Christmas Came Early This Year

Josh is back with us and we get to all be in the states together again, but this time for good.  We loved living in Dominica, but it is so good to be back and be able to settle down with an address and phone number of our own, and all our stuff in one place.  Every time I go to the store or drive in my car or eat something really good I get almost giddy inside when I remember that this isn't temporary.  I am really proud of Josh for all his hard work.  They don't say med school is hard for no reason, and I know he still has a lot ahead of him, but it is nice to feel like we are making some progress.    

Surprise!!!

Well, we were anyway, when we found that we are indeed having a little GIRL!!!!!!  We are thrilled and so excited to figure out this whole girl thing.  Her name will be Marissa Rhae Dettinger.

How We Celebrated

Since Shane's birthday was during a crazy week of testing for all the students, packing for me, and because he's only 2- we decided to just have a small little celebration at our favorite (okay, really only...) ice cream parlor in Dominica.  We went to dinner as a family at our favorite restaurant next door, then met a few of his friends at the ice cream parlor.  Everyone got their ice cream first,

Shane requested pink and was very excited about it,

and we brought a cake and sang to him there.  He was talking about having cake for his birthday for weeks, so this was a very exciting moment for him!

I think it turned out to be pretty fun and very low stress,

and my friend Jessie even brought a banner for the occasion.

It was nice to just hang out with everyone for a little bit and because we left two days later, Shane had a good excuse to give some of his favorite ladies and friends hugs and say some goodbyes

And I couldn't resist a little squeeze from this cutie either :)  Those cheeks still get me every time! 

Here are his little friends who came (L to R: Jaz, Matix, Keira, Hawken, Shane, and Norm). 

We sure do miss all these guys!

Back in the States

Well, I made it home alive after over 24 hours of travelling by myself with a 2 year old!  It went pretty smoothly, and I kind of felt like a rockstar after successfully making my way through customs in Puerto Rico pushing a stroller with one hand and a cart with 4 bags on it with the other hand.  Since Shane was 2 but we had a roundtrip ticket and he was 1 for the first leg, he was still free but he got his own seat.  It made things so much easier!!! But I don't think I would try that trick without a travel agent, we stood at the counter at the airport for over an hour while they tried to figure out his ticket.  Good thing I have such a good little traveling companion.  Here he is briefing himself on the safety instructions ha ha.

Last view of the island...

We got into Miami after 11 pm, crashed at the hotel in the airport, then had our third and longest flight to LA in the morning.  We got pretty creative entertaining ourselves, not much coloring was done but the colored pencils themselves were a big hit.

This pregnant lady wanted a big ole salad for my first meal back (and yes, I am a nerd and took a picture of it.  I was too embarrassed to take my camera to Walmart, but I wish I had a picture of Shane's face walking down the toy aisle!  He kept saying "Bulldozer!!!  Truck!  Racecar!!  Help please!!")

so we headed to Souplantation with my fam.  Shane was pretty slap happy after so little sleep, and I was just happy to be with my fam in the good ole USA! 

Except, we miss Josh :(  Wish him luck with his final on Thursday and a safe travel home!

Goodbye Dominica

Well, I have thought a lot about what I would say to sum up my feelings about my time here, and I'm not really sure I can do it justice in one blog post, but here goes.  I definitely have mixed feelings.  Am I excited to be going back to the states?  Heck yes!!  Was living in Dominica easy?  Heck no!!  The lack or or insane pricing of many basic food items and other things we take for granted in the states, having to walk everywhere to get it and shopping almost every day because you can only get what will fit in your stroller or in your lap on a bus and you need to go to 5 different stores to get everything was probably the most difficult. Then there were of course the bugs, the sweat like you've never sweated before, the rain, and, well you get my drift.  But I have come to realize that the fact that it was so hard was also what has made it so good- made us more patient, better able to roll with the punches, laugh at ourselves (and occasionally others :) ), and realize that we don't really need much, just each other.  Things here are never reliable, and you can't really count on anything, but I have realized that it's okay and that what I can count on is my Heavenly Father and I feel like I have come closer to Him this year and a half than ever before.  I remember being crushed when Josh didn't get in to a school in the states, and a few years ago I would never in my wildest dreams have imagined we would live here.  But looking back on it, I can think of at least a dozen reasons why we were supposed to be here and why it has been so good for us and changed us in so many ways, hopefully for the better.  I hope I can remember that, and that when I feel like life is throwing me a curve ball and things aren't going the way I had planned, that my Heavenly Father knows just what I need.  Dominica is where I learned what it really means to be a mom, and I honestly think I would be a completely different mother if I hadn't have lived here.  It is Shane's real first home, and looking back I can't imagine spending this first bit of his life with him anywhere else.  It is definitely time to move on now, but Dominica will always have a little place in our hearts, and I know that it will hold some of our very dearest memories.       

Happy Birthday Shane!!!

My baby is 2 today!  Where does the time go?  This time last year I was walking around with him everywhere holding onto the tip of his finger.  Now he is running and talking up a storm.  He has truly been a delight and I think Heavenly Father sent us just the right little boy for this crazy time in our lives!
At 2 years old Shane:

-Eats 3 packets of oatmeal every morning for breakfast, hearty portions of whatever we're having for dinner, and not a whole lot in between.
-Is pretty shy around most people, until he is around you more often and then he cannot help but give you unsolicited hugs and cuddles every few minutes.
-Is into Cars, Elmo, any book, puzzles, animals, colors, shapes, and construction vehicles.
-LOVES his friends and is happiest when he's around them.  He is very tender-hearted and almost always gives up his toys without a fight if one of them wants what he is playing with.  And they are good to put up with a lot of love from him :)
-Is very meticulous and spends a lot of time arranging things a certain way or putting them inside some crevice or space, and gets very frustrated if they don't fit just the way he wants them to.
-Would usually rather play with mom than by himself.
-Is a very good boy and always wants to please us.  When he realizes he has done something naughty, he will usually say "Sorry!" without me even telling him to.
-Still hates when I try to get him to feed himself with a spoon.
-Is a very avid listener and will soak things in for awhile then all the sudden one day it will all come spitting out and you think, "wow, he really was paying attention."
-Will come up behind me when I'm doing something to give me a hug, and will often say, "Love hugs!"  Pretty much he melts my heart on a daily basis.

We love you Shane!!!  Happy birthday!

Last Week in Dominica

This is the last week in Dominica for Shane and I, so we have been spending lots of time with friends,

enjoying the sun while we still can,

and taking every chance we can to wear just a diaper out in public while it's still socially acceptable to do so.

We leave Wednesday afternoon for California, we'll spend a week there while Josh finishes up his tests and then drive to Utah to meet him and spend Christmas with his family before the big drive to Michigan. I've got a few posts coming this week so stay tuned, unless you can't handle a little sap- then you better stay away!  (My baby turns two tomorrow, I'm a little emotional about all these big changes, and, well, I'm pregnant :) )