"I don't want to be told NO!"

  Little Gabby Jean is something else these days! She is too smart for her own good at times.  Lately she will tell you if she doesn't like what you ask her to do.  Her new phrase she tells Clay and I if she is doing something wrong, we tell her NO and she replies with "I don't want to be told no."  What a girl with umph!  She is a very good helper, and gets excited about doing laundry- which is great b/c it is getting harder for me to bend and get everything out of the dryer especially since the door doesn't open all the way due to the small space it is in.

   Things are going good this week.  I had a Dr appointment Tuesday for my gestational diabetes test and for my rhogam shot.  After seeing the midwife I went down to the lab to begin the hour long sit and wait test.  First they drew blood to start the type screen of my blood.  Even though it is all over all my records they have to check what kind of blood I have to make sure I really am RH negative and need the rhogam shot.  They told me it would take an hour an a half for the result, so just 30 minutes longer than the diabetes test.  I headed back up to OB/GYN after walking around the hospital after the second blood draw to get my shot.  They called  the lab, it was going to be 20 more minutes..... an hour later I asked about it.  Still waiting.  It was another few hours before I got the shot! I was at the hospital for 6 hours, UGH.  Got my shot and talked with a nurse and my lab work was back (since I had been there so long) and everything looks good.  Still keeping an eye on my blood pressure but no other sign of preeclampsia so I am happy.   

   Wednesday I had to go back up to the hospital for an ultrasound, since technically I haven't had one.  I asked three people the day before where I go for the ultrasound, all told me to check in at OB.  Clay, Gabby and I get up to the 4th floor.  Nope, no appointment there.  I need to be down on the first floor at radiology.  We all go into the little room, the sonographer was very nice and did a great job.  We saw Baby Boy, well one side of him.  Already I can tell he has some of his sisters traits.  He was just as stubborn as she was in utero and refused to show us everything!  We did see his chubby cheeks, and what looks like Clay's jaw and chin.  He is measuring on schedule and weighed in at 3 lbs.  

   Besides hours at spent waiting at the Dr lately (did I mention waiting 2 hours last week for Gabby's 2 year check up?!)  we have been visiting the park near us on nice days.  It is called Mt. Trashmore, it is an old landfill they have turned into a park.  Always windy there and perfect for kite flying.  Fun playgrounds too. Yesterday I walked the mile and a half path while Clay and Gabby played at the castle park.  Headed back today to enjoy the 70* of sunshine it is predicted to be! 

Stats

Last week Gabby had her 2 year wellness check up.  We went to the new civilian doctor we had been set up with.  For days before we talked about going and practiced what the Dr would do; listen to her heart, look in eyes, ears, push on tummy, stand on scale.  She was all ready to go and said she was going to let the Dr give her a check up.  We brought our new Dr kit with us too.  We waited over an hour and a half!  This was for a 9:30am appointment, I don't know how behind you can be that early but we waited.  They FINALLY called us back, from then on Gabby clung to me and didn't want anyone to touch her.  She cried the whole time the Dr was in the room, telling us she was done.  It only lasted about 5 minutes, she got one shot and we were done.  The next day we went to get her ordered blood work (he orders it for everyone) which was a complete blood count and a lead test.  She fell asleep on the way there, Clay and I debated to wake her before we went in.  We opted for the rude awakening because they would actually have a chance at getting near her.  It worked. She woke up just as they started to draw her blood, cried a little and then was happy!  All her blood work came back normal!

At two years old Gabby weighs in at 27 lbs putting her in the 60% (just in the past 3 months has she gained 2 lbs, she was holding steady at 25 for months).  Height was measured at 35 and a half inches, meaning she is in the 90%.  How we have such a tall child is purely genetics said the Dr who was 3 inches shorter than me!

Other news, Gabby is really into speaking other languages.  Some is coming from TV shoes (Dora, Diego and Kai Lan) but others is Clay and I trying to expand on what she knows.  In Spanish she counts to 5, but knows 8 and 9 too.   In Spanish she knows how to say; happy birthday, big, little, slow, fast, long, short, lets go, help me, hello, goodbye,  ball, red, butterfly, and a few that I am forgetting.  In Chinese we say, Hi, thank you, and are working on come on and 1,2,3.  We are back to doing some sign language too.  We seemed to have stopped some where along the way when she started the CONSTANT talking.  She really likes to use her signs and we quiz each other with them.  

   Well I am off to play doctor again, this time it isn't for fun. Gabby came down with a fever while we were out to dinner to celebrate a friends birthday last night.  Clay was working his night shift so he dropped us off after dinner and went to work till 6am.  I got no sleep because I was worried and taking care of Gabby- who acted fine and was pretty happy but was burning up and had a fever of 102. 

Happy 30th!

   A few days late, Happy 30th Birthday to Clayton!  My wonderful, caring, amazing husband.  He does such a great job of taking care of us and providing for us.  He makes everything fun, and is the smartest person I know (really, he knows everything. I ask him instead of looking things up).  His big day was on Friday the 13th, which made him laugh a little.  Gabby and I made him lemon cheesecake cupcakes (too sour for all of us) topped with raspberries.  We did just what he wanted, nothing.  Gabby called it our "hanging up day"  not to be confused with just hanging out.   He got wished a happy birthday in Spanish thanks to Gabby learning the phrase from her talking Dora birthday card.  We had a nice dinner out after running just a few errands.  So here is to Clay, wishing you a wonderful start to a decade of fun, laughter and love!

Metro Richmond Zoo

With nothing planned this weekend, we decided to take a last minute road trip to the Richmond Zoo.  We looked it up online, it looked pretty exciting and big.  We mapquested the directions (we haven't bought a GPS for the van yet) and instead of it being an hour away like someone told Clay it was over two hours.  We packed snacks and headed out the door.  It was late morning, and we were hoping Gabby would take a good nap during the drive.  We put on some audio children stories I have had for a while but had yet to listen to (they are little old for even a 2 year old to sit and listen to).  Alice and Wonderland was first on the CD and to my surprise Gabby seemed to follow most of it and enjoy it.  After it ended she fell fast asleep, and slept almost the entire boring 2 and a half hour drive! She really has been getting back into napping, which is a huge relief because for a while she wouldn't take them at all!  She is too young to not take a nap, especially with me needing to rest and then when the baby is here we will all need some quiet time!  

   Taking the exit towards Rocky Mountain, NC (which we missed at first b/c who would have thought to go that way) we eventually pulled up to this small country looking zoo that was RIGHT behind an elementary school. At this point Clay and I were saying, "did we really just drive this far to come to this??"  It looked nothing like its website.  When we bought our tickets, we also got a cup of food to feed to the animals.  Best $2 money can buy!  We walked around and saw the birds (always my least favorite), flamingos, then the lazy kangaroos, bats (stinky and not my thing) and then we saw a few different varieties of monkeys.  Loud Macaws and parrots were fun to watch, then we moved towards the big animals.  A few llamas, some deer, little penguins (not as cute as usual), two wart hogs.  

   Next came the petting and feeding part of the zoo.  Sheep (big and small, brown and white),a cow, goats, 3 small donkeys, 2 chickens and a ZEBRA!  Yes, we really got to pet and feed a real zebra! It was a fairly young zebra and very tame and even more gentle than one of the greedy goats. He ate the food grains right out the palm of your hand.  Opposite these animals were the camels, both dromedary and bactrian. The one hump variety were very loud and grumpy, while the two were kissing the man cleaning out their area (and he was kissing them back!).  Further down the path were three huge bison, just right next to you with only a little wood fence between you and them.

   Another area of the zoo had giraffe.  The path was set up so that you walked level to their long necks and heads.  They weren't too interested in our food, more into their hay, but we did get to touch them and pet their heads!  That was so unbelievably amazing!  Who really gets to pet a real giraffe? We did!    

   The rest of the zoo consisted of 3 rhino, 3 lions (hiding away from it all in the back of their cage), zebra, lots of lemur monkeys, huge tortoise, flamingo, chimps, orangutan, and a few other things.  Clay was disappointed that his favorite animal the American Alligator wasn't out for viewing, it has to be above 50* at night for them to be in their outdoor inclosure (their pond gets too cold and they "burrow" in the ground making the zoo keepers have to go in after them).  

   After seeing everything, we went back to the zebra, sheep and goats to visit once more before leaving.  They got the last of our food. Gabby loved petting the sheep, and even tried kissing them!  I got out the hand sanitizer a number of times.  The animals kept coming up to us thinking we had food for them (we were the only ones over there since it was almost closing time).  Gabby kept telling them "I sorry animals, we have no food for you!"

   Our last stop at the zoo before leaving was a ride on the carousel.  Gabby picked the giraffe, and was the only one on the ride (well besides me standing next to her).  After it was over she cried and wanted to go on it again!  Last week Madagascar the second movie came out and we bought it.  We had seen it right before leaving Japan and the animals are something we talk about all the time.  Seeing so many of the same animals in real life at the zoo was great, and they all got the names from the movie.  It was quite a long drive for such a short time at the zoo, but well worth it.  I even got to drive home!  

   As we left the zoo, and made a stop in the gift shop we left with an animal doctor kit.  PERFECT for Gabby these days, not only is she obsessed with Diego the animal rescuer she loved the Dr kit at Grandma Rose's house.  The whole car ride home she wanted to play doctor, and kept asking me if she could be doctor to me when we got home.  Once home I was the patient.  First thing in the morning it was instantly back to playing doctor. I have gotten shots (she sticks the "shot" in my bellybutton), had my heart and belly listened to, and gotten hit with the hammer to check my reflexes.  Every doll she owns has gotten the same treatment as well!

Virginia So Far...

Here are some random thoughts I have on Virginia, so far;

*there is no recycle. At least our complex doesn't have it. Just 1 big dumpster.

*the weather changes daily, 60 yesterday and 29 today! 

*a threat of snow is enough to CLOSE schools! they keep talking about getting snow, but we have not seen any as of yet.

*our dishwasher sucks, only half the dishes seem to get clean- even when giving them a pre scrub.

*the highways are confusing, and have too many interchanges all with the same numbers. oh and the speed limit is only like 55 mph.

*grocery stores have no rhyme or reason as to how they are set up, I can't seem to find anything.

*things move at a much slower pace, or as Clay says "its lazy here"

*there are a million different parts of the military, and not one place is all inclusive like I am used to (medically speaking, paperwork goes all over and so do you).

*nobody goes outside when it is cold, I have yet to see any neighbors.

*when it comes to East Coast geography I haven't a clue where anything is.

*there are lots of stores with the word DOLLAR in it (dollar general, bottom dollar, etc.)

*having only one car stinks. I have no clue how people do it. After only 3 weeks I am on the lookout for another!

   More to come as I think of it!

The Atlantic Ocean

I have now seen the Atlantic Ocean twice.  The first time was two weeks ago when Clay, Gab and I ventured there on a sunny but chilly afternoon just so I could SEE it.  This weekend when our friends were in town we took them.  They are original West Coasters who never before had seen the Atlantic.  Sunday was a beautiful sunny day, with temperatures double what they were on Saturday.  We grabbed our kites, and piled in the mini van after a yummy pancake breakfast (cooked by Clay).  The wind was TOO strong for our kites, one was lost to the ocean and the other never had a chance with a terrible tangled string.  We ran in the sand, touched the water, laughed and all had a great time being outside and with good friends.  I am looking forward to many more trips to the ocean, especially once it is hot out and all the shops are open, and I can bask in the sun.  Don't ask how it will work with a newborn and a toddler at  a crowded beach!

TWO!

My baby girl turned TWO today!  What a wonderful two years it has been, and we are looking forward to so many more years.  Gabby has been so excited about birthdays for going on 4 or 5 months now.  When we were still in Japan we went to two birthday parties in one week, at that point she was really ready for it to be her turn for a birthday.  I was even asked "momma, sing happy birthday to ME!"  Moving away changed the style of celebration we had, simply because we don't know any new friends in our area yet to have a party with.  I tried to make it as exciting and fun as she could want. 

   All week I asked Gabby what she wanted for breakfast for her birthday, her reply "cupcakes with sprinkles, and hotdogs."  I didn't give in to that, but instead she had a chocolate muffin with two candles, turkey breakfast sausage and vanilla milk.  Plus I had a princess balloon waiting for her when she woke up!  

   Still trying to get the house in order, and having company come this weekend means that we have been trying to hang things on the walls and figure out where to put the last of our stuff. One of my jobs that needed to be done before friends come was to clean the couches, we got a new little steam cleaner for the job.  I cleaned the couch and Gabby got to enjoy her very favorite show Diego and then Kai Lan too. Over the vacuum I could her her speaking Spanish and Chinese!  I think she was happy and I was glad to have the cleaning done, and couch looking better.  

   Yes we are having company this weekend.  Our former neighbors from Japan who are out of the military and living 3 hours away from us are coming to see us and help celebrate Gabby being 2.  Geo, her very best friend is 3 and his parents are driving down tomorrow morning to play and visit.  We are all very excited, it has been almost 7 months since we saw them.

  Clay got home from work early, we went to the post office to pick up lots of boxes that were waiting for us.... so much for being done unpacking and free from deciding where things go. The birthday girl was fast asleep in her carseat for a much needed nap.  Grocery shopping to pick up last minute ingredients for birthday and superbowl celebrations and then out to a good Mexican restaurant.  Once home one of Miss G's favorite activities, baking, not just baking but baking CUPCAKES!!  From scratch we made chocolate coconut mud cupcakes and then a coconut cream cheese frosting, which of course we colored ORANGE (her absolute favorite color).  Played with some new birthday toys, a bath, stories and off to bed it was.

  So after all that went on today, I am amazed at how quickly the past two years has gone by but also astonished by the amount of stuff that has happened.  Two years seems to have gone by quicker than the 35 hours of labor I was in.  Last night as I put her to sleep I told her about the day she was born, and how happy she has made her dad and I... and continues to make us!  After my story to her, she told me one:  "Once upon a time in a far away land there was a beautiful princess.  She lived in a castle. She had a beautiful mom, and a beautiful dad.  She had a dog and a cow on a farm."  

 I love you my sweet Gabby Jean! Happy 2nd Birthday!