Christmas 2017

Christmas this year was super simple.  We knew that we would be welcoming Sena just a little bit beforehand so we had no expectations for the holiday just wanted to enjoy some quality family time. 

Ready for Christmas Eve church

Opening gifts from cousins

The girls woke up at their usual time (please Lord can we get a few more years of this?!) and we headed downstairs.  Mara was a tad disapointed as she was convinced that it would snow on Christmas Day, that this act of weather would define the holiday.  Hunger quickly was forgotten when they saw that the stockings were filled.  We told them we would open stockings but then it was breakfast time!

Mara was a serious joy to watch.  She was really into it and I found it interesting how quickly she grasped onto the idea of Santa.  Santa is something we have never really reinforced or encouraged.  We're kind of indifferent about the idea but she was insistent this year so Santa brought the stockings.  ;)

Maddy helping with the fire before presents

American girl dolls for the win

Breakfast was homemade pancakes which Mara helped make.  She has really become a little baker and enjoys being in the kitchen with me. 

After we ate we passed out presents and got to it.  The girls were fun to watch as they both really grasped the whole concept of opening the gifts and why we had presents.  We got them both American Girl Dolls for their one gift from us.  It was my hope to give them their own baby as we just added a baby to our family.  Maddy was hilarious and so expressive when opening hers.  I knew she would love it even more than Mara.

They both loved this talking tea set

Concentrating hard on opening

They also got Lincoln logs, legos, accessories for their dolls, outdoor play toys and doll furniture.  Everything has been a hit in its own right.  They bounce from new toy to new toy enjoying all.  Maddy loves her new blow up horse from my brother and her talking tea pot from Aunt Mary.  Mara is loving her duplo legos from Aunt Mary and keeps serving us her new cupcakes from Grandma and Grandpa.  The matching jammies were also big hits with both girls!

Bonus presents were brought up from the basement

Poor Sena didn't get any presents this year! We were just thankful to have her with us!!

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, watching football and enjoying our new toys.  We skyped with family and ate some yummy food for dinner! Can't wait till next year when we have three little girls ripping paper off presents!

Grandma & Grandpa scored with matching pjs

Dolly bunk beds

Germany-The Fun Stuff

Germany wasn't all medical all the time.  We did get to enjoy some of the creature comforts of the U.S., have dinner with old friends and explore the oldest city in the country!

Like I mentioned in the previous post, we got to enjoy some of our U.S. favorites while in Germany.  I know you're probably confused a little.  The states in Germany?  Well we were on the Air Force Base while there so everything is pretty much like it is back in the US.  We ate at Chili's, got Baskin Robbins Ice Cream and picked up our favorites at the commissary.

I'm usually one to fully emerge myself in a country and not be too phased by the lack of creature comforts but I was needing my dose of 'Merica and the base definitely provided!

One thing I am so glad we got to do was have dinner with our good friends The Peters!  We were stationed in Kenya with Adam and got to know Cathy and Caitlin well when we were all living in Fayetteville.  I'm so glad that we could take a night and just sit down and enjoy each other's company.  Mara loved the extra attention dragging Adam, Cathy and Caitlin to go play!  I love how no matter the time we can always pick up right where we left off :)

Since both Maddy and Josh got clean bills of health we had Wednesday to do whatever we pleased.  (We had originally scheduled this extra day just incase more testing or appointments needed to be done)  Josh did some research and we were off to Mainz.  Mainz is the oldest town in Germany with structures dating back to Roman times.  The drive was fairly easy and we arrived there in good spirits.

Up to this point Mara had been a dream but she chose this moment to just let the full fledge toddler twos shine through.  It was a hard first hour but we push through (despite wanting to give up and call it good) and saw some of the town.  We toured two churches and stopped for delicious Italian in the old part of the city.  Mara and I got homemade pasta while Josh went with the pizza.  Amazing!

The day wasn't as packed full as we would have liked but we were able to see a few things and get off base which was a win in my book.

Thursday was spent driving back to Frankfurt to catch our plane.  Again we had a flight through Turkey.  We finally landed in Tbilisi at about 1 am, got the girls in the car and made our way home.  We all passed out because (crazy us) were headed out the door the next morning for a Memorial Day camping trip!!

Germany-The Health Stuff

At the end of May we took a quick family visit to Germany.  We had been planning on tagging along with Josh, who had a medical appointment, but ended up there for reasons of our own.  Maddy has always had a bit of a different head shape.  I'm sure in the grand scheme of things the shape is completely normal.  It just caught our attention because frankly Mara's head was perfect.  We brought this up to our pediatrician here and took pictures for our health insurance.  It was enough evidence to warrant a trip to Landstuhl for some additional testing.

Maddy's first flight...wearing the same outfit as Mara did on hers!

The girls did great on the plane rides.  We flew through Istanbul and then onto Frankfurt.  Maddy slept through most of her first plane ride while Mara kept entertained by the in flight shows and looking out the window.  I was really impressed by Turkish Airlines and we'll likely fly them again in the future.

You got to do what you got to do

As soon as we arrived we grabbed our bags....of course Maddy's stroller was the absolute last thing to come off the plane...and made our way to the rental car place.  Getting the car was simple it was getting the seats installed that was a real headache.  What is it about European cars?  I couldn't find the anchor clip for Mara's seat ending up wrapping it around something else and then the seat belt didn't lock for Maddy's!  I hate having to worry about this when we travel.  I mean the seats should just work!!

She's all like I'm a pro with this flying thing

Anyways after about 45 minutes of wrestling them I was somewhat satisfied with their safety and it was off to the base.  Thankfully after a bit of playing around with the GPS we got it switched to English and our destination plugged in.  That night we laid low, ate at Chili's and enjoyed a slice of America ;)

Maddy's appointment was early so she had to stop feeding at 3 that morning.  This made me so nervous.  I went in about 15 till and fed her really trying to completely empty myself and get her super full.  It must have worked because she was a happy girl for the morning!  We headed in and got her pre-test paperwork filled out.

This was the longest part of the whole day.  We had the pediatrician come in then the anesthesiologist.  Finally at about 9:15 they were able to administer the sedative.  I was so nervous about this as I couldn't imagine my 4 month old being put under.  Thankfully it was just a nasal spray and no iv's had to be put in.  They let me carry her down to the CT scan and place her in the brace.

I was a Mama Bear mess this day

The test itself was so quick I barely had time to go to the restroom before they were calling me back to pick her up again.  I was so thankful that Josh was also there to watch Mara as I got to go into the recovery room with Maddy and feed/hold her.  Once they established her oxygen levels and temperature they let us take her home.  The rest of the day she slept a lot but overall did great!

Mara was such a trooper.  We may have broken the no eating rule...

Our second day in Germany was spent back at the hospital.  We first went to Maddy's consultation with the pediatrician to get the results.  He said her fontanels were still pretty open and he wasn't super concerned with the shape of her head.  He went on to mention that the helmets we thought we may have to get really haven't been shown to do much.  They are costly and Tricare doesn't even cover it! In fact he imagines the shape of her head will get better and rounder with time as she learns to sit up on her own. I am thankful to spare her that.  It would have been hard to coordinate that living in Georgia.

After Maddy's clean bill of health, Josh had his follow-up appointment too.  He got the all clear too and we spent the rest of the night relaxing at our apartment on base.  I am so thankful that we were able to travel together to Germany.  I wouldn't have wanted to face Maddy's appointment alone and was so thankful to have Josh alongside.  I am grateful that we don't have to wonder anymore and have confidence that her head is okay.

Life With Two

Adjusting to life with two has had it's good days and bad.  I can't imagine our lives without Maddy and we feel really complete as a family of 4.

There has been those days where I just have to laugh and say yeah I'll look back one day and smile at this:

1. Grocery shopping is literally an Olympic sport at this point.  Get Mara in the cart.  Strap Maddy on.  Steer that crazy contraption through the stores (why do carts have those crazy all radial wheels on them anyways?!) Somehow make it to the checkout before you're screaming at the toddler and the baby is melting down.

2.  And those grocery bags.  How exactly are you supposed to haul the kids plus the groceries up the elevator from the parking garage?  Not only do I try to grab every bag I can manage in one trip but at least one girl is asleep if not both.

3.  Getting out the door.  I mean it happens and we make it but doing it in less than 15 minutes.  Yeah it goes something like put Maddy in the bouncer. Find the toddler.  Get said toddler to go to the potty.  Make up some crazy dance to get her to sit down.  Finally she pees.  Jump up and down for the baby's amusement.  Get shoes on the toddler.  Oh you don't like these shoes ok go pick out another pair!! Grab the diaper bag, shoes for myself, keys, sunglasses, coats, .....oh wait the baby!!

4. The mail.  So we don't have the typical mail delivery service and have to go get it at the embassy.  This means usually the double stroller which may I mention barely fits through the doors here.  Those Europeans and their door size but don't get me started there.  Then I have to push said stroller through too many doors to count.  The mailmen always look at me like I've grown a third head.  Yes I have two kids.  Yes I need to pick up all those packages.  We'll manage.  Then comes loading us down and somehow maneuvering it all back out to the car.  Oh we can't forget the mandatory stop for M & Ms in the commissary.

5. And what about just the day to day.  Oh you're hungry ok let me finish feeding Maddy.  Ok what do you want to eat.  Not this or this or this.  Finally something.  Ok the baby's crying.  Let's go get her.  Where do you want me to sit?  What do you want me to do?  Do you have to go potty?  Phew is it bedtime yet!?

Don't get me wrong, life with two is sometimes magical and I find us having those moments of what did we do before this more often than not.  It's always a learning curve but I'm so thankful to be the mama of these two beautiful girls!!

Weekend Fun

This past weekend we headed to Mushtaidi Park, a small amusement park near the large stadium here.  The park has a ton of rides for Mara and we really enjoy spending a few hours at it.

We headed there first thing after Maddy's morning nap.  Georgian's tend to sleep in so we like to get out and moving on the weekends to avoid crowds.  When we first arrived Mara was nervous, despite having been there before.  I wasn't too surprised as this is just her general demeanor and it takes her a bit to warm up to things.

Happy to sit in the stroller and watch!

I put 20 Lari (about $8.00 US) on our card and we were off!  The day was absolutely beautiful and the next two hours were spent hoping from ride to ride, sometimes getting off then getting right back on.  In between it all we stopped for a little ice cream and nursing break.  We rode both merry-go-round (or baby neigh's as Mara calls them), small train, large train, boats x2, the bumper cars and another car ride x3!

Maddy even got to ride one as we all jumped in a car and Mara "drove" us around the track. After our money ran out it was off to lunch.  We had noticed a small resturant in the corner of the park while on a ride and headed there.

The place was typical Georgian cuisine but with a great atmosphere.  Mara loved running around over the glass bottom floor and checking out the fish tank in the corner.  We indulged on grilled meat, salad, break, potatoes and kinkali (Georgian Dumplings).

After our bellies were full it was off to the market.  There's a large electronic and home improvement market nearby and Josh had been itching to explore.  The girls were a bit cranky due to lack of naps so the whole experience didn't start out well.  I ended up taking Mara back to the car and let Josh look around.  Everyone was happier that way!

All in all the day was great!  I love when we can have good quality family time and last weekend was just that!  I'm sure we will have many more days at this park in the future!

Usborne Update

Life has been busy here the last few months and frankly I've fallen off the blogging train...hard.  I think the biggest reason has been a great one.  My Usborne business is booming!

Since February I've been in a push to promote to team leader with the company.  This has entailed filling my calendar, holding an amazing book drive, coaching new team members and just diving head first into everything Usborne.

Although it's been a busy time, it's been a good time.  I never expected my business to be where it is now 8 months ago when I joined.  I thought I'd be lucky to be doing a party a week.  Now with my week nights filled, I am so grateful to be able to share these amazing books with others.

As of May 1st I officially promoted with the company and things are only going up.  My team is growing and this train I've started on is only speeding up.  I can't wait to continue to see what's in store for me.

If you're interested in hosting your own Usborne Book party please let me know!  I'd love to help you earn some FREE books for the kiddos in your life!  Books are really the keys to opening a 1000+ doors and I love that I get to do that for so many families!

Mother's Day Weekend

We had a low key Mother's day weekend and frankly I enjoyed every minute of it.  Saturday we spent the day around the house.  I got to do a lot of little projects I had my mind on.  I love organizing and there were parts of our home that I was itching to fix.  Moving as much as we do, I always run into areas where the organization I put into play initially doesn't work well in the long run.  We have a few spots like that and it felt SO good to go through it.

I spent all of Maddy's morning nap downstairs rearranging under the stairs.  It had become a catch all for everything from our welcome kit, excess bags, to the baby gate.  I pulled everything out and threw somethings away.  I still hate how you can see the pile as you walk up the stairs but appreciate the neatness of it all.  Short of building built in cabinets I don't think my "issue" with it is going to be resolved.

My second space I tackled was our storage room.  Man this room needed an overhaul.  I got permission from Josh to throw away some of our boxes.  Moving as much as we do we tend to get protective of our boxes.  You never realize how nice the boxes your electronics come in with the Styrofoam and cushions until you move and it shatters in the mover's boxes.  So we held on to them.  The TV box especially was taking up a ton of room.  I tried to be pretty critical and think if we really needed each box and that purge alone opened up so much room.

Again the room is still kind of lacking.  I think things would flow better if we had more shelving.  There's just some flimsy shelves at the top of the room and two clothing racks along each sides.  The racks are almost useless to us as we don't have a lot of clothes that we need to store.  For now I'm happy with the de-cluttering but think in the future we need to pursue more shelves.  It's hard because I think we'd have to order something like that if we wanted it and I'm just not sure yet...I digress.

Playing at the playground in the Botanical Gardens

Sunday we went to church and then out to brunch.  There's a great little cafe about 10 minutes from our home that has a nice American flair and Asian menu...weird combination I know.  We split a Korean dish and let Mara run around.  On the way home Josh stopped for flowers and I grabbed some more of the deep purple lilacs that are everywhere here.  I remember having a lilac bush outside my home when I was little love the smell of them. (I'd have flowers in the house always if I could just keep the cat from eating them.)

Happy girl

Josh had off Monday so we continued our fun into that day with a trip to the Botanical Gardens.  Everything was in bloom and it was nice to get out of the house.  We took the stroller and regretted it when most of the trails were just that trails.  Lesson learned and next time we'll bring the hiking gear.  We did make it down to the waterfall and then out to a quick lunch afterwards at one of our favorite restaurants in Old Town, Organique.

Overall it was a great weekend.  I got to spend it with the family and even got a beautiful homemade gift to commemorate the day.  Love my girls and so happy to be their mom!

Gino's Paradise

After being cooped up in the house for a few weekends in a row we decided to get out and explore Tbilisi a bit more.  We had heard a lot about the indoor water park, Gino's Paradise. 

We've taken Mara to indoor water parks when she was younger and she seemed to enjoy it.  We were excited now that she was older to see what she thought.  

Once changed we headed into the park.  It was set up in four distinct sections.  There was a children's play center with water pipes and slides, a large pool for the older crowd, a pirate ship and water slides. 

We of course thought she would love the children's area....NOT.  All the slides and water everywhere terrified her.  She wouldn't go on the jungle gym or even sit in the water with us.  In fact she spent the entire time we were in that area with her hands over her ears because it was too loud!

She seemed to calm down when we went to the older area.  It was quieter and she could sit on the steps with us.  My girl isn't that adventurous!  

We spent the next few hours jumping from that pool to the pirate ship.  At some point Madeline fell asleep and I sat down on a bench to just hold her.  We wrapped up our day with a little lunch in their snack area and a trip down the big slide for Josh!

Overall it's a fun place!  They have a whole outdoor area that wasn't open due to the weather that we have to explore! I think we'll definitily be back in the future hopefully when Mara has a little more confidence in the water and maybe a few swimming lessons under her belt!

Potty Training

We briefly attempted potty training with Mara in January.  Madeline was barely two weeks old and Josh was gone for the weekend.  Needless to say it was udder failure.  She didn't want to.  I didn't want to.  After 1.5 days of pee on the floor and a newborn, Mara ended up back in diapers.

We've been thinking about doing it again but just hadn't jumped in with both feet until last Wednesday.  Mara caught sight of some Minnie Pull-ups that I had and in toddler fashion just had to wear them.  Skeptical I told her those were only for when she went on the potty and asked if she'd like to try.  She said yes!  (huge news in this house)  So still not believing anything would come of this, I sat her on the potty.  Low and behold after a few minutes she went.  I was true to my word and put her in the pull-ups.

The rest of our day consisted of lots of talk about keeping Minnie dry and trying to go on the potty.  Although Wednesday was the day that got the ball rolling I'd label Friday as our all in day.  I started talking it up on Thursday and then announced as of Friday morning no more diapers.  We rolled up the carpets in our house and got the potty chair within reach.

Friday was spend on the potty.  We set up a timer.  20 minutes off and 5 minutes on.  At first this didn't seem to resonate with Mara.  I know most parents will recommend loading up on fluids but Mara doesn't like juice and will seriously only drink so much water in a day.  We just kept offering it to her whenever we could and played drinking games (you drink when I drink lol).

Nap time came and I pulled out the pull-ups again.  Up until now she had not successfully gone potty in the potty.  I talked about how it's important to keep Minnie dry and she nodded.  Bless her she did and went for the first time that day right after her nap.  The rest of the evening went better and our end of the day tally was 5 accidents to 4 successes!

Day 2 was for the most part a breeze.  We kept the 20 minutes off and 5 on schedule (with the help of our kitchen timer) and she managed to only have 2 accidents all day.  I was extremely proud of her because that night we loaded up, potty and all, and went to a friends house for dinner.

Sunday was the easiest even with church in the morning.  We again lugged that potty, which was good because we did have to use it.  By this time we were letting her wear panties at home.  My mom bought her some Minnie panties and she was so excited to have them.  Our old sediment of keep minnie dry was working.

So here we are on Wednesday, 6 days later and were doing it!  Except for last night she has even been dry through all nights and naps!  Today I am finally seeing her control as I have extended the timer time.  She basically pees immeaditily after sitting now.  We have also done a few of the exclusive number 2's so I think we're rocking and rolling.

Potty training was super stressful for me in concept.  With a young baby, I was baffled as to how I was going to monitor a toddler at the same time.  Once I just did it I was surprised at how manageable it was especially with my timer system.  Mara also really got into our sticker reward system and now gets to pick out a special prize since she filled her chart.  We're now working on a new number 2 chart!

I am thankful that we waited as long as we did.  They say when they are ready, it's easy.  And it has been.  Mara still fights a little about sitting when we have to pull her away from playing but her control and ability to use the toilet is great now.

Next steps...master the public toilet and telling mommy and daddy when she has to go!

Life Lately

Gosh life has been busy....For the last two weeks my mom and aunt have been visiting.  We've been soaking in every minute with them.  We've gone to the park, play place, the malls, Old Town, etc.  Since they were here for only a short while we wanted to fit in as much fun as we could!

Mara isn't going to know what to do without them here as one has been her constant play mate for the past two weeks.  I'm also going to miss the extra hands as Josh is currently out of country and I have the girls on my own for the next few weeks.

I've also been super busy with all things Usborne.  I'm trying to promote to Team Leader so I have really put my nose down.  Despite the hard work, it has been so rewarding.  My party schedule has been completely full which only means that I get to share these books with that many more people! :)  I have a few more milestones to hit on my way to Team Leader but I'm praying that they fall into place either by the end of this month or next.

We've taken a bit of a hiatus from tot school.  I had high hopes of continuing it while Mom and Mary were here but it just didn't happen.  We were out of the house too often during the week.  I think I'll just wrap up our dinosaur theme from two weeks ago and start a fresh on Monday with grocery store.  This will push us through the end of June but that's ok.  That gives me a few months to figure out what if anything I'm going to do with Mara "next year".

I'm currently leaning away from full time preschool here mainly because of the cost.  For the most part I am confident that I can provide the same for Mara here at home.  The only thing I feel like she is missing out on is the socialization aspect of it.  We'll just have to do a better job of getting out and scheduling more play dates!

On that note I will need to figure out some sort of curriculum for next year's preschool!  I'm brand new to this thing.  I don't think we need an official program just an idea.  This year we had a weekly theme and I really liked it.  I think we'll continue along these lines but try to incorporate more advanced ideas maybe even have a focus book of the week.

Now that I've rambled my way through this post, I'm going to get back on the blog train!

Weekend Wrap Up

This week ended up being a longer one due to the holiday on Monday.  We took advantage of that and had some great family time!

Friday evening Josh and I (and Maddy) went out to dinner.  We love that Mara loves our babysitter and has no problems staying with her.  We headed out to this little place called Pur Pur.  It is well known in the expat group and for good reason.  It was delicious!  We got there a bit early for the evening crowd but it played to our advantage as it wasn't crowded.  Josh got some fresh pasta and I had pork.  We split a bottle of wine.  I love quiet dinners just the two of us now and again as it gives us time to reconnect and recharge our marriage.  Maddy did great and barely made a peep falling asleep in her car seat after she got a little dinner :)

Saturday we had a laid back morning.  Mara was a little under the weather so we took it easy.  After naps Mara and I headed out to get our hair cut.  This was Mara's first hair cut and I was worried how she was going to do.  We had talked it up all week but she wasn't interested.  When we got there she got clingy and shy but there were no tantrums.  (totally thought I'd be holding her head) Her hair is still sort of short so there's not much we could do to it.  I just wanted to trim it and cut off her small rat tail.  Afterwards I got my hair cut and we headed over to the French bakery across the street for a treat!

Sunday we went to church as per usual and then back home for our lazy afternoon.  We did a ton of playing and just enjoying each other.  The perfect way to spend "love" day!

To close out the weekend we headed to Bolonisi on Monday.  Bolonisi is a small town about an hour from Tbilisi.  It has strong German roots and a few tourist attractions.  It is also the first place one of the specific Georgian Orthodox crosses originated.  We came into town around the lunch hour and stopped to eat at a German Inn.  One would think they would have a German menu but alas it was Georgian.  Nevertheless it was pretty good.

Afterwards we headed up to a church on the hill which we thought was the oldest church in Georgia. Nope only about 10 but it was pretty!  We took a few pictures and a small tour then headed to the actual oldest church.  Inside that church we admired old paintings and stone work.  We grabbed two crosses (the type they are known for) and headed back to the car.  Originally we thought we would check out an archaeological site but thought the girls weren't up to it.

The night ended with a movie, Chinese food and a little family cuddling on the couch.  A perfect weekend!

Life Lately

I feel like we've been on turbo here since before the holidays.  Josh's parents were able to join us for Christmas/Madeline's birth and we were so thankful to have them around.  Mara was spoiled having two around 24/7.  Here two days after they left she is still asking for them nonstop.

While they were around we tried to see as much as the city and the country as Madeline and Mom's back would allow.  We managed some great day trips and Dad and Josh got away for a few days to ski.  Besides the trips we had a lot of great family time here at the house.  Mom helped me a bunch in the kitchen, preparing freezer meals and helping me cook for the day.

Now that they are gone, we're trying to get settled into life as a family of four.  Josh is back to full time at work and I'm trying to figure out what life looks like at home with two.  Thankfully Madeline is a dream and I've been able to really focus on Mara the last few days.  We've dived back into tot school and already I am super impressed at her much her comprehension and attention span have grown in the last 6 weeks.

Mara has been the best big sister.  She absolutely adores Madeline and has been so gentle with her.  She constantly wants to hold her hand and always comes over to her when we bring her into a room.  It makes my heart so happy and I can't wait till they get at ages where they can really interact.  Madeline already loves to watch Mara and she always focuses on her when she's in the room.

On the horizon we're just trying to settle back into life here.  We have a few fun things planned with friends and we may try to potty training again (yeah try number 1 was a failure).  My mom and aunt Mary are planning on heading our way at the beginning of March and Josh may head back to the states around that time as well.  I've been knee deep in all things Usborne as well.  It's an exciting time for my business and I cannot wait to see where it takes me (but more on that later).

Overall life is great here.  Madeline is a dream and we cannot imagine a time without her already.  Mara is getting to such a fun age and I love seeing her grow and develop.  It feels so good to jump back on the blog train again!

Our Year in Review-2015

2015 has once again been a year of big changes!  Looking back I am shocked and amazed how much our lives have changed since last January.  Here are some of my favorite moments:

January

This month Mara started ballet and we got more involved on post.  I did the whole-30 and was amazed with my results.

February

February brought our deployment diary to a close with Josh's homecoming!  We were so ready to have our favorite guy back at home.  We enjoyed the rest of the month with him.

March

This month we made it a priority to really utilize our family time.  We explored the children's museum in Raleigh and started our block leave.

April

Our block leave continued with trips to Sanford, Sea World, the beach, and Disney.  This month we also confirmed that our next assignment would be in the Republic of Georgia!

May

The highlight of this month was our trip to Grand Cayman.  We spent over a week there exploring and diving.

June

In June we moved to a small apartment while we waited till Josh's change of command.  Mara also had her first ballet recital.

July

This month we left North Carolina for good and visited family in Wisconsin and Illinois.  We also announced that we were expecting!

August

We started to settle into our new home in Tbilisi and we also found out we would be adding another little girl to the mix!

September

This month was busy as we started to explore our surroundings..  I started Tot School with Mara and we celebrated her 2nd birthday!

October

In October I joined Usborne Books & More and we really got into our Tot School lessons studying textures, patterns, body parts, fall and animals.

November

This month was slower with constant pregnancy updates.  We also celebrated our first Thanksgiving here in Georgia.

December

We celebrated the holiday season with visits to Santa and trimming our tree.  We took maternity pictures and got a much needed weekend away.


2015 has been such an amazing year!  We are looking forward to 2016 as we await the delivery of our second daughter and celebrate the new year with family here in Tbilisi.

Mushthaid Garden

The day of the Marine Ball we wanted to spend some quality family time in the morning because we knew that we'd be gone most of the evening.  We decided to check out Mushthaid Garden which was described as a small amusement park.

We didn't know how many of the rides would be open or if Mara would be able to ride them but we were pleasantly surprised when we got there.  We loaded up a ticket card and let her decide what she wanted to do.  

Lately she's been really into trains so that's were we started.  This park wasn't too concerned that I was pregnant and let me do whatever rides I wanted to.  (A similar park wouldn't even let me on the merry-go-round) Next was the merry-go-round with Daddy.  Like before she didn't want to get on a horse initially and road the sled.  

The bee ride was closed (her favorite) so we tried the bumper cars.  Normally I would think she was too young for this but no one was really bumping.  She loved riding with her Dad in the car!  We then went on this firetruck ride.  It was really simple and basically just went around a track.  She loved it so much we did it twice!

We rounded off the day with another go on the merry-go-round.  This time she wanted a horse and I was so happy to let her ride one.  Before the ride was over she was requesting to go again.  

Although it was a cold and dreary morning we made the most of it and discovered a small gem in the middle of the city.  Mara loved it and I see us going back to this park in the future to let her ride even more rides!