Isabella sleeping in her Pack N Play on the quilt that Heidi Graf made for her. 

Daddy loves his little girl! 

I think I'm ready to eat! 

Thank You!

We'd like to thank Rebecca Craver for lending us her camera on the night of Isabella's birth. Everything happened so fast that we were not able to get our camera. She also graciously uploaded the pictures onto this site so that family and friends could see our precious baby girl. The pictures are in chronological order, starting from the bottom and going up.

Many people have been so helpful to us during these past few whirlwind days. The night we had Isabella, Rebecca and Sayward Green went to our apartment for us to gather our things since we had to head straight to Labor & Delivery. They also cleaned our apartment, got Andy some food for the hospital, and took him to get our car that we had to leave at the doctor's office. Suzanne Parker also helped clean our apartment and she even decorated our building with signs and streamers in celebration of Isabella's arrival. Matt Gillard looked up some information on car seat installation services in the area, since we hadn't had ours installed yet. He also helped, along with Rebecca and Suzanne, install the carseat into our car.

We enjoyed our visitors: those mentioned above, Kelly Howard - a friend from the seminary and also chaplain resident at the hospital where Isabella was born, Don Hullenbaugh - a friend from the seminary, and Denny and Kay Rohn - Denny is the pastor at the church where Andy is student pastoring.

We also had the best smelling room on the floor because of the beautiful floral arrangements that we received. The one of the left is from Caroline Zelinka, her daughter Helen, Helen's husband Darren, and their two kids. The flowers in the middle are from Andy's family and the flowers on the right were from my family. We really appreciate these gifts from our family, who would have loved to have been here if they could.

Karen and Isabella 

all wrapped up! 

What a beatuiful baby! 

Isabella giving mommy a kiss 

Mommy and Isabella! 

sleeping baby 

Isn't she sweet! 

bathtime 

Mommy and Isabella 

Daddy and Isabella 

bathtime 

Mommy's first kiss! 

checking things out 

nurses cleaning Isabella up 

Welcome Baby!

Isabella Marie Kilps was born yesterday evening! November 30th, 2005!

36 and 37 Weeks - we're almost there!

Up until now, I haven't felt much like I'm about to have a baby in a couple of weeks. I have definitely been feeling big, but not like my body was preparing to give birth. Yesterday, I started to get the feeling that things were getting started. I'm getting more frequent Braxton Hicks contractions - nothing painful or regular, just more frequent. We also think that the baby may have dropped a little bit - not a lot, but even a little is encouraging. My belly has become pretty sensitive. Maternity pants are not even comfortable anymore. As soon as I get home from work each night, I change into my gray cotton pants. They are my favorite and the only really comfortable pants I have right now. I don't like the feeling of anything on my stomach. It feels somewhat itchy and tender as if I had a sunburn on it. I think that it has stretched about as much as it can. On Thanksgiving, the baby seemed to be pushing on me in every directions - hands pushing on my pelvic bones and feet pushing on my ribs. Our little Bud is starting to run out of room in there! I wonder when this baby is going to decide to join us.

37 Weeks 

36 Weeks 

Our Gift from Above

For the past few months, I have been working on a cross-stitch quilt to hang up over the baby's sleeping area. Last night, I finally finished it! Let me tell you, I was ready to be done with this. I feel a great sense of accomplishment. Right away, I hung it up above the Pack 'N Play and then added the extra balloons around it which were hung up in my room when I was little. The balloons look dark in the picture, they're actually pastel colors. More and more, we're starting to finish projects that we wanted to get done before the baby arrived. This was a huge one for me. My mom is also working on a blanket for the baby. The baby's area of the room still needs a little decoration, but we're definitely getting there!

34 and 35 Weeks

Things got a little busy last week and I never got the chance to post the 34 week belly picture, so I decided to add it to this one. Everything with the pregnancy has continued to go great. I had another doctor appt. this past week and we found that the baby's heart rate is in the 130s, which is where it has been for a while. I also gained another pound. I go back again on Wednesday, November 23. After that, it is every week until the baby arrives. Two of my sisters, Mari and Jodi, made some travel plans to be here for Christmas. We all really hope that the baby is here before that. I am due on December 16. We'll see if the baby is going to cooperate! We were able to move our computer desk, computer, and books out of our apartment and in to an office space down the hall. This has freed up a lot of space in our apartment for baby stuff. We set up the Pack N Play this past weekend. That is where the baby will sleep for the first two months. After that, we'll get a crib. With the exception of a few small things, we're all set up and ready for the baby to get here!

35 Weeks 

34 Weeks 

Our Baby Shower

A bunch of people from the seminary got together and planned us a baby shower. All I can say it that it was much more than I expected in so many ways. We arrived at the seminary on Saturday afternoon to find the large room where the shower was held all decorated, a buffet table full of food, and lots of presents. They even had games planned. Many more people showed up than I thought and several who couldn't be there still had gifts brought for us. After this shower, I think it's pretty safe to say that the baby it just about set. We received the travel system, pack 'n play, booster/high chair, changing pad, several outfits, baby towels and wash cloths, cleaning/grooming stuff, diapers, toys, a teddy bear, frame, and money. It was overwhelming, in a good way. We had a great time and felt a lot of love and support from everyone at the seminary. This was our second shower. Our first shower was held on August 20 and was given by Andy's family. I was 23 weeks pregnant at the time and we had it just before Andy and I headed back to Pennsylvania. We had a great time at that shower as well. Everyone was so generous and we received so many things for the baby. The last three pictures in this section are from that shower. My mom has been like one big shower on her own. She has bought me many maternity outfits and lots of clothes for the baby. My brothers and sisters have also purchased some clothes for the baby. Everyone has been so great. We really appreciate all of the help we have received as we prepare for our new arrival!

Us with all of our gifts. You can't see the table in this picture, but we received quite a few gifts. We feel very blessed.  

Andy showing off some skills he learned from our childbirth prep class. He now officially knows how to push a baby out! 

One of the games we played: a race to see who could drink the soda out of the bottle the fastest. Andy and I were on a team and we didn't do too well. Drinking out of a bottle is a lot of work!