safely in Germany now...

Just heard in a 60 second phone call that Greg and his "colleagues" have safely arrived in Germany for yet another fueling. I'm not sure if they are at a base or commercial airport. Greg was eager to find out if I was still pregnant or not... ha ha ha.

Next stop, Kuwait... will let you know when I hear anything!

a stopover in Bangor, Maine

I got a surprise a little after 1 pm, a call from Greg! His plane stopped in Bangor Maine for a fuel-up and yet another send-off. He enjoyed a Lobster Roll for lunch and was surprised with a Hostess cupcake with lit candle for his birthday.

what a fabulous group of people!

Happy Birthday Greg!

What a way to spend a birthday, today Greg gets to ride in an airplane for 20 hours! This morning, his bus from base to the airport was accompanied by a Harley Davidson motorcade with American Flags and US Navy Flags blowing in the wind. They are leaving from a private hangar and enjoying a send-off from the USO, American Legion and other civilians before actually leaving. His send-off was really impressive he said, lots of veterans there (even some WW2 ones) and family members of already deployed soldiers, too. He got a nice breakfast and some treats... even his favorite girl scout cookies from Girl Scouts! The last surprise was Newt Gingrich himself there to shake everyone's hand and wish them well.

Greg's request to you all is to enjoy a cold beer or dirty martini in his honor since he is officially "dry" (not by choice). He's convinced, by the way, that Lil'r M will share his birthday... I'm not :) Please keep his travelling safety in your prayers, we really appreciate this!

Greg "bad ass" in training in SC

a visit to the Children's Museum

The rain has finally cleared and we were eager to get out and see some of SE Connecticut! We stopped by the Children's Museum and had a ball...

definitely her daddy's girl, driving the ship

fascinated by the beehive and the magnifying glass

playing the pipe organ

watching pennies race down the funnel

climbing around outside with a plastic fish that she treated like her babydoll

bubbles with Sofu!

too cool for words in mommy's aviators

and hat...

enjoying the deck...

We got our new patio furniture and Sofu and Cora spent the afternoon assembling it (each chair had 39 pieces, ugh!) Talk about PATIENCE!

"kampai"

tea for Lil'r M

I was nicely surprised today by a quaint tea at 3 pm in honor of our pending arrival! Mom, Cora and Becky were present (Becky via Skype...) and we had tea, finger sandwiches and cookies. We all wore hats and gloves and Finn and Bonny tried their best to "attend," as well. I was showered with gifts for Lil'r M, as well.... now baby won't be stuck with only hand-me-downs like most 2nd kids!

37 week belly!

putting on gloves for tea

showing Aunt Becky the tea table

Aunt Becky's hat and teacup

Cora's first sip of tea -- chamomile citrus, yum!

Cora's first mini-cream puff, YUMMY!

Finn and Bonny enjoying their special dog cookies

Lil'r M's own shamrock pj's

Cora's "big sister" tee

meanwhile, in CT...

Well, not much to report from "home," which I suppose is a good thing. Dad/Sofu showed up late last week and has been a God-send helping around the house and especially with Cora. She seems to have a thing for men... she's quick to obey his requests rather than challenge mine.

We've been able to talk or Skype with Greg daily, which has been wonderful (not like his deployments when we lived in Japan). I hope it stays that way once he gets to Afghanistan (my fingers are crossed, but skeptical) -- despite the time difference -- he'll be 8.5 hours ahead of us on EST.

Still pregnant, full-term now, phew! I still have excess fluid and a BIG belly, but I'm getting by. I still get twice-weekly monitoring and so far, all's well. For the most part, the house is "ready" for Lil'r M's arrival, though I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

Here's a few pix that were too cute to not post :)

Cora's "new" vintage tricycle brought by Sofu

Favorite way to pass time building Legos

walking into church, check out that outfit with rainboots (her choice, of course) and they were NEEDED!