April 2012

Joe and I started the month by traveling to St. John, one of the US Virgin Islands, on April 1st.  We were fortunate enough to have the time to take a vacation as an early 5 year anniversary trip and "baby moon" before Tyler arrives this summer.  Sophia stayed back in Atlanta but had a blast while being spoiled by Nana and Grandpa Ben.  While we were at St. John, Joe and I spent most of the time on the white sandy beaches but also found some time to tour the whole island by Jeep and even took a day-long boat trip to see some of the beautiful spots in the British Virgin Islands.  (You'll have to see the photos posted below to believe how gorgeous it really was!)  Joe and I are now convinced we need to keep saving so we can own a piece of tropical paradise some day!  On April 7th we left our island hide-away and headed back to Atlanta to see our sweet Sophia.  Our stay in Atlanta was brief as we flew out the next morning, April 8th, to head home to Clovis.  On April 9th I met with my Clovis OBGYN Dr. Moore for a quick check up and glucose blood test.  Everything seems to be going well with my pregnancy at this point and as far as I know, I am not at risk for gestational diabetes.  Saturday, April 14th was a fun day as Joe, Sophia, and I were lucky enough to be guests at our college friend Rachel Barnett's wedding.  The ceremony was celebrated at our base chapel and the reception was at the Club on base.  It is the most convenient wedding (location-wise) we have ever been to!  We would have loved to walk to both the ceremony and reception that day but the winds were blowing at 60+ MPH!  Quite a crazy weather kind of day, but everything turned out beautiful none-the-less.  It was great to see the Barnett family as well as watch Sophia "cut a rug" on the dance floor!  She has some pretty impressive moves (see photos below for proof)!  On April 16th Joe and I spent the afternoon in Lubbock for a head to toe ultrasound and initial meeting with Dr. Yeomans, the OBGYN that will most likely deliver Tyler.  Dr. Yeoman's said that he noticed the left ventricular weakness on the ultrasound but believes that his heart defect is an isolated problem.  That means that the rest of his organs/body parts seem to be growing normally with no need for concern of other problems at this point.  All in all, our meeting with him was very encouraging.  He is really fabulous so I have no doubt that we will be in good hands!  Sophia and I had a great time attending her friend Aiden's 1st birthday party on April 22nd.  She had such a blast wearing her party hat and playing with all of Aiden's toys!  On April 23rd I had another follow up with Dr. Moore to let him know how my meeting with Dr. Yeomans went.  Again, the check-up was quite simple as everything for me is going well.  Dr. Moore requested that I check-up with him around every 2 weeks so that he can constantly be aware of Tyler's progression and help with the labor/delivery process if I should go into premature labor here in Clovis.  We ended the month of April on a high note as Joe and I became Godparents to our friends' son James.  The ceremony took place at our base chapel on Saturday, April 28th which was followed by Mass and a nice reception at their home with lots of yummy food!  We are so honored they chose us for such a special role in his life.

Right after landing in St. Thomas

Taking the ferry to St. John

We stayed in "The Cottage" which is the little unit on the bottom left.

Front door of our place

View from the pool next to our room

View from our room

Checking out the beach the night we arrived

Our relaxing spot on Soloman beach

We loved the inverted palm trees and the fact that this beach was so quiet.

25 weeks...and relaxing on a beach.  Perfect in every way!

Handsome hubby

Soloman beach

Ahhh! This is the life!

Strange snake-like looking cactus we found on the  trail to/from Soloman beach

Joe relaxing by the pool next to our room

Our view at dinner Monday night.

We stayed at the beach bar to watch the NCAA Basketball Championship Game

Joe was wiped out after a long day of fun!

The taxis on St. John

View of Cruz Bay.  This is the first picture we took after starting our self-guided Jeep tour on Tuesday.

A couple taking their wedding photos at Hawksnest beach

More beautiful scenery on our drive around the island.

I loved that the trees made a canopy over the street

Clear blue water

We found one of the wild donkeys!

I pet him but Joe was too scared to :)

Our lunch spot on Coral Bay

Joe enjoying some of the local beer

Our view of Coral Bay at lunch

We stopped for smoothies on our way back to Cruz Bay

Smoothie stop!

Our day-long boat tour on the Bad Kitty which took us to the US British Islands on Wednesday

The Baths at Virgin Gorda

Our lunch spot on Cooper's Island

Our stop to see one of the most famous beach bars located at Jost Van Dyke

Two of my favorite teams represented at the bar at Jost Van Dyke.

Dinner at Sun Dog Cafe Wednesday night.

The view from our beach spot at Cinnamon Bay on Thursday

Joe relaxing in our little nook on Cinnamon Bay.

Dinner at The Beach Bar Thursday night.

We met a sand crab on Soloman Beach on Friday.

What a beautiful place!

Being in paradise makes me sleepy...

The water was so refreshing!

An iguana we met on Soloman beach

Dinner on Friday night, our last night in paradise.

Sophia made a bunny cake with Nana (among doing lots of other fun things) while Mommy and Daddy were away.

Sophia was exhausted by all of the traveling!

26 weeks

Rachel and her Dad walking down the aisle.

Rachel and Dave exchanging rings.

Sophia playing with the toys at the kids table.

She loved the glow bracelets!

One of the other little girls put all the bracelets on Sophia's arms. She loved it!

Playing with crayons.

Sophia starting to dance with the other guests

Sophia dancing with Rachel's nieces and nephew.

Look at those moves!

First dance

Father-Daughter dance.

27 weeks

Baby Tyler's face from our ultrasound in Lubbock.

Tyler flexing his muscles :)

Sleeping peacefully at day care.

Waking up from her nap on her cot at day care

Playing hide or seek at day care

Mommy found Sophia cuddling her monkey and bear one morning

Helping Mommy open a package.  She loves playing with packing peanuts!

Wearing a birthday hat at Aiden's party.

Sophia was content playing with Aiden's car as he opened gifts with his parents.

28 weeks

Playing with her toys and trying to use a bucket as a hat!

29 Weeks

The Cottage on St. John

Sleeping beauty

Playing on the ramp while waiting to eat at Shogun