Baby Hannah's 3-D Ultrasound Pictures

Today, we had to drive Steve's car to my 7:15am ultrasound appointment because we didn't think we could make it there in our car. There was a LOT of snow outside and we would have probably gotten stuck. Steve's car has special snow-studded tires.

Baby Hannah is supposed to be about 3.75 pounds right now, but the ultrasound computer is estimating her weight at 5.5 pounds! I am a little worried because I don't want to have a 10 pound baby in February! She's not supposed to be 5.5 pounds for another month.

Today is Christmas Eve, so we are going to have Chrismas dinner at Brian's mom's house tonight.

Heidi went sledding today.

Heidi went sledding today here at Grandma Sylvia's house. Brian took some pictures, but I can't put them on here because we can't download pictures from our camera right now... and our memory stick doesn't fit in the memory stick usb thing that Sylvia and Steve have here at their house, so you will just have to imagine it. I had some pretty pictures of the snow, too!

Yesterday, Brian and I went to a couple of stores and when we got back to the house, it took about 20 minutes for us to finally get parked in the drive way because we were stuck in the snow. We got stuck in the snow at Fred Meyer yesterday, too... and some guy saw that we were stuck and came to help push us out of the snow.

Sore Hips: Tendons?

My hips have been bothering me this past week, especially when I am trying to sleep at night. It seems like if I lay on one side too long, my hip on that side starts getting kind of sore, so I switch sides until that hip starts to hurt too. The soreness usually goes away a little while after I get out of bed in the morning and walk around a while, but today... my hips are still sore. Is it because my tendons are softening in preparation for childbirth?? Or am I just getting old?

Snow: Church is Cancelled

The snow that we got last week still hadn't all melted and the roads were still kind of covered with packed down snow & ice. Then last night, it snowed some more, so church was cancelled today. It's pretty and white outside! I think it has at least warmed up to 21 degrees! It had been a lot colder. With the wind chill, it had gotten down to where it felt like it was 1 degree outside. Brian's dad hasn't been getting any mail up at his house because they haven't been able to deliver it up there. Sears supposedly overnighted a package to me (Heidi's 3-year pictures) over a week ago, but that hasn't been delivered either... because they haven't been able to deliver it. Brian says that he's never seen the weather this bad here in Bellingham before. He says that when it snows, it usually melts... but it just hasn't really been melting here.

Snow

It's 17 degrees outside here in Bellingham, WA right now. With the wind chill, I'm sure that it feels like it's MUCH colder!

Last night, I went to a church play with Brian's mom (while Brian and Steve stayed home with Heidi). Before we had left for the play, we started to see a few snow flurries, but nothing much.

At the intermission of the play, I got up to walk around and get some water and took a peek outside to see how the snow was doing... and the ground was starting to turn a little white, but it still wasn't snowing very hard.

By the end of the play, they made an announcement about a particular road that we should probably try to avoid because of the snow cover. I guess in that last half of the play, the snow really started coming down a lot faster. The roads were Completely Covered!

After the play was over, we tried to drive over to Bob and Karen's house to get some pictures (Heidi's 3-year pictures from Sears) that were supposed to arrive that day by a FedEx truck, but we didn't make it up to their house. I was a little nervous about going up the STEEP hill to their house anyway, but we didn't even make it that far... We saw about 4 car accidents and a few tow trucks on our way over to Bob and Karen's house... and the road was blocked off one way that we tried to go... and another way we tried to go, we sat through 2 or 3 green lights and the traffic just wasn't moving, so we had to turn around that way too. I think there had been another accident, so we just weren't moving. We tried going different ways to get up to their house, but we just gave up eventually and went back to Sylvia's house. The drive home was a little scary, too, because sometimes the snow was blowing so hard right into the windshield that it made it difficult to see the road. We eventually made it back to the house, though. :) ... and Brian had JUST put Heidi to bed! I think that's the first time he's ever put her to bed! I think I am the only person who has ever put her down to sleep. I was glad she went down for him! She'll have to go down to bed for someone else when I go into the hospital to have the baby.

Brian drove over to Bob and Karen's house today (Sunday) to try to get the pictures, but they weren't there. Instead, he saw a FedEx truck sitting at the bottom of the road. I guess it broke down or something... probably yesterday... so our pictures are probably sitting on that truck.

Anyway, we don't have the pictures, but I am really glad that they weren't sitting out in the snow all of last night!

Today was also Grandpa George's birthday, so Heidi and I called to wish him a Happy Birthday. He turned 57 today. Heidi even sang the Happy Birthday song for him.

Getting A Christmas Tree

Saturday, we (Heidi, Brian, Grandma Sylvia, Grandpa Steve, and I) drove to a tree farm to find the perfect Christmas tree. We ended up choosing a really pretty, full Douglas Fir tree that might be about 7 feet tall. I had never been to pick out a real tree before. Although it was kind of cold and really windy outside that day, it was kind of fun getting to pick a tree out. Brian and Steve cut it down. It didn't take that long to find the perfect one.

Brian and Steve tied the tree to the top of the car and we then went into a small building next to the tree farm to get some free treats that they had for the customers. They had hot chocolate, hot apple cider, homemade cookies, oranges, and candy canes for people to enjoy. There was also a Christmasy trainset with a Christmas village to see.

After filling up on the free treats, we went back to Grandma Sylvia's house to decorate the tree. Heidi enjoyed helping to put the ornaments on the tree. I think her favorite ornament was the Cinderella ornament that belongs to Brian's little sister Stacey.

I wish I had my camera to take some pictures, but I left it over at Grandpa Bob's house after we got back from our trip to Alabama. Sylvia got some, so I will try to put one or two on here when they email them out.

Grandpa George Reads to Heidi

Tonight before bed, Grandpa George read T'was The Night Before Christmas to Heidi. Here's a picture!

Visit With Santa

Yesterday (Saturday), Grandpa George and I took Heidi to see Santa Claus at the PX. She got to sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted for Christmas, and of course, she told him that she wanted a "pink strawberry shortcake doll." She tells me that she wants one every day. She was pretty excited when he gave her two little candy canes after her visit with him. I took some pictures, but most of them turned out kind of blurry. She's wearing a dress that Grandma Holly gave her on her birthday.

Last night, she woke up crying and threw up several times, but seems to be fine today.

Heidi's Story

Tonight at bedtime, we read a book called Little Mommy (a cute, older Golden book story) about a little girl who is a mommy to her three dollies. After I read to her, Heidi wanted to tell me a story. I thought she did a pretty good job. She kind of combined a couple of stories and added a little twist to it. Here's her story, as best as I can remember the way that she told it to me tonight: "Once upon a time," Goldilocks ran away and went into a house and went to sleep. When the bears came home and found her, she ran away. When she was running, a wolf caught her and ate her up. Then, the grandma got the wolf and took some scissors and cut open his tummy... and "out cracked Goldilocks from out of his tummy."

Princess Heidi

Heidi likes to lay on the ground and pretend that a mean witch locked her in her room and made her go to sleep. She usually lays down on the ground with her eyes closed and waits for her prince to come and give her "true love's kiss" (just like in Sleeping Beauty). Above, you can a picture of her acting out the sleeping princess role.

This evening, she's been saying that her name is not just Heidi, but instead, her name is Princess Heidi Blum. This is kind of unusual. When I normally tell her that her name is Heidi Elizabeth Blum, she usually says "No, I Not Blum!" She usually acts as though she has been offended and insists that her name is not "Blum."

Grandma Holly was the prince for a while this evening, but then it was Grandpa George's turn and they danced (as seen in another picture above).

Visit With Aaron and Andrea

Pictured Above: Heidi (age 3), Austin (age 4), & Audrey (age 7)

We drove down to Florida this week to visit Aaron and Andrea (we spent Tuesday & Wednesday there). I enjoyed the sunshine on the drive down there. It was a nice change from the gray skies in Washington. Heidi enjoyed visiting and playing with Audrey and Austin (her cousins) while we were there.

Aaron is building an outdoor shed that looks more like a small house. It's pretty elaborate for a shed. It's going to look really good when it is completed. Andrea seems to be keeping busy with the kids and decorating for Christmas. Audrey is growing up. I guess she is growing out of the princess stage and moving into the preteen stage a little (she's going to be 8 in February, I think). She's also a really great reader! I heard her reading aloud one night to her mom (for homework) and she reads really well for her age! She even did accents for the leprechauns in the book she was reading. Austin (who turned 4 this past November) is a normal boy. Heidi says he has a lot of boy toys (cars, ramps, superhero things, etc). That's what she told Grandma Holly and Grandpa George when we got back to their house. While we were there, Andrea asked Austin if she could take a picture of him with Heidi, he said something like "No, she's too (pretty or cute, can't remember which he used)." I thought it was kind of funny that he would say that.

Heidi played with Audrey and some of her more girlie toys, but she did also play with Austin and some of his boy toys, too. She had fun and I don't think she really wanted to leave. She doesn't get to play with other kids much anymore. Overall, it was a fun visit!

Heidi's M&M's

Before we got here (Alabama/my parents' house), my mom and dad bought some red and green Christmasy m&m's to put in the candy dish in the living room. Every day, Heidi helps herself to them. She usually will say something like "I'm just going to get one mom..." or "I'm just going to get two mom...," but she usually ends up getting five or six instead. At least she is honest, though. When she comes out of the living room, she usually tells me how many she has gotten and sometimes shows me... and she's always right about the number she has actually gotten (which is usually five or six m&m's).

Went to the movies & Heidi got more surprises from Grandma and Grandpa while I was gone.

Last night, I went to the movies to see Twilight with my sister. I read all of the Twilight series books a while back and my sister had just finished reading them too... and since the movie just recently came out, my sister wanted to go see it... so I went with her. I thought the filming seemed a little low budget, but maybe they meant for it to be that way, so it would seem more real. The characters also didn't look exactly the way I pictured them in the book either. Oh well. It was an okay movie.

When I got home, Heidi was still awake and Grandma Holly and Grandpa George had given her another surprise while I was gone. She let me know as soon as I walked in the door! She had a new princess dress-up gown, a magic wand, princess slippers, and a princess crown. I guess she had also eaten a bunch of chocolate while I was gone, too. Heidi said that she had a fun night with Grandma and Grandpa.

My mom said that she pretended to be a princess all night and that my mom had to be the prince, who had to keep kissing her to wake her up.
I guess she was pretty worn out because she didn't even argue with me when I told her that we could only read one book before bed (instead of the usual two). My mom said that Heidi got the clock out while I was gone and said "three more minutes," which means she will be ready to go to bed in "three more minutes."

About a week ago, or so, I showed her the clock and told her that when the long hand was pointing all of the way down to the six (at 7:30pm), it is time to get ready for bed (so she will be ready for bed by around 8pm). So, she thinks when it's dark and the long hand is pointing all of the way down, it's time to get ready for bed.

My mom offered to put her to bed, but she said she would wait until her mommy got home... and she did. She went right to sleep with no complaints about having to go to bed.

Picture Day!

Heidi had her 3-year pictures taken today at Sears! It was kind of funny watching her pose today. She kept scrunching her shoulders up and putting her hands up to her mouth. After we were finished, she said she wanted to go back and do it again. I will put some pictures online later tonight! We're going to go to the store after we eat tonight with Grandma and Grandpa to find a fresh turkey for Thanksgiving (so we won't have to thaw one out).

A couple of pictures of Heidi on her birthday

Here are just a couple of pictures of Heidi on her birthday at Grandma Holly and Grandpa George's house. She turned 3 this year. I wrote about it in a previous blog, but am just now getting around to adding some pictures.

One was taken before she blew out her candles (the bottom picture). Just after she blew them out, she said "I wish for a puppy!" ... and she had a big smile on her face (the top picture). She has been wanting a puppy, but I keep telling her that we will have to wait until after Baby Hannah is born and grows up a little. I just don't want a baby and a puppy at the same time.

Destin Beach Pictures

Here are some pictures of Heidi enjoying the beautiful beach in Destin, Florida (mentioned in a blog below).

Build-A-Bear Picture

Here's a picture of Heidi with her ballerina bunny that she made (mentioned in a blog entry below).

Heidi's Haircut

When Heidi was about 21-months-old or so, I cut her hair for the first time. It was really kind of stringy and the back was longer than the sides, so I just cut about an inch and a half of the stringy part in the back (hoping that the sides would eventually meet up with the back).

Last night, I gave Heidi her second hair cut. I cut off about another inch and a half from the back and just a little (barely any) off of the sides because it has just been looking really messy and stringy. It is a lot closer to being all one length now. Now, I am just hoping that it will start to thicken a little.

Tomorrow morning, we are going to get her 3-year pictures taken at Sears. I hope she does okay. She used to do a pretty good job of smiling and posing for pictures, but lately, she has been giving fake smiles and looking down or away to some other place. I hope she does okay tomorrow!

Just Made My Blog Private

I just made my blog private today. I just thought it might be a good idea. When I first started this blog, Brian seemed a little hesitant about it being so open to the public... so I discovered the "permission" feature today and thought I would make it private. If I forgot to invite some people or don't have their email addresses, I hope they will send me an email, so I can add them.

Sunday with Grandpa George

This past Sunday, Heidi got to spend some quality time with Grandpa George. He took her to play at a park here in Enterprise. I guess she got to play with some kids there, which she hasn't been able to do very much since we left Fort Hood, TX. She really misses playing with other kids and talks about it a lot. They also fed some bread to the ducks in the pond at the park. After they left the park, Grandpa George stopped at a store on the way home to pick up some citrus flavored chapstick for Heidi. I guess the wind was blowing a lot while they were out at the park and she kept licking her lips... and they ended up getting pretty chapped while they were out. Heidi LOVES putting on chapstick, so that was another plus for Heidi that day!

Today (Monday), my mom found 5 or 6 lip kissing marks on the long mirror in the bathroom. When she asked where they came from, Heidi said "It was me!" I guess she had fun kissing the mirror after putting on some more chapstick (when no one was looking).

Destin Beach & Build-A-Bear

This past Saturday, we drove down to Destin and walked on the beach for a while. It was a little cool, so we did not plan on going swimming... but I guess Heidi was planning on getting wet anyway. Before we even got out of the car, she pulled her pants up over her knees to make sure that her pants wouldn't get wet. She had been wanting to go to the beach for a long time. When we lived in Texas, I kept telling her that she would have to wait until sometime when we went to go visit Grandma Holly and Grandpa George... and they would take us to the beach. She finally got to go! She seemed to have fun dipping her hands and toes in the water, walking on the beach, and drawing in the white sand. Destin, Florida has the most beautiful beaches (in my opinion)!

After our visit to the beach, we went to the Build-A-Bear workshop in Destin! Heidi's Great Grandma Bradford, who lives in Maryland, sent her some money for her birthday that we used to go to Build-A-Bear with. Heidi has been wanting to go, so she finally got her chance. She made a really cute bunny rabbit that she named Fluffy. She picked a ballerina costume (with slippers and a bow) to put on her bunny. Her bunny giggles when you squeeze it. Heidi giggles, too. Now she can pretend to do her ballet (which she often does around the house) with her ballerina bunny. She takes her bunny to bed with her to cuddle with it every night. It was really cute watching her rub the little, red heart on her tummy and her head... and bouncing up and down with it... and dancing with it a little before she got to place the heart into her bunny before it was sewn up.

After we left the Build-A-Bear workshop, we also went shopping in the outlets for a little while. My dad (Grandpa George) was holding the cardboard box house that held her new ballerina bunny for a little while, as we shopped, but when Heidi noticed that he was holding her box... she got upset and said that he couldn't hold her bunny... that "he's killing it." I have NO idea how she got that idea! He was just holding it. I guess she just didn't want him to hold it, so I had to hold the bunny. Later, when we got in the car to go home, she told me that I could hold it if I made sure that I didn't hurt her. I guess she is just being really protective of her new bunny???

Overall, it was a fun day in Destin. It took us a little over an hour and a half to get back home to Grandma and Grandpa's house... and Heidi got to go to sleep with her new bunny, Fluffy. :)

Heidi Wants To Go To School

Heidi has been pretending a lot lately that she is in school. She usually tells me and my mom to get our books and follow her into the big room because it's school time... and then if we follow her, either Heidi or I have to be the teacher. We do things like counting, practicing sign language, reading nursery rhymes or other books, doing exercises, playing Simon Says, or just doing whatever the teacher says the student/s have to do.

Heidi just turned three this past Sunday (November 16th). Even if I could afford to send her to preschool right now (which we can't really do right now because we are temporarily jobless and homeless), she probably can't even go to a 3-year-old preschool program until she is almost 4-years-old because of her birth date, unfortunately. I think she wants to go to school and would probably do great in a 3-year-old program right now, but I guess we will just have to wait... Poor me! I guess Heidi will want to keep pretending to play school with me (or Grandma... or anyone else who will play) for another year or two... until I can eventually get her into some kind of a preschool program.

I remember when I was 3-years-old, I really wanted to go to school! I started going to a 3-year-old preschool program at Fort Rucker Elementary School. I remember my first day of school... I really wanted to ride the big, yellow school bus like my older neighbor kids, who got on the bus a couple of houses away from mine across the street. I remember standing out on my driveway wanting to get on the bus, but it just drove right past me and went over to the place where all of the big kids were waiting a couple of houses away. My mom drove me to school that day. Then, when we got there, my mom said that I told her to go after she took me to my classroom. I was ready to go to school without her. I also remember that there were little telephones on the wall on the left side of the room after I walked into the classroom. I guess I must not have started school on the same day as everyone else in the room because everyone in the room who knew their phone number in the classroom had a telephone with his/her name on it up on the wall. I just knew that I wanted my telephone up on the wall, so I went home and learned my phone number right away, so I could have mine up on the wall too! I can still remember it too... it was 598-8758. I hope Heidi will be as eager to go to school as I was... and it seems like right now, she is. :)

Stinky Poo Poo Head

Heidi has been calling people "Stinky Poo Poo Head" a lot lately. I don't know where she got it from, but I have tried telling her that it is not nice to call people mean names... and that it can hurt someone's feelings if you call a person a mean name. I think she thinks it's funny. Maybe it's just because she's three...

Glucose Test Results

I finally got my glucose test results back from the test that I took last Friday... The clinic called late this afternoon and told me that I passed the blood glucose tests that I had last week. I am really glad that I won't have to worry about having gestational diabetes! :)

Heidi's Birthday Parties

For Heidi's birthday, she got some Little People sets for her third birthday this past Sunday from Grandma Holly and Grandpa George. She got the Twirl and Dance Castle, Royal Tea Party Set, Royal Carriage, and a prince that comes with a frog (I guess so the princess can kiss a frog and he can turn into a prince). Heidi has really been enjoying playing with her new Little People. With all of the sets combined, there are 3 princesses, 2 princes, a frog, and a white puppy. She plays with them a LOT since she has gotten them. She also makes up the most interesting names for the different people. Here are some of the names she has used so far (a couple of them are normal):

Cassius
Toopsie
Tanksie
Grace
Heidi
Tacksis
Loyla

I guess she is just being creative with her naming of the Little People.

At the birthday party on Sunday, she had home made pizza, chocolate cake, and chocolate ice cream. In addition to all of the Little People sets, she also got a couple of coloring books (Strawberry Shortcake & Winnie the Pooh) and a Tinkerbell Color Wonder set from her Aunt Blair, and a couple of outfits with some matching swirly barrettes from Grandma Holly and Grandpa George. Her Great Aunt Linda also sent her a pretty, sparkly snow globe and a heart-shaped necklace with her name on it.

Oh yeah, Grandma Holly also gave Heidi some princess hair to play dress-up with. It is a piece of synthetic hair that is long, brown, and curly. You can twist it around a pony tail and pretend that you have long, luxurious princess hair. When Heidi opened that present up, she held it up for everyone to see and said "This is scary hair!" She is afraid of it and doesn't really want anything to do with it. I put it in my hair and wore it for a while to see if she would maybe get more used to it and see that it wasn't so scary afterall, but she's still afraid of it.

She also had two other parties! She had three parties for her third birthday this year!

On the Thursday before her birthday, she had a hot dog birthday lunch at her Grandpa Bob's house. At that party, she had cherry chip cupcakes. Grandpa Bob and Karen gave her a pretty head band with little people across the top of it that they picked up while they were on their cruise through central America... and they also gave her a $20 bill that we put into Heidi's savings account. Her Great Grandma Vesta gave her a pretty blue dress and a $5 bill... and Howard (Grandma Vesta's boyfriend) gave her a $5 bill. Brian and I gave her a Sleeping Beauty barbie (with a beautiful, sparkly, pink dress).

On the Friday before her birthday, she had a pizza birthday party at Grandma Sylvia's house. We also had cupcakes with sprinkles on top and she got to open even more presents. Grandma Sylvia and Grandpa Steve gave Heidi a pretty dress, a Muppet Baby book, and some really cute, pink rain boots with Hello Kitties on the toes (which she REALLY needs in Washington). Brian and I gave her the new Tinkerbell movie at that party.

So... Heidi got a LOT of presents this year for her birthday!

Before each party, she kept asking me if all of her friends were going to come over. I kept having to tell her that we can't have friends over this year for your birthday. She seemed really sad every time I had to tell her that there weren't going to be any kids coming over to play at her birthday parties. She really likes playing with other kids.

When I asked her what she wanted for her bithday a while back... she said she wanted a pink dolly, a dress, pizza, and hot dogs... so even though she didn't have any friends over, I think she got everything she was hoping for at her parties. She's still enjoying playing with all of her presents! :)

Failed My Glucose Test Today

This morning, I went into the lab next to my OB doctor's office to take my blood glucose test. I got there about 8:03am this morning, so parking was SO much easier than it usually is there. I had to drink a really sweet orange flavored drink... and then an hour later, they took a blood test.

This afternoon at about 4pm or so, the doctor's office called me with the results. I guess I did not do well on the glucose test, so they want me to fast tonight from 8pm to 8am, with only sips of water if needed. Then, I will go in at 8am and have a fasting blood glucose test taken. I guess then, I will have to drink DOUBLE the amount of the super sweet sugar drink that I drank today... and have another blood test at 9am, 10am, and 11am! I don't want to sit in the lab ALL morning, but I guess I will have to. I really don't like needles very much either! I am a big wimp!

Oh yeah, they also told me that I'm anemic. She asked me if I've been taking my prenatal vitamins everyday... and I really do take them religiously every night. She recommended that I start eating more red meats and said that they would give me a list of foods that I should try eating more when I go back to the office. I guess I will have to take an iron pill in addition to my prenatal vitamin.

I really hope tomorrow's blood sugar testing goes okay because I really don't want to have to worry about having gestational diabetes... on top of worrying about a tumor (which I'm hoping won't grow too quickly while I'm pregnant).

Halloween

Heidi went trick-or-treating as Cinderella this year with the Vaughn kids. Above are some pictures that Jenny took. I have a lot more pictures (that I've been taking since we left Fort Hood), but can't download them onto a computer... We're going to wait until we have a home someday, I guess.

Heidi's costume was a little big in the shoulders, but she can grow into it. You can see the Vaughn kids and some of the other neighborhood kids in these pictures. Heidi had fun that night. She got a little scared when she saw some scary masks (on people who were handing out candy).

Today, Heidi was eating a lollipop that had some bubble gum in the middle. She hadn't ever had bubble gum before, so I told her (when she bit into the gum part) that it was not a kind of candy that she could eat and swallow, but that it was bubble gum... and you can't swallow bubble gum. You just have to keep chewing it and then throw it in the trash when you are finished, but she didn't seem to get it. I knew she had swallowed it after a few chews and I asked her if she swallowed it:

Mom: Did you swallow the bubble gum?

Heidi: No.

Mom: Is it still in your mouth then?

Heidi: No.

She had swallowed it... Oh well... I might just have to wait a while to give her bubble gum (since she doesn't seem to understand yet how it works).

Another Tag

5 things I was doing 10 years ago
1. Was going to Troy State University (Dothan)
2. Was working at McDonald's
3. Was studying
4. Was sleeping
5. I guess 1998 was a pretty boring year for me. I didn't do much of anything other than work and go to school. Didn't even really have any friends. Sad, huh? At least I had good grades! I eventually graduated Summa Cum Laude (and it's not because I'm smart).

5 things on my to do list today...
1. Took a shower
2. Washed Heidi's hair
3. Made tacos
4. Cleaned Kitchen
5. Bought a baby gift for someone
(The day is pretty much over, so I just gave a list of things I've already done.)

5 snacks I enjoy
1. fresh fruit (grapes, apples, oranges, pineapple, etc)
2. ice cream
3. cookies
4. crackers (sometimes with cheese)
5. chips

5 things I'd do if I were a millionaire
1. Buy a house
2. Buy my parents a house closeby to mine
3. Fly to visit family a LOT more frequently
4. Make nice college accounts for my kids
5. Give a lot of money to the government when I pay my taxes

5 places I've lived
1. Alabama (Fort Rucker & Enterprise)
2. Germany (Marktbreit, Geibelstadt, & Hanau)
3. California (Fort Ord)
4. North Carolina (Fayetteville/Fort Bragg)
5. Texas (Fort Bliss & Fort Hood)
(... and now in Washington, but still in transition)

5 jobs I've had
1. McDonald's
2. English Tutor at ESJC (sometimes math)
3. Substitute Teacher
4. Library Aide
5. Teacher/Reading Aide

People I Tag: Anyone who reads this...

Goodnight Heidi...

Every night, we have to go through the same routine before Heidi goes to bed.

1. Put on pajamas
2. Brush teeth
3. Get her sippy-cup ready (fill it with water) because she takes it to bed with her
3. Read 2 books (sometimes more if they are really short or if she wants to read one back to me)
4. Sing songs (usually a couple or a few that she picks)

We sing SO many different songs. I just thought I would try to make a list of some of the different songs that we sing to see how many we use, so (in no particular order) here it is:

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star *
2. Rock-a-bye Baby *
3. Frere/Frare Jacques *
4. Are You Sleeping *
5. You Are My Sunshine
6. Row, Row, Row Your Boat *
7. London Bridges Falling Down
8. My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean
9. Yankee Doodle *
10. Where Is Thumbkin
11. Kum-by-ya (not sure of the spelling)
12. The Dinosaur Song (Me And My Dinosaur) *
13. Five Little Hotdogs *
14. Ten Little Indian Boys *
15. Ten Little Indian Girls *
16. ABC Song
17. Two Little Girls/Dolls
18. I Am A Child of God
19. Popcorn Song
20. Hush Little Baby Don't Say A Word
21. Mary Had A Little Lamb
22. Baa Baa Blacksheep

There may be more... I just thought I'd make a list. I put stars next to the ones that we've been singing the most lately.

If you have any suggestions of some other good ones we could try, feel free to let me know! :)

Missing My House At Fort Hood

I never really liked our house at Fort Hood very much. It was okay.... just an average-sized, 3-bedroom, 1-story home. We could have actually had a much nicer home if we had rented our bought a house just outside of Fort Hood while Brian was stationed there, but we decided to live in quarters because the utilities were free and we felt like it was just a little safer (with the gates/id card checks) while Brian was deployed (which he did end up doing for 15 months in Iraq). Now, though, Brian has gotten out of the army and we don't have a home or a job yet.

I really miss our fence-enclosed backyard. I used to be able to let Heidi go out and play by herself in our backyard without having to worry about her so much. Also, it was a pretty good-sized backyard, so there was plenty of room to run around... and we had lots of toys too (swing set, playhouse, a couple of slides, a Barbie car to ride around the yard in, a sand/water table, etc).

Heidi also had friends in the area at Fort Hood. She loved getting to play with Hazel & Annika (sisters from a nearby housing area), Amy (our next-door-neighbor), and some girls from church... like Abbie and Cloey. Since we've been in Washington, we've been moving between houses every 4 - 7 days or so for the last couple of months, so we haven't really gotten to know any families with kids for her to become friends with. Heidi really loves playing with other children. Her birthday is coming up next month and she's been talked about what she wants for her birthday... She wants: strawberry shortcake plates/cups/hats, a pink doll, a blue dress, pepperoni pizza, and for all of her friends to be there. She gets really excited when she talks about her birthday that is coming up... she keeps asking me if all of her friends will be there. Unfortunately, I don't think there will be any children at her party this year. I hope she won't be too sad.

At Fort Hood, we also had several playgrounds in and around our neighborhood. We even had one that was just 3 houses down the road from us. Here, there are several parks in the city of Bellingham, but you have you drive to get to any of them... so it's just not as convenient. It's also pretty cold and wet all of the time now (since it's October). I guess there might not be as many kids going to them to play now. We went the other day to the Whatcom Falls Park, which isn't too far away from Brian's dad's house. I think it is the closest one. It was a really pretty park, with huge trees, gigantic maple leaves (the biggest I have ever seen in my life!), an old bridge... it's kind of neat looking, a walking trail, and a couple of playgrounds. We were there for a while and there were just no kids around for her to play with. We brought a towel to dry off the slides with... because I guess this time of year here is just always very wet. I guess just not as many kids go to the playgrounds in the fall/winter here. In Texas, it was still pretty warm and was usually dry (unless it just happened to rain that day). Maybe we can try to go another day... and maybe there will be more kids.

I also miss just having all of our things. Heidi had been asking me when we were going to get our beds back... and has been asking me where some of her toys are. I keep telling her that they are in storage and that we will get them back someday when we get a home. I just don't know when that will be.

I had been hoping for a home at least by Christmas, but right now... I don't even know if we will have one by the time the baby gets here in February. We will have to take our things out of storage by February too... the army will only hold it until then. We will need all of our baby things too before the baby gets here, like: clothes, blankets, car seat, pack-n-play, etc.

I am just kind of sad today... thinking about how much I miss having my own home.

Tagged (by Stacey)

Eight tv Shows That I Like To Watch:
1. House
2. The Office (probably my favorite right now)
3. CSI:Miami (even though Horatio gets on my nerves)
4. Heroes (just got into it this season)
5. ER
6. Different Home Shows (like when they remodel/buy/sell)
7. Supernatural (Brian watches this, so I end up watching it too with him sometimes)
8. Law & Order

Eight Things That Happened Yesterday:
1. Heidi, Karen, and I went to Whatcom Falls Park (pretty waterfall/nice playgrounds)
2. We had mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert last night
3. Brian and Bob drove over the border into Canada to drop something off
4. Brian and I watched Heroes
5. Heidi and I read a book about a witch who falls off of her broom a lot ... and some others
6. We decided that the moral of The Little Red Hen was that you should be a Republican... because you should have to work for what you get (no handouts)... Brian read it last night
7. We saw some gigantic maple leaves yesterday at the park (the biggest I had ever seen)
8. I voted and mailed in my election ballot (and yes, I voted for McCain/Palin)

Eight Favorite Places To Eat:
1. Red Lobster (good salad, cheese rolls, and shrimp)
2. Texas Roadhouse (yummy rolls and good honey mustard sauce)
3. The Canton House (was the best Chinese place, but has now closed)
4. Red Robin
5. Ruby Tuesday
6. My Parents' House
7. Dragon Garden
8. Pizza Hut or Papa John's (whichever has the best coupon)

Eight Things To Look Forward To:
1. Having a home again someday!!!
2. Brian to find a job
3. To having our baby (we might name her Hannah, due around Feb 16th)
4. To having my own bed back... Heidi's books/toys back... and everything else that we own
5. To not living out of a suitcase anymore (which we've done now for a couple of months)
6. To visiting my mom and dad
7. Heidi's birthday (but it might be kind of sad because she wants to have friends over, but she doesn't have any friends here yet... since we don't really have a home and have been moving around a lot)
8. Holding our new baby

Eight People I Tag:
1. Stacey (Can you tag someone who already tagged you?)
2. I don't know anyone else who reads my blog, so whoever reads this... and please let me know if you do, so I can add you to my list of friends/family :)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

The Princess Heidi Story

Before we left Fort Hood, TX, I made up a princess story that Heidi has been asking me over and over since to retell to her. I just thought I might write it in here (since I will probably print this all out someday for her to have). Most people probably wouldn't find this very interesting, so you can just skip down to the next blog entry if you want...

The Princess Heidi Story

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Princess Heidi Elizabeth Blum. (This is when she usually will say that she is not "Blum.") Princess Heidi has long, beautiful, curly, blonde hair... and sparkly blue eyes... and pretty pink lips. She also lived in a gigantic castle that was covered in diamonds and sparkled so much that people could see it from miles away.

Everyone in the kingdom loved Princess Heidi. She was so kind to everyone that she met. If anyone ever needed anything, she would always do her best to help them out with whatever they needed. She also gave people candy and flowers all of the time. (I put that in there because Heidi loves picking flowers... and she loves candy, too.) Everyone loved the princess because she was so kind.

One day, a mean, evil, cruel witch came to town and saw the beautiful, sparkly palace and decided that she wanted it for herself... So, this mean witch went to the door of the palace and knocked (then I make the knocking sounds). Princess Heidi came to the door and said "Hello, is there something I can help you with?" The mean witch said in a very mean, grouchy, scratchy voice (and I make the voice when I say the next part) "Yes, I want your castle!" Princess Heidi then said "I'm sorry, but I cannot give you my home. If there is anything else I could do to help you out, I would try, but I just cannot give you my home." The mean witch then said in her mean, grouchy, scratchy, very loud voice "Abra cadabra alacazam" ... and POOF! ... Princess Heidi turned into a cute, little, fluffy, white bunny rabbit with a little, pink nose and a fluffy cotton tail. The mean witch then walked right in and took over the palace.

Nobody in the kingdom liked the mean witch who took over the palace. They didn't know what happened to Princess Heidi... and everyone was so afraid of the mean witch who had moved in.

Meanwhile, Princess Heidi just hopped around the town as a cute, fluffy, little bunny rabbit for a long time. Nobody knew who she was when they saw her.

Then oneday, a handsome prince, who had blonde hair and blue eyes came riding into town on an enormous white horse. He just happened to see a cute bunny rabbit hopping along the side of the road and he stopped to pick it up. He started petting the cute, little bunny he found and said "I think I would like to keep you for my pet because you are so cute." (Not that many guys would say anything like that... I know it's kind of a cheesy story, but Heidi really likes it.) Then, as he was holding the bunny in his hands, he brought the bunny closer to himself and gave her a kiss on the nose. Then... POOF! The cute, fluffy bunny rabbit magically changed back into Princess Heidi!

Princess Heidi then told the prince who she was and what had happened to her. They then rode on the prince's white horse to the sparkly palace to get rid of the mean witch. When they got there, the prince knocked on the palace door. When the witch came to the door, he took out his gigantic sword and stuck her with it (I usually make a kind of "ugh" noise... and kind of show the motion of moving the sword). Then, the witch died instantly and her body just magically disappeared!

Everyone in the kingdom was so happy to see Princess Heidi back. The prince and Princess Heidi also got married... and they had 10 babies... and they lived happily ever after.

The End

It's kind of a silly/cheesy (lacking in character development, plot, etc.) story that I just made up one day (sometime last August), but she has asked me over and over to keep telling her this story, so I thought I would write it down.

Oh, also... at the end of the story when I say that they had 10 babies, Heidi says that she's only going to have 1 or 2 when she grows up.

Sometimes, she talks about marrying a prince someday. She was even telling Karen about her prince about a week or so ago. She says that he's just a little boy right now. Then, oneday after they "grow bigger," they will meet and get married... and then she also says that they will go to the ball after they get married. ... She does watch a lot of princess movies...

Sunday

Today is Sunday, so we went to church. We went to a different ward today here in Bellingham(one that Brian used to go to when he was younger). Heidi seemed to have fun in the nursery. She seemed to become good friends with a little girl named Sofia. Her new friend even wanted to give her a kiss when I came to pick her up. The people working in the nursery were super nice too. She told me that a lady came in to sing with them and that she put a "beautiful, blue blanket with stars on it" on the ground for them to sit on while they sang..."and it was sparkly... and the lady said that she made it, too." I asked her what they sang and she said that they only did two songs: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star & The Itsy Bitsy Spider.

When we got home from church, I let Heidi play for a little while before we took a nap together. (I got kind of sleepy after reading her a couple of books, so I fell asleep with her.) Grandpa Bob has some soft, fluffy sheep skin things on the back of a small couch upstairs... Heidi likes to call them her turkeys. I don't know why she calls them turkeys. I've told her that they are from sheep. They don't even look like they are from a turkey. I think she just thinks it's funny to call them that. She likes to pull them off of the couch and lay down on them.

When I woke up from a short nap, I put the King Ranch Casserole (that I put together last night) into the oven. Brian's grandma and her boyfriend came over to eat with us tonight (at Brian's dad's house). We also had some salad, green beans, and garlic bread. I think the garlic bread was Heidi's favorite part of the meal. She won't eat the casserole, so I left some chicken out for her when I was putting it together.

I guess this is might be kind of a boring/uneventful blog... oh well. Maybe I'll have something better to write about later this week.

Cravings, Heidi, and Fall in Washington...

I am almost 23 weeks along now with the pregnancy and have really been wanting some fruit lately. I have especially been wanting oranges, pineapple, grapes, or apples. When I was pregnant with Heidi, it seems like I ate a lot of grapes and cantelope... and pizza. Pizza sounds pretty good too right now. I haven't had that in a while.

Heidi didn't take a nap today. I hope she won't get too grouchy. She just cried in her bed for about an hour before I let her finally get out of bed. I guess I should get her to bed early tonight. She is usually hard to be around if she hasn't had her nap.

Today, we're staying at Brian's dad's house. Heidi and I have played barbies a lot today and she was just pretending to talk to Genevieve (her cousin in San Antonio) on her Dora telephone that her friends Abbie and Cloey gave her for her birthday last year. She was saying something like "Hello... this is Heidi... I am at Grandpa Bob's house..." and then she said something about Genevieve's new baby sister Aubrielle (not sure if I have the name spelled right). I think she misses having other kids to play with. There aren't really any other kids around here to play with... unless she is at church in the nursery, but it seems like most of the kids in the nursery here might be younger than her... and it seems like there are a lot of boys, too. In Texas, most of the nursery was girls (with only one or two boys). They were all within two or three months of Heidi's age too, so I think she really enjoyed played with the kids in our old nursery in Texas.

Today has been kind of cold, wet, and rainy here in Washington. I guess this is what fall is like here. It is a big change from Texas weather. Heidi and I were watching the leaves on the trees fall from the trees in Grandpa Bob's backyard today. We talked about how the leaves change color from green to yellow or orange and then they fall off of the trees... and that's why this time of year is called fall. Then, we also talked about summer is the time of year when it is hot, like when we were in Texas.

I talked to my mom on the phone today. They left Maryland (where they were visiting my dad's side of the family) and are on the road back down to Alabama. I tried to call my sister too to find out how her move from Colorado to Alabama went, but didn't get ahold of her.

I need to go for now, so that's all for today...

We're In Washington Now...

It's been a while since I've written anything on here, so I thought I would do a quick update...

Around the 20th or 21st of August, we left Fort Hood, Texas. Brian is getting out of the army and is technically still on leave until 1 November.

Our first stop after leaving Texas was at Brian's sister's house in Kansas. Heidi had fun playing with her cousins while we were there for a few days. They played dress-up a lot, we went to a park, they fed ducks, and had fun playing with neighborhood kids.

Next, we stopped in Colorado to visit my sister, Blair, who has since moved to Fort Rucker, Alabama. Blair's husband is in the army and they had orders to go back to Fort Rucker. I'm sure my parents will be glad to have one of their kids closeby again.

After visiting Blair, we stopped in Utah to visit Brian's step-sister Lynsey and her family. I had never met them before. Heidi enjoyed playing with their youngest daughter, Mia (who is a little younger than herself).

The day that we left Lynsey's house, we stopped in Bountiful to visit Brian's Aunt MaryAnne and her family. We enjoyed a big lunch at their house and visited with them for most of the afternoon... and then we had to get back on the road again. We left their house maybe around 4pm or so and made it up to Ontario, Oregon that night to spend the night in a hotel. It was a brand new Holiday Inn Express and was very nice! I think we were they first people to have stayed in our room. The breakfast was actually pretty good too! They had eggs, bacon, bagels, yogurt, fresh fruit, cinnamon rolls, juice, and some other things. It was really pretty good for a free breakfast! Our room was sooo nice too! It had a big screen tv, granite counter tops, and everything just smelled so new.

The next day, we drove up to Maple Valley, WA and stayed the night with Ben and Jenny. Heidi had fun playing with their 5-year-old little girl, Ella.

Now, we are in Bellingham, WA. We have been staying with Brian's parents since we got here (with a couple more visits down to Ben and Jenny's house).

Brian is still looking for a job. He has gone to a couple of job conferences in Seattle for ex-military guys. He has had a couple of offers, but nothing we were really interested in. He is thinking about flying down to another job conference in San Antonio, TX next month that will have jobs from all over the country. They will be looking for ex-military academy graduates that have gotten out of the army. Hopefully we will find something soon. It would be nice to have a home when the baby gets here in February. Oh yeah, we also found out a couple of weeks ago that we are expecting a baby girl. We were excited. That's what we were hoping for. We also found out, though, when the doctor looked at my ultrasound, that I have a tumor at the top of my uterus. Hopefully it won't grow too quickly while I'm pregnant. I guess since I'm pregnant, I am producing more estrogen... and that is what makes them grow quicker. The doctor said we will just have to monitor it. I guess it could affect the position of the baby if it gets too big. They can sometimes lead to miscarriages, but I don't think mine is that big... but I guess if it grows too quickly, it could possibly lead to an early delivery. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Well, I guess that's enough for now.

Heidi's Obsession With Cherry Flavored Chapstick

Heidi has (in the last few weeks) become addicted to chapstick! She either calls it "lip stick" or "lip stuff" when she's asking where it is. She likes to put her cherry flavored chapstick on a couple to a few times every day. Sometimes she will keep putting it on and keep putting it on and I have to tell her "Okay Heidi, that's enough... let's put it away now." She really likes putting her "lip stick" on. She's definitely going to be a very girlie girl!

Heidi is Reaaaallly insisting on naming the baby Katie

Yesterday and today, Heidi has told me (refering to the baby) "Her name is not called Hannah. Her name is called Katie. Her name is not called Hannah. Her name is called Katie." I had asked her a while back if she liked the name Hannah, so she knows that I was thinking about naming the baby that if it was a girl... but she keeps INSISTING that the baby's name HAS to be Katie. I guess we could name her Hannah Katherine Blum and call her Katie, for short. Or we could name her Katie Hannah Blum... and then after she's born, just go with whatever Heidi wants to call her. We'll see... Maybe it won't even be a girl.

Heidi wants to call the baby Katie

The other day, Heidi told me we were going to call the baby in my tummy Katie. I don't know where she got that name from. We don't know any Katies. It is a cute name. I was thinking about using the name Hannah if it was a girl, but I guess Katie could be a possibility. I really like the name Sarah too, but Brian thinks it's too plain. Heidi already has a cousin named Sarah anyway, so I guess we should go with something else.

Today, Heidi took a plastic milk jug out of our recycling container and was pretending to pour it on me (making a shhhhhhh pouring noise). As she poured her pretend liquid on me, she said "I'm changing you into a boy." She doesn't want me to have a baby boy, though. She says that the baby is going to be a girl. I hope she's not too disappointed it if does turn out to be a boy. We really have no boy names picked out... so I am kind of hoping for a girl too, but we will have to wait until sometime around the end of September to find out what we're having.

First Prenatal Appointment for Baby #2

Today was my first prenatal appointment with baby #2. I guess Fort Hood is such a big army post and there are so many people having babies here that everyone who is pregnant gets a midwife (unless you have complications). I was a little disappointed with my visit today. This is nothing like the clinic that I went to when I was pregnant with Heidi. I was able to have an ultrasound the day after my first prenatal dr visit when I was pregnant with Heidi (at somewhere around 8 - 10 weeks gestation). Here, however, I have to wait until sometime between 16 - 20 weeks to get an ultrasound! I had already had probably 3 or 4 ultrasounds by the time I was 20 weeks along with Heidi! Then, I had even more later (since I had some bleeding problems from mid to late pregnancy). Pretty much all they did today was check my blood pressure and temp (99.9 degrees)... and ask about my and my family's medical history. I just don't think they are as good here as at the clinic I went to for my last pregnancy. Here, I am just another number. Oh well... I guess we are moving in about a month anyway, so we won't be here for long.

First Prenatal Appt For Baby #2

Genevieve was here this week...

Heidi's cousin Genevieve was visiting this week while her mom was at girls' camp. Here are some pictures of their time together...

They had fun coloring on the IKEA roll of paper that I sometimes roll out on the coffee table for Heidi to color on. They also enjoyed: eating fruit flavored V8 juice popsicles in the backyard, playing with the sand in the sand/water table, dressing up (with princess crowns, slippers, dresses, jewelry, etc), reading books, playing in the backyard, and playing with our Little People sets.

A couple of times, Heidi got a little frustrated with Genevieve and asked me "When's her Rachel going to come and take her?" But, when it was finally time for Genevieve to leave today, Heidi didn't want her to leave.

Baby # 2 is on his/her way and will be here around February 16th

Last week, I had been feeling a little sick off and on through the week. Last Friday, I decided that I would go to the medical clinic behind my house to get a free pregnancy test. I asked if I could go ahead and take a blood test because I was not really due to have my monthly visitor yet until Monday... so they gave me one. They told me that it would take about an hour for the results to come back and that they would call me if it was positive, so I went home. About 45 minutes later, the doctor at the clinic called and asked me to verify Brian's last 4 of his social security number before he could let me know my results, and he then told me that the test was positive. I gave Brian a call at work right away and told him. Then, I think I called everyone else in our families pretty soon after.

When I first told Heidi that I was pregnant and that I had a baby in my tummy, I asked her what she hoped that I would have... a boy or a girl. She said "No boys! We don't like boys!!"

Since we found out, I have checked out a few books about babies and where they come from to read to Heidi. I don't go into the specifics (like the books do). I like how they show the pictures of the babies in the mommies' tummies, though. I just tell her that when mommies and daddies love each other, sometimes a baby will start to grow in the mommy's tummy. She knows there is a baby in my tummy now. When we would cuddle on the couch and read books or watch tv, sometimes she used to say "That's Heidi's Momma" or "You're Heidi's Momma." Now, she says "That's/Your's Heidi's Momma and Baby's Momma." I think she is happy about it. When I was explaining that when it grows and grows in my tummy until it gets too big to stay in there anymore... it will finally come out... she said "Then we can kiss it."

Brian's Father's Day Gift

For Father's Day this year, Brian and I decided that it would be funny to see what Heidi would pick out on her own if she was given a chance. So, I took Heidi the other day into the Wal-Mart in Killeen. We walked all over the store, but she kept insisting that "Daddy wants a barbie." I tried to talk her into looking around to see if we could find something else he might like, but she wouldn't budge on the barbie idea. I knew that if we got the barbie for Brian, it would just really be for Heidi. I thought it would be funny if she picked out something like a weird cup from the summer aisle... or an ugly shirt... or some odd tool (since Brian likes tools)... or maybe even post-its. Anyway, we ended up getting a blonde-haired, bikini-wearing barbie with sunglasses for Father's Day this year!

... Oh, before we checked out and paid for the barbie, I knew that Heidi was probably going to want to play with it when we got home, so I also found a $3 set of sand toys for her to use with her sand and water table. I thought that if I got that also, she would maybe forget about the barbie and just play with her sand toys.... but that was not the case...

As soon as we got home from the store, Heidi was excited about getting to play with her new sand toys, but she ALSO wanted the new barbie that we had just purchased. I had to lie to her and tell her that "Oops, I left it at the store..." because she wasn't going for the "let's save it and give it to Daddy for Father's Day" idea anymore. So, I just left it in the car and she thinks that I left it at the store.

Today is Saturday, so Brian is home from work today. I went to the store to get a couple of things (imitation crab meat and cucumber to make some sushi rolls & a movie that I am giving Brian for Father's Day) and to return the movie we watched last night at the redbox vending machine (those are so great because movies are only a dollar to rent for a night).

When I got home from the store, Heidi asked me if I got her a barbie while I was there as soon as I walked in the door. I guess she isn't going to forget about the barbie. I am going to wrap it up tonight and let Heidi give it to him tomorrow morning for Father's Day. I am sure, though, that Brian will let her have it after he opens it. So, Heidi will eventually get her barbie.... even though it is not exactly what I had planned on for Brian's Father's Day gift.

Heidi moved into a "princess bed" tonight!

While I was pregnant with Heidi, Brian made a crib for her to sleep in. It is one that can change into a toddler bed and then into a regular bed later. I asked Brian to go ahead and change it into a toddler bed for her to sleep in because she is getting kind of heavy to be lifting up over the railing everyday. She called it her "princess bed" and seemed excited to go to sleep in it tonight. I hope it won't be a problem getting her to stay in there (without the bars surrounding her) for naps in the day.

My Wisdom Teeth

Yesterday, I had my top wisdom teeth taken out. I had my bottom wisdom teeth taken out a few years ago, and this time was a LOT better of an experience than the last time!

They gave me an IV and put me to sleep (because I'm a wimp), and I don't even remember getting into the car to go home afterwards. I had a really hard time waking up. I went home and went to bed. They gave me a prescription for some vicodin (for pain) and motrin (for swelling/pain), but I have only taken the motrin because I haven't been in any pain, really. Just a little achiness and discomfort. When I came home from my visit with the oral surgeon, I just went to bed because I was having a hard time staying awake and was a little nautious for most of the day/evening afterwards. I remember Heidi came in to my room after I had been in there for probably a couple of hours. She was saying "Mommy, come play with me." She brought me her Mr. Potato Head, who had two left arms and a bunch of other silly parts. She left him with me and said "This is for you Momma... You're sick." She also told me she loved me. She is such a sweet little girl sometimes.

Today, I took a motrin when I woke up and I am really feeling pretty well. Having my top wisdom teeth is no where near as bad as the time I had the bottom ones taken out. I was in a lot of pain with them and had to go back for the next week to have a really discusting, clove-flavored packing put into the hole because I had a dry socket.

Anyway, I am glad it is all over with. :)

Brian's Home From Iraq

It has been a while since I last wrote in my blog, so I guess I better do a quick catch-up...

Brian flew home from a 15-month tour in Iraq on December 30th. He brought Heidi some chocolate from his stop in Germany on his way back to the states and a little, yellow teddy bear with a smiley face on its t-shirt. The smiley face had an army hat on its head with an American flag and "Taji" written on it. Taji is where Brian was stationed most of the time that he was there. Brian was even interviewed by a local news station while holding Heidi and was on the news that evening! I took lots of pictures of Heidi with her Daddy. She just kept staring at him and even got a little teary-eyed. Before he arrived at the parade field (where we were picking him up), Heidi was all over the place running around and talking to people. I could hardly keep up with her... But when she saw her Daddy, she got excited and yelled "Daddy!!!" He picked her up and she just stared at him for the longest time, like she could hardly believe he was finally home. She was able to recognize him because in the 15 months that he was deployed, we looked at pictures of him and videos (of him either reading, singing, or doing This Little Piggy with her). We even had a 4x6 magnet with a picture of Brian that we kept on the fridge the whole time he was gone. Heidi used to carry that picture around with her a lot while she played. It has had quite a few things spilled on it and it has even been thrown up on a couple of times by Heidi in the 15 months Brian was gone. We were both happy to see him come back home.

We celebrated Christmas on New Year's Eve. This was probably one of the biggest Christmases we have ever had! We had lots of presents from grandparents and other friends & family members. Santa brought Heidi a Snow White, Belle, Cinderella, and a prince doll that she was pretty happy with. She had been wanting a Snow White doll for a while. Before Christmas, she kept telling me to "Go to store Mommy... Buy it, buy it... I want Snow White... Go to store Mommy... Buy it!" Brian had also ordered a bunch of camping gear and sleeping bags from online and had them sent to the house for Christmas presents, so we each got a new sleeping bag and some other neat things to take camping, which we will plan on doing sometime this spring before it gets too hot here in Texas.

Things are getting back to normal now. Heidi was pretty attached to her Daddy when he first came home, but now she is reattached to her Mommy again.

Heidi won't let Brian put her to bed at nap time or bed time. She also will not let him get her out of bed either. I went to the store one day about a week ago to get a few things and when I came home, Heidi had woken up from her nap, but she would not let Brian pick her up out of her crib. Instead, she just kept telling him "No, I want my Mommy. I need my Mommy." That's what she usually says if he goes in to get her out of bed. I guess on this day that I ran to the store, Brian said that she sat in her crib for about 20 minutes waiting for me to come get her (refusing to let him get her out of her bed).