Registry, Appointments, and days out Exploring

29 weeks <3

It has been a busy past couple of weeks, since my last post. New things going on with our little boy, more registry questions, and a trip down Germany's historical lane. But first things first I want to go over our registry again to answer any questions that may be presenting themselves.

 Unfortunately we aren't able to have a baby shower, but there are still people wanting to get things for our little man. We appreciate that desire more than you know! Trying to get everything that a baby needs is hard enough, but add, getting it all on your own, and in a foreign country, it makes it all that much harder. Luckily we found a great deal on all of the main furniture pieces (crib, mattress, changing table, dresser, and glider), but we are still trying to figure out how to attain all of the other essentials (stroller/car seat, high chair, bedding, etc.). This is where some of you may come in. We are registered at two different places, Target and Amazon. Both have items that won't ship directly to APO, so when you are browsing the choices, if you look in the details of the item, it should state on there where it will and wont ship to. **UPDATE** When I originally wrote "It has come to my attention that if you order something from Amazon, when we receive it we won't have any idea who sent it. So if there is an option in the ordering process to leave a note with the order, please fill it out saying who its from, so that we know who to thank" I said that because we had received one package unmarked and had not been notified any other way, aside from the person eventually asking if we had gotten it. Since I have posted this though, a couple of people have purchased from this registry, and it is now come to my attention that Amazon is keeping track of it all. As long as you order it through our registry, Amazon will put your name, address, and all that you ordered on a "Thank You List" :) If you stray from the registry but still order from Amazon, if you could still send us a card separately with a summary of what you got us, we'd greatly appreciate it!  I think for Target though you do have to make sure to write in the personalized note section.** Also, I know some have been wondering when they should order. I am due in 11 weeks from now, and some items can take 6-8 weeks to ship, so the sooner the better :) (It will also make it easier for us to figure out what we still need to get on our own.)

To access our Target Registry - click here: http://www.target.com/registry/baby/find?ref=nav_babyfind

Scroll down until you see Bethany Smith + Jake Smith, the due date is May 8th, and the location is Armed Forces - Europe

*If you want to get us something from this registry that wont ship directly to APO, and helpful suggestion would be to buy it in store and then ship it

To access our Amazon Registry - click here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/search.html?ie=UTF8&type=baby

Our registry should be the first to pop up, but make sure it has both of our names on it

*If you want to get us something from this registry that wont ship directly to APO, keep that in mind when you are thinking of timing - shipping to you, and then shipping here will obviously take a little longer

We appreciate any and all gifts, whether they be small or large, because they will all help to provide everything that our little man needs.

29 weeks - Duke wanted to join in on the picture taking fun

Our most recent baby appointment (Feb 17th) Went just as smoothly as all of the rest. Dr. Reu seems to be pleased with my health, and in turn, with the baby's health. When we got to see our little guy this time, everything seemed to be even more defined. We were able to see definition of all his little ribs, rather than previously when we could just make out definition in his spine. Also, we saw him clearly sucking his thumb during the ultra sound. It was cool, because I had just read an article on how during this time, the baby will start to suck on anything that comes near his mouth, but being able to see that actually happening was surreal. It is mid boggling to me that he has been growing inside of me for 29 weeks, and that I only have 11 more weeks to go until he gets to say hello to this world. It makes me overwhelmed and nervous, but mostly just excited! I can't wait to finally see what our little man looks like. Who's eyes will he have? Who's nose? Smile? Face shape? etc. etc. etc. It is going to be amazing to see how he looks like both Jake and I, because we made him together, through God.

28 1/2 weeks

Definition of lips and bottom of nose :)

Now I know that we haven't posted any sight seeing in quite some time, but thats simply because we haven't been sight seeing haha. Between the holidays and the cold, we haven't really even wanted to go much of any where, let alone the fact that we just didn't really have the time. But that has finally been broken. This past weekend, we were able to drive up to Munich with our great friends The Applegate's, to see some more of Germany's history. We went to Dachau's Concentration Camp (one of the many camps here in Germany). It was definitely an eye opening and sobering experience. It really gave a better image of the severity of some of the things that went on during that dark time of this countries history. Of course it made Jake wish he was there during that time to help fight against it, but it made me thankful for living in the time that we do, and made me appreciate all that we have.

The entrance into the camp

We read stories about how if prisoners tried to escape, once they crossed a certain line, the guards would be "forced" to shoot them, and yet there were countless times that the guards would bully the prisoners, push them passed that line, just so they could "stop them from escaping".

A diagram of just how large the camp was

We also read how the camp was created to hold up to 6,000 prisoners but by the end of the war, they were squishing up to 32,000 people into the camp. They started killing prisoners for any reason they could find, and as the bodies piled up from malnutrition and brutality, they created a crematorium to hide the severity of things from the public.

I'm glad we were able to come and see the history in a little more detail, because what we are taught in school doesn't even come near what you learn first hand by going to a camp like this.

Key Change - Now that I have thoroughly depressed you, I will leave you with this fun pictures of Jake and Duke playing in our backyard :)

 

Prayer request:
-Continuous health for our baby boy
-That Duke heals fully from his neutering, and starts to calm down
-That Jake is able to finish all that he needs to on his WOFT packet to be able to submit it by March 16th
-That I am able to stay healthy, and motivated to get this house ready for our little man

Praises:
-That we have a healthy boy growing on track
-That Duke did well with his surgery and hasn't had any complications healing
-That Jake got switched to Alpha company, and is getting more direct help to finish his packet
-That I have had a very easy pregnancy thus far


Have a great week!

Love, Bethany

New Year, New Post

A lot has happened since my last post (Christmas, New Years, another baby appointment, etc.), which means a lot of updating to do!

The holidays were very low key for us this year. Christmas Eve we made a nice Christmas feast filled with recipes from home, with our friends the Applegate's! We ate ourselves full and played board games. Then the morning of Christmas it was just Jake, Duke and I. A definite change from balancing 3 families like we were used to, but it was nice none the less. With waiting on packages from home and having to order most of our presents for each other off the internet, we didn't have too much to open the day of; but it did make for a nice drawn out Christmas. (We're still waiting on one final package from home! haha) Which lead smoothly into the New Year. Another great night with the Applegate's filled with food, poker, and nice cigars for our men. There is nothing better than bringing in the new year with great company!

Now on to the baby update:

We had our most recent baby appointment on January 5th. It was the first time since we had found out for sure what we were having, and I was definitely looking forward to seeing the change. It is truly mind boggling to me how much change can happen in just a few short weeks. At this appointment we were able to make out a clear image of his face, more detail in his spin, and overall see a huge change in his size. Also, Dr. Reu (Roy) assured us again that we were having a boy, by showing off his goods. (I think he is just as excited that we are having a boy as we are haha) Overall it was a great appointment!

Me at 22 1/2 weeks (the day of our last appointment)

Our beautiful little boy :) 

Another thing that has started happening since the new year is our little nugget has decided to start kicking like crazy! It was a really neat experience, because there had been times previously that I thought it might be him kicking, but was never totally sure. Then on 1/1/11, New Years day, he woke me up with 3 very strong, very apparent kicks. He has been kicking pretty regularly ever since, which if you ask me has its ups and downs. Its an amazing feeling to feel your little baby move in your belly, but when he is constantly using your bladder for soccer practice, thats a different story haha. Jake has even had the experience of feeling him kick. He was talking to baby with his face on my belly, when all of a sudden he decided to show his daddy he could kick. Kicked him straight on the cheek about 5-6 times! I was so happy Jake could finally feel what I feel all the time.

My bare belly at 24 weeks

24 weeks

To answer some questions that have been coming up:

We have settled on a name for our little boy. We had our top two names for either sex picked out shortly after we found out we were pregnant, and then once we found out the sex we moved from there. Deciding on his first name was easy, it was his middle that was giving us some problems. Luckily, God had a cool way of letting me know what it should be. I had been asking family and close friends for ideas on middle names, but had never asked Him. Once I did, he made it clear through reading the bible, and we are very happy with it! Now with all that said, we are planning on keeping his name a surprise until he is born. I feel like there is something special about announcing his name with his birth, so aside from immediate family and a select few, mums the word :) 

Another question that has been asked is if we are going to register for the baby, and if so where. Since I am not able to have a baby shower with everyone at home, we did decide that we would register at a few places that do ship most items to an APO address. So for all of those online shopper savy we have registered at amazon, and for those that are not we have also registered at Target. 

For Amazon:

- Go to http://www.amazon.com/babyregistry

-Search Bethany Smith or Jake Smith

-Click the Registry that shows:

Bethany Smith and Jake Smith's Baby Registry

APO, AE

May 8, 2011

 For Target:

-Go into the store and search Bethany Smith or Jake Smith with the state being Armed Forces- Europe
or
-Go to http://www.target.com/registry/baby/find
-Search Bethany Smith or Jake Smith with the state being Armed Forces- Europe
-Ours should be the only one to pop up!

Both of these registries have items that are unable to ship to APO directly so there are a few options:
1. Don't get that item haha
2. If its a Target item, go into the store and purchase it and then ship it on your own
3. If you order online you can ship it to yourself, and then reship it to us at:
                Jake and Bethany Smith
                D Co. 3-159 AVN
                CMR 416 Box 1666
                APO AE 09140

This is obviously our first baby, so if there is something that you think would be good to get us that isn't on the registry, by all means go for it! I just put things on there that I thought were cute or know we need.

Prayer Requests:
-That our little boy continues growing strong and healthy
-That Duke's neutering surgery goes well (Feb. 8th) and he calms down after it is done
-That Jake is able to finish putting together his WOFT packet before the next deadline to turn it in (March 14th)
-That I continue having an easy pregnancy and am able to continue to do my job around the house

Praises:
-That baby has started clearly kicking for me, so I know that he is doing alright in there
-That Duke is starting to learn more discipline (on his good days anyway)
-That Jake has made some headway on his packet as far as all of the physical stuff is concerned
-That I have had such an easy pregnancy so far, and am able to do most everything that I was able to do before I was pregnant

Hope everyone has a happy Wednesday!

It's A...

Our beautiful Baby's face! Eye sockets, nose, and the shaping of the jaw :)

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night (having to pee.. of course!) And started thinking of our little nugget. We've gotten a lot of assumptions since nugget started growing, that the sex would most likely be a boy, because "Its just the Smith way" "Smith's cant have girls" etc. etc. etc. It had gotten somewhat exhausting with the repeated remarks and almost gave me a sour taste in my mouth at the thought of having a boy. But last night, when I was thinking of nugget, and all of those remarks, God spoke to me. He made me realize that it doesn't matter what the "Family genes" are. Our God is an all powerful God; if he can heal the sick, blind, etc. I'm pretty sure he could bless a family with a girl that has had mostly all men. He made me realize, that its not the genes that decide, but its He who decides.  It made me start to think how the credit of every child really should be to God, and not to the parents or the families. He was gracious enough to bless every Mother and Father with a perfectly picked out son or daughter, choosing as he saw fit for their specific circumstances. All that said, it leads me to our appointment today.

I have noticed that every appointment we have now, MAJOR changes have occurred since the previous. This time, as we sat down on the table, and our doctor started the ultrasound I was truly blown away. Our baby's head had nearly tripled in size since the last time we saw it! Nugget decided to be a little more active this time around, so we were able to see little feet moving, arms, hands, and even the definition of the face. That is when the emotions kicked in. Seeing your baby's face on that screen is the most surreal thing I think you could ever see. Talk about making it more real! And on top of that to see their little toes on tiny little feet moving all around, it makes me emotional just thinking about it. Then our Dr continued on in the pursuit of finding the sex. Nugget decided to be difficult once again, clamping its legs together so that every angle was difficult to see anything. Luckily our doctor knew how much we were dying to find out, so he persisted until finally it was as clear as day. A baby BOY! Not exactly what I had hoped for, but none the less I was very excited. Remembering what God had told me the night before, I realized that I was SO blessed and SO lucky to have God choose THIS baby boy to be ours. To be our first child! So as many of you (I'm sure), I was not really surprised, but was definitely excited. Another Smith boy to add to the list; but our very first child to start our lives as Parents. 

Thank you our Beautiful baby Boy, for letting us know who you are today. It will make talking to you and planning for you so much easier :) Your Mommy and Daddy couldn't be more excited for you to come home in just a few short months! Stay strong, comfortable and healthy, and we'll see you soon!

Love, Mommy

Prayer Requests:

-That our baby boy continues to grow strong and healthy 

-That Duke starts to calm down out of his puppy stage

-That Jake is able to put forth as much time and energy as possible toward his packet now that the phase is essentially over

-That I keep a handle on my emotions, and start finding great deals for baby goods :)

Praises:

-That God provided us with a healthy baby BOY

-That Duke is finally starting to get in a certain routine that is easy to manage

-That Jake is essentially done with his phase

-That I have been in such great health in this second trimester

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Bethany

Down and Dirty

Ok. So Bethany normally runs this blog, but this time, it's my turn. 

Recently things out here have gotten crazy, crazy, crazy. While our things have arrived, we still feel that we haven't fully moved in. Things we need purchasing and work that needs to be done have piled up. Our little one is brewing and causing all kinds of fun and interesting things to be brought up and thought about. Work has taken over my soul, it feels like. And Duke has been one wild puppy lately. Life has turned up to full power and we have really been trying to keep our focus on God for guidance and comfort. With that said, we HAVE been able to get some play time squeezed in amongst all the business.

We had our latest baby appointment October 25th, as you already heard, we got to see our little 'nugget' and hear the heart beating. Standing watching that was such a blessing and such an eye opener. As nasty as birth is, it's amazing watching God's work happen in front of you. I don't feel like a dad yet, but I'm sure I will real soon. 

The last few weekends have been busy also, but with more of a home style twist. Every Saturday morning, we wake up, feed Duke, eat, have a cup of coffee and load up the bike and the dog and head out to the track. The first trip out was AWESOME! Sadly, Gray didn't go so there is no proof of that trip. Believe me though, it was amazing. The second trip was a bit less successful. We had been rained on a few days straight that week and it really made for some slick conditions. A friend of mine, Buck and Shepard, arrived at the track Sunday morning and the place was empty. To say the least, we were excited. Later on, we found out that Germans don't ride on Sundays. I haven't been able to figure out why yet, but most tracks are closed on Sundays and it is rare to find a dirt rider riding on Sundays out here in Germany. Weird. So, while we unloaded the bikes, got our gear on, warmed up the bikes and started talking smack, we realized how muddy the ground really had gotten from the rain from the days prior. Duke had jumped on everybody there with us, leaving massive paw streaks on everything. It was a dirty day. The first lap slowly turned into the last lap. Check it out.

Just trying to get off the track was a challenge.

Duke didn't like the bikes at first.

Meet Buck.

It was a pretty muddy day. Most of it came off while we rode off the the track so that the wash wouldn't be so bad. It still ended up being pretty bad. The next week was beautiful. Still a little muddy, but the weather had been nice all week. Most of the rain water had dried up and it made for some interesting times on the track. We were able to do a few more than one lap this time. 

This is where I fell and sprained my ankle. This is my worried look as I thought I would be run over by another rider.

Duke warmed up to the bikes and actually tries to climb up sometimes.

So that is all the latest happenings. We are on a three day weekend this weekend. I would like to get one more ride in before putting the bike away for the winter, but I'm pretty sure everything is closed. My riding partner, Buck, leaves in the next few weeks for the states. Now it looks like I'll be riding solo. 

Work has had me working hard for 8 straight hours a day recently. I am working on a 500 hour phase which calls the whole aircraft to be disassembled and inspected. We were given 20 working days to do it. Lots of things gone wrong later and we are behind. It hasn't been too fun. Riding my bike and working out a lot has been a mental must have in order to stay sane. The only down side is it keeps me away from home, where I need to be spending the time with the wife and dog. Living the Army life is hard to juggle sometimes.

Prayer requests:

- Baby continues to grow healthy.

- Bethany finds a job that will help take the stress off of bills and such.

- Duke grows into a dog rather than a puppy sooner than later so he quits terrorizing us.

- I find the time to spend with Bethany and Duke more frequently.

- We find the peace in God to keep our heads up during time away from family.

- Work lets me continue to build my Warrant Officer packet so I can fly sooner rather than later.

Praises:

- Baby IS healthy.

- We found a new church that we love.

- I didn't die during the few weeks of riding I was given.

- Bethany hasn't gone off the hormonal cliff (yet. HA!)

- We finally feel at peace about our financial issues and have finally overcome most of them.

We have a new baby appointment coming in the next couple of weeks! Keep your eyes open for that one! We might find out the sex! WOO!

Jake

A Little More Real Now

Today was our second appointment with Dr. Reu (Roy) to see how the baby was doing. The first appointment was somewhat short and basic, so I didn't really expect this appointment to run any differently. I had heard that we would be able to hear the heartbeat today, so I was excited about that, but thats all I was expecting (Little did I know that Baby Smith wanted to show off for us). So we went into the examination room and I undressed bottom half down (thats another thing, they dont really care about covering up over here). I got semi comfortable on the table and Dr. Reu proceeded to show us how the baby was doing. 

His/Her head and Heart beat

He decided to show us the heartbeat first, and I think thats all he would have done had I not asked to hear it. Man, was that beat racing! We didn't get to hear it for long, but just enough to make an impact. He told us that it was beating at 147 beats per minute, and Jake went on to say that that was about 3 times as fast as his normal heart rate. It was definitely the first thing to kick in. To realize that there really is something in my belly, that has its own heart beat. I started to get a little emotional but was mostly able to keep it under control. Then he started showing us the arms, the leg, the head, and the whole body. Thats when baby Smith decided to show off. Our little lime sized baby decided it would be a great time to start moving all around for us! I couldn't believe it. I'm getting a little choked up just thinking about it. It was truly amazing to me. The first time we had met our nugget it was tiny and motionless, while this time it was 3 times the size and moving around like crazy. It really made me start to appreciate even more, this beautiful experience that has only just begun.

     Dear Baby Smith,

Thank you so much for coming into our lives. I am so excited to feel you continue growing, moving,  kick and hiccup in my belly which is your current home. I am even more excited for you to come out and meet your real home. There are so many people that are ready and willing to share their overflowing love for you. You are such a blessing and am so thankful for you every single day. I love you.

                                       Love, Mommy

Baby Watch:

-Our next appointment is in 3 weeks from now. November 15th. We are hoping to find out the sex at that appointment!

12/13 week baby bump

Prayer Requests:

-The Dr. said that the baby is doing just fine when it comes to health, so keep praying it stays that way

-That Duke's leg is fully healed so that we can start taking him out for regular exercise

-That Jake continues to move forward with his Warrent Officer Packet, and that he increases his physical condition

-That I am motivated to tackle our extra room and get things more squared away and livable

Praises:

-That our nugget is healthy and active! 

-That Duke is very responsive to training and is turning into a very good dog

-That Jake's ankle has mostly healed and that he passed his most recent PT test

-That "morning sickess" is 90% gone, and I am finally starting to have some more energy

Jake is still going to write a post about his two dirt bike experiences within the past couple weeks so stay tuned!

Love, Bethany

WURZBURG

Jake and I had the opportunity to go and visit the town Wurzburg a few weekends ago. We went specifically to see the Wurzburg Residenz. This elaborate building was originally for Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp Franz von Schonborn. It was a collaboration of distinguished designers from Austria, France, and Germany itself that built it from 1720-1780. When it was finally finished it had 300 rooms in total! Now Jake and I didn't get to tour all 300 rooms, but we did get to see our fine share.

The reason we weren't able to see all 300 rooms wasn't because we didn't want to but because they only had certain parts of the building open to walk around in. "On 16 March 1945, only a few weeks before the end of the Second World War, a devastating air raid destroyed 90 percent of the Würzburg old town. The Residenz was almost completely burnt out. From the attic the fire ate down through wooden ceilings and floors, and all the furnishings and wall panelling it had not been possible to store elsewhere were devoured by the flames." They decided to rebuild the majority of the building to show the beauty of the building to the public. With many of the original furnishings (saved from the fire because of where they were stored) they finally reopened the Residenz in 1987. It was amazing how accurately the were able to reconstruct the rooms that were open to see. In the main traveling hallways they also had small bio's and photos of some of the before and after. We weren't able to take pictures of that, but we did get some of the beautiful details. 

We had to be very sneaky and selective with what we took pictures of and where, because technically we weren't supposed to be taking pictures. (Hence Jakes head in one of the shots haha) After we toured the inside of the Residenz we continued our tour outside to the massive courtyard that accompanied the building.

It is truely amazing how well they were able to keep up the gardens to look like how they were originally designed. They sometimes change the types of flowers that are planted depending on the season, but overall, the shape and designs of the overall gardens stayed pretty much the same since 1774.

Jake and I really enjoyed our trip to the Wurzburg Residenz. The entire town of Wurzburg seems to have a lot of history behind it, and soon we'd like to go back and just explore the town itself. We'll probably wait until Duke can come with us though :)


Baby Watch:
-We have our next doctors appointment on Monday, October 25th. We are supposed to be able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time!
-This Sunday will end my first Trimester, because I will be 12 weeks.
-We will hopefully find out the sex of the baby at week 16, so just a little over a month more :)


Prayer Requests:
-For our nugget to continue to grow healthily
-For Dukes leg to continue healing strong, so that we don't have to get surgery to heal it
-For Jake to train hard this week, his body to absorb it, and for him to do well on his PT test on Friday, the 22nd.
-For my headaches to become a little less frequent so that I am more capable of doing stuff around the house and such.


Praises:
-That we haven't had any complications with the baby this far
-That Duke seems to be healing well, and is picking up new training tricks such as down (lay down) and stay
-That Jake has been busy working on the aircraft itself rather than doing petty other small jobs
-That my "morning sickness" has 95% gone away, and I am able to do more than I was while I was feeling sick


Jake is going to be posting a blog soon about our experience at the dirt bike track this past weekend, so watch for it!

Love,
Bethany