Welcome to the world Isabelle Elise Makoutz!!!!

Who knew that when we went to bed Sunday night we would be waking up to our little bundle of joy ready to enter the world.
Isabelle was born April 6, 2009 at 6:13pm. She weighed 5 pounds 9 ounces, and was 19 inches long. She is a very healthy and happy little one. Hope you enjoy the pictures. I will write more about her arrival another time. Please know how much we love and appreciate all of you. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.


Love,
Joe, Jess, and Isabelle

29 days (or less...)

Up until this point things have been fairly easy. As the time grows nearer, however, my body is beginning to become very uncomfortable in ALL positions; sitting, laying, standing, etc. Things are definitely pushing, pulling, stretching, and tugging. But putting that all aside we continue to look forward to welcoming our little bundle of joy into the world very soon. Joe and I feel very fortunate that the pregnancy has gone "normal", and that Isabelle and I continue to be healthy. Her heartbeat is always very strong and steady. We are counting down at this point, and going to doctor's appointments weekly. We have our hospital bags packed for whenever Isabelle is ready.
Joe continues to work very hard at Assurant, and I am in the process of preparing for a long term sub. So much to think about, and to prepare for. We thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers. We will try to post at least one more time before Isabelle comes, and then the moment we have all been waiting for... :) We can't wait for her to meet all of her incredible family and friends.

We love you and thank you!
Joe, Jess, and Isabelle

36 weeks and feeling like it!

33 weeks and counting...

So this week will now be 33 weeks and counting. It's amazing to think that soon she will be here. What will she look like? What will she be like? Will she be healthy? So much to think about...but in the mean time, I just seem to become bigger and bigger, and she continues to kick harder and harder. She is very active still, and makes sure that it is known that she is around. It is so fun to watch her at this point, but the anticipation of looking at her face, fingers, and toes grows deeper and deeper.
We have been busy putting together the nursery the past week. It's getting there, but not completed yet! Her wardrobe on the other hand is becoming quite large and Joe seems to think it should be completed, but I'm guessing it will continue to grow. We took some pictures of the nursery for you all to see. Hope you enjoy. Have a great week and thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayers.

Love,

Joe, Jess, and Isabelle:)

Baby Isabelle's new bed!!

Here is the paint choice we (or I) finally settled on.:)

This is the same rocking chair that my Grandpa rocked me in when I was a baby (and older). How special to keep the tradition going.

Here are ALL the clothes in her closet so far. Those are just the things that are hung up. There are a lot more in containers and on shelves:) She is going to be one cute baby!!

Isabelle bump at 32 weeks!

Isabelle bump at 29 weeks!

28 weeks and counting....

We had our check up for February, and everything is looking very good. They ran blood tests and glucose tests, and everything is appearing normal. My low iron was the only thing of concern, which in the grand scheme of things is really not a big deal. Nothing a few extra vitamins (and a big steak:) won't take care of. We have slowly, but surely, been putting together our nursery. It's been fun rearranging and setting up furniture in just the right spot (for that moment). Until the next day when it seems maybe a different arrangement would work better. Maybe it's just the fact that it is hard for a pregnant women to make up her mind:) Good thing Joe is a patience person. We now will start going to appointments every three weeks, since the time is getting closer. Hard to believe only 2 1/2 more months and our world will be blessed with such a special addition. It sure seems to have gone by fast.

Isabelle is a mover and shaker the last few weeks. She moves constantly. Sometimes I wonder if I will have anything left inside when she is all done with. She likes when daddy talks to her and seems to react everytime Joe touches my "belly". It's AMAZING the things the react to, even when they are in the womb. She also likes to roll around, and I think snuggle with my diaphragm because WOW is it hard to breathe at times. It's been fun getting to know and recognize her movements, as well as the frequent hiccups she gets. It's fun to be the mom already I can't imagine what it is going to be like having her here. We really can't wait!! Hope all is well with everyone. Take care until next time...

Love,

Joe, Jess, and Isabelle

"Isabelle" bump at 28 weeks!

Baby bump at 27 weeks!

Baby Bump at 23rd week!

Hi to you all! We hope your holidays were safe and blessed as you spent and enjoyed time with your families. We were able to spend the holidays with our South Dakota family, as well as our Minnesota family. I did realize how uncomfortable 9 hours in the car is when you are 5 months pregnant! But how blessed we are to be surrounded by such loving friends and family.

Over our Christmas holiday we (Joe) was able to get our nursery painted. All of babies gifts are now on shelves. Her clothes are all hung up in her closet, and WOW does she have a wardrobe. We are going to have to change the babies clothes 3 times a day to make sure every outfit is worn at least once. She is going to be a baby fashion statement.:)

We had our 23rd week appointment today and the doctor said everything looks really great. The baby is very healthy. She moves constantly! She especially likes to kick when I quit moving:) What an amazing experience feeling all that movement!

We hope that you all are doing well, and are staying warm during this cold winter. We will keep you posted on what is to come with baby Isabel. Take care and God Bless, and thank you so much for your prayers.

Our appointment today went good. We were able to spend about an hour watching baby. We also found out that it is a baby GIRL! She looks really healthy and has all 10 fingers and toes! Hope you all enjoy the pictures. We have also (at this point) decided on the name Isabel Elise. The meaning of the name Isabel is "devoted to God". The meaning for the name Elise is "consecrated to God". What perfect meanings for such a beautiful bundle of JOY!!! It is amazing how God works and the miracles he blesses us with. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful and the rest of your holiday season relaxing! Take care and keep checking for more updates.

So...baby girl is a little skinny, but she will grow!

Baby girls cute lips blowing kisses:)

Here is my little ear that I am starting to hear sounds with.

This is baby girl's face in 3-D. The umbilical cord is in front of her face.

Here are my 10 little cute fingers:)

Here are my 10 little cute toes!

Here's the profile of baby GIRL!!! It looks a lot like my daddy!

So we were slacking on week 17 and 18, but here is my baby bump at 19 weeks!

My baby bump at 16 weeks!!

Hi to all our family and friends! Hope you all got through Halloween last week. Now you can start the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season! Crazy isn't it...how fast time goes! We had another doctor's appointment today. Unfortunately, we didn't get to do another ultrasound like we had hoped. So we have no pictures (but my belly:) for you to look at. We did get to listen to the heart beat of the baby. That was amazing! The baby is definitely "a mover and a shaker". You could hear in the heart beat how much the baby was moving, and on the last ultrasound the baby was moving so much it was hard to get a picture. The doctor felt that we have a very healthy baby so far. Our next appointment is on Dec.3, which is my grandmother's birthday! She would have been 71. It's amazing how God works isn't it. What an appropriate date to see a beautiful new life! That is the appointment where we will find out the sex of the baby. We are so looking forward to that! It will settle a lot of discussions we have!! :) Thank you again for all of your prayers and advice. We miss you all and hope life is good where ever you are!!

My little bump at 15 weeks!

My little bump at 14 weeks!!

My little bump at 13 weeks!

Hello Family and Friends!! Sorry it's been a while since we updated last. October has gone by so quickly, and to think November is only 5 days away!! We have been quite busy this month. Joe has been busy hunting and providing :) for the "family"! I have been busy with traveling and school. When neither of us is busy we enjoy spending time together. I have felt really great for the last few weeks. I have felt healthy and less tired then last month. The only thing that seems to be changing is the comfort of my pants:) What a small price to pay for such a wonderful gift! Our next doctor's appointment is next Wednesday. We will be sure to let you know how things go! We thank you all for your prayers and thoughts. Hope your week goes great and enjoy your day of "tricks and treats"!!!

My baby bump at week 12!!

First Doctor's Appointment

Hello to you all! Just thought we would give you a quick update. We had our first doctor's appointment today. What an awesome experience to get to see our precious little one on camera. God is AMAZING!! It was just unbelievable to watch as our little one moved all around as we watched it on the ultrasound camera. We definitely have a runner in training:) You can see by the "cute" little legs it has. Those must be from Dad!!
Hope you all are having a great week, and thank you for the e-mails and comments. It's so fun to hear from you all!!!

My little "bump" at 11 weeks!!







Hopefully the baby grows into its nose...just kidding..just a hand!

Check out those runners legs:) Thanks Dad!!

Good thing we beat the self timer!

Nature's beauty!!

My "bump" at 10 weeks.

October 4th

Just an update on this week...we finally have our first appointment!! It should be pretty amazing to finally see the little "bean". As far as myself, I have been feeling great! I just like sleeping a little more than normal. As far as Joe, he is doing well also. He does a wonderful job of helping around the house and taking care of me.
In the midst of excitement we did take some time to relax by enjoying the beautiful scenery that God blesses us with in the fall. We spent our Saturday touring through the hills and taking pictures of all the wonderful colors that fall brings. It is nice to spend a day relaxing and enjoying your surroundings. We hope your week is wonderful and pray that God is blessing you with each day!!