I guess Bean isn't the only one growing :) I'm now 12 weeks pregnant! Woohoo! Although it's the 3 month mark, I've noticed that I still have 6 months and 2 weeks until my due date. Hm... strange. I think they lie about 9 months of pregnancy. Anyway, I'm thrilled! I haven't posted belly pics the last couple weeks because, well, let's face it, I wasn't really getting bigger. I think this week my belly popped! I have an 11 week photo to compare it to. Enjoy my fatness :)

Plaid pants is 11 weeks, black pants is 12 weeks.

The 1st Trimester screening went great! Everything looks normal from the ultrasound and now they're doing blood-work. Ya know what that means? I get to come back AGAIN before we leave! Yay! We were unable to determine the sex of the baby. The doctor said at this point bean is still unisex. I saw a little thingy down there, but then again, both sexes protrude right now. So hopefully on February 12th we'll know the sex! Cross your fingers.

I love love loved seeing little bean wiggle around on the screen! When I saw the heart beat again I feel so relieved to know everything is okay. Bean is measuring a couple days ahead now. Our first sonogram was showing a day behind. I think I'm feeding it too much! I'm already claiming I'm going to have an 8 pound baby, if not more. Shoot, I was 8lbs 14oz! The scale keeps going up each visit too. It's so strange seeing me put on the pounds, but I actually really enjoy it! Food has never tasted so great.

Bean is now 2 inches long! In the first picture you can see it's cute little profile. In the second the baby raised it's arms when the doctor tried shaking it up to make him turn over. It was quite amusing and so hard not to laugh even when the doctor scolded me for giggling and shaking the screen. I couldn't help it! I got to see my baby! Here's bean...

The sun was out today! Yay! I have no more photo appointments so I stripped my studio today. I took out my photos from their frames and emptied the sample books. I was kinda sad knowing that I won't be doing this anymore. Of course it'll never stop me from being a photographer. I'll continue to do what I do and hopefully do it just as well in the real world! Before I left work one of my co-workers gave me the book "What to Expect When Expecting." I was so excited being that the book store is constantly sold out! She found it at the Thrift Shop for a dollar! What a sweetheart! My day was going well so I thought I'd make it even better and do a little shopping :) I searched everywhere online for the same leather sample books the studio has so I can protect and display my images at home. I finally found them and bought them only to find that just a while ago the color I wanted is sold out :( It won't look as professional in my opinion, but at least they'll be protected. While I was online I decided to go ahead an choose a baby theme! It was so much fun going through all the baby stuff! Justin and I have decided on a green and neutral brown. The bedding has little elephants on them. I registered at Target.com (my bedding and most of my other essentials) and Wal-Mart.com (actual crib and odds and ends) if you want to see all the nest things they have! Then when I thought my day was just perfect (no signs of morning sickness! woot!) I came home to a red and yellow rose on the table. Awwweee. When Justin came home he said they were for me and Bean. So it was a pretty good day until I tried filing our taxes online and then I got frustrated and now I want someone else to do them! I don't have my official bank statements for interest and I don't know how much of a difference it'll make, or where the interest is going in my retirement plan and 401K and blah blah, someone else should do it so I don't mess it up and then get the IRS at my door in 9 years asking for their money that has built interest. Anyway... new bean pictures tomorrow!

It finally snowed!! Snowboarders and skiers all over Germany have been greatly disappointed with the lack of snowfall since the beginning of the cold season. We had one light fluffly snow at the beginning of November, but even then you could still see the grass poking through. Now we have at least 4 inches of the white stuff. It started snowing last night and continued to snow ALL day. It wasn't a really heavy snow with big snowflakes. Instead it was a constant spat of rain-sized snow. I was hoping they'd cancel work, but I didn't get so lucky. Justin didn't have PT this morning and then got off work 3 hours later. They finally closed down all non-essential buildings at 3:00--my normal time to get off work that day! I was seriously starting to think we weren't going to get snow while we were still in Germany! It seems to have stopped now so I don't see work getting cancelled tomorrow...

Last night was my first and (probably, I highly doubt he'll reenlist later but ya never know) last Military Ball. It was fun getting all dolled up although I had yucky nausea and a cough that could probably be classified as bronchitis with a terrible case of the sneezes I had to fight my dress that fit loosely for a wedding in November. I had to take out the stitching put in to hold my "old top" and it was STILL too tight! I tugged at it all night because I felt like there wasn't enough fabric to go around it all! When we got there at 6:00 I was expecting to eat within a few minutes. Ha! They made us wait until 7:30. I was starving. I ate my backup stash of shredded wheat I keep in my purse for emergencies (you know what it's like been pregnant and hungry! You need food RIGHT THEN!). After that I was good for half an hour and then my stomach was growling. I was excited about the food after they told me there was salmon and lasagna. However, I was very disappointed when we got the food line to find salmon lasagna together, not separate! It was mostly foods that are "delicacies." Quite frankly I wanted some macaroni and cheese and cheeseburgers. Not too elegant I suppose. I managed for the night off noodles and rice and some other stuff I'm not sure was. I ended up having a pretty good time even though I couldn't drink. I think the pregnant women there were the only sober ones. They gave us endless bottles of wine and water for the table. It was quite amusing seeing all the giddy drunks in there Class A's and formal dresses. Prim and proper went out the door! Before I knew it I didn't feel sick anymore. I wonder if I occupy my time constantly I won't think about it and feel fine? Yeah, I don't really think so. Oh, by the way, I'm 11 weeks pregnant now! Here's a few pics, I have more in the studio to post still.

Our facility shut down early today because of severe winds in Germany! I thought my boss was joking when he first said we'd be closing by 3. Winds are supposed to get anywhere from 100-150km and hour!! That's insane! We ended up closing a little after 2 instead. I've been sitting at home listen to the wind rattle the windows and slam things around outside. It's scary! Our balcony door must not seal properly because each gust of wind that hits it sounds like a child screaming outside. Justin opened the door to try and shut it better and got pushed back by the wind! His feet were sliding on the floor! I know there's going to be some wind damage tomorrow, hopefully it's nothing too serious!

So here is the family crest and information on the back. It's just a postcard and I only picked up one (sorry!), but at least it was easily scanned and can be printed :) We tried finding Brandy's name, McDowell, but I guess it's not as Irish as it sounds. She's guessing Scottish and I bet she's right! They had several different shops where you could find your family crest, if it was in fact Irish. Some were just gift stores, others were specifically for crests. Neat little tidbit to stumble upon!

We didn't waste any time and got right into sightseeing. Our hotel offered the 3 day Freedom Pass which allowed us to take the city buses and Hop on Hop Off tourist bus all 3 days for only 24 Euros. Excellent idea! It saved us tons and was fun too!

The tour took us to all the main destinations in town while giving us a humorous and educational audio commentary of the city. We saw the sites of the St. Patrick Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Castle, Guinness Storehouse, Temple Bar, Grafton Street, National Art Gallery, and so on. Those were my main highlights though. The Guinness tour was educational but I was wanting al ittle more hands on and actual experiencing the our whole process. We basically read the walls and saw pictures. At the end though we were able to go to the top and view the town from a 360 view and get a free Guinness or soft drink in my case. Dublin is very spread out, but the main historical sights are all in the same general area.

I enjoyed the Art musuem where I was able to see some Picasso, Carrivaggo, Vermeer, and a pleasant surprise, Zurburan! I did a 15 page paper on the artist in my Art History class in college so it was really impressive to see his work right at hand. This was Brandy's first art museum experience and being that she's not an art major, I doubt it interested her nearly as much!

 It poured the first afternoon we were there. We were sitting in Hard Rock Cafe and the rain and wind outside was strong! I brought my sturdy long umbrella which was a pain in the butt to carry around, but it held up in the wind. Brandy had her travel size pop up umbrella that immediately buckled backwards when the wind caught it. Luckily, the rain to subside, but the wind kept strong until we got back to our hotel at 6:00ish. Yes, we were showered and asleep by 7:30!! We tried our hardest to stay up a bit later the next night, but we still crashed by 8:30. Travelling takes it outta you!

Our last day in Dublin, we took a 3 hour tour along the "North Coast" which was actually just a half an hour drive and an hour tour at the Mallahide (sp) Caslte. It was a beautiful castle that is supposedly haunted. Kinda creepy. I especially enjoyed the drive along the seatcoast though. I got a couple good shots between the glares on the windows and the light shining through the clouds. I can see how it could be a hot spot for the summertime. Did you know they have palm trees there? Yeah, me neither!

We ended up trying to kill time before our plane left on Monday. We did a lot of shopping, well, browsing. Our bags were stuffed to the max. My bag didn't have as much as Brandy's and somehow she was able to just keep stuffing things in there! Amazing. Mary Poppins bag with the umbrella included! We finally just left for the airport when our shoulders were too sore to support our bags any longer! We sat and waited for about 3 hours at the airport and took off in the blustery wind and rain. I hate it! Flying is so not my favorite. How can I be the blood of Grandpa Dahler the aviator!?

We ended up back in Frankfurt Hahn to a shocking cold frost and fog. Perfect for driving... Needless to say I was on my toes the entire drive home! We made it back to Bamberg at 1:00am.

Along the lines of heritage, I found out that my maiden name "Long" is Irish! I was able to pick up a neat postcard with our family crest on the front and our history on the back. If you're interested, I'll post it later! Hopefully I'll have some pics to view soon too!

We got our sonogram today! I was so anxious to see bean and make sure everything was forming and that it was even alive! I have an overactive imagination. Anyway, the whole beginning part of the appointment was the blood/urine sampling and blood pressure. We had to wait 20 minutes after they took my blood for some reason so we took a walk around downtown. When we finally got to talk to the doctor, he gave us the results from the previous visit's tests. He said everything was good except one thing. One thing?! I had a little heart attack and then he said I was Rh-. Ohhh, yeah, I already knew that. However, Justin is negative too. He said our baby is more than likely negative also, but it wouldn't hurt to get the shot anyway. Whatever, he said it wasn't harmful to either of us. So on to the ultrasound! Bean showed up right away although I couldn't make out what I was seeing. After moving it around I figured out bean's head and then saw it's little heart fluttering! It's so amazing! I don't think bean classifies as bean anymore though. Little bean grew arms and legs! It's little Sprout! I can't believe how much it grew in just 3 weeks. No wonder I've been feeling exhausted and eating like a pig. It takes lots of energy to grow another human in such a short amount of time! Sprout quadrupled it's size and is now 2.57cm long, about an inch! I've been looking at sprout's picture all day and just glowing with happiness! I love my baby so much already! This sonogram is 9 weeks and 4 days.

I had such a wonderful surprise today! My friend Dusty came by my work with presents for me and Justin! Bean got it's first toys and onesies! I couldn't help but oogle over the little clothes. They're neutral colors so there's no need to return when we find out the baby's sex. The toys are great too: multicolored and sturdy. I've been reading about other pregnancies and some ladies have been able to tell the sex at just 13 weeks! Each time they were boys though. Its possible that before we leave Germany we could know the sex of our baby! That would be so exciting! Well I'll have a new sonogram for ya'll tomorrow, can't wait!

I'm ready to go! In more ways than one, too. Our first batch of movers came today. Last night I was rummaging around for things to send home. The more I thought about it, the more I realized we didn't need this first moving session. We don't need any household good taken home because where we'll stay has furniture. (Plus, we can't send our bed home yet anyway.) We don't need dishes, or even clothes to be sent home either. It's winter so there's no point in sending the clothes that do still fit home now since I'll just be bigger by the time it arrives. (Time for a shopping spree for fat clothes!) My computer doesn't need to be sent yet because I'm sure I'll have access to someone's internet while home and waiting for our stuff. Hmm. So we ended up sending Justin's broken computer, unneeded clothes, some pillows, and my fancy dishes. Ha! The movers probably laughed when they saw what they spent their time scheduling an appointment for. Oh well. And for the more exciting (kinda) new: I'm going to Dublin! Without my husband! We purchased tickets through Ryanair knowing that we didn't need a passport o get into Dublin. What we didn't know was that Ryanair specifically requires a passport. Well we bought the tickets and couldn't get a refund so the girls may as well go. So now Brandy and I are taking a trip to Dublin, Ireland this weekend! I'm sad that Justin and Nick can't come, but at the same time I get one more trip with my girl before we have to spend months apart at a time. The boys are disappointed, but not to the point of not letting us go obviously. I'm sure they'll have a ball at home without the wives for a whole 3 day weekend! We went to the commissary tonight and I kept trying to pick out Justin friendly foods. How sad is that? He insists he can take care of himself. He has his pop-a-top Spaghettio's and pizza, so he's set! I can't wait for this weekend!

Ok, so I've gained a few pounds now, though none of it seems to be baby bump. I read the whole distribution of weight throughout pregnancy and it seems to be inapplicable to me. A layer of fat around the back/hip area and belly is NOT part of the perfect pregnancy in my opinion. Lol! It's all good though. I enjoy eating all the time for the most part. At night I feel nauseous until I sleep it off though. Our bean is now officially a fetus! It has all the parts to sustain life or something like that. I've been discussing with Justin about the sex of the baby. Both of think it's a boy. Anyone else have any guesses? Or is it too soon to guess yet? Anyway, here's the belly this week! 8 weeks and 5 days :)

So I'm already 2 months pregnant! Woot! I noticed today that I didn't feel nearly as sick as I had been the past 2 weeks. 2 weeks of morning sickness?? I can live with that! Of course on the other side I fear that because I'm not sick that somehow everything's not right in there. I'm sure I'm worrying way too much about everything, but I can't help it. Its what I do!

Justin and I went to the PX today and browsed baby stuff. I can't believe how excited Justin is. He wants to buy every cute little outfit, which is very gender specific. I keep telling him it's too soon to buy stuff. He picked up the cutest pair of Converse sneakers for newborns though and I almost let him buy the highly overpriced booty fabric. Still a couple months before we'll know the sex--if it cooperates as we learned with Ashley's!

Another New Year! I hope everyone's was more memorable than mine. Actually, I probably won't forget this New Years just because it's the first one since I was probably 5 that I haven't stayed up past midnight! Fatigue. Even if I don't do much during the day, I still need my sleep! I took a brief nap around 5:30 and then tried to stay awake. Justin and I made mushroom and spinach pizza and mozzarella sticks with Baskin Robbin's Pecan Praline ice cream for desert. We started watching Season 1 of One Tree Hill again. At 10:30 I thought I was going to pass out. I was propped up on the couch forcing my eyes to stay open. At 11:30 I gave in and got ready for bed. At midnight Justin came into the bedroom and kissed me and said something about fireworks. I was gone! But, it never fails, I'm up every 2 hours having to pee. I'm only 2 months along!! I fear what it'll be like in the 3rd trimester trying to sleep and having to get up to pee with a giant basketball on my stomach! Well I hope everyone's New Year was a good one! Here's to 2007!