Forgot about Hais dentist appt this week!

I totally forgot to blog about Hais going to the dentist this week. She is not a huge fan but she was such a good sport this time! She got super excited when she got to do the "big kid" xray. The panoramic one- instead of just the bitewings.
Well, good news, her xrays look awesome-- for a 5 yr olds mouth! Not a kiddo who turned 7 three months ago. She is roughly 2 yrs behind when it comes to her teeth! Her six year molars are about a yr and a half away still from coming in! Her bottom two middle teeth are loose and will be falling out soon but other than that- her other teeth will not be coming out for awhile! So, while all her friends are losing their teeth in 1st/2nd grade, she will not see any tooth fairy action (other than these 1st two) until 3rd grade! Bummer! But the good news is that everything looks really good!

Nothing super exciting!

So... we have officially hit 29 weeks and are quickly approaching 30 weeks. Cannot believe we are 3/4 of the way there! It seems crazy that it has gone that fast. I am actually only 1 lb up from my pre-pregnancy weight. That is not all I have gained though! I lost 8 lbs in the first 2 trimesters. I wasn't sick, just not hungry. So I am actually up a total of 9 lbs... but we will celebrate the fact that we are up 1 lb from what we started as cause it gives me a little less to lose after Carter is born.
When you are overweight to start with and get pregnant, weight is a constant thought. I cannot say that I am watching my weight and trying not to gain- but I am very aware of how much I gain. So, as long as I keep on what I have been doing- I am golden!
I have been eating well and honestly it makes it so easy living here cause we do not go out to eat. I have been making dinner every night- we did not eat out for dinner once this month! That is awesome! We have made some fun meals and eaten all the leftovers- which is another huge feat for me! I am usually the one who throws leftovers away after a day in the fridge!
So excited. Kim's hubby Jay is home on R n R. He has been deployed since June of last year. So I know she and the kiddos are enjoying some time as a family.

Hais has been doing swim lessons for two weeks now. She loves it and is doing really well. I am so proud of her when I see her out there working the entire hour. I had to walk out today cause it is in an indoor pool and it got so hot I was starting to feel nauseous and lightheaded. So I walked out and took some good deep breathes and felt better.
We went to Tina and L'Chelles after to deliver girl scout cookies to them. It was super nice to sit and chat with Tina. She is one of those friends that I could sit and chat with for hours. Honestly, that is what usually happens!
We went and watched Xavier cheer this afternoon and then went to the movie Planet 51. If you have not seen it- go! It was great. Even us adults laughed outloud a lot! The kids had a blast!
Speaking of X cheering. Kim and I booked a hotel room in Mannheim for the end of Feb. The European championships are there the 25-27. So we are heading there for the weekend to watch. It is also a wonderful chance to get in some shopping at a larger post and also have some yummy food (hello Taco Bell!). Plus it will be fun to have some girl time in the hotel and get away for the weekend! That reminds me- I need to call the boarder and have her keep Bane that weekend. I can also have him groomed that weekend too! Yeah.
What is happening this next week??? I have a Dr appt Monday morning. This officially starts my every 2 week appts! That will make this go faster as well cause I will be there seeing Carter every other week! Yippee! Friday Hailee has no school- so a bunch of us will be heading out to Spieloasis. It is a huge indoor play area. It will literally entertain Hailee ALL day. Plus a lot of her little friends will be there! I can relax with adults and enjoy some conversation time. Plus they have amazing french fries and chicken nuggets! lol
February will include a lot of fun events. I already mentioned the trip to Mannheim. It will also include...
*2 Dr appt for me * Battalion FRG meetings * Spouses Club events *Spouses Club meetings *FRG Meeting *Girl Scouts * LEE'S PROMOTION TO CHEIF WARRANT OFFICER 3!!!!!!!!

His promotion is going to be done on a Video Teleconference. Ryan is being promoted the same day. So they will pin each other which is totally cool! Crystal and I will be able to watch it! Then we will get to talk to them on the system which is supposedly really awesome! Yeah!

Well, week 2 of school is done for the semester. Only 14 left- ugh! I have been keeping up pretty good so far. The essay tonight was done (6 hours before the deadline) but still it was done! I am hanging in there. Been rough this last week, my body is tired. I am laying down and falling asleep at night by 10:15. Which is funny cause right now it is 11:20 pm! But I sleep all night and wake up alright. Then I find myself taking 3 hour naps during the day. But I justify it as, in 2 months, those naps will be over!

Enough for tonight. I am super excited to count down days til we meet Mr Carter Adam. I am excited to count down the days til my mother in law gets here! I am super excited to count down the days til my hubby comes home for 2 weeks. Time is moving fast this deployment which is awesome!

~Brenna

Look what I made!

Super Scrummy Granola!!!

I must give credit to my girlfriend Katie Rich who passed on this the recipe to the followers of her blog- which I am!!

YUMMY!

PiLlOw!

I had to do a post about my FAVORITE thing in the entire world right now!! The pillow that Lee bought me for Christmas is my most prized poscession as of right now!! This pregnancy pillow is the most amazing creation ever and makes sleeping at night- especially for belly sleepers like me- bearable!

Also had to take a picture of the bassinet that Kim bought me! This is the actual thing, sitting in my living room! Talk about making things a reality!

Making Homemade Granola

So- one of my wishes this year- to be less domestically challenged. Do not get me wrong, I can cook and my house is always clean (especially with the hubby gone). It is amazing- when he leaves- things are more manageable- or in reality- I have a little more time to do the things needed! Not that I would want to deploy him in order to keep a tidy household- lol.

My goal is more about improving some of the domestic areas. I will never be like the lady in the picture above. I am lucky if the counter is not covered in remnants of the recipe, the floor doesn't need to be swept and my hair isn't sticky from gosh knows what.

So- this first 2 weeks of the year so far- I have not eaten out for dinner once. Really here in Germany it is not that difficult to avoid that. It is expensive to eat out (thank you crappy Euro rate), it is always a big production to go eat out (they are super slow paced here) and the snow has been so bad no way I want to venture out anymore than I have to (especially at night).

I have cooked many new meals so far this year! I will do a separate post on them. I made chicken parm that is delicious (thank you my fabulous FRG co-lead Katie!!!!), perfected some stuffed shells, and also am going to attempt later today some homemade granola to send downrange to Lee. Exciting.

So cooking is slowly getting there! My goal is to have at least 12 new recipes down, so then when Lee gets home, there will be new things for me to cook. After 10 years together, it seems like the same old same old for dinner a lot of nights. He is the adventurous one that will decide on chicken for dinner and then go online and find some totally awesome recipe to make using the stuff we have in the kitchen. I want to be like that. More adventurous. More comfortable trying to cook new stuff.

I also want to be more creative this year. I want to actually learn how to use my sewing machine. I can barely sew a straight line with that thing. I am hoping my mother in law will spend some time when she gets here helping me to really learn the functions of my machine and what I can do with it. On my short list of to-dos I am hoping to check off, homemade burp clothes that I found on another site and really want to make!!

A HUGE undertaking I am hoping to tackle, quilting. Nothing fancy. My girlfriend Katie makes these wonderful simple (according to her) quilts. She set out step by step directions and I am determined to follow them. I would love to learn to quilt. Luckily there are like 5 of us that are determined to quilt and some willing teachers stepping up. So hopefully that will get started soon.

Eventually- I want to be so comfortable with sewing- that I want to buy an embriodery machine and make cool stuff. Maybe a side job that would still allow me to stay home?? Hmmmm... But that is a long way away right now!

I did do one new project this week though!! I learned how to make these awesome message boards!! My neighbor Denise sat down with us and showed us how to do it! It is actually really easy and I look forward to making some more. I will be sending this one to Lee for him to put up in his room in Iraq...

(picture is up on top of blog)

Highlights of 2009

It is a LONG ONE!!!

Ok all- this will be a LONG post- so beware!! I was looking at our Christmas cards and thought- maybe I should be a highlight "reel" of 2009. A lot has happened and I wanted to cover it cause a lot will also occur here in 2010~

*To start- my cousin Rita came to visit us for 3 weeks the end of Jan/begin of Feb. We used her visit as an excuse to do a little touring ourselves. So... of we went. We had a blast for a few days in southern Germany at Edelweiss Resort in Garmisch. We toured the Gorge and had some yummy pizza. We also went into Austria to the Swarvoski Crystal Factory in Innsbruck.

*After going to Neuschweinstein Castle in Germany, we ventured into Austria to the castle ruins in Fussen. Rita and I think we almost died on that difficult hike but Lee & Hais cruised right up!

*The four of us went up the Zugspitz, the highest mountain in Germany. Beautiful (and freakin freezing!)

We rounded out our tour- by stopping in Munich for a few days. Did Dachua Concentration Camp and also the famous Hofbrau Haus....

*In March, Hais godparents came to Germany! We have been stationed with them continuously since March 2003! They have literally known Hailee her entire life (well at least 6 1/2 yrs of her 7 yrs of life!). The entire time the farthest we have lived from one another is now here in Germany- and we are like 20 minutes apart! But the guys are still in the same company- and as of now are roommates in Iraq.. to be covered later...

Hailee and I made a trip home to California in March. We spent 2 weeks there. Spent a good deal of time with one of our FAVORITE families ever- the Freehills!

Got back from California and got a visit from Aunt Shannon. She stayed with us for 2 weeks and we loved it!

*No picture for it right now- but in early May- Brenna went to the annual AWAG conference in Garmisch. Had a good time with good friends for 4 days. (Also came home with a kick butt German bike worth like $450 for free- which as I think of it- should probably be utilized more)

*Memorial Day weekend took us to Lloret de Mar/Barcelona Spain with the Rodriguez famiyl. Had a blast and must say Barcelona was my favorite part of the trip. Swam in the ocean, tried some paella and got the kiddos tattoos (ok- henna ones- but still)

Spent the fourth of July as a family- with part of the Rod family (Jay was deployed already)- at Garmisch. Great fireworks, stuff for the kiddos to do and relaxation!

*July brought the inlaws to visit. See our travels below! Did not include them all but have an amazing amount of photos like this (with beer in hand- in several different countries:)

*First big adventure with the inlaws- ITALY!

Went to Pisa and Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre was by far the most amazing trip we have done since living in Europe. Absolutely loved it- which is amazing since it was an all day sweaty hike. But the views and atmosphere was stunning!!!! Also visited Volterra- which was a neat ancient city. I guess it's biggest claim to fame at the moment is that it is where the second part of the Twilight series supposedly takes place- have not read the books myself- so not so much a big deal to me personally!

*A brief stop in Switzerland illustrated why it will have to be a must see before we leave Europe.

* A last minute trip before the inlaws departed- to Dresden Germany (best surprise city so far) and into Poland! Found my polish pottery design (and bought lots of it!) and had some wonderful Polish food! Great trip since it is where Ed's family is from- he still has a brother living in Poland.

*Biggest HIGHLIGHT of 2009---- We are pregnant! Found out while we were traveling with the inlaws. I did not tell anyone- not even Lee. It was really early still and wanted to wait until we were another week or so along and I had one more visit to the Dr.

*It would be another 4 months til we found out Lee finally got that little boy he was waiting for!

PS- Glad I did not participate in the beers/wine on our trip through Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland and Germany! Even though I did consume alot of cappachinos in our hotel in Italy (they were Amazing!)

*At the end of July- I turned 30!!! Actually did not know I was pregnant at this point. This picture should have been earlier in the slideshow- somewhere between Poland and the Carter pic! I found out about the baby while driving back to Germany from Poland- if you follow along...

So...anyways, here is the pic from my birthday party. Kim planned it and I had a fabulous night. The four girls consumed a good deal of wine but in my glass- apfelsaft (apple juice).

In August- Hailee became a bike rider! Woohoo! She also entered 1st grade! She is in Mrs Gunns 1st/2nd grade class- which was a good surprise- cause she is in class with Lillianna. Thought that would never happen cause Lillianna is a grade ahead!

*October brought us to NC to see the inlaws and spend some time with family before Lee left. This pic is from a great Renaissance Fair we went to in Charlotte- so much fun!

*We also swung through Columbia SC to see the fabulous Campagnas!

*The highlight of that trip- was a 5 day cruise we took to the Bahamas. Hai had always wanted to do one (since Lee and I took a cruise right before his last deployment). So we went as a family. Got to swim with dolphins and play at sea for a few extra days cause of bad weather at one of our port of calls.

* Not really a highlight- but we said goodbye to Lee in early November. He was off to Iraq. I guess it is a highlight cause the faster he left- the faster the year started (gotta find a silver lining somewhere!). He is roommates with Ryan- which makes us feel better since this is their second deployment in a row together.

* Hard to say goodbye this time but also neat- cause when we see him next- on R n R- there will be an additional Kokoszka for him to meet!

*Hais turned 7 this year. November 28th! We celebrated with a trip to the Mannheim Christmas Market with the Chandlers, Rodriguez's and Angie!!

Our final adventure for the year was a trip home for Christmas to California.

NorCal trip for Christmas

A last minute decision on Thanksgiving, sent Hais and I (and Carter I guess) to California for a trip for the Holidays. Found out my sister was going home for the holidays and decided that those feelings of "needing to be around those I love" was too strong to resist! Been a little emotional lately, blame the pregnancy- husband deployed- and Hais getting Lyme disease... and I have been having lots of those "I want to be with my family and best friend right now" (said through sobbing snotty tears to no one in particular while sitting in front of hte computer late at night) moments.
So- we flew home. Nurnberg Germany- Frankfurt Germany- San Francisco Ca- Sacramento Ca and 17 hours later- we were hugging a happy aunty/sister and Papa Cowboy/daddy. Well, we also came home to... so much snow!
Mind you- I am used to snow where my parents are from in California. My dad works at a ski resort after all. Yet, this is two trips to California in a year- both arriving home to snow. This time though was A LOT of snow!

The icycles off my parents house were insane! Literally they were probably a good 2-3 feet long at some points!

Cannot have a blog about going home without a pic of my BFF forever- Ande (and her adorable daughter Kev). We were home from Dec 8- Dec 30. We have made it a tradition when I come home for Hai and I to spend 2-3 days in the middle of the week at Ande's house. I usually go down on Tuesday morning and come back to Mom and Dads on Thursday afternoon.

It gives us the time we miss out on the rest of the year. Not nearly enough time but honestly- beggars cannot be choosers right??

Hais learned to drive this trip home too. Papa let her drive the riding mower all around the five acres. He did not engage the mower blades but she swears she was mowing. She had a blast!!!

We also were able to make a few trips up to Apple Hill! Spent like $80 on caramel apples, apple donuts (which I bought for our house and Andes- not all for me!), soup mixes (cause they have the ABSOLUTE best), taffy, and some pie for Christmas day. Yum!!

Overall, the trip was fun. Three weeks is a long time though to be away from home- especially pregnant. I was glad to be home in my own bed when it was all over. We sure miss our Gigi (mom) and Papa (dad). And also Aunty Shan and Aunty Ande!

What? I am 28 weeks pregnant already?

I guess it was bound to happen- I hit 7 months pregnant! Cannot believe it went that fast already. It is quickly coming to reality for me that things need to be ordered and prepared. I just finally ordered the carseat. Did a lot of research and internet searching. Felt like I did not want to spend a ton since they grow out of the infant seats so fast... but I just kept coming back to this one specific seat. Think it was because it had wonderful reviews on all sites I found it on. It has thicker padding and will last longer cause it goes up to 32 lbs for the baby instead of the normal 22 lbs. Talked it over with Lee and decided that it was the best choice. So, I ordered it.

Then Kim surprised me with the most wonderful bassinet. It is gorgeous in the girly way I want it to be but perfect still for a boy. Like the best of both worlds!! Unfortunately, we do not have a spare room. We are in a 2BR currently and while we can move to a larger place, it seems like too much work with Lee gone. So, we will fit Carter in here with us. That means a bassinet for now, in my room.

I still have to get the stroller. I also need some more bottles, since I only have 3. Not planning on bottle feeding but I do believe in using a bottle when it is needed- and also- you never know what will happen right?

Kim has already ordered invitation for my shower. We are doing it the end of March, since my mother in law will be here by then and can attend. She bought her tickets 2 weeks ago. She will be here March 26- April 30. She will be such an enormous help. Especially for Hailee to have someone here to totally be able to pay attention to her- worried slightly about how she will react to having a new baby in the house getting attention after being the only kiddo for 7 years...

Well that is enough for now. Going to go read my a chapter for my history class!

Night all!