Photo update

Found these at a local Japanese store 4 months ago and had to have them

Thanks auntie Erin!

All of the cousins are in her room

 With Ella

 Right after hanging out with Ella thank god

How she likes to sleep (Dad's favorite pic so far!)

Pretty early for passport photos but we need them!

Quinn Rosen Brown

Our sweet little miracle made her grand and unforgettable appearance on Tuesday afternoon, July 1st, weighing 8 pounds exactly and stretching 22.5 inches long.  I have been anxiously waiting to write this post for 255 days...the day we found out we were pregnant!

Where to even begin!  Quinn sure has kept us on our toes the last couple of weeks.  As her due date was June 21st, waiting another 10 days for her arrival seemed like 10 months!  My midwife scheduled an induction for Monday morning June 30th.  Of course I was hoping for Quinn to come on her own that weekend, but she was just too comfortable ;).  So Monday morning I called in and was admitted by 8:30am.  I packed our bags for a couple of days - but NOT for 4 days!!

To make a long story somewhat short, the induction went smoothly in the beginning.  Things were moving along, but just very slowly.  This made for a looooong 30+ hours until we met our baby girl.  Unfortunately, a couple hours after they broke my water I spiked a fever which was a bit concerning. The doctors and nurses did as they needed to do to take every precaution for baby and I.  They kept me comfortable and assured - it was out of my hands!

Finally, by 12:30pm on Tuesday afternoon things were moving...and moving fast.  The NICC team were in the delivery room waiting to examine Quinn immediately.  It was a bit concerning having about 12 medical bodies in the room at the time, but the trust and comfort I had knowing all of them were there for this sweet baby girl left me with great ease.  I was able to see Quinn for about 10 seconds by my head before they wheeled her off.  That was pretty tough!  It wasn't until about 5 hours later that I was wheeled down to see her.  That "ride" down the hallway that took 30 seconds lasted a lifetime.  I was SO excited to see this miracle :)  She was perfect.  The NICC were having difficulty getting her IV in place so they allowed me to come down and nurse her to get her hydrated. At about 9:00 she was wheeled back to our room, IV in tact, and sweet as can be.

Thursday evening at 5:15pm we received great news that the bacteria did not grow and she had no signs of an infection.  Our prayers were answered!  If interested, she was tested for chorioamnionitis.
WE WERE HEADING HOME!!!

Quinn has opened our hearts to more love than we could ever imagine.
Thanks to all of you for the support these last 9 months!  We can't wait to come home and see everyone.

Last snap of this belly before going in!

The hospital is just over a year old.  It is beautiful.  

This was the view from our room.  Not sure I'll ever be able to labor and deliver in a room with such an incredible view again.  It got me through some tough times, that's for sure! 

Just seconds old

The amazing Doctor Lee who delivered Quinn - and sweated a little of her own using those forceps...

Getting her first treatment through the IV

A great friend of mine brought by some fresh fruit and of course, a 6 pack of Orion for Tony.  THANK YOU AMBER!!!  

Hanging out.  1 day old :)

And we're off!!!

Good thing I packed an extra sleeper with NO footies.  This girl has long legs like her daddy!  High waters like her daddy too.  

Thankful.

I figured now would probably be a good time to write a post - as it could be any day now that we become a family of 3!  

Tony and I are very much ready for baby B to make her arrival.  It has been a nice week of relaxing and getting (some) things done around the house.  I don't have a whole lot of energy throughout the day as I have been feeling pretty nauseous all day long, but I have managed to get some things taken care of.  Mostly in my mind at 2:00am and then at 6:00am when I feel my best.  My sleeping schedule right now is about 10:30/11:00pm - 5:30am.  and then 7:30-9am.  Whatever works right?!?!?!

Watching the World News, Revenge, and The Bachelorette has helped me take my mind off of the icky feelings I've been having :) 

The weather has turned here in Okinawa.  It is ridiculously humid - and it's not even "bad" yet.  Tony and I got out last week for a few walks/runs (he walks with me for 10 minutes and then takes off).  Glad we did that when we could!  We are on the treadmill now doing our workouts... just too uncomfortable outside.  I was the one pushing for the treadmill earlier this year - he's thankful now!

Well, 2 days before my due date.  I couldn't be more thrilled for the love and experiences ahead.  As this hasn't been the "easiest" pregnancy for multiple reasons, I am reminded of the miracle each day and can't imagine what it my emotions will do when we finally meet her. The best day of our lives is just around the corner.  

Next post title:  ______  _______  Brown has made her arrival :)

Say What?

Last weekend Tony and I made a trip to a kids store down south.  We picked up a few cute (and cheap) things, which is always fun!  I had to share a few pictures of some t-shirts that were there.  Very bizarre and make absolute no sense.  We were probably very rude as we were in the aisles cracking up & taking pictures.
Ps. We didn't buy any of them.  Next time...

On the Homestretch

What a crazy month it's been!  My list of "things to do" has been a mile long - and updating the blog has been one of them!  So here it is :0)

I am finished with school on Friday, June 6th.  Very much ready to have a full couple of weeks to finish up some things, get a haircut, pedicure, and read leisurely!  As much as I have loved reading about being pregnant and post pregnancy, I am ready for a change of pace for awhile.  The kids graduate on Friday, June 13th, which I will of course go to.  I am excited for it!  They have been practicing their song "Let Me Go" (instead of "Let it Go") and it's really cute.  Very proud of them. 

Well - truth be told, I am ready to be done with the pregnancy.  Overall, I have been lucky to have the little symptoms I have compared to other stories I have heard.  However, the biggest challenge in knowing what to eat and how I feel after eating is getting SO old.  I admit, I have shed some tears over this frustration.  I stopped eating as much fruit and focusing more on vegetables.  I can't seem to get enough of the cucumbers here.  They are delicious!  

I have been taking a birthing class at the hospital which has been very helpful.  Last week when asked what the hardest part about being pregnant was, I answered "Not being with my friends and family."  That is without question that hardest part of this and selfishly I know part of why I am anxious to meet this girl is so everyone else can meet her, too!  I have also missed the restaurants back in the states.  Of all times to enjoy the chipotle burrito or the juicy burger it's not available!  Frustrating!!!!  My eating out has consisted of Subway (which I'm not a fan of) and Chili's on base.  I have enjoyed the pancake place down the street from us in Yomitan.  But a little too heavy for the stomach, so it's a rough day afterwards!  

Anyways - so there are the tough things about this pregnancy.  The greatest things are a mile long.  I have loved feeling her move as much as she has.  Of course, I can't relate it to any other pregnancy, but man - she is ON THE MOVE!  Lets just say I won't be surprised if we have a wild child on her hands ;)  

Things keep changing here for our visit back home.  Happy to say I think ("think") Tony will be able to come home with us now!  We would leave towards the end of July and he would be able to stay for a couple of weeks before he heads out to the field.  Very happy to have him come with us and so I don't have to fly alone with a month old!  I'm sure it would be fine, but still nice to have those extra set of hands :)  

Hope you all are having a great Spring.  Sounds like it's been a roller coaster of a month.  Hopefully it straightens out and flowers can be planted!

I know - you never see my face in pictures.  Trust me, you wouldn't have wanted to see it today :)

Single Digits

Can't believe it's been almost a month since I've last posted.  Not a whole lot of new news!  I am 31.5 weeks along and very eager for the next few to come and go!  I remind myself to enjoy the weekend days of sleeping in (which is 7:30am right now) and taking naps wheneeeeever I want. (couple times a day on the weekends).  We are both very much looking forward to meeting the little one!

The school days are going rather slow, but the weeks are flying by.  My class is getting smaller and smaller as some of the military kids start to PSC (permanent change of station) this time of year.  As much as I miss having them, I can't believe how big of a difference 2-4 less kids every day is!

Tony is doing well.  The last few weeks have been pretty "cruisy" for him.  He took a few days off end of March and the last two Friday's he has had golf tournaments!  This will be his first full week in awhile.  He hooked up with a big group of guys that golf every Saturday morning and get this...tee off is at 6am.  I think he's crazy for going that early, but he loves it!  Often times when he gets home, I am still in my pajamas.  It will be a great thing for him once the baby comes.  I wasn't really looking forward to him being gone half days on the weekends ;)

I've been busy with school, doctor appointments, and going CRAZY about cleaning and organizing.  I'm typically an organized person as it is, but it's gotten a little out of control lately.  Junk drawers, refrigerator, closets, trips to goodwill, ... list goes on and on!

We are looking forward to coming home in August.  Once the baby has her passport (6-8 weeks after she is born) I will fly back with her.  Tony has a field exercise on mainland Japan mid August until mid September.  We're not sure if he'll fly to the states after the exercise and fly back with me and the babe or not.  We'll see how it all goes!  Nothing is ever for sure in this military life ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.
We spent a couple hours at the beach :)  Tony was a lucky man sipping' on a good margarita.  My time will come...

Field Trip to Okinawa World

A couple of weeks ago the school went on their Spring field trip to Okinawa World.  As it was a nice "break" from school itself, boy it was a lot of work!  We had a lot of fun and the kids (and myself) were able to see some pretty neat things!  I wish I would have brought my sister and Chris to the place when they were here.  It was neat to walk around, eat the fruit (which was so expensive!), and see live performances.  Here are some pictures of our day!  Luckily it didn't rain like it was supposed to!

These kids were brave!  I look brave....but

group photo of some of the kids

soakin' up the sun!

After the snake show we saw, the girls wanted their picture taken.  

blurry pic - but you can tell the SIZE of this cave.  It was huge!  Slightly bigger than Decorah's ice cave ;) 

Random music was being played throughout

Bus ride home.  These kids were zonked!

24 weeks.

Hard to believe that this little one has been growing for 6 months now!

Well, as everyone has told me and all the books have said…the 2nd trimester is awesome.  I have had so much more energy all day long.  Of course I am tired after work, but I still have the energy to clean, go for a walk, make dinner, etc.  I wish I had half of this during the 1st trimester!  Fingers crossed that it lasts a couple more months :)  I've been walking a lot more and getting in some shorter runs.  Feels great to finally feel well enough to get out and get the blood rollin'. This coming weekend my friend Natalie  (who is 12 weeks pregnant) and I are running a 5k race on Camp Torii.  I'm looking forward to getting into a race again - and for once I don't care if I have to walk or not!!!

As far as my appetite goes, I don't have a whole lot of cravings other than oranges and orange juice.  What makes me sick to think about are sticky rice balls (my sister would kill to have these on a daily basis!) and the pork sandwiches I used to eat the first month I came to Okinawa.  I'm not a big meat eater, especially pork and beef - but these were so good at one point..funny how things can change.

We are having (too much) fun ordering things off of Amazon lately :)  We got a new stroller, a jogger, and a swing that we really like!  Every time we get the shipment in, it seems more real.  I've started having dreams of getting to the hospital and delivering.  I hope the good dreams come true and the bad dreams can just stay as dreams ;)  The nursery is coming along, as well.  Just missing one big piece - the glider.  Okinawa apparently doesn't believe in a rocker/glider and we can't seem to find a company that ships them without charging an arm and a leg.  If anyone has suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them! There is ONE glider at the Exchange (our "Walmart" on base) that we may have to end up getting, but it is cheaply made so hopefully if we do end up getting it, it will last for a couple years!!!

We have our name picked out!  It's been the name since the first day we found out we were expecting (In September) and nothing seems to feel so right.  We keep our options open and of course there are many names we like, but it already just feels like her.

Even though it is ridiculously tough being away from our closest family and friends, we count our lucky stars each and every day.  Thanks to all of you who have sent messages, packages, and cards.  Your kind words and support are greatly appreciated and we can't thank you enough.  

IT'S A GIRL!

Well, I was wrong and Tony was right! (I hate it when that happens ;)

Last Wednesday we found out if we were having a baby girl or boy at our 22 week appointment.  It was more special than I ever could have imagined.  I can't believe how much SHE has grown.  I think we have an active, perhaps stubborn girl on our hands!  The technician was having a heck of a time measuring everything because she was ALL over the place.  Hands over her face, knees up to chest, stretching out, curling, in - all on repeat :)  It's fun to have a picture in my head now when I feel the kicks and punches!

The heart beat was 133 and she weighed 15 oz.  (the heart beat made me think even more it was a boy)
We had the technician take a picture of the baby's gender parts as we looked away.  We didn't get any physical pictures because the ink was gone and hadn't shipped from Tokyo yet.  Never thought I'd hear that one at an ultra sound.. Anyways, so we went home and had the intentions of making a really nice dinner, but I think we were so excited to find out (and a bit hungry) that we decided a frozen meal was a better thought!  After 6 whole minutes of "cooking" that, we ate and half-way through we looked at the picture (which the technician took with Tony's phone) and saw "GIRL PARTS" with an arrow :)

One of our best moments.

knees up :)

Kindergarten Update

I recently went back and read one of my first blogs I wrote on Okinawa being a Kindergarten teacher.  My sister's comment/suggestion was to write about the class every month as it will be so fun to look back on in 10 years.  I wish I would have done an update every month - but better now than never :)

Most days when you ask me how school was, I will respond with a large sigh and say "It was ok".  But by the time I get ready for bed, I think about how sweet those kids are and how just maaaaaybe I'm too hard on them!  I do forget that they are just 4-6 years old!  Sometimes I think I'm too nice and other times I think I'm too hard on them.  I just hope I have a happy medium 95% of the time.  Probably very similar to being a parent, huh.  What I have learned a whole lot is to absolutely stick to your word.  I admit, I'm a softie..but after a couple weeks of being that - it made my life a whole lot harder!

I wonder how much of my day is actually spent teaching the kids Math, Language Arts, etc. as opposed to disciplining them and teaching them proper manners.  There is so much tattling, picking noses, "accidents" every once in awhile, pencil stealing, playing in the bathroom, looking in the girls changing room, lost crayons, homesickness, crying because someone hurt their feelings,…the list goes on and on.    I have without a doubt gained more patience throughout all of this.  Your welcome, baby brown ;)

I just told the kids that there is a baby in my tummy.  Immediately a boy yelled "NO there's not!!"  I'm not sure where that came from or why, but it was a funny response.  As I am starting to show more now, they love talking to the baby, asking the baby what they had for breakfast, singing to the baby, and putting their ear up to my stomach to see if they can hear anything.  It'll be fun when they can feel some kicks :0)

The kids are smart.  I am very pleased with their progress and it makes me feel that maybe I'm not doing such a bad job after all!  It's a bit intimidating to look at the Core Standards at the beginning of the year and know that YOU are in charge of getting the kids there!  Most of them are writing sentences very well and have addition and subtraction down.  They're great kids who just need a whole lot of reminding :)

SO tired of having P.E. inside, so we all decided to play "red light, green light" in the empty parking lot!  Better than nothing.

A mid-day stroll when we should have been in Science class.  Too nice of a day to be in!  

I'm not sure if this should work - but had to share this one.  

4th graders reading to my class :)

While reviewing our spelling words, I wrote a sentence with one of the words: "toe".. The sentence was THE BOY HAS A STINKY TOE.  The kids thought it was hilarious.  I came back from the bathroom and saw this on my desk.  Great - I stink ;)

Now Riana stinks, too? Poor girl.  Little devils!  That was the last one by the way - had to take it away. Not happy about it.