Thank Heaven for Little Boys

...and the TWO became THREE...

Very slowly our lives were changed with the arrival of our son!! Here are the photos of my pregnancy all the way up to 1 day overdue...yep...he was overdue...by 12 days!! But after the first day, I didn't feel much like taking pictures anymore...

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We're pregnant!! We found out at 5 weeks along.
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17 weeks along, one week before we found out we're having a BOY!!
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21 weeks along
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25 weeks along
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26 weeks along
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27 weeks along
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28 weeks along
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30 weeks along
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32 weeks along
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36 weeks along
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38 weeks along
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40 weeks & 1 day...


...continued in next post...

Summer 2010

Power School Graduation

It was a long haul and a lot of work, but the Graduation day finally came!! Harold looked so handsome in his uniform and even though there was a small storm scare, it ended up being a warm and beautiful day in July.























Moving Day!!

Harold received his orders!! Our family was assigned to Saratoga Springs, New York. So, my parents flew in with my brother to help us pack the house up because I was 5 months pregnant at the time. We actually found out that we were having a Baby Boy only a couple days before we left Goose Creek. So much happened in such a short amount of time. We took advantage of the long drive from South Carolina to New York and made some stops along the way. We got to spend a couple days in Washington D.C. and had a great time visiting the Smithsonian and riding a trolley to see all the sights. Then we said goodbye to Mom, Dad & Evan and went on our way to New York with Harley and Daisy...and no Hobbs. :( Unfortunately Hobbs ran away and didn't show up for moving day. So we had to say goodbye to our goofy orange cat. :(

Goodbye, Hobbs.
Photos from the trip will hopefully be up someday...remind me sometime. For now, I can't find them!

Do-Over? Yes please.

So I realized that I'm really bad at keeping up with blogs. I was good for awhile...only missing a few days or weeks...but it seems that once summer hit and life got busy, blogging was the last thing on my mind. I'm a little bummed, actually...I really like re-reading the posts. This blog is my best attempt at a family journal and I am really going to try and keep it up!! So, in order to keep it up, I've gotta get caught up! This is going to be one whirlwind of a catch up...

April 2010

Our 1 Year Anniversary!!

April 4 - I woke up to a folded piece of construction paper and a red rose laying on Harold's pillow with a note inside that said everything I love to hear...it was the best way to wake up! :) Seeing as we were very poor newlyweds, I thought that it was the end of my anniversary surprise. But then I went to the door, and on the floor was a little Easter Basket! Our anniversary happened to fall on Easter this year...

I picked it up and just then Harold came down the hallway and told me he had set up an egg hunt for me through the house. I spent the morning searching for eggs, filled with my favorite candies! It was the sweetest thing, and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. :)

My Anniversary Surprise :)

May 2010

Summer Begins!!

Harley & Daisy started to feel the presence of our shifted attention to the Baby, so we decided to give them a special treat...a pool! In the South Carolina heat, the water is sometimes the greatest escape. So we decided to give them their own personal escape from that southern sun. They loved it! Along with their absolutely favorite toy, the hose! It was a great start to summer :)

















Charleston Riverdogs Game

While in Charleston we wanted to do whatever we could to enjoy the little bit of free time the Navy allowed. So we took advantage of some free tickets to see the Charleston Riverdogs play. It was a fun night! We got to try out their famous hotdogs that we had seen on The Food Network.
Afterward,
they had a fun fireworks show in honor of the Military members present at the game.
Even Harold enjoyed himself, and he isn't that big of a baseball fan. :)

















Days at the Park

Just down the street from our house on the base is a park that the dogs and I visited almost every day. I walked to the same spot each time, to a bench right below a giant acorn tree. It was my favorite tree, mainly because it did an excellent job of shielding me from the sun. Most days we would spend an entire afternoon there, unless the weather was absolutely unbearable. (which some days it was!!) The southern humidity is really intense...thank God for acorn trees!!

Meet Our Baby! :)

Today we had our first ultrasound and got to meet our baby! We also heard the quick little heartbeat! It was an amazing experience, and I'm so glad Harold got to be there with me! I had lots of blood work done, which was easier than expected...and now we're just waiting for the next appointment which will be May 14th! Things are just moving along, and we couldn't be happier! Baby is growing right on schedule and the heartbeat was perfect. We're very excited to see the progress! :)

And HERE is our BABY!!! :D Very little...about 1/2 an inch long right now.



We also know the dates for our visit home.

We are going to be flying into Salt Lake City on July 29th.
Then we will be spending time with family in American Falls the 30th.
Destin's wedding is on the 31st.
Then it's off to Boise on the 1st of August (My Brother's 16th Birthday).
My Baby Shower will be on August 2nd - Invitations will be sent out by my sister.
Then we will be flying home on the 3rd.

As much as we would like to stay longer, we also would like to save Harold's leave time for when Baby is here! Since we will be using only a small amount of time now, we can hopefully stay about 3 weeks come December/January. We aren't quite sure when we'll be making that trip home with Baby...depends on how things go! We're so excited! Yet another full year for the Phythian family. :)

5 Days...

Until my first ultrasound! We are getting super excited to hopefully get to hear our baby's heartbeat!! The appointment was scheduled a little earlier in the day than I had hoped...but thankfully Harold will be able to leave school early, so he will get to be there! So far, I've been feeling the 'morning sickness' all day, every day. Followed by some pretty major heartburn...and I think that's probably because I can't keep any food in my stomach! (Well, except for McDonald's cheeseburgers and fries) It seems I'm just going to have to stick to what works and for now, I'm on a pretty awful diet of McDonald's, club crackers, popsicles and sprite. So far I've actually lost a few pounds. I'm told I'll gain that back pretty soon, however. We have also picked out a boy name! But are struggling to pick only ONE girl name. :P (I think it's going to be a boy anyway...) I am loving all this baby stuff!! :D

And of course I have even MORE good news!

We are coming home in July! Harold's Best Man, Destin, is gettin' hitched and Harold is in the wedding. :) This is happening on July 31st. We also have a friend here getting married on July 24th. (Stealing away Harold's birthday thunder) AND my family is coming to visit from July 4-13th then we are going to go with them to Washington DC for a few days before heading back here to find out if we will be moving to New York or staying in South Carolina for the next year. Phew! And we thought LAST summer was busy!

Oh, and while we are home in July, my sister is planning a baby shower in Boise...but I also have a friend planning one for friends and family in American Falls...and there's even talk of one happening here in South Carolina! Baby Phythian is already SO spoiled!! We are also planning on a vacation back home where we hope to stay for at least a couple weeks once Baby arrives. We haven't decided on whether that will be for Christmas or for New Years...either way, we'll be sure to see EVERYONE we possibly can while home.

For now, I guess that's just about all I have to update. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers and notes of encouragement! It's tough being away from friends and family, but I've got a pretty amazing husband and a wonderful support system...and we couldn't be happier!! :) :)

Oh, Baby...we're having a Baby!!

Yes, it's true! Baby Phythian is now under construction...and is making its presence VERY clear! I have been sick and tired...and sick...and tired...but I can also say that I've never been so happy to be sick and tired! :) Harold and I are looking forward to this journey, no matter how long or difficult it turns out to be. I know it will be worth it!! We are so thankful for this incredible blessing and for all of our friends and family who are supporting and loving us! :) Every time we learn something new, we'll be sure to keep everyone updated...and this time we mean it!! ;)

Oh...I am 5 weeks pregnant today!! Yay! I know there is a looong road ahead of me...but I already have so much love for this baby I just can't help but celebrate each and every day of its life! Also, a lot of people have been asking, so I thought I might answer on here...we WILL be finding out the sex of the baby, but we have also chosen to keep our name choices a secret until our baby is born.

This is going to be a grand adventure...I can tell already. :]

Christmas 2009! (continued...)

Our Christmas has been so amazing!! Here are just a few of our special memories so far...

<3

Daisy got to play Santa :)

And so did Hobbs...

...I'm pretty sure I was more excited about it than he was...

Wake up, Hobbs!!

Doesn't she make a lovely little reindeer?? :]

Christmas Cookies!!

Sporting his new hat :)

Our ONE and ONLY attempt at a family self-portrait...

Tired after a full day of festivities! :)



Hope your Christmas was fantastic!! :)

Merry Christmas!!

This is such an exciting time of year!! We hope everyone has had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas and we can't wait to see you all again!

Our Christmas has been absolutely everything we hoped for and more! We have been enjoying a lovely tropical storm all day long, which knocked out our power for most of the morning, but came back on just in time to start our roast in our new crock pot! (WOOHOO!!) :) Harley and Daisy got some new bones to chew on and Hobbs' got his very own can of tuna!! We would like to thank you all for your love (and Christmas cards!!). Being far from family and home is hard, especially during the holidays! But it has turned out to be quite doable. :)

We love you all!!

Update!!

Well, we got our camera charger! And just in time for Christmas! :)

Quick Update:

Harold graduated from A-School (the first stretch of his training) in November. Then my parents gifted us a trip home for 10 days to see family and our new niece, Layla!! We got back to Goose Creek just in time for Thanksgiving. We celebrated with friends here and then made our own 20 lb. turkey! (made us lots of turkey soup!) Now, Harold is on T-Track...which means he is doing 12 hours watches just about every other day switching from night shift to day shift. It's a pretty tiring schedule and we'll be glad to be done with it pretty soon. His next section of school begins near the end of January. Lastly, I will be starting school online in the beginning of January! Colorado Technical University Online, is where I am enrolled. I am going after just an Associates in General Education, for now. :)

We have a handful of new pictures we are glad to post, finally!!














Our first Christmas!! (it may not look like it outside our house, but inside we did our best!!)






That's all for now!!