Through Good Times and in Bad...

Things have been a little k-R-a-Z-y in my life right now...

Lots going on, and not enough answers to the problems.

These two faces always make me smile though...

and for that one simple moment...

All my troubles disappear.

<3

Finally Time for a Breather...and of course an **Update**!

The Romer's are finally back from our vacation!

This past month has been CRAZY busy for us...

 

*Nick's homecoming from Afghanistan

*Lydia's wedding in Houston TWO days after he got home

*Back to Cali for a week and a half

*Back to Texas to drop Dannika off with Grandma

 

*Then to PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC for Nick and I

 

*Back to Texas to pick up Dannika

*Back to Cali

*And Nick's dad and his dog Basil come out TONIGHT to visit us for a week

So I'll start with our vacation...

Punta Cana was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. We got there just after the hurricane had passed through, so "Praise the Lord", we had beautiful weather the entire week we were there!

We stayed at the Riu Palace which is the best resort in Punta Cana. It was ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. Nick and I had a suite. The hotel was beautiful, the resort was beautiful, the staff was sooo friendly, and I felt like royalty the whole time I was there!

The cocktails were plenty and yes...Nick and I participated in some adult beverage drinking while we were there!

The resort had some sort of show every night for entertainment. Let me tell ya...those Dominicans can DANCE!

This is Nick and I in the safari bus on the way to our ziplining through the Dominican jungle's canopy adventure. The ride up the mountain was CRAZY bumpy, and we ran into a herd of random cows on the way up. Nick and I made the mistake of not bringing any CASH with us on our trip since we had an all inclusive trip....we figured we wouldn't need any. We were wrong. Cause when we went ziplining, they took away all our cameras and forced us to buy the pictures on CD that their own photographer took. Unfortunately for us, we had no cash....so we didn't get any cool ziplining pictures. However, the experience was awesome. I had some trouble with the zipline cause I didn't weigh enough so I kept spinning in circles in the middle of the cable. The guy had to come save me a few times cause I got stuck! It was a lot of hiking through the jungle, but being strapped to a cable and just sliding above the canopy was truly a breathtaking experience! I'm glad we did it! What an experience!

On our third day, we took a snorkeling, swimming with sharks and stingrays, and kayaking trip. It was by far my FAVORITE day in Punta Cana. The weather was a little cloudy, but the water was so clear. They took us out in the middle of the ocean on a boat to this little man made island. From there they we did some snorkeling and kayaking. The coolest thing was getting to swim with sharks...REAL LIVE SHARKS! For those of you who know Nick, know his fear of sharks...which is the biggest reason why he refuses to swim in the ocean back in Cali. It turns out, I'm more afraid of them than he is! We also got to hold a stingray and swim with them too! It was so much fun. 

The majority of the vacationers we saw in Punta Cana were Europeans. They were a little too weird for us (meaning their customs and lack of modesty was a little much for Nick and I!). We met a small group of Americans at the hotel pool who had decided to band together as Americans in the midst of all the foreigners! Most of the couples were honeymooners. Meeting them made the vacation so much more fun. We also randomly met a former Marine and his new wife. Nick and him seemed to have a lot more to talk about having the Marine Corps in common.

The vacation was a success and very much needed. The last day, I got really sick so I spent the day just relaxing in the hotel room. We have already decided on planning our next vacation next year! Costa Rica or England! We were happy to be coming back though cause we missed Dannika so much!

*********************************

MISS DANNIKA JANE

She is a totally different baby than she was a month ago!

It is so crazy all the changes she has gone through since Nick has been home.

As you all know, she is a 'late' bloomer when it comes to walking and standing because she has 'loose hips'

She finally starting standing up at my mom's house while Nick and I were on vacation!

She also babbles quite a bit, and her vocabulary has gotten bigger!

 

She can say...

"yes"

"Jesus"

"dada"

"mama"

"hi"

She also can...

*high five

*wave hi and bye when people leave or when we leave somewhere

*blow kisses

*give hugs

*hold a cell phone up to her ear (more like the back of her head, but she gets the idea)

*ride a bike

*play peek a boo

*brush her "hair"

*can do squats (she does them to show off all the time)

*can cop an attitude when things don't go her way

*dance to music

*share her food with you...sometimes shoving it in your mouth when you don't want it

*shakes her head "no"

*"pour" water from one container to another

*organize and somewhat clean up her toys

She just seems to keep growing and won't stop!

Nick's 1st TRUE Experience as a Father

 

***WARNING***

GRAPHIC CONTENT

Since Dannika was born, I've been the ONLY one that has EVER had to deal with Dannika's most HORRENDOUS poopy diapers.

The first time I ever had to deal with it was a rushed morning before daycare.

I literally threw her in the tub with all her clothes on.

Her poop had seeped through her diaper all the way up her onesie to her back...(there's a gross picture for you to think of.)

Nick wasn't deployed yet, but he was conveniently at work earlier than me that morning.

The next few times was after he deployed...

I've dealt with teething poopy diapers...

stomach flu poopy diapers...

bad food poopy diapers...

I've seen it all.

I've always told Nick that it will soon be HIS turn...

well...he finally got his turn, and I got it all on video...hahaha.

Splishy Splashy

This is how asian grandmas bathe their grandchildren...

in a teeny tiny wash tub inside a big tub.

Apparently, it works though cause she was having a ball in there!!

My Playful Little Baby