meemaw and lola napping

carolina baby!

already a carolina fan!!!

meemaw and lola

just hanging out
thought I would add some more pics. chris is taking off starting today so we are going to go do some sightseeing this week. We got Lola's passport paperwork started today-our first step in coming home!
thought you guys would enjoy the carolina outfit-well except Lori the Duke fan!! you know we have to get her started early supporting Carolina so she doesnt get confused!

Grandpa holding Lola before church!

~~First time MeeMaw saw Lola~~

Lola in her boa!

Lola holding herself up on her boppy

Again holding herself up tall on the boppy

happy strong baby!

Momma givin Lola kisses

Chris' parents arrived here safely on Saturday night after a long flight! And surprisingly they have adjusted to the time difference well. We just hungout on base Sunday and then today Chris took them out to show them some of Iwakuni. We will definetly be posting lots of pics during their stay.
For those of you that don't know,Chris is deploying to Iraq in August, so we will all be home during the month of April. Then Lola and I will come home for the Holidays. I will write more of an update later, Lola and I are going to meet Pam,Mack and Chris for dinner.

we are good at napping!!!
Lola in Daddy's hand-her hair isn't red, its just the pic
Lola is growing more and more everyday. She is holding her head up and able to hold upper body up when she is on her belly. She is beginning to be more and more active during the day. She loves loves loves playing with us and is starting to almost yell when she gets excited. She hasn't exactly laughed out loud yet but is pretty close to it. She is very very vocal-but hey look at her parents right?
I started online classes yesterday and its so hard for me to actually sit and make myself study b/c I just want to play with her all day, but she is good at entertaining herself, and she likes listening to me read to her. If nothing else, she will know her History, b/c I read my books to her! I know, not exactly what most people read to their babies!
Chris is forcing me to go out for a few hours with him this Friday while first sergeant and his wife watch Lola.They are pretty much the only people I would leave her with-except of course you Sarah!! I do have to admit that I am still nervous about leaving her, even though I know she is in great hands. I have a bad case of separation anxiety!! I'm trying my hardest not to be that crazy over protective Mom that I used to make fun of!And it's not even that I'm over protective, I just want to spend every waking moment with her!
I will post more pics this weekend-love and miss

Lola & chris w/my b-day cake
my birthday cake!

think she might be a bit confused

*~I love my baby~*
cute little feet!
No more pictures mommy!
sleepy Lola

I first of all want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes! My birthday was the first day I've ever been homesick since being here....my birthday is usually the one time of year I'm around all the ones I love,whether it be the weekend or the day of. But with that being said I did have a good birthday. Above are some pics of the birthday cake Chris made me. It was really cute!
I have my 6 week checkup tomorrow (friday) so hopefully I can start really working out again, which I have been looking forward to for awhile now. Lola and I have been walking, but I am ready to get back in the gym. The only thing that I'm not really looking forward to, is that I have to go at 5:30 am to take the classes I want or to workout. We do not have a good daycare in the gym, so I have to go when Chris is home and can watch her. Which he really won't have to do anything b/c she is sleeping during that time.
I start classes my classes at the University again on the 29th, but this time doing online. Chris' schedule is so weird that I figured online is easier for us all. I am also looking forward to classes again, I feel like the busier I am the more I get done.
Other than that we are still enjoying Japan. Getting out pretty much every weekend to do something in town, and I started teaching English again last week! Only two more weeks and Mack and Pam will be here. We are excited as I know they are.
Thanks again for all the birthday wishes. Love and miss you all!

LOLA IS ONE MONTH OLD!!

she loves her daddy!
look at those long lashes!
our lazy dog!!

I can't believe my baby girl is one month old already! I know that's not that old-but to me it is! Of course I am excited to see the person she is going to become but I would love for her to stay my little baby forever! Anyways-----> We just got back from Sasebo (south of us) on Sunday. We had a wonderful weekend with Kevin,Andria and Shane! CONGRATULATIONS TO KEVIN AND ANDRIA-FINALLY!!! j/k (They got engaged for those of you who don't know.)
Sasebo was gorgeous! Shane has an amazing view of 99 islands and he has an amazing Japanese style house. We did some shopping down there, but mostly just went to hangout with friends since they are PCSing soon.
Lola is growing-our scale says she 11pounds now!!Not sure how accurate that is though. She is following objects with her eyes, and is smiling and making the funniest noises all the time. She is still such a happy baby! I feel so blessed with her. She is also staying awake a lot longer during the day. Two days last week she was awake from 9am-around 4pm! She did amazing on her first road trip this past weekend-everyone was amazed how happy she is and how great she is for an infant.
Other than that things are pretty quiet. Chris' parents come at the beginning of February so we will be getting ready for them in a few weeks and I start back classes on the 29th!I am taking online though so I dont have to worry about where Lola will stay etc. Hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year so far!

HAPPY N EW YEAR!!!

my paparazzi shot!

the family at the Kintai

Thought this one was too cute

Lola and I Christmas day!!

Hope everyone rang in the New Year with a smile. We certainly did! We had two of our friends up from Sasebo for the weekend and had a great time. We all went and got massages Sunday up in Hiroshima-which was awesome! And then we came back here cooked and rang in the New Year with a glass of champagne and great friends and our beautiful daughter. We didn't go out, for obvious reasons, but it was probably the best New Years I've ever had. No stress, drama or worries........nothing but family and friends!
It was weird calling home at 2pm today to say Happy New Years, I felt like I had traveled in time. In case anyone doesn't know, our New Years started at 10am eastern time! The only thing we had to go by to tell us the proper time was a Japanese channel broadcasting from the Tokyo Dome. There was no ball drop or amazing countdown. 15 SECONDS before New Years they posted a small clock in the corner of the screen and did a countdown then continued with the concert they were showing. But as I said, we still had a great New Years.

pics

Lola and I walking through Hiroshima
Lola's 1st day at Church

Merry Christmas!!!

Me napping with Lo
Grandmother & Lola

My earrings Chris got me


Lola and her first visit to Santa

Merry Christmas to all!!! I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas day. We sure did. I think we all spoiled each other a lot-def Chris more than me though. He got me a gorgeous pair of earrings, clothes,shoes and the list goes on. But the best present of all of course is baby Lola!! She slept through all the festivities today, but that was expected.
Lola is doing wonderful! She pretty much has a sleeping schedule down now, she wakes up to eat at the same time every night and is awake pretty much at the same time during the days.
Lastnight we had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner with some of Chris' friends and my Japanese students. Chris cooked pretty much everything, which I was irritated with at first b/c I wanted to help but of course I much appreciated it. Its still hard to get used to someone doing everything for me!
Unfortunately my Mom leaves early in the morning. We have loved her being here so much and hate to see her go. It's going to be weird without her around! We will definitely miss her!
Again Merry Christmas to all!! We love and miss you all!

9lbs 13.5ozs!!!

me,lola&chris @Hiroshima castle

Lola had another appointment yesterday!She is two weeks old today!!! I can't believe its already been that long!!! Tear! But her appointment went well, she has gained her weight back plus some! She did have to get some happy butt cream for her diaper rash though-and yes that's what the doctor called it!! It's not that bad, but the doctor just said it would clear is up faster than anything we could buy at the store.
Today we had a Christmas party at Chris' work and tomorrow we are taking my mom to Miya Jima, along with Shane. I feel like we have so much going on, but I love love love seeing familiar faces, it makes it feel like home. Everyone asks me how we are going to see so much with Lola being so young, but she is so good we can pretty much go anywhere. I of course keep her in her front carrier everywhere we go though so I know she's right there with me and I know she's okay.We will update probably again Christmas eve or day. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone. We miss you guys!!

The three of us at 3 falls(lola all bundled up!)
up close and personal
Chris and Lola in her Komono
Here are a few new pics for you all to enjoy! Today we took my mom to Hiroshima so we will have some more pics to post from that.Lola was great as always! She slept pretty much the whole day waking up only to eat and then she was awake the train ride home. All the Japanese love to look at her and they all think she is a few months old! I usually carry her around in her baby bjorn(front carrier) and have her all bundled up so she won't get cold, and they all walk up and want to peek inside! Its really cute!
And Lola got her first bath tonight!!! Since her umbilical cord FINALLY fell off. And I have to admit I had a hard time throwing it away as stupid as it sounds-don't really know the reasoning behind that!
Tomorrow morning she has another appointment-everything should be fine and I think she should be back up to her birth weight. She was not that much under it last week. I still cant believe she is ours-everyday I must stare at her for atleast an hour in utter amazement of how gorgeous she is. She amazes me everyday! I am in love with her smile and all the funny faces she makes, as well as sounds!

finally an update

I know that some of you have been checking the blog and thanks for hanging in there. Since we've been home we've had trouble with our internet and I havent felt much like sitting in front of the computer. But for the most part now I am completely recovered and Lola is doing amazing. She is sooo gorgeous-of course Mommy is going to say that-and I enjoy every moment I get with her. I could not have imagined what having a daughter would feel like-and its unexplainable.I spend most of my time just staring at her and getting to know every inch of her and every expression.
In case you guys havent heard I did have to have a C-Section after 39 hours of labor and when we saw her we knew why. She was 9lbs 9oz and 21.5 inches long!!! She definetly took after her daddy! Everyone says she looks like him and I have to agree, but she does have dark hair and her skin is I think going to be my complexion. She is a wonderful baby thus far-eating,sleeping, and of course pooping! She wakes up at night only to eat and falls right back to sleep. I know they say babies dont smile until atleast a few weeks old but this girl does! She started smiling within the first week of her arrival. Its the sweetest thing to be holding her and she looks up at you and starts smiling.
I smother her with kisses, hugs and love!! Hope everyone is doing wonderful! love and miss!

DECEMBER 7TH, 1941 THE DAY OF INFAMY!!

So if all goes as planned our baby will be born on December 7th!!! We already knew we would have our hands full with a baby coming from Chris and I, but now we definitely know she will be a handful!!! I am going in at 7am tomorrow to be induced. We had an appointment today and I have not made that much progress-I am 2cm dilated and 50% effaced which is progress but not much. They hooked the baby and I up to the fetal monitors and checked the amniotic fluid to make sure everything is okay and it was. So they will start tomorrow by giving me a pill to induce me and then if needed will begin the potocin drop later on.
We also met the midwife that will be working tomorrow and she is absolutely wonderful! She has been in the Navy for 30 years and delivered over 500 babies at Lejeune alone in a span on 3 years. If the labor should be longer, the midwife I have been seeing comes in for duty on Friday, so either way I am happy!! They are both wonderful experienced WOMEN!!! I feel very confident and comfortable with them both.
Other than that we are just waiting for tomorrow to come. Chris I'm sure will be able to post pictures on his blog before I will so check with his in the next few days. love and miss!

still waiting...

My mommy made it here!!! She arrived on Thursday(Thanksgiving) and I surprised her by showing up with Chris to the airport. We all came back here and ate Thanksgiving dinner at the Officer's Club and have just been eating,sleeping and waiting ever since. I desperatly want to take her around and show her Japan and see things up here myself but the doctor recommended only going within about 30 minutes off base.
We had another appointment today. Slowly making progress!! 25% efaced and 1cm dialated. The doctor tried rupturing my membrane but it didnt work. Hopefully within the next few days something will happen! My mom, Chris and I are all very anxious and very bored! I am definatly feeling the affects of the last month/weeks. I am constantly tired, uncomfortable and basically miserable.
As soon as the baby comes I know Chris will post pics on his blog and send out emails and of course make phone calls. I dont know how much I will feel like talking, but I will atleast call everyone and tell you she has arrived!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

38 Weeks!!!

So Chris suprised me and came up here today!! Needless to say I was excited and relieved! I think everyone on base knew but me! We also had an appointment today. I think the doctor is as anxious as I am for the baby to come, but we are hoping for next Friday b/c that's the next time she will be working in labor and delivery. She did do a pelvic exam today and said that I'm not dialted but my cervix is thinning which means we are making progress! Everything else is fine-measurements and vitals etc. She gave us some umm interesting ways to speed along the labor- two of which were to drink castor oil or an enema, neither of which I plan or support doing nor does she. The others we will not mention but apparently work and every expectant mother I have talked to says works-and fathers for that matter!
I know that some of you were worried and emailed me about the tsunami warning here lastnight/ your morning. I just wanted to let you all know that everything is fine. I was in the warning area but we experienced nothing. I was watching the American news this morning and they blew it out of proportion as they tend to do with things. There was an earthquake, but it was a fair distance off the island and we were under a tsunami warning but the worst they thought it would be was 2meter high wave-which was an overstatement. There was a report of a 40 centimeter wave........yes I said 40 centimeters, which makes me wonder how they even determined it was a tsunami wave. But thanks for all your concerns and prayers.
Will update you guys as things happen.

Now that the weekend is over I'm in a much better mood! The weather here is perfect-well for me anyways! Its just cool enough to where you can wear a jacket and not be hot....well for me. Everyone else I think is a little colder! I
It just hit me yesterday that next week my mom is going to be here!!! I CAN NOT wait!!! But I must admit I am very nervous for her on the long flight by herself,especially being that she has never flown before. But I know my mom and she will be fine. Chris gets here next Monday which hopefully will be here faster than it seems. I have another appointment on Thursday-which I am going to request a pelvic exam to see if anything has changed.Other than that everything is fairly quiet. I talked to Lindsay today and she got me a pic with Kelley Monaco--soooo excited!!! In case you guys dont know who that is, she is on General Hospital which I have been watching since I've been here-yes I know I sound like a housewife!
Everyone keeps asking me what I have been doing since I've been here so I will give you guys a rundown of my daily schedule.
I get up usually around 9-given I could sleep fairly well the night before- take a shower and get ready, then walk up to Starbucks and the Exchange. Dont worry though, I'm only drinking tea, even though the coffee smells soooo good! The exchange here is bigger than ours, and has a little more than ours does, but its still no Target or Walmart! I have gotten a lot of Christmas shopping done though. Then after watching people for 30 minutes or so outside of Starbucks, and going shopping I either grab something to eat or just walk back to the room. It's maybe a mile walk one way, so I'm getting a fair amount of walking in everyday. Then when I get back to the room its usually about time to watch my soaps (General Hospital and Guiding LIght) and after they go off I usually take an afternoon nap.
Now is about the time of day I start to get bored. I either read, do crosswords, sudoku, scrapbooking or play on the internet in the internet cafe' but I can only do so much of each before I am bored. So the late afternoon/nights are what really gets me. I know I am leading an exciting life right now!! JUST KIDDING! But I am enjoying it because I know my life is about to turn upside down here in a short while-but I am definatly looking forward to the change! Love and miss you all.Uncle Chuckie and Aunt Joan I am sooo happy to hear from you two-love you guys!

Marine Corps Birthday

So today is the Marine Corps Birthday-normally an exciting day, but considering I'm a 6 hr train ride away from Iwakuni its not too thrilling. Everyone is getting all dressed up, getting their hair and nails done etc and I'm stuck up here by myself. Can you tell pregnant Ash is having a pitty day?Hahaha!! Anways my point was to say Happy Birthday to all the Marines and hope everyone has a wonderful weekend at their balls!! Miss you guys!

37 weeks!!!whoa!!

I can't believe I'm already 37 weeks!! I'm getting so excited, but also tired of being pregnant-which is what everyone says about the last month! I had an appointment today and it went well. My doctor/midwife said the baby is measuring fine as well as my weight and blood pressure. She doesn't feel the need to do a pelvic exam to see if I'm dialated at all since I'm not having any contractions. She gave me the option too, but since she knows more than I do I decided that if she didn't feel the need to then we wouldn't. I have another appointment next Thursday so until then just more waiting!
This past Tuesday night I went and ate dinner with Chris' friend Scotty (from the Academy) and his parents and Grandmother who are visiting. Scotty's mother is truly an amazing woman. She was on Opera in 2003 for being such an amazing mother and I had the opportunity to watch it. ..... Both her children were born in concentration camps in Cambodia and she managed to escape with her children get visas to the US, save money to divorce her abusive husband,finish highschool and go to college-not to mention raise an amazing family. Of course there is a lot more to the story but that is the short version. I felt so honored to be in the same room as this woman. I left crying and amazed. We see these stories on T.V. and are amazed then but to actually sit and talk to someone like this and be in their presense is another thing!
Other than that my week has been fairly quiet. I get up every morning and walk to the Exchange to do a little Christmas shopping and to Starbucks to get my Chai tea and watch people. I then walk back to the room (maybe a mile walk each way) watch my soaps, do my crossword and sudoku and hangout. I tend to get bored in the late afternoon and evenings, but only about a week and a half and Chris will be back and then my Mommy not long after that-then hopefully baby Lola immediatly after that!!! Love and miss-hope everyone is doing well!!

In Yokosuka

In case you guys didnt know we arrived safely in Yokosuka on Wednesday!! It was a very long and tiring trip but everything is fine. I was swollen like crazy when we got here and still a little today, but thats normal. Lastnight was terrible, I got no sleep whatsoever. The baby kept kicking and moving and I think just being in a new place and all the excitement.
We had our first appointment here this morning. It went really well. I will be seeing a midwife who has been working for the Navy for quit awhile, and I feel totally comfortable with her. When I deliver though whoever is on duty will deliver the baby, which I am kind of bummed out about. Chris got to feel the baby's head for the first time today(which is huge just like his;-)!!!! Her head is already down and feels as if its already dropped down a bit, but nothing major. All of my vitals are fine and everything is normal and on track-now just waiting!! Chris has to leave on Sunday for work and will not be back here until around the 20th, so I will be up here alone and needless to say bored for two weeks, but I am fine with that as long as we have a healthy baby!!!
There probably will not be much to update while I'm here besides about my weekly appointments, but I will update regularly. Chris' blog will probably be a bit more exciting to everyone though and in case you dont have the link its chris-wade.blogspot.com He will be putting up pics and have more exciting news as he will be traveling throughout Japan for the next few weeks!

34 weeks

The first picture is one of Chris' marines at his dirt bike race today. We went up to Hiroshima and watched him race. It was actually pretty fun, despite getting a little lost on the hour and a half trip up there!! Yesterday I spent pretty much the whole day in the nursery putting up clothes we got on Friday and the new things that arrive daily from my baby shower. Only a week and a half until I leave for Yokosuka!!! Getting really excited!! But I know it is going to be a long boring wait up there by myself ;-( But it will be worth the minute I see our baby!
Still uncomfortable and can't breath that well but oh well!! sorry for all the pics- I got excited that we can finally upload!!

finally able to upload pics!

me @the river
chris @ the river
baby shower pic 33 weeks
30 weeks

us at the river

Wonderful weekend

Chris and I had a wonderful weekend! Saturday we were invited to a cookout at a local Japanese man's house. He owned lots and lots of land (which is unusual for them) and had a beautiful house. There were a good number of Americans there as well as Japanese. I didn't expect to stay all day, but we were there from 12 until around 6 Saturday evening. Everyone's children had a blast riding the dirt bikes and picking up chestnuts. Chris and I walked around his yard and took lots of pictures and enjoyed the wonderful view of Iwakuni.
On Sunday Chris and a few guys from his unit were in a truck pull in downtown Iwakuni. They took second place, which was a definate experience! The guys were so tired after their pull, but said it was worth it. It was very exciting, b/c it was right in the middle of the festival downtown. There was lots of Japanese dancing, food and people dressed up. Chris' shop also had a tent set up down there, and some of his Marines wore their dress blues and other uniforms, so of course all the Japanese loved that!
Then Sunday afternoon I had my baby shower!!! I was kind of apprehensive about it since I didn't know half the women who were going, but it turned out to be a lot of fun! Chris' shop supports another unit here on base so all their wives were invited too, and actually came!Lola got some really cute and sweet gifts too. One woman made her bibs with her name embroidered on it, and of course lots of little baby girl clothes. I even got some good stuff-lotions, soaps etc! They had it catered by the club, and I got to bring lots of good food and cake home,as well as all the wonderful gifts!!
We are supposed to find out today the exact date I leave for Yokosuka-if I make until then. Lola has dropped a lot since last week and I have been miserable. I think I wake up atleast ten times a night and my back and ribs have been killing me. But its all completely normal so I gotta deal with it! The weather is gorgeous here especially at night. We have been sleeping with the windows open and I can wear a sweatshirt at night!!! yay!!
Hope everyone is wonderful love and miss you guys!

More uncomfortable as the days go by

Everyday that goes by I think I get more and more uncomfortable. This morning I got up and started cleaning as usually and all of a sudden my hip started hurting so bad. This happened earlier in my pregnancy when I was walking a lot, but I figured I was over it. I dont get it though, because I wasnt walking a lot today, but guess thats just part of being pregnant. On top of that, my ribs have been killing me for about a week. Right on the top center. All of this is normal, but I guess since my pregnancy has been so easy thus far I wasn't expecting it. I know it will all be worth it though in less than 2 months!!!
Other than that, still teaching my English classes, working on the nursery, and being extremely lazy! I feel like I can only be active for a few hours before I need a nap! We were going to try and take a small trip this weekend, but since I havent been feeling great, I dont think it would go too well.
The weather is gorgeous, about 70 or so daily and cool at night, so I've been spending time outside reading and enjoying the weather. Chris has been playing flag football with his shop and they are undefeated!! Needless to say he is throughly enjoying himself! Have an appointment next Wednesday so probably wont update until then unless something exciting happens! love and miss

Another tremor

This morning we had another tremor!!! Everyone has said it was worse than the first one we had, but to me it didnt seem like it was. That could be in part though that Chris was home this morning when it happened and I was already awake! Abby was outside and immediatly ran in the bedroom and jumped on the bed with me....she is so scared of everything! Hopefully the tremors are the worst thing we will experience while here!
We had hopefully our last cookout of the season this weekend. I love being around people but I'm so uncomfortable and tired all the time that its almost not enjoyable anymore. My ribs have been killing me the past week and I was sick on Sunday and Monday. I thought I was coming down with a bad cold so I didn't get out of bed and hopefully kicked it. Sleeping has become more uncomfortable too, every position I think is comfortable she doesnt! I can't even imagine what the last month is going to be like! Other than that things are still quiet around here. Chris found out he is NOT going to Iraq next year! And I will leave at the beginning of November for Yokosuka and the 23rd of Nov my mommy comes!!

Our first Typhoon

Well we made it through our first typhoon experience. It wasn't even near us...probably about 70miles away but we still got gusts up to around 45mph and some rain. The power went out, but only shortly-so to sum it up- small storm with high winds. But I'm very thankful for that, I do not wish to experience anything worse!
We had an appointment yesterday, and my doctor is putting the paper work in for my trip to Yokosuka to deliver. I am leaving the first week in November and wont be able to go to the Marine Corps Ball, but thats okay. I wore a khaki skirt to my appointment and my doctor was amazed b/c it wasn't maternity! Not sure how much longer I can wear my normal pants and skirts though! The only reason I can wear any of it though is b/c of how low it is on my waist.
Anyways my English classes are going well, I love the girls. Two weekends ago we went to Yokosuka to see Tucker, Shane and Kevin (3 guys from the Academy Chris played ball with) and that was fun. The guys were going crazy over my belly and kept talking to her, it was really cute! And we got to see the base and I had the opportunity to talk to one of the labor and delivery nurses. She told me a lot about the hospital and the staff. I definatly feel like I made the right decision choosing to deliver up there.
Other than that, things are pretty quiet and going well. Sorry for taking to long to update!