Ok, here's what 29 weeks looks like. We had a beautiful weekend (after snowing only 6 days before...). This is our back yard. I have a Dr. appointment on Wednesday. I'm not really hoping for anything too exciting, but I would be thrilled if she could give me any glimmer of hope that I might be having this baby early. :)

Also, Mike was "Scorpion of the Week" last week. Scorpions are what the people in his squadron are called. It's sounds a little juvenile, but this is the second time he been chosen and it's really an honor (I think). He might chastize me for putting this on the blog, but I don't care. :) I wanted to relay what the letter from the commander said concerning his being chosen.

"During air control operations, you responded to a radio outage, quickly troubleshooting and repairing a faulty coaxial cable. Your effforts quickly restored a communications system vital to C2. Also, you stepped up by filling a vacancy as Radio Maintenance Production Control, a position normally filled by a NCO (non-comissioned officer). You ensured preventative maintenance was performed and documented on $223.5K of equipment. Finally, you spearheaded the effort of reorganizing the shop's storage areas making deployment preparation easier while, at the same time, recycled valuable material. Your professionalism, energy, and dedication have been vital to the unit's ongoing operations. You have been an all-around exceptional Airman and your leadership has not gone unnoticed."

And then a personal note from the commander:

"Mike, Great job as usual. Your technical skills are apparent and you are showing your huge potential as a future NCO. I appreciate all your hard work and support of the squadron. Respectfully, Lt. Col. Jackson"

Great job Mike!!

Mike re-enlisted in the Air Force for 4 more years. Or, as he lovingly refers to his partnership with the military--"signed his life away for 4 more years". Just kidding. The Air Force has been good to us and it is obviously a conscious and informed decision we've made to stay in the military. One of the main factors of his re-enlistment decision was where our next assignment was going to be. So when we got our first choice (again), Germany, we figured we could give the AF another 4 years.

The first few pictures are of Mike taking the oath, and then of him signing his contract. What a handsome fella?!

One of his co-workers and his supervisor also re-enlisted the same day, so it was kind of an event. It took place in Mike's work center and there was quite a turn out. The commander of the squadron was there as well as quite a few officers and other supporters. One was kind enough to come over and shake my hand and said "It affects you almost as much as it does him". Ain't that the truth!

The picture on the left is me at 28 weeks with Ezra and on right is 28 weeks with little Jonas (?). Yes, we have pretty much settled on Jonas for a first name. I say pretty much because it is subject to change at any time up until it's on the birth certificate.

Happy Easter!! It was a cold and breezy day for us. The original forecast predicted snow flurries, but it didn't get cold enough-thank goodness! Actually, most of the day was only partly cloudy and only began to sprinkle once most of the festivities were over.

Sadly, even though both my boys were well coordinated and looked very handsome, we neglected to take a family photo. Mike was pretty proud of himself for being sneaky enough to change before I inflicted the ever tiresome task (in his opinion) of taking pictures. These are picutres from our church Easter egg hunt. Burrr. I felt it appropriate to take a picture of Ezra with the snowy mountains in the background. I'm afraid it didn't feel very much like Spring.

The picture on the left is Ezra with his Easter basket on Easter morning. He got a chocolate race car and his eggs had 1 M&M each in them. We did not go over board this year--especially since we will be the ones eating most of the sweets.




It was cold today, but we have had some beautiful weather in the past week or so. Many of the trees are blooming, daffodils are out, and tulips are on the way.

We hope everyone had a blessed (and warm) Easter!

I am 27 weeks today. Please excuse the puffy hair. It was a very humid, rainy day. :)

Several days ago it was a beautiful day and I got together with my friends Jen (due March 21st) and Elisa and her girls to have a picnic and hike up to some castle ruins. The goal was to send Jen into labor, but we all needed the exercise and we had to take advantage of the near perfect weather. We had a great time, but little Molly decided not to come. The following pictures are at the castle ruins.

Then on Saturday morning, we attended an Easter egg hunt put on by the base. Easter egg hunting with Ezra is much more entertaining than last year as you can probably imagine. He liked picking up the eggs, but he didn't want to let them go in his basket. However, when he learned he couldn't pick up any more eggs if he was still holding one in each hand, he relinquished his eggs to the basket.

I tried to pick just a few pictures to put on here, but they were all so cute. I hope you notice Ezra's basket. I ordered it from Pottery Barn and had his name put on it. We were not the only ones who had one. Apparently, they were quite popular. The boys are blue and green and the girls in yellow and pink. So cute!

Ezra felt about as warmly toward the Easter bunny as he did toward Santa Claus (which is not very). They also had a less cute Easter bunny, an Easter tiger, and an Easter cat. We declined to take a picutre with any of those guys.

Here's a comparison picture. I think the picture on the left is me at 26 weeks with Ezra, but I didn't label it at the time, so I can't be sure. I'll do another comparison picuture at 28 weeks and that one I know for sure is accurate. The picture under that is under that is a little more flattering I think. When I had my Dr. appointment this past week, the doctor felt the baby and confirmed that he was head down. However, today I think he changed positions at least 3 times, so I'm not sure if he's back to the head down position.

In other news, Mike has officially gotten an assignment to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. So that's where we'll be stationed from October 2008 until October 2011. Then the rumor is we can either take a Pacific overseas assignment or go back to the States. Hawaii might be tempting, but otherwise, it'll be back to the States somewhere.

We had Ezra's official first birthday party yesterday. We didn't invite a ton of people (5 families including us) and it was a good thing because even though we have a pretty big house, the rooms are small. We were able to get everyone in the kitchen, but it was a bit crowded. All the decorations were "puppy" themed. It was cute. He got toys, books, clothes, and puzzles. What more could a boy want?

I'm 25 weeks today. I was reading that if the baby was born now, there is a very good chance for little trauma because the lungs are developing more and more every day. Not that I'm trying to kick him out already, but it's good to know. Also, he's beginning the process of changing positions from breach to head down. We're still working on names....

We had a little earthquake this past week. As I was sitting on the couch, it felt like someone bumped the side, but Ezra was walking on the other side of the room and the dog wasn't close. I looked at the candle holders on top of the entertainment center and the hanging crystals were swinging. According to an online source, the epicenter was about 50 km North East of us and it was a magnitude 3.66.

We're having Ezra's official birthday part next Saturday. As if he needs any more cake or toys. :) But we bought all the stuff before we knew Mike was leaving, so we might as well use it. Happy Birthday to my Meme today!