Getting Ready...

We had another baby check-up today. The baby's CTG and ultrasound showed the baby is growing healthy & is as should be for week 32. We were also given the confirmation that as it stands, she will not be able to be born via natural childbirth. My doctor gave us a referral slip to make appointments with the hospital to start making plans for the C-section.

On August 16th, we'll meet with the anesthesiologist at the hospital, fill out all the required forms, take the necessary tests & set the date. The suggested dates from my doctor are September 9th or 10th. That leaves us with seven weeks left to prepare ourselves & our home for the new arrival. It seems so strange to think that another human will soon be joining our little family. It will be interesting to see how Teodor reacts to not being the only full time kid in the house and how Tyler will enjoy having a girl in the family. For their sakes, I hope & pray I will be able to recuperate as quickly as I did when Teodor was born via C-section. We all miss not being able to play as active as we used to, but it just takes time.

Over the next weeks, we'll have several baby check-ups and at least two more check-ups regarding the diabetes. It's nice to know we are being very well cared for even on the German social insurance. We are very blessed to have found good doctors that look out for their patients best interests. Soon as we know the exact date & time of the C-section, we'll spread the word!

Sneak Peak

Here's a sneak peak of Baby Girl Koch at week 30!



She was sleeping while sucking on the side of her hand. The Dr. said from looking at Teodor's photo around that time, that she will probably look a lot like her brother. All depends on hair & eye color. We are very excited to meet our little girl.

It still looks as if she will be brought into this world via C-section, probably some time during the first two weeks of September. It is typical in Germany for scheduled C-sections to be done 7 -10 days prior to the due date. In a couple of days, we start wk 32, so in a few weeks we'll know C-section date.

We are taking the necessary precautions regarding the gestational diabetes to avoid needing the insulin shots. Thank you for your prayers for our little baby girl to grow healthy & be born when best for her.

There are still many things around the house to get done before her arrival, but she wont really notice one way or the other. Teodor & Tyler are big helpers getting her room ready & trying to think of names for her. We still have no clue as to what her name will be. We'll just have to keep praying we'll make the right choice.

Blogging Again!!

Well, after all this time away from blogging, we are taking the plunge back into it to keep our friends and family updated with us! Hopefully we wont slack off for so long again.

We are all doing well. Teodor is growing so fast & is such a sweet little boy. He brings so much joy to our little family. Hard to believe that he will be two years old in a little over three months! Where does the time go?

Our most exciting family news is that Teodor will be getting a baby brother or sister this September!! We are currently 10 weeks pregnant! We've been to the doctor twice already. At the last visit, we could see the little heart beating and got to bring home the first photo. All is proceeding normally. We told Tyler yesterday at lunch & he is also excited, though hoping for a baby girl. He says that since we already have a baby boy, we don't need another one of those. As far as "morning sickness" goes, it's not just in the morning. Evenings tend to be the roughest actually. Certain smells trigger waves of nauseousness. Needless to say, Gerhard gets to change even more dirty diapers these days!
Cravings have also begun! We are blessed with wonderful friends here that help meet cravings that are not available on the German economy. Strangely enough, tater tots are a top craving. Tried to make them from scratch. The first batch was totally NOT edible & the second batch was hardly edible! We went with friends to lunch on base a couple of weeks ago to meet my craving for a good ol' American turkey melt! It was extremely yummy!
During the pregnancy, we wont be flying over to Charlotte, so we've postponed our next visit till Spring 2011. There are friends & family coming over here to visit us this year, which we are very much looking forward to.
Please be in prayer for us to have a healthy, full-term pregnancy and that the baby is developing as he/she should. We've decided not to have the tests done to check for birth defects. We have been greatly blessed & trust in the Lord for the health and protection of this little baby.

Stay tuned for more postings...

Family Visit

We had a fun visit with the family from Charlotte.
Leigh, RyLee & Payton were here for a week & Grandma for two weeks. It was a busy time. Besides the birthday celebrations, we did manage to squeeze in a few other fun things. The photos are mostly from mom's camera, except the ones without the date stamped on them which is our camera. Notice it wound up being chilly most of the time. More photos will be posted on Facebook.

Here we are walking to the Bad Liebenzell park.




RyLee and Payton on one of the toys at the Wild Animal Park in Pforzheim.


This is the Hohenzollern Fortress. The kids loved it & found knight & princess figures to buy for themselves in the gift shop with their money from Gerhard's parents.





This is the Ludwigsburg Palace. The Fairy Tale Garden is located on the grounds as well. Grandma thought we lost her there since we managed to get separated outside the Rapunzel tower, but we knew where she was. There was a bridal photography shoot taking place & Payton thought the bride was the princess. She certainly was dressed the part, so that was a highlight for the kids.

27 May 2009 Tyler's 4th Birthday & Family Arrival

Grandma, Leigh, RyLee & Payton arrived (video to be seen on Facebook). To keep them, we went to Weil der Stadt & walked around. (photos courtesy of mom)



Opening presents and playing at Tyler's house. He turned four years old. His actual birthday party would be on another day since this week is a holiday in Germany & most of his kindergarten friends are away on vacation. The cousins did enjoy running around together. They had not seen each other in a couple of years.

Mother's Day 10 May 2009

We had a beautiful day on my first Mother's Day!
After church, Gerhard & Teodor took me to Block Haus, a steak restaurant in Stuttgart, for a very yummy lunch.
The rest of the day we spent playing at home. I am very blessed to be Teodor's mom. He is always such a joy and brings so much laughter to our home.
Here are also some shots of what's blooming in the yard on this day.

Teodor is 11 Months Old!!

Teodor is 11 months old today, May 3rd. It is amazing how fast he is growing and how big he is already. He is so wanting to walk & loves to practice while holding someones hands. Below is a video of him walking with his Papa (videos don't transfer to FB from Blogger). We decided to stay home from church since Teo has a runny nose and a cough that disturbs his sleep. Usually on Sundays he only gets 20 min. naps in the ride to and from church. He needs more than that when he's got a cold.

Here he is helping unload the groceries bought yesterday, but not yet put away.

Bad Liebenzell Spring Fest 19 April 09

Sunday, 19 April, Tyler went to church with us (his Papa had the flu). Afterwards we had lunch at KFC as a special treat for Tyler since he likes it so much. Since the day was beautiful, we drove down to Bad Liebenzell for the Spring Fest. We had a fun day. The stores in Germany are usually closed on Sunday, but one day a year, the towns can open their stores on special days, like for the Spring Fest. The baby store was having a special 20% off sale, so Teodor got his first shoes. They aren't really made for walking, but they help keep his socks on when we are out & about and keeps them from getting snags when he wants to show off his "practice" walking skills. Naturally, we treated Tyler to some sweets and Teodor had his first taste of ice cream...strawberry!