Our new addition!

Well, about two weeks ago we found out that I was pregnant! This is very exciting news for us since we had decided to try again. The first time I had gotten pregnant I had lost it due to an ectopic pregnancy. This all happened while waiting on Logan. 2 days after my surgery, we got the call to go meet him for the first time in a couple of weeks. That sure helped the situation and what an extra blessing he was!

So, this time we were a little nervous. But yesterday I had my first ultrasound and the baby is in the right place! We even got to see the heartbeat. She (per me) is only .15 mm...so small but so amazing :)

I'm so excited for Logan to become a big brother. It will be a change for him, but he is such a good little helper. Plus, he's getting lots of practice with my friend's new baby Ana.

In these pictures, the baby is the tiny white dot inside of the large black area and to the left of the next biggest ring, which is the yolk sak.

Happy First Father's Day Brian!

On Sunday, Father's Day, Brian and Logan went to Qdoba for breakfast. They got their usual...Brian's breakfast burrito and Logan's eggs.

Afterwards we went to find Brian's lawn edger (this was his gift from Logan & me). Then we ate lunch at Heidi's Brooklyn Deli in Carmel. Brian has only been there one other time and so he has been craving the Hell's Kitchen sandwich and wanted to go nowhere else but there for lunch. Logan loved his grilled cheese and chips...I don't think I've ever seen him so excited about grilled cheese before.

We went back home and did what he wanted to do for pretty much the rest of the day, which was cleaning, washing and waxing both cars.

It was a great day just hanging out together. Brian is such a wonderful father and Logan just adores everything about him.

Happy Father's Day ~ Daddy Shepard!

Well, for our traditional Father's Day we went to Richmond to take my dad golfing. This year it was me, Dad, Aaron and Brian. Alex is away at college so he couldn't make it. Our tee time was at 11 a.m. and the teams were me & dad, and aaron & brian. They played paper/rock/scissors to see who would be stuck with Brian b/c he's really not too good at golf :) It's really funny b/c he is very athletic and good at about anything that he tries but golf is a rough sport for him.

And the winners were....Me & Dad by 5 strokes!! I absolutely love beating my brother and Brian. Plus all the gloating we do is great b/c if it was them they would never let us forget it :)

Afterwards we went back to my parents house, where Logan had spent the day with Nana, Heather and Allyson. We grilled burgers and sat around outside. It was such a beautiful day. Then Scott, Regina, and Megan stopped by and we all got to spend a nice evening together. Logan was in heaven with all his family around...especially Allyson! He figures that if he's going to Nana & Papaw's house, she had better be there too.

So that was my dad's Father's day celebration and it was another great one.

I love you so much Daddy, Happy Father's Day!

Gotcha Day!!

Well, it was exactly one year ago today when we stood in the Russian Court and they said that Alexsei Sergeevich Bigishiev was ours! We wanted to take him home right then but still had two weeks to go until we could keep him forever. But, this is our Gotcha Day because legally he was ours :)

Here's the proud new Papa...

And Mama...
This outfit cracked us up. When we first saw him he was in an adorable shorts outfit, but then this is how they got him ready to go outside :)

Kari & Brandon's Wedding Day!

On Saturday we woke up to rain...not a good thing for an outdoor wedding! But we kept an eye on the weather channel and it was supposed to let up. We did have until 4:30 so we just hoped and prayed that it would stop and not start up again.

At 10 a.m. the girls went to get our hair and make-up done. Since it was the start of the day and we had to make the 'do stay looking good until early evening, the curls were done very tight and the hairspray was very solid.

And here's the beautiful dress that is hand-made in Spain.

Here's the lovely flower girl so excited to be getting ready for the big day.

Actually, this is the Real picture of her getting ready...she does not like her hair done at all :)

This is Kari resting before we go out for pictures...it's going to be a long day!

Once everyone was completely ready we went out for pictures. Thankfully the rain stopped for the day and it wasn't too cold out. We ended up getting some great pictures by the photographer and Kari looked gorgeous in her dress.

The ceremony was beautiful and Logan made it down the aisle smiling and holding hands with Owen. Cutest thing I've ever seen...this was the part where I almost cried.

After the ceremony was more pictures and the wedding party was finally let go. Logan went with the other children to the babysitters and we headed to the cocktail hour and hung out until it was time to be announced. All the guests and wedding party had a great time together.

Congratulations Kari and Brandon Van Eck! We love you :)

Kari & Brandon's Rehearsal Dinner

The big event finally came...Kari & Brandon's Wedding weekend! On Friday was the Rehearsal and Dinner.

The Wedding was being held at the Illinois Beach Resort on the grassy area overlooking the Lake. Since it's lake Michigan it really looks like the ocean and was a beautiful backdrop to the wedding. The rehearsal went well and we were really proud that Logan made it down the aisle on both trys. He was walking with Owen and they were adorable together, especially on the first try when they both took off running down the aisle...too cute!

The dinner was at The Tropics restaurant on Winthrop Harbour, which was hosted by Brandon's parents. We had a private room overlooking the lake and it was all set-up so nice. Both families got to hang out before the big day and it was so much fun. Brandon's family is great!

Kari and Brandon got Logan a harmonica for being the Ring Bearer.

He played and played it all night long.

He also pretended that it was a phone and went around to many people having them talk into it.

It was also a camera, so he went around to all the tables saying "SMILE"

As you can see, he was Very excited about his harmonica (aka phone and camera)

Future Mr & Mrs Van Eck

Me (Maid of Honor) and Kari (Bride to be)

Future Van Ecks with Mom of the Bride

There was a ramp at the side of the room and all the kids had a blast running up and down it.

For being a Groomsmen, Brian got a Ball-B-Q set. It's really neat because everything is "golf" related: Golf Flag Kabob Skewers, Putter Basting Brush, Dimples Golf Spatula, Wedge Head Tongs, Golf Ball Corn Holders.

The cake was really yummy...even the shells on it were chocolate!

Logan and all the kids found a wonderful friend in Brandon's cousin. He was twirling them around and standing them on his shoulders. Logan decided to take it a step further and started doing back-flips off of him. Such a dare devil :)

And let's not forget how much he Loves to play with Boppa's cane!

This time it was a microphone and he did Kareokee for everyone. After a song he would raise up the cane and cheer...and of course everyone cheered right along with him :)


Eating with Grandpa & telling lots of stories!

Mommy and her little man