Friday, May 11, 2012

Mini Vacation

Due to a last minute cancellation at Okuma, we were able to get a room for the weekend! We went up there and took the scenic route on the east side of the island due to some crazy Golden Week traffic. We made it up in 2 hours instead of the 3 it took our friends who went ahead of us! We played in the sun and had a great little family trip!














For a couple months I have had a girls' trip to Okuma planned. So, Caden and I ended up spending a lot of time at Okuma this week! It was fine by me though, the weather was perfect. We stayed in the biggest condo they have. It has 7 bedrooms! We had 7 adults, 8 kids, and a newborn baby! It was so much fun!

Love Okuma!

Baby Hudson! Only 5 weeks new! 

Audrey ready to relax!

I got a ton of kids in this shot!

Andromache, Hillary, and Carolyn (aka Grill Master!)

Baby dance partayyyy!

Didn't get a picture in time, but this is Matt filling up the DEEP hole they dug!

Andromache, feeding Caden grapes! 

After family Okuma time, Brian went to San Diego for a 2 day water training course. He almost didn't make it in time and almost had to just turn around and come back home. Poor guy had a rough flight and frustrating delays, but he finally made it and is one tough Marine for doing the class on just a few hours of sleep. Pretty much a nap. Anyways, he did great and even squeezed in a surf session and dinner with some Corpus friends who live there now! He is coming home tonight, but United Airlines was delayed AGAIN and he just landed in Tokyo at the exact time his connecting flight departed. Poor guy. I hope he makes it home to us tonight! We miss him!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Little Brother? Little Sister?

The cake turned out so cute! Thanks, Carrie! 

Setting up FaceTime and Skype with the fam.

If you don't know the gender yet, watch this video before you scroll down!

video
















HOORAY!!! We are super excited and blessed beyond words.


It was so much fun and waaaay better than the way we found out last time! Thank you to Mom, Dad, Hannah, Kathi, and Jimmy for sharing in our special moment even though we live on the other side of the world! XOXO Can't wait to meet our son in September! 

Friday, April 27, 2012

Aircraft Commander!



Congratulations to my awesome husband! He just finished his upgrade syllabus and is an Aircraft Commander!

He had his "cherry flight" last week to the Philippines and it went really well! I am so proud of him. I made these cherry cheesecakes for him to come home to after his first flight as an AC!




As if that isn't enough of a reason to be proud, he came home with this award last week! Way to go, babe!


It's a...

BABY!

We had our 19 week ultrasound yesterday and it was just as exciting the second time around to see that little growing baby move around on the screen! The level of detail amazes me, especially when it comes to seeing the heart chambers fluttering and the complex spine and bones. Baby was moving around a lot and kept opening their mouth, sticking out their tongue, and putting their hand by its mouth. Here are some pictures that we got!

Waving, or hiding from all the pictures!


I can't wait to meet you!


Looks like a gigantic tongue, but I think it's a hand at its mouth.


And to answer the burning question, GIRL or BOY?! Come ON!

We don't know yet. Our friend makes cakes on the island and she offered to make us a "gender reveal cake". What is that?! I had to google it myself. Apparently it's a growing trend and people even throw "gender reveal parties" for their friends and family to join in on the excitement of finding out the gender.

You just tell the radiologist that you don't want to know the sex and they put the results in an envelope for you to deliver to your baker. Then, they bake you a cake that is either pink or blue when you cut into it! I thought it was a fun idea, so she is making ours now and we will cut into it this weekend with all of our family on Skype/Facetime! Much more exciting than finding out in a dark room with a stranger. I can't wait! The anticipation is killing me.

Self control. Self control. Self control.


 About a month ago, we did go out in town to a Japanese clinic to try and find out the sex. We don't like to wait. If pregnancy tests came with gender tests, that would be awesome! We found out Caden was a "boy" at this same clinic. And that is all the radiologist said that time. "Boy". Guess his English was pretty limited or he wasn't very chatty! But this time around, we had a guy who's English vocabulary was much more extensive. He was really outgoing and nice, but said he couldn't tell and that it was too early. Even with the Apple Tea I drank to get the baby moving... nothing! Oh well, now we have the chance to do the cake thing.

Here are some pictures from that attempt!

Drinking my Apple Tea, as per my friend Audrey's recommendation! 


Brian in his tiny slippers you change into at the door.


Hoping to walk in this room and find out! 


Waiting to go in the exam room.


I went to the restroom (for the 14th time) and saw this room in the hallway and just thought it was funny.

I have a feeling it is a boy, and Brian doesn't have a guess. He just wants the baby to be healthy, as do I! Do you have a guess?? Stay tuned!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Should You Be Eating That?

Remember when I posted the top things NOT to say to a wife with a deployed husband? Well, here's a new one. Top things NOT to say to a pregnant woman from pregnantchicken.com. So so funny! I had to edit some parts...





1. "You look so big/small." Remember when you were a teenager and you didn't want to be unique in any way? Well pregnancy is the same and nobody wants to be told they look huge or teeny because it just scares them. Anything different from other pregnant women = weird = giant freak baby or creepy peanut baby.
2. "Haven't you had that baby yet?" If that woman's pregnancy seems long to you I can almost guarantee that it feels like about 30 years to her. Pregnant woman who are asked this question should be legally exempt from murder convictions.
3. "You look tired, you must be having a girl because they steal your beauty." Someone actually said this to my friend. So really what you're saying is "you look like crap". Thanks.
4. "Sleep now because you won't get any when the baby gets here." What the hell does this mean anyway? It's not like you can bank sleep. It's like saying "Don't eat this year because an all-you-can-eat-buffet is opening up next March". Plus, who says that the woman you're saying this to is sleeping now? She may be a congested ball of heartburn, hemorrhoids and back pain so this kind of thing just adds insult to injury.
5."I hate that name." Really? Oh okay, then they won't name it that. Nobody cares that a girl named Angela took your oatmeal raisin cookie in grade two so don't lift up the tarp covering your mental baggage. On a similar note, if they want to name their kid Adolph or Kleenex just nod and say "nice" – that will be the least of that kid's problems anyway.
6. "Were you hoping for a girl/boy instead?" It's not really anyone's business and if she ain't sharin', don't ask. If you're asked this you should answer that you were actually hoping for a puppy that could fart rainbows then just walk away.
7. "Was this an accident?" A woman's reply to this should always be "suck my ****." It's a nice, clean, confusing retort for someone that is rude enough to ask this kind of question.
8. "Did you use fertility drugs?" I don't want to get all misty here but all babies are miracles and by asking a question like that you're somehow implying that babies that were conceived with 'help' are different from babies that weren't. Not cool so don't ask.
9. "Should you be eating that?" This whole website is about people embellishing myths and half truths to scare the crap out of pregnant ladies. So unless she's about to accidentally snack on dog poo, don't say anything and let the poor girl eat.

Finally, there are three things you always say to pregnant women:
1. "You look fantastic" Even if she is a sweaty, wheezing Jabba the Hut with swollen ankles and a maternity top that no longer covers her fish pail, tell her she looks fantastic. She is making a person and that's pretty fantastic.
2. "That's wonderful" If she tells you she's going to give birth squatting in a Mr. Turtle pool surrounded by chanting Tibetan squirrels, you say "that sounds wonderful". Every pregnant woman makes about 200 declarations of what she is and isn't going to do and about 4 stick. Don't ruin her moments.
3. "It's going to be alright" When she starts crying because the pizza shows up wrong or she panics because she used regular detergent to wash the baby's onsies so she'll be a horrible mother or simply because she threw a reciprocating saw at your head because "you're too much of a moron to understand what she's going through". This is when it's a good idea to pull out "it's going to be alright". A side car of "you look fantastic" couldn't hurt either.
Good luck.

Monday, April 9, 2012

He is Risen


We had an amazing Easter weekend! I didn't want it to end. The weather was perfect, and we had such a great time as a family. Starting new traditions and seeing Caden's excitement for it all is so much fun!


After seeing what the Easter bunny brought us, finding eggs around the house, and eating breakfast, we went to Kadena Marina for a late morning service with Hope Chapel. Our neighbors Amber and Chris took all the pictures there since I didn't have my camera. They turned out so great! We had a good time listening to the sermon, which was translated in Japanese as well! We had a yummy potluck after and I ate one huge plate of lunch and one huge plate of dessert! I probably gained 5 pounds yesterday in sweets.

Eating snacks during the service.

Serious banana eating face.



I just noticed he has snacks in every picture! 

He wanted to go in the "agua" so bad.

After a nap for Caden and I and a swim in the ocean for Brian, we headed over to Gretchen & John's house for an Easter BBQ. They had so much for the kids to do, and Caden had a blast! Brian and I ate more food and sweets, and were comatose by the end of the day! 


JUMP!

My 1st Easter egg hunt!

"You got anything yet?" "Nope. You?"


Good job, buddy!
Proud of his eggs.
Swiping eggs.
Madison, teaching the boys how to get chocolate out and unwrap it. 
The eggs he ended up with. Three pink ones. HA!
Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!