Texas: Fort Worth Zoo

I've always loved zoos but I am really picky when it comes to visiting/sightseeing. We have zoos in Kansas but they aren't very big and I just didn't see the purpose in going if I wasn't going to enjoy myself. So when Will's mom (Nana Shanna) and stepdad (Papa Chill) told us that they had tickets to the Fort Worth Zoo, we got excited.
After a week or so of planning, we decided on a Friday trip to the zoo. Well, this Friday turned out to be the first rainy day in 34 days. It actually worked out in our favor since the zoo was practically empty. We had an amazing time and I loved seeing Liam's reaction to the different animals.
Here are some pictures from our adventure!

 

20 Weeks Pregnant!

Please ignore the messy bed in the background

How far along? 20 weeks 

Total weight gain/loss: +6 lbs

Maternity clothes? Definitely need maternity shirts now just for the length but I'm still rocking my pre-preggo jeans

Stretch marks? Not that I've noticed (I do have a few from my pregnancy with Liam though)

Best moment this week: Lots of baby movement this week

Complaints: A little bit of nausea but hip/lower back pain and still a bit breathless at times

Movement: Yes!

Food cravings: Nothing really

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope and I even had a bit of cake on Liam's birthday

Have you started to show yet: Yep

Gender: Not yet

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? Outie

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy but I must admit that I had a few moody moments this week

Looking forward to: Meeting Liam's great grandparents, another zoo visit and hopefully some exploring!

19 Weeks Pregnant!

How far along? 19 weeks 

Total weight gain/loss: +3 lbs according to the scale at the doctor's office 

Maternity clothes? Still wearing most of my clothes although my jeans are getting a little tight and my shirts are getting a little short (thank goodness for hair ties and maternity tanks)

Stretch marks? Nope

Best moment this week: Calling the baby "they", lol. I guess all the twin comments are starting to get to me

Complaints: Return of morning sickness (so far, just a nausea), tiredness and breathlessness

Movement: Yes! I'm pretty sure this baby is trying to escape

 

Food cravings: Steak

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really

 

Have you started to show yet: Yes, I'm pretty sure my bump has doubled in size

 

Gender: Nope

 

Labor Signs: Nope

 

Belly Button in or out? Outie

 

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Pretty happy for the most part

 

Looking forward to: The zoo, hopefully we can make it this week and Liam's second birthday

Hi Everyone!

We're still alive and in Texas. I am currently without a computer (my in-laws were nice enough to let me use theirs) since my Macbook Pro charger died on me. I hope to have a new one soon and will be updating the blog with lots of pictures from our trips to the Dallas and Ft. Worth zoos, visit with great grandparents and lots more. Hope everyone is well and staying safe!

18 Weeks Pregnant!

How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: +1 lbs

 

Maternity clothes? Not yet (although I have started to buy a few pieces...still looking for a coat though)

Stretch marks? Nope

Best moment this week: Felt the baby move on the outside for the first time

Complaints: Tired!

Movement: Yes!

 

Food cravings: Nope

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still cake/cupcakes (except for Starbucks Iced Lemon Pound Cake...mmmm)

 

Have you started to show yet: Yes

 

Gender: Not sure yet

 

Labor Signs: No!

 

Belly Button in or out? Outie

 

Wedding rings on or off? On! 

Happy or Moody most of the time: More happy (especially with frequent trips to Starbucks)

 

Looking forward to: Relaxing and spending time with family before leaving for Germany

Our Texas and Germany Adventure: Part I

We have arrived in Texas! After a long (long) car ride and some terrifying Dallas highway driving, we made our way to the first stop of our overseas adventure. We will be here for over a month and have lots of plans so far. I'm trying to remind Will that we don't need to cram everything in right away. We have plenty of time to get out and enjoy time with family.

So far, we've spent a lot of time with Will's mom and stepdad. Will also has a much younger sister who has become the perfect companion for Liam. Over the past couple days I have started to feel a little under the weather. It started as a bit of a stomachache then turned into a full-blown cold (and sore throat). I am feeling a lot better now so we plan to hang out with Will's dad and stepmom. I'm planning to keep my camera nearby to capture lots of pictures while we are out. Here are a couple pictures of our trip so far!

17 Weeks Pregnant!

How far along? 17 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: Not sure. The movers took my scale :(

 

Maternity clothes? Not yet

Stretch marks? Nope

Best moment this week: All the baby movement

Complaints: Still pain in my hips....booo!

Movement: Yes!

 

Food cravings: Since my appetite has returned, I haven't been craving anything but food sounds good, lol 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still cake/cupcakes

 

Have you started to show yet: Yes

 

Gender: Not sure yet

 

Labor Signs: No!

 

Belly Button in or out? In-between

 

Wedding rings on or off? On! 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody but it may be the stress of moving

 

Looking forward to: Cleaning our house and heading to Texas

16 Weeks Pregnant!

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -5.2 lbs

 

Maternity clothes? Not yet

Stretch marks? Nope 

Best moment this week: The return of my appetite! 

Complaints: Pain in hips 

Movement: A little...just little flutters right now though 

Food cravings: Nothing yet 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Haha, lots of things (certain smells, the thought of eating cake or cupcakes, etc.) 

Have you started to show yet: Yes, Will and my sister are convinced I'm having twins 

Gender: Not sure yet 

Labor Signs: No! 

Belly Button in or out? In-between 

Wedding rings on or off? On!  

Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody....I'll admit it  

Looking forward to: Getting our house packed up, cleaned and starting our vacation in Texas. Oh, and of course, Germany

15 Weeks Pregnant!

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -5.2 lbs

 

Maternity clothes? Not yet

Stretch marks? Nope

Best moment this week: Hearing the baby's heartbeat and feeling some movement

Complaints: Sleeplessness, loss of appetite,

Movement: A little...just little flutters right now though

 

Food cravings: Nothing yet
 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Haha, lots of things (certain smells, the thought of eating cake or cupcakes, etc.)
 

Have you started to show yet: Yes, Will and my sister are convinced I'm having twins
 

Gender: Not sure yet
 

Labor Signs: No!
 

Belly Button in or out? In-between
 

Wedding rings on or off? On! 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Moody....I'll admit it 
 

Looking forward to: Getting our house packed up, cleaned and starting our vacation in Texas. Oh, and of course, Germany

It's Been Awhile (A much overdue update)

Hello everyone! I'm alive! We're alive!
I apologize to anyone who regularly reads my blog and hasn't heard from us in awhile. I don't want to say that I got burned out but things have been a little crazy here.

Germany: We are still set to head to Germany. Will had planned to go to Ranger School which would have pushed our arrival date to Germany to the spring. Once I heard this news, I kind of decided that we would still be in Kansas and I had plenty of time to prepare. Well, Will decided that Ranger School was not going to happen and we had to do lots of planning in a smaller amount of time. Although we are still a couple months away from leaving for Germany, everything takes a lot of time when dealing with the military and overseas moves. Passports take six to eight weeks, furniture shipment takes 60-70 days and vehicle shipment takes six to eight weeks as well.
Even with all the craziness and briefings, we are excited for this journey to begin. We will be heading to Texas to visit Will's family during the month of December before heading off to Germany. This will truly be a journey and I am glad I won't be doing it alone. We have a three hour flight to Baltimore followed by a four hour layover before our flight to Germany. Once we arrive there, we have a four hour bus ride to our base (thank goodness we won't have to do that again for three more years). I'm crossing my fingers for an easy trip and plan to bring you guys along with us on our journey.

Camera: Another reason for the lack of blogging is the untimely demise of my camera. I can't even tell you what happened to it and to be honest, I don't think I tried very hard to figure out the issue. I knew that this new time in our life would require lots of pictures. We plan to do lots of traveling and definitely want to keep our family and friends updated on the growth of Liam and our new little baby (more on my pregnancy in a bit) so yesterday I became the proud new owner of a brand new Nikon Coolpix P510 camera. This is not the fanciest camera out there. I know people with far more advanced cameras but this is the fanciest camera I have ever owned. This camera will come in so handy while in Germany (especially the crazy/awesome zoom).

Liam: Liam is doing awesome! He's growing and learning more every day and I am constantly impressed by his personality (especially his sense of humor). He really is a sweet and loving little guy. I will do an update complete with pictures from the last two months this weekend.

Pregnancy: If I could make a guess on this baby's sex based on my pregnancy so far, I would say girl hands down. This has been the complete opposite of my pregnancy with Liam. I have experienced nausea, vomiting and weight loss this time around and even had a scare early on. Things are better now and I am currently 15 weeks pregnant. I haven't had an ultrasound yet but Will is convinced that I am having twins (and so is my sister). We'll have to wait and see since I will hit my 20 week mark while we are in Texas. Also, I will be doing baby bump updates since I now have a new camera.

I hope this update wasn't too boring for everyone. It is so hard to catch up with the amount of time that has passed. I promise to do my best to keep up to date especially once we are in Germany. Please forgive me guys and I will be back this weekend with a few more post.

Happy Veteran's Day everyone!!

TMI Series: End of Month Three aka We're Pregnant!

That's right! Month three was a successful month for us and we couldn't be happier. Yay!!

I kind of knew I was pregnant before I even tested. I used Fertility Friend to chart my cycle and was also able to access the charts of other TTC women. I had a VIP trial on the site so I was able to chart my symptoms as well. I think this helped a lot and gave me a visual, which helped me keep track of everything.

I test on cycle day 25 and got a faint positive! So of course, I kept testing (just to be completely sure) and kept getting positive tests. This is definitely an exciting time for us but it is also a little scary. We are planning a move to Germany and our new baby will be born while we're living overseas. I'm sure things will be great but I wouldn't be me if I didn't worry just a bit. Thanks to everyone who sent us some baby dust. Now here's to a healthy pregnancy!

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow (Maybe)

I am contemplating a huge hair change tomorrow. This change has been in the making for a few months now but I think the time has come to finally take this huge step.
Since I was about 14 years old, I have been chemically straightening, or relaxing, my hair. Over the last couple of years, I have tried to take better care of my hair. I became a YouTube junkie, bought tons of hair products and spent hours upon hours in the hair salon (literally). Now, I never had an issue with my naturally curly hair. Mostly I kept relaxing it because that's what I had to do. Relaxed hair doesn't revert back to curly so once you make the decision to use chemicals to change the texture of your hair, you are making a commitment to the upkeep that comes along with straighter hair.
One of the main reasons I decided to "go natural" is that I am trying to live a healthier life. I want to eat better, live better and limit my families exposure to harsh chemicals. I had to admit that the chemicals I was putting on my hair every 6-8 weeks was not healthy at all. I frequently suffered from burns on my scalp, headaches and to be honest, my hair suffered at times. The final straw came when I realized that I had severe breakage in the center of my head. I knew that it was time for me to make a change and try something different.
It has now been about four months since my last relaxer. I have about two inches of "natural" growth which doesn't look like much when your hair is tightly coiled. After talking things over with Will and my mom (who actually just cut all her hair off recently), I plan to cut all my hair off tomorrow. I plan to go to a barber shop and explain my situation to them. I want to keep my little two inches of growth but the rest of it can go. I am not the type of person who likes to hang on to something I no longer feel I need (or want). Besides, it's only hair. It will eventually grow back (and hopefully be better than ever). Although this is a big move, I'm excited to make this change. Plus, I think this will make doing my hair much easier while in Germany. Wish me luck!

Germany, Here We Come!

Well, not at this exact moment but very soon.
One thing about the military is that there is never a set plan. You have to be flexible because things can change at the drop of a ACU/ABU hat.

This has never rang more true until about two weeks ago. Will's recruiting orders fell through and he decided to call Branch to see if there were any bases open right now. They told him that we had a choice between Alaska, Korea or Germany. Of course we picked Germany. We are excited. I, however, am completely freaking out. This will be our first move as a family and to make it more nervewrecking, it's overseas. There are so many details that we need to work out such as only being allowed to ship two dogs (we have three), only one vehicle shipped at the government's expense (we just bought a second car), etc.

This will be a crazy experience for us but every single person that I have talked to who has been stationed in Germany loved it. I really think this will give our family a much needed break, a change to spend time together and an opportunity to see lots of places in Europe.

Of course this move will bring about many changes in our lives (like a temporary end to my National Guard career) but we are accepting it with open arms and realizing how lucky and blessed we are. I'll keep you guys updated on our planning and moving over the next few months!

TMI Series: TTC Month Three

Welcome to TTC Month Three! Things have been chugging along well and I'm happy to say that I have been a bit more relaxed this month. We had a little bit of a surprise last month when I got a positive pregnancy test. I actually tested on day three of my menstrual cycle (which was a couple days late). I hadn't planned on testing, however, my menstrual cycle was a little weird that month. I am a firm believer in listening and knowing your body. Once I tested and got the positive, I wasn't sure if it was right. I decided to test again later on in the week and got a negative. Deep down, I knew
I wasn't pregnant. I contacted my nurse advice line and the nurse ordered a blood test, just in case.
We are hopeful that this will be our month. I am currently on cycle day 15. Since I am trying to relax this month, I will not be buying a large supply of pregnancy testing strips. Instead, I will purchase a few tests and as of right now, plan to test on cycle day 24 or 25.

We have lot of exciting plans this coming up this month so I don't think it will be hard to resist the urge to pee on a stick. I will definitely be back later on this month with an update on our TTC situation. Until then, have fun guys!

TMI Series: End of TTC Month Two

As I thought, July was not our month for getting pregnant so the process starts again. I adjusted my MyDays app according to when I believe I ovulated last month as well as the number of days in my cycle. I'm sure this will work a little better and help me relax about the whole process. I will not be purchasing a large number of pregnancy testing strips again. I have been debating about purchasing ovulation testing strips to ensure that I know when I'm ovulating but I think that will just cause a little obsession. We'll see though.
Of course I'm hoping that this will be our month but I also know that I can't force anything. When it happens, it happens. For now, we'll just enjoy the ride.

TMI Series: TTC Month Two (Update)

Well, it's looking as though this will not be our month to conceive. Although I have been tracking my cycle since last month, I have been guessing about the number of days in my cycle due to having my Implanon removed. I have tried my best not to obsess over this but it has been so hard. As I mentioned in my previous month two post, I purchased a large number of pregnancy testing strips and believe me, I have been putting those to use. I started testing about 10 days post ovulation. I am still holding on to a little hope since I didn't get a positive test before my first missed period with Liam. According to my MyDays app, my period is due to start today. I have experienced cramping today but besides that, nothing. I plan to test again tomorrow morning but if my period shows up, I will start planning for month three.

I'll update you guys either way but continue to send those baby vibes until then!

TMI Series: TTC Month Two

As I've mentioned a few times before, we are trying for baby number two. We are currently in our second month of trying and are still crossing our fingers that things will happen sooner rather than later.

I'm actually new to the process of trying to conceive. When Will and I decided that we were going to try to get pregnant with Liam, I just stopped taking my birth control pills, downloaded the My Days app for my phone, and I was pregnant within a month. This time I'm almost expecting us to have a hard time getting pregnant. I don't know if it's the lack of ignorance due to all of the googling I've been doing or the fact that it was so easy the first time.

There are so many horror stories about pregnancy after Implanon on the internet. The stories range from fertility not returning to successfully getting pregnant only to have it result in a miscarriage (which I'm sure wasn't linked to the Implanon but still scare, nonetheless). I guess I should be happy that things seem to have gone back to normal right after having it removed. My doctor said that it usually takes four days for the hormones to leave your system. When I inputted my information into the My Days app, I rigged it to where I would be ovulating on day four (even though I had no idea when I would ovulate) and based on a 28 day cycle, it showed me when the first day of my period would be. Well, I actually got my period on the day it showed which actually doesn't surprise me too much. My cycle has always been pretty predictable. I have never missed a period except for while pregnant with Liam and when I had my Implanon (my doctor said that it was probably a combination of the Implanon and breastfeeding that kept my period away).

I know that a period doesn't automatically mean that ovulation is taking place as well. I'm really trying not to stress or obsess over this but it's so hard. In an effort to keep the cost of testing down, I ordered a large amount of pregnancy testing strips from early-pregnancy-tests.com. The site also sells ovulation testing strips but for some reason I didn't order any (I immediately regretted this decision after I paid but didn't feel like placing another order). If I'm not pregnant in the next three months, then I'll definitely want to make sure I am ovulating but for now, I have noticed signs of ovulation so I'll just go with it.

According to the My Days app, I should have ovulated yesterday so I think I'll start testing ten days from now. So, send some baby dust my way and (crossing my fingers) hopefully I'll have good news to share in a couple weeks.

I am...18 Months Old (Super Late!)

New Things:
Climbing in and out of his playpen and high chair
Saying actual words (like "Hey!" when he notices something)
Hiding when taking poops (he actually went into the closet and closed the door)
Mimicking behaviors

Not So New Things:
Climbing on everything
Removing his diaper any chance he gets
Breastfeeding
Co-sleeping

18 Month Appointment:
Liam weighed 28.8 lbs (84th percentile) and was 34.84 inches tall (99th percentile) at his appointment. I don't know if I've mentioned this before but I am slightly obsessed with Liam's height. Even though Will is over 6', I'm scared that Liam will end up with my short genes (I'm 5').
During his appointment, we discussed a concern I had about his speech. He is not behind but he's also not ahead. We talked a little about things we can do at home to help with his speech since he's an only child and doesn't go to any sort of daycare or play dates. Since then, I have made plans to start setting up play dates for him just to help with, not only his speech, but also give him a social life. Other than that, Liam is right on task and we couldn't be happier. Now here are a few pictures of the little guy. Enjoy!!

Coming Soon: The TMI Series

I've been holding back. I want to use this blog as an outlet and source of expression but I know that some things can be considered TMI. Since I still want to share these things, I figured I would start a "TMI Series". This will be an area on my blog where I will talk about things that may not appeal to everyone (especially men who I doubt will be reading this anyways). So, consider this a heads-up. If you don't want to read about my lady bits (since we are TTCing, I will probably reference my lady bits a lot), you should avoid this series, lol. TTCing is an exciting time for us and this is definitely I something I want to share with my friends, family and readers who may be TTCing as well. I just want to warn those who are not interested in these topics beforehand. Now that everyone has been warned, let the lady bit conversations begin! Okay, not really but yeah, pretty much.

In Transition...

I haven't posted in awhile and I want to apologize to anyone who happens to read my blog. I got a new computer and I am trying to get things figured out. I promise to update soon. I have Liam's 18 month update as well as a few other posts I want to do very soon.
Again, I apologize and to make it up to you guys, here's a family picture we took while messing around on the new MacBook Pro's Photo Booth. Enjoy!

We're Offically Trying for Baby #2!

It's official. I have been Implanon free for over a week now so we are officially trying to conceive. We are super excited and hopeful that it won't take us long to get pregnant again.

We're even more excited because this pregnancy will be a bit different than the last one. Although Will will be leaving for school at the beginning of next year, he will not be deploying (as long as nothing changes with our orders) for the next three years. We're happy that our family will be able to grow and strengthen with both parents here instead of being deployed although we understand that deployments are something we will have to deal with as a dual military family. Being together is not something we take for granted so as long as our orders stay the same, we'll cherish this extended family time.