Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Dr. Appointment

I haven't gone yet. My appointment is this afternoon. But I'm really nervous all of a sudden. I'm not really sure why.

I'm still feeling sick a lot. So I think that's a good sign. I also have a TON of acne. I think that's a good sign too. I'm sure everything is fine. But I can't help being nervous.

Nick asked me after our first positive test if I could "calm down" and be excited. I told him no. That after we had our first ultrasound and saw a heartbeat he asked me if I could relax. I told him no again. I had to see another ultrasound and make sure the heart was beating faster. Then we had our second ultrasound and saw an amazing fast beating heart. Nick told me, "Now you can relax". I told him, Probably not.

I think it's inevitable that I'm going to worry for at least part or maybe even most of this pregnancy. I think I'm just a worry-wart by nature. :) And that's ok.

I have my appointment with the doc today, where I doubt we'll do anything too special. I'm guessing they'll try and listen to the heartbeat through the doppler. They'll take my weight and record it since I haven't been there yet and need to make sure I don't gain too much or too little. And that's probably it.

Tomorrow is my ultrasound. That is where I'll "calm down" for at least a week. :) Once we can see that little bean moving and a heart beating, I'll relax for a little bit.

Until then, I'll keep worrying, because that's what I do best.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Back to School!

This week(end) was my first week back to school. Wow. I missed it, yet it's crazy how much harder it seems now than it was 4-5 years ago.

I already mentioned my online class, so I won't bore you again with that. My Anatomy and Physiology class started Saturday. And it's going to be tough. My teacher is tough, which I kind of like. Might as well push me as far as I can go, right?

The thing that has me a little intimidated is that we have lab quizzes every week. We have lab practicals every four weeks, we have take home tests every four weeks, we have weekly homework and the final exam is comprehensive. I know it needs to be a tough class or everyone would have a medical license or something, but it's still going to be tough.

So far I like it. I'm already talking in odd medical terms. Blabbing about how my homeostasis must be out of balance and Nick's tummy ache must be in his Right Hypochondriac region...I'm such a nerd. But loving it.

We are off this week for Labor Day (which Nick and I keep arguing whose holiday it is. He tells me it's his because he is a Laborer, I tell him it's mine because I went through Labor (don't worry - I know he's right, I just like to push his buttons!)), but we have two chapters we have to have read by the next class.

It's going to be tough, but I think I can handle it.

Oh and the best thing about my teacher?? She curves tests....I think I'll do ok. :)

No pictures

Well I took a TON of pictures this weekend and of course, left my camera at home. Tomorrow! You'll have pictures of my new kitchen/family room, my pantry, my adorable son, and the cupcakes that Dom and I made for Daddy while he was out of town. Just to hold you over, here's a picture of Dom "sampling" the cupcakes when we were done. Enjoy!

Ten Weeks and Counting

How your baby's growing:
Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.



I have my first doctor's appointment with my regular OB this week. And another ultrasound. I have to admit, while I HATE being considered high-risk and stressing about miscarriage and blood clots and whatever else might go wrong, I do love the extra "attention" my bean and I get. I honestly don't think I could make it through a whole pregnancy just doing two ultrasounds. I'm so used to seeing many many pictures of the growing baby that I think I'd be constantly stressed. Being high-risk means I get an ultrasound every 3-4 weeks. And that's the part I love.

I'm pretty much even on my weight since I found out I was pregnant. I'm either exactly the same or maybe down a pound or so. When I first found out I was pregnant I went nuts. I think I gained almost ten pounds in a few short weeks. But I got my head back on straight and lost those extra pounds. So I'm back to where I was. Whew.

I'll keep you posted on how this appointment and ultrasound go this week.

Ten weeks down, 30 to go. I'm 25% of the way there! :)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

My wonderful husband

Nick has been so great about me going back to school. He's just amazing. No other word for it.

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love school. I literally can't get enough. My fall semester started on Monday. I'm taking one online class (Human Growth and Development Across the Life-span) and one Saturday class with a lab (Anatomy and Physiology I). I know that AAPI is going to be a tough class. I know that. So I'm trying to work ahead as much as possible. On Saturday we are discussing chapter one. I've decided that for each week, I'm going to read and take my own notes for each chapter and then the lecture should be easier, make more sense and I won't need to take as many notes. I'm halfway through reading and taking notes on Chapter 1.

For my online class there is no structure at all. We have to take 20 tests, 1 final exam, reply to 15 discussion questions and write 25 mini essays on various stages of development in biology. All of this is done completely online and there is only one deadline. All work must be done by December 3. Well, hell. I hate no structure. That gives me the opportunity to be lazy and not do anything until the last minute, when it's far too late to withdraw. So I'm making my own schedule. I'm making myself take one test a week. Right now I am halfway through Chapter one. It doesn't help that each chapter in this book is over 40 pages long. But I'm working on it.

Nick has been great so far. Since I do a little homework every day, he's been so great at just taking over Dom's care. He makes his dinner, reads him books, plays with him, and lets me study. It's been great. I know that a semester is a long time so hopefully we can keep working together to make sure that Dom gets the right amount of attention, I get the right amount of study time and Nick gets the right amount of time "off duty".

I guess only time will tell but right now, 3 days in, my fall semester is going great! :-)

Almost Finished

The new pantry is almost finished. I LOVE it so much! I can't wait until it's complete and I can start using it and redo that room. :)

By tonight all the work should be done and we can focus on cleaning all the dust and painting the new drywall.

I'll post a finished picture tomorrow or Saturday. Love it!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

New Pantry!!!

I'm very very excited about this!!

Do you remember when we combined a bedroom and our kitchen?? Well here's a picture of where I'm talking about anyway.


Where that closet is on the right side of the picture is being converted to a big pantry. And I'm so excited. We have no room for all our our dry food + appliances we don't use everyday + baking supplies, etc. So with that big pantry, I'll have room for everything!! Yay!

Our favorite carpenter, Roger, came over bright and early this morning and started working on it. It will be four shelves high and be about 5 feet across each shelf. And we bought pretty doors with windows to close it off and hopefully it won't look too much like a bedroom closet!

I'll post some pictures tomorrow of the progress!

Monday, August 23, 2010

9 Weeks

Babycenter.com says:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

You still may not look pregnant even if your waist is thickening a bit. You probably feel pregnant, though. Not only are morning sickness and other physical symptoms out in full force for most women, but you may feel like an emotional pinball as well.

Mood swings are common now — it's perfectly normal to feel alternately elated and terrified about becoming a parent. Try to cut yourself some slack. Most women find that moodiness flares up at around six to ten weeks, eases up in the second trimester, and then reappears as pregnancy winds to a close.



My waist is definitely thickening a bit! Although I'm still wearing my regular clothes so far, or at least for the most part! I definitely have the morning sickness still, although it's definitely more manageable lately.

I'm 100% more emotional right now too. It comes out of no where. I'll be happy one second and then really sad all of a sudden for no reason whatsoever. I'm really looking forward for that to change (as is Nick, I'm sure!).

Next week I'll be 10 weeks and 25% of the way there! That's crazy to think about. When you think about pregnancy, you think that 40 weeks is such a long time. But it's really not. It feels like only a few weeks ago we were celebrating New Year's, Dom's first birthday, Easter. But it's almost September! It's already school time. This morning my neighbor's were outside with their kids doing first day of school pictures. It's insane.

It will be Thanksgiving and Christmas before you know it. I'll be finding out if this is a boy or a girl before you know it. I'll be having a baby before you know it! :)

But we won't try and speed this up any more than it's already happening. I'm going to try and enjoy this for every second.

Happy 9 weeks to my little grape sized bean!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Next Vacation

So I have the best husband ever. Ever.

Last year, Nick and I went to Indianapolis to see the Colts play the Patriots in a Sunday night football game. And it was amazing. It was one of the coolest games (and stadiums) I've ever been to. Since we had such a good time and the St. Louis Rams aren't much to watch, we decided that every year, we'd go to a different stadium/venue and see an NFL game. I'm a HUGE football fan so this idea sounded perfect to me.

We picked our next game...

November 21, 2010
Colts VS Patriots (again!!)
In BOSTON!!!!

I'm pretty excited. I told Nick we can't go until Saturday night since I have classes on Saturday days now but he doesn't like that idea. He thinks I should skip....we'll see! :)

Either way, Colts versus Patriots in Boston - I'm in!

Goooooooooooo COLTS!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Ashley's Baby Shower

On Saturday, our closest girlfriends and I threw Ashley a baby shower. It turned out perfect. Or at least I thought so!

We had the shower at Glen Echo Country Club (where my parents belong) and had a room all to ourselves. Some of us got there early and decorated the room to make it more baby-like.

Here are a few pictures of the room with decorations:







After everyone got there, we started to eat. We had an AmAzInG buffet of a TON of great food. We had a salad bar, with so many toppings you didn't know where to start (bleu cheese, feta cheese, parmesean cheese, hard boiled eggs, ham, turkey, bacon, onions, tomatoes, walnuts, artichokes, anchovies, cucumber, and so on and so on!), a tomato and mozzarella salad, sweet potato chips, grilled veggies (including asparagus, peppers, and eggplant), chicken salad on a croissant and a pork tenderloin sandwich with smoked gouda and chipotle mayo. It was amazing.

Immediately after lunch, we played a few games. We played the Celebrity Baby quiz game, where you have to identify each celebrity based on their baby picture. This was a lot of fun and hard!! And we also played "baby scattegories". This was a lot of fun! We each got a paper that had this down the side:

L
U
K
E
&
A
S
H
L
E
Y

Then you had to come up with a BOY (since they are having a boy) name for each letter. You go around the room and if someone else had your name you have to cross it off. You get a point for each name that is unique. The person with the most points wins and then the Mommy gets to keep the sheets in case they are still deciding on a name. :)

It was fun! I didn't do too well but I had fun!

Then it was time for cake!




Michelle made both the "baby block" cake and cupcakes by hand! They were so cute! The big block cake had strawberry filling and a buttercream icing! It was delicious. And there's just something about home made cake. I'm so glad she made it instead of us ordering one!

After cake, we did presents. I won't bore you with all the pictures from that but a few good ones are here:








Isn't Ashley looking amazing!! She's due in a month! She's still glowing. :)

One last picture of the hostesses with Ash:



Happy Baby Shower Ash! Hope you loved it! :)

Monday, August 16, 2010

8 Weeks

Here's what babycenter.com says about this week:

How your baby's growing:
New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Feeling fatigued? Hormonal changes — in particular, a dramatic rise in progesterone — may be contributing to your sluggishness. Nausea and vomiting can certainly cost you energy, too. And you may be having trouble getting a good night's sleep at this point, especially if you're uncomfortable or find you need to get up to pee.



So that is what's going on and I'm glad to read it's completely normal to not get any sleep at all. It's hard to think back to everything with Dominick, but I'm not sleeping well at all. It takes awhile to fall asleep and then I wake up to go to the bathroom (right now about 3 times a night) and then I'm up again for awhile. It's a constant battle.

My next appointment with my OB is on August 31, and my next ultrasound is on September 1. I will be 10 weeks at both of those appointments and I'm eager to see how much my bean has changed in the 3 weeks since my last ultrasound! All future ultrasounds are done at the Perinatal Center at St. John's which is very nice and they give you a CD with about 10 pictures on it every visit. So I'll get some good pictures for you in a few weeks.

I told my boss today and he was so great about it. I know he gets nervous with me leaving since I'm the office manager and run the office essentially alone, but he was very nice and told me "whatever we have to do, we'll do!". So I'm feeling great about everything.

I'm still getting sick if I don't eat often, but I'm learning to deal with that! I keep oyster crackers, ginger snaps and bagel crisps all over the office and I do pretty well.

That's it! Happy 8 weeks to my bean! :)

Magic House

Here are a few of our favorite pictures from the Magic House. We LOVED it, but it was just too big! We couldn't get to half the stuff we've heard about. But since Dommie was suck a big fan of the Magic House, we'll definitely be going back soon!






















Can't wait to go back and discover more stuff at the Magic House!!

Wedding!

Last May, Nick, Dominick and I went to a wedding of a good friend of ours. Dominick got a little three piece suit and was all dressed up for the occasion!

We were looking forward to the reception so much because Dominick loves to dance. But the dancing didn't start until too late, so Dominick didn't get to dance. Oh well. He still had a blast.

Here are some pictures from that night!


Um yes. He's just that cute. :)


Me and Dom at the church.


Our little family at the reception (yes I switched dresses. I needed my "dancin' dress" for the reception)


Me dancing with my "work father" or my boss, Mike Sr.


At the end of the night. Kelly, Tina, Me and Mike being silly in the front!

We had such a good time at the reception and wedding!

Here's a pic of the lovely bride and groom!



Congrats again Jen and Brendan, a few months late! :)

The Park

So these pictures are definitely from April, but I wanted to show you how much Dominick LOVES the park. The swings! The slide! The weird animals that bounce back and forth! He loves them all.

This is a park right down the street from my house. We are so lucky to have so many great playgrounds/parks in walking distance of our house!







He is such an easy going fun kid! Look how happy he is in all those pictures!

I have a camera cord!!!

THAT WORKS!!!!

I'm so excited about this! Just in time too! We had Ashley's baby shower on Saturday and I'm leaving for Denver on Friday! I NEED a camera cord for these things!

The next few posts will be all about pictures! Look out! :)

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Supposedly

the camera cord has been delivered to my house. I'm hoping it's there (and was in between the storm door and front door and didn't get hit by the monsoon we just experienced), and that it's the right one. I just want my camera cord!! That's it!

I think I'm off of work tomorrow, so you really won't know until Monday...but wish me luck! I really really really hope it's the right one!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Happy Birthday Peyton!

I just opened my email and got a "Happy Birthday Peyton" email (Peyton is my kitty). Well Peyton is 4 today! Wow! I can't believe he's that old. Seems like just the other day we went and picked him out and brought him home.

He is Dommie's best friend, right now. Poor Peyton! :)

Anyway, Happy birthday Peyton!!

Graduation Day!

I graduated today from the RE. :) I'm very happy about this.

I had a 7:45 am appointment for an ultrasound and it's amazing how much that little bean grows in just a week. Last week I saw a perfect circle with a slowly beating heart....this week I saw a head and a body and a heart beating very fast. So much has changed in a week! It's crazy.

But I am off to the high risk OB now and done with the RE (until the baby is born and I send a picture to go on their wall of fame!).

I'm calling my high risk OB today and will probably have an appointment when I'm around 10 or 12 weeks. I know I'll have another ultrasound done at 12 weeks. At least that's what I did with Dominick. I'll be ten weeks at the end of the month, so that's pretty exciting. A quarter of the way there in just a few weeks!

Amazing. I'm very very happy. I'll keep you posted when I talk to the high risk doc's office. Yay!

Happy Graduation Day to me and my bean!!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Yesterday....

was a bad day. All around.

It started off yesterday morning that my best bud, Mike, got his debit card numbers stolen and someone charged $2,400.00 on his debit card. He's still trying to dispute those charges today. No fun at all.

Then, I started getting sick. At first it was just feeling crappy...then it turned into gagging. Then I actually threw up. Fun times at work yesterday, let me tell ya.

Then, My camera cord came from Amazon (yay! right??) which should have been so exciting. But it wasn't. Because it's the wrong cord....doesn't fit my camera. GRRRR!

Next, we went to my parents house for dinner. That was pretty good, except I couldn't hardly eat. So I didn't eat much.

Finally, we went to the Muny and I got sick there and had to go home early.

Not a good day at all yesterday....

Today is better.

I feel a little better. I started my day off with a little caffeine to try and avoid my caffeine withdrawal headache. I'm munching on some oyster crackers to get something in my stomach and not too much where I feel sick.

I already ordered the correct camera cord and it should be here by Friday. I'm sending the wrong one back today or tomorrow.

Mike is on the phone with the bank getting dispute forms and getting all that figured out. Hopefully he can get that money back ASAP. He's getting ready to start completely redoing his house and he needs all his money!

It's only 9 am. Hopefully the day continues to move UP instead of DOWN like yesterday....wish us luck!

Monday, August 9, 2010

Seven Weeks

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

Your uterus has doubled in size in the past five weeks, and eating may feel like a chore — or worse — thanks to morning sickness, which by now may be in full swing. (If you're feeling fine, don't worry — you're lucky!)

You may need to pee more than usual, too, thanks to your increasing blood volume and the extra fluid being processed through your kidneys. (By now, you already have about 10 percent more blood than you did before you were pregnant. And by the end of your pregnancy, you'll have 40 to 45 percent more blood running through your veins to meet the demands of your full-term baby.) As your uterus grows, pressure on your bladder will send you to the bathroom as well.

About half of the women who feel nauseated during the first trimester will find complete relief by about 14 weeks. For most of the rest, it'll take another month or so for the queasiness to ease up. It's unlikely, though, that the need to pee more than usual will ease up. In fact, research shows that both the frequency and volume of urine tends to increase over the course of pregnancy.



So that is what Babycenter says is going on this week.

Well....I definitely have been feeling sick. If I feel better by 14 weeks, then I still seven more weeks of this...great!! And I definitely have to go to the bathroom more than usual. I literally wake up at least twice a night to go to the bathroom. Easily.

I keep forgetting that I should probably change how I am eating. I'm still eating the stuff I used to, whether it be spicy, rich, sweet, whatever, and my stomach is NOT liking it. I went to Schnucks this morning and bought myself some oyster crackers, some lunchables, some 7-up and Gingersnaps (thanks to my sis and Jenn for recommending those!).

I'm soooo hungry, then I eat soooo much, then I feel soooo sick! It's a vicious cycle.

I have another ultrasound on Wednesday and if everything is still looking good (which I'm praying like crazy it does) then we're off to Dr. Webb, my high risk OB! And I can't wait for "graduation day"!

Busy Weekend

We were so busy this weekend...and I'm exhausted today. Friday night, we went to dinner over at Nick's mom's house. We got over there about 6 and stayed until around 9. It was a good dinner. Nick grilled some steaks, Sue made some corn and salad, and I cut up some of our fresh fruit from the food co-op. It was plenty of food and we were stuffed. We got home and put Dom straight to bed and went to bed ourselves.

Saturday was busy. We got up Saturday morning and decided to go out to breakfast. We usually go out for breakfast at least once a weekend. We try to eat in the rest of the week but one breakfast is something we'll never change. So we headed to Bob Evans (our favorite breakfast place). We had a BIG breakfast and then went home. I dropped Dom and Nick off at the house and then I ran to Target. We had a wedding to go to that night and the reception was going to be outside and I was nervous about the heat. I needed something cool to wear.

I ran in to Target and found nothing in the regular clothes section, so I headed to the maternity section. I thought, why not? I'll need it anyway and if I can find something that works now too, might as well get it. Well I found two things. I found a black/white shirt and a sun dress. I'm in love with the sun dress. I might start wearing it all the time. I really might. I think I'm going to wear it to the Muny tonight. Anyway,

so we went to the wedding at 1:00. Dominick was a stinker the whole ceremony. At the beginning, it was my turn and me and Dom ran around outside. We played and chased and jumped and flat wore me out. Then it was Nick's turn. I don't even know where they went or what they did. I couldn't find them after the mass! But we survived and we headed home for a much needed nap and some lunch. We stopped at Jimmy John's (best sandwich place ever) for lunch and then home where the three of us took a deserved nap.

We woke up around 4:30 and had to scramble to get ready. We dropped Dom off at his Nani's house around 5:30 and headed north to the reception. Now the father of the bride (my Dad's first cousin) is known for wearing Hawaiian shirts. He wears them everywhere. So my Dad wanted to get some people to wear Hawaiian shirts to the wedding reception. I bought Nick a cheap one at Target but Nick was really self conscious. He made me call my Mom to confirm that other people would be wearing Hawaiian shirts and he told me that if he was the only one, he was leaving and I'd have to walk home.

Well not only was Nick NOT the only one in the Hawaiian shirt, but the people who weren't wearing Hawaiian shirts were in the minority! It seemed like everyone had the same idea! People were even wearing shorts and sneakers! The reception was on the ice rink at Florissant Civic Center (without the ice of course) and it was really spacious! Also, Big Dave (the father of the bride) knows my Dad really well and knows he's a big guy who gets very hot very easily and needs a lot of space. When we got to the reception, there was a table on the edge that was away from the rest of the tables with a big sign that said "BIG STEVE'S TABLE" on it. It had a huge fan pointing right at the table and it had a sign that said "BIG STEVE'S BIG FAN". It was awesome!

The whole reception was nice. The food was good (catered by my Dad and Big Dave's restaurant 'Cugino's') and the music was fun. The bar was all the way in the corner but if you were drinking soda or bud light, there were big tubs all around the rink filled with beer, soda and bottled water, so we never had to wait in line!

We were extra lucky that Nani kept Dom overnight, so we went home and straight to bed after the wedding!

Sunday morning was a little busy again. We picked up Dom around 9 am and then went to Bread Company for a quick bagel. After breakfast, we headed out to a man's house who I found on Craigslist. We've been wanting to buy a cow with my sister and Andrew, but had no extra freezer space. We found one on Craigslist and went out to look at it. It was perfect! We paid the man and loaded it up and went home.

That was enough work for the day. The rest of Sunday was all about relaxing (and getting sick if you were me, but we won't talk about that).

All in all, it was a good weekend! Busy, buy good!

Friday, August 6, 2010

Feeling Sick, Sick, Sick

For the past week, I've felt....off. My stomach was bothering me a little but nothing I couldn't handle and definitely nothing to make me stay home or anything. These last few days are a little different. I feel AWFUL.

Today has been the worst so far. I started feeling the acid indigestion where I feel like something is burning my throat and the back of my mouth. I took tums for that and it started to go away. Now I just feel like I have to throw up. Nothing sounds good to eat, but I know I'm hungry. I've been trying to eat some bland things, but my options are pretty limited here at work. Right now I'm munching on pretzels and trying to make time speed up to 4:00 p.m.

I'm hoping this is a rare experience, because if it's not, I have a L O N G way to go....

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Dommie loves to dance!

The other night, Nick and I did some errands with Dommie in tow. When we got to Office Max, Nick knew exactly what he needed to get, so Dom and I stayed in the car while Nick ran in. I had the radio on and Dommie was ROCKING OUT!

Here's a video I took of him dancing in his car seat!



The music isn't playing on my computer...I wonder why. I'll have to try and fix that...

Here's part 2 of the dancing. He was dancing for awhile!

Two babies?!?!?

Haha, not what you are probably thinking!

My parents are so lucky that they are getting two new Grand babies next Spring!!

My sister is about 13-1/2 weeks pregnant and due on February 5.
I am about 6-1/2 weeks pregnant and due on March 28.

So exciting!!

The ONLY downside to this is we can't share maternity clothes or baby clothes or baby toys anymore.

Actually, come to think of it, my sister gave me a bunch of baby toys after Cecilia was done with them and I don't know where they are....she's probably going to want those back....

I'll find them! Anyway, yay for two babies so close together!

Codi Boutique

We had the jewelry party last night and it was a lot of fun. I think there were about ten of us there. When we got there, there was a cheese/cracker/fruit plate out and wine. And the jewelry was all over the place. It wasn't just a jewelry store, like I was thinking it would be. It was a boutique, like the name says. There were some clothes, flip flops, baby clothes, picture frames, and tons of jewelry.

Everything was really neat, but it was expensive. We all got a free pair of earrings. I didn't like the ones I got, so Cheryl traded with me (thanks Cheryl!!) and I really like the ones I got. I'm actually wearing them today.



My mom brought a cooler of water and lemonade for me and my sister since we couldn't have wine. Thank goodness!

We just talked, and browsed, and ate! It was a lot of fun.

After the party was over, Mom, Angela and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It was delicious!!! I had a crabcake burger that was amazing and we all split a piece of the chocolate mousse cheesecake for dessert.

And the Cardinals won! Definitely a good night!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Jewelry Party Happy Hour

At the IWA auction, my Mom bought a jewelry happy hour. I'm pretty excited about it!

It's tonight, and we go to a jewelry boutique in Clayton. We are there for two hours. We get a free pair of earrings (well, free because my mom bought the party. They aren't free to her!), wine, some appetizers, and 25% off of anything else we would buy. I'm not thinking I'll actually get anything. I'm just excited to go out with my mom and my sister and hang out!

The three of us are going to dinner in Clayton afterward too, so a bonus!

I can't wait to see what kind of earrings we get. I love new jewelry!

Monday, August 2, 2010

Six weeks....a LONG way to go!

I didn't do this too much with Dom, so I'm going to try and record more this time.

Today I am six weeks exactly. According to babycenter.com, here's what's going on this week:

How your baby's growing:

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil.

You may find yourself developing a bit of a split personality — feeling moody one day and joyful the next. Unsettling as this is (especially if you pride yourself on being in control), what you're going through is normal. Ricocheting emotions are caused partly by fluctuating hormones. But hormones aside, your life is about to change in a big way — and who wouldn't feel emotional about that?


We weren't able to see what the heartbeat was (how many beats per minute) but it was definitely there.

I'm so overwhelmed right now, in a good way! I'm nervous, because I think I will be the entire time. I'm excited, because we finally are getting what we want. I'm mentally exhausted, thinking what it will be like having TWO kids running around.

But mostly, I'm just happy. Blissfully happy.

We can't wait to welcome another child into our family.

Baby #2 - estimated arrival March 28, 2010.

Keep saying prayers. We appreciate all the prayers and thoughts! Thank you so much!

Heartbeat!

I had my first ultrasound this morning! Nick met me there, just in case we got any really good news, or really bad news. We were thinking there might be two babies since my blood levels were so high, but there's not. There's just one PERFECT baby with a PERFECT heartbeat! :)

We have another ultrasound a week from Wednesday and if everything is still good, then I "graduate" to my normal OB.

Happy six weeks to me! :)