Listen up...

Today i went down to Sonja's house (Sara's sister) to talk about "stuff", lol, and look at the dresses online and things. After all that, we ended up talking baby stuff, and she gave me her baby doppler! She said she was going to give it away anyway, and i could use it. OK!! Now all i need is a 9V battery and i can listen to baby's heartbeat whenever i want to! And there are two sets of headphones so Frank and i can listen together. And the best part of the whole thing is that there is a microphone and pads with it so Frank can talk to the baby (they say that the baby can really only hear the mother's voice, so this way baby can hear him more clearly). I'm very excited about all of it! Baby is gonna get sick of me intruding everyday!

The tickets are in...

Well, finally, everything is in for the cruise. The packets are here, and everything is set to go. Now all that's left is the packing, and of course, the trying on of all the clothes to make sure they fit before we take them. That's the hard part, the trying on...so much stuff, not a lot of time, so many things that aren't going to fit my belly, lol. I am so excited to go, it's going to be such a relaxing time! All i have to do is get a little bit of sun on my belly before we go so i'm not a big red tomato, lol.

Sometime either this weekend or early next week i have to go to Wilkes Barre to order my dress for Sara's wedding. It's a very nice dress, very pregnant belly friendly. And the best part is, it's one of those dresses that you can wear again after the wedding!

Tuesday, Frank came home from work and, being the obsessive person that he is with his front windshield (he says he's not, but he is...i've never seen someone clean a windshield as much as he does!), he comes in the house to get some washer fluid to put in the Yukon. Well, he fills it up and goes to clean his windows (he claimed there was tree sap on it...ok), and then he comes storming in the house. His wipers wouldn't shut off! He had to pull the fuse to make them stop. Hahahahaha! So needless to say, last night we had to drop off the Yukon at the GMC/Ford dealer so they could fix it this morning. He couldn't just take it to a regular garage, he had to take it to a dealer when he doesn't have a warranty anymore. OY! I just hope the bill isn't outrageous. He also told them to change the oil and rotate the tires so it's ready to take to the airport. At least it's a pretty nice day today, cuz he took the bike to work (i offered my car, but he said he wanted to take the bike...good boy, saving on gas like that).

I sight for sore eyes...

Well, it's already week 21, and this week baby is the length of a carrot. She is about 11inches long and weighs about 13-14 1/2 ounces. She is kicking up a storm lately, all that i can feel, just few that other people can feel. Her bone marrow is starting to produce red blood cells now to help her liver and spleen. She is looking more and more like "our little girl" every day.



I, on the other hand, am growing by the day now. I'm still running just about every day, but it's definately not as fast as i usually go, and i sometimes have to stop half way up/at the top of hills, not because i'm tired, but because my heartrate it getting too high. I can still fit into over half of my clothes, but they are starting to feel snugger...hurry up summer!

I decided to take my day off and use it to the fullest. I sat out in the backyard with the dogs for about 2 hours soaking up the sun and trying to get some color on my white legs. The cheap version of the tanning beds, lol.

Another day, another year...

So today was the big day...the big 2-7...i can't say i feel too much different though. I've been feeling older ever since i found out i was pregnant, so this is just another hurdle i guess, lol. Over all, it's been a good day though.

We went to WalMart this morning to get the grocery shopping out of the way, and of course we were sucked into the baby section. After about 15min of looking around and "ooo"-ing and "awe"-ing, we picked out an outfit...2 to be exact. I knew that it couldn't be a summer outfit, cuz there's no way of telling how big she'll be next summer, and they don't really have any winter outfits out just yet, so we had a tough choice. But there was this outfits set on the sale rack (no, that wasn't the first or only place we looked, but it had what seemed to be the perfect things). It is a pink long sleeve onesie with a snail embroidered on the front (and the snails shell is a heart), and a white long sleeve onesie with pink trim that has "i love mommy" on the front. The 2 onesies come with a pair of pink and white stripped pants, that i assume goes over the bottom of the onesie...it's just so cute, and we bought it in 0-3months so she'll fit in it when it gets cold, ie december, as opposed to october when she's born when it still might be warm (like it has been for the past few years). I'm very pleased with our first baby clothing purchase, lol!

Then, we were sitting here at home and i was watching a cruise show on tv and i felt her start to kick (right around her usual time, 1:30pm). So i immediately told Frank to come over and put his hand where mine was, and wouldn't you know it, she kicked...only once that he could feel, but he still felt it. He was pretty amazed! Yea buddy, take that...lol

The results are in...

After over an hour in the ultrasound room and about 30min sitting with the doctor, we finally know what baby pa-que is....it's a GIRL!!!! I know, i know, i'm as surprised as you are. But Frank was certain for about a month now. I must admit though, for the past week and a half i have been having dreams that said for sure without a doubt that we were having a girl, but i didn't believe them. Now i have the proof! She was sucking her thumb for a while, then she proceeded to wave at us and kick her feet. She is weighing in at 12 ounces, which is the lower end of average. The funny part was that when the tech got out the 4D wand, everytime she tried to get a good profile shot that we could take home, she would put her hand over her face or in front of her face as if she was "blocking the paparazzi"...that's my princess!

Our little family begins...

Going bananas!

No, baby pa-que isn't driving me bananas (yet), and surprisingly Frank isn't driving me bananana (totally). Baby pa-que is the size of a banana! About 10-10 1/2 inches long. And Thursday is the big day when we find out what he/she is. We will get exact measurements then as to how long he/she is and how much he/she weighs. It will be so nice to be able to say either he OR she, and not both.

And here is my 20 week belly shot...20 weeks already! Half way there! I am definately getting bigger, that's for sure. It's noticable in my clothes now too, and i think it FINALLY looks pregnant and not just chubby.

On another note that also makes me happy, my garden is finally ALL growing. The lettuce is very full in the front like a stipe of grass, the peas are now about 2in high, the tomatoes broke the dirt last week and are cute little sprouts, and the peppers and the cucumbers and finally breaking ground this weekend. I also just planted 2 pepper plants that Frank got me from a guy he works with, so those 2 are pretty tall now. Guess my thumb isn't totally black, lol.

Dealt a deadly hand...

Yesterday my mom, my aunt and I went to see a murder mystery dinner theatre called "Dealt a deadly hand" that was put on at our church. It wasn't all that bad, but i have been to better. It was definately geared more towards the older crowd, as they sang a lot of songs that i didn't know. It was a well put together show, they just didn't have any clues. Honestly, i they might as well just have given you a list of all the characters before you got in there and told you to pick one, you would have had the same chance of getting it right! Usually there are clues within the show, clues around the room(s), and lots of crowd interaction...this one didn't have any of that. On the bright side, the food was really good :)

There are only 4 days until we find out what baby pa-que is!!!!!!

Finally...

This post is called finally for two reasons...One, i tried all last night (and when i say all last night, i really mean it. It was for like 3 hours) to post a blog on here, and it wouldn't let me log on! I was at work yesterday, just sitting there, and i felt this "kick". It wasn't like the other kicks that i've felt, where they were like "pops" or anything, this was like a kick or a flick. It felt like an actual foot was kicking me (wow, that looks weird cuz i know there is an actual foot in there, but this is the first time it's felt that way). It happened a few times yesterday, it was so neat! Frank can't wait till he can feel it too (it always goes away when he puts his hands on my tummy), and he especially can't wait till he can see it moving like an alien in my belly...lol

The second "finally" part of my post is a wonderful announcement. I should prolly wait till she does it, but she already told me and her immediate family, and i'm so happy for her i just can't wait! MY BEST FRIEND IN ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!! She and her boyfriend (now fiancee) went to Niagra Falls for 2 days, and he totally popped the question! It's a gorgeous ring, now we (yes i said we) just have to plan the wedding. I will keep everyone posted!

Spaghetti sauce anyone?

Well, according to the food reference guide, the baby is the size of a large heirloom tomato (whatever that is). The baby is 10-10 1/2 ounces in weight and about 6-6 1/2 inches in length. The baby is developing the "waxy covering" that will coat the body until about 36weeks, when the baby will shed that covering in preperation for birth.



Here is my 19 week belly pic. I definately feel bigger than i look, which i'm not sure if it's a good thing or not. My pants are definately starting to get much tighter, so this warm weather better hurry the heck up, lol!

In BernardoSarah news (that's our fish, if you're not up to speed), Frank has officially gone nuts. Why now, more so than usual you ask? Because we went to go to sleep last night, and Frank would NOT sleep unless the fish was in the bedroom with us...the fish...upstairs. I KNOW!! He said the fish was going to be lonely and feel left out of the family. He also wants to find a female beta now to put in a tank with BernardoSarah so he won't be lonely (which he swears he is in there). Also, i went to open the window in the bedroom and Frank yelled at me! Why you may ask, since he loves loves loves the cold weather? Because he thought the fish would get cold! Not me, not the dogs, the fish. I suggested he move the fish to the closet or to the other dresser to be farther awaw from the window, and he proceeded to go back to the "Bernie will be lonely" excuse. I'm not sure if this is funny, or if i should be looking into psychiatric help for my dear husband.

Congrats Maria & Joe...

Yesterday, Frank and I went to my friend Maria's wedding. It was a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Bluebird Gardens in Sunbury, followed by a reception at Masser's. It was so pretty and nice, and the reception was fun, as usual, what with tons of Fleetwooders there (lol). We did manage to bring home the newest member of our family last night though. No, i didn't go into early labor...it's a fish! The centerpieces at the reception were glass vases/bowls with fish in them, and Frank immediately knew he wanted it. "It'll look great on the coffee table" was his statement. Well, there were fake flowers taped to the bottom of the winnder chairs..he wasn't the winner of the centerpiece, but before other people got back to the table, he switched chairs so he COULD be the winner. That's my baby! Needless to say, now we have the fish on our coffee table. What is the fish's name you ask?! Well, on the ride home, i asked our new fish owner what he wanted to name the fish. He replied "i think it's a girl, so i want her name to be Sarah child of Jesus (you have to bear with him, he is reading the DaVinci Code and he is learning all new things to him, so he has to apply them to everyday life). Then i said (stupidly i might add), what if it's a boy fish! He said, then it's name will be Bernardo. It gets better. So of course i couldn't let it go, i had to say, well is it a boy or a girl. Smart ass that he is, he says, it can be both, it's name is now BernardoSarah (one word, not two) child of jesus...yes, that's right, BernardoSarah child of jesus, or just BernardoSarah as we call him (or BS, whatever works). Bet ya never heard THAT name for a fish before!

I've come to realize that the feelings i've been having aren't just me. When we were at the wedding yesterday, i commented to one of our friends that i've been feeling these "jabs" inside, like the baby is kicking my organs instead of my belly. She told me that she had felt the same things, so it turns out that i am NOT crazy and that IS the baby giving me pains in the intestines. It happens randomly, and usually when i eat more than i should, but i can definately feel it in there! Now little one, you need to turn around and kick outward so mommy can eat and digest again, lol!

Our first baby class...

So Monday night, we went to our first baby class..."Labor and you"...it was the class that you were supposed to sign up for in your first trimester (but we missed the only one before this one, so this is the one we ended up with)...secretly i was hoping to be average, if not one of the smaller, people in the class (since they were all supposed to be first trimester people), well it turns out that i WAS the smallest one in the class, cuz everyone was due in JULY!!! I think when we signed up for the class, the lady was supposed to put us in the tuesday class and we ended up in the monday class for third trimester people. Needless to say, we didn't get much out of the class. It was all basically birth stuff, not that we don't need it, but i think it was a bit premature. Oh well.

2 weeks 1 day till the big ultrasound!!!!

Peppery...

This week, baby pa-que is the size of a bell pepper. He/she is about 6-7 inches long and weighs about 8-8.5 ounces. Baby is growing rapidly, and can now hear well enough to distinguish mommy's voice, mommy's heartbeat and the blood flowing in and out of the umbilical cord. Baby can also be startled by loud noises, and if there were any light in there, baby would be able to distinguish the light from the dark.

Here is my 18 week belly shot. I am definately getting bigger!

I decided to add a picture of me lying down to this weeks post, just so you can all get a feel of how big the baby and his immediate surroundings actually are. Baby is definately more on the right side, because when i look down the bump is lop-sidded to the right.

Springing up...

It's official, my garden has little sprouts!! So far it's only the lettuce in the front (i know, seriously, lettuce?!), but it's something! WooHoo!

Our doggie toy found it's squeak...

It has been a long week for me this week. Not only did i have games every night this week, but then i had the first half of my CPR instructor class on Thursday morning and my Conference today and tomorrow.
On Thursday, my class was in Lewisburg at Evangelical Hospital. One would think that you could go to the hospital, ask at the reception desk which room the class was in and go there. Not this class. This class was held down the road at a building next to the Staples (i had driven past the building, having mistaken it for something else in the plaza). Needless to say, i finally found the place, and was only 5min late.
Today, i had the first day of my conference in Scranton. I dreaded it the whole way there (especially since i had to leave at 615am!!). Surprisingly though, i really enjoyed myself. There were interesting people there and i think i may have learned a few things that i can actually apply to my job everyday. Granted, it was a 9hour class, but we had a mix of lecture and lab, so we weren't just sitting the whole time. Which brings me to my next, and most important, point...
I was lying on the floor doing some exercises during our lab, and as usual i felt like i was lying on one of the dogs toys. Well, i got up and sat on my knees to listen to the explanation and the next exercise, and there it was....i swear i felt the baby kick! At first, i wasn't sure if i was feeling the baby or if it was a muscle twitch, but the happened and then stopped for a few seconds, then it happened again and stopped again for a few seconds. This happened about 5 or 6 times, then it was done. It wasn't the normal twitching muscle feeling, or the normal aching/stretching muscles/ligaments feeling that i normally get...it was more of a "pop rocks" kind of feeling, like if you were to put pop rocks in your mouth, but lean your head to the side and only feel them on your one cheek, that is what it felt like. It was so exciting!! It completely made my day! I don't know how many more times baby pa-que will move around or kick me, but once was enough for me to be very very happy...for now.