Kickin'

Ever since I got pregnant I've been impatiently waiting for those first kicks from the baby. I remember loving watching my belly move around while Andrew was, as it seemed doing summersalts inside me. He would move my belly around like crazy; from one end to the other. Now that day is here for Mia. It started last night when I went to bed and she's been kickin' up a storm ever since.

Finally, I get to feel my little one!...now, when does it stop?!?!?!

This is one very active baby. I have a feeling that I'm going to have my hands full once she arrives. Man, can she ever move! I wonder what she's doing in there?

Summer catch-up

I finally have some summer stuff for you to check out. A few days after Andrew arrived, I got sick with bronchitis and missed out on some of our summer plans. My brother, Dave came for a visit and we were joined by Neil's parents shortly after. With my being sick, we really didn't do much during that time (sorry guys!) One thing I didn't miss was telling Andrew about my pregnancy. When I told him, he had this puzzled look on his face and then he looked at my belly not able to see how I could be pregnant without showing. Once he got over the shock he was overjoyed with the news! He is so excited that he is going to be a big brother, especially to a little girl!

Andrew hears about the baby!

I really wanted to go on the camping trip with Neil and Andrew, however I was too sick to go. Neil and Andrew packed up and drove to Lake Marina, about a two hour drive from Chula Vista. They had a great time together, doing important male bonding things. They went for hikes, cooked all their meals on an open fire and saw a bunch of wild life. They had a great time.

Andrew "King of the Mountain"; camping with Neil

Neil kickin' back at the cabin

A view of the lake

Debbie arrived for a visit right after the boys returned from camping. We visited the famous San Diego Zoo and also took a harbor cruise of the San Diego bay. While at the zoo, we took the bus tour and saw parts of the zoo that we hadn't before and then took the Skyfari that stretches over the entire zoo giving you an ariel view of the zoo and close by Balboa Park. It was great!

Andrew and I on the zoo's bus tour

A chimpanzee getting up close with the kids

Andrew and I on the harbor cruise

Andrew enjoying the sights

Last night, we went to our church's last Summer Night's party. Every Saturday evening during the summer after services, they have pizza, nachos, ice cream and drinks with all kinds of fun "rides". Andrew had a blast jumping, bouncing & sliding.

Andrew on his favorite ride - the slide.

It's a girl!

Neil and I found out on Tuesday that we are expecting a little girl. She is due on Dec 16th and we are naming her Mia Lauren.

Watch Mia blow you a kiss on the video!

Summertime!

I'm in week 13 of my pregnancy and things are doing well. I have finally entered my 2nd trimester and am looking forward to "showing" and buying maternity clothes. I still have my days where I'm fighting morning sickness and nausea, however nothing could bring me down right now.

It's summertime and everyone who knows me understands what that means...Andrew! Andrew arrives for his summer visit on Wednesday, June 18th and I cannot wait. I haven't see him since Christmas and I have a feeling that I'm going to burst into tears the moment I see him. My brother, Dave is flying out with Andrew on his first trip out to see me since I moved out here in Nov 2006. I am so looking forward to seeing them both.

We've got a bunch of plans for the summer, one of which is taking Andrew on his first camping trip. He is very excited about it; he told me he started packing his toys about two months ago! Also, since we live only 20 minutes from the beach we will be there every Saturday. Andrew is such a water baby! He loves going and we have to drag him out of the water even after spending the entire day.

Week 10: Exhaustion and Morning sickness

I'm SO tired! I didn't realize how tired I was until I woke up one Saturday morning and took a nap. I've never been big on sleep, so my friends & family have got to know how much that wigged me out. I take a nap almost every day when I get home from work and I've had to fight sleeping at my desk. I tell ya, I'm so ready for this to end. I can't get anything done around the house and it's driving me nutty.

Whoever came up with the term "Morning sickness" must have never been pregnant. Gee, wouldn't be great if it were only in the morning? But, no - not for me...not this time around. When I was pregnant with Andrew, it only lasted until about 11am, then I was done for the day. This time, it can rear it's ugly head at any time. It hits me right when I wake up, again around the time I arrive at work (the boss loves that!), yet again around 8:30 and so on and so on about every two hours until noon. Sometimes that's it for the day, however at times I'm sick for the rest of the day too. Thank goodness that has not happened too often. I try talking to the baby, asking him/her to take it easy on Mommy. This doesn't work (I see the family resemblance...stubbornness!). Well, the baby can get away with not listening to me in the womb, however try it once he/she's breathing on their own and we're gonna have problems.

Still, I have to count my blessings. I'm so grateful that my morning sickness has only been a feeling - never an action. I haven't gained any weight and noticed Sunday morning that I lost a pound. Don't worry, I'm eating! I feel like I never stop eating. My nausea keeps me popping snacks, but they are all healthy (Mom, that one's for you).

I'm so looking forward to my second trimester as it promises more energy and less morning sickness. Only two more weeks.

First appointment - 8 weeks

It's simply amazing - seeing the look on your husband's face when he first hears our baby's heartbeat! My first OB appointment was on Friday and we had our first sonogram. The baby is extremely small (only about an inch) and the heartbeat is a normal 166 beats per second. What a miracle babies are!


Here, the baby is on the left side of the hollow space (which is the amniotic fluid). His/her head is down (far left) and the feet are just beginning to form (on the right).


Here, the baby is flipped from the previous picture, so he/she is on the right. Head down (far right) and newly forming feet just above. The white circle just left of the baby is the yolk sak, which feeds the baby until the placenta is fully formed.

Neil and I are so excited! Seeing the sonogram and hearing that heartbeat really brought it home - we're having a baby!

Cruizin'

Neil and I didn't have a honeymoon (I know, doesn't everyone feel sorry for me), so I was so excited about his surprise. He planned a honeymoon/vacation for us - a cruise to Mexico with Carnival Cruiselines! We set sail on Monday, April 28th at 4pm and were off for a wild ride thru the Pacific Ocean toward Cabo San Lucas, a city just on the tip of Baja California, Mexico.

Our first day at sea was wonderful. It was a beautiful day with a nice, constant breeze off the ocean. We saw sea lions & even a whale off the starboard side and enjoyed our dinner on the deck watching the ocean. Tuesday, our first full day at sea was warm & sunny - not a cloud in the sky. With the ocean breeze continuing, Neil and I didn't notice that we were getting burned laying out on the desk (I used sunscreen, Dad!).







Finally, on Wednesday we arrive in Cabo. Water taxi's picked us up since the ship was too large for their pier. We were greeted by customs (that was fun) and then proceeded into Mexico where we are instant targets for the street vendors, trying to sell us their goods. We walked around the pier into the shopping district (it doesn't take me long to find these places...I have built-in shopping GPS). We met up with a nice couple from the cruise and stopped at Sammy Hagar's famous cantina, Cabo Wabo where we paid too much for drinks, chips & salsa. The weather was brutilly hot, so we headed back to the ship to enjoy a nice dinner & relax after a bunch of walking.





Friday, day 4 and we arrive in Enceneda (I was so excited to be on solid ground), a beautiful water-front city also on the Baja. The weather was great - sunny and 70 degrees with a light breeze. Neil, always equiped with his GPS informed me that we were only 57 miles from home. He didn't take me up on my offer to just rent a car and drive back to San Diego (I was still feeling a little seasick). We opted to take a shore excertion up to Rosarito & have a tour of Fox Studios, where the blockbuster movie Titantic was filmed. We toured the facility and walked into the Titantic set - it was so cool. This will be a city that we will return to!



We arrived back home Saturday morning at 9am. We had a wonderful time on our cruise and I'm so thankful to Neil for planning this for us. The food was awesome as was the service & we made some new friends, too! Neil is ready to start planning our next cruise, however I'm going to insist that we wait until the baby's born.