Well Everyone, I know it has been a while since our last post, which is my fault since it's my turn to post.
There is not too much to update on at this point. I am 16wks and 4 days and starting to show. I had a doctor's appointment today and the Dr. said I was doing great. The baby's heartbeat was 150 and super strong! At first I thought it was mine ;). I am measuring spot on as well. I had to give blood to run a couple of test for next time. The ladies at the Lab are def. getting to know me. They know how hard it is to get a vein in my arm so they just know to go for my hand. They are a hoot! We find out at our next appointment the sex of the baby!!!! I am super excited so then I can start buying up a storm! My amazing friends are trying to organize a baby shower while my Mom and Nana are here so they will be able to participate (so thoughtful).
What's up with Mom?:
Well, I am at meetings all the time these days and making sure to keep busy. I am getting everything ready for my family to come in 2wks ;). I can only do so much at a time so I am taking it room by room. I am so excited to see my family it's almost been a year! I am going to the Army Birthday Ball on June 10th, which should be a lot of fun! That's about it for me.
What's up with Dad?:
Well, Nathaniel has been quite busy over in Afghanistan and if his regular job wasn't enough my amazing hubby has decided to become a teacher ;). He has accepted a position to teach the soldiers Math and English for them to prep to take the military exams. He is basically having a part time job while deployed. This is just another way God has shown Himself to me. God is providing financially for us and that was one thing Nate and I prayed for when we wanted to start having a family that we would be able to provide for the baby in every way including finances.
I am just so blessed to have such an amazing husband that wants to expand his horizons even while already having so much responsibility. I am so amazed at how close I feel to him even though thousands of miles seperate us. I can't wait for him to come home in a couple of months and be with his baby ;). He is going to be the best father in the whole world. I wasn't blessed with having a father in my life and when I prayed for a husband growing up I prayed so hard for a man that could be an amazing father to our children. God answered my prayers and MORE! I know that my children will have so much love and fun just being themselves with a Dad that is so unique and originial and will let our children grow up knowing that it is ok to be SILLY!!! I know with Nate by my side every scary, sad and crazy moment will end with smiles and laughter and for that I am so greatful!
Ok, enough about how awesome my hubs is bc I could go on and on. Nate and I are celebrating 3 years in the Army family! In August Nate is officially picked up for Captain!!! He has worked so hard and it's great to see him get promoted.
What's New:
Cravings: Chinese food, McDonald's Frappe's (don't drink too many), and sweets (which I am normally not that into)
Clothing: It's getting tighter so I am in def. need to go on a shopping spree.
Activities: It's getting harder to do some daily chores because of getting tired and sore. Grocery shopping takes longer and unloading the car takes longer ;).
Sleeping: Naps are my new best friends ;).
Doggies: The dogs can def. tell somethings up they snuggle so close that I have about 1ft. of a queen bed! They are super cute ;).
Well, that's it for now Nate will be updating soon. We hope you are all doing amazing!
The Baloughs
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Dad in Afghanistan
So everything about the way I found out is true, she took the test came downstairs and I just knew she was preggers, because of the immanent glow coming from her face. She makes me so happy about how excited she is about being a mom. I am very excited about being a father.
So we found out when I was home before I left for Afghanistan, and both my mom and dad visited us and neither knew about it. It was hard not tell anyone, because it is such a joyous occasion. We wanted to wait till around Mother's Day, because we figured it would be a good present for our moms to find out then. I have wanted to tell people so bad, but I had to resist the temptation to tell people about the baby.
So, what is it like to be deployed while my wife is pregnant? It is bittersweet. I am so proud of Morgan and everything she has been able to do with the FRG, FSC, and still caring for a little baby in her belly. I wish I could be home and be at all of her appointments, ultrasounds, and baby classes, but I know I will be home for the next baby when the time comes around. The sweet part of being deployed is that I get to see the strength of my wife that I always told her she had with caring for the house, me, the puppies, and a baby. She does so many things and sacrifices so much to take care of the baby, and I am so proud of her. I am happy that while I am deployed that we have great friends that help her out and will be there in a snap to assist her if she needs it. She is so brave and wonderful I could not imagine bringing a new life into the world without Morgan. i cannot wait to be able to come home and help her with whatever she needs so she can kick back and relax with the baby.
THE ULTRASOUND LETTER:
I got a card from Morgan and she sent me a picture of the ultrasound. I was so happy to get it that I carry it with me everywhere I go. (except the shower) I would walk up to people and say "I got a card from Morgan" and they would be disinterested because their mail had not showed up yet. Then I would show the picture and they would shriek and get so excited and say how happy they were and congratulations. I am so excited about finding out what the baby is going to be, and June 23th cannot come fast enough.
The most asked question:
Do you want a boy or a girl? My answer: A boy
So we found out when I was home before I left for Afghanistan, and both my mom and dad visited us and neither knew about it. It was hard not tell anyone, because it is such a joyous occasion. We wanted to wait till around Mother's Day, because we figured it would be a good present for our moms to find out then. I have wanted to tell people so bad, but I had to resist the temptation to tell people about the baby.
So, what is it like to be deployed while my wife is pregnant? It is bittersweet. I am so proud of Morgan and everything she has been able to do with the FRG, FSC, and still caring for a little baby in her belly. I wish I could be home and be at all of her appointments, ultrasounds, and baby classes, but I know I will be home for the next baby when the time comes around. The sweet part of being deployed is that I get to see the strength of my wife that I always told her she had with caring for the house, me, the puppies, and a baby. She does so many things and sacrifices so much to take care of the baby, and I am so proud of her. I am happy that while I am deployed that we have great friends that help her out and will be there in a snap to assist her if she needs it. She is so brave and wonderful I could not imagine bringing a new life into the world without Morgan. i cannot wait to be able to come home and help her with whatever she needs so she can kick back and relax with the baby.
THE ULTRASOUND LETTER:
I got a card from Morgan and she sent me a picture of the ultrasound. I was so happy to get it that I carry it with me everywhere I go. (except the shower) I would walk up to people and say "I got a card from Morgan" and they would be disinterested because their mail had not showed up yet. Then I would show the picture and they would shriek and get so excited and say how happy they were and congratulations. I am so excited about finding out what the baby is going to be, and June 23th cannot come fast enough.
The most asked question:
Do you want a boy or a girl? My answer: A boy
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Our Story...
Our Story:
Well, if you don't know by now, we are expecting our first child in November. We found out in March that we are expecting. We thought and prayed very hard about starting a family and we decided that Hawaii would be the perfect place to have a baby. God's timing is always perfect and after some bumps in the road we were finally able to surrender to what His will for our lives was and not our plan for when to have a baby.
Nate is currently deployed to Afghanistan, but I try to include him in every visit I have to the doctor. We are planning on finding out the sex of the baby on June 23rd. My mom will be here visiting so she is going to find out the sex of the baby and let Nate and I know when we are on the phone together.
We have been busting out to tell people, Nate especially. We decided that we wanted to be through our first trimester before spilling the beans. We just finished telling our families Saturday.
How Nate found out:
I tried to keep it a secret so bad. I snuck off and bought a test and snuck it back into the house ( a hard task to do with both Nate and his mom around). I secretly took the test and was so excited to see it was positive! I had the cutest thing planned and I was going to tell him when we went on our retreat before he left. All I did was walk down the stairs and he took one look and me and said, "You're pregnant are you?" What? How could he possible know? I was so careful. He said it was because I was beaming from ear to ear so there went my very cute and awesome plan, boo! Luckily his mom was outside so she didn't hear our conversation. It was all an event to look back and laugh about. Gosh that boy knows me too well!
How our families found out:
I of course can't keep ANYTHING from my mom so I had word vomit quite quickly and told her. I then told Nate's mom over the phone a week or so later. We did really well with waiting to tell the rest of the family. Nate was able to Skype with his Dad, stepmom and sister and tell them the news about a week ago. He was also able to talk to his brother and tell him the news. He finished telling his grandparents on Saturday. I love that even being so far away, that Nate was able to be included in the notificaiton process (that would have been a lot of phone calls for just me to make). I finished telling my Nana Saturday and she told the rest of the family today. They were all very excited!!! My mom will be called Meme, Nate's mom will be called YaYa and Nate's Dad just wants to be called Grandpa.
My First Mother's Day:
My first Mother's Day was amazing!!! I know I am not yet a "real" mom, but I am taking care of a child right now it just happens to still be in my body ;). I recieved lots of Mother's Day wishes. Nate sent me flowers! He also sent me (and I asked Mrs Shelia to come along since I had no idea where I was going) on a goose chase with only an address to go off of to get my present in downtown Honolulu. I finally had to tell him that it was called "Luxury Row" and there were like 10 stores at that address so he finally told me to go to Tiffany's ;) to pick it up. It is a gorgeous charm that says "Mom" on it and it was waiting for me in that beautful teal box. He did good! Now I just have to find something equally as awesome for him on Father's Day! My mom sent me a nice package with lots of cute things. I was able to take to a lot of friends and family today, which was the best part of today ;). My dogs woke me up early and then we had snuggle time for about an hour. They are so spoiled! All in all, it was an amazing day!
Sweet Stories:
The first story I want to tell is of the extreme kindness of my friends Chessa Foster and Laura Schlaf. There is a neighborhood cat that likes to call my rose bed her potty and now that she has had kittens they use the it as a potty too. I, being pregant, can't handle cat poopie so these AMAZING ladies took it upon themselves to clean out my entire flower beds of all the soiled mulch. They said they didn't want me breathing in that nasty stuff! How amazing are these ladies. It definitly blessed my heart that I have such amazing people around me that would do such nice things to help me out! You ladies Rock!!!
The second story is to brag on a young man named Andrew Scott. I had to go to the doctor bc I had a little scare with the pregnancy and asked Shelia Scott (his mom) to come with me to the doctor's. She had to call Andrew and tell him she might have to pick him up (from his friend's house) if I had to go to the doctor. Well, this amazing kid, at 15 yrs old, went to his friend and asked if he and his parents could pray for me and my safety. Talk about awesomeness!!! Needless to say I went to the doctor and everything checked out fine. What a great young man! That meant so much me ;).
One last story of encouragement came from my Mother in Law. She texted me one day and was telling me that I was going to have a little boy! I, of course being curious, called her up and asked why she was so certain I was having a boy. She then told me about a dream she had. Her husband (Nate's stepfather, who is recently deceased) appeared to her in a dream and told her, "I am watching!" She asked him over and over what he was watching and he finally said , "West, I am watching West," He then made the gesture of swinging his arms like he was holding a baby. Well, as most of you know if we have a son we want to call him WESTin. He then proceeded to tell Nate's mom that he again was watching out for West. This just warms my heart knowing that Tim is watching over our baby. What a great story to tell if we have a boy!
(I just had to tell these stories that have meant so much to me! There are so many more!)
Frequently asked Questions:
When are you due? 11/11/11 funny right!
How far along are you? We are 13 weeks and 2days
How are you and Nate doing with the seperation during pregnancy? We are doing good, I make sure he is included in all of my visits. We thougth long and prayed a lot over having a baby during deployment and it was all God's timing.
What is your biggest pregnancy craving? Chick-fil-la, Panera Bread, and a deli place back home called Schlotzsky's Deli and we have NONE of those here AHAHAHH
Have you had morning sickness? Well, I am kinda out of the first trimester, but YES and I love every minute of it bc it reminds me of the blessing I am carrying ;).
What are you having? We should find out in June and we don't really care what we have!
Who was the first person you told? Besides Nate, probably my mom or one of my friends/neighbors for emergency purposes.
Are you showing yet, if so for how long? Not really, but I can see a difference and feel a difference.
Have you had a sonogram yet? Yes, but only bc I had to get a quick check up for a scare we had. Here in Hawaii you normally don't get one til 20wks so then we will have LOTS to show people!
What has been your worst part of being pregnant so far? I have really enjoyed all of it, I guess having to wait to tell people ;)! and not being able to eat my food cravings. OH and being on Lent for 46 Days and not eating any fried food LOL.
What is your favorite part of being pregnant? Everything!!! Getting to tell people has been fun!
Have you got names picked out yet? Yep!
How much have you gained if any? I have actually lost about 14lbs. the sickness really took its toll.
What is the oddest thing you have experienced so far? Trying to sleep on my side!
How did the baby's father react when he found out? He was beyond excited ;)!
Did you do anything special to tell the daddy, grandparents, ect.? We had a lot of cute things planned and then we just kinda spilled the beans LOL.
Well, that is about all for now! I am going to try to update everyone on here about our journey. Thank you to everyone for your Congrats and well wishes. We espcecially want to thank everyone who has offered to help me move things or carrying things or just volunteer for anything that I might need. We are truly blessed to have such amazing family and friends! Aloha!
Nathaniel and Morgan
Well, if you don't know by now, we are expecting our first child in November. We found out in March that we are expecting. We thought and prayed very hard about starting a family and we decided that Hawaii would be the perfect place to have a baby. God's timing is always perfect and after some bumps in the road we were finally able to surrender to what His will for our lives was and not our plan for when to have a baby.
Nate is currently deployed to Afghanistan, but I try to include him in every visit I have to the doctor. We are planning on finding out the sex of the baby on June 23rd. My mom will be here visiting so she is going to find out the sex of the baby and let Nate and I know when we are on the phone together.
We have been busting out to tell people, Nate especially. We decided that we wanted to be through our first trimester before spilling the beans. We just finished telling our families Saturday.
How Nate found out:
I tried to keep it a secret so bad. I snuck off and bought a test and snuck it back into the house ( a hard task to do with both Nate and his mom around). I secretly took the test and was so excited to see it was positive! I had the cutest thing planned and I was going to tell him when we went on our retreat before he left. All I did was walk down the stairs and he took one look and me and said, "You're pregnant are you?" What? How could he possible know? I was so careful. He said it was because I was beaming from ear to ear so there went my very cute and awesome plan, boo! Luckily his mom was outside so she didn't hear our conversation. It was all an event to look back and laugh about. Gosh that boy knows me too well!
How our families found out:
I of course can't keep ANYTHING from my mom so I had word vomit quite quickly and told her. I then told Nate's mom over the phone a week or so later. We did really well with waiting to tell the rest of the family. Nate was able to Skype with his Dad, stepmom and sister and tell them the news about a week ago. He was also able to talk to his brother and tell him the news. He finished telling his grandparents on Saturday. I love that even being so far away, that Nate was able to be included in the notificaiton process (that would have been a lot of phone calls for just me to make). I finished telling my Nana Saturday and she told the rest of the family today. They were all very excited!!! My mom will be called Meme, Nate's mom will be called YaYa and Nate's Dad just wants to be called Grandpa.
My First Mother's Day:
My first Mother's Day was amazing!!! I know I am not yet a "real" mom, but I am taking care of a child right now it just happens to still be in my body ;). I recieved lots of Mother's Day wishes. Nate sent me flowers! He also sent me (and I asked Mrs Shelia to come along since I had no idea where I was going) on a goose chase with only an address to go off of to get my present in downtown Honolulu. I finally had to tell him that it was called "Luxury Row" and there were like 10 stores at that address so he finally told me to go to Tiffany's ;) to pick it up. It is a gorgeous charm that says "Mom" on it and it was waiting for me in that beautful teal box. He did good! Now I just have to find something equally as awesome for him on Father's Day! My mom sent me a nice package with lots of cute things. I was able to take to a lot of friends and family today, which was the best part of today ;). My dogs woke me up early and then we had snuggle time for about an hour. They are so spoiled! All in all, it was an amazing day!
My flowers from Nate, My mom sent Clemson baby booties and bibs ;), a pillow and a Tervis Tumbler that had "Mom" and my name on it!
My beautiful charm that says "Mom"! He did good I will def. have to step up my game for Father's Day!
Sweet Stories:
The first story I want to tell is of the extreme kindness of my friends Chessa Foster and Laura Schlaf. There is a neighborhood cat that likes to call my rose bed her potty and now that she has had kittens they use the it as a potty too. I, being pregant, can't handle cat poopie so these AMAZING ladies took it upon themselves to clean out my entire flower beds of all the soiled mulch. They said they didn't want me breathing in that nasty stuff! How amazing are these ladies. It definitly blessed my heart that I have such amazing people around me that would do such nice things to help me out! You ladies Rock!!!
The second story is to brag on a young man named Andrew Scott. I had to go to the doctor bc I had a little scare with the pregnancy and asked Shelia Scott (his mom) to come with me to the doctor's. She had to call Andrew and tell him she might have to pick him up (from his friend's house) if I had to go to the doctor. Well, this amazing kid, at 15 yrs old, went to his friend and asked if he and his parents could pray for me and my safety. Talk about awesomeness!!! Needless to say I went to the doctor and everything checked out fine. What a great young man! That meant so much me ;).
One last story of encouragement came from my Mother in Law. She texted me one day and was telling me that I was going to have a little boy! I, of course being curious, called her up and asked why she was so certain I was having a boy. She then told me about a dream she had. Her husband (Nate's stepfather, who is recently deceased) appeared to her in a dream and told her, "I am watching!" She asked him over and over what he was watching and he finally said , "West, I am watching West," He then made the gesture of swinging his arms like he was holding a baby. Well, as most of you know if we have a son we want to call him WESTin. He then proceeded to tell Nate's mom that he again was watching out for West. This just warms my heart knowing that Tim is watching over our baby. What a great story to tell if we have a boy!
(I just had to tell these stories that have meant so much to me! There are so many more!)
Frequently asked Questions:
When are you due? 11/11/11 funny right!
How far along are you? We are 13 weeks and 2days
How are you and Nate doing with the seperation during pregnancy? We are doing good, I make sure he is included in all of my visits. We thougth long and prayed a lot over having a baby during deployment and it was all God's timing.
What is your biggest pregnancy craving? Chick-fil-la, Panera Bread, and a deli place back home called Schlotzsky's Deli and we have NONE of those here AHAHAHH
Have you had morning sickness? Well, I am kinda out of the first trimester, but YES and I love every minute of it bc it reminds me of the blessing I am carrying ;).
What are you having? We should find out in June and we don't really care what we have!
Who was the first person you told? Besides Nate, probably my mom or one of my friends/neighbors for emergency purposes.
Are you showing yet, if so for how long? Not really, but I can see a difference and feel a difference.
Have you had a sonogram yet? Yes, but only bc I had to get a quick check up for a scare we had. Here in Hawaii you normally don't get one til 20wks so then we will have LOTS to show people!
What has been your worst part of being pregnant so far? I have really enjoyed all of it, I guess having to wait to tell people ;)! and not being able to eat my food cravings. OH and being on Lent for 46 Days and not eating any fried food LOL.
What is your favorite part of being pregnant? Everything!!! Getting to tell people has been fun!
Have you got names picked out yet? Yep!
How much have you gained if any? I have actually lost about 14lbs. the sickness really took its toll.
What is the oddest thing you have experienced so far? Trying to sleep on my side!
How did the baby's father react when he found out? He was beyond excited ;)!
Did you do anything special to tell the daddy, grandparents, ect.? We had a lot of cute things planned and then we just kinda spilled the beans LOL.
Well, that is about all for now! I am going to try to update everyone on here about our journey. Thank you to everyone for your Congrats and well wishes. We espcecially want to thank everyone who has offered to help me move things or carrying things or just volunteer for anything that I might need. We are truly blessed to have such amazing family and friends! Aloha!
Nathaniel and Morgan
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