Taking one for the Team

Last week, my dear hubby took one for the team... so that OUR team, now a comfortable 4 members, will not accidentally expand. We enjoy the one parent to one munchkin ratio, especially with the nomadic lifestyle we've adopted.

My nearly 20 years of contraception vs. his 30 minutes isn't exactly equal, but still very appreciated. He had a delicate week of recooperating (by the third day he was able to golf even)... vs. my 9 months of pregnancy, 3 months of morning sickness, 3/4 of a year of peeing every 2 hours, gallbladder attack, 30 hours of labor, 30 minutes of wowwee delivery, weight gain, giant ta-tas, every 3 hour feedings, etc.

Again...honestly... his sacrifice is VERY much appreciated! I just like giving him a hard time.

His words to me in the car after the procedure were about the funniest I've heard...

"Now I know how you feel."

A puzzled look from me.

His reply, "They made me put my feet in the stirrups."

PRICELESS!

Well, I don't think the feel of steel on his heels classifies him for motherhood just yet, but glad he got to experience that moment for himself and especially that he took a mental note to tell me so.

Thanks honey... very much appreciated!

Where to begin- Where have we been?

I have been quite blog absent as of late. Please forgive, but both hands have been full of either kiddos, shopping bags, breasts, dirty diapers, one tiny butt, fast food and more. We are fully enjoying having our days filled with activities and watching the girls grow before our very eyes. Hours are spent with family and friends. And we are now saddening as we have less than a month left in the US before heading back around the globe. Though life back at "home" will also be welcome, it will be hard to leave loved ones (and Papa being around 24/7) when we depart IL.

Since I've been so absent, it's hard to know where to begin posting. Of course, though the keyboard has gotten dusty, the camera has definitely not. Maybe it's best to post pics of what we've been up to and just melt back into narration as it comes. So with that...

ABOVE/BELOW: We've been to the STL Zoo three times already since we've been here. Above is Ceiba with Aunt Carrie and below are a couple from our trips once Papa came into town. 

Our zoo is phenomenal, free and voted a family favorite year after year!!

 ABOVE/BELOW: 

Countless hours have been spent at Aunt Carrie's house. Ceiba LOVES to play in her koi pond, feeding the fish and playing with tadpoles. She is also spoiled with an always-ready pool on the patio for her visits, spends hours drawing on the patio with chalk and many evenings of lightning bug adventures.

 ABOVE/BELOW: Many local homecoming festivals are going on over the summer. Our friends Chris & Ann are firefighters and offered Ceiba/Papa one of their seats in the homecoming parade throwing candy. Too fun for Ceiba!! Then we ate carny food and rode some rides. Ceiba went down the giant slide alone (thanks Papa for nearly giving me a heart attack to watch her), rode the Dragon Wagon, the Merry Mixer with Papa and Strawberry with Ann. Good 'ole Midwestern memories in action!

 ABOVE: Ceiba and her cousin Cora have spent MANY hours together playing at Gma & Gpa's, swimming and screeching as they run after each other.  BELOW: Continuing to seek out face painting opportunities and enjoying 4-wheeler rides with Uncle John and cousin Jake. 

ABOVE: Chris had a great day golfing with his brothers, who don't get the chance to be in the same state (or country) very often. Also planning a great long weekend with his family this weekend! Spending time at the YMCA rock climbing at open gym (and weekly gymnastics classes).

BELOW: And here were the promised last pregnant pics, taken at 40 weeks, 

3 days before Avocet was born (see below blog post).

And so now I can TRY to update more often, now that everyone is kind of caught up on the last month. Chris did come into town about a week early, due to my gallbladder scare (that simmered down after he arrived). Think my body was just telling me we shouldn't be apart. We all felt better once he was here, as we were nervous about him making it in time for the delivery due to the 30+ hour transit from Dhaka.

Now we are working to get birth certificates, passports, plane tickets, hotels, etc, etc, etc.

Baby is Here!

I P*R*O*M*I*S*E to blog soon, realizing I am VERY far behind, but...

we are a little busy being in love with life and our girlies at the moment.

 

Avocet Finnegan

born June 18, 2011

7 lbs, 7 oz, 19.5 inches

Victoria's

I walked out of Victoria's Secret today with a big bag in tow. It contained a boxed set of my favorite perfume and some lotion, just because. But I had to laugh thinking how many passers by were wondering what this REALLY pregnant lady was doing buying up Victoria's Secret.

Hee hee hee.

... Hell, I never really fit in their lingerie before I was pregnant.

It's SO clean here!!!!!!!

I watched a friend on Friday with antibacterial hand sanitizer, wipes, kleenex and even a toilet seat cover for the park restroom all over the course of our 4 hours together (love ya Sarah!). I had to giggle to myself, for if everyone only knew what we see everyday in Bangladesh... ay carumba.

Let's just say that we have lots of vaccinations and are luckily not germ-a-phobes. Good thing!

But really, WOW, it's SO clean here!
In the great words of Forrest, "That's all I have to say about that."

Rain, science lesson and misc

We drove home tonight in severe rain, blowing across the Midwest from another batch of deadly tornadoes, which struck Missouri earlier today. It's hard to believe we have been driving in crazier rain here, than while in Dhaka. Though when you think about it: 1) in Dhaka you can't drive faster than 10 mph hardly anywhere, so it never seems so intense as here at 50 mph, 2) we don't drive far in Dhaka, usually only a few blocks from the house and 3) really "madam" rarely drives in Dhaka, and would seldom have the need or want to mess with driving in the rain there, just nothing that pressing (or exciting enough) to justify going out in it.

Ceiba enjoyed a meteorology lesson from her Uncle John tonight and came inside to reenact (quite vividly) the process of making thunder and lightening. Too funny. It had me driving home a bit marshmellowy, thinking about some of the "little things" that we miss out on by living half a world away. The rain, thankfully, kept me from thinking too deeply for long :)

And here are a couple pics from today out with gma & gpa at the Strawberry Festival, and Ceiba & I on a hike at the Watershed Nature Center earlier in the week. Ready for Papa to arrive and share in the fun. We miss him bunches.

Marine Corp Commendation

We were bummed to not be front and center in Dhaka today, while Chris received a Certificate of Commendation from the Marine Corp commander. He couldn't be more modest, so I'll dote on him for a bit, sharing in how proud we are of him. And coming from prior military service, I think this couldn't have meant more to him.

It went a little something like this:

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE OF DUTY WHILE SERVING AS THE ... FROM... TO ... (MY HUBBY) CONTINUOUSLY WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND HIS DUTIES AND PERFORMED THEM IN A HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL MANNER. DURING THIS PERIOD (MY HUBBY) REPEATEDLY SACRIFICED HIS OWN TIME TO AID IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE MARINE SECURITY GUARD DETACHMENT, LEADING TO THE PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS OF ALL THE MARINES ASSIGNED TO US EMBASSY DHAKA. HIS LEADERSHIP AND DEDICATION TO THE DETACHMENT WAS THE EXAMPLE TO BE EMULATED BY ALL. (MY HUBBY) OVERSAW OVER 50 INCIDENT REPORTS ISSUED FOR PHYSICAL SECURITY MEASURES USED BY THE DETACHMENT, ALLOWING THE PRINCIPLE BUILDING TO REMAIN ALL SECURE. ADDITIONALLY, HE LED AND OBSERVED COUNTLESS RESPONSE DRILLS FOR VARIOUS EMERGENCY CONTINGENCIES BY THE MARINE SECURITY GUARDS. HIS ROLE IN SERVICE AS THE LINK BETWEEN THE MSG DETACHMENT AND THE REGIONAL SECURITY OFFICER WAS THAT OF A SEASONED AND EXPERIENCED LEADER AND WERE IN KEEPING WITH THE HIGHEST TRADITIONS OF THE DIPLOMATIC SECURITY SERVICE, THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS AND THE UNITED STATES NAVAL SERVICE.

I wish I had the quiet, strong presence that he has, the personality to never NEED to be commended or noticed, the dedication to service that has always been inside him. He will always be a military man, always be a team player and always sacrifice himself for his country. That's who he is, and there isn't a day we don't look up to him and feel so proud of the service he has given and continues to give to our country. Everybody needs a hero, but it's extra special that he walks right through OUR door every night.

Ahhh.... America

After the 30+ hours of transit and flights, we arrived to Illinois last weekend. Our baggage... it didn't. But we did get it the following day around 2PM. Nothing like spending your first day back stuck in the apartment waiting for bags. The ridiculous thing is that they made it from Dhaka to Hong Kong to Chicago with us, cleared Customs, but then couldn't get on the plane to St. Louis in the 3 hours we were in Chicago. Maybe the flight was overweight, either way, a bit of a pain.

Our temporary digs are convenient. Not as stellar as Oakwoods in Falls Church (Pearson Square), but nice and "our own" for the next several months. We are thoroughly enjoying catching up with family and friends, frequenting restaurants and stores, and enjoying clean air and surroundings. We are not enjoying being away from our favorite guy... at all :( We do all eat together daily- our breakfast with his dinner while on Skype. We are happy to hear and see each other every day, but look very forward to his arrival in a few weeks.

 above: Our first breakfast and morning at our local park

below: (Denise's side) Our niece and nephew growing up

 above: highly anticipated first lunch out, which happened to be last lunch in 2010 (rt)

below: Wal-mart damage... no need to zoom into receipt, just know it was A LOT

Wal-mart, Target and Shop 'N Save all earned a day of shopping to themselves. You just cannot truly appreciate their worth and awe until you live in a developing country. Amazing and oh so clean!

 above (5), below (3): grocery shopping bliss!

 above: some lunches out, McDs with Chipotle and Steak 'N Shake

below: Papa's favorite (we didn't eat there yet), train riding at the mall

 

 above and below: our bestest friends Chris & Ann showing Ceiba farm babies

Tonight marks a week that we've been back in the States. We are a bit tired from all the adventures, but many more await, several that we are especially waiting for Papa to be here to enjoy. The best is just spending time with family and friends, almost feeling like we never left. We look forward to the rest of our summer enjoying America time (and amazing upload speed, and no power outages, and...)!