Dad & Kylie's Visit {pictures}

Most of these are pics from when Dad was here visiting(April23-May6). My sister Kylie got here on 27April and she doesn't leave till 9June. So she's still here, enjoying her niece!

Kyile and Dad in front of the Trevi Fountin in Rome.
Dad, me and Brynlee at Santissma Springs

Love it!

Right when Dad got to our house, he took a cat nap after his flights and Brynlee decided to join in on the fun. Lol.

Kylie, Dad, Me and Brynlee in Verona. The City of Love!

I love this. Eating at a cafe in Verona..I caught this pic!

Crazy Europeans.

Us in Venice

Me and My Tiny Baby Girl at Polcenigo Palace

Gorgeous Day.

Just Pictures...

For the few without Facebook, here are some pictures of our precious baby girl! She is growing so fast! I love this one above!

Loves her belly, most times, mouth wide open!

One Month Old.

Pretty Sunday Clothes.

Just because its been too long...

Wow, time does fly. It seems like just yesterday I was posting Brynlee's birthday story....and now here were are a month later already! Time goes so fast when you have kids. Even though I can't wait to watch her learn and grow up, I want her to stay tiny and all cuddles.


Brynlee is doing great. She is a great sleeper and rarely cries, but we all have our moments of unhappiness for no reason. Lol. She usually goes to bed between 9-10 and then wakes up around 3-4a and then gets up in the morning at like 7a. I am not complaining at all! Everyone who asks how much she gets up and I tell them, they are say I am lucky, lol. I say I am blessed! She is becoming more alert everyday and stays awake more often. She has started to smile, intentionally. I can't get her to do it all the time but I get so excited when she does.


My dad arrived in Italy on the 23rd and is here till the 6th. It has been great having him here. I can tell he is in awe just as much as we were the first time we met Brynlee. He loves being a grandpa and I can see some spoiling of her in the future. Haha. My sister got here on the 27th and is here till the second week of June. She loves being an Aunt and I can't wait to have her babysit so Nick and I can go on a date. Lol.


This past week has been a pretty busy one. Monday we went to Venice, Wednesday we went to Verona, and then late Friday night we left for Roma and spent all day Saturday there with a bus ride home late Saturday night onto Sunday morning. Brynlee has traveled more in her first month than some people have traveled in their lifetime! She is so good, just sleeps in the Moby wrap that my friend Margaret so graciously let me borrow. Its nice that she is so small still, because I would just stop and sit on some steps or something to change her diaper on my lap. Soon I know that won't be that easy, and even though she is a great traveler now, I know there will be some tough times traveling!


Yesterday was the first time Nick and I had been to Rome. We've been here over 2 years and still hadn't made the trip. We might go again the end of summer, because we were told they are opening the bottom level of the Colosseum for the very first time in July. Which would be pretty neat to wander through. Rome was very neat. I loved the Colosseum. When we turned the corner and saw it, it was like WOW we are really here. Hehe. The Trevi Fountain was very pretty and big, but there was SO many people there yesterday(Italian Holiday) as well as the Spanish steps, but they were so crowded you really couldn't 'see' the steps. Haha. Out of all our camera's, by the end of the day we had no batteries alive. I, mistakenly forgot to check the life of my camera battery so it died a lot sooner than I would have liked, and then my sister's died and then even my dads, which he had brought an extra battery died! So all we had left was our video camera which takes pics too, but we have never uploaded them to see how they look. But we went ahead and used it anyhow, better than not having a camera! Oh and the batteries didn't die right off the bat, we were pretty much done when the video camera died. So that was good! All in all, it was a great trip! Brynlee is gonna be mad that she can say she's been, but doesn't remember a thing!


Thats really all that I have for now. While my sister is here we'll be going here and there and maybe a couple longer trips. Then my mom gets here on the 18th of May and I am super excited about that! Hope everyone has a blessed week this week!

Brynlee's Birth Story

Here’s the play by play!


It all started Wednesday night…. March 31st...


Nick and I were just getting ready for bed {1030p}. I crawled into bed and Nick said something and it made me laugh….and I suddenly stopped and looked at Nick and said…”Uh I think my water just broke” He goes, “Really? Are you sure?!" So I get out of bed and was like, “um yes, I believe so”. So I went and checked and while doing so my mom ironically calls. So Nick is talking to her, telling her what had just happened.


So we got things together to go to the hospital. I called them {here we have to call them and let them know we’re coming to base} to let them know we are coming. I wasn’t panicked but I felt rushed. Even though I wasn’t having any contractions worth counting. I was very nervous in the car on the way there, shivering, not because I was cold, because I was nervous. Its what I do.


Got all checked in and waited for the doctor as she was in surgery. When we got the OK, saying it was indeed my water that had broken. They didn’t’ want to check my cervix since my water had broke {prone to infection} and I wasn’t having regular or painful ones at that. When the doc was done and came in she wanted to check me just to see where we were. 3-4cm and 80% at around midnight. She told me that she’d like to start Pitosin. I have been praying my whole pregnancy that I wouldn’t have to have Pit. So when she said that, I wasn’t thrilled. She knew I was leery but said since my water was broken she wanted baby out in 12 hours and no more than 24 of course. She talked me into Pit but started it at the lowest dosage of 1. After about 45 mins to an hour they upped it and then 30 mins later or so upped it again, we were at a dosage of 3. (She told me that was nothing, some people have to go up to 40!)


The lights were off, Nick was going in and out of sleep, I was trying but it wasn’t happening. The contractions were getting stronger and more frequent and as much as I didn’t want to get one, I pushed the call button and asked for an epidural! Lucky for us, the anesthesiologist decided to stay after surgery in case I wanted her services. ( They aren’t there at night, she was only there because they had a surgery. So she was either going to go home or sleep there if I might need her. She made the decision to stay, which now, I am VERY thankful for because she lived 20 mins away and would not have made it in time!)


Got the epidural, it didn’t work. Only thing I felt going numb was my lips and tongue. Haha! So she was messing with the meds and nothing seemed to work. By that point I was in loads of pain, actually I would say more pressure then pain. Not sure if that’s how it goes for everyone but that’s how it was for me. I felt like I needed to push, so the doc decided to check me again, and I was 7-8cm already. Big jump! They decided to do another epidural, she just added a spinal block to it so it was more instant but didn’t last as long. Sitting still for that second one was pretty hard! My contractions were very close at that time so we didn’t have time in-between them to get the whole epidural in. Fun times sitting still through a couple contractions!


Once that was in and going, it only took about 15 minutes and I could feel it in my legs. Sooner than I know it, I’m numb. I could still feel my legs, but couldn’t if that makes sense! Haha. I was then complete and ready to push. We barely got the epidural in and working before I was 10cm!


We had a little scare, they couldn’t get her heart beat and when they did it was a lot lower than it should have been. The doctor was really calm and that helped me not freak out as well. I just kept looking at her and back to Nick and so on. She put the internal heart monitor on her head but still couldn’t’ get a great beat….then she looked at me and said “ we have to get this baby out” I was waiting for her to say c-section, but she didn’t thank goodness, just the vacuum. She didn’t have to use it to get her out, just to get her in the right spot. Once she got her there, it was pushing time. I pushed for about 27 minutes.


Then finally we got to meet our gorgeous baby girl! They put her on my tummy right away and I was in awe. Nick cut the cord. She was crying before she was totally out, which I thought was kind of cool. Then of course they cleaned her up and we got to hold our baby.


There was a point, before the epidural that worked, I said “ I don’t want anymore kids!” But after it was all over and she was in my arms. I took it back. I would do it again, for sure. I love being a mommy. I love the way she just stares at me when she is awake, which right now is rare. It breaks my heart when she cries and I can’t figure out why. I love coming around the corner and seeing Nick cuddling her and kissing her. I know there will be hard days, but I already can tell that it will be totally worth it. I’ve only had her for 4 whole days and I couldn’t imagine not having her with us. I can’t wait till my family gets to meet her. She is such a little doll. I just sit and stare at her and rub her cheeks that are the softest skin I’ve ever touched. Making me wish mine was that soft. I want to show her off to everyone, friend and stranger, because I am so blessed that God lent her to us to take care of for Him. Now that I have tears after typing this last paragraph, I think its time to get off here. Thank you for all who prayed for me, as most know how nervous I was to go through childbirth. Continued prayers would be very much welcomed as we start our journey of parenthood.

The Truth Project

Our church recently started this study called the Truth Project. If you've never heard of it, I suggest going to the site and watching the trailer(there is a short one or long one). Nick and I have been going since it started, granted we only just finished the second lesson last night.


Every Monday evening we meet at one of our church members house and we have snacks and fellowship and then we start the hour long DVD lesson. Even though we are not that far into this 12 lesson series, I am loving it already. It has really opened my eyes to things that I would not have even thought about. After the lesson, we discuss it together. There are only 4 or 5 couples so its small and intimate and makes it very easy to learn from each other and what we each absorbed from the lesson. I probably learn more to a point afterwards when we all talk and explain things and so on.


Dr. Del Tackett is very easy to understand. I have to have it simple. He is. Even though he's talking about very real and complex things in this world.


I'm not so great at explaining things, maybe once we get further into the series. All in all, he's teaching us how to differentiate between World View and Christian View. Bottom line.


I am thankful for this series, as I believe and pray Nick and I both will get a lot out of it. We will miss one or two probably, depending on when Brynlee decides to grace us with her presence, hopefully we'll be able to borrow the DVD and catch up ourselves and then reunite with our small group and get right back in!


This is just one of the few things thats going on in our lives right now and I am very excited to see the outcome, and I just decided to share it with anyone who was interested. I do suggest watching the trailer, it gives more info about it.

Somewhat finished..

Well this past Saturday Nick and I accomplished quite a lot in the nursery. We honestly don't have a ton of stuff, we didn't do a theme, just colors. And with our lack of stores over here, its hard to find stuff to go in the room. So when we see stuff we get it but otherwise, no biggie. I really would love to paint a couple of the walls in her room, but with less than a year left in this house I don't really see the point. Most definalty at our next house, I will be a painter!

I know the curtains are a tad long, but I am going to tie them to the side and plus I don't want to cut them in case we need long ones in our next house!
Here's our little British crib. Lol. It use to be mine and my sisters. Its quite a bit smaller than the ones nowadays, but I was in it till I was 2, and I love the family value it has.

They aren't perfect, but I love them. I painted them and did the ribbons. Not the best bow maker, but it works!

The changing table/dresser and rocking chair. I am using the boxes as drawers and they are full of cute clothes! There will be a stuffed animal net on the left side to fill in that space, we just have to figure out how to hang it in on these concrete walls!

Thats all for now folks!

6 to go!

Oh wow, its been quite sometime since I posted...So I figured why not a little update...


I am 34 weeks pregnant today. Only 6 or less to go! Crazy how time is. I remember being only 8 weeks pregnant and thinking that this day is way far away...but really it wasn't that far! I have been blessed to have such an easy going pregnancy. Yes I am uncomfortable and yes she hurts me really bad sometimes when she kicks but in reality, of all the things that can go wrong, or just come about with pregnancy in general, I am very thankful.


I can't sleep very well anymore, 2 reasons: 1) I can't get comfy and 2) by the time I do get comfy enough, I have to get up to use the potty. And now its about every hour and a half to 2 hours...gah. I even stop drinking at 9 pm, doesn't seem to help much anymore, it use to. I have quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions throughout the day. No pain, just pressure and annoyance. My back is definatly hurting, especially the days I'm out and about. I have a wonderful husband that loves on me and rubs where it hurts whenever I need, most times I don't even have to ask. He's always telling me how gorgeous I am and how he loves the belly and so on, which I am very thankful for, because lately I sure don't feel that attractive and not to mention huge. Which I've been told I'm not, but its the biggest I've ever been, so to me I'm huge.


My sister and dad plan on coming out here mid April. I am very excited, my dad has yet to visit Italy so it should be great. He and my sis are planning on going to Rome together, as I probably won't be up for it just yet. We still plan on lots of local sight seeing and the close by towns like Venice, Verona, Milan....My mom is coming the second week of May. She would LOVE to be here earlier, or even for Brynlee's debut, but she is in Nursing school and its not out till then, we are all thankful she gets to come visit again though! When she gets here, my sis will still be here and then we all are going to Rome. So my sis will be going twice, if all works out in her favor. Hehe. I hope to have someone with me, whether it be Nick or a friend when I pick them up from the Airport, so it can be recorded-the meeting of the first grandbaby and niece. Oh it'll be a teary moment I'm sure.


We didn't buy a crib. My dad sent with us when we PCSed here, mine and my sister's crib. Its smaller then the ones they make now, especially since they bought it in England so it was intentially smaller to fit the smaller houses. It was white, and I am in the process of painting it walnut brown. Its looking pretty good, almost got it finished...I am hoping by the end of next week it will be done and totally dry so we can set it up. THEN I can start hanging the few decorations I have on the walls.


My baby shower is March 6th, next Saturday! Whew! My friends Holly and Margaret are throwing it for me. I am not one to love being the center focus and I absolutly do not like opening gifts in front of people, but now that its so close, I am getting very excited! I of course will have a post on how that went when its over.


I believe thats really it for now. I need another updated belly pic I know. When Nick gets off I will have him take one, just who knows how long it will be before I post it! Hopefully everyone has a wonderful Thursday!

3rd Trimester!

I can honestly say that up to this point, the time has really gone by pretty fast! Well in the begining I did think it was slow, only because I wanted to feel and look more pregnant. Well no need for that! I definatly feel and very much so look pregnant! Lol. I love it though. Sometimes I walk past the mirror and think, boy am I huge, but I know its for a reason and that reason will be in our arms sooner than we think.


I am really getting more anxious to hold our baby girl. I will sit on the couch and just think about it and wish she was here already....but in reality...we have lots to do still. Well maybe not lots but I sure feel like it. I think thats normal though. So I leave you with the 28 week / 7month picture. (Sorry, Kodi decided he wanted to be in the picture too!)

Paris Adventure

Nick and I made a trip to Paris this past weekend. It was totally worth it! The weather could have been better, BUT it definatly could have been way worse! We started out our trip in Venice and our flight was delayed for 4 hours! So we didn't get to Paris till 10p and still had to find our hotel downtown! Finally when we figured out what bus took us to the Opera, then found the Metro to get us close to our hotel, then our hotel. We checked in at about midnight or little later. We hadn't ate dinner yet so we were starving, and so we ventured out to see if anything was still open. We found a small kabob shop still open so we got our belly's full! We were going to walk to the Eiffel Tower since it was so close, but after we ate they shut the lights off already! So we went back to our hotel and mapped out our route for the following day!


We found a Starbucks around the corner from our hotel, so we decided that was our stop for breakfast. We got to Starbucks at 8am and then off on our journey we went! Started at the Eiffel Tower. At first, it was snowing and very windy. So we were like, Oh boy this is gonna be miserable. It snowed till about 3pm but the wind didn't keep up all day, which was really what made it bad.


After taking some pics of the tower and freezing, we made it to the Metro and headed to the Arc de Triomphe. Well we went to far and ended up at the Grande Arc, which was a huge shopping center. Walked around there, since we were there why not right. Then back tracked and found the Arc de Triomphe. Which I think was one of my favorite things. It was just neat. I definatly like it much better at night with the lights.


The Musee de Louvre was the next stop. We aren't artsy people, but decided to take the trip down there anyhow. We saw the famous Monna Lisa. Which was much smaller than you'd think. Walked around a bit and then headed to Notre-Dame.


Notre-Dame was pretty neat. We didn't go inside, which my sister thought we were crazy for, but she is really into the architecture and such. She took Art History. The outside was very detailed and it was awesome to be able to have the opportunity to go and see it.


Then we went back to the Arc to see it at night and then back to the Tower to see the lights. I love the lights so very much I could just sit and stare at them! It was a long day but totally worth it and so very awesome to spend that time with my very cool husband! We didn't eat any true Parisian food. We stuck to the safest and easiest, McDonalds. Haha. Don't laugh! It was great that they had them everywhere because I had to use the bathroom each time we saw one! Otherwise I'd have to pay to potty a lot! We left Sunday morning. One day was just enough for us. If you like art and want to see all the museums, then you might want to do another day, but thats not us so we were perfectly fine with one full day! And a thanks to Holly and Josh for watching our beloved fur babies! Now I leave you with some pictures!

I love this one above, I still haven't decided which one to blow up and frame.

We most definatly set the camera on the ground and set the timer!

Loving this one! The Tower in the background, that stupid crain is ruining it! Nick might be able to photoshop it out!

This was the first of the day.

The Arc de Triomphe

Musee de Louvre

Notre-Dame

Honey-Sauced Chicken Wings

I have been wanting to find a recipe for wings for awhile now. Nick loves wings, more like HOT wings but I figured I'd start small. Haha. I'm not a big wing eater, I don't like chicken with bones. Call me weird I know. I did however have some of these and the sweet flavor was very yummy! I think next potluck at church we have I might just make a batch of these! Very easy, since its a Crock Pot recipe! Which might I add, are my very favorite!


~2-3lbs chicken wings
~1 tsp salt
~1/2 tsp black pepper
~1 cup honey
~1/2 cup soy sauce
~1/4 cup chopped onion
~1/4 cup ketchup
~2 tbsp veg oil
~2 cloves of garlic (I used poweder instead)
~1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
~toasted sesame seeds, optional. (I obviously didn't use these, it would have made the pic better though!


Preheat broiler. Cut off and discard chicken wing tips. Cut each wing at joint to make two sections. Spring wing parts with salt and pepper. Place on broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from heat 20 mins or until wings are brown, turning once. Transfer to Crock Pot.

For sauce. Combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic, and pepper flakes in bow. Pour over wings.

Cover and cook on LOW 4-5 hrs or on HIGH 2-2 1/2 hrs. Garnish with sesame seeds if desired.


Side Note:
I do not have a broiler, so I just baked them in the oven for 15-20 minutes before putting them in the Crock Pot & I also baked them for about 10 minutes AFTER they were done in the Crock Pot just in case they were a little soggy I guess.


They turned out great and Nick loved them. Now I need to find a HOT wing recipe just for Nick! Anyone have one?!

Rounding out.

So I already posted this on Facebook and all, but some aren't able to see it on there so I will just post it again here!


Its the latest. I have honestly loved being pregnant. It has its moments where I wish it was over already, but really, its a blessing that God has allowed me to carry this baby, so why complain!? I've had a very easy going pregnancy thus far and I am grateful for that. I just keep praying it stays uneventful until the big debut.


It makes me feel so good, even though my belly is getting bigger everyday, that Nick just loves on the belly so much. Saying how cute it is and so on. Definatly helps the self esteem when you are gaining pounds, lol.
We were laying on the couch watching TV the other day, and had his head in my lap against my belly, and Brynlee was kicking and kicking his head. It was pretty neat. He turned to the belly and whispered "Hey now, I'm trying to watch TV" haha. I love when he talks to her.


We started, or should I say, Nick started the crib yesterday. (Its mine and my sisters, and its white so we are stripping the white off and painting it brown). I can't wait to have that finished and put it up and start really working on her room. Part of me wants to paint her room, but we will have less than a year left here when she is born, so I don't see the point, next house, its definalty going to be painted!


Hope this tiny update finds you all have had a wonderful Christmas and hoping you all have a great New Years! Can you believe 2010 is already here!? I can't!

Awesome Canvas

I ordered this adorable canvas from Ashley's Artistry. Unfortunatly, she has closed down her painting business. I ordered this right in time! I absolutely love it. We were gonna have her middle name on there also, but at the time of ordering, we hadn't fully decided on it so I just left it to having just her first name on it. The colors match her room for the most part. {the purple is a little lighter but it works!}

I just wanted to share, I love it so much and was so excited when I saw it came in the mail today! I surely wish I could free hand paint like this! This is better than my regular hand writing!!

Puffy Snowmen

We had a Christmas Ornament Exchange at church with all the ladies this past month. It was lots of fun seeing what everyone made and such. I did mine when I was in the states, my mom helped me too. I think they are so cute, so I had to take a picture to share! I was going to go with the traditional top hat, but then decided to make them a little more personal I guess you can say. Anyways, I just wanted to show off my Puffy Snowmen!

Holiday

Whew! What a couple last days its been! But I'm going to start 2 weeks ago when I left for the states.


Most know I went stateside to visit family. I left here Dec 1 and got to Balt that evening, spent the night in the USO and then headed to Arkansas where my Grandparents and mom were waiting for me. The flight from Balt to Little Rock was horrid. Seatbelt sign the whole time and for me, needing to use the facilities half way through the 2 hour flight, the bumps did not help at all! When we landed I was walking out to meet my family and my mom hugged me and then unzipped my jacket to have a look at the belly. She then began rubbing it and so on. Haha. She loved it. She was obsessed. Always asking if she was awake and moving around. It was great to go to AR and have my family be able to see me in the lovely pregnancy state that I am. Lol. My mom, nana, and sister all got to feel Brynlee move. ( My sister flew in a few days later from FL)


We did a lot of shopping. Mainly for Brynlee's room and such. My mom is making her comforter. Its very cute and bright! I got some wooden letters that spell her name that I am going to paint and hang by ribbon over her crib. Found the stroller/carseat combo I was hoping to find. Checked it as a bag, so no shipping cost! She got quite a few outfits from my mom and sister and nana. I only bought 2 little things clothing wise and Nick saw them all and was like "I thought you weren't going to buy her any clothes!" I replied, "I didn't buy any of this but these 2!" I better get use to that though, my sister and mom just love buying baby clothes!


My sister was only there for 4 days. Short and sweet. We did Christmas while we were all there. So that was pretty fun. Even did the big dinner after presents! Oh man have I missed my nana's cooking! Speaking of that, she did indeed teach me how to make her oh so yummy chicken and dumplins. I am excited to try it out and see what Nick says. He has had her's so we'll see how they compare. I'm sure they won't be anywhere near as good but hopefully still yummy!


The whole visit was great! Lots of relaxing, shopping, and card and domino playing. Which I love! I am very thankful that the military has the Rotator jet that is so very cheap to fly out from here. Granted you might or might not get on, but you still save lots of money! So I am thankful.


Only to find out when I got home that my Kodi boy was missing. That of course is how Nick greeted me at the terminal, as he didn't want to leave it out too long, which I am glad. When he told me I of course lost it. That was a rough evening, not the homecoming anyone wants. I don't have children just yet. Or don't know the exact feeling you can say, definatly a lot for this little girl already but when she's born I know it will grow significantly. I do however feel that these dogs of mine are my children, and I love them so much. So coming home and finding out one is missing, for me, was hard. Some may not understand but thats ok. I'm really not even sure if all that actually made sense, but again, thats ok.


All in all we found Kodi. Or someone did and took him to the pound. He looked so happy when I walked through that door to go leash him up! Oh was I glad to see him! Only thing that we notice wrong is his feet. The pads are very torn up. Not sure if that was before or after the pound. He did spend the night there. So who knows. He licks and messes with them a lot right now, only time will heal and if thats all that is wrong, I thank the Lord!


I am so happy to be home and back in my hubby's arms! I am very thankful that the Lord let me go visit family with no troubles, but I love being where my hubby is! Thankyou for all who prayed about me getting on the flights to and from. Thankyou to all who prayed for Kodi's safe returning. I am excited to spend this holiday season with my hubby, as we as military spouses never know when our airmen will be home for the holiday's or not.


Hoping everyone has a very Merry CHRISTmas and a wonderful New Year! Stay safe! Stay warm! And don't forget,


JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

The verdict is...

Well as most know by now, we found out today that we are having a baby girl! We were shocked as everyone has said boy but a few people so I was definatly convinced. I am good now, as long as we have a healthy baby thats all that really matters to us!


She is measuring at just the right size and was very wiggly throughout the whole exam. The tech was chasing her around really. She never gave up the shot he wanted of her spine, but he got a good enough one he thinks. Not that I wouldnt' mind having another ultrasound. Hehe.


Her name will be Brynlee. We aren't for sure on the middle name as we really hadn't discussed it in depth since we thought it was a boy! I will let ya'll know when we finally made up our minds!


Bring on the bows and dresses and everything pretty! Lol

Bump is definatly making an appearance now!

Can't really hide it now! Just wanted to share the latest picture. I will admit though, my belly button is not as deep as it use to be, not out or flat yet, but I am pretty sure at the rate its going, it will be poking out sooner than I'd like!


Enjoy!

Long but short...

This week was a long one, but yet it was a short one at the same time. Might not make too much sense but thats how I feel. We had lots of preparing and such for Thanksgiving at our friends Josh & Holly's house. Well, maybe not lots, I'm sure they had more to do, but we helped some.

Holly came over Wednesday to cook the turkey in our oven. They have an Italian oven, and yeah the turkey won't fit in it. Lol. So they opted to cook it over here. Nick was weirded out by cooking the turkey a day early, but thats how Holly's Grandma always does it, so I was convinced. Plus, what else would we have done?! It wouldn't fit in their oven, lol. Nick made his yams that everyone always says are so very yummy, I do not like them however. Not because they are his, I just am not a yam/sweet potato person. I tried them last year, as it was our first Thanksgiving away from family, and didn't like them. Well I told him I'd try them again this year, maybe being pregnant I'd actually like them. Nope. Same taste. Lol. We also made a ham, and that was a first. Since there was no leftovers, I'd like to assume it was good! Then I made some cookies. Peanut butter blossoms and the Cinnamon Tassies Arlene introduced me too! Hard work, but they are yummy!


We had a very good day on Thanksgiving. Lots of great yummy food, awesome company and just all out fun. We even brought Kodi and Kaci with us. They were very well behaved, I was pretty impressed. Not that they are bad dogs, they just get really hyper when they are somewhere and sometimes are hard to calm down. They were awesome though. Buddy was very glad to have friends at his house this time. {He always comes over to Kodi & Kaci's}


Friday Nick and I got all the Christmas decorations out from the attic. Put the tree up and stockings and all. Doesn't look different from last year, but I love the way the lights twinkle at night off the walls, it just makes it feel so cozy to me. Lol. Then we went to see the movie 2012 with Josh and Holly. It was ok. Just the same ole end of the world story. Wouldn't watch it again, but it was boring either. Too long really.


Today we are just relaxing. Going to take the dogs out for some exercise and let them run a bit. I am so ready for today and tomorrow to be over, MONDAY is the big day! I just keep praying baby cooperates so we can call it by name. Not to worry, I will let ya'll in on the secret after telling our families of course.


Then on Tuesday, I am hoping & praying that I am able to get on the Rotator{space-a flight} and make it to Baltimore that day. Then stay overnight in the airport, not thrilled about that but I'll make it. Hehe. Then off to Little Rock, Arkansas to see my Papa, Nana, Mom and soon sister. Kylie gets in on the 6th. I am very excited to go to my Nana's house. There is just something about grandma's house, and I hope everyone knows what I mean! I haven't been to her house since January of 2007. I have however, seen her since then, she just came to us. So again, I am quite excited. I have a couple of friends that I will get to see that I haven't seen in quite sometime also,{we lived with nana/papa while dad was in Korea in 2000-01, so Kylie and I went to school there at a local Christian school} I still talk to a few of those friends, so I am excited to see them.


I really wish Nick was going with me, and I think he kinda does now that its getting near. He's never been without me while being in Italy. Its always been the other way around. Lol. So say a short prayer for Nick while he is alone for the 2 short weeks I'll be gone. At least Kodi and Kaci will keep him company!


I think that is all for now, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and thought of all the things they are thankful for, not just for turkey! Pray for Monday and Tuesday!

Just for you mom.

Here ya go! My mom has been wanting see the growing bump. It really looks bigger in person, lol. So I think. Or at least I feel bigger than this picture thats for sure. Definatly starting to pop. I love it though. Baby is moving everyday now. Still not hard or anything, but definatly everyday. Not to mention more times a day. At first it would be in the evening after dinner, sitting on the couch, now I feel it in the morning and some throughout the day. Still weirds me out though, lol.

Last night was the first night he{doesn't mean anything, just what I say} was moving around while I was going to sleep, didn't bother me, but I was thinking to myself 'and so it starts' . Haha.

Keep praying all goes smoothly with our ultra sound. It is November 30th. And also that I will have no problems flying space A on December 1 and on the way back.

Ok thats all. Definatly more than I was planning on typing, gotta get some stuff done around here! Have a great weekend!

Happy Fall!

So my mom bought me this wooden turkey last year when all the Thanksgiving stuff was on sale. I finally got it out and painted and stuck in my pumpkin! I still think the wings need more paint, but I didn't have the right color for it. So it will wait. All in all I think its really cute! Thanks Mom for thinking of me!

Snow Day

So it is definatly getting closer to winter in these parts! Its chilly most days, and there is tons of snow on the gorgeous Italian Alps right outside!

We went up there this past weekend to play in the snow. It was lots of fun, minus the driving up there. Now I am not fond of winding, tiny roads, that don't have a ton of room for two way traffic, and on the side of a mountain in the first place, but when there is so much fog and you can't see the car 20 yards in front of you.....it gets creepy! I should have taken my camera out to take a picture of how bad it was, but my hand was hanging on pretty tight in to the door handle and wasn't letting go. Thank goodness Nick didn't freak out too. We would have been in trouble then! I'm just glad I didn't drive up there!

When we got to the town of Piancovallo, where the ski slopes and sledding hills are, it was still so very foggy that we couldn't tell where the park was! Finally our friends that were with us, Holly & Josh found the sled park, but unfortunatly before that, we lost them in the fog! We went in circles a couple times before finding them! Then of course the fog just disappeared! So we played in the snow with the dogs and our new friends for a couple hours.

Nick brought our sleds and tried to get the dogs to pull him, they aren't the best sled dogs out there, but they also had 2 other dogs to distract them from their work.

They pulled him one way, but it was slighly down a little incline. The way back was not as fun. Lol. It was fun to watch though! The first time Nick tried he he forgot to hold the rope, and this is what happened;They ran full speed hooked together! Thank goodness they didn't round a tree or anything! That would not have been pretty! Ironically they ran very well tied so closely together!

Well, by the time we left the fog rolled back in, and of course was on those lovely, winding, not much room for two cars roads. I will leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the day. I definatly can't wait to go back and play in the snow. Oh by the way I couldn't do much, cause my snow pants, are just a bit too snug! Haha. I have to find some of those bibs with no waste band so I can still have fun and not get wet! Have a good week everyone!I love this picture!

We never figured out what they were so interested in, but Kodi was in that hole the rest of the time up there!

They played and ran so much, they were out cold that evening!

Jameson, Kaci, Buddy, & Kodi

He is on a mission!

See the fog rolling back in!

Baby Doc

Well today was our 16-18 week appointment. I am 16 weeks and 5 days. Everything is looking good. I've gained 8lbs total, since finding out I was pregnant. Baby's heart rate was in the 150s. By the way, I could listen to that sound for hours! Next stop, is the ultrasound, not for about 4 weeks. Definatly before I go stateside, and I pray that baby cooperates and can show us what it is! I'm ready to call it by name, rather than baby. Which I do call it a he more than anything, so we'll see. Here are our names we have chosen. We are 100% on the boy:


Zaiden Michael (pronounced: ZAY-DEN)


Michael is after my dad and Nicks brother. {dads first name, brothers middle} The girl, there are two. One is Nick's choice the other is mine. He is stuck on the K name but said he can sacrifice it to be a middle name, so we'll discuss it further when we find out the sex, lol. My fear, honestly, I don't want her to be made fun of or anything.


Brynlee Krickett OR Krickett Emmalin


I absolutely love Zaiden and think of it as a boy right now, so my mind will be blown if it ends up being a girl! Haha. We are more about not so common names if you couldn't tell!


Keep praying that I am able to fly space A with no problems Dec 1st and coming back here. That is the update from today!

16 weeks down....

Here is the latest. I think you can tell a lot more now. Not a ton but there is a bump there, lol. I don't have much to say, just a picture for today!

Whats new?! Not much!

Whew how time flies!


I can't believe that I will be 16 weeks pregnant tomorrow! Only 4 weeks till I am half way through! Crazy! It just seems like a couple days ago we found out, it flew faster than I thought it would really. Which means the last half will probably go even faster since we'll be getting things all ready.


I am very excited for sure, but its kinda nerve racking all the same. Being a mom for the first time. Having this little person be soley dependent on Nick and I. The whole not sleeping thing, that will be tough! Haha. I like my sleep!


Like I said though, we are super excited and definatly anxious to welcome this little person into our family. Even though, we both have agreed that we will definatly have some jealousy issues with Kodi. He gets jealous now, over Nick hugging me or loving on Kaci, so I know he is gonna be a handful when we bring the bundle of joy home!


As far as the pregnancy itself, its going great. I am slowly but surely starting to get more of a belly, so says Nick. I still don't see it as much but he says I do look pregnant. When Nick gets off work tomorrow I will have him take a picture, mainly for my mom, because she begs for them weekly. My next appointment is the 27th and then after that we get to schedule the big ultrasound!


I am planning on flying space A to my grandparents house the begining of December. My mom is there going to school and since I didn't get to see my sister when I was stateside this past July she is flying to Arkansas from Florida to see me! So I am pretty excited about that. Since it will be space A though, pray that all goes well I get on here and in Baltimore on the way back. It will be a short trip. Only 2 weeks but well worth it. And not to mention baby shopping! BX here is so limited and, well then we won't have everything the same as everyone else here! And then of course, shopping with mom and Kylie will be awesome too.


Thats all I have for now I believe, hope everyone is doing well, wherever you may be!

Well, here are a couple pics. They are both the same day, one was just before getting dressed for the day. Excuse the sweatpants. They are just so comfy! Lol.


All is going well. I had a cold the begining of this week and I believe its passed for the most part. I still have a weird cough going on and a stuffy nose every so often, but all in all, I definatly feel way better than I did. I am very thankful that it didnt' last long, and that it didn't progress into more than just a cold.


Pregnancy wise, I'm feeling rather well! I have a pair of maternity jeans that I got from a lady a while back cause she was selling her maternity clothes. I have wore them the last two days. Lol. Honestly I can still fit in my other ones. But when I sit, I unbutton the top cause it just feels better, so when I finally tried the maternity ones on, I thought "oh wow, they are stretchy this is nice" haha. Don't laugh! I also have a belly band. I love it. I wear it with jeans and skirts and it looks like I just have an extra tee shirt on. I have it in black. I am gonna order another in white. {I got mine off Amazon}


I think that is about it on my update. Hope all is going well with you! Happy Fall!

The one above, was after dinner. Haha. You can kinda tell the difference with that one and the one below!

The Belly.

Ok so here is the first official belly picture! Honestly, I feel silly putting it up here. Cause, I don't see much. When I feel my belly, it seems I feel more then I can see, if that makes sense.

12 weeks exactly. Hopefully soon I'll start to look more pregnant, and not just bloated. Lol.

Some Ramblings

Well, I have about a week till I'm out of the first trimester. That will be nice! Hopefully the blah feeling will start to subside after that, well thats what I'm praying for anyhow. Lol. I feel so bad. Not my body, I just feel bad because I haven't done much for about the last, say, 8 weeks. I can't stand it! But that doesn't actually stop me from not doing anything. Haha.


I do however, cook most days. Definatly not all. Its getting better thats for sure. Especially since I can do some preparing, then lay down, then do some more, and so on. So by the time Nick gets home and its dinner time, its all prepped and ready. That does help lots.

Cleaning on the other hand. Well thats another story! I will do the jest. Dishes, pick up kitchen, & vacuum living room. Thats about as far as it goes. But it needs to go farther! Like right now, I sit here typing this, and I'm telling myself, ok be productive, do a little more than normal. Then I think about it, and then tell myself. 'Eh, it can wait.'


I will say one thing,( I guess I've actually said a lot of things already, LOL) I am very thankful that I do not have to work/am not working right now. I just could see how hard it would be to get up at the crack of dawn and be out for 8ish hours. Yeah......no thanks. I give props to all those working pregnant women out there! Go You! And of course for the ones that have little ones already, and are pregnant. That would be just as tough I'd think. I'm not really looking forward to that time! Haha.

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On a flip note. I really wish the weather would make up its mind here. Its cold-ish then hot-ish. I want fall already! I keep praying I wake up one morning, let the dogs out and shiver!


Ok, the dogs are begging to go outside, as they have yet to go out this morning. So I better get them out there. I just felt like chatting for a bit. I hope everyone is having a great day!

PS. I will get to it soon, but my layout is still summer-y so I better get to changing it!

Baby's First Picture

This is as good as it gets. Its really not that bad though. Especially since I took a picture of it! Hehe. When we saw baby, I for some reason wasn't expecting it to look human. But it most definatly looks like a baby already! We saw its heart flutter ever so fast on the screen. I couldn't take my eyes of the screen, even to look at Nick. Not to mention, I knew I would tear up if I looked at Nick. Because one, I am very emotional now of course, and two I could just picture his huge, cheesy grin on his face, that always makes me laugh, and at this time, cry.

I have been MIA for quite sometime, mainly because I had nothing else to talk about but this, and we hadn't announced it yet. So hopefully now I will be better at keeping up with this, and updating everyone!

News.

Yes ma'am!

Nick and I are gonna be parents! We are quite excited about it!
We found out on August 5, 2009.

Weren't trying, but weren't preventing.

We had our first Ultrasound today.

It was so awesome seeing our baby. And its little heart pump so fast.

I am due April 8th, 2010.

11 weeks tomorrow {thursday}

I'm definatly ready to 'look' pregnant not just feel pregnant. LOL.

I will get the u/s pic up as soon as I can!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far!