Growing!

Baby and I are doing great and growing lots! The kids are so sweet with the baby, kissing, tickling and hugging my baby belly. We took this picture this week which marks 6 months. The baby is getting stronger with his or her kicks and movements. Nathan and I can't believe and are so excited that in 3 short months we will be holding our 3rd child!

Cravings: Hawaiian pizza, anything chocolate, must have pickles on my sandwich, otherwise I'll figure out something else to eat

Our big kids are growing too. Owen and Riley LOVE riding scooters! Owen showed me the different ways you can wear your baseball cap yesterday. Super cute! Riley likes to add princess to everything. The best phrase yet has been "Princess Rirey Hulk Smash."

Riley and Owen are now sharing a bedroom with 2 twin beds. About a week ago she rolled out of bed in the middle of the night. There were lots of tears and calming her down. The next morning poor Riley-bug's lip looked like this. :0( It's all healed up now thankfully.

Nathan brewed his our Wiessbier. He just has to bottle it. He is super excited about it!

We have our Germany trip coming up. We're so excited to visit Anita, Wolfgang, Julia and Miriam! We'll be meeting up with Janet and Guy and for a few days Uncle Alton and Aunt Miriam. Here we come Oktoberfest!

Ciao!

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Itching like Hell

Wednesday night I made a yummy Mushroom Stroganoff for Dinner. It's a really delicious vegan dish we learned for the E2 Diet. Later than night I woke up with my neck, chin and checks itching like crazy. I thought it was bizarre and maybe the cause of not washing my make-up off (don't judge, we've all done it).

Thursday morning my legs looked like I had a couple small bug bites. I immediately thought we had a nest of bugs living in or under the bed. Found nothing after stripping the sheets, lifting the mattress and having Nathan examine underneath. No bugs and still super itchy. By Thursday evening I was going crazy! Incredibly itchy and desperate for relief. I took a Benadryl in hopes that it might help.

Last night the itching got worse. It seemed whichever side I laid on that's where the worst itching spot flamed up. I did my best not to itch and focus on going back to sleep. Somehow I go some sleep without scratching too much.

This morning my legs looked like this....

I was able to get Owen off to school in a very positive way. It surprised me how patient I was with the kids all the while dying to strip and scratch my legs, back, arms and neck. Nathan did a little online research and brought up that women can develop hives during pregnancy. He thought it would be go to visit the doctor to be sure. With the help of good friends here, I was off to the clinic with a driver by 9am and Riley was heading to a play date.

As most of us have experienced, by the time you can see the doctor, your symptoms have subsided. I had taken pictures to e-mail Nathan but they we exactly what I needed to show the doctor. He immediately looked at them and said I was having an allergic reaction to something. I explained what I had for dinner the night the itchy hell started. He's sure it was the mushrooms. I've never had food allergies other than an occasional upset stomach, so this seems bizarre.

Even with my arms and neck currently inflamed and driving me nuts, I am thankful:

1. I'm not crazy imagining the itching and creating it. It's actually something. 2. No bugs in our bed. Hallelujah! 3. I have some medicine to start calming the reaction down from the inside. Plus lots of water to naturally flush the system. 4. It's me and not the kids. 5. No harm to Baby!!

The next couple days will be itchy, but I should feel better soon. Never a dull moment!

Ciao!

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Tres Chic!

This morning turned super girlie when Riley asked me to paint her feet aka her toes. So we headed to the bathroom and got out mini mani/pedi station set up. She held perfectly still and was so excited! Of course "paint Rirey fingers" followed to complete the full mani/pedi. She keeps pointing at her nails saying "so pretty!"

Ciao!

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First week of school at LIS

We made it through the first week of school! Not without some tears (not just Mommy!) but we did it! Wednesday night was the parent meeting where we learned all about the school's philosophy specifically for the Early Learning Center. Nathan and I are so excited about it and think the school makes being here in Angola well worth it. If y'all are interested, the school follows the PYP curriculum in combination with the Reggio Emilia philosophy.

Riley disappeared during the meeting. But then we noticed these 2 little legs standing behind an art easel. We went over and she was dressed in a painting smock with 2 gallons of paint on the paper! It was awesome! The teacher was pretty impressed with her and was surprised she is only 2.

They had a hand out with important information, dates, etc and a few pictures. Check out who's making friends and playing in the sand! (Or as Owen calls it, the beach.) My guess is they are digging to Texas!

Ciao!

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How old are you?

Riley loves coloring! And she likes counting. The thing with her counting is that we aren't quite to numerical order counting but more "security code" type counting. Her favorite is "9 4 8". So while we we coloring this morning, she asked me to write the number 8. I wrote it and gave her back the marker where she immediately mimicked my 8. Here's the result:

Nathan and I are pretty impressed with our 2-year old!

Ciao!

 

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Owen is FOUR!

Wow time is going fast and the kids are growing even faster! Our sweet baby by is a big boy. He turned 4 on the 11th. I can't believe it's been four years since we were in the hospital starting out as new parents, totally overwhelmed and in love with our new baby boy. This year Owen you have had so many changes and conquered so many milestones. You are quite well traveled and live in Africa. You are 3' 8" and still growing strong! You have an amazing personality, incredibly loving and sweet, and love laughing at silly things like toots. This Monday you start at your new school. I know this time next year your Dad and I will be even more blown away by the awesomeness that is YOU!

Before your birthday party, you and Chacha brainstormed about what you'd like at your party. It pretty much sums up your likes at this point in your life. All chocolate food and fighting bad guys!

Ciao!

Tour de Texas - July

This collage doesn't capture everything.... but man were we busy in July! The kids and I not only traveled from Luanda, Angola, but we traveled ALL over Texas! From Katy to the lake house, then to Fort Worth, on to Austin and San Antonio and then back to Katy. Owen and Riley were troopers and great travel buddies!

• Some of the details... we spent an awesome few days at my folks lake house with my Mom and brother Cody. Their new dock is just finished and provided a great place for us to kayak and swim off of. Plus there is a new rope swing which provided lots of laughs at our attempts to swing off it into the water. 
• Owen became a paleontologist as he (or I should say B and I) unearthed the skeleton bones of a triceratops. He thought it was so awesome especially since we had just gone to the museum and seen the fossils in person. We also went to Ice Age 4 with B which was lots of fun for everyone. Riley ate just about all the popcorn which is to be expected since she's a popcorn monster!
• We spent a wonderful weekend with my brother's family, swimming and lots of playing. Kara, Owen and Riley became a little wolf pack following each other everywhere. We also got to meet my brother's new addition Aimee! I know I already wrote about her, but she's pretty special. Owen loved holding her and Riley has since named all babies Baby Aimee.
• Speaking of Amy's, we had some yummy Amy's Ice Cream in Austin with Chacha. We also ventured to Gattitown where no deer were harmed while Mommy and Owen were shooting. On the other hand, Riley took them down! 
• We spent 1 afternoon swimming with cousin Giovanni (even though Owen apparently only thinks he has 1 cousin and that's Kara.) Amanda served her yummy chocolate chip cookies and milk for a snack. A HUGE hit with the kids! (Not to say they didn't go over well with Chacha, Kacee and me too...)
• Owen and Riley went to the see Mitchell's girlfriend Lauren at work. She's a pediatric dental hygienist. Riley was pretty unimpressed with the dentist to say the least. She did like the treasure chest at the end though. Owen was spectacular! I included a picture of his X-rays because it's really cool. You can see his big teeth!
• In San Antonio we got to see Ryan and his new espousa Cindy. They are living in Seto's old place. It was amazing to see what they have done to the place to make it their own. New paint on the walls and completely refinished kitchen cabinets have transformed it. 
• Update on Baby and me: we keep growing!

Ciao!