Na-New

Eden has a boyfriend! But they don't always get along. Last week when I went to the doctor, a friend of mine watched Eden, and then I returned the favor 2 days later when she went to the doctor. Nelson, or "Na-new," is one month older than Eden and neither child likes to share. This makes them great friends, right? Sure, if you're me or Whitney and you force the friendship. No, no, actually Eden asks for Nelson when he's not around, so my vote is that they're friends on their own too. Here are some pictures of how well they share when they're together.

He didn't want to share with Eden, so he hid behind the table and she ran to me crying.  

Playing with the blocks together.

I'm not sure what she's doing. Looking over what he's doing? Trying to get around him? Who knows?

They enjoyed playing near each other more than playing with each other.

Notice, Nelson has the "cala," or Eden's etch-a-sketch, so I think she's watching closely and waiting on him to drop it so she can get it back.

Ketchup

Nope, not the red dipping stuff for french fries and what you put on hot dogs and hamburgers! I need to play "catch up" and get some pictures on here so you can see what we've been up to.

Last week Eden and I went out every morning, and I'm not going to lie, it was great to get out of the house each day. It makes the day go by so much quicker. It isn't doing well for the amount of housework that I have building up, but I'll learn how to manage my time when we go out each morning, but until then...the house is a wreck! Best part about it? I don't even care!!!

July 31 - Eden ate a plum for breakfast. She's never had a plum, with the pit, on her own. She actually ate most of it and the skin didn't bother her.

August 1 - Eden got to drink milk from a cup with a straw in the car! I must have lost my mind...but there were no spills, so that was good!

August 2 - Who could resist seeing Baby2 again!? This was the highlight of this day, for sure.

August 3 - Lane's schedule of events. It's a flow chart that has each flight and simulator training that he has to complete before September 23! The orange highlighted events are the ones he's already completed. 

August 4 - I have my sister-in-law, Angela, and niece, Mack to thank for curbing my "morning sickness." They made and sent this jam and I add it to a bagel and it starts my day off feeling much better than before!

August 5 - Eden loves her etch-a-sketch toy. She loves to "cala" on it. 

August 5 - So happy to have her "cala."

August 5 - Posing for the camera!

August 6 - We went to an evening Hooks Minor League Baseball game and Eden was very tired when we got home...at 10! But she was a trooper, and loved playing on the playground and running around.

August 7 - Eden helped Mommy make pizza for dinner. Or, did Mommy help Eden make pizza for dinner?

August 8 - Eden fell asleep on the way home from running errands and stayed asleep when I layed her down on the couch.

August 8 - What a peaceful sleeper!

Bathtub Fun

Oh. My. Goodness! Tonight was a wonderful night. Eden, Daddy and I - yes, Daddy got to have a fun evening with us too, finally! - went bowling and out to dinner with friends. It was fabulous. I love meeting new people and I love having people return to our lives from previous places we've been. That is one of the great things about military living, you always seem to know someone where you're going!

When we got home it was bath time for Eden. We did a quick, jump in the tub, kind of bath. In order to speed things up, I actually went ahead and let the water out of the tub while she was still in the water and let her "choose" to get out so I didn't have to deal with the fight of a quick exit.

As she was standing up to get out, she said "poop." I didn't think anything of it because we have a lot of false alarms around here! Well, this one wasn't false. She really did have to poop. And she really did poop. After she did, I calmly held her hand to get her to walk towards me so she didn't step in it and she looked down and freaked out! Oh wow, she was scared out of her mind. Crying, trying to get out of the tub, anything she could do to get away from it! At that point I panicked and called Lane upstairs to help me. When she tried to climb out of the bathtub, she smeared poop on the edge and it was all I could do to panic and put her on the toilet - as I'm laughing hysterically because she was so scared of it.

The bathtub got cleaned - thanks Daddy - and Eden got cleaned up, pajamas on, and is now sleeping peacefully {for now}. Ahhhh...what a wonderful way to end a great night! Ha ha ha!

Joy

This is the only word that can describe the feeling I have right now! I am overflowing with JOY! Today was the big day, I had my first doctor appointment. When I got to the doctors' office I had to wait for almost an hour to be called back! I knew when I made my first appointment, that this was going to be the case, I just didn't know it was going to be as bad as it was. While I was waiting I was SO glad that I didn't have to take Eden with me {if I was bored, I can only imagine how she would have felt}. She was able to stay with a friend of mine who also has a child Eden's age. I will be watching the 2 kids later this week while my friend goes to the doctor, so I'll get a taste of what she had this morning!

Once I was finally called back to see the nurse, she simply took my medical history information and then we were going to call it a day. Say what? I thought I was finally going to get answers after having all the negative tests, low blood counts, and the ultrasound that was too early to see a heartbeat! When I realized they weren't planning on doing an ultrasound today, I asked the nurse and she confirmed that they weren't planning to do an ultrasound. I guess my hormones took over and tears started welling in my eyes. I tried to explain to the nurse why I had thought they'd do an ultrasound and I couldn't hold it together. I started crying. I think there was a part of my that was sad because I wanted to be able to come home and give Lane some news since I had to go to the appointment by myself. I apologized to the nurse for being a blubbering crazy lady and she just laughed it off and gave me a tissue. She also said that given the circumstances she would talk to the doctor and see if she had a minute to squeeze me in for an ultrasound to give me the clarification that I needed to keep me sane.

The doctor said she could do a quick bedside ultrasound for me so I could see the baby's heartbeat. She told me that she knew from personal experience that after a miscarriage and a rocky start that I wasn't being unreasonable by being a little emotional about not getting to see the heart beating. I thanked her and told her that I didn't want to be her annoying patient and she told me not to worry about it, she understood. Needless to say, she happily did the ultrasound and I saw the teeny baby and its little arm buds fluttering and its little heart pumping.

August 2 - Hard to see because I had to take a picture of the screen with my phone, but the little black space in the middle is where you need to look for the baby. They head is to the right, and the rump is to the left. The baby's length is measuring 2.4cm long - teeny tiny!

August 2 - 9 weeks, 1 day and due on March 5, 2010! Oh my goodness...this is getting real!!!!

She reminded me that because I'm not out of my first trimester that I'm not in the clear, but that with the heartbeat and a seemingly healthy looking baby, that things are looking good so far. Because I'm not in the clear, she has said that there's no reason for me to continue running right now. Once I'm in my second trimester I can continue running, but right now she recommended that I stick to light exercising only. I'm sad about that recommendation because I had finally started to enjoy running again, but I'm 110% in agreement with the doctor, so I will hold off for now. The doctor mainly gave me the recommendation because she doesn't want me to give myself a reason to question myself later if anything goes wrong.

So, for now, we are just saying prayers of thanks as we embark on the remaining days, weeks, and months of this pregnancy. I am excited to have concrete evidence of the baby with the ultrasound, and excited to see what's in store for our growing family. Next up, a doctor's appointment on the 30th of this month.

Eden-isms

Eden is talking more and more these days. Some times we can understand her, other times, well, there's just no way to understand what she's saying. Today she said her first "sentence" when Lane asked her if she wanted water. Her response to him was "no wawa, milk." She knows what she wants and she'll let you know!

Other fun things Eden is saying"
"no, no" - One of her all time favorites, though Lane and I have discovered that no only means "no" when Eden says it, not when she's being told no.
"is-ha" - This is Edens way of saying "its hot," a phrase she hears a lot with regards to food or walking on the sidewalk without shoes. Here in Texas, that's just not a good idea!
"teedee" - When she sees a remote or a screen that resembles a tv, she lets you know what it is.
"pay" - Any time she sees a playground she must make the request to "pay." I am happy to say that if the answer is no, she usually does well and doesn't cause a scene, which I'm SO thankful for!
"fi" - If we ever go through a drive through, Eden expects that someone in the car will be getting an order of fries and she expects to get one soon after they're delivered to the car. This is usually followed by "is-ha" no matter the temperature of the fries.
K - These days, if a word ends with a hard "k" sound, you will hear it when Eden says the word. She enunciates the sound very clearly. milk = milK, walk = walK, knock = knocK, and book = booK.
"neat" - If any timer goes off in our house Eden thinks it is time to eat.
"wa-wee" - Every night Eden likes to go for a walk around the block in the wagon.
"owie" - Eden will say this when anything might have slightly hurt her. She has also named the sand spurs down here owies.

San Antonio to Austin

We made our overnight trip to San Antonio and Austin yesterday. It was a great trip and we enjoyed getting to see Grandma and her co-workers who were in Austin for a seminar for work. Eden started her day by sleeping in until 10! It was a nice treat, but Lane and I both had to get up and pack bags, so we didn't get to indulge in the late start to the morning. I told Lane on the way there that it was nice to be able to go on a vacation together. We haven't had a vacation together in a long time.

July 31 - On the way to San Antonio. Her eyes tell you how excited she is about being in the car!

Our drive to San Antonio was relatively quick. We didn't realize how close we were before making it to San Antonio yesterday. We decided to make the best of a {hot} day at the zoo. Eden loves animals and we were able to get half off admission because of the membership we have through the aquarium, so it was a great pick. Though we had a good time, and Eden enjoyed seeing the animals she did get to see, Lane and I were a little let down by the lack of animals. There were a lot of birds and a lot of monkeys out, but most of the animals thought it was just as hot as we thought it was. The elephants were fighting each other for the shade, the lions were sleeping, and the cheetahs were sleeping too.

After the zoo we went to our hotel room to freshen up and get ready to go to Austin for dinner with Grandma.  Eden needed a nap, so we let her sleep in the car with promises to see Grandma when she woke up. We met her and her friends at their hotel before heading out to dinner. They had picked out the Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill. Once we got there we learned that the restaurant was locally owned and that there's only one, and it was fabulous. The food was good and the company was great. Eden loved getting to see Grandma.

July 31 - Eden in Grandma's hotel room. She loved playing "where's Eden" with the curtains.

July 30 - Mommy, Eden, Grandma, and Daddy

July 31 - Eden and Ms. Connie

July 31 - Ms. Cindy, Daddy, and Eden

When we got done with dinner Lane, Eden and I went back to San Antonio to stay the night. We didn't get back to the hotel until about 10, so we immediately put Eden's pajamas on her and put her down for the night. Well, she wasn't a fan of that idea. She was in a scary new place and didn't want to sleep. We put her pack-n-play next to the bed so she could see us, but then all she wanted to do was stand and play. Around 11 we decided that it was best if we just left and make the drive home.

On our way home Eden fell asleep almost as soon as we got into the car - which was slightly angering since she refused to sleep in the hotel - and we sat in some construction traffic on the interstate. Once we got going again we were making good time. Lane decided a little after midnight that he needed to stop and get an energy drink to continue the drive home. This woke Eden up, and she was angry! She threw her paci and refused her duck, which are the 2 things that we've deemed to be her "essentials" because she needs them to get to sleep. She did eventually go back to sleep, but then when we were about 20 minutes from home, Lane got pulled over - for going 8 over! This too woke Eden up, and she was even more angry this time! The police officer shined his flashlight into the back of the car to look at her and she got mad and threw her paci again. This time when she threw her paci it was nowhere to be found and she screamed the rest of the way home.

When we got home, it was 2am and Eden went straight to bed. We found her paci in the car. She had thrown it into the cup holder on the door. Eden was exhausted and slept well once we were home and she was in her crib. This morning she slept in until 11 and the whole family was able to indulge in this late start to the day. It was fabulous.

All in all, the trip was a success. We were able to go on a trip as a family and Eden was very pleasant. She enjoyed spending time with us and with Grandma. She enjoyed seeing Grandma so much that we got to video chat with her and Grandpa this evening.

Unpacking, to Playdates, and Beyond!

Well, Don has come and gone and we didn't even notice! He didn't bring rain, and he didn't produce much more wind than we're used to on any normal day here in Corpus Christi. We are welcoming the idea of him being here over the weekend because it has allowed Lane to have the whole weekend off.

Today we went to the aquarium with Eden and tomorrow we're talking about going to San Antonio. Grandma is in Austin for work, and that's only about 80 miles from San Antonio, so we get to have dinner with her tomorrow. What a treat! Eden will be so excited to be able to see her. She's been asking for the family that we saw when we were in Georgia the past few days, so this will be awesome.

July 21 - I can't seem to find the motivation to completely unpack my bags from our trip. Eden tries every second to help, but I just don't want to do it!

July 22 - "The Door to Daddy's Wings" with his countdown paper chain. I see many paper chains in our future with deployments and such. It has helped many of my friends with explaining when Daddy's coming home.

July 23 - I went outside to take my picture of the day {of nothing in particular, we were just all outside} and it is so humid and hot out that the lens fogged up and this is what I got.

July 24 - Our little monkey, climbing in/on/around/through everything. Now she's interested in the kitchen chairs.

July 24 - Helping Mommy make dinner. She was crushing up the crackers that went on top of the chicken casserole that I made. We also had Red Lobster cheddar biscuits with dinner - HUGE hit at my house!

July 25 - Eden walking in Daddy's shoes...literally. 

July 25 - She actually walked really well in them, given the size of the shoe compared to her size.

July 26 - Pretzel sticks and goldfish, accompanied by blueberry and strawberry muffins for our play group friends who came over to play!

July 26 - Not the best run time, but since I haven't run since before going to Georgia I'm just proud that I actually did it! I mapped out the run that I do on base on the computer and then linked it with the treadmill, so I knew exactly where I was on my run. 

July 26 - When Eden woke up from her nap, she had one arm out of her sleeve...still trying to figure that one out.

July 27 - She wanted a pillow and a blanket to watch TV while I was getting ready this morning. Can we say "Princess Eden"?

July 28 - She loves to play with cars, will point out when a motorcycle drives by {even if she only hears it} and doesn't care if she gets dirty; however, she does love her accessories!

July 28 - As I was taking this she was trying to get the purse off her head, but one strap was behind her head and one in front, so when she grabbed both straps it caused this look on her face and I couldn't make myself delete it! I laugh every time I look at it!

July 28 - Another run on the treadmill. Much better time! I was doing  the first day of my 1/2 marathon training program, which I need to ask the doctor if its ok that I keep up with this and increasing the intensity gradually.

July 29 - The view outside our second floor window as Don gets closer to us. 

July 29 - Our patio furniture and potted plants had to make their way into the kitchen in case the winds got too bad outside. Now that the storm had hit, I think they would have been fine to stay outside, oh well.