236th Marine Corps Birthday Ball

I know this is way over due but it has been a busy couple of weeks. Either way here ya go!

The ball was AMAZING!!! There were at least 2000 people there! No I didn't add an extra 0 by accident I meant TWO THOUSAND! Normally, it is not that large instead they usually have one Friday night and one Saturday but because of bad scheduling everyone came to the same ball. Let's do the math. Wyatt's company is just shy of 300 people and his is the smallest at TBS. There were 4 active TBS companies plus their staff, the holding company, Infantry Officer School and the spouses/dates/guests of each Marine. Of course that does not include the waiters, camera crew and others behind the scenes. Even with all of that it was very cool. They had to move the event from the normal venue in the hotel we were staying at to the convention center across the street. (before that night) They had colapsable chandeliers and a dance floor. For those of you who have not been to a ball it begins with a formal ceremony (the traditions are wonderful to watch) then dinner is served, and lastly the DJ starts and everyone is back in their glory daze burning up the dance floor. Yes just like those crazy high school dances, well actually a little more tastfull but just as funny to watch because this is the one night Marines can let loose a little. Very entertaining.

Let's take a step backward. The day began with dropping Zoey off with our wonderful friends parents who were also watching our friends 5 month old and 2 yr old. Due the math that is two little babies and 2yr old. She volunteered and we were asured it would be fine. It was, Zoey did amazing! Next we loaded up in the car and drove and hour and a half to Richmond. We can finally say we have been to Richmond. The next few hours were spent doing makeup and trying to figure how to do our hair by ourselves. (By we I mean our friend Allison and me, we were sharing a room with her and her husband Ryan) It's not easy to do your own hair when you have never done a formal hair style before, but we looked awesome!
Finally the time came and we headed across the street for a fabulous evening! All in all it was the best date night we have had since last year. Actually it is only the third date night we've had since May. I can't wait for next year!
The next week was not the kind of week I had hoped to have. It was definitely the toughest week so far. Wyatt the next Monday for a week and Zoey wasn't liking the time change but we made it through and I am looking to the future. Only one more week in the field before Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

P.S. my spell check isn't working so if I missed something sorry

The return to Oklahoma

This imprompt to trip to Oklahoma was just as bust as the first but not nearly as stressful. Well except for keeping it a secret from everyone. I must say I loved everyone's reactions though when we showed up at Hideaway. Thankfully, we made it in time to see John before he went back to Indiana and David before he left for Afghanistan. Zoey was lucky enough to meet her awesome uncle. While she may not remember this first meeting we will always have the pictures.


A big highlight of the trip was the trick or treating Stillwater puts on before Halloween. Thankfully I brought Zoey's costume with me. She was a homemade ladybug. Our baby girl is too little to fit into any of the costumes made for infants (ha! 0-6 months is quite a gap). Either way she and her fabulous cousins Malaury and Raegan looked so cute! Since she is too small for trick or treating this year this was probably my favorite part of the holiday. Zoey LOVED seeing Raegan she was a little overwhelmed by the baby that could move and was louder but she was so excited to see her.
Speaking of cousins we took the girls to the pumpkin patch. This was quite an entertaining venture. It was a beautiful but windy day. There weren't actually very many orange pumpkins but we were able to get some good pictures of the Zoey with some multicolored ones and Malaury and Raegan trying to dig and eat their way to China. Apparently pumpkin patch red clay tastes wonderful.
The biggest event of the week was meeting Aunt Karen, Sara and Matt and of course Oklahoma State Homecoming. We started the final weekend with the walk around where Zoey proudly sported her team colors. The next morning she attended her very first parade! Even though it was during her nap she was fairly content sitting and watching all the pretty colors go by. Next we hit up a staple of Stillwater, Shortcakes! Unless you have been to Stillwater you won't understand but this is a place that must be visited on these special occasions and any day at 2 AM. Finally, we made it to the family tailgate. This is where Zoey and I parted ways. She spent the rest of her wonderful day with grandma and grandpa Wilson and my mom and I went to the game.
It was a fabulous weekend but we had to get back home to spend Halloween with daddy. The day didn't go as well as we had hoped but we were able to see our old neighbors, hand out candy, an take Zoey to a few neighbors houses for pictures.
There was one final event in this very eventful 10 day span of time. Zoey's first experience withrice cereal. It may have been a messy one but she loved it and ate the whole bowl followed by a full 8 oz of milk 45 min later! We have got a growing girl on our hands! Soon she'll be preparing for Thanksgiving feast.
Stay tuned for the adventures of our very first USMC Birthday Ball

Apples to Zumba

I am sorry that I have not written in a loooonngg time but here I am! The last month has been quite exciting. Zoey is rolling all over the place but mostly to the right. haha She enjoys laying on her tummy laughing at people and "eating" everything within reach. We are beginning to think that she may be crawling by Christmas.

A few weekends ago we took Zoey and Roxy to the Graves Mountain Lodge Apple Festival. It was nice to finally get out and explore something other than the city. It was about an hour and a half drive through the trees down what we would call "back roads" like Western or Fairgrounds from Perkins to Stillwater except these are the main highways and shortest routes to the destination. It feels like you are getting ready to end up in the middle of someone's private property but it was beautiful. Unfortunately the trees weren't changing color yet. I'm sure it is gorgeous right now!

We had decided to visit this festival because it didn't cost anything to get in. All pumpkin patches (or at least the ones I know of) cost just to get into. Since Zoey isn't old enough to do and games it doesn't make sense for us to spend money on thing we couldn't actually take advantage of. Graves Mountain however is free to get into and then if you decide you want to pick apples or a take hayride you pay individually. This was nice for us because we could walk around and look at the vendors, the grounds, the lodge and take all the pictures we wanted.  We parked right next to a friend from church that said she comes every year just for the the "illegal" apple cider. I know you are probably having the same thought I did when I heard this but don't worry it doesn't moonshine or anything in it! Illegal simply refers to the lack of pasteurization, but man it is good stuff!!! They also make their own apple sauce, apple butter, and just about anything else you can thing of that can be jarred.
 This was Roxy's first outing without Riley but she did surprisingly well. She didn't growl at the other dogs and she didn't even hide from most of the people. I was really happy to be able to get her out of the house.

Our church was kind enough to give us a baby shower two weekends ago. Zoey got her new Jumparoo and I am happy to say we now have enough reusable diapers to move to those almost exclusively. The first week went fairly well. They are much bulkier and she looks like a character from Alice in Wonderland when she has a onesie and pants on. Big hips small... everything else. I still have to work out the kinks in regards to leaks but otherwise all is well thus far.

The Jumparoo is amazing!! Zoey can't touch the floor yet but she loves playing in it. She actually wore her self out completely the first day and fell asleep in it. I think it is so cute. While she may not be able to bounce off the floor she is pretty good at bouncing herself when she gets excited and starts kicking. This of course applies when she is on the ground and gets excited except that usually includes eating the floor or whatever is in front of her open mouth at that moment.
This totally adorable picture was taken while I was at my Zumba instructor training. Yes you read that right after 3 and half years I finally went through the process and am now a licensed Zumba instructor! I am so excited!!! I do not have a place to teach nor am I ready for one. I need to figure out the choreography for an entire hour plus figure out how to teach it. I know that sounds a little strange but I have to figure out what cues to give people so that they know what steps to do. I am a bit nervous about that but I have a few wonderful friends that have volunteered to be my guinea pigs.

We are currently in Oklahoma while Wyatt has "fun" in the woods. I won't write about that now because I want to save all the fun for one post. That being said I will talk at ya again soon.

There and back again

Hello all!

Sorry it has been so long. I had planned to try and write while in Oklahoma but let's be serious that wasn't realistic. BUT now we are back and I can tell you all about it!

Zoey was AMAZING!!! We started the big week with a trip to DC with our friends the Roops. This was both Zoey and Aubrey Roop's first metro ride. It was a great day. We went to the Natural History and Air & Space museums and had a picnic under a tree on the mall. It was a Beautiful day!

The kids did very well and the adults had a nice day out of the house with other people.

 Next came the big day. This was another day of firsts for miss Zoey. Allison Roop was gracious enough to give us a ride to the airport. The ride was fairly uneventful aside from the 5.8 earthquake! don't worry we were fine. Actually we couldn't feel it because we were in the car but our husbands sure did. They were fine as well but definitely felt the shaking in the barracks. No damage at the house either. ANYWAY, Check in went smoothly but so much for people helping out single parents in line for security. The guy in front of me was purposely trying to ignore me. Even when I tried to get his attention to move his basket so I could get my stuff. NOT COOL DUDE! Other than that everything went well. The first flight worked with her schedule really well but holding a baby for three hours gets tiring. The Denver USO was a nice break for both of us though. Thankfully the second flight wasn't full, actually it wasn't even half full, so they let me take her car seat on with me. That was great because I fed her and she was down for the night. the flights back went just as well. She was a little fussy before the flight but fine before we took off. Oh yeah we were able to get a picture in the cockpit with the pilot!

Oklahoma itself was just as we left it. Only hotter since we left in March. The next few day were a bit of a blur preparing for my lovely cousin's wedding and seeing people I had not seen in a long time. Again Zoey did as well as you can expect meeting a TON of new people. The wedding was beautiful and so was our baby girl.

The next few day were spent visiting new people and old friend and family. We picked the perfect time to go home for two reasons. First we missed the hurricane, no damage, and second, it was the first OSU game of the season! Zoey and I went around to enjoy the pregame festivities and then my dad picked her up and my mom and I met Latasha, Donna and Marie for a little Poke Smoke and football! GO Pokes! (I took a pic of her in her OSU gear but I don't have it on this computer) IT was a great 2 weeks and we were ready to see Wyatt but not ready to leave home. Be back soon.

Now we are here holdin down the fort while Wyatt plays camps across the street from his car all week. Haha it's not that simple but the least they could have done was taken away temptation! At least that is how I would have felt.

One final thing. I plan to enter miss Z in the Today show's cutest baby contest but I am having a tough time deciding on a picture. So if you think I should put up one of the pictures I have previously posted let me know and be ready to vote when the time comes!

Love to all and I will see you soon

pictures from the last few weeks

Here are a few picture from the last few weeks

Two month shots and first nights alone

Well we have officially completed the first two months of Zoey's life. Sounds odd I know but we weren't able to get her into the doctor until August 8th so we did not truly go through all the experiences. But by golly we have now. The appt went well. She, unlike the home nurse, was not concerned about the fact that she wasn't eating until 7:30. Actually her nurse was quite impressed. We are still having a few hiccups with the sleep schedule though but we will get into that in a minute. She weighs 10lbs 8oz and is 22 in long. I was a little afraid the doctor wouldn't like her progress but she seemed pleased. We have a little petite sweetie on our hands. She is now in more 0-3 month clothes but I'm trying to get her through her newborn outfits at least once. It isn't that they are too small as they are too short. She seems to be growing in her torso more than anything but her waste is still so small that I am not sure she will be able to wear some of her 0-3 mon outfits. A lot of the tops already fit her but the pants just slide right off. I wish I had that problem. haha Sorry back to the doctors appt. Her check up went well but the doctor did order an ultrasound to check on a dimple she has at the base of her spine. The doctor didn't seem too worried just wanted to make sure everything is ok but it doesn't seem to bother Zoey. The appt is scheduled for Monday and the doctor will call me when she has the findings. The shots went as expected for Zoey. i went in to the room with m AT mind set of this has to happen and she's going to cry but she is OK. I bet this made the nurses question me because I didn't get emotional at all I just tried to calm her down. I think Wyatt would have had a hard time though. Thankfully she had no side effects. She wasn't even sleepy. (I wish she had been I needed the nap)
As I was saying we are having a few problems at night because she still wakes up for her pacifier at some point between 4:30 and 6:00. I'm not sure why because she'll take it and go right back to sleep so she isn't THAT hungry. I'm afraid we are making it a habit so if she wakes up after I give it to her the first time it is her responsibility to put herself back to sleep. This doesn't take longer than 30 min. I don't expect her to get it immediately I just don't want her to make it a routine.
This weeks has been a big one. First the doctors appt and shots and then our first two nights with out Wyatt. Sadly it wasn't too far off from the last few days because he has gotten home so late and had to get up so early for riffle week that I only saw him for about an hour anyway. I have a feeling that he may have gotten more sleep last night in the field than he has in the last three weeks coming home. I am very excited to see him though. I dressed little girl up in her "I love daddy" shirt and made him a pot roast. Of course he still won't be home until at least 9 pm BUT he is suppose to be off around midday tomorrow!!!! He will spend most of that time sleeping but he will be home.
(I feel like I am using the words "I" and "but" a lot. Mrs. Robby would be unhappy)
For all of you in OK it is now under two weeks before I get home!!! I am so excited and nervous. Excited for obvious reasons. I get to see family and friends and nervous because my dress still hasn't come in and I don't know if I have lost enough for it to fit and I don't know how well Zoey will do on the plane. I plane to feed her to help her ears adjust but the easiest way is by bottle. If I get there early enough I will use the USO lounge (because I can hehe) to pump and give her a bottle other wise I hope the person sitting next to me doesn't mind me breastfeeding. Well I have to go feed her now and get ready to feed my very tired and hungry husband.
Love and blessings to all.

2 months!!!!

I can't believe it! Our Lil baby girl is two months old! I have said it before but it's true the days go slow but the weeks fly by. It is very exciting to see her change all the time and learn more about the world around her. She is grinning and smiling all the time and starting to find her voice with little goos and coos. I left a nice little surprise at the end of the video (if it works).

Tonight was exciting as well. First during her nap she rolled onto her back! Unfortunately we did not see it but Wyatt put her on her stomach and when we checked the monitor she was on her back. Now she did have a little help because her arm was already under her but I'm still proud of her! THEN, she showed how strong she was by holding up her head and looking around while on her stomach for almost a minute! That doesn't seem like a long time until but for her it is quite a while.

I am a bit upset I must say because I did not know about the Gerber baby photo contest until after it was too late to submit our beautiful baby girl. SO if anyone sees any other contests let me know we have a few good pictures I would like to submit.

I guess I should discuss the rest of the family. Riley and Roxy are rather upset with me for not giving them more attention and being stuck inside all the time. If Roxy wouldn't dig out of the yard I would put them in our neighbors yard and they would be happy but noooo that would be to easy.

Wyatt just finished his first week of Rifle week. The name is by no means accurate since it actually lasts 3 weeks. He almost had to spend his first night on base but decided he needed to get away so he came home and went to bed early just to get up at 3 am. Yuck. There were a few "funny" parts about this week such as Wyatt's rockin sun burn. His cover (hat) left an interesting tan line on his face and you would have to ask on which wrist he wears his watch. I won't sugar coat it though this week was pretty tough for him.

I bought my dress for my lovely cousin's wedding. I love the dress don't love the size. I have to keep reminding myself that it has only been 2 months and I only lack 6 lbs to get to my pre-prego weight. I will just have to alter the dress once the rest of the nastiness is gone.  Thanks to my fellow wives we are working on making that happen sooner rather than later. Speaking of wives I am hosting my first get together at my house on Monday and have my first Fox company spouses event Wednesday. Wish me luck!

I'm going to wrap up this fabulous update with a little bit of bragging. We received our bill from the hospital two weeks ago and our cost was $33.70. Now I knew Tricare was good and we only had to pay $16 per day but that was before I had to have surgery. Imagine my shock when I unfolded the bill and saw that we saved over $20,000! If nothing else we will be staying in the Marines long enough to have another baby! haha

God Bless and talk at ya soon

Here we go...

Our little girl is 6 weeks old!!! It is amazing how quickly the weeks go by when the days can be so long. As sad as it is to see her grow out of certain stages it is exciting to see what she is growing into, and I don't miss some of those "moments" that are now behind us.
Zoey is just starting to grin! She has had a few for me but we are working on what makes her smile so that I can catch one on camera. I'm sorry to everyone that I have not been taking and sending out lots of pictures but when the girl takes an hour to eat it only leave us with 30 min of wake time before she gets cranky and is ready for a nap. Not a lot of time to do much when you have to keep her upright for 10-15 min because of reflux. I promise I am working on it.
So this last week I was surprised by my cousin letting me know that she is engaged! This is very exciting however the wedding has been planned for 6 weeks from now! I have a lot of work or should I say working out to do between now and then. I have a few pounds to lose to get back to pre-prego weight but I would like to drop more than that total. We will just have to see how much I can get off before then. All that being said I have survived my first two days at the gym. Day one... rough. the relationship between the elliptical and I was severely damaged over the last 10 months but I think we are on our way to developing a stronger bond. My biggest concern of the day though was whether I would still be able to pick up and hold Zoey after working my shoulders and chest but I think it will be more of an issue after arms on Friday. My timing for starting my work out is perfectly coinciding with a Zumba jam at the gym on Saturday. I am VERY excited because I thought they didn't have Zumba but they do!!!!! YAY!!!!
PS Beth Watt look out I am hitting your gym a lot when I get back in Aug!
I would like to say a BIG thank you to my fabulous sister in-laws who just spent about a week with us. They allowed me to feel "normal" and have a break without worry. They are great with their niece and I know she loved having you around. She also loved that big black circle from the camera. With that being said we took A LOT of pictures while they were here and they have been posted on a shutterfly site. Please feel free to take a look at our beautiful little girl! http://earlydaysofzoeykathrynewilson.shutterfly.com/ Enjoy!

One month!!

We did it! The three of us have survived the first month. I will say the last week has been a true test, but thanks to my wonderful family we get a lot of support from 1500 miles away! While it may be trying it is well worth it and I know that soon we will get over this first hill and move on to bigger and better things. Many things have changed over the last month. For instance Zoey has slept through the night and I mean straight through the night. She did scream for an hour and a half first but it is a step toward making it every night. I too have made a break through. I can now fit into a pair of regular pants! my goal is to be in all my shorts by the 6 week mark! What makes me really excited though is the fact that I haven't even had a chance to start working out yet so the rest "should" be taken care of pretty quickly once I can get to the gym.

 Now then, lets have a quick recap of the last month. One month ago I was in the hospital enjoying the fruits of my labor, literally. She was 7 lbs 2 oz 19 3/4 inches long. My parents were here to welcome us home and pick some crab before finishing off their very full month of traveling with a wedding in AZ. After a few days of recovering just the three of us we were graced with a visit from my loving in-laws. While here they gave us the wonderful gift of date night! (Be prepared any future visitors it's your turn next!) We have now been keeping the home fires burning for about two weeks just the three of us. The first day alone was a tough one but things began to settle down and I was able to get a routine started. Of course that was short lived. The last week or so has been rough but as I have been reassured we are in the midst of the toughest times and quickly making way toward brighter days. I believe them. Today, so far, has been a glimpse of those brighter days. She has been more of what they would call an "angel" baby. Not that she isn't an angel but let's face it how many people have a baby that doesn't cry? I was finally brave enough to get out on my own and go to the store where a side from a short crying bout at the register everything went smoothly. She doesn't like to wake up and not know where she is but who does?

Miss Zoey has made some other amazing breakthroughs in the last month as well, duh. After a slight "scare" about weight loss when leaving the hospital she has gained just over a lb and can technically start wearing the bigger girl diapers. Not that they really fit yet but now she weighs what the package says. Haha. She has decided she likes baths but not with a wash cloth. She is now a little ticklish and will even smile a little to let you know. We are still working on smiling at people. She loves to go to people's houses with a lot of noise and sleep straight through it. I will say I had not seen her that calm and go down for a nap so easily in at least a week like she did when we went to a girl's lunch at a friend's house. We will be doing that more for sure. As mentioned before she now knows she can sleep through the night we just have to get her to do it. Lastly, something I learned today, I do believe she would rather take her naps on her tummy than on her back. Don't worry she will still be on her back at night and in a swaddle. She doesn't mind it at night. Oh yes I forgot! She is sleeping in her bed room all night now so we don't have to worry about being ready for bed after putting her down and Wyatt can actually get ready for work in our bathroom instead of the guest room. It's the little things lol

I know there will be many more wonderful changes to come but I will miss some things from the early days. Here are a few photo reminders of those days.

Three weeks!

Well we have made it past the first doctors appointments. All three of them! Traditionally they do not have that many but as miss Zoey decided to lose 11% instead of 10% the doctor was nervous about her hydration. No matter the fact that they weighed her after I had only had a chance to feed her once after a 6 hour nap. Really I couldn't get her to eat for 6 hours she was a little tired. So as a result we had to see a doctor within 48 hours of leaving the hospital. By the time we saw the doctor she had already gained back a few ounces. The doctor still wanted to see us two days later to weigh her again and then for her two week appointment 1 week later. By the time she was 6 days old she had gained all her weight plus 1 ounce but the doctor still sounded concerned. I was surprised since most babies don't gain back all their weight until 14 days or more. By 13 days old she was eating great and we felt good about her check up. They weighed her on a different scale because the room we used before was in use. This scale said she had gained 2lbs in 1 week!! Needless to say we were shocked and the doctor was "pleased". Sorry to burst your bubble Ms. doctor but the lactation consultant weighted her yesterday, one week later, and she only weighed 7 lbs 13 oz. Don't worry though this is a good weight gained and more understandable than 2 lbs in one week! The point is she is growing and healthy no matter which scale you go by.

Things have obviously been busy the last three weeks. My parents were here to welcome us home, but sadly I don't feel like we really got to see them. I guess that's how it goes when recovering from our recent events. Next Wyatt's parents came to see their first grandbaby. While we still didn't get to go out and do much because Zoey decided to move into her more fussy stage they were able to go out and see the sights. They also gave us a huge gift of a "final" date night to the movies. I don't know when we will be able to easily get out and see a movie or have a date night. We did however venture out to the pool for the first time. I am glad I was able to find a newborn swimsuit for her. It have to say it is quite cute! Afterward she received her second sponge bath at home and was very unhappy.

This week has been a trying one for all of us. Wednesday was my first day home alone and it was rather overwhelming. Wyatt, poor guy, came home to two crying girls. Things have been better since then but we are still working on the little things. Like what time to start the day. This was the last week to watch our neighbors daughter in the morning so I can try to get her on a schedule that doesn't have me waking up at 5:30 AM and won't wake Wyatt up 30 min before he is suppose to get up for work. I'll let you know how this goes.

We have discovered that even though she may not like sponge baths Zoey does seem to like regular baths, or at least doesn't hate them. She sat very calmly in the warm water and let us wash her with out any problems. Another thing she has decided she doesn't mind. Taking naps in her own crib! She still sleeps in our room at night but she takes her naps in her room where I can close the door! This is also a big step to getting her use to sleeping in her crib at night. We aren't in a huge rush to get her in her room because in all honestly that is more work for me but by the time Wyatt starts training she will be in her room full time and hopefully close to sleeping through the night.

I will leave you now with a few more pictures and lots of love.

Happy Father's Day to the best daddy ever!