Update... Part I

Hello my friends... I know it has been a long time since I blogged and I am sorry. I really need to be better about it. So let's see... where do we start?? After Lucas Tyler's room got painted (by Tyler and his mom) we moved in the furniture. Also hung some pictures and even his name. It is finally looking more like " the nursery." We are so excited... everyday a bit more. I flip from excited to scared to am I ready for this adventure? But then I calm down and thank the Lord for our precious child. So here is a picture of the baby's room so far.






The idea of having the room as ready as we could by mid-January was because we had planned a trip to Costa Rica on Jan. 30th. There my sister and my mom had planned a Baby Shower for us with the whole family. So that's my next update... Our trip to Costa Rica. We arrived there late Friday night... said hello to my mom, dad, sister, and niece and went to bed. The next day got up early and went to the Farmer's Market... nothing like you'd see here. They set up their booths on Friday late night/Saturday early morning and for about 5 blocks you have people yelling at you to try their fruit or buy their veggies... it was a cool and different experience. After that we headed to Fotos Anna Studio; there we had an appointment for our "Pretty Pregnancy Pictures" (that's what I like to call them). The lady took several pictures and was very nice... she put some make-up on me and then I had to work the camera. So here is the product of that morning... I must tell you that this pictures were NOT digital so I had to scan and post them. Here they are:



Sorry about the "nudity" but I thought they were very tastefully done ;-) So we had a busy Saturday since that afternoon was the Baby Shower... we had about 70 people between family ad friends (mostly family). After that we went ahead and celebrated my dad's 50th birthday... Needless to say that we partied for about 7 hours. we had a great time! Got to see everybody all at once. I've never had so many hands and kisses on my belly in one day. I thought it was going to bother me but it was kind of fun to see how people always have something to say while rubbing your belly. Many leaned over and talked to Lucas; many kissed "him"; many hugs... I am just glad I did not wear a white shirt!! It is funny to me how cultures are different; here in the USA we are so private and in touch with " my space"... in Latin America they don't even ask you if they can touch your belly... they just do! They hug it and kiss it and even ask you to lift your shirt so they can see it! hahahahaha

My sister had planned some awesome games for the baby shower... You may have heard or played the game where you melt a piece of chocolate in a diaper and then people have to taste it and find out what type of chocolate it is... here is a twist! How about you melt the chocolate in the diaper, hide 2 pieces of party favors in the chocolate, and then put the daiper in a chair and make the game about finding the items with only your mouth (hands behind your back!!!!) Yes... that is exactly what Tyler and my dad had to play! It was so funny!!! I'll let you see it for yourself!

We played more games and had great food! Later on we transitioned to my dad's 50th birthday celebration. We had a piNata, cake, and CARNIVAL!!!! It was so fun! We danced and laughed and danced some more. We sang happy birthday A-la-Costa Rican and ate some cake!! After that Tyler and I opened the presents we received for Lucas and oh! they were all so precious!! I love the little pajamas and outfits; he even got his first pair of soccer cleats! We are very thankful to all the family and friends who are already loving on our baby boy.

So... that's the summary of our first day in Costa Rica...I am sorry it was so long but I promise that was just the summary!! I am know going to leave you with the video of Happy B-day Frank and a few pictures of the BAby shower. I will post again soon... you don't want to miss the rest of our adventure...

My mom guessing the size of my belly

Tyler and his baby diaper after the chocolate game

My sister explaining the next game

The cake my sister and cousin baked for the Baby Shower

A painting my cousin pained for the nursery

Opening more presents

Happy 50th Birthday daddy!!

My dad and sister dancing during Carnival time!

Tyler and I during the carnival

I'm It!!!!

I was tagged by Christi so here it is...




This is our baby on Dec. 3, 2008 - I was 19 weeks pregnant and that day we found out that we are having a boy. Speaking of the baby; we have decided to name him Lucas Tyler Kepner... we really like the name regardless of our families' distaste.

Here are the instructions:

Go to the place where you store all of your pictures on your computer
and open up the 4th folder.
Open the 4th picture.
Post the picture and give an explanation.
Tag 4 people

I tag Jenny, Martha, Tobi, and Liz

More pictures and updates on Lucas are coming soon!!

Random Thoughts

HI! So I know it's been a little while but we've been a little busy around here. First of all, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a great time with the Kepner (and Thompson) family. Tyler and I did not exchange presents because we bought a MacBook a few months ago and that was our Christmas to each other. Tyler did give me a perfume I've wanted for a while and I gave him my "upgrade" so he could get the iPhone hahaha.
Besides Christmas we've been busy cleaning and emptying Peanut's room. We took a lot of stuff out that we had in the closet and other places. The room was nice and empty so we could paint. We are thinking a nice light green. Well... I said it was empty because my in-laws showed up with a beautiful white chest of drawers last weekend; then today they delivered some of the baby stuff we inherit from our niece Ella; and we move the changing table from the garage to the bedroom to visualize set ups and spacing. We are getting really excited about the baby's room and all the stuff in it; decoration, furniture, clothes, and all the other things that come with it.
I am happy to tell you that we have also narrowed down our baby name list to 2 names... YES!!! Two names that we both like. Soon we can ask Christi to monogram some cute stuff from her store P3 Well, I guess I've gone from Christmas to baby... sorry. I am just so excited about getting ready for our baby.
As we get ready to end this year I stop and think about how it feels like it was just yesterday that we were in Costa Rica spending Christmas with my family and a few days at the beach talking about the year to come and what to expect. If we only knew that we would be pregnant with a little boy!!! Now we just thank God for His blessings and mercies for the year 2008. Got us thru some rough times but also brought us some great times. We have grown closer to HIm and as a couple and it really was something we needed. I can't wait to find out what's in store for 2009 with Peanut in the picture. We were talking about how weird it's going to be to say " this is my son" or be called mommy and daddy...I pray that God leads us to the right path, His path and that we are smart enough to follow.
Now that I have talked about a little bit of everything... sorry again... I'm going to go and leave you with some pictures from Christmas. I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and many blessing to your family from mine.

This is us at Jenny and Paul's house on Christmas Eve


Me showing off the belly on Dec. 23th.

Halfway there!!!

WOW!!! I can't believe we are 20 weeks pregnant already! It seems like few weeks ago that I took the pregnancy test and I could not believe my eyes when I saw a positive. As you may already know, we are having a boy and we are very excited! I have picked out a few things I want for the nursery and we are trying to clear out the "office" so it can become the baby's room.

One of our biggest issues right now is trying to pick out Peanut's name. We have a top 5; however, Tyler's top 5 is a bit different than my top 5 so it's more like a top 8 hahahaha. We need names that both families can pronounce and that go well with our last name. Also, we are going to register our child as a Costa Rican citizen so Peanut will have Kepner Mendoza as last names... yes, we keep both father's and mother's last names. We are reading Baby Names books but haven't found "the one."

Even though Peanut has no name yet; we are very excited about picking the color for the room and decoration. We bought a wonderful crib and changing table; we also have been lucky to get our niece's (Ella) baby stuff like a rocking chair, pack-n-play, high chair, and many other things that we will find out about when we get them from my mother-in-law's house.

Since I haven't taken any pictures that really show my belly, I wanted to post this little picture (from babycenter.com) that let's me know each week the progress of our little one and what he "look like this week."




We will have a busy January getting Peanut's room ready as much as we can. We are flying to Costa Rica in February and need to leave with as much done as possible. My mom is going to throw us a big baby shower while we are down there. We are also going to the beach for a few days... gotta love summer in February! It will be a nice time with my family.

So, that's the update for now... I promise I will take some pictures of the belly soon and post them. I hope everyone is having a great time getting ready for Christmas and remember the real meaning of this time.

Much Love,

Susie (& Peanut)

It's a baby boy!!!!!

We are very excited to announce that we are expecting a baby boy!! We are so thankful, we feel so undeservedly blessed, and can't stop thanking the Lord for such a gift in our lives. I can't find the words to express how we feel right now... so I won't try. I'll leave you with the pictures and I'll come back to this subject... trust me; there will be a lot more on Peanut/Baby Kepner.

The Beat

So this is Tyler's first entry to the Kepner's blog. I figured it was time to give it a go. I feel as if I'm entering a whole new world of internet communication (maybe I'm behind the times). Yesterday, Susie and I went to the 4th appointment for her and the baby. This was a very simple check up to make sure things are progressing as expected, with the exception of one very important discovery: we heard our baby's heart beat for the very first time! It was amazing, I kept trying to imagine what that would feel like, what emotion I might experience - and, of course, I was way off. The moment the doctor placed the instrument to Susie's tummy, we heard this incredibly rapid beat. As if the baby had run a marathon or something. Absolutely amazing. So far this journey of pregnancy has revealed to me just how indescribable God's creation really is. I've always been captured by God's infinite wisdom, power, and presence - but yesterday was something completely new for me and Susie. This tiny little being inside her is a gift from God we will never take for granted.
In a time when this country has redefined the beginning of life and, through courts of law, decided that women have a "right" to take that life - I, as a father-to-be, stand amazed at this perfect gift from God, captivated by the precious audible sign of life. This post comes a few days after the election of Barack Obama, arguably the most liberal law maker in our country's short existence. This man has pledged to bring about even more liberal laws permitting partial-birth abortions within his first acts as commander in chief. There's only one question I would ask him on this issue if I had the chance: "Mr. President-elect, are you glad your mother chose NOT to abort you"? To which he might respond with some classy, yet meaningless quip. However, I would venture to say that the thought has never crossed his mind. I didn't mean to get off subject - but I do want to point out that, as Christians, we have rights we may lose if we are not careful. Pray for this country...everyday, pray that God's hand of protection will continue to be upon His people. I know God has a plan for this nation as we move forward. But if we are not careful, we may just lose the right to voice our opinion on these matters. God bless you and yours and may God bless America!

GO 'NOLES!!!!!!

On October 25th we went to the FSU vs. Virginia Tech game in Tallahassee and had a blast! We had great seats next to the marching band; they day was perfect and so was the company. Here are few pictures from that day.







Last week we spent some time with our friends Matt & Martha (and their little Maegan); they are on the way from Texas to North Carolina so they stopped by for one night only visit. We wished they could stay longer but know we'll just have to go vsit them. Here is our picture before they left:



I'll be posting soon after our Dr's appointment on Wednesday. ' Till then...