Put a Big Texas Smile on Your Face...

And the baby's name is....

Tim and I finally decided on a name for our little girl. We really struggled with this, but in the end I strong-armed him into settling on a name. I found myself calling her "Emma" to myself and wanted to give her a unique name to help with moving on with this pregnancy. Lydia's full name will be Lydia Alyse Decker. Alyse is pronounced ah-lees, which is a french pronunciation. (Can anyone guess which portion of her name Tim picked?)

I would have preferred to wait on setting up the nursery, but Timmy and Lydia will be sharing a room and I needed to start coordinating their bedding so Timmy would have some blankets. Timmy's side of the room will have blue and brown turtles and Lydia's side will have pink and brown ladybugs. The turtles and the ladybugs are made by the same bedding company and sort of match (more or less). So, we have started buying some things for Lydia, which makes me nervous and happy at the same time. I have been fortunate that Lydia has been so active lately. She reminds me that she's in there and that things are going well with her when she kicks and moves.

I guess it is a good thing that I am feeling so much baby movement. My prenatal care is on hold for a long while, thanks to the most inefficient maternity care program in the country--Brook Army Medical Center. I really try not to complain about the care I receive and I am genuinely appreciative of the outstanding care I have received from the Army in the past. However, upon coming to Fort Sam Houston, I have discovered that I was pretty much spoiled before. Due to the numerous appointments I have to get complete before getting a prenatal appointment, it will probably be about July before I can get seen again. Geez, I hope nothing goes wrong between now and then.

Being in Texas has been both a blessing and a challenge. We have had a LOT of things to do in the last few weeks, but I have been fortunate enough to have the help of my parents and Tim. We finished moving everything in the house in about a week. I really love the new house, despite a few issues with the landlord (welcome to renting). Now I am working on things like a driver's license, voter registration and other really fun tasks.

Our good news for the week is that Cansu has arrived! Cansu arrived late in the evening on Thursday. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (my weakness since arriving in San Antonio) and then pretty much went to bed. Tim arrived from Kansas for Memorial Day weekend on Friday, so we put chores on hold for a few days and had some fun. On Saturday we went tubing on the Comal River. For those who have not visited Texas, "tubing" refers to jumping in an inner tube and floating down a river for a few hours. We all really enjoyed the relaxation, although the trip a pretty crowded with college students home for Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday we went to the San Antonio Zoo. Despite the intense heat, we all had a really great time. Cansu has graced us with her cooking and has shared some great Turkish traditions with us. Tim and I have a new addiction to overcome-Turkish coffee. Turkish coffee is thick and potent. Cansu makes it using a copper pot she brought me as a gift and serves it in a really cute coffee set she brought. We love it! (yeah, yeah, I know. Coffee is a no-go with pregnancy, but I limit how much I drink).

I am enclosing a few pictures of our adventure at the Action Figure Museum and our trip to the zoo.