Maternity Photos/ A Letter

 

Dear Caden,

It has been a long nine (ten) months, but your due date is just around the corner.

 

I will never forget telling your Daddy that you were going to enter our lives. He was on deployment, sailing toward Japan, when I told him over the phone. We had chosen the date for him to call, two weeks after he left and were both very very anxious for the news! I will also never forget when your daddy came home for two weeks in between underways and asked the doctor to do an ultrasound just for him. This time I got to see his face when he found out you were a boy.

 

 

I'll tell you a little secret- I always knew you were a boy. We had your name picked out from the very beginning, and your Daddy kept telling me that we needed to pick out a girl's name, but I always pushed it aside. We got the idea for your name right before your Daddy left for his first underway to Hawaii, two months after we got married. I was walking him to the boat the morning they left, and as we crossed a bridge there was a sign that said, "Please break for cadence." Long story short, that led to Caden.

 

 

You are one lucky little boy to have a father like your Daddy. He is going to teach you how to be strong and athletic, and caring and loving. Most importantly, he is going to lead you by example, so that you always have someone to look up to. I can't wait to watch the two of you be boys together, although I know your both going to drive me crazy at times.

 

 

You also have a mom who is going to love and nurture you with every fiber of her being. I'm sure you will think I am overprotective, but I hope you can see that it is just because I love you.  I also hope you love my cooking as much as your Daddy does! And don't worry, I will always make your favorite dessert.

 

 

Words cannot express how much your Daddy and I already love you.

We hoped and prayed for you to enter our lives for what seemed like forever, and now we are just counting the days until we get to meet you!

Friday's Letters

36 weeks

Dear Hubby, yesterday we went to Home depot to get the very last piece of the cradle that you have been refinishing. We then walked out of the store with the side panel leaning against the register.. I know how proud you were of all the work you put into our son's cradle and am so sad that you won't be able to give it to him. Dear Jack, I think you somehow know that you won't be the only baby of the house for much longer because you are even more attached to us.. If that is even possible. Dear $40 Mini Sewing Machine, Thank you for going above and beyond the expectations I had for you! One sheet, one blanket, and one changing pad cover down.. Two more sheets and a blanket to go. And a crib skirt? And curtains? How much sewing can I get done in two weeks? Dear Baby-in-my-Belly, you won't be in there for much longer! Boy, am I excited to meet you!

Adjust the sails

If I could choose one word to explain the past month and a half, it would be adjustment.

Adjust verb  To become or make prepared.

Acclimitize I moved back to San Diego, into a new apartment, in a new area.

Adapt After six long months, my husband finally came home. Other milspouses know how much of an adjustment homecoming can be. When my husband leaves, I resort back to the independent woman I was before he came into my life. When my husband is gone, he copes by leaving his emotions at the door. It takes some time for us to get back into our routine of being a couple.

Reconcile Deployments are hard on a marriage. Making an addition to the family also puts new stress on a marriage. Without going into detail, I can say that my husband and I haven't stopped working on our relationship since he returned, and we were in desperate need of some work. All of that work is really paying off, our marriage feels stronger now than it ever has.

Accomodate For some reason, I thought pregnancy would be easy, but I was so wrong. I have a hard time slowing down and asking for help, so this has been a learning process for both me and my husband.

The adjusting is going to stop now- our little one will be here in just over a month, and that is going to be a whole new world full of twists and turns!

friday's letters

He was sleeping so awkwardly on my body pillow, I had to take a picture

Dear Baby Boy, You are really growing now! I'm sorry you feel squished, but you can't push my ribs out any farther! I'm starting to think your half vampire and going to just break them in half any day now.
Dear Accounting 201, please be nice to me. I haven't faced accounting in two and a half years, but will start this class on Monday. We didn't have a good relationship the first time, so I don't know how its going to work when we take it to the next level.
Dear Jack,  I guess you decided that you needed one more spot because one morning you woke up with a new one on your back. Or maybe your trying to tell me that you just pretend that you don't like baths because it appeared two days after your last bath.
Dear husband, is this deployment almost over?

Deployments are a drag

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So often have I found myself looking at my deployment countdown and saying, "X days left, I wish time would go by faster" or "I wish it was (insert date that seems forever away here) already!" Thinking like that will drive a girl crazy. I definately have days where I am unsuccessful, but I try to remind myself of this quote at those times (and this week I have been having a lot of those times, I don't know if its the pregnancy hormones or what!) . I love my husband, and I love our time together.. which we will have again one day!

Friday's Letters

Frocking ceremony in November

Dear Friday, I can finally be one of those people who say, "Dear Friday, thank goodness you're here!" because I'm back at work and this Friday means no work for 4 days!

Dear Jack, I'm sorry that you have to be home alone while mommy's at work once again. I wish I could take you with me, but I don't think the customers would appreciate your constant yapping, let alone your hair that finds it way into everything.
Dear Baby Caden, you are starting to put so much pressure on mommy's ribs, and you still have so much more to grow!
Dear neighbors, why oh why must you stomp your feet to walk up the stairs? This annoys the crapppp out of me.
Dear hubby, this week was your 21st birthday, and you got to celebrate it by making a 5 minute phone call to me in between working your ass off and getting very little sleep. I'm so very proud of everything you have accomplished in the past year, including making 3rd class, receiving a NAM (actually, I think two.. thats how difficult your awards are to keep track of), and sailor of the year. Oh, and doing your part in making a baby! : )

Baby Shower

Last weekend I had my baby shower.  While my mom and sister were the hosts, I did most of the party planning and decorating because thats just how I roll : ) I decided on a cowboy shower, since Baby Caden's nursery is going to Woody from Toy Story themed (Hubby loves Toy Story haha).

Heres some of the pictures of the tablescape I did:

Dessert and Snack table



'place cards' I set in front of the different areas

'Caden's Candy Favors'

Fondant 'Sheriff Woody' cake

I had a lot of fun getting ready for this party! Last year I was seriously considering being a party planner before I decided to go back to school for business, so this really brought back those feelings. I also had a lot of fun decorating the cake, and I think it is my best one so far!

Friday's Letters

Dear Walmart, thank you for providing a $3 woody-esque onsie after I spent $20 on the real thing at the disney store. Dear California Weather, thank you for being so pleasant! You are a warm welcome after being in a 115 degree oven for the past few months. Dear Obnoxious Neighbors, thank you for letting your kids (or hopefully your friend's or family's kids) run up and down the outside hallway yesterday. Let's just say your lucky that my baby is still in my belly and not affected by those things yet. Dear Man Sitting Outside Last Night, thank you for making me laugh by telling your dog about a cocker spaniel who chased a cat. I thought for sure you were on a blue tooth, and then I realized the story was definately meant for your dog. Dear Husband, thank you for missing me as much as I miss you.

San Diego!

I am now living in my new apartment! Sunday night (after watching Big Brother) we made the drive to San Diego.. I drove my car, and my sister followed in her car with my mom and nephew. Let me just say, road trips are not fun when your pregnant! We stopped 4 or 5 times so I could pee, when normally I maybe make one stop. Baby Caden does not like the seat belt AT ALL, so I kept having braxton hicks contractions that made me really really really have to pee! That may be TMI, but pregnancy throws TMI out the window, so welcome to prego world. Anywayy, I have lots and lots of boxes to unpack (mostly kitchen stuff) and lots and lots of time to do it before the hubby comes home. I'm not posting any pictures because the place is a mess, but once everything is decorated I will. In our last apartment, we never took the time to decorate, so we are very excited to make this one a home!

Friday's Letters

shirt: Robins Nest Maternity pants: Fashion Q (I can't read the brand but they have an elastic waist like maternity jeans!) shoes: Dollhouse

Dear Baby Caden, You have been so active lately! I don't think I will ever get used to feeling your kicks, punches, and twists! Dear father-of-my-child, I wish wish wish wish you could feel these movements so bad, but we are lucky that you were here when he first started getting strong enough to let us feel him. I remember when you started to get upset that you wouldn't ever feel him kick before you left, and Caden kicked your arm so hard we both jumped! I wish someone would have got our reactions on camera. Dear body, on Sunday night we are going to make the 6 hour drive back to San Diego and move into our new apartment. Please don't get too mad at me. Dear Jack, please do not pee in our new apartment!!! You don't need to mark your territory, no one will try to take it from you! Dear husband, these underways are really taking their toll on our relationship, but at least we recognize it an are willing to work on us. I miss you.

Chin Up Butter Cup

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I have been needing this reminder lately, and I bet someone out there needs the same reminder, so I thought I would pass it on!

Friday's Letters

Dear Arizona heat, you are brutal, especially on a pregnant woman. Dear downstairs neighbors, you don't deserve your puppy. Seriously, who leaves their 2 pound dog outside in a bare kennel in the Arizona heat? I am so tempted to steal him.. He is tiny enough to fit in Jack's padded kennel with him! Dear Jack, I know you already have to deal with the idea of sharing mommy and daddy with a new baby, but would you mind also sharing with a new puppy? I know, I know, your answer is "Are you crazy?!" Dear husband, I'm so jealous that you are in Hawaii again, but I'm glad that you are being so adventurous. And plus, its greattt to get to talk and text every day instead of occasional emails!

My hubby's view from the ship last night

Announcement

Hi there blogger world. I have a perfectly good explanation about why I have been MIA, and the first of which is a big, exciting announcement..

I'm expecting!!

I'm more than expecting, I'm 22 weeks prego with a lively baby boy. So, why did I take so long to share the amazing news? Well, I planned from the beginning to wait until after the first trimester to tell the world, because of the high miscarriage rates until that point. At my first appointment, I was at a higher rate for miscarriage because of a hemmorhage on my uterus and didn't get the okay that it had cleared until after the first trimester mark, and by that time my husband was coming home in a few weeks so I decided to hold it in a little longer so we could share the news together. Hubby came home over a month ago, we told our friends (I couldn't hide it from family), and posted our announcement on facebook. Since my hubby was home for less than a month weeks in between underways, I forgot about the rest of the world and focused only on us. Our crazy schedule didn't help either, let me demonstrate:

I drove to San Diego on a Friday morning, the day after the ship pulled in because Chris had duty. We stayed in a crappy hotel until Tuesday, went to a doctors appointment (where Chris got to see the baby!) and drove back to Phoenix. Hubby took 10 days of leave, drove back to San Diego on a monday afternoon, went to work on tuesday, and drove back to Phoenix that night. He took 4 days of special leave (for being sailor of the year!) and flew back to San Diego Saturday night to make it in time for duty the next morning. I stayed in Phoenix while Chris stayed on the ship for the next week for work, and then flew back to Phoenix friday night. THEN we left for San Diego at 2 am to make it in time for my ultrasound at 9 am. Yes, I have that sweet of a husband that he insisted on flying down and doing the driving for me since I get so uncomfortable doing the drive myself. We spent 4 days together before yet another underway, and I made the last trip back to Phoenix.

Whew, if you got through that, thanks for sticking around!

I can't explain what a blessing this baby is, and I can't wait to share our journey!

Pinterest Love

How Many of you are addicted to Pinterest? C'mon, I know you all are. Pinterest is awesome. It's like a mix between facebook, photobucket, and instragram, on steriods.



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When I first started using Pinterest, it was for wedding planning, and I found some amazing ideas. Plus, I could save all the ideas in one place, and instead of saving the pictures to a folder on my desktop, I can pin them to one folder so that I still have the source with the picture.



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Wedding is my most used board, but I also have future family, for the home, daily inspiration, my style, and more.



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If your interested in following me, don't be afraid to stop by! I'd love to see what your pinning as well!

Friday's Letters

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Dear Hubby of Mine, I wish I could be with you to take care of you when your sick and have a hurt shoulder. I know you wish you could be here to take care of me also. Dear Jack-Jack, we are going through another one of your anti-obey-mommy-spells and I hope it passes soon. Otherwise, grandma is going to make you stay locked up during the day. Dear Global Management Class, I wish you didn't have so much homework. I want to get back to my newest Jodi Picoult book, but since you want me to read so much of your textbook, I haven't been able to pick it up in a week. Dear Phoenix, thank you for transitioning me back into your hot weather by throwing in a couple days of not-melting temps. Dear Hubby/Sailor, ___ days until you come home!



Friday's letters

Dear Jack, I know you miss your daddy.. Everytime a car honks you run to the window like he is going to walk up the stairs, and you have done this for over a month now. I hope your play date with your girlfriend, Pookie, cheered you up a little. Dear husband, I miss you also. I hate that between your schedule getting busier and comms going down, I don't get emails from you as often. Dear self, don't worry yourself with things you cannot control. Your faith in God has gotten you this far, so keep it up. Dear ex-apartments, get ready to fight me over my security deposit, because I am going to win.

Wednesday wishes (45)

One. Pretty nails. I wish I had the patience and talent to paint my nails like this.

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Two. Iphone case. I love the vintage pattern of this one.

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Three. Donuts. Home-made, still warm, cinnamon surgar donuts. My mouth is watering

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This is my first wednesday wishes in a while, so glad to be back in the swing of things! Visit Brooke to share your own!

Its me, Ashley

Hi everyone!


It has been months since I have posted.. What can I say? I wasn't enjoying blogging, life got busy, and I put my blog aside.
So why I am  back? You can probably guess it.. I missed you guys! My husband left on deployment about a month ago, and it has been getting me down. I thought blogging might be a little bit of a mood lifter, so here I am!


In case your interested, heres a recap of what has been going on in my life:
I celebrated my 21st birthday!
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
I quit my job.
My husband left on deployment.. on valentines day.
I packed up all my belongings and moved back home.
and more : )


Life is never a dull moment in our household, and we are constantly getting used to new changes. Mind you, I don't handle change well. I am a planner to the T, so I constantly have to readjust myself to new situations. In the past few months, I have tried my best to be aware of all possibilities and be prepared for any situation, but as you can see, major changes are not uncommon for my husband and I! I'm excited to get back into the swing of things, and catch up with everyone else as well!