft Fair this past Saturday!  She found a really cute handmade dress there, and I picked up a few cute things like handmade stationery and soap.  Good times...

We started the morning with a nice breakfast outdoors at a restaurant near Katie's apartment.  Bella came too!


What a happy girl!

Awwww

Love this picture of my girl, if I do say so myself....

Bella loves grammy, too!

Fun at the Fair






After the fair we drove to Riverside to see Dave, Rachel and Ally and their beautiful new house.  They have been working hard to update a few things, get the nursery ready, etc.  Just a couple of photos below....

Part of the living room and dining room...

Living room looking into the sunroom....

Two buddies....

 Thanks, girls - for a fun weekend! 

So, anybody have a guess as to what day the baby will be born?  (Due date is Oct. 1.)......

Friday, September 9, 2011

3 Weeks and Counting....

It's been 2 months since I've posted, and here we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Baby Schwartz in only about 3 weeks from now!  Rachel is feeling good and now going to the doctor every week.  Everything looks fine with the baby and we are very grateful and excited beyond words to greet our new grandchild.  Rachel and Dave will call us when they go to the hospital, and of course we'll head right out, pick up Katie on the way, and hopefully arrive in plenty of time for the birth.  Dave's parents will be driving in from Colorado on her due date of Oct. 1, unless the baby comes sooner, at which time Dave will call them to hurry on up here - haha!  An ultrasound was done yesterday to confirm that the baby is in the right position for birth and it's "all systems go!"

This pic was taken at Ottawa Beach when Dave, Rachel and Ally visited for a few days while waiting to get in their new house - so this was in early August. 

I'm excited to be going to Chicago this weekend!  Katie and I will attend the "Renegade Craft Fair" (Bella gets to come too!), and then we'll drive to Riverside to see Dave & Rachel's new house.  I'm glad to be able to spend a bit of time with Rachel one last time before she delivers.  The kids have been going non-stop since they moved to get some things done around the house before the baby arrives, even taking on the big project of renovating their kitchen!  I'm glad that Rachel's last day of work will be next Thursday, so hopefully she'll have a few days (but not TOO many - haha) to rest up and enjoy a bit of downtime.

Scott and I had just a delightful, fun time with Katie and Bella in Door County, WI on our camping trip a couple of weeks ago.  Keith and Brenda were nice enough to let us borrow their big tent so that Kate and Bells could sleep there.



One of the countless things I love about Katie is that she is not a diva, and loves to get out there and camp, be outdoors and just rough it.  The weather was wonderful, warm or hot and sunny almost every day.  We took lots of walks, Bella did a lot of swimming, and we just drove around to do some sightseeing and shopping.  I have posted all of the pictures from our trip on Facebook, if you'd like to see them.  Just a couple more of them below...

Good girl, Bella!  She was so cute - on the days we took her swimming, she would just conk out at night.  Whenever she was ready for bed, she'd head over to the tent, use her nose to unzip the door, walk in and lay down as if to say "see ya, I'm ready for bed now." 


Giving grampy a kiss....


Love this pic of Katie and Bellsie sitting in an oversized adirondack chair at the restaurant we stopped at....



Don't know where the summer has gone and that fall is upon us.  I'm now working part-time, which I love!  Monday-Wed. each week, so I have a nice long weekend.  So many new things happening in the Nykerk/Hamberg extended family these days!  I'm so grateful that dad is now living with Jim and Rachel and that the boys are staying at his house; Dave and Rachel have a new house; Carol will be moving home next week - even Jean H. has a new house, too!  Lots of movin and shakin going on!  The baby's coming soon; Macey has started kindergarten; Katie has new roommates - it's all wonderful!  I'm sure there are many more things going on that I haven't mentioned. 

We will keep you all posted about the baby, with pictures and plenty of details to follow...

Love you all!