The New Crib

I have such wonderful inlaws. Blake's mom has already gone out and bought us some cute girly stuff, and she has such wonderful taste in clothes! I'm excited to see what she bought. Blake's dad and stepmom have offered to buy us the baby room furniture! Wow! Thankfully (for them!) we don't need too much. Just the one piece. It's a crib/changin table combo. I've been looking for this online, however, nobody will send such a large item overseas. This was very dissapointing. We went into the furniture store on base yesterday, and to my GREAT surprise, there was my crib! The store on base never has anything in the way of cribs. We were just going to grab a catalog and see what they do for special ordering and what not. I could not believe how blessed we were at finding exactly what we were looking for, and for a hundred dollars cheaper! I went and picked it up today, and spent the afternoon putting it together. My thumb hurts now from the allen wrench, but oh how satisfying it is to do it! I am so thankful we found the crib, that Blake was okay buying it right then, for my inlaws who are so generous, for the energy to put the crib together today..just for everything!!

On a sad note...

Marcia's, Blake's stepmom, dad died this past Thursday. He had been suffering from Parkensons for the last few years, and a couple of weeks ago, he deteriorated quite rapidly. He was such a kind and loving man. Blake and I are sad to see him go, but know he is with God now. His suffering is over. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Marcia and her family.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Larry Jon Trosen

So, I didn't get Dad a present this year...come to think of it, I don't know if I ever do actually give him a gift. He just isn't a gift type person. I believe he likes them when he does receive them, but it's not a necessity. He loves to visit with people instead...and eat! He is such a wonderful man, though. Growing up, I would have labled him quite strict( which I see now as a good thing)...and a lover of playing games. We grew up playing Spades, Hearts, 10 9 8 (Up and Down the River), the dice game, cribbage and so many others. Bubble Bobble and Ttetris on the computer. It was always a challenge to try to get "Puker's" name off the high score list! I don't know that we ever did! He was always just too good! I don't know if he knows how wonderful we kids think he is, but I am hoping he will get a small hint! He is always there to take care of us when we are in need. It doesn't matter if it's a financial matter or an emotional matter. You wouldn't think it just to talk to him, but he has a very caring listening ear! His advice is always sound and he always has some for every occasion you need it on. I look back on us growing up, and when I as small, I would think he was "so unfair" and "didn't let us do anything!". How grateful I am for who he is and was, and how he raised us. Had he just allowed us to do whatever we wanted, we would not have turned out the way we did! He may have seemed strict, but we turned out pretty well (if I do say so myself!!). I find myself thinking very similarly to how he must have thought when we were growing up. I am more alike him than I ever thought! With our new little one on the way, I am more grateful for Dad than I ever have been! We are all strong in mind and spirit, we know how to handle ourselves and we were always taken care of, and in turn, know how to take care of our own families. He has provided such a wonderful base to our family. He truly is the patriarc that everyone wishes they had! Thank you Dad, for being wonderful!! We love you!

Carolyn Sue

We have decided on our name. We had already pretty much decided on the name for the baby, but now that we know she's a girl, that makes it a lot easier!! We love the name Cara, but I am wierd and need to have a full name. So, we decided to name her Carolyn after Blake's grandma. We will be calling her Cara from birth, but her full name will be Carolyn. Her middle name is Sue. This was going to be how it was, no matter what the first name ended up being. My middle name is Sue and I am named after my mother, whose middle name is Sue. I thougth it only right if I pass the name on to my little girl. It is still so amazing that I am having a little girl! I just can't get over it! I am so happy.
We have been looking at cribs, mainly online, and we have not had too much success. We are going and looking on base tomorrow. They have virtually NO selection, but we are going to see if we can order one. I am sooo hoping we can. It can take a couple of months for things to get in when you order them on base, so I am happy we are doing it tomorrow! I went and visited a friend yesterday, and she gave me about 10 of the Playtex drop-in little bottles! I was so pleased. She bought new ones, and these were worn, and you can't really see the cute things on them anymore, but they work, right? That's all that matters! I am so excited that our house is starting to show signs of Cara arriving! It's so great!

The Littlest Henry

This is our little girl! Isn't she precious?? Look at her nose. I think it has to be the cutest nose in the entire world! What an amazing thing to see this little person moving around, looking just like a newborn (a little smaller, of course). The ultrasound we absolutly perfect! We got to see her head, arms, legs, tummy, hands and feet. It was great! Her little heart was just a beating!! The doc said they couldn't find anything wrong and everything looked great. What a blessing! I am so glad! Color me shocked at the fact that "he" was actually a "she"! I was so sure the baby was a boy. Blake knew the whole time. He has been saying girl from the beginning. I guess this just adds to his "rightness" factor! I was worried I was going to have to practice this patience I've been talking about...the ultrasound tech couldn't see if the baby was a boy or a girl to begin with. Luckily, baby moved at some point during the ultrasound, and the tech was able to see!! I was so very glad to find out! Speaking of Blake, we had to take him to the dentist after the appointment because one of his stiches came out and there was about an inch of stich just hanging in his mouth. He had to work last night too, then take me to the clinic which turned out to be about 45 minutes away!! Once we got to the town in was in, it took another 15 minutes just to find the right building! He had't taken any pain meds becuase he wanted to drive (I am SOOO very thankful for that!!). He defentily cheered up after seeing the baby. Then we got him squared away and he is feeling much better now. I am so happy to have a good report on the baby...and that she is a girl!! We really wanted a girl! Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

Tomorrow...

So, tomorrow is almost here. All I have to do is go to bed and wake up in the morning. No more waiting!!! I am so hoping and praying that this little baby cooperates and shows us the goods! I sooo want to find out if the baby is a girl or a boy. I know that what really matters is that little baby is healthy...and we are so praying for that the most. But second most, we really want to find out! It seems like forever since I had the appointment made...then again, it doesn't seem like 5 months have passed. It's very strange how time passes so quickly for some things and yet, so incredibly SLOWLY for others! I am defenitly NOT tired at all at this point (it is 10:45 pm). Blake leaves for work in a few minutes and then I am off to bed to try to sleep. I have my ipod which I can listen to The Chronicles of Narnia on. This helps me go to sleep. Patience is such a difficult thing to learn. It is not something I have an abundance of! My mother reminded me today that if, for some reason, baby is not cooperative, I will need to be patient until we give birth. I will not be surprised if this happens. I know this an area I need growth in. I still think this little one is a boy. I will be 100% shocked if I find out otherwise. I just can't believe that tomorrow is almost here!!!!! I will be posting something tomorrow whether we get to find out or not! So, until then...this is the (learning to be) patient mum-to-be, signing off.

Jess and Craig

Happy Anniversary to my dear sister Jess and her hubby Craig! 11 wonderful years down...many more to go! Congratulations you guys. We love you!!

Just a little moment...

Gratch has been so cuddly since I got back from Luxemburg. I think he really missed me. This is him, cuddled up just as close as he can get to my leg! I think he thinks I'm going to leave again! I have to say, I'm rather enjoying this side of him...I'm sure it won't last long!

A Discussion with Baby

Baby and I have had our first discussion. Yes, the baby really can't communicate with me, but he/she has fully functioning ears now. We talked about how much he/she should weigh at birth. We seem to have a trend with Krista and Missy. Bigger babies are in! I told the baby I would be so very happy if it were between 8 and 9 pounds. I'm not sure how much baby actually understood and comprehended...but I'm hoping we have an understanding! :)

Luxemburg

Chateau le Vianden (Luxemburg)

a beautiful gondola ride a beautiful church in Trier

The birth place of Karl Marx

Erica and Me What a wonderful week I just had! Blake's cousin, Erica, was here for a tdy and since her hubby didn't come along with her, I got to go to Luxemburg with her. Luxemburg is a beautiful, but tiny little country to the east of Germany. They speak German, French and English there, along with thier own language called "Luxemburgish". It's a mix of German and French. We got to do a little bit of sightseeing in Trier as well. Trier is in Germany, just inside the border. We were hoping to get to Belgium while we were there, but just ran out of time. It was such a fun time. It was nice to get "recharged" and eat some different types of food. The hotel was a 5 star and was just wonderful. It was a little expensive to eat and shop in Lux, but it was so beautiful!! I had a great time, but like always, it was nice to get home. Both Blake and the cat missed me. The cat was a little irritated that I had left, but now he hasn't left my side. He must have forgiven me.

Baby Update:

We are at week 19 now, which means we are just one week shy of 5 months. This seems pretty far along to me. We get our ultrasound done in a little over a week! I am still super psyched! I feel the baby almost everyday now. It still hasn't hit home, but it's starting to sink in a little bit. I'm still not showing, but I've decided that that's okay. I must be taking after my wonderful sister, and there just isn't anything wrong with that. I will show eventually, but I don't need to stress about it. I will gain weight and not just look fat, I just have to be patient!

This is just a really big daddy longleg I found in my house. I wish you could really see how huge it really was!

Another blog about Gratch!

I just couldn't find the cat this evening. He is usually down here sitting next to me on the couch, or in his chair, once Blake leaves for work. He was nowhere to be found today. I walked upstairs to grab the phone for some reason, and I just happened to look in what is going to be the baby's room...and this is what I found! He is defenitly a crazy cat. This room is kind of a storage room at the moment. I am hoping to get it somewhat cleaned out in the next month or two so a crib will fit in here. We were lucky to have moved into a house where the carpet was already "babyfied". I like the bears, so this totally helped too! I bought the book "Are You My Mother?" today. I love this book. I think it's absolutly adorable! I also saw a crib and changing table set today that looks like it has potential! I have to admit, I havn't yet bonded with the little critter inside yet, but I am getting more and more excited about him/her. It's so fun to look and browse for things, to dream a little and actually purchase some things! I am hoping the cat doesn't get too attached to the baby's room, as he will most likely NOT be allowed in there! Here's to hoping!

17 1/2 Weeks

Here we are, sitting at 17 and 1/2 weeks pregnant. We are almost halfway done. By Friday, we will be! I am very pleased about this fact. Pregnancy has been, so far, a most challenging event. While I have not had the physical drawbacks at all (minus the headaches) I have had the emotional ones. I am not one that normally just gives in to my emotions. I have a "bubble". Everything that is good and right and is happy goes in my bubble. Everything else stays out. It works rather well for me. If I have bad thoughts or thoughts that just aren't constructive, they aren't allowed in. This has worked wonders with our deployments we've gone through. Well, let me tell you...hormones don't like this way of thinking. I have found myself attacked this past two weeks like crazy! I have the craziest thoughts, Blake seems to reallly not like me (these are the hormones talking), I am lonely, I can do nothing right and the tears. I can't even explain to you the tears. I have NEVER been a crying type person. If I get angry, I pretty much ignore you for an hour, then either come and talk to you or forget about it. Now, all I seem to do is cry. I feel like I'm a huge whiney crybaby! Well, I decided that that has to stop. I know that a certain amount of it is the hormones. I am not going to be able to help bursting into tears over the stupidest of things. I can, however, take control of the other thoughts that plague me. They don't need to be in control. I decided that starting today, I choose to be happy. Not dancing around, singing all day happy, but content happy. I know my husband loves me to pieces. There is nothing I can do that will drive him away. I have been giving him such a hard time lately and I feel so bad. I want him to come away from pregnancy liking it...not dreading if it will ever happen again. I think, so far, my new attitude is working. Granted, I've only been awake for an hour, but I think it's going to work! Poor Blake! He is ever so good to me. What I would do without him, I just don't know!!

So, this is my 3rd of the month picture. I am still not showing, but as I look at the last four months, I guess I am bigger. I kind of just look like I am fat, but that's okay. As Blake reminds me daily, I am not fat, I am pregnant. I think by the next 3rd of the month picture, I will be showing. That's exciting! The baby and I have been listening to music every night. Blake is on night shift, so this works out well! So far, I've gotten a reaction from the baby when I listen to these piano jazz hymns my mom sent me. The baby will actually move when they start playing! Blake says "What if that means the baby doesn't like Jazz?" I figure the baby is going to deal, since it gets him/her to move! The baby moved, like, 4 times last night alone! I figure if I'm driving him/her insane, at least it's to hymns, right?? We also listen to Bach, Beethoven, Handel, Mozart and Liszt. We sometimes like to get a little crazy and throw in some oldies, but not too often.

My goal today is to clean the rest of my house. Blake's cousin Erica is coming on friday, and I am super excited. She is our first houseguest besides of my parents! She has a tdy in Luxumburg and is coming early to stay the weekend with us. She is a nice taste of home! It's always nice to see family. So, I've been working at getting the house clean. She doesn't really care. She knows how we live. Not too messy, but not emaculatly clean, either. It gives me something to do, though. I am calling it "fall cleaning". I've also been looking up lately recipes with veggie's in them. If you have any idea's, I'm more than welcome to them! I'm not a big bean person..you know, I'm just not a veggie person. It's been difficult to find ways of eating them. I like broccoli and greenbeans. Eating healthy is so difficult. I am up for any idea's anyone has :) So, I'll end this encredibly long blog with my thought for the day. You have to choose happiness. It's like Natasha's blog about joy. You have to choose it. The rainy days will never end if you don't make an effort for them too!