No baby yet, but...

In the past month since the last post, much has happened... except the obvious. So, while Baby Harper has not officially made his or her appearance yet, there are some fun photos and news to share.

Back at the end of April, Matty and Karen made a trip out to Colorado. We had a wonderful time, and were blessed with gorgeous weather. We made it down to the Garden of the Gods in the Springs. We got to see some rock climbers while there, which mom and dad were downright fascinated with--see photo evidence.

While mom and dad were in town, we also had a nice little backyard bbq. In attendance were many of our favorite people, including little Hannah Rauwerdink (seen here with dad Mike). All of us had a great time, and though it was a quick trip for mom and dad, it sure seemed like a good trip!

The weekend after that--the first weekend of May--we celebrated Cory's birthday. Big 33. And, in addition to a few out-of-town guests like Lexie and Ella and my friend Megan from Sheboygan, we had a few locals as well--including Lacey, seen here in what appears to be a genuine-make-you-smile-baby-lovin' moment (please avert your eyes from the beer, I swear all Ella had to drink was whole milk). I must say, that in addition to the wonderful celebration with friends and family, a serious highlight for me was the cake (because, really, life is all about food, especially when you're pregnant and everyone else can enjoy food AND drink, but you're limited to just that one.) So, the cake was called the "Spring Fling" and we got it at The Market. In the words of my refined palate, it was a delicate zuchini cake with cream cheese frosting and sliced fruit on the top. When in Denver, y'all! I'm telling you, this cake is dreamy!

The weekend after that was Mother's Day. Though neither Cory nor I could be with our moms, we had a great time visiting with our friends Brian and Jen and Allie, in town from the Madison area. On Friday night of that weekend, Mike and Jill hosted a "couples shower" for us. It was a sweet gathering of several of Cory's friends from Sybase. So many generous gifts, so much wonderful support. You should have seen Cory's eyes when he opened up the hiking backpack carrier that was a gift from Mike, Jill, Hannah, Brian, Jen and Allie. He's super pumped to take "the kid" (as he would call our bambino) hiking.

Since then, it's been pretty much all about waiting for this baby to come into the world. And, on that note, we certainly will let you know what we know when we know it!

In the meantime, keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we prepare to welcome this little person into our lives in a whole new way!