baby soft :)

So today I noticed that my baby boy skin was looking/feeling a little dry.

I put lotion on him every night after his bath.

We use the Johnson's bath time lotion to help him sleep.

it really works! We love it.

Anyways i was looking for a new lotion to try for the day time and I picked up the Johnson's Natrual body lotion for him today.

I am going to try it out and see if that helps his dry skin :)

If anyone has used this please let me know how it worked for you. And if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know.

On the hunt

So i have been looking for a good chapstick for the last few weeks. I finally broke down and asked what everyone's favorites were on my facebook and I got alot of good suggestions.

So today I bought two different kinds. I am going to try them each out.

(not at the same time of course)

I bought BurtsBee's

 and Softlips.

I started using BurtsBee's today.

So far I think I like it.

Im going to give it a few days just to be sure.

Have any of you tried either of these? If so please let me know :) Also if u have any suggestions on a good chapstick that works please dont hesitate to suggest it. I would love to try a new one :)

my life right now

Well we had a successful night tonight :)

Rien tried his first few bites of cereal. He wasnt quite sure how to eat it and if he liked it but we will be trying it again tomorrow morning with breakfast :) I love him so much. Watching him grow has been one of the greatest things ive ever experienced. Everyone told me that being a mom would be the best thing ever and that it was one of the most rewarding things I could do in my life. Well they were right. I love being a mom. Every time Rien looks at me with his big brown eyes I cant help but feel happy. Your life does change once you become a mommy but I think it is definetly a change for the better. I wouldnt want to be who i was before Rien was born :) I am excited to watch Rien grow and learn new things. I cant wait for him to make friends and learn to play football. (we all know his daddy is going to teach him to play) I am excited to see him experience life.

see those big brown eyes :)

I am also very excited to get settled in san diego with my hubby. I cant wait to get a place and be able to decorate my way and raise our son!! its going to be great to be a family!! Finally. I have had dreams decorating our room, rien's room and our living room. Ive had dreams of having our own kitchen where i can make family dinners and birthday cakes and who knows what else.

framing this pic for our living room :)

Im at a time in my life right now where I cant wait for a lot of things. Im getting anxious and impatient. I know i need to let go and let God. He has a plan, he knows exactly when and where we will be moving. Maybe thats why I cant sleep lately...because i keep thinking about all the "what if's" and wondering when we will get into housing and everything.

Our adventure!

Key West Florida!!

September 24 - October 2, 2011

Finally have some time to sit down and write :)

Our adventure to Key West Florda was exactly that an ADVENTURE! :)

 We left at 0600 am from Spokane Washington and flew to Denver Colorado.

Rien and I at the Denver Airport.

From Denver we flew to Tampa Florida.
Rien did amazing on each of our flights!! He slept pretty much on every one!!
He is such a good baby!!

Rien and I at the Tampa Airport.

From Tampa we flew to Miami Florida.

Our flight was late taking off from Tampa and we missed our flight to Key West from Miami. :(

Flying with a 3 month old, who by the way was amazing the whole day, all day and then missing the last flight to see your hubby makes you rather grumpy.

Poor guy at the counter got an ear-ful from me (im a bit embarassed about that). Thank goodness he was a nice guy tho he got Rien and I a hotel room and dinner and breakfast and the first flight to Key West the very next day.

Rien and I at the Miami Airport.

Sunday morning we got up early got on a shuttle bus to the airport and waited for our flight to Key West.

When we finally got on the plane I was so excited.

When we finally landed I couldnt walk fast enough to the building where Kellen was.

It was the best feeling in the world to walk into the building and see my husband standing there waiting for us. First thing I did was give him a big hug and then let him take Rien.

I wanted to cry when Kellen finally got to hold his son.

It had been three months since he had seen him.

It was the best feeling in the whole entire world to have our little family back together again.

Finally my boys are back together!

After dropping our stuff off at the hotel we made our way down town and went on a glass bottom boat ride. It was awesome. We got to see the reef, fishies, jelly fish and one side of our boat got to see a sea turtle. We even went past Kellen's ship. That was pretty amazing to see.

USS Spruance (DDG 111) Look at that ship!! Isnt she beautiful :)

Kellen had duty on Monday so Rien and I just planned on hanging out at the hotel and getting some rest. After two days of flying, rest was a must :)

But we didnt end up getting that.

There was a huge thunder and lightning storm that started sometime after Kellen left for work.

Our power at our hotel went out due to lightning striking somewhere close by.

Then a few minutes later the fire alarm started going off. So I grabbed Rien and my phone and my room key and headed down the stairs. We had to evacuate in the pouring rain to a little sheltered area.

Thank goodness for friends tho :) We had a friend renting a condo close by so we went and hung out there til it was okay to go back to the hotel.

Its pictures like this that make me smile :)

The next couple days Kellen had some time to hang out with us. We spent time hanging out at the hotel his mom and step dad were staying, we went jet skiing with his brother and sister, went to some yummy resturants, took Rien to the beach and just enjoyed spending time with each other. We even got a special tour of the ship! It was awesome! It was so nice to be with my hubby and actually get to be a family.

Daddy changing Rien for the first time :)

There were a couple days Kellen had duty and on those days I spent them with a friend shopping and passing the day by. It was nice.

He makes each day brighter!!

The Commissioning ceremony was both beautiful and moving. It was amazing to see how many people were there to support the guys and to see how many sailors have sacraficed so much.

USS Spruance (DDG 111)

 

Worst part of Commissioning day was Kellen had duty. Which meant he had to be on the ship all day. Even after the ceremony. So while some of my friends got to be with their hubbies after the ceremony and enjoy the reception and stuff, my hubby had to go to work :( It was also my last night in Key West.

 

I am so thankful for my hubby and for all he has done for our family. He has sacraficed so much to support us. I am proud to be married to him and I am very proud to be a navy wife. It may be one of the hardest jobs ever but I am willing to do it.

 

 

Our Proud Little Family!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog it really means alot to me!!

Just a bit of writing.

There are 10 more days til Rien and I take of on a plane and start our journey to Key West!! I am so excited I want to start packing now!! haha its a little early tho. I love that anticipation feeling you get right before something exciting is going to happen. Like right before a trip to a new exciting place. That feeling you get when you know your significant other is about to get home from work.

So I have really slacked lately on my goals I set...not good i know :(

I have been tryign to get back into the swing of things. Back into a routine but life just gets crazy haha. Does anyone else have problems keeping up with their goals or routines?

 I hate it when you try to get something done and you just cant quite finish. I have been trying to get my car licensed in washington for almost a month now...three weeks....and I just cant seem to get it done. I am waiting on my stinken title to be faxed up here. ive called once a week so far and each time ive been either told that everything is taken care of or that this time things will be done right. Im so tired of it. I have been driving my car with expired tabs for about three weeks now. I try not to drive much but its hard when you ahve a 3 month old son who has needs. I just want it done already. ugh!!

Anyways enough with the ranting!! I guess I just needed to get some anger out haha. One thing is for sure Key West is going to be amazing!! Seeing my hubby!! My hubby getting to be with his son again!! Being on the beach! Seeing the beautiful blue ocean!! Relaxing!! No worries just fun!! Thats what I would like this trip to be!! I guess we will see how it goes!!

I better get to bed so I can get some sleep and get rid of this awful soar throat!! :) night and thanks for reading!!

Count Down to Key West!!

I am super excited!! In just 24 days my son and I will be flying to Key West Florida to attend the commissioning of my husband's ship, the USS SPRUANCE!! I am so excited. We will get to spend a week there relaxing and getting to see Kellen.

Kellen hasnt gotten to see his son since about a week after he was born in June!! Im more excited about him getting to see and hold his son, than I am about being in Key West!! Im also super excited to get to see my hubby of course!!

Being a Navy Wife or military wife is hard work!! Having your husband deployed is hard work!! Never knowing when you will hear from your hubby or see you hubby takes a toll on you emotionally and sometimes physically too.  I recentally went to a Dr who is sorta like a councelor and you wouldnt believe what sort of stuff get stored up in your body. I found out that in the back of my mind I didnt believe that my husband loved me. I know he loves me but in the back of my mind there was that thought that hmm maybe he doesnt really love me. Its weird what your mind tells you.

I cant wait for the next two months to be over!! I am ready to settle down in San Diego with my hubby and my son and be a family. I dream of what our apartment will be like. Just me, Kellen and Rien!! Its gonna be amazing!! I cant wait to decorate the way I want to decorate!! I cant wait to have a lil place to call home!! A place where my parents, siblings, inlaws, friends can come and visit and I can say welcome to the Dano home :)

I just realized I havent been doing so well on all my goals ive had set for Key West. I have been pretty good about my tummy butter but everything else i havent been doing so well. My tanning lotion ive kept up sorta on  but my sit ups and walks i have failed at doing. Now there are 24 more days hmm i should stop writing and do some sit ups right now haha :)

Just writing :)

One of the hardest things about being a Navy Wife is not knowing where your husband is, what he is doing, where he will be going, when you will hear his voice again, if you will hear his voice again, ect. Once they are underway, as they call it, you have no idea what will happen or anything. They are not allowed to tell you anything. Its always good to have lots of friends and family to talk to or help you through these situations. I thank God every day for my family and my navy family :) They are helping me get through this time with Kellen away. I would be going crazy right now if i was all alone!!

hmm i knew i wanted to write but now im just not sure what else to write about. haha happens to me alot!! oh well!! short posts are okay too :)

Goals!!

Goals?!?!?!

Key West, Florida in one month!!

In exactly one month from today Rien and I will be flying to Key West Florida to see Kellen and attend the commissioning of his ship, the USS SPRUANCE!! I have never been very good at making and keeping up with my goals but for this month I am gonna try my hardest to do so.

Goal # 1:

          EXCERSIZE!!

I know that I dont need to lose weight but there are a few body parts that need some toning done. If Im going to be walking around in a bathing suit or shorts I am going to at least look like I take care of myself haha. I may not look like I just had a baby a little over two months ago but I did. Plus my hubby hasnt really seen me since I had Rien so I would like to look as good as I can ;)

Goal # 2:
        Stretch Marks!!!
So after having Rien I struggled for a long time with how my tummy looked...just like any woman who just had a baby would. I recently started using Palmer's Tummy Butter to help the look of my stretch marks and I have notice a change!! Yay!! I may not be wearing a bikini top to Florida this year but at least I will know that my tummy is looking better :) Plus I want to look as good as I can when I see my hubby *wink *wink. My goal is to use that lotion as much as possible so that by the time I leave for Key West my tummy and self esteem improve :)

Goal # 3:
        Tan!!!
I know why would I have to tan Im already brown haha.  I would like to have an even tan tho. Kellen loves my skin when its that sunkissed look :) So again I want to look my best when I go see him :) I started using my tanning lotion after my showers and I hope that by the time I leave I have a wonderful sunkissed tan :) I should also spend as much time in the sun...maybe even in my swim suit and shorts :)

                           this isnt the actual lotion I use. I use the generic kind but it works just the same   

These are just a few goals I have set for now. I might post more later. Once I get into a good routine :) Hopefully I can stick to these goals :) Wish me luck!! haha. I will try and update every once in awhile just to see how I am doing :) If any one has any tips or anything please dont be afraid to share!! :) 

              

The Perfect Place to Call Home

How do you make two people happy when looking for the perfect place to call home?
I have started looking for apartments in San Diego and I am a little frustrated.
My husband is concerned about money and how much its gonna cost
I want a safe and spacious place where our son can grow up and feel at home.
Ive been searching and seaching and have not found very many in our budget....

I know God has the perfect place picked out for our lil family and I need to let him show me it.

*sigh* maybe I should just give up tonight and look some more tomorrow.

Just a lil bit about the RealMe

My name is Stephani Marie Nicole Realme Dano.

I was born on December 16th 1988.

My favorite colors are anything BRIGHT!!

Hot Pink! Orange! Lime Green! Bright Blue!

My bedroom had lime green walls and pink curtins when I was in high school!!

I love music!!

When I cant really find the words to say I can usually find a song to say what I need to say!

I love make up!

Funny thing is I dont wear it every day.

Usually just when I go out with my hubby, church, or I just get bored haha.

I love to get my hair all done and my nails all done

and just feel like a girl.

Oh yes I mentioned my hubby :)

I am married to my best friend and the love of my life.

His name is Kellen!

He is my everything!!

We have been married for over a year now!!

July 7, 2010 BEST DAY EVER!!

We have the cutest littly boy ever!!

His name is Rien Louis Dano!!

I love him so much.

He is my life!
He was born on July 14th 2011.
on his due date!!
He is so amazing!!

My husband is in the Navy so that makes me a Navy wife but I prefer to be called

a Sailor's Princess!!

I am the second oldest of 6 kids.

I have 4 sisters and 1 brother.

Sisters: Jenni, Krystofer, Lakeesha and Cyzik

Brother: Mykenzi.

I also have 3 brother inlaws!!

Scott, Brett and Brady.

I love having such a big family.

My parents are so amazing the adopted 4 out of us 6 kiddos!!

Jenni, Me, Cyzik and Mykenzi are the adopted ones.

Our family came about in sorta a weird way.

I was the first one! (Whoohoo!!)

Then a couple years later Krystofer was born

a couple years after that Lakeesha was born

Then a few years after that Jenni moved in with us

(she is the oldest of us kiddos)

and then many years later we adopted Cyzik and Mykenzi from Haiti.

Our family is amazing and pretty crazy!

I wouldnt change a thing about them thoough.

My hubby has turned me into a bit of a Seattle Seahawk fan

and a Washington State Cougar fan.

I love the Seahawk colors!!

Ive secretly always wanted to be a cheerleader for an NFL team

shhhh dont tell anyone ;)

Through out my life I have had many dream jobs

professional singer, teacher, wedding planner, psychologist

just to name a few.

Im still not sure what exactly what my career will be.

God does tho!!

Right now Im a stay at home mommy!!

I love it!!

Well I think thats about it for tonight :) I just thought I would share a little about myself. I sure Ill do it again sometime in the future. Thanks for reading!!

Family time

Its been great having all my siblings home and their hubbies :) I have three sisters who are married.

Jen and Scott just got back from a 3 week trip visiting Scott's family.

Kryt and Brett are passing through on their way to Dover, Deleware. Brett is in the Airforce and just finished tech school and will be stationed in Dover. They came home to visit and pick up their stuff.

Keesha and Brady came home for a visit just like they always do on the weekends :)

I love each one of my siblings. I see how each one of them and their significant others love each other. How they all just light up when their hubbies walk into the room. It makes me happy because each one of them deserve the best.

Its also very hard to watch because my hubby is away. I want to be the one who is all giggly and smiles when my hubby walks in the room too. I love my hubby very much and am very proud of what he is doing. I cant wait for Key West!! Only about 40 more days til i leave!! So excited.

Missing my hubby!

The worst thing about being a military wife is when your husband is deployed. My husband is in Bath Maine right now. He has been their since April of this year and is their until September. Then he gets to sail his ship from Bath Maine through the Panama Cannel all the way to San Diego. He is supposed to be back November 1st!! I pray that everything works out and he will be. I was just about 6 months pregnant when he left. He did get to come home when our son, Rien, was born.  I absolutally cant stand that we cant talk as much as we used to. Some days we text and call each other non stop and then there are days where I dont get one single text or phone call. I hate wondering what he is up to and if he is safe or not. I know I shouldnt worry because God is going to protect him and Rien and I. I also know that we will get through this no matter what. I just miss Kellen so much some nights it kills me. Okay it doesnt really kill me but some nights it feels like it. I want so badly to be with him, to feel his arms around me. There are so many things I miss about him that I could go on forever. I knew when we got married that it would be tough while he was gone. I know it all will be worth it in the end. I just want my hubby home now!! It breaks my heart knowing that he is missing so much of his son's life right now. Babies change so much. Photos and videos just arent the same. I am so excited to be going to see Kellen in Key West next month!! I cant wait to be able to give my hubby a big hug and kiss!! I also cant wait for Kellen to get to hold Rien and get to actually spend some time with him. He gets to actually see what an amazing lil boy Rien is. What a joy he is. And also what a happy lil guy he is!!

My Boys!!

My Life and My World!!

My Everything!!

 

Gonna try this :)

Okay so I have always wanted to try blogging but just never did it. I always thought "who would want to read my thoughts haha" Writing has always helped me get my feelings out for some reason. Some of my post might be random and then again they might not be. I think I know what I want to write about tho.

My life as a Sailor's Princess :)
I want this blog to be about my life as a Sailor's Princess and a mother. I think that I can do that haha. (Sorry if I ramble.)

I have been a sailor's princess for about 2 and 1/2 years now and a navy wife for a little over a year now. It's been tough but I wouldnt want it any other way. God has blessed me with such a wonderful family I couldnt ask for anything better.

I met my husband (Kellen) about a year or so before he joined the Navy. We were in the same business class in college. We sat right next to each other. He would copy my homework all the time, hehe. Our relationship has had its share of ups and downs but then again whose relationship hasnt ;) He left for bootcamp a year after we started dating. About a year after that we got engaged. Then got married two months after that (gotta work fast when marrying someone in the military) on July 9, 2010. I moved down to San Diego, which is where we are stationed, and by the beginning of November we dicovered that we were expecting a little one.  I lived in San Diego from the end of August 2010 til the end of March 2011. Why did I move back to Washington? Well you see the ship that Kellen is on was being built in Bath, Maine and the whole crew had to be relocated there to sail it around to San Diego. We both thought that it would be much easier for me if I came back up to stay with family when I had the baby. Any who, I had our lil one on June 14th 2011. A 7lb 13oz, healthy little boy. We named him Rien Louis. Luckily Kellen did get to come home and meet his lil boy. He actually flew in the day Rien was born (a story for another post). I am currently still living in Washington and Kellen is still in Maine :(

Kellen and I just before we got engaged <3

Our wedding day!!

Rien Louis

Our Beautiful Family!

When people ask me how I deal with being a Navy wife I tell them that yes its very tough having my husband gone but I know that God is going to protect us and our marriage and make us stronger. Ive done the navy life thing. My dad was in the navy and was gone alot when I was a small child.