Number One.

Well, I have been thinking about a blog for months now, to be honest. To keep up with my own thoughts, life, keep family in the loop, and most of all, Daniel. So much has happened in the past 2 years, it's almost hard to jot down! I'll try with a timeline.

December 28, 2009- Emily's wedding.. Daniel and I meet.
December 30, 2009- Daniel and I hangout for the first time. It was fabulous.
December 31, 2009- Mine and Daniels first New Years Eve.
January 1, 2010- Our first "real" date, at Olive Garden. & Daniel left to go back to Illinois later that evening.
February 9, 2010- I move to Illinois.
February 14, 2010- Our first Valentine's and trip to Chicago.
March 15, 2010- Daniel proposed!
April (early April, can't remember the dates)- Daniel did a media escort to Afghanistan.
April 22, 2010- We got married <3
May 18, 2010- I got pregnant
June 16, 2010- I found out I was pregnant
July 4, 2010- Walt Disney World, and I was SO sick. :( I didn't enjoy Florida one bit..
August 3, 2010- Daniel missed my birthday... He was TDY to Virginia for the Boy-scout Jamboree.
August 14, 2010- Port Aransas wedding with all the family
September (Can't remember exact date) 2010- Labor scare.. We didn't tell anyone but my mom.. Everything turned out okay, and Scarlette did not come that day, the contractions finally stopped. Though I had braxton-hicks almost every single day after this day. It was awful. I was also diagnosed with RLS, and anemia, and PICA. I took an Iron pill every single day after this, and my craving for ice was so insane, that it was beginning to be all I was eating. I literally gained a total of 15 pounds my whole pregnancy, and that was after losing 10. So total, I gained 5 pounds. I threw up EVERY single day and I am NOT exaggerating, and I lost so much sleep, I was on ambien by week 30. Life was really rough.. I was not looking my best. I also had to count kicks, every day and make sure she was moving 10 times a day, otherwise, it was an automatic trip to L&D.
November 25, 2010- Our first Thanksgiving! Daniel cooked the turkey, and I cooked the sides. We had enough food to feed 10. LOL
December 25, 2010- Our first Christmas! It was perfect.
December 31, 2010- 2nd New Years.
January (Can't remember exact date) 2011- I was put on bed rest, because my health was failing, and it was causing Scarlette to not move as much and stressing her out. I had to quit my job and everything.  It was really hard to do. I actually did not follow orders and I walked a mile every day and shoveled snow.....................
February 12, 2010- Virtual baby shower via Skype at Nancy's house. And the day Daniel told me he was deploying to Afghanistan for 1 year, and he was leaving in exactly 4 weeks.
February 14, 2011- 2nd Valentines and I was miserably, VERY pregnant. I think we ate at Texas Roadhouse.
February 16, 2011- We convinced my OB to induce me on February 20th.
February 18, 2011- My actual due date....... just another day in the life of the Riley's really!
February 20, 2011- I was admitted at 9pm for my induction. By 10pm I was having steady contractions, all on my own. No medicine, nothing. Labor had officially begun, before the induction process began! (Imagine that.)
February 21, 2011- 5pm rolls around and I am FINALLY pushing. At 6pm Scarlette Noelle Riley was born weighing 7 pounds, 4 ounces and she was 19 inches long. She was perfect. She had a little trouble breathing at first, but she got the hang of it. She had jaundice, but they did not put her under a lamp. Instead, we were told constant sunlight... though, Illinois is February does not have sunlight, just clouds and snow. We did the best we could though, and it cleared up on it's own.
February 23, 2011- We are released and FINALLY get to go home!
March 12, 2011- 6am drive to the airport to drop Daniel off. He was headed for a 3 month long training at Camp Atterbury, Indiana before his 9 month deployment to Afghanistan.
March 13, 2011- My mom and dad, Nancy and Floyd packed up few items and we headed to Texas for me and Scarlette to live with my mom and dad while Daniel is deployed. Worst drive of my life. I literally cried the first 3 hours until I finally fell asleep for about 10 minutes because it was time to feed Scarlette again.
April 21, 2011- My OB did not clear me for normal activity because my uterus had not shrunk back down to normal size. I was pretty upset. I wanted to be able to do "normal" things again.
June 7, 2011- Daniel arrived in Texas for his 1 week ISTOP leave! It was fabulous.
June 12, 2011- Scarlette's Baptism. I wish more people would have shown up.. sadly, almost all the FAMILY I invited didn't even bother to RSVP. I was pretty hurt by that.
June 14, 2011- Daniel left to go back to Indiana, and then head to Afghanistan.
July 29, 2011- Me, Emily and Scarlette head to Port Aransas for the annual Riley/Dresslar summer vacation.
August 3, 2011- My 21st........Daniel misses it, this time due to his deployment.
October 19, 2011- I start school at Kaplan University for my Bachelor of Science in Psychology- Applied Behavioral Analysis. I am scheduled to graduate December 23, 2014.
October 31, 2011- Scarlette's first Halloween! She was a fairy. :)
November 11, 2011- Daniel left Afghanistan to start his journey back to the States for his R&R!
November 16, 2011- Daniel FINALLY arrives after an 8 HOUR delay! He got an extra day of R&R because of this though!
November 25, 2011- Thanksgiving #2 in the Valley with my side of the family. Everyone met Scarlette for the 1st time. :) She had just turned 9 months old.
December 3, 2011- Daniel left to go back to Afghanistan. Hardest goodbye yet.
December 6, 2011- We got orders to move to Eielson AFB, ALASKA, when Daniel returns from his deployment. We will drive, and we leave June 1, 2012.


So far, that is it. Liiiiiiiiiife. It's 2am. I'll post more later.

Sarah