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