Our Adventure

Mommy and Daddy's Vegas Trip

2010-04-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Well, we did it. We left Noodle for a couple nights and went to Las Vegas. We had the opportunity to go to the Regimental Ball at the Flamingo in Las Vegas and we couldn't pass it up. Noah stayed with my mom at our house and loved every minute of it. Thomas and I enjoyed ourselves, despite missing our little bug.

We arrived in Vegas with just enough time to get dressed for the Ball. We missed the receiving line (which is where you go through and shake hands with all the higher ups), but made it just in time for the toasts. A lot of Soldiers and spouses hate the formalities, but I actually enjoy them. I like the tradition and the whole experience of being part of it. This Ball was one of the better ones, in my opinion. The guest speakers got straight to the point and the Ballroom was beautiful. My favorite part of the whole night was seeing my handsome husband in his Class A's. Seeing his awards and achievements displayed on his uniform makes me very proud of him. Plus, he looks very good in the uniform=)

Our second day we made sure to sleep in. It was very hard to do, but felt good. We are both used to getting up around 6:00 everyday (Thomas for work and me because Noah thinks sleep is for the weak), so we automatically woke up at that time. I closed the curtains and forced myself to go back to sleep and we slept until 10:30! I can't even remember the last time I slept that late. We spent most of the day walking around the Strip. We eventually made it down to Mandalay Bay and went to the Shark Reek Aquarium. It was a little pricey, but I highly recommend it. I was very excited to see the sea turtles and the sharks.

After the aquarium we made our way back to our hotel. My feet were killing me, so I couldn't wait to get my shoes off and soak them in the tub. After a break, we enjoyed some pizza in our room and then went out to do some more walking. We stayed near out hotel and played a few slots. We're not gamblers, so we stuck to the penny slots=) We didn't have any luck, but it was still fun just hanging out.

Trying my luck on Noah's Ark

The last day we enjoyed a nice garden view buffet breakfast at the Flamingo. It was a great way to end the trip. I was ready to leave and get home to see my little monster. I missed him and couldn't wait to give him a big hug. He was standing at the door smiling and waving to us when we got home. It was cute! We are planning on taking him there sometime this summer. I think he'd love all the lights and people.

2010-03-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

Wow! To say I'm a little behind is an understatement! Last post was in September!?!? I'm definitely slacking...Now, where do I begin???

A quick update to catch everyone up...

October was a very nice month. We found Noah an adorable pirate costume and decided to make it a family affair. Aaarghhh! We took Noah trick-or-treating and it was very fun (for Thomas and I). Noah got a little cranky and tired, so it was an early night=)

On November 21st we baptized Noah. It was nice to have everyone out to our house for that very special occasion.

David, Tina, Father John, Noah, Me, and Thomas

In November we also enjoyed a very nice Thanksgiving dinner at my grandma's house. It was Noah's first and he ate turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, and bread. He was stuffed=)

December was extremely busy, but we made sure to take time to enjoy the holidays. Decorating the Christmas tree and putting the lights on the house was fun. Noah loved the Christmas lights and enjoyed pulling the ornaments off the tree. I'm sure we told Noah "no" about 1,000 times while the tree was up, but he just couldn't resist all the pretty colors and lights. I had to re-wrap at least 5 gifts because he opened them as soon as I put them under the tree=) We celebrated our Christmas on the 23rd since we were going to be at my mom's for Christmas Eve and Day. Noah enjoyed unwrapping the presents more that the actual toys, but that's okay because he's growing into them now.

January 3rd was Noah's 1st birthday. It's amazing how fast that year went...We had his party on the 2nd and went to the Los Angeles Zoo on his birthday. It was an exhausting weekend, but it was worth every bit of hard work=) Also, Noah started walking. He was taking steps since the beginning of December, but he really started going shortly after his birthday.

The birthday boy!

February we celebrated my birthday (the big 2-7 for those of you that are curious). I think I'll stop counting from this point on=) Thomas spoiled me by bringing me flowers and a gift and baking me a cake and made me dinner! It was a great day that I was thankful to spend with Noah and Thomas.

My funny little Valentine

That finally leads us into March. Noah is growing so fast he's hard to keep up with! The little monster loves to run and play outside and be on-the-go constantly. He loves to go to Starbucks and wave to every single person sitting there=) He loves throwing rocks (thanks to Thomas) and going to the park. He says tree, Jesus, hi, daddy, toes, and that (very random vocabulary). He likes to give kisses and hugs, but it has to be on his terms. He likes to shake his head "no" when it's naptime and just started throwing these funny little tantrums. He's hardheaded and stubborn (I have no idea where he got that from) and has a unique personality. Thomas and I laugh more everyday because of our silly little boy. I can't believe how fast he's growing! He'll turn 15 months on April 3rd.

We have a busy year ahead of us. Thomas has been busy applying for jobs to see if he can get something lined up before getting out of the Army. If not, then he'll be reenlisting at the end of the summer and we'll start a new adventure. I'm trying to get back to school, but with my busy little guy and Thomas' crazy work schedule it's very difficult to find the time. Hopefully, we will work something out by the end of the year. I think that's about it for the update. I'll definitely work on posting more often. Now we are off to finally enjoy some family time!

Noah and Knox

2009-09-04T16:22:00.000-07:00

Noah loves to play with my sister's kitten, Knox. The two babies are close in age, so they are going to grow up together=)

On the Go!

2009-09-03T21:18:00.001-07:00

Wow, it's been way too long since I last posted! Noah is keeping me very busy these days. He is on the go and does not like to stop=) He's been crawling for about 2 months now, so he's really picked up speed. His crawl started as a funny little inchworm crawl (he would straighten his arms and put his head to the ground, then push with his feet). It looked pretty funny, but it got him where he wanted to go. Then it evolved into an Army low crawl (it's in his genes). And finally a regular crawl. He goes pretty fast now and has us on our toes all the time. He's also been able to pull himself up to stand for the past few weeks. He's still working on his balance and has suffered a few bumps and bruises, but he's doing great! He gets a great big smile when he accomplishes something new, so we are always there to applaud and encourage. He's a very social little boy and always talks and smiles at people wherever we are. He is also a bit of a flirt with the ladies, so I'm going to have to keep a close eye on him=)
As for Thomas and I, we are doing good. Thomas is busy and works a lot during the monthly rotations, so Noah and I miss him while he's working. But we always look forward to the days when he's off. We are looking forward to a Family Fun Day at the end of the month and a trip out to "The Box" to see where the training takes place. I am also going to participate in the Spouse Spur Ride at the end of October, so I'm trying to get in shape for that. I'll post pictures once that is done (if I survive!)

Playing with daddy

Noah and mommy

Making a mess with his toys

Cute little face covered in squash

Watch out, he's coming!

Standing

Smiley little boy showing off his new pj's=)

Cereal!

2009-06-30T17:37:00.001-07:00

Well, my little boy was ready to try bigger and better things! We bought him a highchair and gave him his first serving of rice cereal. Most of it ended up on his face and hands and highchair, so I'm not sure how much actually made it into his tummy, but it made for great pictures!

Trying out the new highchair!

First Bite

A little unsure

Happy with a full tummy=)

Being a Boy

2009-06-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Noah is already turning into such a boy! He loves hanging out with his daddy and learning how to do "guy" things=)

Drool Bomb!

Learning how to play XBOX

Wearing his Hooters shirt (from his Uncle Rick)

Wearing boardshorts like Daddy=)

Puddingstone Lake

2009-06-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

One afternoon we decided to go to Bonelli Park. It was a little bit colder than we planned for, but we still had a good time. Noah enjoyed the fresh air and watching the leaves blow in the wind.

My favorite picture of the day! I love his cheeks=)

Promotion Board and Spur Ride

2009-04-10T12:14:00.000-07:00

Thomas has been very busy with work lately. Last week he went to the Promotion Board, so he was studying late every night. He went to the Board on March 31st and was recommended for promotion to Staff Sergeant. Now he has to work on getting more points by completing civilian and military courses. He's going to try to start school in the Fall.
He also went on a Spur Ride on April 8th and 9th. On Wednesday he did a 4 mile run and went to a a Spur Board where they asked him questions about the Regimental history and he had to recite the Cavalry song and poem. He said that they also had them doing a lot of pushups! Then, on Thursday, he did a 15 mile round trip road march to "The Box" where they completed a list of tasks all day long. He returned at 5:00pm, then Noah and I headed over to the horse stables to watch him get his spurs. It was a nice ceremony and very cool to see all the tradition. He was exhausted, but happy to participate in a very old Army tradition. I am very proud of all the accomplishments he's made throughout his Army career.

The "Shavetails" in formation

Thomas is the last one on the right

Waiting to mount the horse

A nice picture with the mountain in the back

On the horse (this horse ended up kicking and injuring the handler a few minutes after this picture)

Getting his spur

Saluting

The 3 of us (Noah was sound asleep in the backpack carrier for most of the ceremony) =)

Some Random Pictures...

2009-04-10T12:05:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to post a few cute pictures.

Thomas and Noah on Thomas' 26th birthday

Noah hanging out on the couch

Talking to me

Me and my little man=)

Aquarium

2009-04-10T10:26:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I posted because Noah has been keeping me very busy=) He is now 3 months and 1 week and getting bigger and bigger everyday! He's been very interested in his hands and in trying to grab things. He loves when he's talked to and has let out a couple giggles. He's loves being out of the house and looking around at everything! He gets a serious look on his face and we can practically see the wheels turning in his head when something new catches his eye.
Thomas and I wanted to go to the Long Beach Aquarium for quite some time, so we finally had the chance. We were excited to see how Noah would be, and he absolutely loved it! He would follow one fish with his eyes, and then a new one would swim into his view and he would follow that one, and so on. It was really fun. We spent about 4 hours there, just looking around at everything. We all had a lot of fun.

Looking at the fish

Thomas and Noah in front of the whale

Relaxing in his stroller

Me and Noah

Looking at the Sea Bass that was 4 times his size!

Taking it all in!

Tired from all the excitement

Happy Boy!

2009-03-01T22:11:00.001-08:00

Well, Noah is turning into a little person already! His smiles are adorable! When he's in a good mood, he has tons of fun playing with Thomas and I. We have discovered that he's easy to please. He loves when I play Snoop Dogg songs and make him dance. He also does the biggest smiles when Thomas makes this weird grunting face=) We can pretty much make up a song about anything and he'll be amused. The other day while Noah was in his swing Thomas starting singing that Hefty trash bag commercial that goes, "Hefty, Hefty, Hefty...Stinky, stinky, stinky," and Noah got really excited and was smiling with his whole body! It was so funny! This morning I was talking to Noah and said, "I love you" and he would say, "ah-goo" and smile at me every time I said it to him. It was the cutest thing!

Noah goes for his 2 month well baby appointment on Tuesday, which means he gets his first round of immunizations:( I'm not looking forward to the shots, but I am excited to see how much he's grown!

A big smile while I was singing our good morning song=)

Dancing to Snoop Dogg

Smiling at Daddy

Playing in the swing

Toothless Smiles

2009-02-16T18:29:00.000-08:00

The days just seem to be flying by! Noah is already 6 weeks old! He's developing quite a little personality already. He now gives me and Thomas a big toothless smile when he sees us, but he has to be in a good mood. If not, he just gives us a dirty look=) He's also become very talkative over the past week. He chatters when we talk to him or when he hears music. He just went through a growth spurt and now some of his newborn clothes are too small. He has a long body and long skinny feet=) He likes to look at bright colored toys and he also likes to watch TV. Sometimes when I'm feeding him he turns his head completely to the side so he can see the TV! He still makes a funny noise when he sneezes that he's done since he was 1 day old. It makes me laugh every single time he does it. I keep trying to catch a video of it, but I'm never quick enough. Taking care of Noah is exhausting, but totally worth it when he gives me that silly little grin=)

His Valentine's day picture

First Doctor Appointment

2009-01-20T14:52:00.000-08:00

Today was Noah's first doctor's appointment. It was his 2 week well baby check up. The first thing they did was his weight and length. He weighed in at 5 pounds 6 ounces and measured 18 1/2 inches long. In 13 days he gained 1 pound and 2 ounces, which averages to 1.4 ounces weight gained a day! We hope that he stays on this path so that he will catch up quickly. He eats well and is on a good schedule. Thomas and I are handling the nighttime wake up calls pretty good. We make sure to take turns taking care of Noah so at least one of us is functional during the day. We are having a lot of fun being parents and are learning to adjust to our new roles.

Noah, also had his first bath and he seemed to enjoy it. He just laid in the bath quietly and looked at the two of us.

I also had to share this picture of Noah's mohawk. He has the craziest hair, so we are finding ways to embrace it=)

Noah Oliver's Arrival

2009-01-11T22:15:00.000-08:00

Well, he's finally here! Noah Oliver was born on Saturday, January 3, 2009 at 10:07p.m. He weighed in at 4 pounds 4.7 ounces and was 17.7 inches long. It was a long journey that started Friday morning when my doctor decided to induce me. The baby had stopped growing due to Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction, so the best thing for the both of us was to just bring him into the world so he could get all the care he needs. Without going into all the details of the labor, I'll say that it was a very long 2 days that ended in the delivery of Noah via C-section. Everything over the past 9 months was completely worth it when I held him for the first time. Despite his low birth weight, he's healthy and was able to come home with us on January 6. He's already putting on weight and his little wrinkles are starting to fill in. Since he's been home from the hospital he's been eating 3 times the amount he was his first days. His pediatrician thinks he'll be caught up by his 6 month check up.

As for Thomas and me, we are doing great! We are having so much fun being parents and absolutely fell in love with Noah from day one. We are learning to work as a team and are doing pretty good at making sure we are each getting some rest. Thomas has had to do a little more of the work because I've been sore from the C-section, but he's doing great. He had a crash course in baby care immediately after Noah was born and has since then grown into a professional diaper changer and bottle feeder=)

Well, Noah is asleep and the first thing I've learned about being a mom, is to sleep when the baby sleeps. So, good night for now!

Snow Part 2

2008-12-15T16:21:00.001-08:00

We decided to have some fun in the snow when Thomas got home from work. We made a little snowman in our front yard=) It stopped snowing for now, but it looks like it might start again tonight. The roads are closed to get out here, so it's nice that we don't have to go anywhere. We are going to spend the rest of the day watching movies and drinking hot chocolate=)

Thomas making the snowman

It's Snowing!

2008-12-15T10:14:00.000-08:00

Thomas and I woke up this morning to snow! At first it was a very light snow and it was mostly melting by the time it hit the ground. As the morning went on it turned into a beautiful white snowfall. There is now a white blanket of snow covering everything. I can't wait for Thomas to get home from work so we can go outside and play in it=) He is on a 3 mile march right now and I'm sure he's freezing! His Regiment is going to spend the day visiting the Veteran's Home in Barstow for the holidays. I think it's really neat that they are doing that, but I just wish it could have been on a warmer day.

Palm tree on the side of our house

Just starting to fall

The side of the house covered in snow (the same tree from the first picture. It's not doing so well in the snow)

The front yard/street

Getting in the Holiday Spirit!

2008-12-15T09:24:00.000-08:00

After some debate, Thomas and I finally decided to get a Christmas tree this year. We invested in an artificial tree just to make things easier for us to clean up since we are getting so close to my due date. We spent our Sunday afternoon listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate, and decorating the tree and our house. Thomas wanted to put lights on the outside of the house, so we stood outside, freezing our butts off, hanging the lights. Most of our neighbors have lights up so we didn't want to be the Scrooges of the neighborhood=) We had a lot of fun and I'm very thankful to have Thomas home this Christmas.

Me decorating

Thomas putting on the ornaments

35 weeks and 4 days!

Our Christmas 2008 picture

Getting his room ready!

2008-11-23T19:27:00.001-08:00

Wow, time flies when you're having fun! I can't believe that I'm already 32 weeks pregnant! I'm feeling good, just kind of tired and slightly uncomfortable at times. Other than that, everything is good. We went to the doctor last week and the baby looked good. The doctor was having a really hard time measuring him because he kept kicking and changing positions when the doctor would push on him with the ultrasound. He is very uncooperative sometimes=) We go back on December 2nd for another regular check up...My craving lately has been lemons (again). I love eating anything lemon flavored! I'm curious to see if I'll still like lemons after I have the baby. I never liked lemons before I got pregnant, so it will be interesting to see...

32 Weeks! I really don't notice that much of a difference at this point...I just feel big=)

Well, we finally got around to setting up the baby's room. We got the crib a few weeks ago and it just sat in the box for a couple weeks. Finally (after a little nagging) Thomas and I set it up. It was pretty simple to put together and only took us about 20 minutes. As soon as we finished I had put all the crib bedding on. I love the way it looks! You can't tell in the picture, but It's really bright and the colors look awesome.

The room before...

A nice picture of Thomas putting the crib together

The next thing we worked on was the dresser/changing table. This was a little more complicated, but we got it done in about 1 1/2 hours. It was fun working on it and we are happy with the finished product.

Thomas hard at work=)

Finished!

We are looking forward to driving down to LA on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with our families. We are planning on spending the first part of Thanksgiving with Thomas' family, then going to my grandma's with my family. I'm sure we will eat too much and be exhausted at the end of the day, but it will be worth it! We are also planning on going to Best Buy very early Friday morning to see if we can get a good deal on a TV. I have a feeling that Thomas will be standing in line by himself, while I rest in the car=) Being 32 weeks pregnant, I don't think I'd have much fun.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Where is time going?

2008-10-25T14:27:00.001-07:00

So, it's time for the belly pic! I'm now 28 weeks pregnant. I'm trying to get back on track with taking the pictures every 4 weeks. I really didn't notice a difference until I compared it to the 25 week picture. I can definitely feel a difference in my size, though. I'm starting to get very uncomfortable sleeping at night. I toss and turn all night long trying to find a position to sleep in. Sometimes my expanding belly can be very uncomfortable=) I can tell the baby's getting bigger by his movements. I feel him kicking, turning, punching, etc. all the time now. Sometimes during the day I just lay here and watch him move. It makes me laugh and smile. I'm still amazed at the fact that there's a little person growing inside me. He's also been quite an entertainer lately. The other night he put on a good show for my mom and Nicole. They got to see him and feel him move all over the place. He's picky about who he'll kick for, though. Rick tried to feel him and he stopped kicking. Then as soon as Rick moved, he resumed playtime. He really kicks for Thomas, though. Whenever he comes home from work, the baby gets really excited. While Thomas was in the field for a few days this week I would put the phone up to my belly so he could talk to the baby. He would get all excited and start kicking like crazy. It's the cutest thing=)

Time is going by way too fast! I was sitting at the lab getting my glucose tolerance test done yesterday (which, by the way, was disgusting) and I decided to pull out my calendar. I almost had a panic attack when I realized that it is already the end of October! I want to get started on the baby's room, but we haven't bought anything yet. I'm sure we'll get around to doing it next month sometime (hopefully). I'm just hoping to get it done while I still have the energy to do it.

We are adjusted to being at Fort Irwin now. I was a little scared when we came here at first because it was such a big change from Hawaii, but I'm really starting to like it. It's very quiet here and we are happy in our house. Thomas likes his new unit and the duties that he has here. His work schedule is taking us a little time to get used to, but that will happen in time.

House

2008-10-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

So, I finally got around to taking some pictures of our house. I only got around to some of the downstairs area. I'll post pictures of upstairs next week sometime.

Dining Room

Family Room

Kitchen

Living Room

Sunset from the backyard

25 weeks and 3 days!

2008-10-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

Well, as the title says, I'm now 25 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Time is passing by so quickly! The baby is making his presence very known. I started feeling little fluttery kicks around 18 weeks. But now the baby is kicking, punching, and rolling a lot harder now. He has a pretty regular schedule of activity. I'm pretty sure we are going to have a little night owl=) We can even see him moving in my belly now! It's really fun and it always makes us smile.

We moved into our house on September 24th. We are really happy with it. It's nice and roomy, especially compared to our apartment in Hawaii. We have just been working on getting everything organized and put away. I'll post pictures as soon everything is done. We've been shopping for the baby's room all weekend long and I can't wait to get started on that=) Well, I'm off to enjoy the beautiful day with Thomas!

Update...

2008-09-07T13:45:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and realized that I haven't posted in quite some time. I'm now 22 weeks pregnant. It seems like time is flying by...Our life got a little hectic for awhile with all the chaos of moving from Hawaii to California, but even through all the craziness we have made sure to enjoy the fun moments of our little growing baby. We found out on August 13th that we are having a boy! (Picture on right) We were both pretty surprised when the ultrasound technician pointed out his little parts:)

We arrived in California on August 19th and spent 2 nice weeks on leave. We just spent the time with the family and tried to get in some relaxing. Both Thomas and I were pretty exhausted after all the moving, so it was nice to just hang out...

On September 4th Thomas had to report to Fort Irwin, his new duty station. Once we got checked in, we drove around post for a little bit to learn about our new home. We are pretty much in the middle of nowhere! Fort Irwin is remarkably different from Schofield, Hawaii so it's going to take some adjusting. Thomas has been assigned to Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. So far he seems to like it there. He's on a rotational schedule so it will take me some time to get used to that. Well, I think that's all for now!

Jumping baby

2008-06-30T23:57:00.000-07:00

So, today I am 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant. We went to the doctor and everything was great! She gave me a physical to check my overall health and said everything was good. I gained 3 pounds, but it feels like 15 because my favorite jeans I wore about 5 weeks ago no longer button. My labs from my last appointment were perfect. After the physical she used the doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat. She wasn't able to hear it, so she asked if we would like to wait for an ultrasound. We waited for about 2 and a 1/2 hours before the tech could see us, but it was definitely worth the wait. At first the baby wasn't moving at all, but right away I could see the heartbeat. She poked around for a few seconds and all of a sudden we saw the baby jump. Thomas and I both laughed because it was so cute! She kept trying to measure the baby, but he was moving way too much. We got to see all of the baby. The baby turned so we could see the face. Then the baby put up his hand. Then the baby straightened out and stuck out its foot so we could see the little toes! I guess he just wanted us to see that he was all there=) After she finally got some measurements she let us hear the heartbeat. It was so awesome! I got a little teary eyed=) When we left the appointment Thomas and I were both ecstatic. It was so fun to see everything. I'm still having nausea, but for the most part, I've learned what triggers it. My worst craving lately has been jalapenos and ice cream. But after eating the jalapenos a few times I had to stop because the heartburn was terrible! Everyday last week all I wanted to eat was bean and cheese burritos. Yummy!!! =)

In other parts of our life, we are getting ready to move back to California. Thomas finally got his orders so we are slowly starting to pack and get things in order. We are trying to enjoy the rest of our time in Hawaii as much as possible. This weekend we are going to be with our friends for 4th of July. We are planning to go watch fireworks on Schofield. I'm sure it will be lots of fun=)

My belly at 8 weeks

8 weeks, 3 days!

2008-06-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know Thomas and I are expecting our first baby. We are both extremely excited. We just started calling the baby our little "Mexican jumping bean" because that's about the baby's size right now. We don't feel right calling the baby "it" so that's what we've agreed on=) I've been feeling okay lately. I'm always tired and naps have become my favorite after work activity. I'm nauseous at random times throughout the day, but it usually only lasts a few minutes. I'm thirsty all the time and that's probably due to my 30 trips to the bathroom every day, not including the 3 times I wake up during the night. Lately I've been craving anything with marinara sauce, which I didn't really care for before the pregnancy. My regular pants are getting pretty snug so I've been wearing anything that's stretch material. To everyone else I just look like I'm getting chubby but Thomas and I can notice my belly getting a little round shape. Every time I say I feel fat Thomas is there to make me feel better by saying, "You're not fat, you're pregnant! Our baby is making room to grow big." It's actually pretty cute. He's being great with everything. He's been right by my side at every doctor's appointment and hospital visit. The greatest moment so far was when we saw our little bean's heartbeat. That was such an amazing thing. I can't wait to hear the heartbeat. At our next appointment on June 30 we should be able to hear it. I'll be almost 12 weeks at that time. It's all so exciting!