Progress of baby nursery

Thanks to the unstoppable help from Grandma Theresa, we were finally able to tackle the baby nursery this past week-end. After emptying out all the "office" stuff and other miscellaneous stuff that seemed to accumulate here for years...Theresa helped us pack, organize and move all the above items...clean the room from top to bottom, then assemble the crib and move the other furniture.


We don't really have a "theme" in the room..but are going along with the pale green color scheme to decorate.

This is the "darth vadar" rocker glider we bought online. We know black isn't a typical baby color, but we like the look & feel of the leather and found it incredibly comfortable.

This is our only "accessory" so far, thanks to Granny Tamara and Grampa Leon.

More pix later as we fill the room up with baby stuff!

Week 35

I seem to be growing exponentially now. Feeling great though, although getting up off the couch seems to be getting much harder! I've been able to keep up my activity level...walking a lot, taking swimming classes and doing prenatal yoga. Now I just have to try to keep up with Kaley!

Week 34

Jesse was in Chicago on a business trip...and visiting Renee, so this is my attempt at taking a pic of myself. Next time I'll clean up our room and maybe make the bed!

Fiesta!

For Jesse, Sherri and Emily's b-day, we threw a Fiesta at our house. I'm kinda lookin like a stuffed pinata in this picture......

Well, here's the real pinata...it looked like Elvis combined with Chucky.

The real excitement was playing Wii on our new 50" plasma!


More party pix here

32 weeks and growing!

Hot momma!

We had the hottest day of the year, with temperatures reaching almost 100 degrees here in Seattle. While I managed to stay inside most of the time, the occasional moments where I was outside was pretty unbearable.


Even the skies were on fire! This is the incredible neon sunset, photographed from the top of Gatewood Hill near our house:

(pic from WS Blog)

Good thing our basement is pretty much done, as it stays nice and cool and we were able to spend the entire evening down there in relative comfort.

THANK YOU JESSE!

Happy Birthday Jesse!

Today is Jesse's 32nd birthday. Woohoo! We'll be celebrating tonight with dinner at Theresa's...and capping off the b-day week with a big fiesta at our house on Saturday.

Happy B-day my love!

Summer Vacation

Ahhh...summer vacation. 9 days of uninteruppted fun, sun and relaxation. With the exception of Jesse catching a cold the last few days, we really enjoyed the time off. Pictures and more details to follow soon..........

Happy Fathers (to be) Day!

Happy almost Fathers Day to Jesse! In a couple short months, he will officially be a baby daddy.

We celebrated by having a nice brunch, then Jesse headed to the basement to work on his remodel project (which is going along very nicely, I must say...). Later in the day, he hung out with the guys for a rock session in Bellevue, then came home to a yummy BBQ.

Soon, instead of home improvements, bbq, beer and rock n roll... it'll be diapers, bottles and burpies.

Happy Fathers Day!!

7 months - Week 28

I'm officially in the third trimester. As you can see, the baby bump continues to morph and grow! I'm supposed to gain about 1 lb a week. We've also been gaining one+ baby item per week. Last week, we got a crib and pack n' play. This week...well, it's not really for the baby, but we bought a bookshelf/wall unit for the "den". We have to start his reading collection sometime, and have somewhere to put all the great works. This week, well we'll see what we get!

Happy 2nd Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us! Jesse and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary on June 4. I can't believe it's been 2 years already. It seems much longer ;-). The craziest thing is that Jesse reminded me that we've actually been together for 5 years now. I guess time flies when you're having fun.

Monthly Update

Wow, where did the month of May go? It seemed to just fly right by. It's been over a month since our last posting, so here are the highlights from the past month:

• Baseball: Jesse & I went to a Yankees vs. Mariners Game. We were "lucky" enough to hear Blake Lewis (finalist in Americam Idol) sing the National Anthem. The Yankees weren't as lucky, as they lost the game 3-2. No gloating allowed, Jesse!
  
  
• Mother's Day: This year, we hosted Mother's Day (and Mother's-To-Be Day) at our house. First, Theresa came over for Brunch which Jesse skillfully prepared for his ladies. We had french toast, vegetable fritatta, and fruit salad. It was wonderful, and gave us an excuse to use Granny's china.

• Mother's Day, continued: After breakfast, we opened gifts which included a really nice photo album for Theresa, and some supportive pillows for the pregnant momma. Next, we took Theresa on a suprise road trip. As a big Frida Kahlo fan, we thought she'd enjoy the exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum. Afterwards, we drove around town a little, and stopped to admire the view. I was really tired (and hungry) when this pic was taken. Watch out for the hungry pregnant lady..she might bite your head off!

• Cooking School: I took a great Sourdough Baking class at the Culinary Communion. We learned about making a starter, care and feeding of our "pet" starter, proofing and baking. The bread was absolutely amazing. We even got to take some dough home and bake it ourselves. (I'll save you all from the "bun in the oven" jokes). I volunteer there about once a month as a student assistant, which means I get to particpate in the class for free but have to help during and after the class with dishes. It's been a great experience, and I love the chefs that run the school. I'm taking advantage of any "free time" I have now to enjoy leisure activities while I can!



• New Jersey: For our last flight for a while, we took a nice trip back East to New Jersey over Memorial Day week-end. It was a great 5-day visit where we basically got to see the majority of my relatives and friends, go into NYC, and eat, eat and eat some more! Mom & Dad celebrated their 40th anniversary, so they threw a big party at the house. It was fun to see everyone, especially Grandma Anita and my Nephew Nathan.

• Memorial Day: Here we are at Edgemont Memorial Park. We missed the 'official' ceremony, but managed to check out the monument, where people were paying their personal homage to citizens who had died while serving the United States. We received a lovely painting of this location from the Guiffra's as a wedding gift, so we thought it would be fun to check it out.
  


• Baby Shower, part 1: My wonderful friends from Montclair were kind enough to throw a baby shower for me during my visit. It was hosted at Gillian's house, and attended by Kendra, Peggy, Jen, Grandma, Mom, Tori and Gwen. (And Shea & Ciara too, of course!). We had a lovely time, and I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with my friends that are all seasoned pros at parenting.

Well, that pretty much concludes all of our activities from the past month. I'll try to post more frequently now, as I'm officially in the third trimester!

Caricature at 20 weeks

At Matt & Liz's wedding this past week-end, they had a caricature artist to do portraits of all the guests. Don't we look just fabulous! (Especially Jesse's big bouffant).

Can you say, Adobe? Ah-dohhh-baayyy

Jesse & I headed down to Phoenix, AZ this weekend to celebrate Matt & Liz's wedding. It was our first visit to the Southwest, and we were really looking forward to seeing some old friends and warm, sunny weather.

The rehearsal dinner was held at Matt & Liz's house in Glendale. They have a beautiful home that Matt purchased after selling his condo in Seattle. For the sale price of a 1 bedrooom condo in Seattle, you can buy a 3-bd 2ba house with pool, hot tub, and lots of living space.

I'm looking *just a little* bloated in this picture. Jesse looked very handsome, but his rental tux was a bit too big for him, so together we both look like football players!

Our last day in town, we walked around Tempe near the ASU campus, then headed up to Scottsdale to check out the Old Town and try to find some authentic Southwestern cuisine. The closest thing we found was taco bell and baja fresh, so we asked the local tourist booth for some recommendations. She pointed us to the oldest Mexican restaurant in town, which serves up simple, authentic dishes prepared with ultra-fresh ingredients. It was very good, but didn't seem any different than a Mexican restaurant you'd find up in Seattle.

No rattlesnake fillets for us this time..they must have let this one go right near our villa!

Week 19 pix

Here's me and my "little" shelf at 19 weeks. Almost at the half way point!

15 week pix

It's been about a month since the last belly pix were taken, so here's how I'm looking at 15 weeks. I've been wearing lots of UBU clothing, as it is stretchy, fits well and looks cute too. Thanks Uncle David!

Ivan was out for a quick 1-night visit before his trip back east. We'll get to see him again soon, as he's coming back through Seattle this week-end. See you soon, Uncle Ivan!

Baby's first 5k

For some pre-St. Patty's Day fun, we took a road trip down to Portland, OR to visit the folks and participate in the Shamrock run. Mary & I did the 5k walk, while Jesse and Tom did the 8k run.

Here we are at the start line. If you look hard enough, you'll see us in the left front of the pack.

Here's Jesse lookin' good! No sympathy weight allowed here...

As for me and that face I'm making, not sure if a spandex-clad man ran by, or a leprauchan...or a combo of both!

..and here's Jesse and Tom near the finish line. Way to go!

Oh, Canada!

Jesse, Kaley and I decided to take a road trip up to Vancouver, British Columbia over President's Day week-end. What better way to spend this national holiday than by heading north to the border! We actually wanted to break in the new wheels, visit Ivan, and take Kaley on a long-deserved vacation.

Through the aptly named site, Pawsperouspets, we found a wonderful hotel that is located right across the street from the beach at beautiful English Bay and world famous Stanley Park. More importantly, they provided a welcome gift bag for Kaley upon arrival, and a matching doggy bed in our room.

We took a little side trip to Deep Cove, which is located at the entrance to Indian Arm, off Burrard Inlet on the North shore of Vancouver. We stumbled upon a "beached" whale...freshly pruned and intriguing to Kaley.

We enjoyed lots of nice walks along the water and even encountered this "No Dogs Allowed" pet-friendly beach. (Note the sign in the foreground, with at least 4 off-leash dogs frolicking in the sand). Only in Canada....


So, what does this all have to do with the baby you ask? Well, nothing really..unless you consider Kaley our #1 baby. In all seriousness, we are trying to fit in as many mini-vacations as possible before the little one arrives....

Bouncing Baby Bellies

Well..I guess it's officially time to start showing just how much I'm showing! I suppose I'm one of those people that start showing early on... or I just enjoy eating for two and indulging my every craving. I've never really had a belly that started so high up, so I'm assuming it's "baby weight" that I've gained. (I'll keep telling myself that for the next 6 months!)


For the first photo op, Ivan, Jesse and Kaley all offered to pose for the 1st belly shot too so I wouldn't feel self concious. Naturally, I'm the only one who didn't have to push out, hunch over or add extra fur to show a protruding tummy.

It's not really fair that my older brother weighs about 10 lbs less than me, or that Jesse is losing "sympathy weight" rather than gaining it. At least Kaley is getting really furry, so we can be large and in charge together. I'll get over it...after all I am from Jersey, baby!

First Ultrasound Pix

So, Jesse & I went in for our first ultrasound on the 9th of February! It was very cool. I'm at 10.7 weeks now, which they said was a little early for the 1st look, but they determined it was a hair big enough to see!

The baby is approximately 37mm (or is it centimeters?). I've never been good with the metric system! Anyway, it's about 1.5 inches or so....has a heartrate of 165 BPM, and so far we saw 2 arms, 2 legs, a head, back and bottom!

When the technician was doing her thing, we could see the baby jumping (or slip-slding) around. We were told it was very cooperative! Let's hope that carries over into childhood and adulthood :-).