Birthday Celebration!

Yesterday, I celebrated my 24th birthday! I consider it to be my last year to really "celebrate" because after that I will be 25. Not that 25 is old or anything at all, but I just remember growing up and thinking "Wow! So and so is 25!!!" lol.


So last night, Robert took me out to eat. It was really good. I had the salmon and it was definitely some of the best I had ever eaten. Afterwards, we stopped at this frozen yogurt place. I LOVE going there. You get to pick your frozen yogurt flavor(s) and add however much and what type of toppings you like. At the end, they charge you by weight. So neat! So my dessert consisted of peanut butter/chocolate yogurt with raspberries, heath bar, butterfinger, and marshmallow topping. SO YUMMY!!! I was definitely a happy camper!



Here are some pics from the night.

24 years old and 33.5 weeks pregnant!

Robert and I

Thompson trying broccoli for the first time...

Do I like it???

I think I do!

Thompson feeding daddy some yogurt!

Yummy!

33 Weeks

Yesterday, Brycen celebrated his 33rd week (gestational)! So now we can say that we have a little more than 6 weeks!!! Here is what the growing boy is doing this week.

This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

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I went to Yucca Valley today with Christina. We just went to two stores, but it was so nice just to get out out of the house for a little bit and have a little time for myself. I know that with almost 2 kids, the time will be far and few in between. So I will take what I can get :)

One of the stores we went to was a Mexican market that has groceries and meats. Christina and Heath are cooking out on Halloween and she swears by their carne asada. I can't wait to try it! Anyways, while we were there I was on a search for this Mexican Coca Cola. They had a few bottles, so I bought 4. I, of course, didn't want to buy just one, in case I loved it. But I didn't want to buy too many-- yeah right. :) Anyways, it is soooo good! Such a sweeter, cleaner taste in my opinion. I might have to stop in there every now and again and stock up, lol.

Tonight we are having breakfast for dinner. Not the usual breakfast, more of the "breakfast of champions". Steak omelets and hashbrowns-- one of Robert's favorites. We will see if I can beat IHOP's.

4 more years...

This morning was Robert's re-enlistment. He raised his hand and swore in-- vowing another 4 years to the United States Marine Corps. I am so proud of my husband. He knows the sacrifices that we are going to have to make as a family, but knows more importantly that this will be what is best for us.

Robert swearing in

I received an appreciation award for my support as his wife :)

Today was definitely bittersweet. I love knowing that my family will be taken care of, but it also reminds me of what I have had to endure these past four years-- 2 deployments, countless nights spent alone while he was in the field, being away from my family in Arkansas. It's not easy. I don't know of anyone who thinks it is. Knowing that Robert is going into an equally stressful field does not thrill me. He will be gone, a lot. Thankfully, he is supposed to be non-deployable for three years. That makes me happy. The boys will hopefully not have to say goodbye to their daddy for atleast a little while. But I know the day will come again that we will have to. Til then, I am just going to enjoy our time together as a family and embrace the new changes coming our way.

Congrats, Sgt. Riedel! I am so proud of you!

Another great weekend! Lots of pictures!!

We had yet another wonderful weekend! We headed to Oceanside and let me tell you... I am ready to just be down there for good! It is such a nice, short getaway. On Saturday we went to a little fall carnival. It was fun! Thompson rode his first pony and did awesome. We had sno cones, ice cream, and bounced in the bouncy house-- I think he enjoyed himself. Here are some pics...

I also uploaded some pictures from our trip back to Arkansas. One day before we left, we went and visited Jilian at school. We got to eat lunch with her and Thompson got to experience his first recess. I think he truly believed he was as big as the other kids. It was so cute to watch!

Thought I would show Robert's fish he caught. I think he caught this on Beaver lake. It was a pretty fish. Ha! He was so proud!

And here is my spider cake I made the other day! It was soooo good! I am going to try and make another version of a spider cake out of a cheesecake for this weekend! We will see how that turns out.

And here was bright eyed boy this morning. He had to get up early to head out with momma to the dr's appt. Everything is going well (knock on wood!) and we are starting our 2-week appts. Tomorrow we will be 33 weeks! CRAZY!!! Because of my troubles I have had in, she stressed how important it is that I get enough rest, put my feet up, try not to lift Thompson, etc. I almost laughed. Tell that to my internal alarm clock that woke me up at about 4:30 this morning and would not let me go back to sleep. Top that with horrendous back pain and a 2 year old that wants his momma. These last few weeks will definitely be interesting. BUT... I will have to say that I think I have found two great doctors in the practice who I pray will be on call when I deliver! They definitely have the bedside manner that I have been looking for. :)

And this is of my goofy kid. He has began his fascination with picking his nose. It's gross, but as Thompson says "It's funny!"

Same old, same old

This week has been pretty low key. Actually, like the past month has been pretty low key. Which I really don't mind at all. Brycen seems to be doing great and Thompson never seizes to amaze me. He is into telling me how everything is "funny". That's funny, mom... funny! It is really cute.

We all watched Transformers 2 tonight. It was a good movie. Tomorrow, I think we are heading back down to Oceanside. We have some shopping to do and the kids are going to do some Halloween things together. Should be lots of fun! And, you know, I get to eat at my favorite Mexican place on the way home :)

Robert is getting do his swearing in thing on Tuesday. And he REFUSES to let me come and take pictures. Makes me sad. This is a huge thing and he will not even acknowledge it. Ugh. Men! Oh well. And then... we can just wait for that big ol' re-enlistment check to hit! Yeah, right... still makes me sick. Oh well.

Sorry to waste your time with this post... just thought I would write a little bit before I head to bed.

Oh, and I actually bought something for the baby! Diapers! Ha! I commented to Robert how we really haven't had to buy anything for Brycen. But then he reminded me that it would all be made up for in about 18 years when we are having to pay for college, vehicle, insurance, etc.

32 Weeks!

OMGsh!!! Can you believe it??? I can't! We have made it to 32 weeks!!! Here is what Brycen is up to this week!

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

Sounds like he is growing to be a pretty big boy!

Yesterday, Christina, Thompson, and I headed down to Palm Desert for a day out. We did a little shopping and what not and had a pretty good time! While we were out, I started feeling some Braxton Hicks contractions. It has been the first time I really noticed them. I guess I am just getting prepared for the real thing.

Speaking of getting prepared...I changed out Thompson's summer clothes to his winter clothes to make room for Brycen's stuff. This took about 3 hours to go through all of the clothes and fold/hang up the baby's stuff. Boy! Do these kids have tons of clothes!!!

Which leads me to another great thing!!! Robert FINALLY got his orders approved! YAY!!!

Next week he will be able to swear in. As of right now, his orders say that he is supposed to go to his school in January. Which is great!!! So that means that around April we will be able to move down to Pendleton! Thank goodness! So that means that I probably won't need a new house while we are still in 29 Palms-- that is unless they call me by December! :)

Oh, I almost forgot. I was thinking about doing one of these neat cube thingys for Brycen's room (when he gets one). For now, it can stay in our room since that is where he will be.


I think that the natural color cubes will look good, I just need 2 of these...



Because I already have 3 of these...

Plus, Target has them on sale this week!!! :)

New stroller?? Why not?!

So, my sister told me about this AWESOME blog! They do a lot of cool give-a-ways and one of the upcoming ones is a Bumbleride stroller! How awesome would that be to win a stroller?!?!

Check out their blog here:

Things that make me smile!

Sundays always seem to be a day of reflection for me. Today, I want to think about all of the things that bring a smile to my face.

In less than 2 months, I will be a college graduate!!

I love all things holiday decor! It brings an instant smile to my face to see decorated trees, huge wreaths, and Christmas lights!

Rosa's... enough said!


I ♥ Jeff Lewis!

I love finding another neurotic just like me and his show cracks me up!

Even though the Hogs lost yesterday to #1 ranked Florida, we gave them a run for their money! Woooo Pig Soooie!!!

This little face that I will meet in less than 8 weeks! He already melts my heart!

My other 2 loves of my life. They are the best part of me.

Saturday Football!

Well it is halftime of the Arkansas/Florida game and the Hogs are up 10-3. We will have to see how it turns out. I know that my husband is enjoying every minute of it, Thompson too! When we went to put him to bed he grabbed his blanky and waved and said "Bye, bye ball". So cute! I even made a huge pot of taco soup-- I will put the recipe on my other blog! It was soooo good!

Yesterday, all day, I was not feeling too hot. After a few "sick spells" I decided to head up to l&d knowing that I needed something to make me stop getting sick. After being hooked up to the monitors and them trying to see if I could keep down some ice chips and water, all I wanted was to get my meds and go home. The dr (whom I really like) was on call and she prescribed me some phenergan, tylenol, and sudafed. I was ready to go downstairs and pick them up from the pharmacy until I really got sick. Ugh. So after an IV with 2 bags of fluid and zofran, I started to feel much better. 4 hours later, we were home. Christina is my lifesaver and watched Thompson while were there. He apparently found her stash of Halloween candy because when he came home he was wanting "Candy! Candy!" It was cute! Thanks again Mrs. Christina! We love you!

Update from my morning post...

This morning I was a little frantic. I had so much on my mind, and still do. I called the housing office this morning when they opened and asked a few questions about what it would take to get into a bigger house. Apparently I have to fill out a form, get proof of my pregnancy, have a surprise inspection, and finally be put on a waiting list. I said that that sounds great and then asked the dreaded question... how long is the waiting list?! The lovely girl told me about 6-9 months. WHAT?!?!? I called 2 weeks ago and it was 1-3 months...

So after a little bit of a tantrum, I cooled down. I decided later on to call back and ask a few more questions and what do you know, another girl informed me that the wait time is 1-3 months. So who is right, I don't know. I figured I would go ahead and try to get a bigger house, and if it worked out, great! If it didn't, whatever.

So I went and filled out the form and turned in my letter from the dr's office. Now, we are just waiting on the surprise inspection. Then once that is done, it is sent to the Pendleton office for them to sign off on... blah, blah, blah. So maybe within a month, I will be on the list. We'll see.

Keep your fingers crossed that things move a little quicker on this end, unlike the wonderful Marine Corps who is still holding my husband's re-enlistment hostage. ;P

31 Weeks!!

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

We have less than 9 weeks left before baby Brycen arrives! I get more and more excited everyday. It is such a breath of fresh air knowing that if he does decide to come early, I am pretty sure that I am prepared and ready. Bringing all of the baby gear from Arkansas also helped calm my nerves. Which leads me to another point.

I am a stresser. I know this. I prefer to be called a neurotic planner, but all-in-all, I plan and I stress. We are currently living on base in a 2 bedroom house. The size for us now is fine. Of course I wish we had more space, but I have dealt. WELL... after my brain has finally realized that the EARLIEST we will be able to move is April, I have started to stress even more. I do not know how we can fit another little person into this house. Of course I know that Brycen is a baby, but it is not his size that stresses me... it is all of the gear that we will have to find a place for that does. When you have a swing, pack-n-play, bouncer, rocker & ottoman, play mats, boppys, etc. taking over your already stuffed full living room, I just can't forsee a happy ending. And I know that people make do all the time with the space they have, and I would if we had to. But, I know we don't have to. So... today I am going to go talk to the housing office about seeing if they will find us a bigger house to hopefully move into before he comes. PRAY THIS HAPPENS! I seriously had nightmares about it last night where they offered me a house on "Arkansas Street" and I just knew it had to be a sign. ha! Of course, I had to beg the girls (in my dream) to back date my application so that I was #1 on the list. Doesn't sound like me at all, huh? :) Anyways, hopefully it will all work out. That seems to be my moto for the past few months. And don't worry, I am not physically stressing myself out... it is more of an annoying-to-my-husband stressing. The only kind, right? :)

Getting Anxious!

Saturday we went and had our 3d/4d ultrasound. Let me tell you, I am in love with this little boy! He is absolutely adorable. He has the most precious button nose and pouty little lips. He reminds me so much of Thompson. When I was pregnant with him, I had a 3d/4d done and the entire time he would not move his hand from his face. And what do you know-- Brycen is the exact same! It was so cute. He also is a little acrobat. He had his foot and his hand all up covering his face. We were able to get a few great pictures, some were blurry due to Brycen being so closely pressed to my placenta. He needed some water in between to get a clearer picture. Here are some of my fave!

Today we are taking the kids to the pumpkin patch in Temecula. Should be lots of fun! Don't know how many pictures I will get, seeing as to how I forgot my camera in Robert's truck but remembered the charger. Nice, huh? So I will have to steal some pictures from Shanna's camera.