Merry Christmas!

Tom and I had a very good Christmas, but are wishing we could have been home with family. We are of course, very thankful that we are able to spend the holidays with each other though. On Christmas Eve we made cranberry bread and a lasagne and bread sticks for dinner (traditional for the Bryants :) ), and I also made a pasta salad to take over to a friend's get together the next day. We also went to midnight Mass, which was suprisingly not too crowded. Our parish started doing two vigil Masses, so I think a lot more people went to those rather than the midnight Mass. Christmas morning we slept in (we're enjoying it while we can!!) and opened presents. We also had some cranberry bread and coffee for breakfast, mmm :). We watched one of the movies Tom gave me (Wall-E, it's a very cute and funny Pixar movie), and then went to the dining facility on base to celebrate with Tom's boss and some co-workers. They served a really great dinner, and it was nice to spend some time with everyone. After that, we went over to our friend's place and had another dinner with all of our friends. It is so difficult for all of us being away from family especially during Christmas, and we have a least one friend who wasn't able to be with her husband, but being with good friends helps. There was a lot of good food, and we also brought a feuerzangenbowle. It's a traditional German thing, where you basically make spiced wine, and then pour brandy or rum over a suger cone that sits above the bowl of wine. You light the siger cone on fire, and then the sugar and rum drip down into the wine. Tasty! Tom had a lot of fun putting it together, and our friends got a kick out of it.

Christmas is almost here!

A couple weekends ago my friend Mariko and I went to look at Christmas trees, and I was going to hold off until Tom got here to get one, but they didn't have very many and I was worried about the selection being awful by the time he got home. So...I picked one out, and once I got it home I realized how huge it was! We had talked about getting a smaller one, that was no taller than Tom. I had to cut a little more than a foot off the top of it just to stand it up! And I had to rearrange the dining room too. I think next Christmas we'll pick out the tree together - Tom has much better perspective than me :). So, here's a few pictures of us decorating it. We actually had to move all the ornaments off the bottom half of the tree because Jaeger was being an imp and knocking them all off!

I also posted a belly picture, I'm about 26 weeks right now. We had an appointment on Tuesday, and everything checked out just fine! It's really neat to hear Julia's heartbeat every visit. Tom and I were watching a National Geographic show on how babies develop in the womb, and they said that sometimes you can hear the baby's heartbeat through the skin. Last night Tom tried doing that, but he couldn't hear her. I think she punched his head though, and he said he could hear her moving around, and it sounded like when you're underwater in a pool moving around. I thought that was so cool!! It's really nice having Tom home, he's been able to feel Julia move around every day now. I was also really sick yesterday, so it was nice to have him here to take care of me :).

Growing Girl

I definitely look (and feel) pregnant now!! I'm about 24 weeks along, and I think Julia has grown a lot in the last couple of weeks. I had a doctor appointment on Thursday and everything is going along just fine. It was a neat session too, because we talked about different relaxation techniques we can use throughout the pregnancy, and espcially during labor. We also talked a lot about nursing and the benefits to that.

These are pictures of our house/apartment too (I'm not very good at blogging because I kept accidentally deleting pictures...so all the photos are sort of out of sequence...). It's much smaller than our old house, but very cozy, and perfect for our little family :). I think the cats sometimes get cabin fever, but we'll make then outdoor cats when we move back to the states, so I'm sure they'll much happier in a couple years!

Everything is going well for us - Tom is doing great at his training and is in the final stretch! I've started my new job and it's going really well. I'm doing 12 hr. shifts, but overall it's less hours and more days off than my last job. I really like the work and the people I'm working with too, so that's certainly a plus. It's also gotten very cold here in the last few days, and it's even been snowing! It had all melted by this morning, but I just looked outside, and it's snowing again. Hopefully, we'll have snow for Christmas too :). Enjoy the photos!

Baby Bump!

I finally started showing, but just a little. A couple weeks ago, Tom said I look like I just ate a big Thanksgiving dinner, but what a cute Thanksgiving dinner!! :). I am wearing maternity clothes now, particularly pants (a lot of my shirts I can still get away with, for a little bit longer). I am wondering though, why we don't wear maternity pants all the time? They're so comfy! I'm definitely saving these suckers for the many Thanksgiving dinners we have ahead of us (can you tell I am thinking about food a lot?).

Everything is going very well for Tom and me. I'm moving to a new job in about a week, with hopefully less hours and a little less stress (at least once I get settled in, that is!). It'll definitely be a good change for our family. Tom is also doing well, he's been going fishing a lot with one of his buddies he met at training, and just enjoying being in the States - albeit, away from his family. We did find out a little bit ago, though, that he'll be coming home a few days early, so we're very grateful for that!

Julia Hope :)

I had an ultrasound at 18 weeks a little bit ago (I'll be 20 weeks on Tuesday - halfway there!), and we found out we're having a girl! We're both very excited, of course, and seeing her again makes us more anxious to meet her. She was moving around a lot during the ultrasound, and was even sucking her thumb, and playing with her toes! At one point it looked like she was chewing, so I think she'll be a good eater, she's already practicing! I've also been feeling her move around a lot more, and it's really reassuring. Especially when I'm sitting still or laying down before falling asleep, she gives strong kicks, and I can sort of feel her shifting positions. I'm still not showing very much, but I'm definitely growing. Enjoy the photos :)

Happy Birthday!

Friday was Tom's birthday, he's getting old! Although he didn't do anything special, except go to class that day, we celebrated the weekend before he left. I made him a mango cheesecake...or at least attempted to. The mango glaze I made didn't turn out so well, but the cheesecake part was good! We also had a nice dinner out, and it was nice to get some time together, away from work and everything. I got him a super-duper knife he's been wanting for a long time, and framed a photo of baby. I also got him a air freshner thing that is the same scent as the ones in our house, so he could take it back to the states and have a little piece of home with him. He's had a very interesting and exciting year, and hopefully the next one will be just as good, if not better! Happy Birthday TOM!!!

OSU Baby

A few weeks ago, Tom had to get some OSU stuff to show his pride at work. The deputy commander of his unit was always flashing his school's colors, and rubbing it in his face, all in good fun of course! So, Tom decided to get a Beavers banner and foam finger (he cracks me up!!) to take into work. He also got baby's first Beavers gear! Tom opened the package at work and was showing everyone the outfit, he's such a proud daddy already!!

Random Photos

Madison being cozy in the sink...she's an odd one!

Jaeger and Madison cuddling - a rare moment

Jaeger trying to fit his chunky butt in a paper bag...

"Owner" (a.k.a. Tom) and Jaeger

Relaxing at home!

Mom, Dad, and us enjoying a snack at a castle on the Rhine River!

It's been a little bit since I've posted anything...and I finally got some of our more recent photos a little bit more organized. The cats even have their own photo folder now!! We're all doing well, Tom's back in the states for a little while doing training, and me and the cats are holding down the fort while he's gone. I was telling him that I didn't realize how much he spoils me unitl he's not around to do it! He certainly is a wonderful husband and an amazing man :). Enjoy the photos!!

Our Wild Child!

Today we had our first real prenatal appointment. We were told that it was only going to be a check-up and we might get to hear the heartbeat, but that was it. Well, we got a whole lot more! First the doctor (I'm calling her a doctor, but she's really a midwife) said, well, I'm going to try to find the heartbeat, but don't panic if we can't find it. She couldn't find, and of course, I was still worried, but then she said she'd do an ultrasound. It was so amazing! Our baby was so active, and was moving around the whole time. The dr was getting frustrated because she was trying to get good measurements, but the baby was moving around so much she was having a difficult time doing it. Tom and I were laughing, it's a renegade baby!!! We saw the baby have the hiccups, curl up, stretch out, and even put his hand in mouth. It was so incredible to be able to see our baby for the first time. This one picture is really cute, I think he's waving hi to us :). We'll post the other photos when we get them scanned in.

Last Lonely Weekend...For Awhile!!

Hey Everyone,

We haven't been good about blogging...so here's the latest update:

Tom's been busy packing up, and Jessica's been busy cleaning and organizing the house, getting it ready for Tom to move in!! This is the last weekend we'll be apart, hopefully for a good while. Tom will eventually have to go back to the States for a few weeks of training, but probably not for a few months. Jessica started her new job a couple weeks ago, and has been really busy! There's lots of work to be done, and not enough hours in the day. So, other than that, not a whole lot is going on. Oh, please say some prayers for Tom, he's been having a weird allergic reaction to something that we're having a difficult time pinpointing, and the hives/rash he has is really uncomfortable :(. When he gets here, we'll post lots of pictures of him moving in!!!

Heidelberg & Spain

A couple weeks ago, on Tom's latest visit to Germany, we visited Heidelberg and Spain. We decided to go to Spain to see somewhere a little more foreign and explore. We actually both got a little homesick, but at least we learned something about ourselves - we're homebodies! The first few pictures are from Spain - drinking sangria, watching the sunset, looking out over the blue blue water, and hanging out on the boardwalk. Heidelberg is especially close to our hearts, since that is where we first met and got to know each other as friends. Most of the pictures we took there are at the castle, and the old bridge. We had a great visit, and were so happy to see each other after 4 months of being separated by many miles and a big ocean!

Our First Post!

Welcome to our blog! It'll be a little rough around the edges for a bit, but enjoy!