18.4 %

Yup! You read that right. We are 18.4 % done with this deployment! Woo Hoo! Time is flying by. I get excited everytime the percentage goes up.

Today was busy. I had an appointment with my new doctor. The joys of switching insurance in the middle of the pregnancy. The positive is that Aubrey is right on track and this doctor will also allow us to Skype the birth. That being said Jack will be able to watch his daughter being born. I am excited about that.

Tonight is my much awaited taco and movie night with my neighbor. Yeah! Should be fun. And tomorrow we are having a craft day. I know it sounds nerdy but we are excited. The little things that keep me going during deployment.

Oh and the fact that my sister is planning an awesome baby shower. I am so excited about it. And she will be the host of my shower here in FL too. I am getting more and more excited about Aubrey's arrival. I have to call to make an appointment to tour the hospital soon. I am 6 months pregnant already. Crazy huh?

Now on to the pictures of the day...

Day 13 - Tuesday July 5th

Spoiled kitty and his favorite toy

Day 14 - Wednesday July 6th

Starting Aubrey's stash of diapers

Day 15 - Thursday July 7th
Super moto truck on the way to Tampa. I had to take a picture


2nd picture for Thursday
24 weeks! 6 Months Pregnant.


Day 16 - Friday July 8th
Kobe finds the most interesting places to hide. Weird Cat.

Hope all is well with everyone and that everyone had a good week.

JMS- Ilu so very much and I miss you!

XoXo

Amanda

Ten on Tuesday

So its Tuesday and I updated the blog yesterday and I am posting again today. Woo hoo! I am finally becoming a blogger. haha. So I am doing a 10 on Tuesday post. Here goes.

1. Aubrey is an active little girl. She likes to kick... alot... especially at night. Thanks baby girl.

2. Work is super busy right now. I am loving it. It keeps me occupied and not missing Jack as much. Well at least during the day when I am busy.

3. I celebrated the 4th with the Bylers. They are awesome and I love that Morgan and her mother in law had amazing food. A pregnant woman's dream.

4. My sister is an amazing party planner. Seriously Jody could make a business of it. She is awesome.

5. Kobe is quite the spoiled cat. I swear. But if he brings that feather wand to bed one more time I might scream. That thing will startle you in the middle of the night.

6. Deployment food is interesting. I cook the most random meals. The other day I wanted instant mashed potatoes and a hot dog. So thats what I ate. I am not sure if it is the pregnancy or the deployment. But I eat weird.

7. My neighbor is awesome and pretty much predicted what I was craving this week. She invited me over for tacos on Friday. yum yum.

8. I am not sure about laying out and getting color this summer. Out of the 5 or 6 bathing suits I own I don't feel like any of them fit. For that matter I feel like nothing I own fits me. Its kind of annoying.

9. My husband always knows how to make me smile. Its something that makes me fall more and more in love with him everyday.

10. Netflix is addicting. Just putting that out there. It was an amazing investment.

So thats my 10 on Tuesday for the week.
Hope all is well with everyone.

JMS- I miss you lots and love you tons!!!
Stay safe my heart.

XoXo
Amanda

Moving Along...

16.7 % done with this deployment. Thats pretty good. I am excited. Things have been moving along.
Today was the 4th of July. I spent it with my favorite family other than my own, the Bylers. They are like family anyways. I have been there for both of their kids first fourths. And it has been a blast. They really make me feel like I am a part of the family and that means a lot to me. Plus Jack and I are their youngest child's godparents and Adam is Aubrey's godfather. So they are family.

Anyway.. on to the pictures.

Day 8 - Thursday June 30th

Belly Picture - 23 weeks pregnant

Day 9 -Friday July 1st

A new month on the calendar... getting through this deployment one day at a time

Day 10 - Saturday July 2nd

Spoiled Kitty and all his toys. Silly Kobe. He brings that feather wand thing to bed every night. Its a treat... let me tell you.

Day 11 - Sunday July 3rd

Now that Daddy has seen them... Aubrey's latest picture. She isn't shy about announcing she is a girl

Day 12 - Monday July 4th

Miss Adalynn's 1st 4th. I have more pictures but this one is too cute not to use as the picture of the day.

Hope everyone had a great holiday with their family and friends. Remember that we live in the land of the free.. because of the brave.

Missing my hero today and everyday, but so thankful to have him to miss. So thankful he is brave enough to fight for us. I just think that imagine what he does for people he doesn't even know, imagine what he would do for me and Aubrey. I am proud my husband fights for what he loves, his country and his family.

JMS - ilu and I am so proud of you. Stay Safe.

XoXo

Amanda

14.2 % done!!!

Okay... So I am updating again relatively quickly. Go me! I just had stuff to say today so I am updating.

I went to a specialist appointment for Aubrey today. I have pictures but until Jack sees them I will wait to post them. Everything is great. Aubrey's heart looks perfect according to her doctor. That was a huge relief. The doctor thinks that Aubrey will be here no later than October 19th. Who knows. She is on her own schedule. Right now she is breech. Apparently her feet in my rib cage are fun to her. The doctor also said that he thinks she will be at most 8 lbs and that is if she stays on the track she is and goes all the way to her due date of October 27th. So thats a lot of ifs. The good part about all this is that I got to talk to Jack today and let him know all this.

I can't even begin to tell you how much of a relief it is to know that Aubrey is growing on track and healthy. I don't know that I really let myself get excited about her arrival until today. I wanted to make sure that everything was okay. And it is. It is such a relief. Jack and I feel so blessed.

Now on to the pictures of the day.


Day 6 - Tuesday June 28th

Our patio. Definitely need to do something with that.

Day 7 - Wednesday June 29th
had the carpets at the old apartment cleaned. They look so much better!


Second picture for today... couldn't help it

My little dinner guest - Bentley. Isn't he adorable?

The new apartment is awesome. I love it. And I have an awesome neighbor. A girl that has a dog named Bentley, likes crafts and Lil Wayne and likes to eat. Could it get any better? I can see Lacey and I becoming fast friends. We had dinner at my house today. Next week we are going to have dinner at Lacey's and then a craft weekend date. How much fun. I know I am a geek but its okay because she likes the same things. I can see this deployment going by a lot easier if I have a friend right next door.

So yeah.. the title. We are already 14.2% done with this deployment. That's exciting. Time is flying by. I love it. Each day is another day closer to Aubrey's birth and then another day closer to homecoming. I can't wait.

Hope everyone is having a good week.

JMS - ilu and i miss you! I love that I have gotten to talk to you as much as I did the past few days. I am a lucky girl. Stay safe and stay strong my heart!

XoXo

Amanda

Picture a Day.

So I am starting a picture a day while you are gone project. I decided to start it on Thursday June 23rd. Thursdays are the days I start a new week for the pregnancy so that made it easy. haha.

Day 1 - Thursday June 23rd

22 Weeks pregnant with our little girl

Day 2 - Friday June 24th

Old apartment all packed to move

Day 3- Saturday June 25th

Moved into the new apartment. This is Aubrey's room in progress

Day 4 - Sunday June 26th

Kobe testing out the crib.

Day 5 - Monday June 27th

Getting stuff together for the first care package.

So this is the start of the picture a day while you are away. At the end I will make a scrapbook like I did last time.

Hope everyone is having a great week!!

JMS- ilu and miss you. I am so proud of you!!!

XoXo

Amanda

Moving

Moving is never fun. I mean really who wants to pack up all their stuff, lug it into cars or trucks, lug it into a new place and then unpack everything. I mean really its a pain.

Now add on to that Jack being gone. So now I have to pack alllll by myself. I have been working on it for about a month. As of today about 39 hours before move time, I have everything packed minus my bedding, shower stuff, and a few dishes, as well as the cat and some clothes to wear. I feel pretty accomplished. I found people to help, when said people were unavailable due to work commitments, I found other people. Thank you to the amazing friends that have stepped up to help, regardless if you are actually able to Saturday or not. It was awesome of all of you to offer.

Then I turned off the utilities at the old apartment, turned them on in the new apartment. Only to get a call 2 days after I did that and changed our address that the complex is putting us in a different apartment. So I called and fixed all that.

I got the cat carrier. I will bribe the cat into it. That will not be successful I am sure but I am going to try.

So yeah moving is not fun. But I am excited to be done with it. I think I have a good plan. Once its all said and done I will take pictures. I am going to start the picture a day while you are away thing as of today. So come Sunday I will upload this week's pictures. Thursdays will always be belly pictures. So at least I have some guidance. haha.

Hope all is well with everyone.

JMS - I miss you tons!! Stay safe. Ilu!! I'll see you in my dreams my amazing man!

XoXo
Amanda

Updates

So Jack reminded me that I needed to write in my blog more. I know this but have been crazy busy so I am going to try a 10 on Sunday to update some and come back and add pictures later. So here goes.

1. Work is keeping me insanely busy. In the past two weeks I have been home 2 days, much to the annoyance of Kobe, and have been to DC, Baltimore, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester and Erie. Yeah busy.

2. Kobe does not enjoy me being gone all the time. He is just now coming to say hello and I have been home 2 hours. Finicky cat.

3. I got to see Bentley when I was in Buffalo. I cried when I left him. That dog is my baby. And he can be a brat at times. He stole Chester's bone. Silly B.

4. I miss Jack insanely much but I am finding this deployment easier than the first. Maybe its because I am so busy.

5. Things are coming along for Aubrey's room. Her crib and swing and dresser are here. While I still have to go and pick up her dresser, it apparently came while I was gone.

6. My sister is due a month after me. Its awesome to go through pregnancy with my sister. I love it.

7. We are moving in less than a week. I have to finish packing. Packing tacks awhile and its a lot of work. Whew.

8. I saw Amanda when I was in Buffalo. Amazing. Definitely made my week.

9. Jack and I are really getting a lot accomplished during this deployment. I am super proud of us and whats happening.

10. My dvr is insanely full. I need to work on getting that down. haha. Oh and I got Jack Netflix... hopefully that is good.

So yeah a quick update. I promise to write more later.

JMS- so proud of you. ilu and i miss you.

Hope all is well with everyone.

XoXo
Amanda