Christmas/Dr. Appt/Leaving

We had a great Christmas just the 4 of us. Justin made it home in time after being delayed a whole day. It was a very lazy day as we stayed in our pajamas the whole day. Kate had a great time opening her and Brody's presents from Santa. Kate and I had a fun time building a Gingerbread House. It didn't quite look as nice as it did on the box, but we still had fun building it.








I took Brody to the Dr. for his 2 month check-up even though he was only 6 1/2 weeks. The Dr. said babies can get their vaccinations starting at 6 weeks and since we are leaving on Monday, I really wanted him to have his shots before we left.
Brody's stats
Weight- 10 lbs 8oz
Length- 22 3/4 inches
Head circ- 15 inches


It's time to say goodbye to Texas. As the whole family is heading back to Baku on Monday. Kate and I have had a fun 6 months here but are ready to back with daddy/Justin.

All about Kate

I feel like the last couple of posts have been all about Brody, so this one is all about Kate.
Kate is really starting to use her imagination. While playing with her toys she will talk to them or ask them questions. She also loves to have tea parties and make me imaginary food to eat. She has become VERY independent, almost to the point of making me crazy because it may take her forever to do it by herself. She is also very funny, when I told her to go eat dinner she said "I cant, I'm busy". Her definition of busy is watching cartoons. Her latest favorite word to use, is awesome.
Me-Kate look how pretty the Christmas lights look.
Kate-Awesome
Me-Do you want to go to McDonald's for dinner?
Kate-Awesome
I was recently looking through old pictures of Kate and cant believe how big she has gotten and how fast the years have passed. My baby girl is now my big girl. Here are some pictures of Kate on her birthday through the years.
1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

Her teacher at school took this of Kate

School picture

Overseas living

There are alot of positives and negatives about living overseas. The main negative, I'm dealing with is baby necessities, i.e. formula, baby food, diapers, etc. Thankful, BP gives us an air shipment of 2,000 lbs. Then comes the hard part trying to figure out how much formula and baby food to buy. I plan on breast feeding as long as I can, but know I wont be able to do it for longer than 4 or 5 months, so I bought 40 big cans of formula from Sam's. Next, was adding up how much baby food to buy. People in the store probably thought I had 10 kids with how full my cart was with Stage 1, 2 and 3 foods. Your probably thinking, "Don't they have formula and baby food in Baku". I have seen the brand Nestle for formula, but it is not USDA and they recently had recalls on it. Baby food, I've only seen a few choices in Stage 3. Diapers and wipes, they do have, but are way more expensive and you don't get as many in a pack as you get in the states.
So for the last month I have been shopping non stop for baby things. I actually said the words "I'm tried of shopping" to Justin. GASP!!!
Here are a few pictures of what our office looked like before they packed everything.



Even simple things as Gatorade and Red Bull are hard to find.

Charlie Brown Xmas tree

This year, I seriously considered not putting up a tree. I know, I know, I sound like the Grinch. I just couldn't justify buying a $300 tree when we already have one back in Baku. So, my good friend Susie, let me borrow an old Christmas tree that she had. I decided that it would be Kate's tree and she could decorate it all by herself. She was so happy to decorate it and kept saying "I love my tree".
I really think she has a future in interior decorating.

Newborn pics

Brody took his newborn pictures last week. They came out sooooo good. I am absolutely in love with my little man!!

Santa and a new Stroller

Today, I took the kids(still getting use to saying "kids")to the mall to get their picture taken with Santa. Kate hasn't necessary gotten along with Santa the last couple of years. The picture usually ends up with me in it and Kate crying. But this year, we actually got a good picture(w/out me in it). I have been talking about Santa the last couple of days, saying how nice he is and how he brings presents Xmas morning. So, while waiting in line, I reminded Kate how nice Santa is and that little brother will also be in the picture with her. Not too mention I promised her a big cookie if she smiled pretty and didn't cry. Yes, I bribe my child. Well, all the talking and bribing paid off and we finally got a good picture with Santa.

Brody's face is all scrunched up.


I have been looking for a new stroller to hold both Kate and Brody, but didn't want a side by side or a double seater. I wanted something light and easy to steer without feeling like I was pushing a boat. So, after looking online and what other moms were using, I decided to get the Joovy Ultralight Caboose. It's perfect b/c Brody's car seat fits in the front and there is a little seat/step in the back that Kate can either sit or stand on. I used it for the 1st time today at the mall and didn't run anybody over and it was very light to push. It will be perfect for when I have to travel by myself with the kids.

I got it in black