Change of Command

Today was Mark's final morning as Apache 6!  I could not be more proud and honored to be his wife!  He has done an amazing job with Apache Company over the last 18 months and now he deserves a much needed time to rest.  It humbles me to see the amount of love he has for each and every one of his soldiers.  I know that he will miss being a Company Commander, but I'm pretty sure he is looking forward to getting some family time and taking a break for awhile!

Passing the guidon for the last time!

My girl friends that came to support us today!  I'll miss you!

The Great Name Debate

If Baby P was a boy, we had a solid name locked in.  Now that we know we are having a girl, we are totally stumped.  Our top 4 in no particular order are:

Hannah Gaile:  We love the meaning of Hannah, favored/blessed by God and Gaile is the combination of both my Mom's middle name, Gayle, and Mark's Mom's middle name, Gail.

Savannah Gaile:  We think Savannah is a beautiful name, but it doesn't really mean anything and we can't think of many nicknames for it.  It does look pretty when embroidered.

Kenleigh Grace:  Kenleigh is from my maiden name, "Ken"sing.  We think it is a cute name and pretty uncommon.  Grace means favor or blessed.

Kensley Grace:  Kensley is from "Kens"ing, just another variation that we think is cute.

I added a poll to the side of the blog...so let us know which one is your favorite!

Belly Updates- 20 weeks

Half way there!!!!  And, we are happy to announce that we are having a healthy baby GIRL!

How Far Along: 20 weeks, 2 days!  Over the half way point!

Size of Baby: According to our ultrasound today, she is measuring 2 days ahead of schedule and approximately 12 oz.  According to my baby updates, she is as long as a banana.  (10 in)

Cravings: Strawberry popsicles

Symptoms: Nothing new or different.  I'm feeling really good!

Movement:  She was all of the place during our ultrasound, but I have an anterior placenta and it will be another 4 weeks or so before I start feeling her move.  :(  This isn't anything bad, it just has to do with where the egg implanted...therefore the placenta is like a blanket between the baby and my skin. 

Maternity Clothes:  Love them!

Milestones: Huge milestones this week....Everything looked great on the anatomy scan.  10 fingers, 10 toes, brain looks good, heart looks good...pretty much a healthy little baby!  And...past the half way point!  In about 4 1/2 months we will get to meet our little sweet pea!

Gender:  We were so wrong.....she is definitely a GIRL!  She was not shy and showed us all of her stuff.   

Happy Father's Day!

To my wonderful Daddy!  It seems like just yesterday I was just a little girl and in a few months you will be a Grandad to a lucky little boy or girl!  How exciting!  

One of the best days of my life!  

To my sweet Grandad!  I wish that I got to spend more time with you!!!!  We can't wait to come see you in a few weeks!  Love you!

To my Grandpa!  Awesome story that I just heard today...Posted by my mom...Happy Fathers Day to my daddy! My father died when I was 4 years old; so, at 12 years old, I picked my own daddy! He was the golf pro at Meadowbrook Rec and my mom ran the Rec Center. He and I became buddies....maybe because he bought me ice cream out of the machine, maybe because he let me run the old cash register! Whatever the reason, I hooked him up with my mom because I wanted him to be my dad! That was one of my "smarter" moves!!! He lives too far away now (Palm Springs); but, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my sweet daddy! I love you!

To Mark's Dad!  This was also another one of the best days of my life...when Mark came home from Iraq for the second time!

To Gaggie!  Such a loving and kind man!  We are blessed to have you in our life!

And...to the best Daddy to be!  He has had lots of practice with puppies...Daisy!

And Dixie!

I can't wait for November and to see you love our sweet baby!  

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Belly Updates- 19 Weeks

How Far Along: 19 Weeks, 2 Days

Size of Baby: A small cantaloupe (10.5 oz/ 6.5 in.)

Cravings:  Strawberries and nectarines

Symptoms: My belly is growing and mild heartburn

Movement: Waiting...about 3 times a day I lay down and wait very quietly and see if he/she moves, but still waiting...

Maternity Clothes:  Still love them!  My maternity dresses came in and I ended up liking 3 out of the 4 I ordered.  

Milestones:  Another week down!

Gender:  Only 1 week to go....I still think boy and so does Mark.  

Sweet Friends

Over the past few days, I have been shown an overwhelming amount of love from some very dear friends! On Friday, I went to my last Bunco :(, and my bunco group surprised Kimmie and I with a baby shower.  It was a Dr. Suess theme and was absolutely adorable!  Baby P feels so loved already!  I'm going to miss these girls so much!

Precious Bunco Group!  You will be missed!  

Adorable basket filled with lots of goodies!

Dr. Suess themed Bunco cards!  Thanks to Mallory!

More adorable decorations!  

Sweet diaper cake made by Julie!  

Last night was my final dinner with my 1-23 ladies!  What am I going to do without these amazing women!  I sure hope they come visit me or our paths cross again very soon!  They also surprised me with our pack and play!  Such a thoughtful and amazing gift!  

Beautiful and sweet Kelly!  One of the amazing hostesses!

Darling friends!  

The other side of the table!  I love these ladies!!!

I can't even begin to thank everyone enough!  The amount of love that I have received is so awesome!  When we moved here I would have never imagined that I would make life long friends here!  I have to admit...I'm pretty sad to say good bye!  Well, not good bye, but see ya soon!  :)

A Man in Uniform

There is just something about seeing Mark in action!  I don't think there is anything much hotter than a good looking man (mine!) marching past me!  :)  Yesterday, Mark did his last road march as the Company Commander of Apache Company.  I'm pretty sure it was bittersweet.  Sweet in the fact that hopefully he will never have these amazing blisters on his feet, but bitter because it is the end of a chapter.  The families were invited out to greet the guys as they marched back to the company (after 12 miles)...and enjoy a picnic on a cool Washington summer (felt like winter) day!

So cute!

Belly Updates- 18 Weeks

How far along: 18 weeks, 3 days

Size of Baby: Large Mango, (6 in./ 8 oz.)

Cravings:  Nothing really.  I'm just hungry a lot!

Symptoms: heartburn off and on, hungry all the time, back pain after standing for long periods of time

Movement:  ?  I still don't really know... I'm anxious to start feeling real kicks and rolls.  

Maternity Clothes:  I ordered some maternity dresses for my upcoming baby showers!  Even my PJ bottoms aren't quite fitting over my belly!

Milestones:  Just thankful for every day!  So ready for our anatomy scan and praying that we have a HEALTHY boy or girl! 

Hormones+Movers=Tears!

Today is supposed to be our pre-move inspection.  This is where the moving company comes out and checks out all your stuff and decides on how many boxes and how much equipment they need to send out for your move.  I had a lengthy discussion with my moving agent the other day and she was so nice and I really had hope that this would be our best move yet!  However....we are not starting out on a good foot!  Our appointment was at 9.  It is 9:35 and I am still waiting...I gave them a call at 9:15, because I actually need to be leaving here at 10 for another engagement.  The response was..."he is on his way."  And then when I asked how far away, she said "30 minutes!!!!!"  I'm pretty sure the company is in Tacoma and I'm pretty sure it doesn't take 30 minutes to get here...so that leads me to believe that he had not even left their office!  I would say people being late is my BIGGEST pet peeve!  I think it is rude and inconsiderate to take advantage of others time...especially when you are being paid(by the Army) to do something!  So...if he does get here at 9:45 is will be a rushed job, because I need to leave...which doesn't make me a happy lady!  Let's hope next week is better with the packers...

Baby Boy Onesie Cookies

One of my best friends is having a precious baby boy, Camden James very soon!  This weekend is one of her baby showers and I made these little onesie cookies for gifts for the hostesses.  Her theme for the baby room is owls, so she carried the theme over to her tags and thank you cards!  So cute!  

Cookout by the Beach

I'm back from Texas and Mark is back from his last ever field exercise!  We only have a small amount of days left here in WA!!!  Yesterday, Mark's 1st SGT hosted a cookout for the company as a going away party for us.  It was at an adorable little beach house out on Vashon Island.  The WA weather decided to cooperate and delivered 80 degree temps and not a cloud in the sky all day!  We took the ferry over to the island and spent the day talking, eating and enjoying the view!  We had a great time!!!  Here are a few pictures from the day...

Ferry ride over with a great view of Rainier in the background, however it never shows up well in pictures.  

I've never seen shells so big that were still in one piece!  These were everywhere!

An awesome starfish the guys found on the beach!  Way cool!

I'm sure they were solving some type of world problem here...

Lovely beach view.

There were boats like this all along the beach and as the tide came in they were all eventually floating in the water.  

Belly Updates- 17 Weeks

How Far Along: 17 weeks, 2 days

Size of Baby: A sweet potato (5.5 in., 6 oz.)

Cravings: Nothing really, I'm just trying to eat healthier. No enchiladas from Chuy's for a few weeks!

Symptoms: Nothing really out of the ordinary. I'm feeling pretty great!

Movements: Still not anything that is for certain the baby. It is probably just gas! :)

Milestones: We had our monthly appointment today. Everything looks good. We heard the baby's heartbeat and it is still pumping away at 152 bpm.

I diagnosed Dixie with LDS!

First of all....Is this not the cutest sight ever? I'd say they all have a rough life!

LDS= Little Dog Syndrome! I'm pretty sure if this syndrome existed in real life that Dixie would have a severe case! She tries to make up for being smaller than her friends by trying to show them that she is the boss.

For example....There are at least 50 dog toys and 85 bones in a bucket at my parents house. After pulling each and every one out and scattering them about, she waits for Tuffy and Daisy to pick their favorites. She then proceeds to get right in their face and bark at them until they get annoyed, drop the toy/bone and walk away. She happily snatches up whatever it was that they had and goes on her merry way...until they find another toy that she wants.

Example #2: She positions herself up high or in a hidden area and pounces on Daisy when she walks by.

All of this is quite entertaining, but I feel so bad for Old Tuff and Daisy Girl. They can't get a break...until she falls asleep.

I was a little afraid that my mom would be overcome with Dixie's cuteness factor, however I'm pretty sure for the sanity of her two sweet dogs she will gladly give her back to me.

I'm thinking that after hanging around my dad, the candy man...who gives out chicken snacks all day...she might not be so little and perhaps will outgrow her LDS!