Babymoon Anniversary

I have learned there are several definitions of the word "babymoon".  Sometimes this term refers to parents period of bonding with a recently born baby but in this case I am referencing a getaway for the parents before a baby is born bringing many sleepless nights!

Bethany and I took a Babymoon Anniversary vacation to San Diego!  We visited Seaworld, the local beaches, and some friends.  We also had some delicious seafood during our time in the city.  You can see from the sand art in the first picture we are celebrating our fourth anniversary, love and a baby boy!

On our first day we visited the USS Midway aircraft carrier!  It is an epic boat. 

It looks light Bethany is crossing a street but she is on the flight deck of the midway.  They give every visitor a set of headphones and a device for an audio tour of the ship.   

Eric had to spend some time in the brig for telling Bethany she looked fat (I mean pregnant) in the last photo. 

Yummy seafood for both my babies-- Bethany and the boy! 

Our excitement on display before one of the shows at Sea World.  

My beautiful wife and some ugly birds.  

Eric loves swords. Anytime, anyplace. 

The dolphins clapped for the audience while we clapped for the dolphins! 

Presenting SHAMU Jr. Jr. Jr. 

Shamu does a round house kick. 

Shamu and friends doing jumps for the grand finale.  Sea World has a neat message that goes like this, "Helping people to connect with sea life so they will protect sea life." 

Bethany gets stuffed on stuffed french toast. If you cannot tell, she is pleased with her order.  We enjoyed a late breakfast at a nice place in La Jolla before visiting the beautiful shores of the beaches there.  

Eric enjoying a natural resource not found in Tucson. H20. 

We got to meet Emma for the first time!  She liked breaking Eric's towers.  What a cutie!

Our friends the Hernbergs showed us wonderful hospitality.  Thanks Hernbergs! 

We also got to visit our friends the DeBerry's!  Eric attended a seminary class with Justin.  We miss seeing them in Tucson but loved hanging out and catching up with them. 

A truly unexpected and special event took place when for 30 minutes, Piper decided she liked Eric for the first time since she was born.  When you ask Piper if she wants something she has a very cute way of saying, "I do!" instead of yes.  Here is what happened:
Eric: "Do you want me to pick you up Piper?" 

Piper: "I do!" 

Eric: "Wait... what?"

Praises: This was a wonderful break from the stresses of work and a chance to get away with my wife who I truly adore!  We also praise God for such great friends. 

Prayers:  Please pray for our marriage as we head into our 5th year and expand our family!  It really is Jesus Christ who makes our marriage beautiful and we need his help!  

Baby Boy

Bethany and I went to our ultrasound.  Somehow Bethany was still wondering if she was really pregnant.  I think this appointment put all her doubts to rest!  An ultrasound machine is a really cool device that cost about as much as two houses according to our nurse.  They put blue alien jelly on Bethany's stomach and voila!-- we could see the baby moving on a screen.  Here are the pictures we got from the ultrasound.  Some people say they cannot see babies in ultrasound pictures so I will put a caption under each picture to help you know what they are.  But personally I think the pictures are pretty clear!

Profile of baby's whole body.  Skull and spine are visible in white. 

Another body shot, you can also see his little knee. 

A side view of the baby's skull.  We were able to see him yawn! 

Little baby feet.

Notice the nurses caption that says, "All boy!"  There is a little butt, two legs and a little "rocket ship" in the picture.  

Praises:  Praise God for a baby boy! 

Prayers:  There are a lot of tests that can be done prior to the baby's birth.  These tests are all screening for problems for the baby and the doctors will ask if you want to abort the baby.  We want to trust God with whatever degree of health and life our baby has and have decided not to have any of these tests done.  Please pray we will have a healthy and strong baby! 

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

In the next few days we will attempt to update you on a number of recent events/activities in our lives over the past month but first a review of another party we had here at Rio Vista.  Eric and I belong to a dinner club consisting of 3 other couples and ourselves.  When the club first started we called each other with only an hour warning that everyone would be showing up for dinner in 60 minutes.  The challenge was to pull together whatever you could for 8 people in that amount of time.  We have since tweaked the challenge and now give each other 24 hours notice BUT the couple that calls the hosting family also picks a theme for the dinner.  Once you host dinner, you get to call the next one and pick the theme.  Our themes so far since last October have consisted of Martin Luther, Martin Luther King Jr., pirates and college.

This past month we got the call that we would be hosting everyone around the theme of children's story books.  Fortunately, dinner was to be held on a Saturday evening so we had all day to prep.  The list of children's stories involving food range from Strega Nona to Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs so after some discussion we settled on The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  The following pictures capture how we themed and planned our evening.

Here we have our menu for the evening consisting of the items eaten by the very hungry caterpillar on each day of the week.  This was a 7 course meal!

We prepped the fruit beforehand.  We gave everyone bites of fruit instead of serving the whole thing!

Eric did the decorating work for the Very Hungry Caterpillar cafe.  We take great pride in our cafe here at apartment 9.

We were the hosts for the evening--hence the black and white outfits.

We allowed one of our smaller guests to hang out with us in the kitchen while we got the food ready to serve.

Our happy customers enjoying the food and company.

Great fun was had by all including the hosts!  We thank God for good friends and fellowship.    

Eric Turns 27!

One of our favorite things to do here in Tucson is host people in our home for food and fun so what better reason to gather and eat than a birthday—Eric’s birthday! At first this was just going to be a casual gathering of friends and it’s hard to get friends together in the summer in Tucson because everyone heads to cooler temperatures for their vacations. Then as the idea progressed in my mind and I walked the aisles of Target, I decided to add a little theme to the party. I stood in front of the party section and deliberated between Star Wars and Avengers and finally settled on an Avengers theme due to our enjoyment of all of the Avenger heroes movies including the most recent one. My friend, Jenn, agreed to make a cake that looked like Captain America's shield because Captain America is Eric's favorite Avenger.

We had a great time eating yummy cake, playing games and celebrating Eric. I am so thankful for God's gift of Eric to me as my husband. Pregnancy has been a challenge on my body at times and Eric has been so kind and gentle to get me anything I need, encourage me when I'm discouraged and pray for me when I'm feeling crummy. He goes to work every day and works hard to provide for us. He has also been studying a lot to get more certifications so he can provide for us on one income. I am continually amazed by his tireless efforts to serve me, our church, his co-workers and his friends and usually always with his great sense of humor and encouraging and humble spirit. I know he will be a great dad and I can't wait for him to meet his son or daughter.

Speaking of son or daughter, it's hard to believe that we are almost at the half-way point until Baby Reinhold's arrival! In the month of July we had a doctor's appointment that gave us the chance to hear his/her heartbeat for the first time and that was a blessing to us after 7 weeks of illness and physical fatigue. In the beginning of September we will go for our ultrasound to find out the gender and make sure everything is growing the way it is supposed to. God has been teaching me continually about trusting Him with each day of our baby's life and I am thankful for the assurance of knowing that His presence and love will be with us no matter the circumstances of our lives.

Stay tuned for photos from our next party...also with a theme but one you probably haven't seen before!