Bama Bound?!--Hopefully!! :)

We found out on Friday that we will be moving to Alabama around April. On of Shawn's Professor of Military Science, Colonel Atencio, made some calls and requested Shawn to work at UNA ROTC from April until he begins grad school. He is such an awesome person!! So James and I will be traveling to Alabama very soon to look for a house. I just hope we can find something soon so we can get moving. Shawn has the bright idea to move us and I told him I don't want to hear a word about how much stuff we have or how tired he is!! The Army will move us for free and pack us so he has NO excuse. We shall see. He is SO stubborn!! I'm pretty useless between being pregnant and having a 2 year old constantly around I can't get much done.

My next dr. appt is the 12th of March and then the ultrasound comes after that so we are hoping to find out what we are having before we move to AL. Switching insurance can sometimes be a hassle.

I think we both are excited to live closer to family...I think Shawn is more excited about the fishing :). It will be nice to finally not have to spend our vacations stretched visiting home. Now people can come visit us for a change. :).

The only possible drawback will be if our house doesn't rent. It officially goes on the market March 1 so we will see. We are so broke that if nothing happens we will have to reconsider going to AL and possibly going back to NC.

God answered our prayers in His own time so we'll see what else is in store for us!

The family that bikes together....

Today was a great day. Shawn had bought me a bicycle for Christmas and I had yet to ride so we went and got him a bike and James a trailer to pull behind the bike. We also got the trailer b/c it doubles as a double jogger. So after James nap today we rode about 4 miles around the neighborhood. It was fabulous!! James enjoyed it a lot but his helmet (yes we make him wear one) kept sliding down but we'll get it right next time. Shawn trailed him this time b/c more than likely I'll use it more than him. He was awesome for doing so!! He said it was harder pulling 35 lbs of baby behind but not too bad. Only bad part is when Shawn had to come out of the saddle to get up the hill James lil head bobbed awful so we have to work on it. We both run and do ellipticals but biking was a whole new adventure for us. We loved it!! Everytime Shawn stopped he said "no, ride more" he was so cute!!

Hurry up and Wait :)

Well we know that CPT Career Course ends March 20 but we are unsure what we will be doing after that point. Shawn could take S-6 course until end of May but he doesn't want to and neither do I. I want to get settled by June wherever we are going for many reasons. One to allow James to get adjusted to new home and new area before another baby is brought there, Two for me to get established with a doctor prior to me giving birth preferably, Three to have time to unpack and get the nursery and James room put together. I probably still woudl be stressing even if I weren't pregnant but the uncertainty of when or where is the hardest part for me right now. We'd hoped to be in AL but nothing is definite because of a gap in time. But we are working on that and pray that things will work out where we cn get out of here sooner than we hoped!!
if we are in AL we will be near family and they can always help us unpack :)

James is now almost 28 months old. he is quite the talker...and I mean ALL THE TIME :). When I run or walk with him I just would love not to hear a thousand questions b/c I feel I HAVE to respond or he thinks I am ignoring him. So hard pushing 35 lbs and jogging while talking :). He is such a sweet boy though. He says his blessing at each meal and prays at night for everyone. he loves to give kisses and hugs. He is slowly potty training and does better telling us when he has to use #2 than #1...which is odd. He usually holds his pee until we ask so we try to ask often. He is getting the knack of it though. he is truly my angel and I can't imagine life w/o him.

I am now officially 15 weeks pregnant and LOVING it. Definitely different this time around because I enjoy it more. Not sure if it was work or the constant pressure to remain thin evenw hile pregnant before but it is so enjoyable this time. I find myself admiring my growing belly often in the mirror. :). We won't find sex out for probably at least another month which is KILLING me. O fcourse we want HEALTHY baby but we want our lil' girl. But if God wants us to have another boy we will be fine too. But this will be it for us. two is good and is definitely hard enough with a husband who is gone 15 months at a time :) and no family around to help most of the time.

Mission Bye Bye Binky!

We decided when we got home from Disneyworld that we would attempt to take away the Binky. I wasn't too concerned if we failed b/c he only uses it when he is going to bed and not just all the time. So the first night was Wednesday and he did great. Then Thursday night he fussed a little and it broke my heart but I was strong and I just laid in the bed with him until he was comfortable. He finally said "Bye bye binky" and if you ask what he did with them he said he gave them to the new baby!! SO SMART!!

to top it off today he told us he had to poop so we sat him on his potty and sure enough he did!! we praised him and he was so excited. Although I don't think he is ready to potty train we welcome anytime he tells us he wants to go!! YEAH for my big boy!!!

DisneyWorld

We went down to Disneyworld the 15-19 of January. It was AMAZING. Yes I am almost 29 and this is my first trip there so I was excited as well as having James to see the magic thru his eyes.

First let me say that Shawn is amazing. If it wasn't for him I would have completely melted down and jsut given up. James was very difficult because of his age he didn't understand waiting and that he had to get off. So many fits and fussing....I was so embarassed but Shawn kept up with him and took care of him for most part. The weirdest thing is that I felt we got looks as if there kids weren't 2 at one time and didn't do the same thing. It was just a good deal and we didn't want to pass it up b/c regardless where we are next year we won't be as close as we are now.

We started our day Friday at Epcot...HUGE mistake!! There just wasn't a lot to do for children his age. We rode the Nemo Ride and he was terrified after a fish jumped out at him. So we walked around and looked but decided to head over to Magic Kingdom. Much more James speed. We rode Dumbo, Tea Cups, watched Country Bears Show, went to Mickey's Toon Town and watched the Fireworks display at the Castle. It was about a 10 hour day the first day of taking in the scenes.

On Saturday we went to Animal Kingdom and Disney Hollywood (MGM). We took a Safari ride and saw live animals such as elephants, giraffes, tigers, etc in their own habitat. James LOVED it. Then we saw Nemo the Musical Live and it was great. At MGM we saw a stunt show with live cars and James was fascinated. We also got there right in time for the block party which James loved b/c he could "break it down" as he would say!! He learned the YMCA and was so cute! He also got to meet Lightning McQueen and Mater from his favorite movie CARS. We also met Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story. Shawn rode Buzzlightyear with James while I took a break....the pregnancy wears me down I think. We also took a safari boatride in Adventure Land which was neat. James and Shawn went up into a treehouse to look around. Shawn rode Tower of Terrors but thankfully I was unable :).

On Sunday we went back to Magic Kingdom. We rode Winnie the Pooh Ride and Peter Pan. James enjoyed them and said he was flying during Peter Pan. James saw Splash Mountain and wanted to ride it but it was too chilly!! Thankfully. We saw the Dreams Come True Parade with Mickey and Friends which was neat. James again enjoyed this. He was captivated by the shows, parades and musicals. James and I left around 5:30 this day b/c he was exhausted. Shawn stayed with Bart and Misty and rode big kid rides. James was racked out before we left the parking lot! He hung in there like a champ.

On our last day there we ate at Crystal Palace which was AWESOME!!! GOOD FOOD!! Winnie the Pooh and Friends come around to the tables and meet with each family for pics. James did great and hugged them all. That was my favorite part I think. Then we rode It's a Small World and went to Mickey's Toon Town so he could play on playground. His final ride was Goofy's Barnstormer which was a roller coaster....after that he was ready to go. So we boarded the monorail and went to our car for the LONG trip home. James slept for 3 hours in the car and might have slept longer but I woke him up when we stopped for gas.

I am sure there is so much I am leaving out!! A lot to cram into 4 days but it was SO worth it and the cost was GREAT!!! Great memories!

Healthy Heartbeat

We got to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time today!! Also unlike Bragg we got the initial ultrasound of our peanut :). I am measuring right on time and due date is remaining August 14. Everything looked good as far as fluids, heartbeat and measurements. The heartbeat was 154-156 today. Of course we want a girl but a healthy baby is on our top of priorities first and foremost. We took James with us today and set him on the bed while the dr. took the heartbeat. He just smiled ear to ear. So cute...we know he is clueless but we want him involved. It makes it feel so special to have him sharing with us. Our next appt. is Feb. 12 but we won't get ultrasound for about 4 more weeks after that. They are going to monitor me regurarly until 20 weeks and then I'll get ultrasound every visit to ensure amniotic fluid isn't low again this time. All we can do now is pray for a healthy baby in August!!!!!

Christmas 2008

Wow!! What an exciting and fun filled Christmas we had this year. James just turned 2 and was all into presents this year!! He got the knack of tearing open paper to see what it revealed underneath. :). he just didn't understand not all presents were for him.

We ended up making a quick visit to AL to visit family before heading back to GA. We did Christmas in Huntsville with Shawn's family and then headed to the Shoals to do it with my family. It was VERY tiresome and probably not something we will try again but visiting family was nice. Shawn and I actually got a few hours alone and it was SO nice!!! Just to eat a dinner where I didn't feel like I had to woof it down before my son got irrate. James got some great gifts from the family.

Then on Christmas Eve morning we headed back to GA. My sister, Andrea, came back withus to do Christmas with James. She adores James so it was nice. James put out cookies and milk for Santa Claus and then headed to bed. He was out like a light by 9:30. Santa came and placed his train table under the tree. On Christmas Day James woke up and was so excited tos ee that Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk!! Then off to open more presents. He didn't notice the train table until the very end...how he missed it I am not sure :). But he LOVED it. Shawn and I exchanged gifts after and I think we both were thrilled with what we each got. I think the biggest present was being together this year as a family. Hard to believe that we will be a family of 4 this time next year.

Then after James naptime we went to our good friends home, Misty and Bart for a fondue dinner. We weren't quite sure what we were in for but it was AWESOME. Well the little I got to eat b/c james had his normal meltdown and acted up. Definitely something Shawn and I want to do again. YUMMY. Misty and Bart are such wonderful hostess and we are blessed to have met them while here in GA. It made the night go by so fast due to the great company.

This was a great year filled with many memories. From Shawn returning safely home, to moving to GA, to the Holidays, and finding out we are expecting our other blessing in August. I just pray for sanity and patience for this 2nd child. I love being a mommy more than anything but it is definitely the hardest job ever! We know that 2009 has many more wonderful memories to add to our collection.