Thursday, May 29, 2008

Crazy pregnancy dreams

My girlfriends had warned me about these, but I must admit, I didn't actually believe them. Until they started happening to me! It seems that every night I've been having these strange, vivid dreams which I am able to remember when I wake up.

This morning I woke up to tell Ben how I dreamt that I had given birth to twin girls instead of one boy. He didn't seem very concerned. Luckily, I'm not either. I'm actually finding the dreams pretty amusing.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

24-week belly pic

This morning Ben and I went in for my 24-week checkup. So far I've gained 18 lbs and the doctor says I'm right on target. My blood pressure is good and the baby's heartbeat sounded perfect. Here's my latest belly pic (outfit courtesy of my mom ~ thanks Mom!):



Good news on this milestone is that the baby is now viable, meaning if he were to be born today he would likely survive with the help of modern medicine. Although I would much rather he stay put for another 14 weeks at least!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Happy Memorial Day 2008!

To celebrate the holiday, we gathered some friends at Ben's favorite VA winery - Chrysalis. The weather was amazing, the wine flowed, and a great time was had by all. I only had a little sip. Boy do I miss my VA wine!












Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Sewing with GiGi (short for baby's GreatGrandma)

I went to Hershey again this past weekend (since I am unemployed I have the flexibility to take off and go when I want!). Grandma was nice enough to host me again ~ second visit in 2 weeks. She cooked wonderful meals for me and baby and I ate until we were stuffed. :)

On Saturday we decided to try our hand at sewing a baby sling. We found a pattern online, drove out to Lemoyne to get some fabric and thread, and then went home to start the project. It took us about 30 minutes to get the machine going (I think the connection to the foot petal is a little touchy) but once we did we made good progress. We unfortunately didn't have enough time to finish the whole project, but I'm planning on bringing it with me on our babymoon to FL to see if Mom can help me complete it.




Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Riley's new collar...ooops

After Riley's overnight outdoor adventure, I went out the next day and purchased a collar and tag for our fur baby. There were only 3 small tag options. I passed on two of them: the gold circle (which clashed with the silver hardware of the collar - a fashion no-no) and the pink heart which I liked, but thought Ben would say was too girly and opted for the blue one, not even thinking about how it was in the shape of a bone.




I thought it was just an old wive's tale, but I guess I really do have pregnancy brain!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Memorable 1st Mother's Day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. I will never forget mine.

We woke up on Mother's Day morning and although we didn't see Riley around, we didn't think much of it. Until an hour or so later when my mom mentioned that the door was open last night when she came back in from walking Tucker. The door doesn't latch very easily (you have to really make sure it's closed), so we'll definitely be taking a trip to Home Depot to get that fixed.

So Sunday morning we ran around the neighborhood searching for him and calling his name shaking a bag of treats. I was so upset, especially because he's an indoor cat and because of that he doesn't wear a collar or tags, I worried we would never find him. I told every neighbor I saw that we lost him and to please let us know if they saw him. One guy even got in his car and drove around looking for him! Everyone was so nice. I was in tears as I told people.

After an hour of walking around the neighborhood, I went back to the house to call and email the Human Society and the Animal Shelter with pictures and a description while Ben, Mom and Dad continued to comb the neighborhood. I got those emails out and then went back out to join the search party. After two hours of looking, I was walking back towards our house and got a call on my cell. The woman calling was someone from Animal Control wanting to get more info on Riley. She asked me questions and I answered her trying to keep my composure. I was still looking all around me as I was on the phone with her walking up the sidewalk by our house when I looked over at a neighbor's deck and saw Riley's head peeking out. I couldn't believe I had found him!!! He was dirty and scared - and seemed very happy to see me after having been outside for 12 hours.

My first priority today is to get him a collar and tags. Then I'm going to look into the microchip thing the vet can put under his skin. I had never lost a pet before and am just so happy to have him home! That experience definitely made it a Mother's Day to remember!

Curt, Tish, and Hillary came over after we found Riley and we had a lovely brunch together. Ben and I gave the Grandmas-to-be tee shirts that say "Ask me about my Grandson" in blue. The Marshalls gave Ben and I our baby bedding set, some cute bibs, and a fish and net bath toy! We can't wait to set up the nursery and they gave us an awesome start.

Here are some pics from our Saturday out on Curt and Tish's new boat. Hillary just got home and it was great to spend time together. After a beautiful afternoon of boating, Ben, my mom and dad and I drove home stopping in Annapolis for dinner (crabs and ribs!) and ice cream. We had a very fun day.


Saturday, May 10, 2008

Ben feels baby kicks for the first time!

The baby's kicks keep getting stronger and stronger. I usually tell Ben when I feel him kicking, and sometimes he breaks away from his stupid computer game long enough to put his hand on my belly for a minute or two. But he hadn't felt the kicks until last night.

We watched Juno and P.S. I love you with my mom while my dad was at the Nationals game with Uncle Rich (the latter was awful, I don't recommend it at all, although the book was incredible), and went to bed around 10:30pm. I started feeling little kicks pretty soon after lying down, so I had Ben put his hand on my belly. He felt 3 or 4 kicks and said, "Wow, if I can feel it now I wonder how hard he'll kick in the next couple of months." Yeah, I guess that is something I have to look forward to. :)

It was an amazing moment that I'll never forget.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

21 week belly pic - Mommy and Riley



I am getting bigger by the minute. This is my 21 week belly shot. Riley was feeling left out, so he gets one too. Here he is lounging in the sun at Grandma's house this past weekend.

I don't know what it is about being pregnant that attracts police officers, but I have been pulled over twice in the past week. Once for speeding (by accident, of course) on Chocolate Avenue on my way to meet Amy O. and Tina for breakfast at the Hershey Pantry. Luckily, the cop pulled me over right in front of the restaurant. Lights flashing and everything. Tina comes running out and says to the officer, "You can't give her a ticket! She's pregnant!". Yes, she knew the guy. Thank heaven! It would have been an expensive ticket. Tina is a lifesaver. And a big thank you to Amy too for encouraging Tina to rush out and reprimand the officer for doing his job. :)

I had a wonderful time visiting Grandma, my Aunt Liz, Uncle Kurt, cousins, Amy O., Tina, Amy L. and Cindy. It was so nice to see everyone! And I of course made a run to Chocolate World while I was in town to stock up on some goodies.

My mom and dad are coming to visit tomorrow, so I'm excited about them seeing the house for the first time. And my pregnant belly. I'll be cleaning all day tomorrow since it's pretty much a mess right now and we all know how Linda feels about a messy house!