To catch up...I posted last time about car shopping, and...I did it! I bought a car. It was a complicated process of crunching numbers and researching and practicing our marriage communication skills, but I think in the end we got a really good deal and I'm very pleased with my new car. It is a black Scion XB:
Admittedly, I think it's a pretty goofy-looking car. I always hated these boxy cars, and when it became our best option, I was a little whiny and dumb about it at first. I had my heart set on a Ford Escape, and since this is my first car purchase since I was 16, honestly, looks were kind of a big factor to me. As I test drove it, heard the gas mileage, saw the awesome DVD players on the back of the headrests, etc...the pros stacked up a lot higher than the cons. Con...only one con. So, the fact that it was funny looking was not enough to ruin the deal. It is much newer and lower-mileage than anything else I had found, and after dealing with a pretty slimy, smarmy car salesman when looking at another dealership, I knew we wanted to go this route. We signed a million papers and took the plunge, and I am loving it so far! Now it just has to get me about six years until I am 30 and feel maybe old enough to handle a minivan :)
We celebrated our anniversary on the 26th--four years! I had great plans to write a post about our story...from 10 years ago when we first met and all the rocky drama that led us to here. Nathan wasn't too stoked about it, I think, and I just never had the time. So, I will keep that on my list of posts to come one day. We didn't really do anything big this year...but we're hoping to get a vacation or at least a night away together before the deployment happens.
In the world of Adelyn, not so much is going on I guess...no broken bones this week or last, so that's always a plus. She took her first tumbling class today, and it was so fun! She usually is VERY slow to warm up to new people, but she surprised me and went to the teacher very willingly a few times, and had fun trying out the trampoline, bars, balance beam, and all the fun things to climb on and over. I think it will be nice to get her to socialize and get used to her teacher, and after the new baby comes, to have something that is just about her.
She has learned to say "go go go" and "mooo" and a few other new words lately, and is making me laugh by shaking or nodding her head to answer "yes" and "no" when we ask her things...it seems so grown up! She can also climb onto the couch now (sometimes) and is pretty proud of herself for that accomplishment. It's tough to be a short kid, so being able to get to new heights is a big deal to her!
Pregnancy-wise, things are okay...I got put on "moderate rest" last week. Note that it does not say BED rest, because as my doctor noted, staying in bed 24/7 is not the point. I am, however, supposed to be taking it easy and avoiding lifting, walking, exercising...etc. I'm not doing a great job sticking to it so far, but I'm trying. Because I'm having a lot of cramping and low back pain, the doctor I saw last week wants to keep a closer eye on me, so I have another appointment this week, and as we get to the big milestone of 24 weeks, we'll see about more monitoring or interventions if needed.
Baby girl seems to be doing well--hiccuping a lot and kicking and punching like a ninja. She always responds to Nathan's voice when he lays his head against my belly and talks to her, and I think it's really sweet to see. I currently have him agreeing to the name that I want, but he's being a little squirrelly and I'm still not totally sure he won't change his mind later. I'd like to be able to call her by name soon, so hopefully we'll reach a solid decision in the near future.
On a closing note, I think I have given up on my crunchy living experiment with making my own shampoo. The baking soda thing was working well for a couple of weeks, and then suddenly stopped making my hair feel clean, soft, smooth...etc. I then found a new recipe that used Castille soap and coconut milk, and that was even worse (although it smelled nicer by far), and my hair got super tangly, course, and sticky feeling. So, yesterday I bought a bottle of Herbal Essences newest product. I'm a little disappointed with myself, but it sure did feel nice to have clean, soft hair again today!
