This is My Forties

We're pregnant again !! :D I am 7wks along now and have known for quite some time. We had some complications the last few weeks, but everything finally feels normal to me. I just did not feel pregnant and was worried I was losing the baby... so I kept the news to myself. Once we found a heartbeat and my hCg levels doubled every few days, I finally felt better about everything. I've already had 2 sonograms so I have pictures to share, but not today. Unfortunately, the pictures are on my MAC and it is currently out of commission. We're installing a new processor and more RAM so I can upgrade the operating system and start using it as my main computer. Anyway!! The baby is expected sometime around May 8th and we will be finding out the gender this time. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that we're hoping for a girl this time! We will be happy regardless, but a girl would be great! ;)

Josh got picked up for promotion to Staff Sergeant (E-6)!! :D Congratulations, baby :) I can't say I'm surprised, but shockingly enough he almost didn't make it! They only picked up 43 out of the 300+ promotable sergeants in his job. I think he was number 41 or 42. Close one!! We really need that money so we're thrilled :) It's a hefty raise from E5 to E6, which we practically already spent on the new van payment :P haha. Oh well! That's how it goes, right? Josh works his butt off to provide for this family and God is always there to lend a hand :) We're lucky people!

For those of you who don't already know I grew up in northern Ohio. Ohio has humid summers, sometimes cold and wet springs, looooong freezing winters, and gorgeous falls. My all-time favorite season is Fall, Autumn... whatever you choose to call it. I say Fall because I am just not prestigious enough to be walking around throwing Autumn at people. I think I would sound pretentious. But anyway, despite my hatred for school my entire young life Fall remained my number one season. I love the way the leaves smell, and the crisp chill in the air. I loved crunching every single leaf I could as I walked to school... and that's still one of my favorite sounds. We had so much fun in the Fall. We didn't have to freeze or sweat while playing outside, and our yard was not even remotely in need of Fall leaves :) This may have annoyed my poor Dad, but it really charged us kids up. We would take our rakes and make huge intricate mazes through the yard and then chase each other ...

I have a bit of a background story to tell about Tristan's 1st birthday cake. I picked up a banana cream pie for us to have as his cake from our local grocery store on the 14th (day after his actual birthday). We cut into it that night and all the whipped cream on top had soured... and I'm assuming the filling had also gone bad. I was so disappointed in Bi-Lo. I was determined to bring it back for a refund, but forgot bring it next time I went to the store. So, I just tossed it because it wasn't worth the gas to get my $5.99 back. Well as luck would have it, we were at Sam's and found the perfect cake! It had little sea creatures on it in honor of our trip to the aquarium :) We decided it was better late than never and finally enjoyed our cake last night. I couldn't NOT have 1st birthday cake pictures!! I also had to share a couple more cute ones of Tristan's path of destruction and walking attempts. He is starting to walk a little tiny bit more on hi...

Especially formula-using moms! Check all those links for who they supply to just to be on the safe side. This also applies to yogurts, though it seems that the threat is not in the US yet. Sept. 16 (Bloomberg) -- China's tainted milk scandal widened as melamine was found in products of a second dairy company, after infant formula contaminated by the chemical was linked to 1,253 cases of infant kidney stones, killing two.

I got this email from my Aunt Cindy and I thought I would share it with the rest of the class. I feel bad for not even knowing how badly the suffragists were abused! All I remember learning in school was that we got the right to vote in the 20's. Well now I know and I plan to find out more. If I ever have any daughters I will share this enthusiasm and knowledge with them as well. I am excited to get out to the polls!! WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote. The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless ...

I added 2 more videos to YouTube. One is of Noah opening his Legos from our friend Kevin. The other is of Tristan's reaction to Bosley. Links are on the sidebar and on top.

I can't believe Tristan is one year old already!! It really came up on us fast. I didn't cry or anything so that's cool haha. I still feel like he's my little baby and probably won't cry until his 3rd or 4th birthday when he suddenly looks like a kid. Tris must have thought it was our birthday because the little angel slept until 9:30 this morning! Way to go, Tristan!!! :D I was worried we weren't going to be able to go to the aquarium at all today. Last night the news was all about scaring people into staying in their homes. The gas stations on base ran out of fuel and were reporting that local gas stations in the area were experiencing the same shortage due to Hurricane Ike in Texas. I say it wasn't the hurricane at all, it was the mob of people who decided they needed to fill every tank and container they own before gas jumped up "like the news said". Well yes, gas did jump up in price, but is that really a reason to get greedy and psyc...

Gma and Gpa H. got Tristan this adorable ride-on for his first birthday. Isn't is soooo cute?! :D Noah loves it too, but is really good about letting Tristan get on whenever he wants (since it is his toy, after all). Tristan's little legs don't even touch the ground yet so he can't scoot along on his own, but Noah pushes him around the room. He's such a good big brother :) Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!! Great pick!

Here's the picture of Josh and I before the ball. I had to set it up on a timer... sorry it's all cut off. It's still cute to me! :) We look so nice... look at all my baby's ribbons and awards :D I'm so proud of him. He just took the hardest test given at his school today (Cisco cert) and he got 100%!! That's my man. We've all got a head cold over here... and I do mean all of us... Tristan, myself, Noah, and Josh. None of us feel really badly, but it's enough to have us a bit listless. We're still taking our daily walk and able to carry on with our normal lives. We're just a little uncomfortable is all :P Hopefully we'll feel better tomorrow! We need to be better by the weekend so we can take Tristan to the aquarium in Atlanta for his first birthday (sniff sniff). That year flew by even faster than Noah's did.

Josh and I have been looking at new cars for quite some time now. We did a lot of research and finally settled on a (blue) 2008 Honda Odyssey . Our family is only going to get bigger and the CR-V was just too small for us. There is a LOT more room in the van and we definitely needed it so we're really happy with our purchase. We negotiated a free DVD player and a really decent trade-in for the CR-V. We ended up making $2,500 (that went right into the new car) after the loan payoff. This is why we're Honda people. They hold their value so well! They also have amazing warranties. We got a 7yr/100,000 mile bumper to bumper tech warranty, $0 deductible. EVERYTHING is covered under this warranty, including towing and rental cars. Hondas are excellent vehicles and we highly recommend them! Thanks so much to Karrie for watching the boys all weekend! I can't imagine trying to buy a new car with 2 little ones around. It takes a good 4 or 5 hours. We also got to sleep i...

I've had to go to the hospital every day this week for one reason or another. Mostly to complete WIC paperwork. Thankfully this hospital doesn't stress me out like the one in San Antonio did... dang I hated that place. So, I haven't been posting as frequently as I normally do. I finally gave Tristan a haircut! I couldn't stand that he looked like he was sporting a mullet. He was a little afraid of the noise of the clippers, but he did really well. It didn't take very long at all since I only trimmed the back. I love his wispy spikes up front :) Here's pre and post haircut. Tomorrow I am driving the boys halfway to Karrie's, where she's meeting up with me. She's going to watch them for us on Friday and some of Saturday so we can go to an Army Ball :) I got a formal dress and pretty shoes and all that (all for under $50 brand new!!). I did not have time to get a haircut, however. We really can't afford it right now anyways. I guess I...

We had a nice 4 day weekend together! I love that Josh is in a class right now because he gets all the holidays and weekends off AND gets to come home at a decent hour. The boys got these matching Donald Duck tees from Great Gma and Gpa B. I tried my hardest to get them in at least one good shot... regardless I think they're memorable haha :) Noah was REALLY excited about the shirts. As soon as I got his out he instantly remembered Tristan's and ran to find it for him to wear. He was jumping up and down "we match!! we match!!". On Labor Day we had a nice little barbecue. One of Josh's friends from class came over. His family is in Germany while he's going to school here so Josh knows how he feels being stuck in the barracks! I love cooking for people... especially guys because they love food hahaha. He's a great guy and I'm glad he stopped by. So anyway, that's what we did on Monday. Today we spent a lot of time at home, lazing around a...