Our Many Blessing

Hi all
Well we are winding up our time in the northeast and are about to head back to Oklahoma. We have found a great home with plenty of room for our growing family and any guests who want to visit! We have loved our time in Newport and are leaving with ALOT more than we came with (Tripp) but we are so ready to be back with our OKC friends

The title of this blog is because once again this week I was reminded of how unbelievably blessed I am and how great God is and that even in those moments where you don't know if you will make it through with your sanity- you would not trade them for anything. Ok, I will elaborate since right now I just sound like an emotional lunatic.

This past Sunday Ellie started to run 103 temperature. That night we loaded her up with tylenol and just waited until we could make a dr's appointment the next day. While we are getting ready for the dr, poor little thing begins to throw up which is one of the saddest things you can picture. MIke had to go to school so I was on my own with a 4 month old and a very sick little girl. Ellie proceeded to get sick on me three separate times at the drs office, plus they tried to test her for a uti (I say tried but she could not pee since she was starting to get dehydrated) we decided it was a 24 hour bug and went home to ride it out. Monday night Tripp woke up with a high fever which was even more pathetic than Ellie- my smiley happy baby would barely stop crying and would not let me put him down at all which meant we were back at the dr on Tuesday. Not to mention our movers are coming this week so we have alot on our plate- but we are all on the mend.

The reason I share this story is right after I got home from the dr with ellie and had showered off the sickness I got a message regarding a friend from college. Her name is Summer and she had had a stroke on Friday followed by another stroke on Sunday- Summer is only 31 - she has two precious little boys Henry (2 and 1/2) and Owen (9 months). She is an amazing mother and friend. Summer has always been a inspiration to me in her attitude, constant optimism and her faith. This news rocked me to the core as I was once again faced with how life can change on a dime and instantly my trying visit dr seemed very insignificant. Summer is on the mend because she is a fighter and I know she will pull through this stronger than ever. I aks that you all pray for her, her husband and her precious boys that they can stay strong through her recovery. And I pray that I myself can relish in all moments- good and bad- I have with my children as I would not trade them for anything. I plan on reminding myself of this plenty over the next 2 and a half weeks as we drive back to OKC- there are sure to be some trying times in the car but each moment with those angels is a blessing.

Finally- WAR EAGLE- 8-0- so far Tripp is having a good first Auburn season.

Promotion and Football

It has been a busy month here and Newport and looks like we are not slowing down anytime soon.

Otto/Mike got promoted to Lieutenant Commander and we could not be prouder of our LCDR Daddy. Way to go Otto/Mike! Ellie was not that attentive during the ceremony but I am sure it was because she was just so excited- ha ha.

Tripp is growing and changing more and more everyday and just getting cuter by the minute- he is constantly smiling and is starting to give me some good belly laughs. He is really really close to sleeping thru the night and I am starting to function like a normal person again. We are still loving being a family of four and Ellie just seems to love Tripp more and more everyday-showering him with kisses and laughs. It amazes me how fast Tripp is growing and I almost wish I could stop time for awhile especially since we have some busy busy months coming up. Our time in Newport is rapidly coming to a close. We return to OKC the second week in October to find a house and our official move takes place in the beginning of November. We don't have definite orders yet but hopefully the navy won't throw us a curve ball this time. Although Newport has been good to us and we are definitely leaving with alot more (Tripp) than we came with, we are so so so excited to get back to our friends and life in OKC.

And finally, as you all know, football season is upon us and we have been showing our support for our Auburn Tigers even though we are living in the North. Mike is already getting his little boy to watch football with him and Tripp actually seems to enjoy it- well for a short while anyways until his little brain can't handle it and he gets overstimulated. So far Tripp's record is undefeated for our Tigers (3-0) and although the games have been too close for comfort a W is a W- Ellie cheers War Eagle and Go Auburn which makes cheering all the more fun. We wish we could get back for a game but in the meantime we will continue to have our own Piedmont football parties wherever the navy leads us- WAR EAGLE!

Piedmont Visit to Newport

We had a great beginning to our September- Gramma, Grandpop, Emmi and Bryan came to visit us all the way from Florida. Ellie was so excited to see them and we had the best time. Not to mention the heat has broken and we could not ask for more beautiful weather.

The visit was short but we packed alot into the short time we had- golf, outlets, cliff walk, lobster, fort adams- pretty much Newport at its best. I have to mention the lobster- it was so great to sit at a table full of adults wearing bibs not mention it was about the best corn I have ever eaten in my life- I would say it is one of the best meals we have had since we got here and I am glad we experienced it with our family.

Tripp is getting more and more alert and I loved showing him off- If you ask me we have the cutest kids ever and nothing makes me happier than to see them with their family. we were so touched that everyone came all the way to Newport from Florida and hopefully they had as great a time visitng as we had entertaining. As you can see from all the smiles below, I am pretty sure they did!

How much changes in 2 years!

Some moms are great at keeping a baby book or scrapbooking- besides taking a ton of picstures, all I have to really show ellie that I cared and tried to keep memories is this blog. Supposedly there is a website that will convert your blog into a memory book so I am making this post (as well as all the others) in the hopes of showing Ellie and Tripp someday that even if their mommy was not the most organized/creative mommy - that she cares and loves them just as much and treasured every moment and milestone they had.

So here is picture reflection on how much our little angel has changed in her two years of life- it is a constant reminder to me how I should cherish every moment with Tripp because before I know it he will be two too!

Here are ellie's two year old stats- weight- 22 lbs (10%-we made the charts - woo hoo); height- 32 inches (3%); and I can not remember the measurement but I know her head was 80% as well. I am sure her head is so big because of her large brain because she is one smart kid- I know I am a little prejudice but her teachers at school confirm that she is very intelligent for her age. She speaks so clearly and can actually have a conversation. She has such the little personality and loves to tease. She is the best big sister and just loves and kisses on Tripp. She is VERY dramatic and it makes me worry for those teenage years! She dances, sings, plays with dolls and loves to laugh. I could not have asked for a more perfect angel. She often forgets to put her on her listening ears but that is to be expected with a two year old. And just want I want to scream in frustration she does something so sweet like run up for no reason and hug you and say love you mommy- and your heart melts. If these first two years are any indication of things to come, I can not wait! We love you Ellie!

Mystic Aquarium and other fun

We have been adjusting to being a family of four and having alot of fun doing it. Last weekend we ventured out to the Mystic Aquarium. It was fun but I think still a little over ellie's head-plus it was pretty crowded and people were not very considerate of the stroller/toddler/infant we had in tow- I have to remind myself we are not in the south. But it was worth the trip and another thing we can check off of our list of things we wanted to try and do while here in Newport.

Our time here is starting to come to an end and it is bittersweet. We have really enjoyed our time and all the adventures we have had but we are also very very excited to get back to our friends and the comfortableness we have in Oklahoma. It in ways feels like we have been on an extended vacation with tons and tons of family time and now we are heading back to reality- we are very thankful for our time but are excited for our future. Things change so quickly and we are just trying to soak in these last couple months here in Newport and hopefully we will have cooler weather from here on out. Enjoy all the pics.

Look what I can do!

So as not to neglect our second child- Mike and I are making sure to get plenty of pics and video of tripp too! He is such a strong little boy- already holding his head up really well and unlike Ellie, he loves tummy time. The other day he rolled himself over several times- pretty advance. Not sure how much he meant to do it or whether it was caused by the fact that his large head moved in that direction and is body just followed- but we are proud nevertheless. I took Tripp for his two month and he is quite a bit bigger than Ellie. He weighs in at 11 lbs 2 ounces (57%), 22 in (30%) and 16 in head (80%)- I don't think Ellie was over 11 pounds until 6 months. He is a happy baby and is sleeping pretty well so we are all feeling better these days. As you can tell fromt he video- Ellie is a great big sis- always helping and teaching Tripp. I can not wait to watch them grow up together but I already feel like time is going too fast so things can definitely slow down a little so that my babies stay babies for awhile.

Our little Star!!!

First video to post so not sure this going to work- fingers crossed. Ellie has the cutest personality and she is a natural performer. She loves to dance and perform songs and speaks so clear for her age- her sweet little voice is by far one of the best sounds I have ever heard and we are trying to catch it more and more on video so we can remember how sweet she is now (we will probably need to watch these videos often during her trying teen years!). Enjoy!