oh back to schoo..... back to schoo....

I got my lunch packed..... my boots tied tight..... I hope I don't get in a fight. (Name the movie. come I know you all know it)

So I am going to back to school. Yes I chose to do this only a few months before Kalab gets here, call me crazy but I figured now is as good as time as any( now I am just hoping that he will stay in my belly until after finals and not be like this sister and come the week BEFORE finals.) I am having mixed feelings about it all, I really don't mind school I just hate now that most of my classes are going to be on line. Cody has been telling me for months now I need to get my degree done since I am only a yr or less away from it Oh and he thinks I am going to be his "suga momma" when I finally get my LCSW ( Clinical social worker Licence.) He doesn't realize that its going to be a WHILE before I get that.
Maddie is also going to be going to school as well. She is going to be starting a half day pre-school here on base. She is very excited about it as am I, hell 4 hrs of Maddie free time every Mon, Wed and Fri. will be great.
I guess now that Cody is done with school is mine and Maddie's turn to go :) What a adventure this will be ........

Something I realized......

So today was Kane's first day of puppy training classes and I must say he did very well, he is a smarter dog then he leads on to be. After class We went to Petsmart to get a few things. I swear every person in there commented about his size, "Yes he is only 6 months old. I know he is a big dog." It dawned on me that our little family has a underlined theme we seem to like things big, as in bigger than the norm. Im sure you all know Cody is 6'5 , if not then now you do :) and I am 5'9. We both get the comments quite frequently that we are tall. ( amazing isn't it?) Many people will ask me how old Maddie is, when I tell them she is 3 the next thing I here is "Wow she is tall for her age." and I usually comeback with "yup she gets that from her dad." and now hearing the comments about Kane it made me laugh to think about this theme and a tid bit worried..... Is Kalab going to come out being 3 feet tall? who knows with our record, but lets hope he doesn't get to be the short one of the family.

Adventures in the belly

So my sister told me I needed to post some picture of my ever expanding belly, which Cody tells me I already look bigger then I did when I was 8 months pregnant with Maddie, Yeah he is really good at making a pregnant girl feel so good about herself.... good thing I ignored him :) I just hit 25 weeks today so I will make sure to add more pictures when I take them

So here we go.......

11 Weeks

13-14 weeks

17 weeks

21 weeks- Its a Boy... don't mind the face I dunno what my deal was that day

24 weeks

Dinner table talk

So usually we are really big on Maddie talking at the dinner table because once she starts she doesn't stop, but tonight we kinda let it slide. Maddie and Cody had a very interesting conversation:
"the moon is up ( this is how she tells when its close to bedtime, and the sun is up when its time to get up.)
"The moon is always up because the earth rotates on a axis"( yes Cody is a smart ass.)
"I know daddy, the sun the moon and Santa Claus."
"Santa rotates on a axis?"
"Yeah daddy, Santa at the north pole with a pool."
Santa has a pool? does he have babes in bikinis?"
"No Daddy!" (she made sure to give him a mad look.)
So then Cody decides to change the subject......
"so do you think Obama will do good for this country?"
"Yeah daddy, and Santa Claus is at the north pole with cookies and candies and axis."
At this point Cody and I are laughing because she was taking this conversation so seriously and it was just too cute to us.
By the time the conversation is over we find out that Santa is in on a conspiracy and on a axis.
It looks like we are doomed according to Maddie Santa will be the end of all....... isn't that great.

Snow in NC?!?!?!

Yes you read that correct. We got snow here in North Carolina and it wasn't just some flurries but of course it wasn't a good Utah snowstorm like we are use to. We received about 3 inches of not more. Now I have to say I would complain about people in Utah and how they drive in the snow but tonight I found that driving in a state that RARELY sees snow blows the Utah drivers out of the water. I will just say I tried to keep my road rage under control but a mixture of pregnancy hormones and someone pulling out in front of me and continue to go 20 mph don't mix very well.

Due to this snow storm many of the school in the state were closed for a snow day which Cody and I couldn't understand but then again we would get a foot of snow and they wouldn't even think about closing down the schools back home.

Now that the snow is all said and done schools are still shut down tomorrow due to the the cold that is following this snow storm and Cody only has a half day of work.... I just hope stuff on base is open.

I guess you would say today was a little piece of home for us.....and No Amber we didn't have to shovel :)

2008 in review

So I was thinking back on 2008 and all of the changes that happen in just one year. In Jan. we packed up all of our belongings said "see ya" to our family and friends and made the trek from Utah to North Carolina. ( OK so we didn't pack up the house a moving company did and thank heavens for that we have too much junk to pack up and it would have took me FOREVER!) The trek was a experience in it's self, being suck in a car for between 6 to 10 hrs a day was umm a lack for a better word HELL! good thing the trusty Durango was big enough to fit us and equipped with a DVD player. Once we made it to NC we got the joy of staying in a extended stay motel for a week while waiting for our house and I will NEVER do that again! the little bit of sanity+ about a 300 sq ft room+ a week= EVER MORE HELL! Finally on Feb 14th we got into our beautiful home and guess what we don't have to stomp on the floor to tell the people below us to shut up because we don't have anyone living below us, its oh so wonderful! It took a little bit to get this house to feel like a home and I am still doing little things to make it feel more warm and inviting. In March, Cody was send off to school in FL for 3 months. I would be the first time he has been away for more then night. I barely knew anything about the area I live in so I decided the just throw myself out there and make friends and explore our new world. In May, Grandma and Papa Groves came out and visited Maddie and I for a week. Maddie loved it and so did I, I finally got to sleep in (YAY for grandparents.) Maddie got to see the ocean for the first time, she loved it and squealed every time the waves hit her feet.

In June, Cody came back from school. It was so nice to have him back and be complete family once again. We had a oh so wonderful kick in the pants with the Carolina summer. I still don't know why I ever took a shower during the summer because if I walked outside I would be dripping with sweat within 5 mins. Maddie on the other hand loved the summer in her new pool.

In September, we decided that we would be adding another addition to the family.... a dog. Kane, a pure breed German Shepard. He was the biggest puppy in the litter. He loves Maddie and Cody much more then he does me :)A few short days after we got the monster pup. we found out I was "knocked up" The only things to come out of Cody's mouth was I think I am more worried about Maddie and Kane now, for course meaning the wonderful mood swings that came with the beginning of my pregnancy and believe me they were BAD.

In October, Cody once again left for school in Washington state this time it was for only 7 weeks which seemed to be so much longer then the first school, I think it was the whole training a new puppy and dealing with Maddie and her terrible two's.

In November Maddie and I flew out to Utah for 2 weeks during Thanksgiving. This was Maddie's first time flying and she loved it.

It was great to go home and see our families and be around people since it was so lonely being in the house alone. I forgot how much I love the Knaus family roundups, getting to see the whole family together was wonderful and after a few mins Maddie warmed up to them all and didn't want to leave. Maddie and Kaydence were so excited to see each other that when we left it was hard for them to understand.

In December, Cody returned from school just a few weeks before Christmas. This was our first Christmas away from family and without snow so it didn't seem much like Christmas here. I had the adventure of making my first Christmas dinner. I was a little worried I would burn something or forget to cook something but it actually turned out good well that's what the guys that had dinner with us said.

This year has been such a whirlwind , I wonder what 2009 has in store for us ( other then the birth of Kalab.)

Merry Christmas to all .......

"It's a festivus miracle, Jerry! "

So I am a complete slacker and have yet to update in a while so away I go...........

This was our first Christmas without snow ( surprizingly I missed it.) and away from our families. It didn't really seem like Christmas, well that and Cody was gone for half of December.

This was the first year Maddie actually understood what Christmas was. On Christmas eve we sat out a plate of cookies, some milk and her letter to Santa.

As a family we watched "Christmas eve on Sesame Street." ( a Knaus family favorite I might add.) and off to bed Maddie went and santa's helpers took over on getting the stockings and the gifts ready. The helper's got to bed around 1am. At the butt crack of 7 30 am the stomping of maddies big feet come storming into our bedroom. Maddie didn't even realize that it was Christmas morning,once I told her, her face lit up brighter then the christmas tree. I drug my sleepy butt along with Cody downstairs to see what Santa had left for us.

Maddie couldn't believe what was there under the tree even though she had seen the presents there for weeks before.

And the openning began..........

She could have cared less for the clothes she got but was so excited for all the toys and wanted everything out of their packages right then and there.( of course typical kid right.)

After all the ripping and tearing of paper subsided we turned on the Disney Christmas parade, I think I was more into the parade then Maddie was or maybe it was the sleep deprived state I was in .

This was my first year making Christmas dinner. Cody had invited 2 of his friends over since they didn't have anywhere to go. I was a bit nervous that I would forget something or burn something but I didn't surprizingly, the guys loved it so did Maddie but then again she loves all food.

All in all being our first christmas in a snow deprived ( it was in the high 60's here ) state and being away from family, it wasn't too bad, oh but next year we are planing to come back to Utah for all teh food and snow we can get :)