Lots of Changes

Hi everyone! 

It has been way too long since I’ve written and life has sure changed since my last post! Let me try to quickly recap the last several months!

As you all know, our family grew over the summer as we welcomed Jordan to the world in June. It’s almost hard to remember life before him. He fits in perfectly with our family and Carter and Jordan are already best friends. It is one of the best things I have ever experienced getting to watch their sibling bond form. I can’t wait to watch it grow as they continue to get older! 

Now having experienced delivering a baby both overseas and in the States, I can say, without a doubt, that delivering at home was 100 times better. I could go into every detail about what made it better but mainly just being able to communicate with no language/cultural barrier was something I am truly grateful for. It made my experience so much easier and I am so happy that we were able to be home and around our family when Jordan arrived. 

Another big change from my last post was that Tyler signed with a new team. It was a really hard decision to leave the team Tyler was on for two seasons. It was the first time overseas that really felt like our “home away from home” and our time in Varese will always hold a special place in my heart. But we both knew it was time for a change and had to make the best decision for both Tyler’s career and our family. We are happy that Tyler received an offer from another Italian team in the same league so it was an easy transition as we knew what to expect by staying in the same league, country etc. We are hoping that we can make this new chapter and city another “home away from home”. 

We are now in Brescia, Italy and another big change this season is adjusting to being a family of 4 overseas. It is definitely different having two kids overseas rather than one! But we are getting the hang of it, finding a routine, and showing our boys the world never gets old. Sometimes I have to remind myself what an amazing experience this is for all of us as living overseas has become our “normal”. But I always want the boys to have amazing memories from their time overseas and be thankful for what we get to see and experience. 

I promise to be back soon with a more in depth post. I just wanted to fill in the months since my last post! The boys and I have been in Brescia for about 6 weeks now and Tyler has been here for about 2.5 months. I will be back soon to share how everything has been going in Tyler’s TENTH season of playing. 

Wow. Ten years. We’re old! 

Life Lately

Hi everyone!

Happy March! I wish it was starting to feel a little more like spring for those of you back home. I can’t believe how much snow you all have gotten. It’s crazy to see pictures and videos of all the snow from this last snowfall and all of the snow that has accumulated from February. Hopefully March will be a little more kind :)

Time has flown by since my last post in good ways and in not so good ways. In the past month and a half, between Carter and I, we have been to the doctor/hospital more than we have in the past year+. Thankfully, nothing too serious has come about, but we’ve had coughs, colds, pink eye, ear infections, fevers, viruses - you name it! On top of that we’ve had my prenatal appointments and trips to the laboratory for my blood/urine tests (no convenience of doing it in the same place like at home!) It’s just been a blur of going from one thing to the next and I’m hoping we have kicked all these gross sicknesses to the curb. 

We also had some great moments over the past weeks too. As most of you know, we were able to find out the gender of the baby. I am not surprised in the least that it’s another boy! I am so excited for Carter to have a little brother! He talks about how he wants to give him hugs, kisses, change his diaper, play toys with him - it’s the sweetest thing! He gives my belly hugs and kisses all the time and I know he is going to be the best big brother! 

Tyler had a bit of time off during February which was so nice. We didn’t take any trips anywhere because he still had a light schedule that prevented us from taking a few days somewhere. But we just stuck close - went to Milan a couple of times and got some American breakfast, Starbucks (finally in Italy!), we took Carter to see the new How To Train Your Dragon movie, went to a couple lakes nearby and really just hung out. It was nice to spend extra time together and relax as a family, especially since Carter and I will be heading home very shortly. 

Carter and I will be home by the end of the month as I will be nearing my third trimester (crazy!). My mom is flying out to help me travel back home which I’m so thankful for. I really wish I could explain how hard it is to travel internationally with a toddler all alone so I am glad I will have the extra help while pregnant! (Don’t ask what I will do with two! Will have to cross that bridge later!) I am very excited to be able to go home but of course it’s hard to know that we will be apart from Tyler for a couple of months. I know it’s only temporary and the time will go by quickly. Carter and I will be busy filling all of our time with things that we have missed out on over the past months - seeing family and friends, going to children’s museums, parks, library, church, running errands (aka Target) and eating food (aka refer to my last blog post on that one lol). 

Even though Tyler will still be here playing, it is weird to be ending another season overseas for Carter and myself. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone but I’m realizing that it’s a great sign. I’ve shared this before, so it’s no secret to most that this overseas lifestyle can be a struggle for me. It is just hard to be away from home year after year, especially now having a family. But I can honestly say this is the happiest I’ve been overseas since probably when I was pregnant with Carter (3 seasons ago). Varese just feels as close to home as we have experienced while overseas and I think that’s why time has gone by so quickly and why I am finally enjoying our time while overseas. I am so grateful for how comfortable we have been here and definitely do not take it for granted! 

I will keep everyone updated after Carter and I are home and Tyler nears the end of his regular season. His team is currently in 6th place and the rankings are all so close - we are only two games behind the 2nd place team but then again only two games ahead of the 11th place team, so really, it’s anyone’s game! Eight teams make the playoffs and I would say about 12 teams are all in the running for the spots! It will be interesting to see who makes it! 

Until then, we will be enjoying our last weeks in Italy and then settling back into HOME!

Ciao! 

Baby #2!

Hi again! 

Happy new year! 

I figured I would write a post since sharing our latest, big news! We are so excited to be adding to our family and we are so grateful for this new, sweet blessing. 

I am currently 16 weeks pregnant and overall feeling good... much better than the first trimester! I didn’t have any morning sickness with Carter and I haven’t had any this pregnancy (I don’t know how I got so lucky!). But my first trimester this time around, I was EXHAUSTED. Like EXTREME tiredness. Just so tired that I just didn’t feel very good in general. I felt awful every single day. I still don’t feel like I have 100% of my energy back but I feel like I can at least function every day now! A huge difference than just a few weeks ago! 

With the baby being due in June, I will be delivering the baby back home in Minnesota.  I will be back home by late March/ early April so that I can travel at a comfortable point in my pregnancy and spend time getting ready for the baby’s arrival. I am so looking forward to being home for the delivery. Not that Carter’s delivery experience overseas was terrible, but there are definitely things that I wish I could have changed. I am just mostly looking forward to no language barriers, being in the comforts of my own city/home and, of course, having family around right away. Luckily with Carter being born late in the basketball season in March, we were able to come home after a couple months of him being born. But besides his grandmas coming over after he was born, he didn’t get to meet anyone else until he was 2 months old. I am so excited that all of our family can meet the baby right after he/she is born. 

I am due June 26 and Tyler should be home just in time for the baby’s arrival. Regular season ends May 12th but they are currently on track to make the playoffs as long as they keep playing well. So if his team ends up making it to the playoffs and continue to advance through the rounds, playoffs will go into June.  But as long as baby stays put, we should be fine ;) I know this is something that is completely up in the air - who knows how far Tyler’s team will go and the baby could come early or could come late, but I really trust God that everything is going to work out. The baby will come exactly on the day he or she needs to and I trust that Tyler will be there. 

We still don’t know the gender of the baby yet and I have found myself getting a little more impatient in waiting! We will hopefully find out at my next ultrasound in the coming weeks. About 95% of people tell me they think the baby is a girl. I think it is a boy though! It’s just hard for me to imagine having a girl! I am so used to being a boy mom. I am just convinced it’s another boy! But I swore up and down Carter was a girl and of course I was 100% wrong. So we will see if I am right this time around or not! 

A last little bit of info to share for this post: I do and don’t have cravings. There is nothing here that I constantly want or have to have. But what I would do for some AMERICAN FOOD..... Omg. I think about American food every single day! It makes me want to cry. I’m not kidding! I know it sounds ridiculous but hey, I’m pregnant and want some food! Lol. I think what I miss is the variety - there is only so much pizza and pasta you can have! (And I have to be careful about the cheeses here) I miss every single American restaurant and miss all the American groceries. I can not wait to be home for the third trimester. I will accept any breakfast, lunch, or dinner dates to any restaurant that anyone wants to go to! I am going to eat all the food and it will be worth every pound that I gain! :)

Anyways, that’s just a quick update on the first part of my pregnancy. I know people are wondering what we will do with the birth, etc so that’s why I wanted to write a quick post to give an update! I will be sure to keep everyone updated, especially when we find out the gender!

Until then, I will be dreaming of Chick Fil A, Panera, Nupa, Porch, Newts, Five West, Whistle Binkies, Canadian Honker........ you get the picture :)