Three and a half Germans in South Carolina!

August has been a great month for many reasons but most of all because my two good friends from Germany decided to come all the way to South Carolina to visit us. We had such a great time together that it's difficult to know where to start. The Highlights of their vacation were our trips to Savannah, Charleston, Hilton Head Island and Myrtle Beach. We started off in Hilton Head Island were we rented a beach condo for a few days. Lance was able to join us for a night too. It was beautiful and very relaxing. We enjoyed sunshine and sea even though it was warm like in a bathtub. We also enjoyed watching the Pelicans doing there fly-bys.

Savannah is a very pretty city and used to be the capital of Georgia at some point. I feel like there is a flair of the glorious past in the air in that town. All over the city are trees covered with moss which along with the elegant architecture makes this place worth visiting. It turns out that Savannah was not the location for the movie "Gone With the Wind" which I had falsely told my friends, it's just the book plays in Georgia. "Forest Gump" and "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" however were movies that played in Savannah.

The next morning we went back over the bridge that separates the two States (GA and SC ) and spent a wonderful day in Charleston. Charleston is only 1.45 min away from our house and a great get away. Both are coastal cities , which makes it so special. When Lance and I went to Charleston in Spring we saw some Dolphins from the pier. There is great shopping (not that we needed to do anymore), pretty houses and good seafood in Charleston. We enjoyed some great tasting shrimp while we were there. Liam was so good the whole time. He really enjoyed our adventures and all the attention he received from his two additional mommies. (=

He was smiling a lot and did not seem to mind the long drives in between. Both of my friends said that they want to have a child like him someday. He is so easy to take along and made it really easy for me to enjoy the time with my friends.

We also rented a lake house for a night near our house which was great...at least until we found out there were poisonous snakes and gators in it! =) The water was warm like taking a bath, but we had a good time. To make up for all the shopping we did, I had to get a side job as a life guard...haha!

The time I had with Susi and Sabrina past quick and after they left the house seemed really empty. Thankfully I will see them soon again! Thanks for coming Y'ALL. (= It is amazing how much Liam is learning lately. Even in the time my friends where here he made some huge steps! He is now able to sit upright in his special Bumbo seat and loves touching his feet that he had recently discovered. He constantly likes to chew and suck on his hand and it is only a question of time until he discovers his thumb. He loves his green bouncy seat and is reaching for his toys now! He is also able to hold on to them and occasionally talks to them. The big change that babies go through in such a short time amazes me. He laughs everyday and he just loves live. When he wakes up in the morning and after his naps he looks at me with a big smile. What an amazing little boy he is! Even though he is so good I would really, really like to sleep through a night again after over 3 months. Here is a video about a serious conversation I had with Liam about my sleep deprivation. (=

Tomorrow Liam and I are getting ready for our next adventure. We will fly to Las Vegas to be with Lance. He has to work there for a couple of weeks and I will stay with a very good friend of mine that I know from Italy. There are two more friends stationed there and I can't wait to see them again! None of us had babies when we saw each other the last time and now we are all mommies. How exciting! In the meantime I am sending my love to everyone who reads this!

More Pictures here!

Take care!
Lana

Liam in Canada

The three cousins
The Ferguson Clan

Liam enjoyed the cooler weather

Liam with uncle Devin and his cousin Seth

The End of July Liam and I went on a trip to Canada to meet Lance's family. Unfortunately Lance could not be there with us because he had to work in Las Vegas. But I am so glad that we went because it was great to see everyone! Lance's Dad and his little brother saw Liam for the first time! I enjoy being part of such a big family. I love the Ferguson's.

The flight with Liam was great and he did not cry at all. He was so happy that the Flight Attendant said "he will become a pilot". Tomorrow I drive to Charlotte International Airport which is about two hours away to pick up my two good Friends Susi and Sabrina from Germany! I am really looking forward to there visit (=

We love this little man so much!!!

It's been a while...

and Liam is already 7 weeks old! The time since he was born has been a very exciting journey for Lance and I and we would like to share some of our adventures with you. This is going to be a long blog so I hope you won't get bored reading it. =)

So, where do I begin? I guess Liam's birth would make a good starting point. Thankfully my mom was able to arrive in the USA before Liam did...long before he did! After 2 full weeks of waiting and no signs of me being close to deliver, my doctor decided to give me a drug called Cytotec to induce labor. It was a good decision because after a night in the hospital (with Lance sleeping on the sofa) and some small contractions, my water broke and from then on everything went very fast. It was 6 o'clock in the morning and we were less than 6 hours away from meeting our child! Lance called my mom and told her it was time to come join us. Up until then I was convinced that I just wanted Lance in the delivery room. But, once my mom got to the hospital I changed my mind and did not mind her staying with us anymore. Ich bin so froh, dass du da warst Mama und diese unbeschreiblichen Erinnerungen mit mir teilen kannst. Danke!

At this point I must say that I had the must wonderful nurses one could hope for! Not only did they make me feel like I was the only patient in the hospital, they also made me laugh and cared for me in any possible way so that during labor I was already hoping to still be in South Carolina with the next child. Thank you Rhonda and Stacey, you are awesome!

The fact that Lance and I decided to wait and find out the sex at birth made the whole experience so much better! Not even my Doctor knew since I had my last ultrasound in Korea. Everyone in the room was taking sides whether it is going to be a girl or a boy and it was about half half. By that time I was pretty sure that I was going to have a little boy but my doctor was convinced it was a girl so she kept telling Lilli to come out while I was pushing. It was like a party! I can not say that I did not have any pain at all but the medication (epidural) really made it easy! Thank God for pain medication (-: According to my wish I was given a low dose epidural, just to take the edge off and I was still able to move my legs. Labor was just like my pregnancy a very good experience...I am very thankful for that. Lance has been really supportive during the whole process and did what he could do. Just being there for me and holding my hand.

After a couple hours of pushing, my doctor FINALLY took the baby and showed it to Lance...he shouted out LIAM, LIAM full of joy and tears started to run down his cheeks. Due to the pushing my eyes were swollen and I had a hard time opening them but when I finally did and saw our son for the very first time and could not help but cry. It was love at first sight! It was love even before but now there was a face, a name and a voice and it became so much stronger with every second that I held him and looked at him. Lance, by the way, was the one who cut the umbilical cord and it made me so happy to see him so happy. We were a family now! How wonderful!

Right after Liam was born I started to nurse him, which was a painful yet amazing experience. How did this little guy who spent his last 10 months of his life in a bubble full of water immediately know where and how to get his food? I just sat there looking into Liam's dark blue eyes and thanked God for giving us a healthy child. Two arms, two legs, two hands with 10 little fingers and toes, two eyes, his daddy's nose and the cutest little mouth! It is a true miracle when a child is being born. Praise God in Heaven, for I do not believe that all this is a result of countless coincidences.

After another 2 nights in the hospital (Lance was with me the whole time) we were finally able to take our son home with us and everything was just so exciting! His first time into the daylight, his first car ride and first everything. The same day we even went to buy some groceries at Walmart...Liam slept the whole time. Thankfully I was recovering really quick and the nurses could not believe what good shape I was in when it was time to leave. When Liam was 5 days old, we went to Outback and enjoyed a nice meal with my mother. She enjoyed every moment with Liam and could not wait to see him in the mornings. It was so nice having her there and I just wish she could have stayed longer. Lance's mom came just before my mom was getting ready to leave and it was really good to see her again and of course she was thrilled to spend some time with Liam.

In the last few weeks we had most of Lance's family here and we really enjoyed spending time with everyone, even though they mostly came to see Liam. ;-) First Kyle and Megan drove down from Ohio with there little son Seth, then Brent and Lori came with their daughter Elli, followed by his sister Jenna and husband Justin. We enjoyed hanging out together, went out for dinner, hung out at the pool on base etc. Liam has already been in the pool last week. He loves water! He also enjoyed watching the World Cup with mom and dad. ;-)

We're very thankful for all the gifts we received for Liam before and after his birth. The girls from the squadron organized a big baby shower for Liam, which was a lot of fun. Our church threw us another shower too!

The weather is very hot here now and the humidity makes it difficult to stay outside for too long. For the 4th of July weekend we had a little family trip to Savannah, Georgia where the film Gone With the Wind was made. I loved the city and it was a great getaway. On the evening of the 4th we went down to the river to watch the big 4th of July fireworks. It was quite the event and it was the first time for Liam and me (-: The next day we went to Tybee Beach, which is a pretty beach close to Savannah. It was hot but there was a nice sea breeze and I think Liam enjoyed staying outside and being at the ocean for the first time being a little over a month. On our way home, we stopped at Hilton Head Island and had a great time there. My two good friends Susi and Sabrina come visit us in August and I am really looking forward to that. We will go back to Hilton Head for a couple of days then! Yeah!! I just love being by the water...it makes me happy.

Everyday with Liam is another adventure and I enjoy studying him and exploring all his different faces. I have so much more to say that I could already fill a few books, but I don't want to make it to long. All in all we can honestly say that Liam is a great child. He is very content and is a good sleeper and eater. He is growing good and according to the doctor a very healthy baby. When he was just 4 weeks old he started to smile at Lance and I. That is just the best sight and it makes me forget about sleepless nights and a million dirty diapers.

Liam wanted to end this blog by letting you all know something...press play below to hear what he had so say.

Welcome To The World!

Liam Sean Ferguson! No words can explain how happy you make your parents feel. We love you!

One more blog...

...A friend of mine recently painted my belly and took some fun pictures that I wanted to share! It is the same girl that took the pregnancy pictures that I posted last. These will be the last pictures before that belly is empty. Love to everyone (-:

Last Blog From The Two Of Us...

and I mean Lance and I (-:

Time flew by since I wrote the last time and it is hard to believe that it is May already! This will be the month our baby is born. All the childbirth classes are complete at this point and the Doctor told me yesterday that she thinks I have at least another week left! Does not sound like a lot, does it?! I think the baby will come on the 15th. I don't know why but I just think it does! On the gender however we remain completely clueless...how are we supposed to know! It is interesting how everyone else around us knows what we are having though (-; Not a single day goes by without someone's flimsy prediction on whether it's going to be a boy or a girl. The funny thing about it is that I never even ask about their opinion. Oh well, I guess we find out for sure soon! How exciting!! Will it be a little boy or a girl, boy or girl, boy or girl.....we can't wait!

Having said that, the pain of giving birth is something that I would love to skip. It would be a lie to say that I am not at all nervous at this point. However, the fact that billions of women have managed to give birth and survive before me helps me a lot (-; But how is the baby's head ever going to come .....anyway. I will have to do it, somehow!

A big thank you to everyone that has contributed to getting the nursery ready for the little one. At least once a day I walk into the baby room and look at all the onsies lined up in the wardrobe thinking about our future. Sometimes Lance and I are looking at each other and one of us would say "we are going to have a baby soon!" And, even though there is alot of uncertainty in that truth it fills our hearts with joy. This must be one of the if not the most thrilling times in the relationship of a man and a woman.

My mother will fly to the U.S.A for the first time on May 13th and it will be interesting to see who will get here first, the baby (due May 12) or her! The pictures of me were taken just a few days ago. A friend took them around the corner from our house. I wanted to have some memories of that big belly. Well, the next time I will write the belly will be empty, Lance and I will be parents and our lives will be forever changed.

Lots of Love to everyone.