22 weeks 4 days :)

How your baby's growing:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.
See what your baby looks like this week.
Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.
How your life's changing:


You expected your belly to grow — and perhaps your breasts, too — but the following physical changes may take you by surprise. As with many pregnancy changes, hormones play a role in most of these alterations in your looks.
Thicker, more lustrous hair You're not actually growing more hair, just losing less than normal. During pregnancy, your body sheds hair much more slowly than it did before. What to do: If thicker hair is a boon for you, enjoy it. If it's making your mane more unruly than ever, ask your stylist to do some thinning at your next cut. These changes won't last forever. After your baby's born, you'll start to lose this excess hair, sometimes in clumps.
Increased body hair Sex hormones known as androgens can cause new hair to sprout on your chin, upper lip, jaw, and cheeks. Stray hairs can also pop up on your belly, arms, legs, and back. What to do: Tweezing, waxing, and shaving are all safe ways to manage these temporary changes.
Faster-growing fingernails Your fingernails may grow more quickly than usual, and you may notice changes in texture. Some women's nails get harder, while others' get softer or more brittle. What to do: Protect your nails by wearing rubber gloves when you're cleaning, and using moisturizer on them if they're brittle.
Skin changes Some pregnant women report that their skin has never looked better. If that's you, enjoy the proverbial "glow." Others find the hormones of pregnancy aggravate skin conditions such as acne. What to do: Wash twice a day with a gentle soap or cleanser, and make sure that any moisturizer or makeup you use is oil-free.
Stretch marks As your belly expands to accommodate your growing baby, you may get tiny tears in the supportive tissue that lies just beneath your skin, resulting in striations of varying color. These marks will begin to fade and become considerably less noticeable about six to 12 months after you give birth. There's not much you can do besides trying not to gain more than the recommended amount of weight. Heredity is responsible for the natural elasticity of your skin and plays a role in determining who will end up with stretch marks.
Skin discolorations Increased melanin can cause splotchy patches of darkened skin on your face. These pigment changes may become intensified if you spend time in the sun. What to do: Protect your face by using a sunblock that offers both UVA and UVB protection with an SPF of 30 or higher, wearing a hat with a brim, and avoiding the sun during peak hours of the day (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
Larger and darker nipples and areolas You may find that your nipples and the pigmented area around them (the areolas) are getting bigger and darker. The little bumps on your areolas, known as Montgomery's tubercles, may also be more pronounced. These bumps are oil-producing glands that help fight off bacteria and lubricate the skin. Some women also notice more pronounced veins in their breasts. What to do: Nothing!
Larger feet Your feet may go up half a shoe size or more. Lax ligaments may make your feet spread a bit — permanently. Swelling can make your shoes feel tight as well, although it will go away after delivery. What to do: Buy comfortable shoes to accommodate your growing feet.


Welp, I'm definitely feeling Rosalie move around more! She's really active lately and LOVES hearing her song. (Rosalie by Thin Lizzy)


She was NOT named after the chick in Twilight or really even this song..we just liked it and Mike agreed since it was a song and a good one at that!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had to cook it all in our tiny little oven! That was a challenge. We had duck and ham instead of turkey since it wouldn't fit. The duck was really good though!

Mike's been working really long hours recently since they got back from the field but with Christmas coming up it should be a little smoother. We'll see what happens though.

Today we have an FRG meeting and tomorrow is our company Christmas party. Should be fun! Mike really wanted to find an ugly Christmas sweater but I'm not sure if that's going to happen. We'll see!

The pictures are from 21 weeks :) Enjoy!

16 weeks 1 day

Holy moly. I didn't realize it had been so long since I've updated. I'm not very good at this and I apologize.

MIke's gone for a little while doing some training. Hopefully he'll be able to make it back for our next appointment. We will hopefully get to find out what we're having! We'll be going off post to a Korean ultrasound clinic because the Army post won't do them until 20 weeks and I really want to know what we're having. I'm getting so excited! Mike's excited too but I don't think it's real to him yet. He doesn't have a baby growing inside him so he doesn't really get into as much as I do, which is completely understandable. We have so much stuff to do and buy before the baby comes! It's insane. We've come up with first names and now we're working on middle names. We'll see. I won't say what they are yet, you'll just have to wait until we find out the gender of our little cookie.

The pups are awesome. Fleury is so big now! He's about 50lbs and he was 9 when we got him. He's hilarious though. We're still working on potty training and he's definitely getting better at letting us know when he needs to go out. I don't know how I'm going to walk both of them and carry a baby! Looks like lots of baby wearing for me.

We finally got our household goods and now we're almost done getting everything where we want it. I'll probably change some things around while Mike is gone though. We have a ton of boxes that need taken out to the recycling. My goal is to deep clean/scrub our house while he's gone and take out all the boxes and finish with the organizing of both of the spare rooms. The problem is getting off my lazy behind to do it.

We had our first anniversary on the 17th. Mike was so sweet. He made me dinner and even baked a cake! We went to Seoul for the day and had so much fun! I got a new winter hat while we were down there. It's been pretty chilly but not too bad. It's not too much different from home here yet. I heard that it gets down to -10c in the deep winter though and it's super windy. I'm buying a maternity coat from Old Navy since they're on sale. It's only 30 bucks and hopefully it will keep me warm enough to get through the winter. Looks like I need to stock up on gloves, scarves and hats, too.

I miss everyone at home, especially being pregnant. it's definitely difficult but nothing I can't survive. We're hoping to come home for Jon and Brittany's wedding in June but we aren't sure how that will work with the baby since we have to get the passport and everything. Hopefully we are able to. If not, I think we might go home in July...though even that is up in the air. Mike is debating on going to OCS (officer candidate school) and if he gets accepted he might get into the class in the fall which means we'd be moving stateside around then. Who knows though. We'll see what happens I suppose. Nothing is set in stone yet.

5 weeks 6 days

Okay, so apparently I haven't updated this thing in entirely too long. It has been a very eventful two months. We're settled into our apartment but still waiting on all of our household goods to get here. I sure hope they get here soon.

Korea is pretty awesome. We have gone to visit a palace since being here. It's the largest palace in South Korea. I believe it's called Cheongdung. Or something like that. I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures on here.

We found a few really good restaurants around here. We went to this amazing place in Seoul the same day that we went to the palace. Actually, we didn't find it. We went to Seoul with two Katusas that Mike knows. Katusas are Koreans that are apart of the American military for two years. It's mandatory to serve two years in the military in Korea unless you're married or have kids. It's easier for them to serve in our military and they get to learn better English and things like that. They were kind enough to show us around Seoul and order us some real Korean food and explain what it all was. I think the best thing we ate was Spicy bulgogi and rice with seaweed wrapper/paper things. It was very yummy.

Mike's captain asked me to be the FRG leader for our company. FRG is Family Readiness Group. Basically it's support and information for spouses, fund raising and company trips/events. That sort of thing. It should be pretty good, I'm hoping that I have enough time to dedicate to it.

I've been applying for jobs as well, I'm hoping to get hired at the new school that's opening on post.

I decided that I needed a puppy to keep me company at home. I found one on craigslist that was free! They said he's a maltese/yorkie mix but we are thinking maltese/schnauzer or maltese/poodle. We aren't sure. He's 10 months old and his name is chopper! He has separation anxiety so we decided to get him a friend...well...Mike really wanted a dog after I got mine. He got a little brown Newfoundland. It won't be small for long! Right now he looks like a small bear cub but he's going to get to be about 120-150lbs!! He's going to be one massive dog. He absolutely loves water! He's too cute when you spray him with the hose!

The best thing that has happened while we're here is that we found out two days ago that we're having a baby! We are so excited and can't wait to meet our little one. I'm currently about 5 weeks 6 days but I'm thinking that's a little bit off. I go in today to do some paperwork and get bloodwork done. At least I think that's what's going to happen. I haven't really had many symptoms except that I'm extremely tired and a little nauseous. I'm especially nauseated when I have to clean up puppy poops. Haha. We'll be sure to keep you all posted on our progress and pictures as soon as I can figure out how to put them up!

Oh, Korea

So, a lot has happened since I was able to blog last. I flew into Korea on June 14th (well, arrived here at 9pm on the 15th Korea time). My flight was a MESS! My flight out of Indianapolis was delayed nearly two hours meaning that I would miss my connecting flight in Detroit which was a straight shot to Incheon, South Korea. So, after waiting in this really long line for over an hour they finally got me going. I flew from Indianapolis to Detroit, from Detroit to Tokyo where my flight was delayed almost an hour. My phone wouldn't work to call Mike and tell him that my flight was delayed, so that was pretty awesome. Finally got on the plane to South Korea and boy was there some serious turbulence. Luckily I fell asleep. Apparently I like to sleep on planes because I slept most of the way from Detroit to Tokyo too. I fortunately didn't have any problems getting through immigration and customs so that was good. I walked out of the gate to see Mike, only for him to be hiding behind this sign thing. He's sweet. We were lucky enough to have Sgt. Kilby bring Mike to the airport and pick me up, otherwise we would have had to take the train and it's a decently long train ride.

Mike was able to take the week off to spend some time with me and get most of the things that had to be done accomplished. We went out one night and got Melon Pops which are soju and juice or something and they're pretty awesome. Mike swore I'd be drunk off of two but I was hanging in there alright. Not drunk at all. Haha.

Saturday we spent the ENTIRE day in Seoul trying to find a comforter and sheets to no avail. I'm not sure why but apparently Koreans think it's okay to spend 3 hundred or more dollars on a comforter set. I'm so not okay with that. We've done a TON of walking though. We pretty much walk everywhere. Sometimes we take a cab or train but mostly we walk which is fine by me! I need some excercise so walking works for me.

Today is the first FRG meeting for me. I was informed last night that I needed to make something. The commissary is closed on Mondays and doesn't open until 11 and the meeting is as 1. So I went to the Shoppette and got some brownie mix. We've got the Korean microwave/oven combo and it's all in Korean and uses celsius. I googled and got the right temp. Well the brownies were done on the outside and runny still on the inside. I put them back in at a lower temp and still the same results. The center two brownies got thrown out and the rest are going to the FRG meeting. Maybe the next batch that I'm going to try will be better. I used pudding as a subsititute for one egg so we'll see what happens!

Until next time......

Finally....

After 3 weeks of fighting with the military and finding an apartment, we have a flight date! I'm leaving June 14th. Just 11 more days until I get to see my wonderful husband. The movers are set up for the 8th so I'll be staying with my friends until i leave. It'll be nice to stay with them so I can hang out with them and my other friends in Indy without having to drive an hour to get there. It will stink having to live out of a suitcase for a week but that's alright. I'm really excited to be with my husband and to get to finally start our lives together. It's a little difficult though because I'm really going to miss everyone back home. I'm really not excited about the 14 hour flight though! That's going to be rough. I've got my dramamine ready!

We're Approved!

So, we finally got our orders approved on Thursday! Mike told me at about 2 in the morning and I couldn't sleep after that! I was super excited. Then on Sunday night (Monday in Korea) he went and looked at an apartment with a realtor. It's strange over there. You can't just go and look at apartments. You have to have an appointment with a realtor. He liked the first one he found and was going to sign the lease on it. He talked to another realtor and looked at an apartment in the same complex in a different, nicer building. He said that this one is bigger, comes with more furniture and is in a nicer building and it's CHEAPER. SOLD! Next step is getting the apartment approved by the USAG (United States Army Garrison). Then he has to sign the lease and get a time set up for the movers to come get our stuff. Then he can book my flight! I've been packing and getting rid of stuff. The movers will pack up all our stuff but before I found that out i had bought a bunch of totes so I figure I should go ahead and use them. I'm so excited to be back with my husband! It's such a strange mix of emotions. Between leaving all of our friends and family and wanting to be with Mike it's all been a bit overwhelming. I do find it funny in a way though because so many people are saying that they want to see me and all these things but when I tell them that my schedule is pretty open right now they don't bother to tell me when they want to or what they'd like to do. This has definitely been an eye-opening experience and the saying "you find out who your friends are" couldn't be more true. I can't even count the number of people that I've parted ways with recently. It's a good thing though really. Those people clearly didn't value our friendship. It's nice to know that I do have a wonderful group of friends that I've known for a long time that I can count on. We all have our issues and we may not talk for a few months but we always are able to pick up where we left of and that's a great feeling.

Our Life...Until Now

I've never been much for blogs but I thought with our pending adventure that now would be a wonderful time to start one. I'll begin with a bit of background on us. (Have to be careful what I post in regards to OPSEC.)

Mike and I met in July of 2006. We were both at that point dating other people and had just began working at the Best Buy in Noblesville. We didn't really know anyone so we would go to lunch together pretty frequently. We worked in the same department. He sold the high end televisions and I told the guys how to not screw up the deliveries and installations. We both broke things off with the people we were dating. Mike asked me one day if I wanted to go out and get a few drinks. He didn't know I wasn't 21! I find that hilarious. I said that I wasn't 21 and that he could come over to my place and watch movies if he wanted. He did and we stayed up all night watching movies...well, he stayed up while I fell asleep. That happened a few times. 3 weeks or so after the first time we hung out outside of work we went on our first date. We went to Longhorn Steakhouse and played mini golf at Great Times. We had so much fun! I met his family that Thanksgiving and we've been together since.... Well, we broke up for a couple of months at the end of summer 2008 but realized that we couldn't be without eachother.

I told him that if we were going to do this, it was for the long haul and we were getting married. I think he may have thought I was kidding. We got engaged May of 2009 and had decided we wanted to get married in May of 2010. Mike had lost in job in February of 2009 and wasn't too sure what he wanted to do with his life. He has a college degree in telecommunications but there weren't a lot of jobs available that he qualified for and he didn't want to do something he wasn't going to enjoy. (Unhappy at work makes a person unhappy at home!) He said that he was thinking about going into the police academy to which my response was, "well, you may as well join the Army". It was always something that he had been thinking about so it wasn't something he was just going to toss to the side. We discussed what it would mean for him to join the military and we both agreed that it was something that we should do. It was a joint decision, not a decision that he made without me like so many families have gone through. I think it's a good thing that it was a joint decision. We decided that since he was going to be gone that it would be more beneficial for us to get married before he left. He was scheduled to ship out on November 2, 2009. Financially and emotionally it was better. We got married October 17, 2009 and it was the best decision we could have made!

Mike graduated from OSUT on March 12, 2010 and was shipped to South Korea the next day. He made it fine and is loving it there! We turned in paperwork for me to go there and will hopefully know in the next few weeks when I'll be able to join him. I'm very excited to go, I just wish that the time would go a litle quicker! :)