Update

I realized that amid traveling and baby news I have neglected to give Coast Guard/life updates.  So, here goes.

About a month-ish ago we had a sort of epiphany that Brett was maybe going to the wrong school in trying to be an intelligence specialist.  Instead, he has decided to go to school to be a heavy weather boat driver, or surfman.  In essence, he'll be the one driving the boats in 16 foot waves at night to save people who lost engine power or fell overboard.

This is a big change as far as career goes.  It means that we will be on roughly the same schedule that we have been on for the last two years for the next 20 years, because it does mean a Coast Guard career.  It means that there are only 20 stations that we can actually go to, since they're the only ones who require surfmen.  Mostly they are in small coastal towns in Washington, Oregon, and northern California, with a few on the east coast.  It also means that we will be staying here in Brookings for another 1-4 years.

This is a big shift.  But we have come to realize that this is the best fit for Brett, and he'll be doing what he's always wanted to do.  He has always wanted to work in a capacity that will help people in dire situations and have a lot to do.  At first, he was going to be a nurse practitioner, and he was hoping to work in an ER or somewhere else where he would be in emergency situations.  Now he will be saving people in emergency situations, he'll just be driving a boat in insanely scary conditions to do it.

So that's us right now.

We Must Be Crazy

We just drove home from Portland yesterday.  And it was a crazy trip.

Kennedy threw up twice in the car on the way home.  Noah started dancing and singing to a made up song that went "dip dip dip dip" when we gave him some ketchup on a plate.

We had a great time in Portland (pictures to follow), going to the zoo, hitting up the Nike employee store, playing at the children's museum, eating Cheesecake Factory, and visiting with my mom and my brother and his family.

At the children's museum we kind of had to split up a lot.  The kids each wanted to go in different directions and spend different amounts of time in each spot.  We decided that come September, it will be much harder to go to places like that.  Because when we have 3 we will be outnumbered.  We won't be able to split up as easily.  So maybe we're crazy, but we're also excited to bring the next baby into our family!

Noah Tyson Lee

I lied. I didn't get pictures up yesterday, so I'm putting them up today. I started the day off on Tuesday by giving Kennedy breakfast and one last bath before heading to the hospital with my mom at 9:45. I checked in and got hooked up to all kinds of things while waiting for the doctor. The nurse went through my vein on the first try with the IV (which has resulted in a nasty bruise) so she had to try again on my right hand. Then came the epidural. Compared to last time it was a nightmare. The anesthetist kept pinching a nerve which sent a very painful electric shock down my right leg. Needless to say, I was getting very antsy to get this baby out!

The doctor was (of course, most doctors are) about 40 minutes later than expected, but that turned out to be a good thing because the epidural took way longer than it should have to take effect. The anesthetist kept pinching me, and until we got into the operating room, I could feel it every time. But eventually, I was laying on the table, the curtain was up, and I couldn't feel a thing. Then, at 1:03 pm on March 23, I heard the little screams of my son being born.

It is a weird sensation to have a baby pulled out of your tummy. I felt like everything from my lungs and below was being stretched and pulled out. But then again, Brett and I make big babies. Noah weighed in at 8 pounds 9 ounces and measured 21 inches long. He was even bigger than Kennedy was! He was (and is) extremely healthy and a very welcome addition to our family. He is so good natured and is a wonderful eater and sleeper.

Kennedy wasn't sure how to react at first, so she opted for ignoring me and Noah the first time she came to the hospital. She warmed up quickly though and now is the little helper I knew she would be. A special thank you to my parents: mom for staying with me in the operating room and in the hospital and dad for taking Kennedy while I was in the hospital for 3 days. Thankfully, the day I came home from the hospital was the same day that Brett graduated from boot camp and got to come home! Noah and I met him at the airport (don't worry, my dad drove) and he was able to get Kennedy out of bed this morning. We are all so happy that he is home! You'll have to excuse the bad picture, I am puffy from having a baby and being in the hospital, and it's painful for Brett to smile with his mouth open since the Coast Guard has been doing so much dental work on him.

The bad news is that Brett has to have more dental work done than expected. He opted to come home for a week, but on April 4 he has to go back to New Jersey for 2 weeks to finish up that dental work, so our moving plans are on hold. We don't know exactly when he'll be back, but it's pretty much guaranteed that he will have to miss everyone's birthday. The good thing is that he won't be in boot camp anymore, he will be a base employee, so he will be able to call us everyday. We'll be moving to Oregon as soon as he gets back.

We are so happy to have him home with us for this next week and I know that that 2 weeks will go by much faster than the last 8 have. We are looking forward to starting our adventure with the Coast Guard for real in a few weeks!

Good Thing My Phone Was Charged

Brett had on base liberty last night, and he was able to call me for 2.5 hours! It was wonderful to be able to actually talk to him. I got to hear a lot of stories (including one about his company commander making some recruits smell a girl's feet), got to tell a lot of stories (including how cute Kennedy is when she sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star), and he was able to give me quite a bit of information.

His official report date is April 8th. We will be driving out there via Santaquin to see Brett's parents and pick up our things from them. Apparently at small boat stations (which is what Chetco River is) they are on a rotation like at a fire house. He will be on duty for 2-3 days, sleeping and eating there and answering rescue calls as they come in. Then he will be home for 2-3 days. That is so much better than if he were on a cutter and out for weeks at a time. Our official move date is now March 30, so here is the rundown. 9 days until Noah. 12 days until Brett comes home. 16 days until move time. It's all coming up so fast!

The Mall is HOW Far Away?

We have heard the news! Brett has been assigned to Station Chetco River in Harbor, OR. So in a few weeks, we will be Oregonians! I am more than happy with this choice, even though it is not the one I would have made if I had been calling the shots. Brett is not stationed on a cutter, which is wonderful, because he won't have to leave us for weeks at a time again. I have no idea what his duties or hours will be like, but at least he won't just be gone all the time. This particular station was not on Brett's request list, but it was in a district he requested and we were trying to get the Pacific northwest, so no complaints. Plus, look how gorgeous it is!

A few negatives though. The nearest mall is, get ready for it, two and a half hours away! Holy cow. I've never lived more than 10 minutes from a mall (and usually several) in my entire life. The closest temple is about that far away too. It is in the middle of NOWHERE - literally. Look it up on a map. It's 6 miles from the California border, which is not really a negative, but just adds to the middle of nowhere-ness.

By far I have found more pros than cons though. First off, the weather. Average temperature in the summer is 70 and in the winter is 40. I could not ask for anything better. It looks to be absolutely gorgeous. There is fishing (for Brett), scuba diving and surfing. There are fun family things to do like camping, an annual kite festival, and tide pools. Also, they grow 90% of America's Easter lilies, which are my favorite flower in the world. Apparently you can drive through fields and fields of lilies. There is a full LDS ward there, not just a branch, which is also a huge plus. Government housing is available for us too.

I got to talk to Brett for a full 8 minutes too! He got to hear Kennedy say "daddy" and he was able to give me some good information. He gets at least 5-6 days of leave and he will be able to move up there with us. The Coast Guard will be paying our moving expenses, which is fantastic. All is going well with him and he is scheduled to graduate on time.

I am so excited to go on this adventure! My life is so full right now and I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for such wonderful opportunities and a wonderful husband. We will be having a baby on March 23, Brett will be coming home on March 26, and probably around March 30 we will be packing up and moving to Oregon! We will be busy, busy, busy and I love it!

You Wanna See My Driver's License? or The Joys of Governmental Bureaucracy

First off, bonus points to anyone who can tell me what movie the first half of the title came from. Since Brett and I have decided to become a military family, I guess that we are going to have to get used to dealing with the annoying red tape and long lines that come with it. Thankfully the people in Cape May (USCG boot camp) are very nice and willing to work with us. Somehow they found out that I'm going to be having a baby before Brett comes home and were working with him to get me on military insurance before that happens. First, you have to be entered into DEERS (the military dependent database). That part was easy because Brett took care of it there at boot camp before he called me to give me more info.

Second, get a military dependent ID card. Slightly more difficult. I had to drive all the way to Fort Worth (about an hour away) at 6:30 in the morning, pay $5 to park downtown, and then find out that I had the wrong address. So then I had to drive to the Naval Airbase, which took me an hour when it should have taken me 20 minutes because my directions were wrong - twice. The first time they got me lost in downtown Fort Worth, what with all the one way streets and such. The second time they took me to the east entrance of the base instead of the front entrance, which I wasn't allowed to enter. I finally got there by following some very sketchy directions given to me by a guy at the ID office. I thought there would for sure be a huge line and I would have to wait for hours since I had gotten there an hour after opening. Thankfully there was absolutely no one in line and the people at Cape May were very quick about faxing the paperwork that I needed over. We got all the info entered into the computer, and then the guy told me to switch chairs so he could take my picture. I was sitting in the chair for 60-90 seconds, and I was wondering what was taking him so long and started to wonder whether or not I should ask him if I should smile. Apparently not, because after a while he said, "We're all done." What? Mug shot anyone?

I was slightly miffed at not being told that the picture was being taken, but my sister and sister-in-law had the same experience. Their pictures weren't much better. Then I got stuck in horrendous traffic on the way home. But the point is that I came away with my ID.

Third, fill out and fax in Tricare paperwork. Done. Since I got it all faxed yesterday I will be on military insurance before Noah is born, which means he's free! Yay!

Also, I finally got a letter from Brett yesterday! He said that nothing could have prepared him for what it is like, and that it is worse than the movies, but that he loves it! He said he's doing really well, he loves his company commanders, and that he is enjoying himself. If you're interested in seeing what boot camp is like and watching his actual company commander yell at people, go to YouTube and type in "It's Just Eight Weeks."

Officially Military

Yesterday was the big day. Brett had to report to boot camp, so at 9:00 we arrived at the Coast Guard recruiting station to finish up his paperwork.

Everybody there was very nice. They gave Kennedy a big bag of stuff including a Coast Guard blanket, 2 boats that she can take in the bath and a helicopter. We finished all of the paperwork and then Brett was officially sworn in as a member of the Coast Guard.

As of that swearing in Brett is an active duty member of the Coast Guard. After that we got a little surprise because Kennedy and I were actually able to take him to the airport for his flight to Philadelphia. We got him there just in time and he made it there safely.

He hung out at the USO at the airport and he said that it was totally stocked with hot dogs, sodas, Girl Scout cookies and a bunch of other things that were really tempting him. He was trying to not eat much in order to ensure that he makes weight. :) He got pulled into the office by the guy running the place who asked how old he is. When he said he is 27 the guy told him that his officers would know that before the week was out and that they would expect maturity and leadership out of him, but that that is a good thing. I don't think they will get anything less than that from Brett. Not long after that they got on the bus to go to Cape May, New Jersey where the training is. They had to turn off their phones at that point, so I didn't get to talk to him anymore and probably won't for a few weeks.

In other news, I went to my first baby appointment here in Texas yesterday as well. I got to do another ultrasound and got some great pictures, including one that shows that there is absolutely no doubt he is a boy. :) The doctor felt that medically the whole thing would be safer if we did another c-section this time around, which is exactly what I was expecting him to say. So Noah already has a birthday! He'll be coming on March 23! That's nice because although Brett won't be here, I get to be pregnant for one less week than normal, and I'll be able to have a little bit of recovery time before Brett comes home and we have to move again.

Midway Point!

I am officially halfway done with my pregnancy today! I have gone through 20 weeks and have 20 to go. I haven't even gained 10 pounds yet, which I'm really excited about since I never lost all of my weight from Kennedy. Hopefully my body feels like it already has plenty of weight and I won't put on as much. And the best news is that we had our ultrasound today! This baby is very healthy, no problems, and is measuring just about right for its due date. I know that you are all waiting for the news that you really want to know, so here it is -- it's a BOY! I had my suspicions (call it mother's intuition) and I was right. :) Brett is thrilled and I am excited to have a baby boy! I get to buy a whole new wardrobe too. :) We are having some serious trouble coming up with names, so any help would be great! The middle name is going to be Tyson, so I would love to hear suggestions for a first name.

Semper Paratus

I'm sorry for the double post today - if you would like to enter to win a cookbook, see post below.  I just wanted to follow up on what I said a few posts ago about moving on with our lives.  3 weeks from today Brett will be sworn in to the US Coast Guard.  Yep.  That's our big news.  After applying for the nursing program at UVU and not being accepted by a very small margin, we felt that we needed to find another way to get medical training.  After much praying, thinking, and researching, we have truly felt that this is the path that we need to take.  A couple of weeks ago Brett took the entrance exam for the military (ASVAB) and got a really high score, so he qualifies for any job he wants in the Coast Guard.  He is going to be doing health jobs for them.  He took his physical today and everything, including the pins in his ankle, were okayed.

This does mean that, probably in late September, Brett will be off to boot camp for 8 weeks.  Of course, Kennedy and I are not allowed to be at boot camp (in fact, I don't think he can even use the phone for the first 4 weeks), so we will be going down to Texas for that time.  This means that we will be leaving Utah, and pretty quickly.  We don't know exactly where we'll be right after boot camp, but we will know after he's been there for 6 weeks.  So we have some serious adventures ahead of us!  We are really excited about this new path and the adventures that it will bring.