Halfway

Four months in the states and halfway done with pregnancy #3!  

While I am in NC keeping the children busy,  Josh has been busy back home with work and preparing our house for baby.  Bunk beds for the big kids, double bed back to the crib, and cleaning things he never knew had to be cleaned.  I highly suggest nesting through someone else :)

Despite the separation and missing our favorite neighborhood friends in Puerto Rico we are enjoying the States.  I especially love the efficiency.  Fast food is really fast, lines are short, and my pre natal appointments are 20 minutes from start to finish.  

Soon we will settle into life as a family. Last week the kids and I made yet another "Daddy chain" to count down the days until he returns.  We are all looking forward our travels up the east coast to the DC area where we will explore, visit family, and (because its next to the hotel) eat a lot of Chipotle.  We will return to Marion to enjoy all things fall, then December 7th move to the neighboring town of Black Mountain, NC.  Black Mountain the town where I grew up in the younger years. It is much closer to Asheville where baby will be delivered.  

How far along: 20 weeks

Weight gained: 12.8 lbs

How big is baby: about 10 inches long/ 10 ounces

Best Moment of the week:  Finding out the gender

Looking forward to: Seeing the ocean this week

Father's Day Questions 2016

Father's Day is quickly approaching!  Our kids will be traveling to Puerto Rico with my sisters family and are fortunate in our situation be spending Father's day with Josh.  In honor of the "holiday" we present the annual Q&A:

Alexis 5 1/2 Years old:

How old is Daddy?- 33 

What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?- Umm Eat oreos 

What do you love to do with Daddy?- Go to the Build a Bear store

What does Daddy do at work?- He works

What does Daddy like to eat?- Oreos

What is his favorite sport?- Soccer

What does Daddy not like?- Bad Guys

What is he good at?- Chasing bad guys

Why is Daddy special?- Because he's our Daddy 

Daddy makes me laugh when... He does this "Slaps hands on face and sticks out tongue"

Cameron 3 1/2 years old:

How old is Daddy?- 2

What is Daddy's favorite thing to do?- Play with my train set 

What do you love to do with Daddy?- Pretend those mans are toys and bad guys

What does Daddy do at work?- Shoot BAD GUYS

What does Daddy like to eat?- Vegetables!

What is his favorite sport?- Soccer ball

What does Daddy not like?- Yelling

What is he good at?- Shooting bad guys

Why is Daddy Special?-because he loves me

Daddy makes me laugh when..he scares you.

Surprise!

Our family is expecting baby #3 sometime around December 22, 2016!!  I'm not sure where exactly to begin with this story.  Let's begin on March 31st, the day we left Puerto Rico for Atlanta.  Our plan was to join Josh while he worked for ten days and then continue on a family tour while Josh returned to work in PR.  Little did we know we were leaving and would not return for a veeeeery long time.  I had suspicions of a pregnancy while Josh and I were together, but a test later I determined this not to be true and continued with life as usual.  Blue cheese, lunchmeat, feta, wine. All the bad stuff...

Life is full of surprises, especially ours.  A week later on April 15 in my brothers apartment bathroom I took another test confirming a pregnancy.  I announced to Josh via FaceTime in the bathroom, miming the whole conversation because I was terrified someone would hear us.  Josh replied with excitement and reassurance.  My mind was reeling with details.  I felt nothing, sure that excitement would show up sometime.  

That weekend we were able to announce to my Mom, Brother, and Sis in Law again via FaceTime.  A  few days later to Josh's family, and finally to the kids when we were reunited in May.  We got the best reaction out of Alexis!  I'll post the video when we get around to shortening it.  IT IS PRICELESS.  Cameron didn't have much to say except to guess the ultrasound picture was a bird, pretty cute.  They are going to be wonderful older siblings.  

The days that followed were full of details.  For those who don't know the CDC has recommend that pregnant women do not travel to Zika infested areas.  My midwife's husband happens to be the leading expert in Zika for the state of NC and with their help we decided it is best to complete the pregnancy in the States.   Everything has fallen in to place wonderfully.  I couldn't have planned it better myself.  Except for Josh, we have everything we need and more.  Alexis is attending a local magnet school where she will be in a Spanish immersion program.  How great is that!!  Cameron is attending preschool but will take a break from Spanish until next year. I am ok with because I was a little stressed with his mix up of vowel sounds, wondering how he will ever master reading in either language.  So I get to teach English sounds and he can figure the rest out later...

How far along: 12 weeks

Weight gained: 4.2 pounds at the appointment last week...because I can not stop eating!

How big is baby: A ripe apricot.  Not just an apricot, a RIPE one :)

Best Moment of the week:  Watching Cameron return from his swimming regression.  He is back to full time swimming!  Also, not feeling sick 100% of the time.  

Looking forward to: Visiting Kelly and other friends in Omaha next week.

Sandra Farms

Jarrod and Christina (our first visitors)  recommended a  coffee farm here in Puerto Rico.  They were also so kind to leave us a bag of coffee.  One sip of the coffee and I knew I had to visit this majestic farm!

Our first visit was in early October.  We spontaneously packed the car one Sunday afternoon and headed up through the beautiful treacherous mountains.  The trip itself was a great adventure and one I was happy to share with my best friend, Kelly.  So thankful she squeezed in a visit before baby 4's arrival, the laughs we shared on this journey are memorable!

Carmelo, our tour guide, greeted us and began to explain a little about the farm.  We were able to see all the crops with the main focus on the coffee making process.  He was so patient with our children through the tour, explaining on their level at times.  The tour ended at the house of the farm owners- Sandra and Israel.  We sat on their balcony with a 180 degree view of the mountains while Carmelo prepared the coffee.  Yum..

This trip was such a rich experience we knew we had to share with Oma and Opa on their visit as they are both nature and coffee lovers.  Into the mountains we ventured once again!  This time was much the same the only difference being a history from Sandra herself on their personal journey from  mainland professional jobs to Puerto Rician coffee farmers.

Israel, Sandra, and Carmelo are wonderful hosts.  Interesting people with many stories to share in their wilderness oasis.

Go here to order the best coffee of your life:
http://www.sandrafarms.com/

Coffee Bean

Cameron loved exploring!

I can not remember what this is!

It was tasty!

The kids really enjoyed Carmelo

Swinging

Gorgeous setting

Trip #2

This is where saffron comes from

Selfies and the mountains

The four of us

Cameron turns Three!!

Cameron is a BIG three year old!  We had an exciting birthday week with a few celebrations.

This year Cameron has grown so much.  I have noticed many things I am proud of him for, but the one that I love the most is the way he wants to keep everyone safe around him.  
At times when he has sensed danger he has been quick to grab someone to "save".  
Ex:  At the beach when the big waves are crashing, and most recently in a bounce house when the air was deflating he helped a little girl get out.  Those are just two examples that stick out the most.  He is so much like his Daddy!

 Cameron's favorite question is "Are you ok, Mommy/Daddy/Alexis?" 

And now, some photos of the birthday week...

Three candles in an egg muffin

Mickey Mouse Cupcakes

Enjoying a cupcake at school

Birthday Tree

Opa helps set up the fishing rod

Oma and Cameron with the fishing game

Favorite gift- Superhero mini potato heads

Our Family

Pinata time!

Three Year Old Survey

Favorite Color- Blue
 
Favorite Animal- Giraffe
 
Favorite Food- Chicken and rice
 
Favorite thing to do- Play "aminals" with Alexis
 
Favorite thing to wear- A shirt
 
Favorite Game- Zingo
 
What do you want to be when you grow up?- I don't know

Who do you want to marry when you grow up?- A girl.
 
Favorite TV show- Football (We were all watching football with Josh)
 
What are you proud of? Alexis, Daddy, and YOU!

Christmas 2015

Christmas 2015 was a hit!  Easy, laid back, lots of family time...just what we needed.  The Christmas season began shortly after arriving home from Aguadilla.  We showed up at Ft. Buchanan ready to buy a live tree, took one look at the looooooong line and said FAKE IT IS!  Our first fake tree. 

Part of what made this season so fun is the outside time.  Our kids have so much fun outside where they have freedom to do what they want! 

We had many activities leading up to Christmas day- Parties, Girl Scout caroling, cookie making, new movies.  The time just flew by!

 Christmas morning we ate a light breakfast, read the Christmas story, opened gifts, and later had brunch with our good friends who are here with us from Omaha.  That evening we walked over to a neighbors house for dessert.

Pictures of the fun below:

Decorating

Movie night by the tree

Kids with Santa at Ft. Buchanan

Cotton Candy at a neighborhood Christmas Party

Grinch Snacks

Grinch Snacks

Ho Ho Ho

In the dress my Grandma made!

Off to a work Christmas Party

Party time!!

Reading the Christmas story

Excitement

Calm and methodical

Thanksgiving

This holiday season we decided to stay in Puerto Rico.  We often travel at either Thanksgiving or Christmas, but we have had lots of travel recently and agreed that it was best to stay on the island.
The day before Thanksgiving Josh was released from work early.  We quickly packed up the car, and joined a large group from our neighborhood at the Coast Guard cottages in Aguadilla on the west side of the island.  A new tradition- Thanksgiving dinner by the sea.  It was wonderful! 
Thanksgiving morning I woke up to a beautiful 70 breezy degrees.  Of course, I could not resist a run along Cliff Road over looking the ocean.
A little later that morning we joined our group at Crash Boat Beach.  After that- light lunch, naps, and the main event- Dinner!

Thanksgiving feast at school

Alexis is learning to write!

Coffee with Mom

Reading time

Stuffing

The kid table

Our dinner view