Bath Time!

I got Kevin some new camera equipment for Christmas. We are enjoying experimenting with it and our new subject. This is a shot of Chloe's first sponge bath at home. She absolutely loved every minute of it. I hope that means when we can give her tub baths she likes em just as much. I know I'm biased, but isn't she just adorable?

Our Christmas Baby

It all started at 4 am, actually, it all started about 9 months ago. But this chapter of the story started at 4 am when Amy's water broke. Yes, I was out cold, and then suddenly, I was wide awake, especially when the contractions started about 10 minutes later, and never let up. We packed and made it out the door to the hospital. The hospital staff was great, we got checked in and started the waiting game. Amy was dilated to about 3 cm when we arrived at around 6:30 am, and finally hit 10 by about 2:45-3:00 pm. Thankfully Amy decided an epidural was a good idea about 20 minutes after we got to the hospital. Her contractions were so strong and so close that she never got a break, neither did my hands. I left when they administered the epidural to get some stuff from the car, and when I came back, Amy was all smiles.

It came time to push around 3:00 or so, and Amy did great. So did Chloe. Delivery was pretty fast once she started pushing, and we were blessed with a wonderful Christmas gift. The best one I've ever gotten anyway.
After her initial check out and clean up we got to hold her. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced in this world. She is so precious. Her little chin quivers when she cries and makes her little voice shake. It's so cute. When she came out at 3:41 pm, she weighed 7 lbs 5 ounces, and was 20 1/4 inches long. All about average. We'll get a video posted once we get the chance, but in the mean time, I want to get back to spending time with mom and baby. This is for sure the best Christmas ever.

A Little Update

Well, it sure has been a complete turn around here with Kevin's job. Before, he was gone 24/7. Now, he gets up for PT at 5:20 to be there by 5:45. He is home by 7:15 and he showers and we have breakfast together. He then has a 9 am formation and is usually released for the rest of the day after 10 or 15 minutes. A few times he has had to stay until 10:30 or so, but that's not very often. We have been enjoying all the time we get to spend together. In his off time we go shopping, to the movies, read books together and have been getting ready for the baby. We have also been playing a little Super Mario Cart, which is fun, but I am really bad at it.

Kevin got the bike going. He rode it yesterday. He just needs some cosmetic work really now, besides a mirror and front turn signals. Its been warm out. We have been seeing pictures of home with tons of snow... we are usually in the 70s everyday. Its weird using the ac a week from Christmas. Today it is 77.

My tummy has been getting bigger. Strangers tell me all the time I look like I'm ready to pop. I feel like it! 37 weeks down, hopefully not too many left to go. The doc said the longest he will let me go will be 41 weeks and 6 days. Hopefully it isn't that long!

Kevin came home yesterday with his arms overloaded with vinyl for me. He stopped at a sign company and they gave him all these "scraps" for $5! One man's trash is a scrapbooking woman's treasure! I asked him why he didn't wait to give it to me on Christmas, and he said he was just way too excited to wait. He was as pleased with himself as I was with him! He loves to make me happy. I think I will make some new decals for his motorcycle since he repainted it last year it's been without.

'Tis The Season

We FINALLY got our Christmas Tree on Monday. We had to borrow a truck for it and drive into Enterprise to get it and let me tell you, waiting so long leaves pretty slim pickens around here. Its not like you can just trudge into the mtns and pick one out. But, we ended up with a 6' fir and it only cost us $10! How I love Lowes. Kevin and I spent our FHE decorating with the fire DVD on our TV and Christmas music. It smells lovely in here now.

Yard Sales In December

So... here at Ft Rucker, the housing company allows yard sales the first sat of every month. I wasn't sure how many there would actually be in December, but I talked Kevin into going with me. While most around here start about 6 am, or earlier, (we are at a military instillation right?)but we didn't manage to make it out of the house until around 8, which was as early as I could drag Kevin out of bed. I don't think he'll ever say "no" to going with me again.

Since we only brought one car and Kevin's motorcycle with us, we have been toying with the idea of buying a scooter/moped for Keri to use when she gets here in January to help out with the baby. Well, we pulled up to one yard sale and saw a bike sitting out, and I jokingly said, "oh, its for sale, lets buy it for Keri!" Kevin replied with a "right..." It turns out it was for sale, a 2004 Kawasaki 250 Ninja, and they guy only wanted $300! It needed some work, but Kevin figures to make it "perfect" which it wont need to be, we could put $500 into it, and it books from $1200-$2500! And the cool part is that it only has a little over 2k miles on it. So far, Kevin has put in $49 for a new battery and he has been cleaning the carbs today, and it is up and running. Hope Keri enjoys the bike while she's here! And I don't think I will ever let Kevin complain about going to yard sales ever again! I'll post some finished project pics when he gets done.

Kevin's An Officer Now...

Today Kevin finally graduated WOC school and swore in to the Warrant Officer Corp this morning. I thought it was neat that I was able to pin his WO1 rank on.

Here was his first time getting saluted, rather than saluting someone else because they were an officer. Unfortunately, the guy in front of him walked right in the way at the same time, so I missed the picture!

Isn't he a handsome officer? It is so nice to have him home. He gets to be home for the rest of our time here except for a short 3 week school. YAY!

Educational E-mails with REAL backing

I just want to thank all of you for your educational emails over the past year. Thanks to you:

1. I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel.
2. I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.
3. I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.
4. I can't enjoy lemon slices in my tea or on my seafood anymore because lemon peels have been found to contain all kinds of nasty germs including feces, and cause tooth decay.
5. I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pass-time while driving alone is picking your nose
6. Eating a Little Debbie sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.
7. I can't touch any woman's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom. Yuck!
8. I must send my special thanks to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing. I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.
9. I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.
10. I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me
11. I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
12. I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a pregnant water buffalo on a hot day.
13. Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
14. Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
15. I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.
16. I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans.
17. I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer. And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.
18. I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
19. I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
20. I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise. I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.
21. I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.
22. Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.
23. And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.
24. I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!