Baby B's Nursery

Here are some before and after pictures of Baby B's nursery (such a disaster):

And here are the after pictures!

Joe and I worked really hard on the nursery over my two week winter break. Needless to say, it's quite the transformation! Joe did most of the painting, and we built the furniture together. I also washed and folded all of the clothes and had fun decorating the room. I'm still waiting for the wooden letters I ordered to hang over his crib, but otherwise, we're ready to go!!! I'm almost 33 weeks... time to start packing my hospital bag I guess! I'm so excited to meet Tyler!

2010 in Review

Whew, what a year it has been for us!!! The beginning of the year I was still subbing and tutoring students. In the spring, I was called for in for an interview and was later offered a 2nd grade teaching job which I gladly accepted!!!

July 5 I discovered we were expecting!!! Joe and I were thrilled with the news!!!

Joe went to his first deployment from August-October. It went by rather quickly (well the first half did anyway) while I prepared for the school year. I had a blast setting up my classroom and had some great friends help me out with a lot of the heavy lifting and setting up.

Joe returned from his deployment and we were scheduled for my 20-week ultrasound to find out the baby's sex. As nature would have it, a typhoon came our way which caused all the planes needing to be evacuated. Needless to say, Joe was unable to attend the appointment and I was not rescheduling because I was DYING to know!!! Obviously, we found out we are expecting a Baby Boy!

The school year has been flying by and I can't believe half the school year is already over. My 18 kiddos keep me on my toes and I'm learning new things everyday. I absolutely love my job, my students, my coworkers/staff and parents! It's been a great year and I feel really blessed to be having such a smooth first year. I've been devoting a lot of time (going in early and usually a few hours over the weekend), but I think it's been paying off. I've had two formal observations so far and they both went over well and my principal/asst. principal have had nothing but positive things to say!

Joe's been extremely busy since he returned from his deployment. It seems he's constantly going on trips, being alerted, working on homework assignments for his master's classes or putting in late hours in the office. Since his deployment he has only had 1 full weekend of no work. :(

I've had several check-ups and appointments throughout the pregnancy and so far everything is looking great. Baby B is right on track growth wise, has a nice strong heartbeat and seems to be doing just fine!! Please keep us in your prayers for a healthy and safe remainder of the pregnancy!

Thanksgiving we spent with a close group of friends here on the island. It's nice to have a "family" away from home who you can share the holidays with when you're unable to go home. We're doing the same thing for Christmas - just spending the day with close friends, enjoying yummy food and celebrating the holidays together. I'm looking forward to seeing family next year!

We hope everyone had a wonderful 2010 and we can't wait for 2011!!!

Pictures...

I promise to upload pictures of our latest happenings! I must admit, while Joe was gone I really didn't take many photos, but I do have some! :)

Busy, busy, busy!

Okay, it's been a long time since I've blogged. I mainly try to keep up our Totsites Blog and that's hard enough these days! Life seems to be flying by and I literally just can't believe it's already November!!! Where has 2010 gone?! Some quick updates...

-Joe returned from his 2 month deployment! It's great to have him back! We're busy getting the house ready for Baby B, and he's already back to the grind and busy at work. He unfortunately was stuck in Guam for the big ultrasound...

-I'm busy trying to wrangle my 2nd graders. Just kidding, they're great kids and I'm fortunate to have such a great class! I would love them more if they stopped giving me their yucky germs...

-On that note, I've been toilet-bowl sick twice so far and it wasn't pregnancy related. Once was food poisoning and the other was a 24-hour stomach bug my kids so graciously gave me!

-We found out Baby B is a BOY! Happy, happy, joy, joy! Even though Joe couldn't be there, I was able to share the news with him over Skype! He was really excited and all our friends and family were too! It's wonderful finally knowing the sex... I feel more connected to him already! His ultrasound went well! At my follow-up appointment they said everything checked out great, I'm right on track with my weight, my blood pressure is perfect, and the triple screen blood work tests all came back negative (which test for chromosomal abnormalities which could cause birth defects). Baby B weighed in at exactly 1 lb and is still measuring to be due on March 9, 2011!

-Since finding out the sex, I've been able to finally do some shopping! We ordered the crib and matching furniture and are awaiting for it to arrive. We bought a glider and ottoman which Joe already put together. We bought our pack-n-play and soothing vibrating bouncy chair, and are debating about which car seat and stroller we want to get. We have bought every single airplane outfit the BX carries! My mom has ordered Baby B's blue and brown airplane crib set!!! I can't wait to set up the nursery! We are in the process of getting rid of our guest bed (Kella is going to be extremely depressed), but we have a nice futon we got to put in the office for guests (maybe Kella will learn to like the futon instead).

-Pregnancy has been treating me fairly kind up until now. My growing belly is still in the "cute" stage and I really love my bump! :) My students keep saying I only have a "medium sized belly". I only had on and off nausea throughout the first trimester. I experienced a bit of round ligament pain and my lower back is beginning to become awfully achy... but otherwise I can't complain! My clothes are getting quite snug but I'm proud to still fit into my regular pants with a hair-tie extender to close the button. I'll have to hunt down some fall/winter maternity clothes soon though!

We don't have any big plans for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Since Joe took leave last year, it was pretty much a given he wouldn't be getting any this year. We will probably be getting together with all our fellow friends who won't be going home either, which always makes the holidays a bit more enjoyable!

Both my mom and Joe's mom are tentatively planning to come visit when Baby B arrives and we're excited to see family and have the extra help I'm sure we'll be needing! We're hoping to do a big stateside vacation over the summer... all our friends say when the baby is a few months old is the best time to travel!!! So hopefully Joe can get leave approved so we can hop around the states visiting family! I think it'll be a blast and I will have the summer off from school! We're keeping our fingers crossed it will work out!

We hope all is going well for everyone else. I hope to find more time to update everyone! Please visit out Totsite for weekly updates/photos!

PS

I gave up on my Project 52... sad. I have no time to take pictures of "interesting" things each week and edit them. I spend all my time in my classroom (and I probably shouldn't take pictures of my students and post them on the internet) or on the couch/bed at the house. Not very exciting I must admit. Oh well... maybe next year?!

So behind on blogging...

Well, I keep thinking how I need to update my blog, but I just don't seem to have the time/energy to do it!!! Since Joe left, I have been busy preparing for school. Well, now we've been in school for 2 1/2 weeks and it has been non-stop ever since!!! The first day of school went off without a hitch, then a typhoon came so the kids got a day off the next day... needless to say teachers and staff still had to report in. I'm busy with school but I absolutely love it. I have a great class and adore my students. We're working on getting into a routine!

I get to work around 6:30am each morning and leave usually around 3ish... I'm hoping to leave earlier but it just never seems to happen (school is out at 1:40). As a teacher you are constantly playing "catch up" on everything that needs to be copied, printed, graded, etc.

The pups have been acting out since Joe left and I started working. I hired a lady who lives nearby to walk them daily and interact with them. When I come they act like they're starved for attention and won't leave me alone until I take them for their nightly walk. When I'm lucky, I get to pass out on the couch for a bit before it's time to figure out what to do for dinner. Dinner for 1 is hard, especially when you aren't a fan of leftovers! Needless to say I've been ordering out a lot... or making a lot of pasta.

This was the month of baby showers too. Four people I know are having babies soon, and all four are girls! How very exciting! I've been busy in my spare time (what little I have) sewing my trademark nursing covers and burp cloths. They've become quite the hit and I really enjoy making and giving them!

Speaking of babies... Baby Bisson seems to be doing well! I'm growing more and more each week... and that nausea has yet to completley go away! Belly-bands have become my best friend. Maternity pants are still too big for me, so this allows me to wear my regular pants for now! I'm scheduled for a prenatal appointment at the end of the month, and I'll be scheduling my 20 week ultrasound soon... that's when we get to find out the sex of the baby!!! Thankfully, Joe's scheduled to come home in time for it so we should be able to find out together! :)

This last weekend we had a heartbreaking loss in the squadron. One of Joe's fellow squadron pilot passed away in his sleep. He was only 34, and getting ready to celebrate his 1-year anniversary. Completley devastating... and it makes us all realize tomorrow isn't promised. I'm planning to attend the memorial service this week. I'm so deeply saddened for their family and friends loss. Be sure to tell your loved ones how much you love them!!!

That's about all for now... at least that's about all the energy I have to write. I'm completley zonked and it's only 7:28pm but it feels like it's midnight. Off to bed early (I really am such an old lady!!!).

We're Expecting!!!

I couldn't handle keeping it a "secret" anymore!!! Joe and I are excited to announce we are expecting a Baby Bisson, with a due date of March 9, 2011!!! Please follow our blog for updates and pictures!!! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers for a healthy baby!

www.totsites.com/tot/babybisson