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Wednesday, January 27, 2010

ANOTHER giveaway!

So that giveaway I posted a few days ago I became a follower and they are doing a giveaway again! This necklace is soo pretty and nice for any couple. :) Married or not.. kids or not. Here it is and its followed by the link to the website.




Monday, January 25, 2010

Thankful Mom

I love my husband Tony. One year ago next month my life changed forever when we got pregnant. I am thankful for that. I am thankful for being home with my baby. I am thankful that my husband supports (financially and emotionally) this choice that we both made. I am thankful I have a baby. I am thankful for his health too. I am thankful for my wonderful friends and family who love me. I am thankful for the examples that I had growing up from my mom and dad. I am thankful that I have everything I could possible need and more.
I am thankful for my life.
Ever changing and ever growing.
Now and Forever.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Oui Oui!

Today Roman took his first trip to another country outside my belly. He went to France! I introduced my two friends to Cora. Its right across the border in Forbach, France. Anyways.. it was amazing. You can buy Belgium Beer there so I got 6 Duvels and some 1664. Its our favorite French Beer. They make many kinds now. I got 3 different ones, and 6 of each. You might think I am crazy, but Germans don't sell other peoples beer. OK they sell Coronas and Heineken and Budweiser - The Czech Beer, not American but those are the only ones I can think of. American Beer tastes like crap to most Europeans and to these Americans now. Yes I said it. We are spoiled Americans who dont even want to drink our beer. However I still look forward to having the option to buy it in a store that isn't a Class 6 when we move back.

How did I get off of France?! OK I also got my favorite macaroons frozen and fresh and two baguettes that Tony and I ate almost one whole one tonight. They are amazing and only 47 cents! Also some frozen crawfish. I wanted frog legs but decided that Tony might go hungry that night if I got them. I will have to ask him if he will eat them.

Roman had the best time being held by one of the three of us and sleeping and eating in the store. I fed him in the store while I walked around. You can be grossed out if you want to, I was covered, and no one saw my boobs. Judge me if you want, but I did it he isn't hurt and I didn't kill anyone. I got the courage to do this because of a friend who blogs. :) You know who you are. Thank you, I was so inspired when you told me, only I need a sling still. I changed his diaper on the counter in the bathroom since they had no changing table I cleaned if off with a wipe then put him on my cover. I have a pictures that I will post. He was the happiest baby until we left France, then he was not so happy till he fell asleep. It was a very successful trip out of the country. I wish he got a stamp.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

$50 Giveaway!


My friend Allison posted a link to her friends giveaway. The stuff on the site is so pretty and I can't help but share! So for more reasons then one I am posting a blog about it. The giveaway is for a site The Vintage Pearl. The link to the blogger who is doing the giveaway is here. Hope you enjoy the site as much as I did! Maybe you can win the gift certificate!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Baabies can communicate!

OK so there are many books/websites out there devoted to how your baby can talk to you and sounds they make mean this and I think they are all great and might be what your baby is telling you. However what i just found on babycenter.com (I LOVE THEM) is for sure right on and I don't know why I didn't get this. I know babies can be overstimulated but I didn't know the many ways they could tell you they were. OK get ready for this.
Here are some signs that playtime is over:
• Closing eyes
• Turning away*
• Tensing up, arching back
• Avoiding your gaze*
• Irritability

Ok you might be saying "Crystal, you are the only one who didn't know this" BUT Seriously did you all know this?! The * ones are the ones I had no idea that meant they were done. The others are a little more obvious. Roman was doing this to Tony one day and we both just thought it was a little funny that he wouldn't look at him, but I guess he meant something by it. OK just thought I would spread the good word.

OK another one I found a while ago.. but dont find to be completly accurate but for sure ammusing is athis Australian lady who foudn that babies make sounds to tell you certain things. I think this is from wiki. I copied it a while ago to a note on my desktop.

• “Neh” – meaning, “I’m hungry”
• “Owh” – meaning, “I’m tired”
• “Heh” – meaning, “I’m uncomfortable”
• “Eairh” (ah)– meaning, “I have lower gas”
• “Eh” – meaning, “I need to burp”

Neh I'm hungry - An infant uses the sound reflex "Neh" to communicate its hunger. The sound is produced when the sucking reflex is triggered, and the tongue is pushed up on the roof of the mouth.

Owh I'm sleepy - An infant uses the sound reflex "Owh" to communicate that they are tired. The sound is produced much like an audible yawn.

Heh I'm experiencing discomfort - An infant uses the sound reflex "Heh" to communicate stress, discomfort, or perhaps that it needs a fresh diaper. The sound is produced by a response to a skin reflex, such as feeling sweat or itchiness in the bum.

Eairh I have lower gas - An infant uses the sound reflex "Eairh" to communicate they have flatulence or an upset stomach. The sound is produced when trapped air from a belch that is unable to release and travels to the stomach where the muscles of the intestine tighten to force the air bubble out. Often, this sound will indicate that a bowel movement is in progress, and the infant will bend its knees, bringing the legs toward the torso. This leg movement assists in the ongoing process.

Eh I have gas - An infant uses the sound reflex "Eh" to communicate that it needs to be burped. The sound is produced when a large bubble of trapped air is caught in the chest, and the reflex is trying to release this out of the mouth.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

3 nights!






Roman has slept in his room 3 nights in a row now. Last night we even put him down after 9. Its been 10 to 11, but the night before I fed him at 8 and he was acting sleepy by 9 and he got pretty fussy since we tried to keep him up till 10 so I could feed him again. So Tony took him up stairs after 9:30 and it took about an 45 minutes for him to go to sleep. He never cried the horrible bloody murder cry, but he did fuss a little bit on and off. We just knew he was tired. So he didnt eat right before he went down and he slept till 4 45 that night and last night after going down at 9:15.. HE slept till 6 am.. When I went in and woke him up to feed him. I was so worried that he had gone so long without eating that I picked him up and fed him. He didnt fuss at all and he ate and then when I tried to put him back down, he didnt want to go. SO I fed him a little more to calm him down since he only ate for 10 minutes I thought he must still be hungry. Then he woke up at 7:45. That time he seems to like. Can you believe he slept from 9 to 6! Who knows how long he would have gone without me waking him! Since he turned 10 weeks old on Tuesday he had another photo shoot with me. Last night he played with Tony and he rolled over so many times. I thought he had forgot how since it had been so long. Its was just too funny since he did it so calmly, then he was all smiles. I kept putting him on his tummy and he would roll over faster then I could get the camera.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Big week!

So far this week has been big for Roman. He slept in his room for the first time last night! Away from us, all night! He went down at 10, woke up to eat at 2:40 down by 3 then awake around 7:45. THEN he had his 2 month appointment and he had to get shots. He did great the whole appointment, then got fussy when the dr left. I had to go to the waiting room to wait for the shots and he was hungry so he cried until we got called and was still crying and fussing, so when he got the shots you could tell he cried a little harder, but I was ready to feed him and he quickly latched on and stopped crying. Then he slept off and on till even now, most of the awake times he has been a little fussy, but I still got some smiles out of him. I have pics to post soon too! Today he is 10 weeks! HE weights 14.2 Lbs and was almost 24 and a 1/2 inches LONG! That put him in the 80 something percentile for both those, I think 81 and 82. His head is smaller then most being in the 30th percentile. I don't remember how big it was. I think he seems perfectly proportionate. :) Time to calm my sad baby. I dont think his tylenol is doing anything! :(

Friday, January 8, 2010

BF

I have been breastfeeding for over 2 months now! Wow its gone fast. I also had hardly any pain or discomfort. It was a shock to me and I also never had any leaking. I know you might be thinking tmi.. but this is my blog. SOO I will write about my boobs. I wish I had known that it was only a possibility of pain and leaking! I seriously thought that everyone had to go through a HARD time before it got better. I never hit that at all?! I am still kind of waiting. I did hurt the day my milk came in, but it was bearable considering I just gave birth a few days before. I have had a little bit of uncomfterable times when he latches on, but its totally NOTHING like I thought it would be. SO happy about it. I do have 6 pairs of cotton reusable breast pads if anyone needs them. I also have an extra tube of lanolin stuff too that I doubt I will use, and I have some breast shells. I was prepared to breastfeed. I hope to do it till he is 12 months old, maybe I will just start to pump more later. The thing I didnt think about was that I would have to think about what I put on that day and what I was doing if I was going to leave the house how easy is if for me to pull out my boob. HA! I dress for easy access. I just got three shirts today and a button up sweater to make it easier when we are out. Bonus for me they were on sale for $1 at the PX. Three shirts the same for $3. Wahoo. OK well Just wanted to make a short post about how surprised I am at how breastfeeding has been going. I think I was so scared and prepared for the worst that it just couldn't be as bad as I was thinking.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Nails and BUMBO!

I cut Romans nails for the first time. I have cut one or two maybe, and I filed them twice a little bit.. but I cut all his nails on his hands and most of his toes. I wanted to do it when he slept so he wouldn't move, but he wouldn't fall asleep and stay asleep when I did it. So today when he was eating he just kept stopping and looking at me wondering what I was doing. He is so curious. I don't think I hurt him at all, but he did pull his hand away once, but he didn't really stop moving the whole time. I just had to hold on tight to his hands and feet.

Today we also got him a Bumbo chair! He cried when I first put him in it.. we needed to change the diaper. Then he was happy and smiles. We took some video and it was pretty funny to us. I will try to post it soon, for all to enjoy. :) ha.

UPDATE! We got his passport in today! Wahoo.. France will so be his first country to visit. I am so ready to go back to Cora.

Easy Meal - Risotto

Pretty simple and delicious risotto. I found a similar recipe and just changed and added a few things to make it my own. I thought we would have left overs, but we didn't. I guess that's a good thing?

Spinach, Shrimp, and Mushroom Risotto

Cook time from start to finish - about 35 minutes (depends on how fast you prep)
Servings - 6 as a side or 2-3 as a main dish.

Ingredients:
2 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
pepper to taste in broth
Garlic powder to taste in rice
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
1-1/2 to 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh or frozen mushrooms
1/2 to 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups (or however much you want) Shrimp

Preparation:
1. Bring broth and pepper to boil in small saucepan and reduce heat to keep simmering.

2. Spray large saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until hot. Add rice and stir about 1 minute. Stir 2/3 cup hot chicken broth into saucepan; cook, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Add garlic powder.

3. Add remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time making sure it's is absorbed before adding next. When last 1/2 cup chicken broth is added, stir in spinach, shrimp, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring gently until all broth is absorbed, everything is hot, and rice is done. (Total cooking time for chicken broth absorption is about 20 minutes.)

4. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in cheese and serve.


Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Recap of December! aka Month 2

Lots of things happened last month for Roman. I have posted a few pictures to recap in a somewhat backward order..

He passed out soon after midnight
He was awake for his first New Years!
He went to a few meals with new friends

He took pictures with his family

He played with Grandma Corona and his New Years pig

He spent time in Grandpa Coronas arms

He turned 8 weeks old and is all smiles!

He celebrated his first Christmas

He got lots and lots of Christmas presents



YAY for Christmas Morning!!!

He met Grandma and Grandpa Corona on Christmas eve morning!

He went to his first change of command

Had lots of Tummy Time

Slept often in my arms

Went to eat with Daddy at work (He served a Christmas meal)

He met friends of mine


Went shopping with us

First holiday photos!

Saw snow for the first time!
He was not very happy about it.

Went to his first Army Navy party!
GO ARMY!

Got our first family tree

Went shopping with just me - and slept most of the time

Took Tonys favorite picture yet

Turned one month old



Smiled and talked A LOT!

Friday, January 1, 2010

2010 Here At Last

I am so excited for this year. We will have so many things happening in the coming months. By next year this time we will have a whole new life in who knows where with a ONE year old. Oh my. My life has already gone by too fast. I guess I should get used to that since I have felt like I was just in high school last year for the past almost 10 years.

A friend posted a year in review with pictures and you would think that would be easy for me, but my pictures have been moved to a removable hard drive and I have to hook it up.. so maybe I will post the pics in a later post. I just am going to try to remember what happened last year!


January- I had just got back from Japan the very end of December and we brought in the New Year at my friend Mindy's house with friends. It was great and German new years are very fun with lots of fireworks!

February - We celebrated Valentines day in Berlin and we went to a GIANT indoor water park and we enjoyed a nude spa! We also took a tour on Segways and it was very very very cold. Tony headed to the field for 2 weeks and right after he left I found out we were going to have a baby! I waited till he got home to tell him in person and boy was that hard!

March - I took an official blood test at the hospital to confirm the pregnancy, filled out tons of paperwork, got our first taste of being parents by babysitting my friends little two year old girl one weekend, got our first sonogram and heard his heart beat, took a trip to the states, told our family and friends about the baby. I saw Britney Spears. It was awesome.

April - I spent a good 3 weeks in Texas visiting with family and friends! It was GREAT! My mom turned 50 too!

May - I flew on a Space Available flight to D.C. for my brother Josh's College/Masters Graduation and got to spend time with family. We celebrated our 2nd anniversary with a trip to Spain we stayed in Malaga and Seville. We visited Gibraltar also! We got to hear the heart beat again too. Tony's mom turned 50 also. Both would become grandmas at 50!

June - We found out its a boy!!! We also got to see the President of the UNITED States, Barack Obama, land at Ramstein Air Base. We also took a big trip to Dubai! It was a very nice trip. It was very hot there I don't know how they do it covered head to toe! I know that might keep some of the heat off them.. but when its all black!?

July - We hosted Tonys cousin and her family for a few days. I turned 26 this month. We celebrated with Thai food and friends. We also took a trip to visit our friend Roisin and the 3 of us went to Munich for a day of fun. I also got my hair cut - only a trim. I hardly ever get my hair cut. The last time was October of 08. Yes - sad I know.

August - We went to Trier with a friend of Tonys from West Point and it turned out to be a VERY VERY HOT day. It was over 100 out and we are no longer used to these hot days. Plus I was pregnant and already always hot. Tony bought a shield for Roman to play with. Oh and I finally did our Taxes..

September - We celebrated Tony's 27th Birthday with a trip to Belgium where he drank lots of beer and I watched. I climbed way too many stairs for being 8 months Pregnant. The giant KMCC also opened and began our many trips to the other side of the world for soap. (Ok so I exaggerate a little bit its 10 more minutes away but you have to add the time it takes to park, walk in, walk from one end to the other, and then stand in line, then walk out again)

October -October was a busy month. I played BUNCO for the first time and it was so much fun. I won two prizes. I think I played BINGO this month too maybe it was last month.. I won a very ugly wallet and I feel guilty about it since I am sure many people would have loved it. I wont twice really but didn't call fast enough and I the thing was cleared that lady was a bad caller.. We also went to the second largest beer fest in Germany held in Stuttgart Germany! It was much better then Oktoberfest according to me. Also my mom flew in to stay with us for almost 6 weeks to help with the baby. I am SO VERY thankful that she was able to do so, it was wonderful to have her. Oh ya and I cut my hair again this month.

November - Nov 3 I gave birth to Roman Anthony Corona. The most beautiful perfect little boy ever. He is such a joy and I love him so much. I swear he has the best smile EVER. EVER.

December - we celebrated our first Christmas Season as a family of 3. Tony's parents visited too.

I think I got all our trips in there?! How lucky am I? A wonderful loving husband, who is the sweetest dad and a healthy baby boy. We have our health and a safe home and anything we could need and a few things we don't. We both have wonderful family and friends that we miss and cant wait to spend time with. I am thankful for everything I have and all that has happened to be. Good and bad it all has made me who I am. Thank you for contributing to my life.