little man or little miss?

how far along?  20 weeks

development: our little man measures about 6.5 inches from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to toe, weighing 10.6 ounces. he can hear my heartbeat & voice. hair, nails and eyebrows are sprouting. his heartbeat is growing stronger and is now about twice as fast as mine - at today's appointment, it was about 150bpm.

from thebump.com

maternity clothes?  some, yes. 

sleep?  pretty much normal, sleeping through most of the night

stretch marks?  none yet

best moments this week:  celebrating our five year wedding anniversary • a beauty of a day for the jdrf walk at hersheypark on sunday • noticing the fall colors around us • our 20 week ultrasound and checkup today!

miss anything? no

movement:  slight bit of fluttering, nothing definite or very strong - still a little peanut!

food cravings:  my drink of choice lately has been lemon lime sparkling seltzer water + diet cranberry with lime • loving my apple cider • ice cream

anything making you queasy or sick? nope, thank goodness!

gender:  boy, oh boy!

pregnancy symptoms:  still just mildly achy belly muscles from time to time

have you started to show yet?  yes

wedding rings, on or off?  on

happy or moody most of the time?  happy!

looking forward to:  planning, decorating and adding to our registries now that we know we'll have a boy • vacation to new orleans and gulf shores next week! 

notes from dad:  what are little boys made of? snakes and snails and puppy-dogs' tails. that's what little boys are made of. very happy to see a healthy baby moving in there - arms, legs, hands and feet.

we had our 20 week anatomy ultrasound today - everything looked great. the tech told us he was the best ultrasound of the day, being soo cooperative and just active enough to get a good look at everything. all limbs and organs look to be developing as they should. we couldn't be happier with our beautiful boy!

experienced kind of a bittersweet moment yesterday - instructing my last zumba class for a while. my class presented me with a cute card and gift card to babies r us - what a great ending to a fun, rewarding year of spreading the zumba love! i made the decision at the end of august to continue to teach through october, and recently i've been torn about whether i should continue teaching longer. but i don't want to stress myself or feel responsible for teaching, especially when i have no idea how i'll be feeling these next few months. i'm going to continue to attend classes as long as i can, though!

week 20 down, 139 days left. half way there!

beneath the mango tree

how far along?  19 weeks

development: our tropical mango is about 6 inches long and weighs 8.5 ounces. nerve cells are developing in the brain for taste, hearing, sight and smell.

from thebump.com

maternity clothes?  some maternity. mostly just reaching for the comfy clothing - there are certain things i won't even try to put on anymore.

sleep?  surprisingly, i've been getting through most nights without getting out of bed

stretch marks?  none yet, keeping up with my daily shea butter body cream!

best moments this week:  sharing a meal with loved ones • zumba fitness sunday • enjoying a deep cleansing facial at a local spa

miss anything? no

movement:  maybe something here and there, nothing definite yet

food cravings:  pizza, mac & cheese, olives... not all at once though :) 

anything making you queasy or sick? nope

gender:  less than a week till we find out!

pregnancy symptoms:  mildly achy belly muscles, prepping and stretching for our mango

have you started to show yet?  yes, seems like more than ever. (but that's kind of obvious, like saying today i'm the youngest i'll be for the rest of my life). definitely have the belly!

wedding rings, on or off?  on, five years and counting! :)

happy or moody most of the time?  happy

looking forward to:  celebrating our five year wedding anniversary tomorrow/thursday (and ten years together!) • attending the jdrf walk to cure diabetes at hersheypark on sunday for our nephew gavin • our 20 week ultrasound and checkup next tuesday to see that baby mango is developing and progressing properly

notes from dad:  This week we celebrate 261 weeks or 5 years of marriage. We have grown, learned and even dreamed together. All these wonderful little moments leading us to right now. 19 weeks pregnant and I am sitting here contributing to our first pregnancy blog. It almost doesn't seem real! I love this life we live. I am so proud & excited to add our little mango. This is a happy anniversary. 

"being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." ~lao tsu. five years ago, anthony and i were lucky enough to spend a spectacular week at the moon palace golf and spa resort in cancun, mexico. my hope is that we return in another five. :)

timing appropriate to both our little mango and looking back at our wedding day five years ago, i revisited this song this week (a little misty-eyed) that was played during our ceremony on the beach - "better together" by jack johnson

and lastly, here's some randomness from this past week's iphone adventures ↓

although you might not be able to read it, the cast of friends stayed at the comfort inn near our house "welcome friends" (ok, not really, lol)  //  selfie  //  olive bar at the grocery store, yum  //  fender cuddling with our bear

baby bibs from grandma  //  fender looking oh so handsome  //  homemade apple dessert  //  sticking with my 'up' tracking and progress  //  my boys napping on the couch

week 19 down, 146 days to go. almost half way there!

our sweet potato

how far along?  18 weeks

development: sweetie pie potato is about 5.6 inches long and weighs almost 7 ounces and growing rapidly! baby is flexing arms and legs, moving all around and blood vessels are visible through the skin. we're yawning, swallowing, twisting, turning, punching and kicking!

from thebump.com

maternity clothes?  some thrown into my regular wardrobe - i have just a few pieces so far that are technically "maternity"

sleep?  been trying to sleep just on my side. from thebump.com "baby and uterus are getting big enough to press against large veins in the back of your abdomen, which can reduce the amount of blood going to your heart, making you feel lightheaded, or worse, lowering your blood pressure."

stretch marks?  none

best moments this week:  mail time... receiving two adorable handmade bibs from grandma, the pattern featuring a bounty of fruits and veggies • my own personal rock concerts, compliments of hubby • the satisfaction of makin' this new lookin' blog format work • experimenting with making my own yummy preggatini drink - a madras mia consisting of cranberry, oj, club soda and a lemon wedge

miss anything? no

movement:  not feeling much

food cravings:  pizza 
anything making you queasy or sick? my trip to the dentist on tuesday morning provided a bit of dizziness and nausea when my cleaning was done and the chair (and my body) were returned to the proper upright position. lol.

gender:  hmmm... what do you think? add your two cents to the poll! it's a total shot in the dark, but why not?

pregnancy symptoms:  still feeling good! a few back aches after sitting for longer periods of time. got a stability ball - going to try it as my desk 'chair' at work.

have you started to show yet?  y-e-s

wedding rings, on or off?  on

happy or moody most of the time?  happy

looking forward to:  our 20 week ultrasound and checkup • combined trip to new orleans, la & gulf shores, al in a few weeks! oh, how i love nola!

notes from dad:  This week's been Sweet Potatoes! Just came off back to back trips to Chicago! Spent some quality time with mom. Received lots of congratulations and advice from the family. The Bears even squeaked a win out against the NY Giants!
      Karin got to hear the babys heartbeat at her appointment. Our little one is just chilling out. I ask everyday if she feels anything. a kick? a punch? a zumba move? I guess it's not quite ready to let us know it's there. We are waiting, little one. I guess we all must wait until next week to find out.

things are a changin'... so my bloggie blog got a little facelift and i'm really happy with it! loving it so much more for the clean look, flexibility in formatting and customization. side note - i think you can now add comments to a post by clicking the pink "comments" link in the gray box at the bottom of each post. just click the drop down menu to choose anonymous (you can add your name in the notes).

not too much more new this week. here's a little of this and that...

loving this guy and his dirty little face // sunshine on a sunday afternoon

151 days to go!

the onion

how far along?  17 weeks

development: baby onion is about 5.1" long from head to bottom and weighs about 5.9 ounces. the skeleton's soft cartilage is turning into bone, we're (both) putting on some fat (or 'fluff' in mama's case) and baby's umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker.

from thebump.com

maternity clothes?  i can still fit into some non-pregnancy jeans (with my belly band, of course), but pregnancy jeans are really comfy, i must say! 

sleep?  been getting through the night ok... seems like days were long this week and i was worn out by 5pm and ready to come home and relax.

stretch marks?  super-stretching, but always returning to my original shape (like stretch armstrong). really though, none yet.

best moments this week:  cuddle time with my fender on the couch • check up appointment today confirming that everything is still a-ok
miss anything? not too much. well, my husband this week. and maybe a nice cold, seasonal craft beer.
movement:  come on babes, you must be like a miniature thumbelina. thought i felt a flutter once, but nothing definite.

food cravings:  in honor of the onion, i give you my food craving of the week: drywall. ok, not really. i could not stop laughing (i was in tears) when anthony suggested this weirdo food craving from tlc's 'my strange addiction'.

 

anything making you queasy or sick?  drywall

gender:  give us 2 1/2 weeks - yay!

pregnancy symptoms:  things have been going splendid overall! starting to feel large, although i know that feeling won't go away for about another 6 months (even after baby), so i better get used to it.

have you started to show yet?  yup

wedding rings, on or off?  on, and they've actually been a little loose with the cool weather.

happy or moody most of the time?  happy

looking forward to:  pumpkin fest this weekend! hopefully the rain holds off a bit.

notes from dad:  dad's been in chicago all week for work, so fender and i have been missing him. he's been working his magic at the rosemont convention center, visiting family and watching waaay too many movies. :)

today's appointment was pretty much just another checkup, nothing too exciting. but at least it was a confirmation that everything is still progressing as it should. phew. seems like i hadn't been to the doctor in forever. quick chat with the doc, blood pressure was taken, blood drawn for the spina bifida test, and i listened to the heartbeat - size of the baby/belly and heartbeat are all good! i scheduled my next 4 appointments, and thank goodness, because i'm a planner - it's nice to have them to look forward to and know what's coming next. happily, i can say that we have the anatomical scan/ultrasound scheduled at exactly 20 weeks on 10/29!

in all it's craziness, here are some recent headlines from the onion. enjoy.

• 'new pro hall of fame exhibit allows visitors to experience concussion'
• 'extremely vibrant town able to sustain two buffalo wild wings'
• 'cereal commercial completely neglects showing numerous life problems character faces beyond breakfast'

so, i get a text out of the blue from anthony last week during lunch reading "i am thinking of a rocking toy... horse, cow, giraffe, dragon, moose or elephant??". i'm thinking... what? will you just look at how cute this rocking horse is? this is the cuteness that he bought.  ↓

from woot.com

just like in this little gem of a photo, princess and i, circa 1986 at grandma & papa's house.  :)

and lastly, how about this beauty... straight off my iphone, no enhancements. this is what an october sunset looks like, our little onion.  ↓

week 17 down, 159 days to go. 

nothing but love for our avocado

how far along?  16 weeks

development: baby avocado is about 4.6" long and weighs about 3.5 ounces. we've yet to feel movement yet - hopefully soon, as avo gets stronger and bigger. tiny bones have formed in our ears and apparently we're starting to hear the outside world. we're growing hair, lashes and eyebrows, and tastebuds are forming!

 

from thebump.com

"what makes good guacamole? how about someone to share it with? if you have nothing but love for your avocados, and you take joy in turning them into guacamole, all you need is someone to share it with." ~jason mraz (he owns an avocado farm outside of san diego)

maternity clothes?  not out of necessity, but yes... i've ventured out to work wearing one of the cute tunics i picked up at motherhood maternity (and it barely looks like i'm pregnant)

sleep?  seems like i've been waking more easily throughout the night, but still doing ok.

stretch marks?  none

best moments this week:  this weather - i love fall! • consignment sale finds last weekend
miss anything? a nice, big italian sub/grinder (no lunch meat allowed). from babycenter.com "it's not safe to eat precooked meats unless they're heated until steaming hot. pregnant women are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis, caused by a type of bacteria called listeria... baby, not mom, can be affected more by the infection."
movement:  not feeling it yet, anticipating it every day!

food cravings:  nothing really 

anything making you queasy or sick?  nope

gender:  can't wait to find out! should be in the next few weeks, considering the gender reveal and anatomy ultrasound are usually done between 18-20 weeks.

pregnancy symptoms:  still sticking with some slight back pain and headaches. been feeling minor cramping the last day or two - from pregnancybabycare.com: it's common entering the second trimester and is commonly due to round ligament pain - ligaments are stretching, becoming long and thin, pulling on nearby nerves and causing brief pain.

have you started to show yet? yup

wedding rings, on or off?  on

happy or moody most of the time?  happy

looking forward to:  next checkup appointment on thursday 10/10 (mid week 17) and scheduling another appointment that day for the ultrasound! 

notes from dad:  i ask everyday if the babe's moving. one of my favorite things to eat are avocados with lemon juice and salt, and i make a bad ass guacamole fresh out of the garden. like an avocado, it won't last long - on to our next piece of produce next week.

here are a few photos from the consignment sale in lancaster. there was so much to look at - i ended up spending only $50 total and got quite a few clothes, books and a jj cole bundle me carseat/stroller sleeping bag (for $7)!

rows & rows of clothes! ^

although it's fall, it's not felt like october lately around here, being in the low 80's ^

still not a ton happening. week 16 down, 166 days to go!