Life Lately

I feel like the days are running together lately, which is both a good and bad thing. Last Friday, Kyle's parents arrived for a visit, they are usually able to come once a year and we enjoy having them here. 

We went to Natchitoches and Lake Charles while they were here, we didn't really do much but it seemed like we did. It was nice having them here.

 This is what my nights have been looking like lately. I have 2 midterms that are due on Sunday and the last few nights I have been doing my best to get them done before we head off to Florida for the 4th of July. Let me tell you trying to knock out midterms that consist of all short answer essay questions is painful haha.

Speaking of school, I was able to register for all of my remaining classes and as of right now I will graduate with my Masters in Psychology in February! I am very excited about that, I will graduate a few months after Kyle but it will be so nice to have this degree under my belt.

Kyle has been on block leave for a week and a half already but he has been updating and getting his profile ready for the promotion board that is opening in a few weeks. The board will convene until August and then it takes time to scrub the list to ensure it is good. We should find out later this year but if all goes well he will finally get to wear this. He is so ready!

Emma and Fishy are doing well! Fishy is his standard silly and angry self haha while Emma is just happy when we leave her be and let her sleep. They have loved having both me and Kyle home during the day, they seem to get restless when one of us isn't around.

All is well on the pregnancy front, baby girl is still growing and we are getting more and more anxious for her arrival! :) 

I hope you all have a great day!

Stepping into Summer Swap

A few weeks ago I signed up for a fun swap with Meg and Macy! I am always excited when I see a swap that entails sending flip flops and nail polish, sign me up haha!

 

I got paired with Missy and she sent me the best flip flops and nail polish. It's always pretty awesome that she lives in Louisiana as well. She was so sweet and saw that we are expecting a little girl and sent the prettiest pink nail polish. I have already worn it and I love it. 

The flip flops she sent are pretty much amazing! Every pregnant lady can attest that wearing most shoes gets uncomfortable after a while and these flips have been the best!

I had a great time with this swap and I can't wait for it next year!

Maternity Photos

A few days ago we received the previews from our maternity shoot and yesterday I received the edited photos that we chose and I could not be more happy with how they turned out. It makes us even more excited to welcome our baby girl in 8 1/2 weeks. She is truly a miracle!

I hope you all had a great weekend!!!

Where Do We Go Next?!

A few weeks ago Kyle had to submit his preference list for school locations once he is selected for promotion to Major (which should hopefully happen at the end of the year, fingers crossed). It is typical that after selected you go to an advanced school at Leavenworth. But there are circumstances where officers are selected to attend a similar course in a different location. 

This is how our list looks:

1. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (Resident ILE)

2. Naval Command and Staff Course: Newport, RI.

3. Ireland Command and Staff Course

4. Australian Command and Staff Course

5. Singapore Command and Staff Course

Leavenworth is our first choice but I have been doing my research on all of these areas to prepare myself just in case. The school is only for a year and I keep thinking how cool it would be to experience another country for that time. 

Like I said we should find out about promotion in December and not long after that we will find out where our new home will be starting in July 2017. 

The adventure never gets old!

Weekend in Review

Another weekend is gone but we had a great one! On Friday, I headed off to the spa for a manicure and pedicure courtesy of my lovely husband. I had asked him if he could paint my toenails for me and his hysterical response was "you do realize what a disaster that will turn out to be, I can't even color inside the lines. Go and treat yourself to pedicure." At least he is honest haha. 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing by the pool and soaking up the sun. Kyle started block leave so it will be awesome having him home for 18 days.

Saturday we headed up to Hodges Gardens for our maternity photos. Thankfully we missed the rain but gosh it was HUMID! I am certain you will see a hilarious progression in the photos of my hair going from curly to flat. It's such a gorgeous place in person. I was loving the spanish moss on the trees.

Our amazing photographer posted one of our photos late Saturday night and I can't get over how much I love it! I can't wait to see the rest.

Sunday was a relaxing day, we spoke to our Dad's and wished them a special day and Kyle spent the day playing video games and we of course ventured out to the pool before more rain came. 

A few weeks ago I asked my Dad and sister if they could make a small side table for Emmy's room because everything I found was either too big, too small, or ridiculously expensive. They sent me this photo and I am in love!!! How cute is this?! They worked so hard on it and we love it. If any of you are interested in something like this let me know!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

A Pregnancy Update

I haven't done a proper pregnancy update in a while so I figured why not!

Yesterday, we hit the 30 week mark! Holy cow, how are we only roughly 10 weeks away from meeting our little girl already?!

I am still feeling pretty good even though I get tired rather quickly. I am still walking/jogging a few days a week and that has been amazing. However, it is ridiculously hot and humid here so I have to limit it to 15-20 minutes. My sleep has been great too, I'm getting anywhere from 8-10 hours every night with one potty break during the night.

Emmy has been moving around like crazy, I feel like she is rehearsing for a Cirque de Soleil show in there. It is pretty cool and a little creepy watching my stomach move.

Kyle and I took the labor and delivery class at the hospital on Wednesday and I'm really glad we did. Obviously, I know the basics of what happens during labor but it was nice to know all the things the hospital does and doesn't do including their admittance procedure (which apparently a patient isn't admitted here until you are 6cm dilated). Next week we have the newborn care class and I know that is the one Kyle is looking forward to the most.

We are anxious to see how much she has changed, we haven't had an ultrasound since 18 weeks so we are doing an elective one next week at 31 weeks.

We are having our maternity photos taken tomorrow and I really really hope the weather cooperates! The forecast is calling for rain but I'm hoping that it's lying just like it does every other day haha.

For the most part everything is going really well! I couldn't have asked for a better pregnancy. We are so grateful!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

It Hasn't Been Easy, But It's Been Worth It

In 6 days we will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary, it really is hard to believe that it has already been that long. 

Throughout our relationship we have had many ups and down, some downs that I really thought were going to tear us apart. Too often we see the outer representation of a relationship and it seems perfect but it's rare that we see the flaws. No relationship is perfect, I think we all know that, I want to see the imperfections, the tiny cracks that have helped build a foundation worth fighting for.

Our relationship did not start out in the most conventional way, yes we met almost 20 years ago in middle school but our story didn't start until much later. He was living in NC as a newly commissioned 2LT and I was working my full-time job at a mortgage company in Las Vegas. AOL Instant Messenger and Myspace brought us together and 3 months after reconnecting we were married. Yes you did read that right. He wanted me to move to NC to live with him and I said no unless he had plans to marry me, well he called my bluff haha.

To be honest our first year was extremely difficult, we were figuring out who we were as individuals as well as a couple. I was living in a new place with someone I didn't know all that well. There were growing pains and a lot of tear inducing fights, but we made it through. We are both stubborn, independent, and opinionated, which in all honesty has made our relationship that much better.

The next several years were filled with highs and lows. Infertility/pregnancy loss, multiple separations because of the military, and the loss of my Mom. To be honest all of those low points made us better people and they made us a better couple because we realized that no matter the situation there was no one else that we would want to go through it with. Everything we have gone through has made us appreciate each other more and love each other more.

I don't want anyone to think that we aren't happy because we are, I wanted to show that relationships and marriage take work, lots of hard work, but in the end it is worth it. We have lived through more in our 8 years together than most do in a lifetime and we are better because of it all. 

I couldn't have imagined spending the last 8 years with anyone else, our love has grown so much and my life is not complete without him. He has made me a better person and I hope that I have done the same for him.