OOOK!! So as we all know I am always on facebook and I never update this.... well obviously the last time I updated what when I was 33 weeks Preggo and Chloe is now ohhhh 4 months old! haha ok so I fail.. but luckily I have a wonderful sister who rides my butt about this until I get it done! So here are some updates on what's been going on latley!
Joshua, Chloe, and I have recently moved to Panama City, Fl. I am enjoying it so far! I miss being around my family a lot but It's been that change in pace that I needed! Chloe like I said is already 4 months old and grows by the day!!! she is getting her littler personality and man is she a goofball. She found her thumb a couple weeks ago she goes to town on that thing hah! she is starting to grasp onto her toys and i have been practicing with her on sitting up! she did roll over from her tummy to her back, and almost made it from her back to her tummy but she hasnt made that feat yet!! She is such a happy baby! always smiling and laughing..... she loves to talk too.. she gets that from her daddy! She also has lost most her hair, all on top and the sides buutt not in the back kinda weird but it is so funny! We took her swimming the other day and she looovved it! Didn't even flinch when we put her into the water, she was so cute in her little swimsuit, we also took her down onto the beach so she could see the ocean!!! I just love watching all the little new things she does.... Joshua looked at me the other night as we were playing with her and just smiled and said I love being a dad! and I couldn't agree more I love being a mom! I know I am not getting to experience things like most 21 year olds but man I would never change this in my life!!!! This is the greatest gift God could ever give!!! bbuuuuttt enough of my writting here are some pictures of her!!!
Well I obviously stink at doing updates!!!! and as much as Joshua was getting on to me about updating this he hasn't been either haha! SOOOOO i figured I would make him proud and give everyone a lil update on what's up!
Well I am officially 33 weeks!!! She is almost here. Kinda scary but I think I am more scared of the actual birth part than anything else. haha of course who wouldn't be. Well so far I feel that I have had an amazing pregnancy. I was sick for the first trimester then the second trimester I felt GREAT! and now in the third trimester I am def. feeling BLAH! Just really tired and finding it very hard to be comfortable. But as much as I might be complaining It is all going to be so worth it in the end. it just blows my mind everytime i feel her move (and see her move which is soo insane). I keep telling mom how hard it is to see all these little babies and then try to imagine one being inside my tummy!! It really is such an amazing blessing and journey. It is so funny too how dead on everyone is when they tell what types of symptoms you will experience in each trimester becaues i swear I have hit everything everyone has told me about. But I can say yeah i am a little uncomfortable but i do feel great. We went to the Doctor on Monday (4/13) and so far I have gained about 25 pounds, my stomach is measuring exactly how it should be, her heartbeat was sooo strong omg... it brings tears to me sitting here writing this because in the beginning you hear the heartbeat for the first time and it's like wow such and amazing and overwhelming feeling but of course it takes the doctor or in my case midwife forever to find that little faint heartbeat and here at 33 weeks she put the little machine on my belly and it was so strong... her heart beat was 150 on monday which was great! but gosh it's just soooo beautiful and amazing to hear that little heartbeat and how strong it has gotten! they also felt to see how she was facing in my tummy and she has already turned upside down (sooo all her kicks go straight into my ribs OUCH). this whole journey has been so wonderful and so beautiful and I just can't wait to meet our beautiful baby girl. And Joshua has been so amazing!! He has def. seen many sides to me through this just like everyone else has but i think i give it to him worse than others haha! and even though he likes to joke with me and egg me on when im not in a good mood he really has been so good on calming me down when i am about to break out into tears because i am in such a bad mood or just frustrated with being uncomfortable! he is going to be such a great Dad and I can just tell he is getting more and more excited as each day passes and her arrival time gets closer!!!! We both are so excited for her to get here! Well I will def. try my best to keep updates coming more than they have been... between school and work and just trying to spend time with Joshua and taking lots of naps haha I seem to not have a whole lot of time.. but I am going to do my best! here is a picture of my belly at 33 weeks!!! It's not really a "cute" picture haha but it def, shows my belly is pretty big : )
haha and i have to do this but here is just such a sweet picture of Joshua sleeping and his best buddy laying down right next to him!! : ) He is going to kill me for this.... : p
Welp that is all for tonight... more to come soon! Love you all SOOO much
So I am not a creative writer like Joshua and I have been slacking on getting on here and posting something!! So now is the time ha ha! Well we are 27 weeks now and I am feeling like my old self again. The Beginning of this all was just horrible!!! But all that has come and gone and I am able to eat again and do things with out worrying about if going here or going there is going to end up me needing to get home because i feel horrible. I am now at the point where I can truly enjoy this blessing that is growing inside of me. I felt her kick for the first time about 2 months ago. I cannot describe the joy that I felt when I realized what that little kick was. I just cannot stop touching my stomach just waiting for her to kick again. Joshua FINALLY got to feel her kick a couple of weeks ago and that was just the most amazing thing to see his face when I looked at him and he asked if that was her kicking!!! He was so excited he couldn't stop holding my stomach waiting for her to kick again. What I think is even more cool is that you can see it too... My stomach just kind of pops up when she kicks or moves.. Joshua didn't believe me at first because she wouldn't kick hard enough for him to see. But this past weekend he saw my stomach move from her kicking... again I just love to see his face light up! We went and registered about a month ago that was fun but man did it wear us out! I am sure we have lots on there that we don't need because I went scan happy and I am almost positive there are things we do need that we totally looked over but it was lots of fun!! We tested out lots of Gliders...we were tired!!!
Isn't our bedding ADORABLE!!!! I love it! and of course Joshua Found the UGA t-shirt!! he was pretty excited : )
She is growing like crazy! Everyone tells me that i just seem to get bigger and bigger everyday... it's weird though because I don't really notice it...well of what i can see i can kind of notice.. what I do notice is that she has moved up so breathing has def. become a slight bit harder, sleeping SUCKS! haha and getting up out of chairs and couches is getting hard. I had to have joshua tie my shoes for me the other day because it was taking too much effort haha!! but non the less I am enjoying every minute of this. Just knowing I have this blessing growing in me just makes me so happy! Here are a few pics of my tummy! this is me at 24 weeks!
I took some pictures the other night BUT I look horrible in them so I will take some different ones this week and post them up!
Well that is all for today!! I will do my best to keep everyone updated as often as possible!!
As some of you already know, as of February 18, 2009 I have been recalled to active duty (part of the 17,000 Troop Reserve Recall) and ordered to the Middle East in support of the Operation Iraqi Freedom/ Enduring Freedom. I am to report for training in April and be "boots on the ground" in the desert by June 1st. The details are still unknown at this time as to what exactly I will be doing over there. It will not have anything to do with my job that I have trained for in the Navy, and in fact I will be attached to a Marine/Navy Battalion. This has come to all of us as a shock and the timing couldn't be at a worse time. Lauren and I are expecting our little baby girl June 3rd, two days after I am schedule to leave the country. Currently I am seeking a delay (a possible month) of my report date to Kuwait, but that is just something that has to be approved by Naval Command Forces in Washington, D.C.. Chances look good, but as with the military and "Mission Readiness" such request can and some times often are not approved. Keep that thought in mind, of a "delay", when you say your prayers tonight and each night there after.
This again has become such a shock to Lauren and I, and we totally did not expect this to happen. As I have said, the timing is just horrible. We are both first time parents and to know that I might not be there holding Lauren's hand while we welcome our beautiful baby girl into the world is just heart wrenching. I have been pretty torn up about the thought of being away from Lauren and my child for a year. It is very possible that I will miss all the things that most Fathers get to experience....ya know the little things. First smile, first laugh and giggle, first bath, first crawl, first words, first steps, and the first time seeing your child look at you and for them to know that you are their Father. That is all really tough to swallow..........but, with all those things that I know I will miss, I know that I have a job to do and I know that my "Country" has called on me to serve once more (not trying to sound cliche). But there has been men and women who have gone before me and made the same sacrifice as I shall have to make. Some have made the ultimate sacrifice, and to complain and moan about going over and defending my country would do a dishonor and disgrace to those who have been lost. I decided, back in September 2001, that I would join the Armed Forces and give back to my Country, and do my part in this fight for freedom. I signed up and VOLUNTEERED for this fight 8 years ago, and it is important all of you know and understand that!!!! We are at WAR. I don't like war, in fact I hate it, but we entered into this WAR on terror at a time not of our choosing (September 11, 2001).America didn't ask to be attacked. Terrorist struck first and we MUST be the ones who strike LAST. As GWB said, "this fight against terroism will end at a time of America's choosing." Terrorist are still plotting to kill, so we must continue to defend, and fight at whatever "means and cost" necessary. I Love Lauren so very much and I already have a feeling in my heart that I would do anything in this world to secure my child's life and safety.....even if it means being separated from the both of them and sent over to another country in order to do it. We are going to make it through all of this. I ask for your support for not just me, per say, but for Lauren and our child while I am gone.
In closing, I have a video that I saw while in the Navy that I would like to share with all of you. It will only take a short time to watch it. It shows the Navy/ Marine Corp Team hard at work in the fight with the War on Terrorism. It may give you a little insight as to what I will be doing, and what it is like to be focused on the Mission at hand, even when separated from those you love. Please take note as to the tail end of the video. It shows you that we do come home, and that there is a happy ending to such a difficult time as being deployed. Thank you so much for you support. Love you all
Twenty weeks have come and past. For Lauren, present day is a far cry from the endless trips to a "porcelain goddess" in which she has become acquaintance with. Oh, how I will surely not miss the phrase from Lauren," Baby, can you pull the car over......"haha. But with the morning sickness starting to subside a little and the appetite starting to "reinvent" itself, Lauren seems to be finally enjoying all the joys of pregnancy. I am sure that joy will soon become short lived when we hit about the 30 week mark..haha. She is starting to get a little bump......finally. Lauren said that she can feel the flutters, but unfortunately they are too small and mild for Daddy to feel. But to just see the excitement on Lauren's face after our "little one" gives a swift kick, is enough contentment for me at the moment. And so we have hit the "halfway mark" in this roller coaster journey known as pregnancy. Why do I feel the hills will become steeper and the turns will get a bit more loopier.haha. Sooo twenty weeks down and twenty more to go......and then its "Showtime."
We went to the doctor today and, to be quite honest, I had never been so nervous and scared in all my life. I was soo nervous and on pins/needles about this visit. What is so weird is that I am completely healthy. Everything is fine with me, everything is fine with Lauren. I wasn't the one who needed to see a doctor, neither was it really Lauren's "doctor" appointment. But I was still scared to death about this doctor visit....this was one that I had never gone through before. This was the mother of all appointments. We would found out if everything was going along as schedule, if everything was healthy, and of course we would find out if I would be going to a "Daddy-Daughter" dance one day, or if would I be seeing my son under those "Friday Night Lights". For a moment nothing else matter to me except this one tiny, small, routine doctor appointment. As Lauren and I sat there holding each others hand watching the monitor, and seeing the first image of our child....I suddenly felt a sense of relief. I counted two arms and two legs...heart was beating harder than ever. The nurse utter, "Strong and healthy baby.". My GOD, four words never brought me such relief and satisfaction in my life as those words did. Staring at the screen and seeing a fuzzy and distorted image, that was my child, never looked so beautiful to me. Suddenly the nurse said softly,"She is a real squirmier." Lauren and I looked at each other as to say "did she just say......." The nurse, knowing that she had let the "cat outta of the bag"....said three words that would forever change my life, " Its a Girl." Those words truly melted my heart.
As Lauren and I left the doctor's office, I took a moment to reflect on this blessing that GOD has bestowed upon our lives. And for one brief moment I shockingly said to myself, " I'm having a little girl.....I'm in deep deep doo doo." hahaha.
So I am sure that 2009 will be the most interesting and challenging time of our life together. . I know that Lauren and I will bring a life into this world and do the best job as parents. I know that I will encounter many struggles and hard ache, but to know that I have Lauren and those around us that love us , makes me know that we will be just fine. 2008 brought many blessings in my life....I meet the woman of my dreams, I have grown as a individual, and I haven't lost any love ones(knock knock). But I began to understand that a New Year comes and goes, but I should live my life as its a "New Day" policy. I shouldn't wait for a New Year to make resolutions and change in my LIFE. Every day is a challenge and a struggle that we all must endure and overcome....but like Jack Dawson(dude from the Titanic) said,"You learn to take life as it comes at you... to make each day count."
So here is to 2009, here is to the best of times and to the worse of times.....to the memorable times and the ones that I would like to forget. Here is to another year and to another chapter in my life that will come....as well as go.
