**Sneak Peek** of the nursery

Craig and I wanted to give everyone a SNEAK peek of our nursery!  It is no where complete, but you can get the idea!  Since we are not finding out the sex of the baby, we had to choose a neutral theme.  We chose Dr. Seuss ABCs.  I can't wait till it is complete!  The colors turned out perfectly!  We are very pleased!

Put the crib together - thanks Dad!  We love it!

We got the window valance put up, so you can see the Dr. Seuss ABC theme :o)

Got the rocking chair put together - thanks Mom, it's perfect! Craig can't wait to use it :o)

Wreaths Across America

Today Craig and I got the honor and privilege to participate in the 20th Anniversary of Wreaths Across America. They had 85,000 wreaths to lay on the head stones, unfortunately they didn't get enough donations to get all the headstones.  Hopefully next year!  It was an amazing and humbling experience!

Beautiful sight

Craig laying a wreath on a head stone of a fellow Veteran

My friend Stacey Axline (Bridgewater) and I

Just a handful of volunteers getting wreaths

Thanksgiving 2011

This year for Thanksgiving we took Lily to Oklahoma to see Craig's family!  We had a fabulous time and Lily had a blast!

At Detroit Airport waiting to fly to Tulsa

Lily and Grammy Reba playing with the doll house

Lily showing off her new outfit

Daddy and Lily playing outside

Lily and Uncle Robby playing with her Leap Pad

Waiting for breakfast

Playing with Uncle Lee

Chillin' with her Leap Pad

Lily and Uncle Tucker

Grammy and Lily

Lily and Pao

Lily loved this shirt! 

Playing Candyland

Troy and Reba

The 236th Marine Corps Birthday

Last night, Craig and I attended his unit's Marine Corps Birthday Ball. As many of you might not know, the Marine Corps Birthday is November 10th! Every year, every unit celebrates the Marine Corps birthday but either having a ball or a simple cake cutting ceremony. At DIA we had a cake cutting ceremony and Craig's unit had a traditional ball. Even when I was deployed, we had a cake cutting ceremony in the desert. Marines always find a way ;o).



I went and got my hair done for the ball.  This is how it looked from the front.

This is the back.  I was super pleased how it turned out.  It looks stunning!

This uniform is called the Evening Dress.  It is higher than the standard Dress Blues.  They are usually worn at black tie events and of course Marine Corps Birthday Balls.  I simply love it!

This is a full shot of the uniform.  Don't mind Craig's hand, he can't help it, it sticks out there! ;o)

1st Ultrasound

Today Craig and I went to our first ultrasound.  Hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time was simply amazing!  The nurse said our baby is growing perfectly and is the size of a small gummy bear.  She also confirmed that I'm 8 weeks along and the due date is around the 9th of June. Perfect timing - right around Father's Day ;o)

Meeting the SgtMaj of the Marine Corps

On September 15th, I had the pleasure of attending the first ever Intelligence Awards Dinner.  I ran into a lot of Marines from my past, all the way back to Intel School Instructors I met in 1998!  It was a great honor to attend.  While I was there I also had the pleasure of meeting the SgtMaj of the Marine Corps.  He is the #1 on the enlisted side of the Marine Corps - We have the Commandant of the Marine Corps which is the #1 over all - but he is a 4 star General, the SgtMaj of the Marine Corps is his senior advisor on all enlisted matters.  Let's just say I was super excited to meet him, it's not everyday you get to shake hands with the boss! :o)

These were the other students for the school that attended as well (2 Sgt's from the Sgt's Course, 2 SSgt's from the Career Course and 2 GySgt's from the Advance Course).  Yes there is a GySgt missing...he decided to run to the ATM and missed the photo op!

WE ARE PREGNANT

This is one of many tests I took! 

But yes - We are having a baby!

Craig and I are so excited!

Another adventure is just beginning!



Family Photos

 We finally got the pictures back from the photographer that we took on the 

15th of June!  She did an amazing job and we are super happy with 

the end product! Lily did such a tremendous job and she had so much fun!  

Summer is finally over and Lily is back in Michigan! Looking 

forward to Thanksgiving and next summer! 

Many more fun and happy memories in the future!

Baltimore Zoo - Baltimore, MD

On the 21st of August we took Lily to the Baltimore Zoo. 

We had a good time until we got to the tree slide, then we REALLY

had fun! She wanted to keep going down it! Oh the joys of being young

and entertained easily!  We will have to take her to the San Diego Zoo

one day so she can see a lot more!

National Aquarium - Baltimore, MD

On the 20th of August, we took Lily to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD.  She loved it!  Lots to see, but also lots of people!  She really enjoyed the dolphin show, especially when they jumped out of the water! Definitely going to have to take her to Sea World some day!

Sesame Place

Today we took Lily to Sesame Place in Langhorne PA. The trip started out on a sore note....literally...Lily threw up breakfast all over the cute outfit her day care
provider made her - but I was able to find another one just as cute! 
Oh well guess we will have to come back next year! :o) 

When we got there she was super excited! She was a little scared when she met
Big Bird but was ecstatic when she met Elmo! Her favorite ride was the cups! 
We weren't even in the car 5 mins when she passed out on our 
way home (the last picture). 

Lily snoring is a sign of a successful trip ;o)

Sesame Place

Big Bird's Balloon Race

Grover's World Twirl

Sunny Day Carousel

Face Paint - "Bird Mask"