The triplets have arrived!!

Blessings to God!! Cathy had the triplets today at 30 weeks and all are doing well thus far. I haven't seen pictures yet, but I just know they must be cuties! I am over the moon at being an Aunt again. It really is one of life's greatest pleasures!

Drew Gregory 2 lb 5 oz

Brady Thomas 1 lb 11 oz

Jordan Elizabeth 2 lb 14 oz

Continued prayers are asked for the babies health as they work to maintain life outside the womb 10 weeks earlier than they are inteded. They are very very tiny, but with God's grace we know they can grow to be big and strong! Also, prayers for little Eli as he adjusts to being the big brother to 3 babies at the same time!

Cathy and Eli compare bellies a week or so before delivery!! I think Cathy won =)

For the love of a cat and an unborn baby...

Andy and I had quite a to-do-list to make it through before his deployment and we fell short in several areas, but the most important one revolved around our beloved kitty that we call Vegas. Santa-Cat was supposed to bring her a self-cleaning litter box on Christmas morning, but that didn't happen. So, we switched gears and said we would get it done by the end of February when Andy left. Well, that didn't happen either. So, yesterday I found myself at Pet Smart browsing the shelves for the desperately needed 'self-cleaning cat litter box' for the smiling (and begging for a belly-rub) member of our family that you see here.

The search ended with a purchase, but we may have to put ourselves on a savings plan to support this new luxury! I nearly fell over when I saw the price tag of $200!! Now, I know that it is important for our unborn baby that I do not come into contact with used kitty litter (for risk of toxoplasmosis, which can cause birth defects), but $200!! Are you kidding me? The cartidges that need replaced monthly cost $15 themselves, so the claim on the box about saving money on litter is not true! We will merely be redistributing our funds to self-cleaning cartidges....

I compared toilet bowl prices to Vegas' new "throne", and she should use hers with caution because hers is more than twice as much as a brand new toilet bowl from Lowe's (http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=83185-77335-146WHT&lpage=none) Geez, the things we do for our pets.

The instructions claim that cats may take 7-10 days to adjust and I should keep her old litter box nearby, but she will use this new investment from the start if I have anything to do with it. I mean, why would she choose the old $10 litter box when she can do her business in the NEW $200 model?!?! The new model even keeps a count of her uses so that I can monitor her health......haha, like I have ever concerned myself with how many times Vegas uses her litter box! However, next time we go to the vet I will probably offer the daily numbers just because I can!

I present to you, the cadillac of all litter boxes....

24 weeks

We have made it to 24 weeks - the stage the medical community calls "viability". Essentially, they feel that little ones have a shot at making it outside the womb from this point forward. Ahhh, it feels nice to be here! I am finally feeling calm about this entire "we are having a baby" scenario and I do not have to convince myself that I am preggers anymore. Baby Girl keeps me well aware of her existence by her acrobatics in my belly! And, as you can tell from the pictures taken just a little bit ago, I have a visual reminder every time I look down!
We began our Bradley classes last week and will get a few more in before Andy leaves and then pick back up with the instructor after his return. We will be on the fast track of learning at that point (because we will be 3 or 4 weeks from delivery), but we at least have the materials so we can learn now on our own during the break from classes. We both believe in the methods taught with this philosophy and are confident that we can have a natural birth for our little girl. The entire idea is based on preparing your body prior to the birth and having a supportive and knowledgeable "coach" alongside the mother. (hence the name 'Husband Coached Childbirth' by Dr. Bradley). We will see what the actual day brings, but we want to be as prepared as possible so that we can keep Baby Girl safe from any drug exposure. We hope y'all have a great week! I will be in Myrtle Beach for 4 days at a work conference and Andy will continue the 'working too hard at the office/bury himself in school work/mix some flying in as well' scenario that he has been living the last few weeks. At times, I feel as if he is deployed already because of the lack of time we get to spend together. However, this too shall pass, right?!

Crib building 101

We are trying hard to get things done before Andy leaves and we can now check 'building the crib' off of the list! Typically furniture isn't added until after a room is painted, but it was important for Andy to build the crib himself, so I will just have to cover it when the painting is being done. We are pleased with how it looks and have already begun to imagine Baby Girl sleeping the night away in her new bed;)

I didn't really help at all (unless you count my unsolicited advice throughout the process) but Andy was nice enough to take my picture anyways so that I could feel part of the experience too!

A tribute to Corn Pops...

As I sit here and finish up my "post work/pre-dinner" snack, I feel the urge to give a shout-out the the greatest cereal creation of all time (well, at least while I am preggers anyhow).

I had a dream about Corn Pops one night while on Christmas vacation at Mom and Dad's, and that morning when I came upstairs I discovered Kelly (my eldest sister) was just arriving home from the store. Call it a coincidence, or perhaps pregnancy induced divine intervention, but as I was looking at all of the goodies she had bought, I spotted a box of Corn Pops! Dreams do come true, after all!! wohoo! Well, I had three bowls that morning and haven't really slowed down since. There is something about the slightly sweet and crunchy taste that I can't seem to get enough of. Andy has been to the grocery at least 4 times the last few months because I have run out of my sacred (and desperately needed) snack! Ahhhh, just typing this makes me want another bowl! =) (but I won't since I need to save room for a more nutritous thing that some like to call dinner...)

Who said a pregnant lady can't ice skate?!

Over the past few weeks Andy and I have been laying low with working long hours during the week and getting together with friends on the weekends. I guess we have been living the "normal life" that civilians always experience, but it has been a bit strange for us. Andy is doing very well in his current masters class (what a smarty) and starts another this week or next. Slowly but surely he will become as educated as his wife ;)

Below are a few pictures from the past few weeks, including some from a spouse social where we went ice skating. Our commander's wife was not pleased that I was out ice skating, but I promised her that I would be careful (but I didn't bother to tell her how uncoordinated I was!). However, both baby girl and I survived without incident and we both had a fun time!!

Rachel and I stayed near the wall to help us balance!

Andy with Grace and Grant after a yummy lunch on Saturday! It was great to spend some time with them. They are sure growing up fast!

A sweet baby girl...

Sometimes I forget that the entire world isn't on Facebook and that people actually get their information about us from this blog (aka. my mother) rather than from that other addictive social networking tool. So when I only wrote a status update on FB and didn't update our blog immediately upon finding out the great news on Friday, I began to catch some slack from Indiana! Well, here in the official announcement (not that all of you don't already know the news;) Andy and I are going to have a sweet and perfect little girl!! God is so good because the ultrasound revealed that she is indeed perfect and is growing just as she should. She weighs 12 ounces now (then why have I gained 11 pounds!?), has all of her toes and fingers, her heart is pumping blood just as it should, her abdomen has closed where the umbilical cord is attached, and she is nestled head down very low in my abdomen with her face snuggled into the placenta. It is very bizarre to think that is all going on inside of my belly, but we saw it on the TV screen with our own eyes, so it must be happening! And, best of all she wasn't a little banana after all! =) Good thing because according to babycenter.com, the banana theory is long gone and she is now the size of a carrot....hmmm.

On a more serious note, thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. Pre-natal doctor appointments always make me nervous since the day we walked in so unsuspecting and naive and discovered our miscarriage in March, but I just have to keep faith that this little miracle will keep developing as she should. And, according to the doctor, we have nothing to worry about at this point. What a relief!