Hasta Luego

Round 3 has begun for the Pinheiro household. We took daddy to the office to get together the rest of his gear before heading to the gym. Having a little one present in the mix definitely changes things up a bit. Cole and I both found ourselves "bucking up" a bit for Sierra's sake. She was feeling the pressure of the changes for sure as we attempted to take a nap earlier that afternoon only to realize she'd snuck downstairs and colored with permanent marker on the carpet! Ahhhh! (I did manage to get it out by scrubbing it with a toothbrush and some Clorox 2... then shampooing it for about an hour!) We enjoyed some yummy food at Outback and Sierra got a flower balloon for some pre-dinner entertainment. It didn't make it out of daddy's office that night as it kept running into objects that popped it a little bit at a time. The time spent in the office went well as there were several other wives and children around to share the experience with.

When push came to shove and it was time to leave Sierra panicked a bit so she ended up walking daddy (daddy carried her) over to the drop off area. When the real goodbye came Sierra was a mess. Daddy and I had to buck up... Cole had to go deal with some soldier issues and I had to remain calm enough to help Sierra through and drive safely home. She cried the entire way home wanting us to be together as a family. Broke my heart and kept me from focusing on my own sorrow and fears. After watching the stories daddy read, cuddling with her daddy doll, and lots of hugs she was out quick. Now we are working on the frustrations and emotions that manifest themselves and come out in the choices she makes and some of her behaviors.

After a few days of keeping busy tonight was the time to melt... The tears came as it was time to rest and daddy wasn't home... again. After getting her settled down... my tears started to flow. I cannot allow my mind to wonder to the what if's, the could be's, but do know they are there in the back of my mind. Right now it's time to take it a day at a time and a chunk of the deployment at a time. Time to focus on getting a good rhythm down, enjoying our Cali trip this summer and preparing for Weston's arrival.

If you are reading this I do ask that you pray over Cole and his units safety and the perseverance of the families back home.

Preparing to say Hasta Luego at the office.
Ready to go...

Holding on tight to daddy

Reading one last story with daddy.

Mommy's Little Helper

In so many ways Sierra is growing up and becoming so independent! She wants to help prepare the food, water the grass, hang up the phone, help brush her teeth, along with all the things we've been helping her prepare to do on her own as my belly grows! Just yesterday she buttered my toast for me all by herself... and did a great job! It makes my heart ache a bit to see that she's no longer my little girl and also helps be realize the beauty of the timing of her little brother.

She is going to be my little helper. I'm sure I will have help with diapers, baths, calming him when he's fussy... and perhaps making him fussy just so she has something to help with. I also know that there will be jealousy to come as whenever a friends little ones want to come sit with us in church she is quick now to jump on my lap and lay claim while he/she can sit with Cole or next to me.

Her little world is getting ready to change so drastically and she does not yet know. She doesn't understand days and weeks in time just yet so we haven't discussed just how quickly the deployment is coming upon us. Her beloved daddy is going to "take his turn" for a long while at work and then in only a few months she will have to share mommy with little brother. But in the meantime she has served as one of the greatest little helpers yet and doesn't even know it. In great effort to help keep her from anxiety, fear, concern and allow her to enjoy our family time we have kept the flood gates drawn and Cole and I have been able to enjoy the time with her too. I think I'm mostly just living in denial at the moment as there is so much still to be done in a short period. However, the reality is setting in and I am grateful to be enjoying some of these last nights together and not be quite the emotional basket case as I was while pregnant before the last deployment! My little helper and blessing so many ways... and she doesn't even know it!

Family Fun in the Sun

We just returned from a wonderful family vacation to Sunny San Diego! Sierra was a great age for traveling, seeing the sights, and bringing lots of smiles. We got to see all of the grandparents to add to the joy of it and I didn't (although I came pretty close…) lose my lunch on either flight! I will let the pictures tell the story for the most part, but we spent time in the pool, at multiple beaches, Sea World, the Zoo, and had way too much good food to eat! The scale is reassuring me so! Now we are back to reality as Cole officially goes back to work tomorrow and our days are few until we have to say "hasta luego." Cole and I are so grateful for the wonderful memories made. I know that I will hold on to them and cherish them and I hope that Sierra is at the age to remember them too while daddy is away. Hope you enjoyed the photos…

And we'll leave you with that for now folks as that is a whole lot to take in! Hope you are all having a nice spring where you're at =)

Baby Boy

(For those of you that are not used to looking at ultrasound pictures his head is down at the bottom, side view, and his spine and body wrap up around on the right hand side... and that's a leg bending to the left over the top of the photo)

So here is a scanned photo of our baby boy... he's quite flexible and was showing off his skills at the ultrasound as he was kicking around and then shortly after this snap shot touched his knee to his nose! I think he already resembles his daddy a bit more than mommy.

He is still without a name for now as mom and dad search and search for a name they can both agree to! Trying to find something that is unique, easy to spell and say, strong, athletic sounding, etc... is proving interesting!

It's a....

So we are approximately 20 weeks... give or take a few days (depending on the due date set versus the size of this kid!) I have neglected to document this pregnancy thus far so here is a 20 week belly shot from this pregnancy and one from Seirra! I dont' think my bump is much bigger this time... but it is a bit wider!

20 weeks prego with Baby #2

20 weeks prego with Sierra

OH... and before I forget... and in case you haven't heard...

It's a....

BOY!!!

My Birthday

So a couple weekends ago I was completely spoiled for my Birthday! We started the weekend with a nice dinner out with friends followed by delicious pie and ice cream! On Saturday morning I got to sleep in/play possom for an extra bit and then had homeade breakfast waiting! Then on my actual Birthday we decided to head to Breckenridge after mass. It was a beautiful drive (with a sleeping girl part of the time!) We saw a big horned sheep on the way and upon arrival found ourselves amoung falling snow flakes! The tubing place was closed for the day because they couldn't keep the sled lanes groomed with the falling snow but it was a perfect day for sledding. So we hit the "slope" for some sledding, building snowmen and snow angels... and then grabbed some hot cocoa. Once we were through with that we headed to town for some street walking and a delicious dinner at a hole-in-the-wall NY pizza place. Our last stop was a different pizza place as it was also a homeade ice cream place. Cole and Sierra had picked out a cake and brought it with us! We coupled this with some delicious homeade ice cream and with full bellies headed home! What a fantastic day it was spent with my family making memories to cherish! I am blessed =)