23-week Update

How far along? 23 weeks
Total weight gain: 15+ lbs (haven't been weighed since 20-wk check-up)
Maternity clothes? Using the Bella Band to wear my regular pants, but all other clothes fit fine still.
Stretch marks? None - using lots of lotion!!
Sleep: Tossing and turning
Best moment this week: We bought the nursery bedding this week!  Stay tuned - I'm going to do a seperate blog on the nursery status.
Miss anything? Wine
Movement: I'm trying to determine his patterns, because he doesn't move ALL the time, but when he does - it feels like he's playing soccer!!
Food cravings: PB&J and smoothies, still.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Gender: Still a sweet baby boy
Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Gas :)
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy!
Looking forward to: We're going to buy nursery furniture tonight, so I'm suuuper excited about that! :)

Nursery status

I haven't blogged about the nursery yet, mainly because we haven't done THAT much, but I wanted to give you an idea of what we're doing!

We painted the nursery "Whispering Wheat" by Glidden.  It's a really light tan - very warm and soothing.  I absolutely LOVE it!  Of course this picture doesn't really do it justice.

We bought the preppiest, cutest, most handsome bedding from Pottery Barn Kids, which I fell in love with as soon as I found out we were pregnant.  I'm afraid if we were having a girl, she would've been stuck with this bedding, too!  We got the quilt, bumper, crib skirt and curtains.  They should arrive this week and I cannot wait to hang the curtains!!

I originally picked-out a furniture set from Buy Buy Baby, which I loved, but it was a little pricey.  However, I found almost an identical collection at Babies R Us, which we're going to purchase tonight!! Woohoo!  I'm only getting a convertible crib (which, let me just say - what a genius idea!), combo dresser and night stand or bookcase (haven't found the perfect piece yet). 

My mother-in-law bought us a custom recliner and I can't wait for it to be delivered (early April)! It's the same color as the walls, microfiber (bonus) and super comfy. Josh & I were big "rockers" when we were babies, so I hope we make as many sweet memories with our babies in this recliner.  I will look similar to this one.

I plan on putting a large storage unit in the closet, with canvas bins for bibs, burp cloths, etc. and will put several shelves over the dresser/changing station for decorations and toys.  I'm hoping to find a decent size bookcase for toys and books, which can eventually be used as a nightstand.  Once the bedding arrives, I can start buying decorations and stuff.

So anyways, that's pretty much it!!  I'm so excited to see everything come together and can't WAIT to meet our sweet baby boy.

22-week Update

CAUTION: makeup free Kate :)

How far along? 22 weeks

Total weight gain: 15+ lbs
Maternity clothes? Officially using the Bella Band to wear my regular pants, but all other clothes fit fine still.

Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Still tossing and turning
Best moment this week: We finished the paint in the nursery - so releived to have that done!  I also went on two shopping sprees for baby this week, lots of cute clothes!!
Miss anything? Wine
Movement: Baby boy is moving all the time!

Food cravings: I've been craving PB&J, Cheez-Its and fruit smoothies like crazy!  Literally just ate two PB&J sandwiches for lunch.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Gender: Still on Cloud 9 about having a BOY!!
Labor Signs: Nope

Symptoms: Gas :)
Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy!

Looking forward to: Registering for more stuff, and getting cute stuff for the nursery.

21-week Update

How far along? 21 weeks

Total weight gain: 15lbs - OMG!  The doctor says tall people tend to have "larger numbers", plus I had "a little weight to gain" -- NOT exactly what I wanted to hear! ;)

Maternity clothes? Some tops, but still in my regular pants.
Stretch marks? None
Sleep: Tossing and turning, and peeing several times each night...not the best sleep.
Best moment this week: FINDING OUT THE SEX!!!!!  OMG!  We also went to Buy Buy Baby this weekend to put furniture on our registry.  Oh, and we started painting the nursery yesterday!!  It's all becoming so real now!
Miss anything? Wine
Movement: Yes!  Finally!  What a huge week!  Once I started feeling it kick, its all I can feel now! :)

Food cravings: I'm going to say Oreos - I loved these as a kid, and its definitely my go-to cookie, but I've been eating them like their ending distribution tomorrow! :)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Gender: IT'S A BOY!!!  OMG what an incredible moment.  I cannot even explain how amazing Tuesday afternoon was.  The ultrasound tech got us from the waiting room, so we didn't have to wait AT ALL.  At first, baby was balled up, so we couldn't see the crotch.  So, she decided to measure all the other stuff.  This was so incredible.  They can measure the femur, waist, head circumfrense, check the heart for all 4 chambers, check kidneys, etc.  It was awesome.  Then the tech asked me what I thought it was - I told her a boy.  She started hovering over the same spot, so I asked "do you see a penis anywhere??"  And she said "I doooo!!!"  OMG!  How special!  I still can't really see the penis, but she assured us we're having a boy.  Josh and I both broke down in tears in the ultrasound room.  It's just the most amazing news ever, and we couldn't be more happy!

Labor Signs: Nope

Symptoms: Gas, round ligament pain and I had my first bout of heartburn Friday night.  It actually woke me up in my sleep!!!  It's SUCH a terrible feeling!  I can't imagine having it all the time! *Fingers crossed this symptom doesn't continue with me after pregnancy*

Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy!

Looking forward to: There are so many things to be excited about.  I can't wait to put the 2nd coat of paint on the nursery and start buying wall decorations, etc.  The furniture is going to take 12 weeks to ship, so I need to be patient about that! ;)  Also flushing-out our registry!

Overall, I have to say - now that I know we're having a boy, I feel much more at peace and relaxed.  There are tons of things we need to do and learn, but I just have this feeling that everything will fall into place and there's really nothing to be worried about.  God has truly blessed us beyond my wildest dreams.  THANK YOU, GOD!!

Here are some ultrasound pictures from our 20-week check-up:

Great picture of Baby Soko with his toes touching his forehead

Baby Soko face!

Proof that it's a boy!

"Hi mom & dad!"

Amazing profile shot of our beautiful SON!

And the decision is.........

A BOY! I can't even gather all my thoughts right now, but suffice it to say we're both over the moon. Excited and happy don't begin to describe how we're feeling. Just to think......our son. God is good and we are blessed!!! --Josh

The day before

So here we are, the evening before our next doctor appointment where we should find out if our first child will be a son or daughter. I find myself barely able to contain my anticipation and hope. I am not going to venture A guess either way, rather I just want a healthy report. To think that at this time tomorrow, we could know and wheels could be set in motion, is mind boggling to me. But I am so excited, and I know sitting through work tomorrow while waiting for the appointment at 4:00 will make for a very, very long day. This past Sunday, our pastor mentioned in his sermon a couple thing. 1) don't sweat the small stuff. 2) in life there are big, direction changing moments we should recognize and pay proper attention to. Tomorrow is such a moment. --Josh

20-week Update

How far along? 20 weeks - half way!  WOOHOO!!
Total weight gain: 7+ (haven't checked since my 16-week check-up)
Maternity clothes? Wearing a few maternity tops I picked up, but mostly my regular clothes.  I used the Bella Band for the first time today at church - my black dress pants were the first thing I couldn't fit it!
Stretch marks? None - starting using stretch mark cream today!
Sleep: Peeing a couple times a night makes it hard to fall back to sleep
Best moment this week: We went to Buy Buy Baby to buy a baby shower present for my co-worker, so we took the chance to walk around and look at everything.  Overwhelmed is an understatement.  Even an employee said they should change the name of the store to overwhelming!  Phew!  I'm glad we got that intro before we had to go start registering.  It might even be a good idea to wander around that store and look at everything.  Date night? ;)
Miss anything? Wine and running
Movement: Not yet :(
Food cravings: I won't say I'm over the pizza obsession, because let's face it - that'll never happen!  But, I'm not really craving it anymore.  Not really craving anything!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: We find out TOMORROW and I'm DYYING with anticipation!!  We'll definitely post after we find out! :)
Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Gas and round ligament pain
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Very happy!
Looking forward to: Finding out the sex!!!!

19-week Update

How far along? 19 weeks
Total weight gain: 7+ (haven't checked since my 16-week check-up)
Maternity clothes? My mother-in-law gave me a few maternity tops for Christmas, and I bought a few that were on sale at Target, but I'm still wearing my regular jeans (no belt needed anymore) and regular tops.
Stretch marks? None
Sleep:  Tossing and turning a lot, and peeing at least twice each night.
Best moment this week: I got to see my best friend, Maggie, and her sweet 4-month old, Emma.  Maggie is so good with Emma; it really makes me excited for the future!  We also had an awesome NYE dinner at Capital Grille - yummy steaks!  The bartender was so sweet - he made me a yummy non-alcoholic cocktail in a martini glass! :)
Miss anything? Wine
Movement: Not yet
Food cravings: Ice cream and pizza.  Why can't I crave lettuce and carrots?? ;P
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Still don't know - find out Jan. 10
Labor Signs: Nope
Symptoms: Gas and round ligament pain
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: I had a little freak-out earlier this week re: the nursery, but ever since "getting it all out" I feel amazing!
Looking forward to: Finding out the sex and decorating the nursery!

2011 Recap

I cannot believe 2011 has officially ended. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the start of 2011!! As great as the year was, we're really looking forward to 2012. For the obvious reason of meeting our baby, but I think we're also in a really good place in our marriage. Before we start the new year, I wanted to revisit a few awesome memories from 2011...



In March, Josh turned 30!! We had a fiesta at our house with a lot of Josh's closest friends and family. Josh swears turning 30 "wasn't that big of a deal", but I beg to differ! I think it signifies the end of your "young adult" life and the start of becoming a real adult. Of course, you're only as young as you feel, and from the looks of it - Josh is feeling pretty young! ;) 

Josh's 30th bday present - a case of his favorite wine

Maverick and Schatzi turned 5 and 2, respectively. Hard to believe Maverick is almost 6!! Schatzi is finally starting to slow down, which is definitely nice and good timing!

In June, we got to witness history when the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Chamoionship. We got awesome tickets to Game 5 of the Fianls against the Miami Heat. What a game and what an experience! I will never forget that!

Game 5 - 2011 NBA Finals

In July, I turned 27 with a pretty low-key weekend of great food and drinks! :) 

Also in July, we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary in Negril, Jamaica. We went to the same resort where we spent our honeymoon - Couples Negril. It was such an amazing trip and we really have grown to love Jamaica. It's probably our #1 travel destination. I definitely see more trips there in the future, and would recommend it to any couples looking to get away and relax! This trip also officially started the baby making process. You can read more about that 2-month process here.

floating in Bloody Bay:)

sunset on our anniversary

In September, we found out we were pregnant with Baby Soko! I think this was, by far, the best news of 2011! All our families are so excited and we're anxiously awaiting January 10 for the gender reveal!

In October, Josh went to Game 4 of the World Series with his dad. He actually told his dad the pregnancy news at the game - how memorable! And great seats!

Game 4 - 2011 World Series



In late October, we went to Pittsburgh to visit Josh's cousin, Doug, and his sweet wife, Jenny. They were such awesome hosts - showed us all over the city, took us to great restaurants and took us to a Steelers v. Patriots game! We even got to see the first snow of the year! :) 

Steelers v. Patriots

In November, I went to New York with my mom to visit her mother (my grandma, 93) and her sister and family. My aunt lives in Wilson, NY on the shores of Lake Ontario and it is beautiful there! We went on lots of peaceful walks through the town of Wilson, went to Niagra Falls and spent lots of quality time with my precious grandma.

My mom, grandma and me

sunset over Lake Ontario

We hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas this year as well, which is actually really nice because I dispise traveling by car! I also hope it gave people a little more confidence in me and my cooking/hosting abilities, because I sense a lot of future holidays here at our house. :)

our little family on Christmas

Like I said, 2011 was a phenomenal year, but we have SO much to look forward to and I have a feeling the best is yet to come.

God Bless you all,

Kate

xoxo