#11 My cute baby bump finally appeared after losing over 10lbs in the first 2 months!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Top 11 in '11
I saw this on my good friends blog, Our Family of Four, and I just had to do this! 2011 has been such a roller coaster!
#11 My cute baby bump finally appeared after losing over 10lbs in the first 2 months!
#10 Celebrated my nephew Ashtons 1st birthday in Utah with him!
#9 We found out we were having a bouncy baby girl!!
#8 My nephew Mackey moved back to Utah from Sweden! and we spent his 9th birthday together!
#8 Went to Arizona and had my 1st baby shower! with my wonderful friends!
#7 had my 2nd Baby Shower in Utah
#6 Paul Had R&R!
#5 we had out beautiful baby!!
#4 I moved back to Kansas!
#3 Paul came home from Iraq!
#2 We went to California!
#1 We spent the Holidays together as a family!!
#11 My cute baby bump finally appeared after losing over 10lbs in the first 2 months!
Friday, December 30, 2011
2 years ago...
2 years ago, I walked into a Courthouse, I took his hand and promised to be faithful, to love him and to cherish him. I kissed him and smiled and signed my name on a contract. I married my very Best Friend.
Last year my husband was deployed and I spent my day getting a pedicure and going out to dinner with my Mom...which because I was in the Morning Sickness Stage didnt even end up staying down that long and I went to McDonalds instead.
Today, is my 2nd Wedding Anniversary and I have no idea whats in store for us! I am so grateful to have him home! I am sure before he deployed I took advantage of him being home, but concidering how close he came to not coming home I am never going to make that mistake again.
I couldn't ask for a better husband or father to Evelyn and I. He is the best thing to ever happen to us and he puts everything on the line for us. Evelyn will grow up respecting her Daddy because he risks so much for us.
I dont like people who take advantage of their husbands. Posting things on facebook or twitter about how they are fighting and how they wish they'd just leave. My husband and I arnt perfect but we would never disrespect eachother and air our dirty laundry like that. I'll always appreciate that my husband is home safe with me, and not at war.
I dont know what our 3rd Anniversary will bring, who knows what will be going on as far as Deployments and Trainings go..but I am so glad to have him home with me at this very moment! I'll never take advantage of that again.
Happy Anniversary to my very Best Friend. I couldnt be happier with where we are today! Cant wait to see what you have in store for us!
Last year my husband was deployed and I spent my day getting a pedicure and going out to dinner with my Mom...which because I was in the Morning Sickness Stage didnt even end up staying down that long and I went to McDonalds instead.
Today, is my 2nd Wedding Anniversary and I have no idea whats in store for us! I am so grateful to have him home! I am sure before he deployed I took advantage of him being home, but concidering how close he came to not coming home I am never going to make that mistake again.
I couldn't ask for a better husband or father to Evelyn and I. He is the best thing to ever happen to us and he puts everything on the line for us. Evelyn will grow up respecting her Daddy because he risks so much for us.
I dont like people who take advantage of their husbands. Posting things on facebook or twitter about how they are fighting and how they wish they'd just leave. My husband and I arnt perfect but we would never disrespect eachother and air our dirty laundry like that. I'll always appreciate that my husband is home safe with me, and not at war.
I dont know what our 3rd Anniversary will bring, who knows what will be going on as far as Deployments and Trainings go..but I am so glad to have him home with me at this very moment! I'll never take advantage of that again.
Happy Anniversary to my very Best Friend. I couldnt be happier with where we are today! Cant wait to see what you have in store for us!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
1st/2nd Christmas & 1st Christmas!
I bet you wonder what the hell my title means. Well this was Hubbys and Mines 1st Married Christmas spent together. Last year was our first but since he was in Iraq its hard to count it. So its our 1st/2nd married Christmas :) Oviouslly its Evelyns 1st Christmas!
So we spent our Christmas in Fort Riley, and it was a blast to have it just as us! There was no drama and no heart ache it was amazing. I couldnt have asked for a better Christmas with my little family! I am sure thankful to my family and friends who went to great lengths to make this a special day for our family. We only had one person attempt to ruin the day and I am happy to say she didnt get very far with it. Lesson Learned.
Anyways. Evelyn opened her 1st gift on Christmas Eve and got PJ's per my families tradition and Hubby and I plan to keep the tradition alive!
as you can see she loved the present and even did a good job at opening it. She got into her PJ's and so did mommy and daddy and we ate our little Christmas Eve dinner. It was a nice little thing we wanted to try since a good friend of ours was doing a big Christmas dinner the next day. After dinner it was bed time for everyone!
We did play "santa" this year. We wanted it for Evelyns scrapbook, and I was dying to do it anyways! We even made sure to include Evelyn in milk & cookies. Hubby enjoyed that part.
The next morning Evelyn woke up at 7:30 and I threw breakfast in the oven then down came Evelyn. You could tell she knew something was up. She enjoyed opening her presents and helping mommy and daddy open theirs! Evelyn got some amazing gifts from her family! She got a few toys but not so many since we're moving in 3 months there was no point in buying her big things. So we will have to buy bigger things at the time goes on or even when Easter comes around.
So we spent our Christmas in Fort Riley, and it was a blast to have it just as us! There was no drama and no heart ache it was amazing. I couldnt have asked for a better Christmas with my little family! I am sure thankful to my family and friends who went to great lengths to make this a special day for our family. We only had one person attempt to ruin the day and I am happy to say she didnt get very far with it. Lesson Learned.
Anyways. Evelyn opened her 1st gift on Christmas Eve and got PJ's per my families tradition and Hubby and I plan to keep the tradition alive!
The next morning Evelyn woke up at 7:30 and I threw breakfast in the oven then down came Evelyn. You could tell she knew something was up. She enjoyed opening her presents and helping mommy and daddy open theirs! Evelyn got some amazing gifts from her family! She got a few toys but not so many since we're moving in 3 months there was no point in buying her big things. So we will have to buy bigger things at the time goes on or even when Easter comes around.
1) Evelyn waking up in the morning! 2) Santa came! 3) even ate his milk & cookies
4) Evelyn coming down with Daddy 5) Daddy and Evelyn checkin it out 6) ready for gifts!
Evelyn recived a ton of gifts! But the Fisher Price Dog was kinda scary for her.
She still isnt very sure on how much she likes it.
The Hubby and I got the best gifts! I was actually surpised how much we got eachother but we both needed a few things and we ended up with most of the things we needed.
We had Christmas dinner at a friends house and it was a great night! We didnt take any pictures though I wish I had took some of my Oreo Pudding Poke Cake I did. It tasted delicious! I am so glad we got the chance to celebrate this day with our Military Family. It was definitly an experience not to forget! Hopefully one day we will have the chance to go back home to Utah and spend the day with our families but us as Military Families never know what the next year will hold for us, so I am glad to have spent it with my little family.
I hope everyones Christmas was just as wonderful as our was.
Our 2nd Anniversary is on the 30th and I cant wait to get away for a night!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas!
From my family to yours! Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!
Remember the reason for the season, and dont forget those who dont get to spend the Holidays with their families. God Bless you all!
Love, The Optimistic Army Wife
Elizabeth, Evelyn and Paul.
Remember the reason for the season, and dont forget those who dont get to spend the Holidays with their families. God Bless you all!
Love, The Optimistic Army Wife
Elizabeth, Evelyn and Paul.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Vacation Part 3
Now for my favorite day!! SAN FRANCISCO! This was the day I needed to be the last day because nothing would compare to this day!
Last time we were in California we missed the boat to Alcatraz by 20 minutes! This was not going to happen again, so we bought our tickets before we went to California. I was super excited! I have been dying to go here for a long time! Even though it was 55 bucks for us 2 (baby was free) it was worth every penny! I will take Evelyn here again when shes old enough to understand what this place is all about!
You have to take a boat to get the the Island which was huge and fun! We both had not been on a boat forever so we gladly whisper the words "I am on a boat" lyrics to eachother.
As soon as we arrived we were able to explore the whole island. We took our time since there was so many people and so many things to see that we actually learned that Alcatraz was a Military station for a while! It protected San Francisco! Pretty neat to see the PX (pictured below)
When you get to the top of the island its the Cellhouse. You actually get to do an audiotour through it, which has some Old Guards and Immates from Alcatraz naurating the whole walk though. It really came in handy when Evelyn started throwing a fit. It was so much fun getting to know some more history! Heres just a few pictures of Alcatraz
If you look in the left cornor by the floor you can see a hole where the famous escape attempt happened. there were 3 rooms that had the hole in them. Behind the wall were pipes they climbed. They never found out if they ever made it back to San Francisco or not. But bodies were never found.
Last time we were in California we missed the boat to Alcatraz by 20 minutes! This was not going to happen again, so we bought our tickets before we went to California. I was super excited! I have been dying to go here for a long time! Even though it was 55 bucks for us 2 (baby was free) it was worth every penny! I will take Evelyn here again when shes old enough to understand what this place is all about!
As soon as we arrived we were able to explore the whole island. We took our time since there was so many people and so many things to see that we actually learned that Alcatraz was a Military station for a while! It protected San Francisco! Pretty neat to see the PX (pictured below)
Alcatraz Island
Evelyn and Hubby entering the prison
Well thats the most exciting parts of my vacation! I hope you all had fun reading it :)
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Christmas Quiz
I have seen this flying around everywhere! From Our Family of 3 to The Life of an Army Wife so here I go!
CHRISTMAS QUIZ
1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
This time of year its Egg Nog with a bit of milk! YUM!
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
Santa always wraps presents! and sets them out on the couch!
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
on the tree its white! I love the classics!
outside is colored
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
I want to! I dont know where to get it.
5. When do you put your decorations up?
After Thanksgiving Dinner.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
MM Spiral honey baked ham and turkey!!
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Oh the joy of sitting at the top of the stairs waiting to go down
and see what Santa brought us!
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I was snooping and found our letters to Santa in my parents room.
Yeah I snoop...WHAT!
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
YEPP! Jammies!
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
This year its white lights and red, gold and green ordements
11. Snow! Love it or dread it?
LOVE IT! hate driving in it.
12. Can you ice skate?
AHHH, I have tried.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Hubby gave me my engagment ring :)
14. What’s the most important thing about the holidays for you?
Family
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes!
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
I love opening Jammies on Christmas Eve!
We're starting to buy Evelyn an Ordement for every year and plan on
buying an ordement for every duty station we have.
17. What tops your tree?
A star!
18. Which do you prefer-Giving or getting:
I love to find presents for other people so definitly GIVING!
19. Candy canes:
LOVE EM!
20. Favorite Christmas show?
A Christmas Story!
21. Saddest Christmas song?
Christmas Shoes
22. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Christmas Eve/Sarajevo By: Trans-Siberian
Vacation Part 2
After we came down from the mountains and into the real life world again we took a day to go see Sacramento. We had to go there for a friends graduation from College so we headed out early enough to see the sites before her ceremony.
We didnt stay out long, Evelyn refused to eat in public almost the entire trip so we took her back to the hotel. Our hotel was only a few blocks down from the hotel so it was nice to walk around.
One of the first things we decided to do was hit up a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives resutrant called The Squeeze Inn..the famous cheeseskirt! It was so greasy but definitly hit the spot!
After that we had to pretty much rush off to the graduation! It was very cool to watch Melanie graduate and then hang out with her and our friends!
Not much to say that happend around this time but it was really fun!!
We didnt stay out long, Evelyn refused to eat in public almost the entire trip so we took her back to the hotel. Our hotel was only a few blocks down from the hotel so it was nice to walk around.
One of the first things we decided to do was hit up a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives resutrant called The Squeeze Inn..the famous cheeseskirt! It was so greasy but definitly hit the spot!
Not much to say that happend around this time but it was really fun!!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Vacation Part1
Because we did so much on Vacation and I want to be sure to update my family and friends back home on how Vacation went I decided to break this into 2 parts.
First we left on the 11th of December and it went pretty good! Evelyn did amazing on the plane and we arrived to our destination safely and on time. Oakland Airport is pretty easy to get though. When we first got to the rental car area the reservation from Dollar Rentals declined Hubbys credit, claiming he had bad credit...which was completly FALSE both of us have over a 700. Hertz did the exact same thing! Finally after a ton of frustration Alamo gave us a car, though they didnt have a military discount, the nice guy leading us to our car upgraded it! We ended up driving a Dodge Avendger which we already own but it was nice to not have to get used to a new car. (I ended up backing into a stump in the middle of the night and then because the bumper was low the exhaust melted the plastic..thank god for insurance!)
We arrived to Sonora, California to see Hubby mother at about 9 at night so we didnt stay very long since we were still on Kansas time and Evelyn was dying to roll around. The next day we went to Yosemite and though we brung along Hubbys mothers friend, who didnt shut up the whole time it was a really beautiful place to see!!
We stayed 3 days in Sonora exploring the town and going to some little shops and picking up some extra sweet cupcakes and taffy! Though I wasnt thrilled to be there I did have alot of fun...heres a few photos of Yosemite.
First we left on the 11th of December and it went pretty good! Evelyn did amazing on the plane and we arrived to our destination safely and on time. Oakland Airport is pretty easy to get though. When we first got to the rental car area the reservation from Dollar Rentals declined Hubbys credit, claiming he had bad credit...which was completly FALSE both of us have over a 700. Hertz did the exact same thing! Finally after a ton of frustration Alamo gave us a car, though they didnt have a military discount, the nice guy leading us to our car upgraded it! We ended up driving a Dodge Avendger which we already own but it was nice to not have to get used to a new car. (I ended up backing into a stump in the middle of the night and then because the bumper was low the exhaust melted the plastic..thank god for insurance!)
We arrived to Sonora, California to see Hubby mother at about 9 at night so we didnt stay very long since we were still on Kansas time and Evelyn was dying to roll around. The next day we went to Yosemite and though we brung along Hubbys mothers friend, who didnt shut up the whole time it was a really beautiful place to see!!
We stayed 3 days in Sonora exploring the town and going to some little shops and picking up some extra sweet cupcakes and taffy! Though I wasnt thrilled to be there I did have alot of fun...heres a few photos of Yosemite.
Evelyn and I in Yosemite.
She stayed in her carseat because she was throwing fits when we'd take
her out and put her back in
Hubby and I at Bridal Veil Falls.
(hate that this photo is blurry)
We loved the pretty views!!
Evelyn slept in the bathtub. We didnt have the portacrib.
I did it when I was a baby and it worked great for Evelyn!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Happy 5 Months!
Oh my precious baby girl! Your turning into such a big girl! I can hardley believe your the same baby still. You amaze me every day.
Your 5 months old and you've changed so much from where you were a month ago! Your such a silly girl! You mommy and daddys little jumping bean! I still cannot believe how interested you are in standing up like a big girl!
Well baby girl heres a few things about you I dont want to forget.
Diapers
Size 2 diapers
Clothes
You can wear a few longer sized 3 months but most of those are packed away and your wearing your 3-6 months! but 3-6 month & 6 month PJS...your body is very long!
Feedings
Bottle of formula every 3 hours. You were doing rice cereal but hated it, so we gave you a break since we went to California and we plan on give you a mushed banana soon and try you on real food!
Sleep
Usually you only wake up once a night, which is a new development. You sleep 13 hours usually. Your in your own crib and you do love being in your own bed.
Favorite Things
You LOVE your bouncer! (which if your not a personal friend on FB check out this video) Your chewing on everything you can get your mouth on! I caught you chewing on the coffee table legs, yuck!
You got a teething blanket from Babies R Us and you love it!
Plastic Chains are your favorite toys! Also your ring rattle is a favorite!
We bought you a Sophie Giraffe for Christmas to teeth on as well as some more cool teethers so it will de interesting to see how you do with those :)
Firsts
Oh girl your rolling everywhere! You dont seem interested in crawling, all you want to do is stand! So I am thinking you wont be crawling and might just jump ahead. But you have been scooting a little bit when you feel like it.
You went on your very first vacation! I know you hated it because you started pushing and straightening out your body when we put you in your carseat, believe me! never again will we do that to you.
You are holding your own bottle but you still need some help with keeping it up, you get lazy.
Your bouncing in your bouncer now! which is a blast to watch you play!
another thing I wont forget is that your such a daddys girl!!
well Miss Evelyn, you'll never know how much you mean to Daddy and I. We cant imagine our lives without your beautiful face in it. We cannot wait to see what a beautiful girl your going to grow into!
Love Mommy and Daddy
Your 5 months old and you've changed so much from where you were a month ago! Your such a silly girl! You mommy and daddys little jumping bean! I still cannot believe how interested you are in standing up like a big girl!
Well baby girl heres a few things about you I dont want to forget.
Diapers
Size 2 diapers
Clothes
You can wear a few longer sized 3 months but most of those are packed away and your wearing your 3-6 months! but 3-6 month & 6 month PJS...your body is very long!
Feedings
Bottle of formula every 3 hours. You were doing rice cereal but hated it, so we gave you a break since we went to California and we plan on give you a mushed banana soon and try you on real food!
Sleep
Usually you only wake up once a night, which is a new development. You sleep 13 hours usually. Your in your own crib and you do love being in your own bed.
Favorite Things
You LOVE your bouncer! (which if your not a personal friend on FB check out this video) Your chewing on everything you can get your mouth on! I caught you chewing on the coffee table legs, yuck!
You got a teething blanket from Babies R Us and you love it!
Plastic Chains are your favorite toys! Also your ring rattle is a favorite!
We bought you a Sophie Giraffe for Christmas to teeth on as well as some more cool teethers so it will de interesting to see how you do with those :)
Firsts
Oh girl your rolling everywhere! You dont seem interested in crawling, all you want to do is stand! So I am thinking you wont be crawling and might just jump ahead. But you have been scooting a little bit when you feel like it.
You went on your very first vacation! I know you hated it because you started pushing and straightening out your body when we put you in your carseat, believe me! never again will we do that to you.
You are holding your own bottle but you still need some help with keeping it up, you get lazy.
Your bouncing in your bouncer now! which is a blast to watch you play!
another thing I wont forget is that your such a daddys girl!!
well Miss Evelyn, you'll never know how much you mean to Daddy and I. We cant imagine our lives without your beautiful face in it. We cannot wait to see what a beautiful girl your going to grow into!
Love Mommy and Daddy
Monday, December 19, 2011
Ahhhh...
I am home in Kansas. I am happy to be here...for now heres a sneek peek at our trip :) I will be blogging when my home is put back together. :)
Friday, December 9, 2011
Christmas Cards!
From our Family to Yours :)
I will be gone next week on Vacation in California but be back before Christmas. Hope you all have a wonderful week!! Keep up with me on Twitter! @optimisticarmyw
I will be gone next week on Vacation in California but be back before Christmas. Hope you all have a wonderful week!! Keep up with me on Twitter! @optimisticarmyw
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Story of Our Tree
Our Very 1st Christmas Tree! and spending it as a family of 3! I am so super excited we will be spending Christmas alone. We will be having dinner with friends but Christmas Morning will be all about us 3. I will be following my Dad's tradition and making French Toast Cassarole for breakfast followed by Christmas Presents and of course watching A Christmas Story. But enough for that let me tell you the Story Behind the Tree.
My husband always had a real tree for Christmas, and I have always had a fake tree. Because this is our first Married Christmas spent together we had the merging of the traditions...or more like Battle of the Traditions. My husband told me when he was in Iraq that I could do my themed tree. I just wanted to do red and silver ordements with a few candy canes thrown in there, but once my husband saw my idea he flipped out, right in the middle of Hobby Lobby, my husband called me the Grinch and said I was ruining Christmas. So after a few talks in the middle of the store I caved and let my husband pick the ordements. We got Red, Gold and Green which isnt bad..just wasnt my plan.
We had another big thing going for us with the tree. Fake VS Real. I dont mind real trees, but I have never had a real tree. I always found they seem like a pain. We will be gone for a whole week in December and I'd hate for something to happen while we were away. My husband fought me tooth and nail on it, but this was something I wasnt willing to let go. But he did win his battle on having it non pre-lite. But I remind him that how much we spent on lights we could have bought the pre-lite.
We set the Tree up the day after Thanksgiving, and we didnt have enough lights so we had to run to Walmart, and then we tried to put up our ordements and we didnt have hooks. 2 runs to Walmart. It was ok because I went by myself one time and got Hubby another Christmas present! :)
Needless to say...the tree...oh the tree. Hopefully this will be easier on us next year.
Heres the beauty!!
My husband always had a real tree for Christmas, and I have always had a fake tree. Because this is our first Married Christmas spent together we had the merging of the traditions...or more like Battle of the Traditions. My husband told me when he was in Iraq that I could do my themed tree. I just wanted to do red and silver ordements with a few candy canes thrown in there, but once my husband saw my idea he flipped out, right in the middle of Hobby Lobby, my husband called me the Grinch and said I was ruining Christmas. So after a few talks in the middle of the store I caved and let my husband pick the ordements. We got Red, Gold and Green which isnt bad..just wasnt my plan.
We had another big thing going for us with the tree. Fake VS Real. I dont mind real trees, but I have never had a real tree. I always found they seem like a pain. We will be gone for a whole week in December and I'd hate for something to happen while we were away. My husband fought me tooth and nail on it, but this was something I wasnt willing to let go. But he did win his battle on having it non pre-lite. But I remind him that how much we spent on lights we could have bought the pre-lite.
We set the Tree up the day after Thanksgiving, and we didnt have enough lights so we had to run to Walmart, and then we tried to put up our ordements and we didnt have hooks. 2 runs to Walmart. It was ok because I went by myself one time and got Hubby another Christmas present! :)
Needless to say...the tree...oh the tree. Hopefully this will be easier on us next year.
Heres the beauty!!
Monday, December 5, 2011
Amature
Yesterday I decided to try and do my own photos..I am not a professional by anymeans but I tell you it was hard work to get Evelyn to sit still, stop sticking her tounge out and smile. I am pretty proud of what i caputred though! I think I'll get better for New Years and Valentines Day, plus some secret photos for Daddy B-day!
Take a look and let me know what you think :)
Take a look and let me know what you think :)
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