Labor Day 2009

We had a great Labor Day Weekend! We stayed home, but Joe and I had a lot of fun together! Saturday we took some old friends and some new friends out on the boat. There were 13 of us but we fit surprisingly well!! 4 of the 13 were kids so they didn't take up too much room! We took the giant island and tied up with the Lambertz Family and had a ton of fun! I forgot the camera that day, but it was a good one! Sunday we went out on the boat again, but didn't have the crowd riding along. We tied up with the party though and ended up with who knows how many people on and over the boat all day. At first it was a little boring, being in the middle of the party and not "participating", but as the day wore on, the entertainment picked up! Haha!! I had a great time watching everyone else and meeting new people! Then, on Monday, we got up and had the best breakfast at The Lookout. We sat out on the patio looking out over Lake Elsinore. There is a giant water plane that floats on the lake there and fills up with water to help with firefighting. While we were there we got to see it take off and land! The plane is from WWII and has been neat to see flying around. There are several wildfires in Southern California right now so it gets plenty of use! After breakfast, we came home and relaxed for a while and watched Gran Torino, then we took the truck out behind the lake and did some 4x4 exploring! It was a beautiful day and we found our way to a spot on the backside of the lake that we'd been wondering about for a while! We grilled some yummy kabobs for supper and it was the perfect end to a lovely long weekend!

A narrow view of the string of party boats!

The lake from a hill we crested while we were exploring!


We're officially halfway and, although I probably looked a little chubby in my bikini, I love my belly!!! It's really cool that my belly button's changing too. It's really soft on the bottom. I hope it pops so I'll have an outie! I'm also getting a really light linea nigra- a line that runs up the middle of my belly. I heard that it's darker with boys so we'll see how dark it gets!

19 Weeks

I can't believe we're almost halfway through the pregnancy! The reality of it is starting to sink in and I'm getting a little nervous but mostly just so excited!! He's about 6" crown to rump this week and I imagine him to be the same size as my favorite sandwich from Subway but with arms and legs! That seems so big compared to the blueberry I was just thinking of a few weeks ago! He still has so much growing to do before he gets here too... it's hard to imagine! I really feel like I'm starting to grow along with him. I think it's easiest to tell what is baby when I'm laying down- when I stand up I think I just look chubby. :) I can feel that he is putting on some weight! At first his movements felt a little like popcorn, but now they are stronger and more noticable.

Courtney came out this last weekend! It was great to see him! We spent Saturday afternoon on the boat. It has been over 100 degrees for the past few weeks! I'm about ready for it to start cooling down though so I can start walking again. When I said goodbye to Joe at 4:30 this morning it was already really warm and muggy feeling. It's forecasted to get down to 90 this weekend and that seems like it will be a relief! I think Joe's ready for some cooler weather too! He's been talking a lot about camping lately and we're planning on going in the fall. We're sticking close to home for now though and will be here for Labor Day!

Hope everyone has a great holiday!! xxoo

Brutus is excited too! We were checking out the pack-n-play that Ali and Joe brought for us!
Baby belly! 19 weeks 4 days!

18 Weeks

We are 18 weeks today! I'm so excited that I'm my belly is growing! The baby is about the size of a big pickle with arms and legs this week. I've been eating a TON of pickles! We're buying them in the economy sized jars! Haha!! I don't know what it is about them- they're just so good! I read that they are a natural cure for heartburn but luckily I haven't had any of that yet!

We had a doctor's appointment today and had blood drawn for the 2nd Trimester Screen. We also got to listen to his heartbeat. It sounded strong and steady! Some people buy or rent dopplers so they can listen to their baby's heartbeat at home. They bounce a signal off of the baby and it reflects the heartbeat then it processes it and what we hear through the doppler is an electronic version of the heartbeat. I think it would be so much better if we could hear the actual heart sounds! I've read that we can listen in with a fetoscope, but I've also read that you can't hear much with these until much later in pregnancy. So, I've considered the options and have concluded that I'm happy just feeling the little guy moving around in there! That has been the best part of pregnancy so far and I love it! :)

My cousin Courtney is coming to visit this weekend! He's a Marine stationed at 29 Palms. I am so proud of him and am excited to see him! We're going to get up early Saturday morning and take him wakeboarding! I hope to get some great pictures to share!

16 Weeks

This is the week! It's finally here! We get to see our little one again this Friday! I have been counting down so impatiently! We have an avocado this week! :) We'll have the anatomy scan at the perinatologists' office and they will measure the baby and it's brain and some bones and look at it's organs to make sure it is developing properly. This is the scan that revealed the anomalies associated with Trisomy 18 in Jonah. I would expect to be nervous, but as of now, I'm not at all! I'm just really excited! This last week was an awesome week. My belly seems to be getting a little rounder although it's still not apparent that I'm pregnant! At the end of week 15 I started feeling some movement fairly regularly! It's soooo cool! I notice it the most in the mornings when I'm laying on my back using the computer. This morning I think it was dancing to Cyndi Lauper... maybe it is a girl! Haha!! We'll find out on Friday!

Kalah is coming out on tomorrow with some friends that are considering buying a house here. Joe loves showing people around the lake- he makes a great tour guide! I'm really excited to see her! It hasn't been too hot here (forecast says 92 for Sunday) but the water is warm! We went out on Marcus' boat yesterday and Joe got to wakeboard! He's learning some new tricks and is (as always) really fun to watch! We buzzed his head for the summer- it looks really good on him especially when he's flexin' on the wakeboard! :)

We're enjoying our new patio! We have a new little friend that has been visiting everyday. He's not shy either! The feeder is just outside the kitchen window so we see him often or he perches on a branch across from the patio and will sit there while we eat dinner!

New baby pictures to come later this week!!! xxoo

First Trimester Screen

We had our second ultrasound today for our first trimester screen! I was so nervous so I started crying right away when we saw the baby and it was moving! It's an active little one and it was sooo cute!!! It was sucking it's thumb!!! The doctor said the measurement was excellent and we should have the results of the blood test within a week. I'm not nervous for that though! We felt very relieved and reassured when we saw the baby and they told us that it looks great! The countdown is now on till our next ultrasound on August 14! It will be with the perinatologist as well just because we're at a slightly elevated risk. I don't mind though because they will do the diagnostic ultrasound 2 weeks before our OB will! We will find out the sex of the baby then! The tech today told us that if she had to bet on it, she thought it looked like a boy!!! We won't start shopping until after the next ultrasound when they can tell for sure! I've been dreaming about a boy and the old pendulum-over-the-belly trick said boy too! Only 4 more weeks until we know for sure! It really doesn't matter- it was just so amazing to see our little one has grown and is doing well! Today it is 2.6 inches from crown to rump and measuring right on schedule. It's so crazy that this little face we're seeing is so tiny! Still working on the belly bump- not much to see from the outside! He/it is very active though- too bad I can't feel any little flutters yet! Check out the last picture- it says "1st Footprint"! If you double click the photos they will get bigger!

We're having a really great time with Ali and Joe and their family... I will blog about that tomorrow! I haven't gone through the pictures that we've been taking yet. This is our last night with them. We're going to grill and Kalah is going to come stay the night too!

xxoo

Profile

Whole Body

Thumb's Up!!

Footprint

Summertime!!

Woohoo! Summertime is in full swing and we're loving it!! Thankfully our first trimester is almost over (officially July 21) and hopefully the worst parts of pregnancy will go with it! I haven't had a hard time, I'm just ready to have some energy back and I'm sure Joe's ready for the moodiness to go away! He would probably tell you that I haven't been as bad this time as last- I think last time I wasn't always "nice" but this time I feel like my negative moods are more on the sad side. It's been a pretty emotional last couple of months! It isn't fair that our pregnancy

experience has been jaded, but we're doing our best to think positive! I think it will be a different story in a couple more weeks when we get past our 18 week diagnostic ultrasound and when I start to feel the baby moving and I get a belly! I cannot wait!!!! We have our first trimester screen next Tuesday. I'm apprehensive because I've heard that false positives are somewhat common, but our doctor told us that she will be able to tell us with 98% confidence whether the baby is "normal". We declined this test last time so it will be a new experience! I'm super excited to get to see the baby again! It should look more like a baby this time and less like a bean! It should also be fairly active so I just can't wait! They'll do a detailed ultrasound and measure the nuchal fold on the back of the baby's neck and combine the statistics for that measurement with a blood test to see if we're at an increased risk for abnormalities. We're really looking forward to hearing that everything appears to be okay!!

We had a great time last weekend out on the lake! We and 2 other couples spent the day floating and the weather was perfect! We even brought a little grill that clamps onto a side rail of the boat and enjoyed hotdogs for dinner! :) We met up with Marcus and April's family and had a front row view to the fireworks. I think they were probably some of the best (if not THE best!) that I had ever seen! It's really cool being out there in the dark with so many other boats around celebrating together- just awesome! Isn't the picture of Joe and Adelle adorable? He is going to be an amazing Daddy!

This weekend we are heading to Park Moabi to meet up with the Jimenez family! Yay!!!! I can't wait to see them!!! Kalah, Joe, and I are taking the boat and leaving around noon on Friday. It's about a 4 hour trip but since we'll be pulling the boat, it will probably take 5 or 6! :) We'll spend Saturday in the water and probably go down river to Lake Havasu. Then on Sunday, we're all coming back here! I feel so lucky that they are using their vacation to visit us!

We have some exciting things going on this summer!! Stay tuned! xxoo

Baby's First Photo!

The day finally came!! It took forever but the anticipation made it that much better... we got to see our little bean today!!! Our official due date is January 22, 2010 and the baby is measuring right where it's supposed to. I know it's hard to see in the picture, but we could see the head, body, arms, and legs! I'm definitely feeling pregnant but haven't had a terrible time! My main symptom is just feeling tired all the time, but I'm making a baby- I should be tired! :) I had a lot of nausea for about a week- hopefully that's the end of it! We are 8 weeks and 5 days along which means we are more than halfway done with the first trimester! I'm feeling really confident that this is going to be a healthy baby and can't wait to meet it! We'll be able to find out at our 18 week ultrasound if it's a boy or a girl... I'm thinking boy but not hoping either way! I have a closet full of girl clothes that I would love to use! After our appointment Joe and I shared some sushi at our favorite spot and tonight we might relax in the jacuzzi! Yes! My doctor said that there is no reason we shouldn't use it but we have to keep it at 98 degrees or cooler... no problem! I plan on updating weekly with belly pics and interesting news- I hope that you follow along and enjoy! xoxo