Please pardon the hiatus... I had a baby!

So after about 3 months, I finally have a minute to blog. Here's a quick update on our little family in pictures:

23 March: Daniel graduates from UCT as distinguished graduate and earns the Outstanding Contributor and Sadler awards. This "trifecta" of honors had never been achieved before and he did it!

25 March: Daniel Jr. joins our little family after 28.5 hours of labor and a successful VBAC! The doctor and nurses were wonderful at the hospital on base. It was such a different experience compared to the C-section I had with Anna. The recovery was so much quicker and I'm already back to my pre-pregnancy weight!

28 March: Mom and Dad come to visit! We had a great time showing them around and it was so nice having help with our 2 beautiful babies. Anna loved going to the park behind our house with her Pap Pap in her pajamas first thing in the morning! We took them to Tatonuts donut shop and introduced them to our friends.

8 April: Happy Easter! We celebrated Easter at our house with some of our Air Force family- the Powells and the Ten Hakens. It was so nice even though I was exhausted at the end of it... it may have been a little much to host something like that just 2 weeks after having a baby, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Daniel was a huge help in getting everything ready and we had some delicious food with some help from our friends! Thanks to Meghan & Jason we had enough chairs for everyone and Bri let us use their oven so everything would be ready at the same time!

Our colorful Easter eggs!

22 April: Anna's 2nd birthday party- it's Minnie's Bowtique! 

We had a great time celebrating with our friends and Anna loved her cupcakes (pictured below)

These cupcakes were delicious and pretty easy to make- I used a chocolate cake mix & canned frosting that I dyed with food coloring. I added white chocolate chips to make polka dots, mini fudge stripe cookies for the ears and a small amount of fondant to make the bows.

Digging in after she blew out the candle!

29 April: Welcome to the Catholic Church, Daniel! We had Daniel Jr. baptized at Our Lady of Fatima at the 8:30am Mass (which we normally attend). Godparents, Kelly Mackey and Chris Wrinn traveled great distances to bear witness and take on their responsibilities as godmother and godfather. Kelly flew in from Seattle, WA and Chris drove (with his wife and 2 little boys) from Ft Worth, TX! 

Nana flew in for the occasion, too! She got to meet Daniel and spend some time with us after not being together since Thanksgiving! It was so nice and Anna loved getting her own Nana time.

15 May: Two weeks into Daniel's TDY in Florida, I take a trip to Pittsburgh with the kids. It's Daniel Jr's first plane ride! I was called "brave" so many times, I lost count, but it actually wasn't that bad!

Anna loved having her own seat and was very well behaved on both flights to Pittsburgh (Gulfport to Houston, Houston to Pittsburgh). She loved looking out the window!

Aunt Gracie with Anna and Daniel. This is the first time my siblings got to see our newest family member!

19 May: Cousin Billy and his beautiful bride, Alex, tie the knot in Philadelphia! It was quite a road trip, but we managed it! It was a great celebration and so nice to see our family!

Daniel hanging out with Uncle Bobby.

23 May: Saying goodbye to Aunt Katie and heading home to Mississippi.

24-28 May: We took a mini-vacay to Florida to spend some time with Daniel. He had to work for the majority of our stay, but we spent every night together and got him all to ourselves Sunday and Monday. We went swimming in the Gulf and Anna loved it. Daniel Jr spent most of the time asleep in the carrier!

Me and my sweetie. We all missed him while we were in Pittsburgh!

11-15 June: Sharon visits! She is one of my best friends & Anna's godmother. We hadn't seen each other since we visited her in August 2010! We went to the Biloxi lighthouse (pictured here), Tatonuts, Lovelace Drugstore, the beach & Beauvoir. It was a great trip & she was a huge help since Daniel was still TDY.

My babies & I at the beach.

That brings us up to date! Daniel has training this week & next and then he's home for good! Once he gets home, we'll be packing up for our next move. Expect posts about potential houses soon!

The vicious cycle of being an AF wife... and making friends

Throughout life, you meet people, make friends- sometimes they stay for a lifetime, others come and go... after graduation, after they get jobs, after your lives move in different directions and you simply grow apart. However, for a military wife, friends are always moving away and that fact will never change. I've attended 3 track selects and 1 assignment night and the anxiety, excitement and hopefullness never changes as my friends' husbands line up and are told which way their career is headed. I'm already nervous about when I'll be in their shoes when it's Daniel's turn!

For non-military readers, here's a quick breakdown of what I'm talking about:
Track select: USAF pilots have 4 options after they finish training on the T-6: T-38s or T-1s (which train in Enid), T-44s (which train in Corpus Christi, TX) and Helicopters (which train at Ft. Rucker in Alabama).

Assignment night: This happens the week before graduation and it's when the pilots who are about to get their wings are told what they'll be flying. I've only been to one, but it was a great night for everyone (except Anna who didn't like the clapping and cheering- thankfully, she'll be a year old when Daniel has his assignment night.)

Here's what my friends' hubbies have found out so far:

Track selects:
Allison :: Jonathon :: T-1
Bonnie :: Daniel :: T-38
Tessa :: Tim :: T-1
Maggie :: Darrin :: T-44
Kristen :: Josh :: T-44
Jamie :: Michael :: T-38
Sam :: Brian :: T-44

Assignment Night:
Emily :: Matt :: C-17 (McChord AFB- Washington)
Michelle :: Dan :: F-22 (Florida) - I just found out about this via Facebook. He originally was given the F-16 at Assignment Night and he got surprised with this change of assignment at graduation today. This is huge news since this is the newest fighter the Air Force has!

As excited as I am for my friends who are moving to Corpus Christi and to their new assignments, I can't help but feel a little sad for me. These are the ladies who welcomed me into their circle and made me a part of this base community. They threw me an "All Pink" baby shower when I had Anna and always offer rides to Playgroup, Coffee and even doctor's appointments when Dan is busy. It's hard to say good-bye but thankfully, with the AF scheduling things there's always a bit of time to get used to the idea before they're packed up and moving away.

With technology the way it is, it's also easier to stay in touch with friends who are far away, so that helps out a lot. Hopefully, as time goes on, I'll adjust to it but I don't think it will get any easier as friends come and go... right now, I just have to enjoy the time we have together here in Enid, America and trust in God's plans for all of us.

Home Sweet Home!

I have never been happier to see 2 toothbrushes in the bathroom holder or the Irish Spring soap bar in the shower or the Subaru Forrester sitting in the drive... Daniel is finally home and will be home for a long, long time. He successfully completed his training in Colorado and arrived back in Enid yesterday around five- just in time for dinner!

It's so nice to have him back at home. We had a wonderful meal of roast beef, Olive Garden roasted potatoes, and some green beans. I even made my mom's classic dressing for his after-dinner salad. I also baked some brownies for dessert but we didn't get to them since we were so full from dinner! I would have toasted him with champagne, but in my current condition, it's best to stay away from the bubbly stuff.

The baby has been very obedient- we both asked him/her to stay put until Daniel came home and he/she did. I saw the doctor on Wednesday and I'm not dilated at all. He said that there's plenty of time for things to progress naturally but also mentioned that he won't let me go past 41 weeks, which would make the deadline April 30th. Hopefully, we won't have to go the induction route, but it's all in God's hands.

Daniel's only been back 24 hours, but he's been very busy- already picked up and put together (with a little help from me) our headboard and nightstand. We're expecting our couches tomorrow and the rest of our bedroom set arrives on Wednesday. It will be so nice to have all of our furniture in our house instead of on a truck or in a warehouse. We need just a few finishing touches, like curtains for our sliding glass door and a rug for the baby's room, and we'll be set!

Spring has Sprung!

I just got back from running errands around base and the best part was definitely the weather- it is absolutely gorgeous outside. The breeze is warm, the sun is shining and the sky is a perfect blue. I turned off the heat in the house and opened our sliding glass door for the first time since moving in! It's hard to believe that just over a week ago I was shoveling a 16" snow drift out of our driveway. I've learned that Oklahoma weather is incredibly fickle, but right now, I love it.

The warmth outside reflects the warmth in my heart as I settle back into my house. For the last week, I was in Wichita Falls, TX staying with my in-laws, Pat and John. It was wonderful to spend time with them and have some company. I've been lonely since Daniel left for Colorado, but his training is about halfway over and I'm hoping that he will be home soon. Pat and I did a lot of baby shopping at Toys R Us since we don't have one here in Enid. She bought her grandbaby a brush since the doctor informed us that he could see hair on the baby's head with the ultrasound. On Friday, she hosted a baby shower for me with her Bunco group. They are wonderful ladies who meet monthly to play Bunco and spend time together. I had a lot of fun and am so thankful for the beautiful gifts they gave to our baby.

Another source of my 'warm, fuzzy' feeling is my Monday morning bible study. It's made up of women from the Student Spouses Group, meaning that all of our husbands are here at Vance for pilot training. Every one of us can understand (or will soon understand) demanding schedules, rigorous academics and husbands that are rarely home since they're either in the air, in the classroom or in a study group. Each of the girls brings something special and I'm so blessed to have found a group that is so faith-filled and family oriented (about half of us have babies). We're doing a Beth Moore study of the book of Daniel, which is focused on integrity. We have 2 sessions under our belts and so far, so good!

Maybe It's a Sign...

As of tomorrow, I will be 34 weeks pregnant and that means about 6 more weeks of back pain, constant forgetfulness and baby punches to the bladder. Daniel is continuing to do his reading of "Heading Home with Your Newborn" and we both attended "Infant Communication" class today. It was really interesting and I'm glad we went. Besides learning about Baby Signs and how to teach our little one this "in between" communication before he/she can form words, it was a chance for me to see some women that I hadn't seen in a long time. I met them at a coffee in January when Allison was still pregnant and Maggie had her baby Drew in tow at just 3 months old. Now, Allison is a mommy of 2 and brought her 4 week old baby boy to the class and Drew is 5 months old and getting so big! It's great to be back in a community of women who will be together for more than 6 weeks (like at ASBC). They're so welcoming and sweet! They invited me to join in a Beth Moore bible study that will be starting in a couple of weeks as well as the baby playgroup that Maggie hosts at her house.

The one thing that I've noticed about being around other military wives is that we look after our own- when I mentioned that Daniel was going to Colorado for IFS and taking the car (which I can't drive anyways...), Maggie said "But how will you get to the store?! If you need anything, we're always in the car and can take you where you need to go." Allison was also very generous and said that she'd be able to give me a lift to bible study and to the playgroup since she's on base and just down the street from me. It's nice to know that there are so many people around us that are experiencing what we are or soon will be experiencing- TDYs (temporary duty assignments, like IFS or ASBC), new babies, husbands who are spending most of their days on the flight line, and knowing that we won't be here for more than 2 years, at most. It's a different kind of lifestyle, but I wouldn't trade it- I have my wonderful husband who has his dream job, I'm about to become a mom and we have a home of our own with great neighbors around us. Life is good.

"Bloom Where You're Planted"

That's the advice we got at our spouses' brunch yesterday from Debby, military wife and mom for more than 15 years. I've tried very hard to embrace this mentality and so far, so good. I've met several wives (and their beautiful children) just by venturing out to the dorm playground which is right outside my door. Others I met at the spouses' briefing Tuesday night while even more- including 2 fellow Pennsylvanians (1 graduated from PSU!)- were introduced at the spouses' brunch yesterday.

It's great to meet other wives, especially when we come from different backgrounds- militarily speaking and otherwise. Some of our husbands went through ROTC, others went to the Academy and some were previously enlisted and went through Officer Training School. Two of the wives in our group are also moms- with 2 children each- Logan (4) & Emma (16 months) and Ava (4) & Ryan (7 months). All the kids are beautiful and very well behaved- it makes me look forward to becoming a mommy myself! I'm the only ASBC mommy-to-be, but one woman whose husband is going to SOS (Squadron Officer School) is due in May. It's nice to see another baby bump around the base.

While I've been getting to know the wives, Daniel has been training with the husbands at Blue Thunder this week. It's been hard to have him gone this week, especially with such little notice. Though he told me he'd probably be 'deploying' this week, he wasn't sure exactly when that would occur. It turns out he was gone by 2 on Monday and won't get back until tomorrow afternoon. Thankfully, he has been able to call every day so we get to catch up in the evenings. He's living in a tent, eating MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and wearing a flak vest and helmet for most of the day. Despite the very cold nights (all below freezing!), he's in good spirits and finding the training very educational and well executed. I'm really excited to welcome him back tomorrow even though this will be my last night having the bed to myself. :-)

Now that I have Internet access, I'll be updating more regularly- I'm working on a 'catch up' post to close the gap between the weddings and ASBC.