Baby Shower No. 2

Today is my baby shower! Now I am just trying to get everything ready and presentable to have some good friends come over and eat yummy food! I think I am mainly excited about the food. :) I will post pictures soon!

Caught Red Handed!

It was our typical Saturday routine, we got up made breakfast and went grocery shopping. Now when I put the groceries away I end up sitting on the floor with all of our refrigerated items and organize the fridge. I had left a couple things on the counter and asked Zach to pass them down when he was done with putting away the dry goods. I was looking into the fridge to see if I needed to throw anything away when I realized I was kind of hungry! I reached in and grabbed the best yogurt in the world and a spoon from the drawer next to me. When Zach turned around I was chowin' down on some yummy treats and he said "oh really!" I was busted! I thought my little snack would have been gone by the time that he helped me. It was pretty funny and a few of our friends had a laugh about it when they saw the pictures on the camera. I thought I would share it with you.

New Things For Hunter!

Two days ago Zach called me and said to come and pick up all of the boxes that we got in the mail. I was a little confused because I haven't been expecting THAT much stuff. When I got there I realized all of the boxes were from Babies R Us and then I was really confused. I got them home and opened them up in no time at all. I saw that we now have a bunch of great new things for the little dude! I was still a little stumped when I realized that I just had to check the packing slip for the buyers name. A big thank you to my wonderful momma for all of Hunter's new wonderful and very helpful things!

We also finally received our stroller, the crib mobile and a very cute (most likely new favorite) outfit in the mail! Yipee! Zach and I put the stroller together the other night. I'll post a picture of it as well as Hunter's other new goodies soon.

Two More Weeks...

Not only is it two more weeks until our 2nd anniversary, it is also just two more weeks until I stop working! I can't believe the time has come for me to end my time at work. It will be so extremely nice to not have to wake up at four o'clock in the morning anymore and chase around nine crazy and very rambunctious one year olds. It also means that it is that much closer to Hunter's arrival! It is amazing how fast these months have been flying by. I am very grateful for the fun and easy pregnancy this little one has been giving me so far. Now we will just have to see how the labor and delivery part will be!

More Belly Pictures

We finally got back the other pictures from our second trimester photo shoot. They turned out great! There is one missing still but we should be getting it back soon. Here are a couple to enjoy though.

Pictures!

Here is a picture of the mountains of Hunter's clothes. I am almost done folding everything! Yay!

Hunter's Wardrobe!

Zach and I started to wash all of our little man's clothes this weekend. It took us about an hour to take all the tags off of everything and then we were left with three GIGANTIC color sorted piles on the floor. It was amazing! I put the first load in the washer and it filled the entire drum. Zach is convinced that he has more clothes than both of us put together, I reminded him who he was married to! :) I'll post a picture of the piles soon!

Marathon Man

Yesterday there was a base to base run here at wonderful Sigonella. Zach and a few of our friends participated. It was gloomy and a tad windy but Zach was thankful for the wind in the end. They ran 8 miles and for the crazy ones they ran 16 miles! They did a base to base and back run. Hunter and I sat this one out but next year he will run it with mom and dad (in the comfort of his stroller of course).

My King Foo Fighter

I finally caught Hunter on camera. It isn't the best quality video because the camera kept on refocusing. You just have to watch it carefully. He is definitely bumpin' and rollin' around in there in the beginning and towards the end he becomes a master at Kung Foo. Enjoy!

Invitations!

My good friend Blair is throwing me and Hunter a shower in the beginning of February. She just gave me the invites that she made and I thought that I would share them with all of you because they are so adorable!

29 Week Belly Shot

Since my belly feels like it is growing more and more each week I am going to try and remember to get a picture up for you all to watch my growth in the "home stretch" of our pregnancy. It's almost time! :) In a month and a half I can officially deliver him without any problems! Kinda crazy!

Snowboarding Trip

No, no snowboarding for Hunter and me, just daddy. Zach went up to Mt. Etna with Terry and a couple of people from work last Saturday to have a day of boarding. They left around 7am and got home around 6pm so it was indeed a fun filled day. I thought I would post the pictures that Zach came back to show me. I was bummed I couldn't go and get out on the lifts but next year Hunter will be able to come along and we can share in a family tradition that we intend to start. It was really sweet, Zach came back and sat me down with the camera in hand. He started a movie that he made of one of his runs going down the mountain so that I could feel like I was there too. I thought it was a great idea. How he did it and didn't fall is beyond me! I would have fallen on my face at least three times! He is the pro in the family.

Storm Watch!

Dun dun duh! It has been raining over here for the last couple of days and not just light sprinkles! SHEETS of rain coming down. Today I was at the gym on my lunch break with a friend when they announced that they were shutting down the gym and most other buildings due to the rain and flooding. They (the Officers in command of the base) are a little paranoid of flooding because of the 2005 flooding that happened here. The flood then had water up into the second stories of houses. Anywho, after all of the hustle and bustle of "evacuating" on the main base Zach and I were sitting at home realizing we had an entire afternoon to do NOTHING! It was an extremely relaxing day today and it was much needed by both of us. The rain stopped about two hours after I got home so about 2pm and we decided to take Missy for a walk around the neighborhood. There are some areas that are a little flooded and the road right outside the gate is still underwater but everything looks pretty normal here. Still massive potholes in the road that grow by the day and the funky smell from the sheep and stray animals when it rains. Keep us in prayer because of the rain. If it continues the way that it has been raining we might be in a bit of a predicament!

One Year and Counting!

It's already here! We have officially been in Italy for one year now. Last January 12th we arrived and were shown the ropes around base and the 13th was our first complete day on the island and not to mention work for Zach. We both can't believe that the time has flown by so quickly. It has definitely been a crazy year but a blessing non the less. We are even more excited about this new year in Italy! We have Hunter coming in a couple of months and family to come and greet him. The next two years we are here I believe will go by in a flash.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Today is my grandfather's birthday! He would be 90 years old today if he was still with us. I know we all miss him very much, but I also know that he is still watching over us and making sure that we are all taken care of. This morning I was getting ready to leave for work (at 5:30am) and Zach, in his half asleep state of mind, asked me if it was still raining. When I told him yes it was down pouring he told me to "Wear JB's jacket, he would have wanted you to." Zach didn't remember that today was his birthday and quite frankly I'm surprised that he even remembered that we had that jacket ESPECIALLY when he was half asleep still. So when I left I put on the jacket and went about my day. It is now the only jacket that I own that will actually fit all the way around me and zip up! Very exciting if you ask me. When I got home from work and talked to Zach we both realized that grandpa was watching over us even on his day. Missy even enjoyed laying in his jacket when I took it off.

Second Trimester Photos

We went today to get our end of second trimester pictures. We ended up spending three hours with this poor guy (our photographer) and walked away with some pretty awesome shots! We had a blast taking them and I go back again on Saturday to take a couple shots we didn't have the props for at the time. Enjoy these and when I get the other pictures I'll get them to all of you!

Blog crazy!

Ok, I admit I haven't been very good lately about keeping the blog up to date! The last three days I have gone bloggin' crazy so don't miss out on any of them! Keep scrolling and don't forget those comments. We love to get them.

Wake Up!

Yesterday morning Zach and I over slept our alarm and Hunter saved both of us by waking me up. We both rushed to get ready and get out of the house. Later that day while Zach was at work he had his feet up by his desk. A guy that shares his office with Zach looked over at him a little confused and asked Zach, "Dude, are you wearing two different boots?" To Zach's amazement he looked down at his boots and realized that he grabbed two different pairs of shoes! The tread on the bottom of both are different and Rob was delighted to let him know.

Flippitee Floppin'

Two nights ago I was exhausted so I decided to go to bed a bit earlier than normal. Zach came to tuck me in and as soon as I got situated Hunter decided that was when he was going to show off for Dad. Zach watched in amazement at my belly jumping up and down. As soon as he put his hands on my belly Hunter knew it was Dad and he flipped again! We are still trying to catch him on video but he knows when I look at him. As soon as I start to watch my belly he'll stop and wait for me to look away to finally make his move.

Dr. Appt.

We had another check up on Monday with our Doc'. He said that everything was looking great and that Hunter is an average size, WOOHOO! :) We were able to get another ultra sound but sorry, no pictures this time. It seems as though that every time Hunter hears our doctors voice he stops moving and decides to sleep! What a little stink bug! So every US that we have had he just chill's and lays there. No flipping, no flopping, not even a wave of the hand. I am determined to catch him at least yawning one of these times! Our next appointment I will try and get actual pictures so we can show him off again. Also, our hospital out here just got the 3-D or 4-D US machines and they are just looking for guinea pigs to practice on. I am so that person for them! :) I will let you know if I get anywhere with that and hopefully I do! Then I can show off what his face will look like! It's crazy the pictures that those machines can get. We both just can't wait to see those fat little cheeks!

Missy's Bath

This was too cute not to blog about! Missy absolutely HATES bath time and it was that time again. She ran, she hid, we chased and Missy was thrown into the bath. Zach and I always have the debate of the bath water being to hot so we bought a rubber ducky that tells you if the water is too hot. Really it's Hunter's bath toy but Missy was just making sure it works, you know being a good big sister. :) I think I am going to have to her her own bath toys to make it a little bit more enticing for her.

Week 28 Belly Shot

Here it is as promised. It's not the greatest picture of myself by far but it is definitely in popular demand!(Momma!) My ever growing belly has developed a mind of its own!

Prayer Request

If you all could say an extra prayer for my back I would REALLY appreciate it. My back as you all know has always given me problems but now with a big 'ol belly to throw it off it's been acting up A LOT! It really doesn't help that I work 8 hours a day on my feet and with ten one year olds, they aren't the lightest little boogers! Not only is my back hurting my beautiful son has decided to sit/lay/what have you on my sciatic nerve. This leads to shooting pain from my hip area down my leg. The earliest I could get into the "chiropractor" out here is February 10th which isn't soon enough. I say "chiropractor" lucratively because our hospital facility doesn't have an actual chiropractor, we have a women that does body manipulations. I am really starting to wonder what she can do for me but at this point I don't care! I just want some of the pressure relieved. I really don't want to overdo anything with Hunter coming so soon. I hear back labor can be pretty painful. I am so thankful I can put this prayer request out there to all of you. I know He can do all things so my trust is in Him. Thank you all again!!!

The Home Stretch!

Today marks our third and final trimester! We are so excited to embark on the last three months of this amazing, and extremely easy might I add, pregnancy. Hunter has been such a great little boy for his mommy let's hope he continues to be kind to my belly! :) We are having our "end of trimester two" pictures done on Saturday and I can't wait to get them up and share how much my belly has changed! I'll get a little snapshot up tomorrow for the meantime. Everything is almost ready for our little guy to come home. We just need to put the room together and buy the rest of the necessities for him. Zach continually asks me to "give him his baby already!" so I know he is anxious as well. He has been such a great help during this. I really appreciate you honey and I love you so much! God bless you!

Flashlight fun!

The other week I read that Hunter's eyes were opening and if you put a flashlight up to your belly he would respond to the light. Respond indeed! Zach got a key chain flashlight in his stocking and we right away opened it and tested out our little man. Hunter went wild! Zach would move the light from one side of my belly to another and Hunter would follow it and kick it every time. It was so much fun and so amazing to play with him already! Now I am being chased by Zach and a key chain Mag-lite every chance he gets. We will try and video it so we can share it with all.

Christmas and New Year's

Happy New Year everyone! We hope that you all brought in your new year with a bang! We were able to spend it with the Bell's and played Taboo until the clock turned over into 2009. I realized that I hadn't posted anything in quite a while! My apologies. Our Christmas was full of adventure, good food, and love. We woke up to another beautiful cold morning put on our robes and went downstairs to see what Santa had left under the tree. Missy was the most excited I think. She opened her stocking first, Santa had left her A LOT, all on her own and jumped right into killing her first toy. Her new chicken and new frog have both gone to toy heaven, really it was within the first 20 minutes of playing they had passed on, however she still loves the froggie even though it doesn't croak anymore (no pun intended). Miss' went on to open her gigantic bag of treats the big man left her and right away got to pick out her first one. Zach and I opened our gifts from each other and are so thankful to everyone for them! We, I really mean I, opened my brand new pots and pans set from Zach and we cooked a delightful Christmas breakfast. I am pretty sure that Zach still had two different pairs of shoes on while we were cooking, he was so excited about them both when he opened them he had to put one of each on (gotta love him!).

We then went over to the Bell's in the afternoon and had some incredible food and wonderful fellowship. After the Bell's house we headed over to some other friends house for yet another great meal and a hilarious game of Taboo. After our second meal I thought Hunter was in a turkey and ham coma because he slept for so long! We got home and realized we still had another Christmas party to make an appearance at. We walked over and said hello and spread some cheer! When we finally got home after all of the fun we were all pooped! It was definitely a fun Christmas and we are hoping to spend the next one with all of you.

We pray your New Year is full of blessings and love! We can't wait to start ours and finish getting ready for our little Hunter to come! Happy New Year!