Pictures from New York

Noah in the airport ready to go!

Grand Central Station

Noah eating his first ice cream cone on his own




Central Park

We went on a 3 hour boat tour

Statue of Liberty - we only saw it from a distance

Billy and I getting ready to go watch Wicked - LOVED it!!!

Had to make a stop at the Toys R Us at Times Square

Billy and his mom on top of the Empire State Building

It started raining while were on top of the Empire State Building

Me and Noah

Me and my baby again

The fam at Times Square

So much to do, so little time...

We've been in New York City for the last 6 days enjoying some time together. We took in a lot of sites, watched a Broadway show, enjoyed the weather, and ate a lot of food! Noah loved the hustle and bustle of the city. He was always ready to go! Hopefully I'll find the time to put up some pictures soon. For now, I' m just giving you a quick update. There is a lot to get done and Billy is leaving two weeks from today :( I usually don't wear waterproof mascara, but I had to go out and buy some a couple of weeks ago because I knew what was coming. The mascara has already come in handy! The next two weeks are going to be pretty hard, especially since there is still so much to do and we really just want to enjoy our time together. But we'll do what we can and figure out the rest!

Lori and the Boys

When I was pregnant with Noah, I really wanted to have a surprise and not find out if the baby was a boy or girl. Billy, on the other hand, wanted to know, but he was patient enough to let me have my surprise. I told him with the second baby that it would be completely up to him if we found out or not. He liked the surprise enough the first time around to want to wait this time, too. However, since there's a possibility he might not make it back for the birth, he decided to find out. So we had our anatomy scan on Wednesday, and it looks like I won't be needing to change the name of my blog!!!

June 12 on the 12th

1. Noah not wanting to get out of bed in the morning
2. Crossing the Ashley River on the way to day care
3. Noah saying "cheese" with his new sunglasses
4. A huge Elmo that was given to us and hangs out in our living room
5. Got out of work early and had to find some pregnant walking shoes
6. Grocery shopping at the commissary
7. Noah enjoyed a homemade mini pizza. He was eating sauce with a spoon!
8. Billy's in Vegas
9. Since we were taking pictures of shoes...
10. This is why I want a maid
11. Me and my big belly after a day of work, shopping, and 45 minutes on the elliptical
12. Watched the first episode of True Blood

Noah's new playmate... again

If you've kept up with this blog, you know I've had a post with the same title previously. Although you didn't get too many details, you know the puppy didn't work out, and he was sent back after a couple of days. Unlike the last time, we won't be able to return this new playmate. He or she will be around for good! Meet the newest member of our family...

This is our little peanut at 12 weeks. I'm 16 weeks along now and due November 5th. Yes, that's only 3 days before Noah's birthday. So not only is Noah getting a new playmate, but he might be getting a new birthday buddy too... let's hope not. Billy thinks it would be great for them to share a birthday, but who in the world would want to share a birthday with their brother or sister???

If you've kept up with the blog, you also know that Billy will be leaving for a year. He's leaving on July 20th, which means I will be alone in my third trimester with a toddler. Yes, you can call me crazy! I'll admit I'm a little worried and I know it's going to be tough, but I know that God is only giving me as much as I can handle. And I know that family and friends will be around to help out. So I'll be okay. I might have a head full of gray hair by the time Billy gets back, but if I still have my sanity, I'll count myself lucky!

I consider myself blessed and I'm so excited to have a new edition to our family, but like I said before, it might be a tough year and we could use your prayers!

12 on the 12th for May

1. Noah's breakfast
2. Noah was ready to go to bed
3. I had to take all my pictures with my Iphone and I downloaded an application for frames. I was playing with it and made a wanted poster for my little monkey.
4. The lockers at the gym
5. Billy thinking hard about everything that needs to get done... I see this face daily
6. Noah's a muscle man
7. Weather.com for Charelston
8. My Carolina Panthers cup... but I still love the Cowboys!
9. Noah's looking at the light while he eats. He LOVES lights.
10. A trip to the library
11. My work calendar
12. It's really tough to take a picture of the 3 of us with the phone!

Billy's Taking a Little Trip

Okay, so it's more than a little trip. Billy's going to Izmir, Turkey for ONE YEAR. His report no later than date is July 31st, so he'll be leaving sometime between July 20th and the end of the month. We knew this was coming, and honestly, we're counting our blessings because he could have been sent somewhere much worse. So believe it or not, we're actually thankful that he'll be in Turkey. From the information we've gathered so far, it shouldn't be too bad. He'll be living on the economy, meaning he won't be living on a base. He'll be living in the city in one of their apartments and he'll be shopping in their stores and eating their food. He'll be totally immersed in their culture. I'm actually a little worried about the culture shock he'll be going through. The first month or so will be pretty rough for him. In fact, he's been warned to stay close to the restrooms at first because the food can be a little tough to get used to. But I'm sure that once he settles in, he'll really enjoy his time there. Of course he'll miss me and Noah, but beyond that, I think this is going to be a good assignment.

If you're curious, you can read about Izmir here, but I'll give you some basics. It is the third most populous city in Turkey with 2.5 million people. It is located on the water and there is a ton of history there. Some research indicates that there was activity in the area as early as 6500 to 4000 B.C.!

I don't know what Noah and I are going to do with ourselves. Billy will be missed more than he knows. All of us will need your prayers. It's going to be a busy year!!