Birthdays, anniversaries, and babies OH MY!

So, here it is almost June and I have been notedly absent from the blog scene for the past month or so. But, of course there are reasons for this.

First this happened--April 27th, our 7th Anniversary!!

(and one very large meatball)

The very next day (April 28th) our little girl turned FOUR!!

And she wondered what she would do with a brand new bike helmet

And only hours later (about 1 a.m. on April 29th) --this happened! Our baby girl was ready to meet her sisters!
I was all smiles here....

And then this happened---(contractions!)

But soon enough---this happened (I am a TEN!)

Finally--she is here!
Welcome to the world Laila Capri Dolezal.
April 29th, 2009 at 1703, weighing 5 lbs 15 oz , and 18 inches long.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Well, I seemed to have joined the silent ranks of those in the Almost-Thirty-Club. I have reached 26, an age which is no longer closer to 20, but closer to thirty instead. But after much contemplation, I have come to terms with the age I once dreaded. I had an amazing day, and overall--I think it's going to be a good year.

I sent Maya to work with Matt for a few hours so I could sneak away to the nail salon to get a pedicure and manicure. I couldn't understand one word the nail guy was saying, but he did a great job and even drew some pretty flowers on my toes while I sat in the massage chair.

After Matt got off work we headed downtown to the Cheesecake Factory. Traffic wasn't too terrible and we made it down there in a record time of 25 minutes (amazing if you've ever experienced the traffic in Honolulu). Of course Matt made sure he told them it was my birthday while I was gone, so there was a whole crew of people I didn't know singing and a silly little scene in the middle of the restaurant. But it was pretty fun and the Cheesecake was divine.




The girls were so excited to give me their own cards that they had picked out and decorated. Skylar got to practice her writing skills and couldn't wait for me to see it. The card read: "Mommye, I luv you so so so. You are so luvley. Luv, Skylar" and was one of my favorite presents. The girls went shopping with their Daddy and he had sworn them to secrecy over the past few weeks(something very hard to do, especially for Maya). They had done so great in not spilling the beans the entire week, and right before I opened the last present, Maya exclaimed "Okay, it's time for your last purse present mama!" And whaddya know--indeed there was a purse inside.


Hip Hip Hooray for TWENTY-SIX!

I have a husband again (and I'm still very pregnant)!

I guess I didn't realize how long it has been since I've blogged or updated anyone about anything. It says my last post was January 28th, which I find hard to believe! But life definitely keeps happening and isn't slowing down just for me. A lot has happened in the past few months--including the arrival of my husband! One day Matt called me from Iraq and was trying to explain that he wouldn't be coming home at all. To make it even worse, they wouldn't put him on a plane until I actually went into labor. For all of those curious, it takes DAYS to get out of Iraq and back to Hawaii. It can sometimes take longer than a week. I was shocked and wasn't sure how I would handle having a baby by myself. The next day, he called telling me he was going to be coming home soon and that things completely changed. A week later he called and said he was getting on a plane and would be home in a matter of days. It all happened so fast it didn't even feel real. I knew it was a blessing and nothing short of a miracle. After four days of traveling, he finally made it to Hawaii and we were able to pick him up at his gate. It is amazing to have our family back together again.

I am now almost 34 weeks pregnant, and the time couldn't be passing any slower. I have 6 weeks to go, but I am just hoping I don't have to be pregnant for the entire 40 weeks (or longer). I have never made it past 36 weeks in a pregnancy before, but that doesn't mean much. Matt loves my ever growing belly and feeling her move inside. He loves watching the knees and elbows he sees sticking out of my sides (more like karate kicks to the ribs), but I just can't wait to feel human again (and be able to see my feet). I am trying to enjoy being pregnant, but it's getting pretty miserable here towards the end. I just can't wait to meet our new little girl. We decided to name her Laila, but haven't exactly settled on the spelling of the name yet. There are so many different ways--Layla, Leila, Leyla, Laila. I pretty much change my mind every day, but hopefully it will be decided soon. Other than the spelling of her name, everything is ready for our little one's arrival--down to the bedding, diaper bag, changing table, crib, car seat, clothes, etc. The next two months are jam packed, but I will try find some time to blog about our lives. Tomorrow I'll be turning the big 26, and at the end of the month we'll be celebrating Maya's fourth birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary. In May we will hopefully be having a baby, along with Skylar's 6th birthday and Matt's 26th. I guess it wouldn't seem right if this baby chose any other month of the year to be born. Life really couldn't get any better right now and being a family again is pretty great.

The Laundry Escapades

It is not uncommon in our house for a pile of clean laundry to sit on the couch for a week (I know, I cringe reading it too). On most days I will get laundry out of the dryer and fold it immediately, but sometimes when I'm having a busy, rough week--I will still do the laundry, it just may not all get folded right away. While visiting my sister in Texas, I realized I am not the only one who does this on occasion and now I don't feel as guilty. Thanks sis!

So, today I spent part of my morning talking to Matt on Skype and the webcam, as I do most mornings, and decided I may just tackle the pile of clean clothes that has been staring at me in the face for a week. Most of the time I will clean everything around the couch of unfolded clothes, vacuum the floor, and de-clutter every corner, but the pile (like this particular one) will stay untouched for over 5 days. Today I figured there definitely has to be some sort of limit to how many days it can remain unfolded, so I sat down to do some serious folding.

But then something strange happened. I heard my tv talking to me. Really it was my dvr, telling me to erase the things that I would never watch or never have time to watch, and it was begging to be organized. Matt has also kindly asked me to clear some space on the dvr, and save the episodes of 24 so he can watch them upon his return. Being the dutiful wife that I am, I sat down on the laundry-free couch (trying to avoid eye-contact with the couch designated for clean clothes) and began deleting programs and figuring out which ones I needed to keep. During this time, Maya got bored with me but didn't want to go up to the play room and play with her toys. She was already dressed for the day, but within a few minutes began adding more and more shirts, pajama pants, shorts, and two different colored socks to her wardrobe from the clean pile of clothes. By the time she was done she was wearing a pair of jeans, pajama pants, shorts, and four shirts (all the while singing and talking to herself). She put on my heels from church and a coat and happily exclaimed, "I'm ready for the ball!" The moment was too sweet not to capture. If I had folded that pile a week ago like I should've, this moment would've never happened, so thank goodness I didn't. Yet another great reason not to feel guilty about it. Ah, and here I am blogging about the experience instead of folding that pile of laundry on the couch.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Well, we made it. We are finally home from our 3 1/2 week vacation visiting my sister, Leslie, in Sugar Land, Texas. We survived another 2 1/2 hour plane ride, and then a 6 hour and 45 min one directly after, and we are all still alive and in one piece (miraculously). It was the busiest, craziest, funnest, and most adventure filled 3 1/2 weeks I've had in quite some time. Leslie has a great husband and six little munchkins, so adding myself and my two girls to it all was beautifully chaotic and a lot of fun. A house of 11 people gets a little wild at times, but I definitely wouldn't trade it. Just the simple fact that I didn't have to be alone over the holidays made it easier to glide right through them.

In other news, we are still looking for a name for our little one. We had four perfect boy names picked out (of course), and now we are struggling to find the perfect fit for HER name. We are definitely open to suggestions. Anyone, oh anyone? I suppose we still have a few months left to stew over it.

I am now 22 weeks pregnant and my belly seems to be growing every day. This means sleep has started to become a bit impossible. With all the kicking and prodding to my belly every single time I lie down, the fact that I can no longer sleep on my stomach, and peeing about four times in a single night--it's a wonder I get any sleep at all. But, I absolutely love it--being pregnant that is. With my history of preterm labor I started my progesterone shots a few weeks ago in Texas (which are supposed to keep me from dilating too soon). I get one every week until 36 weeks--talk about a pain in my butt. Literally. Lucky for me Leslie's husband, Thomas, had become an expert on giving these particular shots during Leslie's previous pregnancies. He was able to give them to me (while Leslie posed as the nurse's assistant of course), but not without first pointing out that in some countries he would be shot for having seen his sister's naked behind. What can I say? We're a close family!

At my ultrasound yesterday, they confirmed that yes...indeed...we are still having a girl and she weighs a whopping 1 pound. She looked so perfect up on the screen, moving around and sucking on her fingers and kicking up a storm. It's weird going to all these appointments without Matt, but he may be home by April if everything falls into place. Perhaps even sooner if we can twist enough arms. I'm not really betting on anything right now, but I'm just glad he's safe and that there's a possibility he will make it home before our little girl arrives into this world.

Baby girl number 3

Well, not much to report as of late. But perhaps there is too much to report and I don't have enough time or patience to blog about it all (yet). I am 17 weeks pregnant and found out we are having a little girl! Girl number three for the Dolezals. How, oh how will their father survive once we have three teenagers in the house? I just chuckle whenever I think about. He will do great. Here is a video that was taken at the ultrasound clinic. They are giving away free ultrasounds for pregnant women with deployed spouses. I will take all the free stuff I can get. The news station heard of this and interviewed me (of all people) at the clinic and filmed me in the ultrasound room about to get the sonogram. It was an eventful day. Here is the very slow 3D vid of our cute little baby (who still somewhat resembles a being from outer space...but is still cuter than ever).

The life of a soldier (our soldier)

I thought it was about time to give everyone an official update on Matt. He is no longer in Kuwait and no longer sleeping in a cot in a tent with 60 other guys (as pictured left). He is alive and well and enjoying the cold weather in Iraq before the heat sets in. He doesn't seem to like being in uniform when it is 120 degrees. He is finally settled in his CHU(room) which he shares with another soldier, and now has a little fridge in the corner of his room to keep his mountain dew and Dr. Pepper cold. He said the Hodji version (I'm sure this is very politically incorrect) of Mt. Dew tastes like carbonated lemon water, but the Dr. Pepper is pretty close to the original. He likes to celebrate the small victories, like Dr Pepper and his mini fridge. This time around they are on one of the largest FOB's, which is located in Tikrit. It is complete with two swimming pools, three gyms, a Subway, a Burger King and a Starbucks (although, he doesn't have much free time to go swimming or even work out at the gym).

To get to the Post Office or PX it takes a 20-30 minute bus ride (PX stands for post exchange for all those who don't know what it is. It's basically the military version of Wal-mart). Of course there are several bus stops along the way which make the journey a bit longer. This is usually a time when Matt will catch up on some sleep. Although napping at bus stops and on the bus is not always the best idea. A few weeks ago was the first week he was able to attend church--which is held in a classroom with about 10-12 people and lasts about an hour and a half. He was waiting at the bus stop and woke up about an hour or more later and watched one of the fellow LDS members getting off the bus, on his way back from church. Oops. He works 12-15 hours a day, seven days a week. The hour and half they allow him to go to church is definitely a welcome break from his daily duties.

Speaking of duties, most of you are wondering what on earth he does over there. For the most part I'm kind of clueless, as I have to pretend to know what he is talking about most the time when it comes to work or the military in general. They have acronyms for pretty much everything, which makes him sound like he is speaking in code. He is not on patrols this deployment which means he will never leave the FOB (another acronym, it stands for something-something-base.). Also, he won't ever have to man a gun on top of the Humvee or drive his officers around again (this time anyway). I am definitely not worrying as much this deployment, knowing he is inside the walls of the FOB. But, from what I hear from Matt the threat level is no where as high as it used to be. On his free time he is studying to go to the board in January; if he passes he will move from Corporal to Sargent. Usually after he gets off work we try find time to talk on Skype. He recently got internet in his room and we are able to use our web cams to talk. The girls absolutely love this. Skylar only gets to see him on the web cam on the weekends because she is at school, but Maya gets a pretty decent dose of Daddy every morning. Actually seeing that he is okay makes it a little easier to get through the day and helps me feel like he is not so far away.