285 Days/18w2d

We had our second appointment with Birth Care today! We got to hear the baby's heartbeat again which was 140 bpm. It took a little while to find it as Baby was moving around a lot. He/She kicked the doppler three times before (which was funny to hear) before we found the heartbeat. Arianna was disappointed that we didn't get to see the baby today, but it won't be long! As long as Jon is able to go, we will be going in for our "big" ultrasound July 9th. So only a little over a week until we find out if we'll be welcoming a little boy or a little girl into our family!

I was amused that we had to feed a parking meter.

I never had to do this in AZ. Virginia doesn't seem to be

a huge fan of parking lots!

Arianna playing with the toys in the Lisa's office

during my appointment. Toys in the exam room

are genius. When will OB's catch on? ;)

My appointment with Birth Care was at 8am and we were done by 8:45am. We didn't feel like driving for an hour just to sit at home the rest of the day so we made an impromptu trip into Washington DC! Jon and I have been wanting to do this since we got out here, but there just never really seemed to be a good time. It was either too chilly, too hot and humid, raining, or we just had other plans. Since Birth Care is in Alexandria, we were already halfway there and the weather was in the 70's with clear skies and (what felt like) no humidity. We really couldn't have asked for a better day to walk around.

We started out near the back White House

There was a huge grassy field which was perfect for a

little girl to stretch her legs!

We stopped here for lunch. Best turkey, bacon, and

cheddar sandwich I have EVER had!

Fruit for lunch

After lunch we walked around to the front of the White House

Andrew Jackson Monument

Washington Monument

Arianna fell asleep right before we got to the Washington Monument

and slept for pretty much the rest of the DC trip.

Part of the Smithsonian- I didn't take any pictures in

here because my camera battery was dying and I was

trying to conserve it.

The Capitol- the last thing we saw (other than Starbucks). We

didn't get up very close to the Capitol.

We walked around for five hours and there are still so many things that we didn't get to see. I would have loved to keep going, but I really didn't come prepared. My camera battery was on it's last bar (which is why I didn't take more pictures), I didn't have my zoom lens, and I'm surprised I lasted as long as I did since I wasn't wearing walking shoes! This little trip made me eager to go back and see more though so hopefully we'll get out there again soon.

280 Days/17w4d

I've got several pictures from the past couple of days that I haven't had a chance to put up until now. First, this is what happens when you turn your back on a three year old girl:

She got a hold of the nail polish and decided to pain her toenails. She really didn't do to bad for a three year old and luckily, she thought to sit on a towel while she did it so any spills landed on the towel rather than the carpet! I really couldn't be too mad at her.

Yesterday afternoon, we made chocolate chip cookies; a favorite in our house.

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside:

2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

Cream wet ingredients together until smooth:

2 sticks of butter,

3/4 cup of brown sugar,

3/4 cup of white sugar,

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Add two eggs, one at a time.

Add the dry ingredients slowly and mix well before adding the chocolate chips

Put spoonful sized drops on a cookie sheet and cook for 9-11 minutes (I do 9 minutes because we like softer cookies)

Mmmmm!

Today, Arianna received a package from her grandma! It was a Little Tykes Makin Mud Pies outdoor play center! Since we don't really have any mud or dirt, I decided to make up a batch or playdoh for her to use in place of the mud. This is the playdoh recipe I used and I really like it! All natural ingredients so it's non-toxic and it really doesn't have a strong smell like store bought playdoh.

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of salt

1 cup of water

2 tablespoons of oil

2 tablespoons of cream of tartar

Beet, spinach, and carrot juice (optional)

Mix flour, salt, and oil and slowly add the water. Cook over medium heat and stir until dough becomes stiff. Knead with your hands until the playdoh becomes of proper consistency. Use as is or divide into balls and add a few drops of the vegetable juices to make green, pink, and orange.

I used EVOO because we didn't have any vegetable oil

I also omitted the cream of tartar because we didn't have any

The finished playdoh

The playset put together out on the deck

It has a working water pump!

Making "pancakes"

This is what happens when you add water to the playdoh! Goop!

Arianna loves the playset and it's a great way to get her outside during the day. I'll have to make some more playdoh (probably in larger batches) because that small batch didn't last very long once it got mixed with the water, but it lasted the day and she had fun!

275 Days/16w6d

The story of Arianna and Daddy

Arianna's daddy came into her life when she was 14 months old. She was just walking and barely talking; the first word she said to him was, "shoes." He came home on leave in May and that's when he really started to interact with her and she started to remember him.

May 2008

By June, she knew him as "Don"; she still couldn't say her J's very well. She recognized his face though and was always excited to see him. I was amazed at how good he was with her since he had never really been around kids before. She was starting to talk a little bit more and enjoyed talking to him on the phone when he wasn't home.

Playing the piano at Jon's Grammy and Paw Paw's house


A shirt we bought for her to wear when he came home. "Marine's Little Girl."

In November, Arianna and I went out to visit Jon in North Carolina. She had a ton of fun playing with him at my aunt and uncle's house. He put her on his shoulders for the first time and that's still one of her favorite places to be when we're walking around anywhere.

November 2008

Jon came home for Christmas, December 2008. Arianna was finally able to say his name and referred to him as "Jon." Jon and I got engaged and although Arianna didn't really understand what that meant, we started telling her about the family that we were going to be.

Playing in her tent December 2008

Jon was home again in April 2009. This was the first Easter that he got to spend with Arianna. We took him to the house of some good family friends where they always do a big egg hunt. Jon stepped right in to help Arianna find a basket full of eggs. We also spent a day at the zoo where Arianna showed him all of her favorite animals. The day we took Jon to the airport, we went out to eat and he and Arianna had fun trying to make each other eat a lemon.

Easter 2009

At the zoo


At the restaurant


The lemon

Jon and I got married on September 18th, 2009. Arianna still referred to him as "Jon", but was fond of telling people that he was going to be her daddy. She was our flower girl and even though she slept through most of the reception, she still remembers the ceremony and loves to talk about it.

At the wedding September 2009

After we got married, Arianna and I moved out to North Carolina to be with Jon. Shortly after we moved, she started referring to him as "daddy." That October, we took Arianna to Mike's Farm for all of the fall festivities and she asked her daddy to help her pick out a Halloween pumpkin.

Pumpkin patch October 2009

Unfortunately, Jon didn't get to spend Halloween with us. He got orders to attend the commissioning of the USS New York in NYC. He left early in the morning the day before Halloween. Arianna and I drove him to work, but she was fast asleep when we dropped him off. We did get to go up and see him (and NYC!) about a week later. She was thrilled to see her daddy and didn't want to let him out of her sight. One of the things that we got to do in NYC was visit Fox News Studios and meet the anchors of Fox & Friends. Arianna and Jon got to appear on the After the Show Show which can be seen in this post.

Kissing her goodbye October 2009

NYC, November 2009


Fox & Friends


Some time at the park November 2009

Christmas 2009 was an exciting time for us, our first Christmas as a family. Jon and Arianna attempted to make a gingerbread house together, but it never got finished because Arianna kept knocking it down and eating all of the decoration candy.

Christmas Day 2009


A day out December 2009

Jon re-enlisted in January 2010 and Arianna and I got to go to his re-enlistment ceremony. There was also another ceremony that day- for the SgtMaj's retirement so a really big deal was being made about that. As far as Arianna was concerned though, all of the marching and the music and the clapping was for her daddy.

Before the ceremony, January 2010

Bathtime before bed later that evening


One of her favorite places to fall asleep.

February 2010, Arianna turned three years old and saw her first snow! Daddy helped her build a snowman and they had a blast throwing the snow at each other. March 2010, we moved to Virginia, where we currently reside.

Helping daddy load the moving van, March 2010

At the park in VA, March 2010


Playing with a fan in the house


At a birthday party, April 2010


Another egg hunt, Easter 2010


Another birthday party, April 2010


Daddy's birthday party, May 2010


Walking around Alexandria, June 2010


Memorial Day 2010


Welcoming daddy home from a trip, June 2010

The past 26 months have been an amazing, fun, challenging, busy, loving, and memorable journey for us. I can't wait to see how much our family has grown and changed by next Father's Day! We'll have a new addition to the family, Jon will be a father of two, and Arianna will be a big sister. Many new adventures in store!

Watching a movie, June 19th, 2010.




HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!