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!