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!!

Finally!!

We finally got our computers and internet hooked up so now we can do a little more than facebook on our phones. :)

Our little home is very cute (and a little empty). The little bit of furniture that we have is at least just enough to make the home looked lived in. :) Our neighbors are so awesome! We are very fortunate to have been placed in a nice little area of the neighborhood where people are so friendly! Two weekends at the beach and we are in love with it! Whenever we are at the coast we feel as if we are on vacation. It's so warm and the water is so nice. But the humidity here is quite a shock. I never thought I would say this...but I miss the desert!!

Unfortunately, my camera battery died and we have yet to find the battery charger...it's amazing to think that even though all of our belongings are in these boxes and were all in the same truck in the same move and are now in the same house together, we still are missing things...but we did have some pretty nice camera phones to help photograph our move. Most of the photos are on the camera, but here is what we do have! :)


The water is sooo warm!! :) (and our feet are sooo dirty!!)



Here's the biggest crab we've seen so far...



& the smallest. :)



I guess this is a medium one.



Um, yeah...it was pretty hot here the first day we arrived. :(



:) We just had to...



Professional Sand Castle Builders?? Oh yeah...they exist.







One of the many boardwalks leading right up to people's
back yards.



The Seaside Mansions. (only a few of them)



The beautiful ocean. :)




The Gateway Arch




Missouri River



Ohio River



Hobbs' favorite spot. :)



See...they do love each other! :)



Harley stole Harold's neck pillow...



That's all for now!! :)