Escape to Arizona...

Welcome back family and friends, to the exciting life of Brad and Suki! Ok, so it really isn't all that exciting, but to us it is. :) First I have to start by saying, "Thank goodness our country pulled together to elect Barack Obama as our next president, and we are not doomed to another four years of Bushisms." I had a strong feeling he would win, but worried that it would be really close. After seeing him win by a landslide, it's good to see that the majority of the country agrees that it is definitely time for change and Brad and I are excited to see the good that will hopefully come in the next four years. Ok, enough of that, on to the family scoop. By the way, this is a REALLY long one.
So in our last post I stated that I was going to go and register for baby items. Let me start by saying, "ladies, it's not as fun as it sounds." First off, our baby's-r-us is the size of a super walmart. You start off all excited with your little pre-made list and your scanner gun ready to shoot till your hand falls off. Then as you go down each isle and you start to realize exactly how much crap babies need, the smile on my face changed into a look of terror. Not only do you have to make sure you don't leave anything out, but there are at least 5 different varieties of each item to choose from. Being a first time mommy, the pressure to make sure you pick the right one is enough to make your head burst. Four hours later I left the store with a sore back, a huge set of cankles, a major migraine, and a really bad attitude. I'm just glad that I don't have to do that ever again. The best advice I can give is to go all neutral so no matter what the sex is of the second baby, they can share everything. I know a lot of people have said they don't have a baby's-r-us in their area, but if you go to baby's-r-us.com and go to registry you can do it online. It is under Suki Little as the main registrar, and Brad Jenkins is listed as the co-registrar. Our address is 9062 Leatherwood Loop Lehigh Acres, FL 33936 and you can use our address to find our registry also.
After that was done, finding a new midwife was next on the agenda. I went with a woman that some nurses I spoke with recommended. So I go to my first appointment excited to meet the woman who is going to deliver our baby. As I wait in the tiny, packed waiting room 20 minutes after my scheduled appointment time, I finally get called to be weighed by a woman who forgot how to smile and be pleasant. Once I meet Teresa, our midwife, I change my negative attitude and decide to give the place a chance. She was really nice and welcoming and seemed very excited to meet me. Since I am in my third trimester, (I'm due in 9 weeks!!!) I have to see her every 2 weeks. Yesterday was my latest appointment and I went in early with all my paperwork ready to ensure a quick process. My appointment was at 10:30am and I get called in at 10 till 11. All the other women in the waiting room were scheduled at 11 or later. As I sit in the exam room waiting for Teresa, I hear her conducting appointments in the neighboring rooms. (the walls there are paper thin) She is taking care of her 11:00 and later appointments while I sit waiting! At 11:25 she finally comes in the room as if all was right in the world. Being VERY pregnant and irritable, I ask, "did you forget I was here?" She gave me a string of excuses, but no apologies. So now I am stuck with a midwife that makes me feel like a number instead of a person. I miss my ladies in Oregon more than you can imagine. Lisa, I miss you!!! The good news is, the baby is almost completely upside down in the birth canal. She/he is currently diagonal. I say it's good news because that means it won't be a breach birth, but at the same time, I could deliver a lot earlier than the 27th of February. It definitely seems like he/she is trying to kick his/her way out the majority of the day. Speaking of he/she, we have an ultrasound scheduled for January 6th so finally we will know for sure what we are having! I've been referring to her as Maya for the longest time, so I hope if it is a boy, I pray I haven't caused any psychological trauma. :)
Some other great news is that Brad's little brother Matt recently got married to his long time girlfriend Marisela! We were very excited to be able to fly out and share in the celebration! On the night we arrived Brad went to Matt's bachelor party and I met with my two dear friends Kim and Marie for dinner. It was so nice to see them again but sad to know that I probably won't see them again for a long while. I miss you girls!

Me, Kim and Marie at Chevy's Mexican restaurant.

The wedding was at a place called the Boojum Tree and it was absolutely beautiful. It was like a huge garden full of trees, plants, and fountains with fish. There were cobblestone paths and a nice banquet area full of white Christmas lights and a fountain. It was the perfect place to start a life together. Brad was best man and very proud to watch his little brother and best friend make such a wonderful change in his life. Here are just a few of the pictures we took at the wedding.

Brad and I before the wedding. This is also me at 29 weeks.

Brad with his brother Matt and their dad Ralph. What handsome Jenkins men!

The beautiful bride and groom, Mari and Matt. Congratulations!



Me, Brad, and Brad's cousin Casey. Casey is like 10 years younger than Brad and towers over him.

Matt and his proud momma Sandi.

Brad and I with his mom Sandi and his Aunt Barb.

Brad with Aunt Barb, mom Sandi, Matt, Mari, Pattie, and Ralph.


The day after the wedding we had to fly back to Florida so Brad could get back to work. Sandi, Brad's mom, flew to Florida to fly with us and spend some time with us before heading back to Pennsylvania. Unfortunately Brad had to work her entire visit, but Sandi and I had a good time together shopping, chatting, bonding, and eating. We missed Dennis on this trip but are happy to know we will see them both soon after our little one arrives.

Well, that is our past 2 months summed up. Busy. Even though we enjoyed seeing everyone and celebrating life, we are happy to be back home and back to normal.

Brad and Sadie relaxing together.

Our next blog will be posted soon after our doctor appointment on the 6th. Then I will catch you all up on my dad's long awaited visit and Christmas! We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Back by popular demand...

Ok, ok, I know that I promised to update our blog page once a month and that turned into 3 months. Cut me a little slack, I am carrying a human being inside of me. (by the way, I'm gonna ride the pregnancy train for as long as possible folks so get used to it) After a large amount of emails, phone calls, and text messages demanding that I get off of my enlarged duff and add another post, here we go. I would change into something comfortable, turn off the phone, and use the bathroom, because this is gonna be a long one.

After my last and only blog, I decided that I was bored not working even though being a full time student and partner to Brad is a full time job in itself. So I decided to start an inhome daycare service. This way I could work from home, be my own boss, and would be able to continue work right after the baby was born. My only "clients" were 8 year old twins named Sydney and Ethan. They were great kids who had a blast with me and loved Brad. Especially when he put his culinary magic to use and cut their apples into bird shapes. The twins mother began spreading the word about me and I eventually had a few interviews lined up and was turning mothers away. Then we got the call from Troon corporate, (Brad's company) saying they had an amazing opportunity for him to be the Executive Chef at Colonial Country Club in Fort Myers Florida. With the little one's due date getting closer and closer, there is no way we could say no to more money so he accepted the position. Breaking it to "my" kids was the hardest part. They begged and pleaded for us to stay, even offering to find Brad a job in Florence and were both willing to pay him $100 a month if we would stay. As tempting as that offer may sound, I had to say my goodbyes.

So we packed up the tiny Mazda3 with Sadie and our suitcases and made the 6 day trek across the country to Florida. We got to visit our dear friend Thea (old coworker from Alaska) in Las Vegas and spend the afternoon with Matt (Brad's brother), Marisela (Matt's fiance), Casey (Brad's cousin), and Shawn (Casey's friend) in Flagstaff.

Before I get to far ahead of myself, before leaving Florence Oregon, Brad suggested that we see one last sunset at the beach. So we loaded Sadie and her frisbee and took the 5 minute drive to the ocean. As I am laughing at Sadie chasing the waves I turn around to see written in the sand, "Will you mary me? Circle Y or N" (Yes, he mispelled marry, which makes it even cuter) I laughed and wrote in "maybe". When I turned around, there was my soulmate on his knee with an engagement ring, asking me to be his wife. I'm still thinking about it, but figured I can't let the ring go to waste in the meantime. Just kidding, I screamed yes immediately and we have been on cloud nine eversince.

Ok, so back to the present. We arrive in Florida on a Thursday, with just enough time for us to get Brad a cell phone, some sneakers, and dinner. Then the very next day he was off to work, leaving me to find us a place to call home by the next Thursday, which was the day before the movers were expected to arrive with our furniture. After a couple tear filled eruptions and a few verbal disagreements, we finally found the perfect place for us to hang our hats. We found the place the night before the movers were to arrive, so we made it just at the buzzer. As we checked out of our hotel, the staff told us they would miss us and to take care. (we lived there for a week)

So here we are, newly engaged in a brand new place waiting for our little one to arrive. For those of you that don't know, we did have a final ultrasound before leaving our fantastic midwives in Oregon. Since at the time of the ultrasound I was only 19 weeks and 4 days, they can't be 100% sure as to what the sex is, but she was pretty sure it is a girl. I guess there is a slight chance that his testicles hadn't dropped yet. So it's either a girl, or a boy with a really small package. Let's hope for a girl. I've had a strong feeling all along that it is a girl, and I finally had a dream that she was, so I'm sticking to that.

The right top pic is baby's foot. Looks like she will have big feet like mommy and daddy.

This pic is her hand. Brad had long fingers as a baby so she gets them from him. Maybe a career in the WNBA?

At this point in my pregancy, she is an extremely active child that kicks all day and night. I can finally see movement through my belly and it is very similar to the alien movies. I felt so guilty getting to feel her move all day and Brad only got to hear about it. Until finally last week, Brad got the priveledge to feel his daughter move. Afterwards I said, "Brad, you just felt your daughter move to the sound of your voice." It brought tears to our eyes.

I am only 1 week and 3 days away from my third trimester and I am already feeling my bad symptoms return. I find myself sleeping most of the day and having quite a few dizzy spells and mood swings. I'm not looking forward to being miserable the rest of my pregnancy days, but whatever it takes to bring our little girl into the world, I can handle it.
Well, that is about it for now. I promise to be much better with these blogs. I am going to a new doctor in about 2 more weeks and should have new ultrasound pictures soon after.
Here is our new address and phone numbers.
9062 Leatherwood Loop
Lehigh Acres, FL 33936
(239)368-1450 house or
(541)999-9197 Suki's cell or
(239)292-0514 Brad's cell
I am registering at baby's r us tomorrow but will not be having a baby shower. Kinda hard to throw a baby shower when you know zero people. :( Fortunately all 3 sets of parents intend on visiting us when the baby is born, so I will have lots of love surrounding us in February!
Ok, so here are a few pics. Sorry there aren't more, but we are working on it! Love you all and cannot wait to see most of you soon.

Our bedroom. Saving the wall space for future pics of our daughter.

Front of the house. Never seen the seperate garages before, but both are ours.

Living room. Trying to get used to tile. Sadie seems to like peeing on it.

Suki at 23 weeks. Sandi, recognize the shirt? :)

Fortunately the cankles I acquired on the road trip have left.

10 weeks down, 30 weeks to go...

Ok, so this is my first one so bare with me. So as most of you know, on July 7th we got the news that we were both about to enter into the depths of parenthood. After lots of hugs, kisses, and tears we have finally settled into the fact that we won't be the "fly by the seat of our pants kinda couple" again until we are 50! Small price to pay to have the honor of creating an amazing life with your soulmate. Ok, enough mush, on to the baby!
On Monday we had our first official prenatal appointment and we arrived prepared. Two hours later we both left with matching migranes and no recolection of what we had just heard. The only things I remember are, "Eat all the spicy food you want...", "Sorry, no more sushi or medium rare steaks...", and "We will get you an ultrasound to determine a due date." Two out of three ain't bad.
So yesterday was our ultrasound appointment and after sitting in the waiting room with a bunch of 80 and overs who lack the ability to control whether their mouths hang open or not, we were excited to talk babies. The first thing she did was allow us to hear the heartbeat. Even though she only played it for 5 seconds, it was the most beautiful sound we have ever heard. Then we got to see the baby. To most he/she looks like a lima bean, but to us he/she looks like an angel.
Sorry about the picture and a half, I'm still working on my scanning skills. The head is at the bottom and you can faintly see the imbilical cord. Our official due date is now February 21, 2009. Just in time for tax season!! (just kidding... a little)
Our next ultrasound is in my 22nd week and that is to determine the baby's sex. So that is it for now. We will post some belly pics next month since I only have a tiny pooch as of now. Also, thanks so much to Sandie and Dennis for the baby's first gifts! Thanks to you two, we (when I say we, I mean me) have decided to do a turtle theme for the nursery. We love you all and will keep you posted on the next post!
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