Happy Anniversary To Us!

One year ago, I married my best friend.

It was the best day of my life and more than I could have ever imagined.

I cant wait to celebrate the nex 50 anniversaries with you.

Soon we will be parents and officially a family.

There is no one in the world I would rather share this journey with.

I love you, Marty.

Movin' My Hips Like Yeah.....

For all of my beautiful bridesmaids who let me listen to "Party In The USA" over and over and over while getting ready for the wedding...

Thank you. I love you all 6 of you. I couldnt imagine getting married without you by my side. :)



37 Weeks

Here's my week 37 update...


Brody is at least 6 1/3 lbs (if not more- big boy, remember?) and 19 inches. He's as long as a stalk of swiss chard. Again, with the weird foods...

Milestone: Brody has officially dropped. I had no idea what this meant. People kept asking me if he dropped and i had no idea. They said I'd be able to finally eat more, but I've never really had a problem with that. I've always felt like he's been kinda low, since he's not right under my boobs, but I still didn't know what "dropping" meant. Well, thank goodness for doctors. Apparently, he's literally dropped down farther into my pelvis. Each week, his measurements would correspond to the number of weeks that I am pregnant. But on Monday, instead of measuring 37 centimeters, he measured 35. So apparently he dropped down two centimeters. So what does this mean? Nothing really. All of my books say it means he'll arrive in the next few weeks. Really no surprise there.

Feeling: Basically the same as I've been feeling in the last few weeks. I wouldn't say that anything is all that different at this point.

Movement: Still lots of kicks from his little feet. I now know what all those moms are talking about when they said "just wait til he jabs you in the ribs". I've been getting a ton of jabs. He's definitely out of room in there and if I even think about hunching over, he gives me a swift kick to let me know that's not comfy for him.

Wishing for: This is pretty petty, but I'm really hoping that all my shoes fit me after I give birth. As of right now, they're all a lot tighter than I'd like them to be. It would be lovely if I didn't experience the whole foot growing thing, since I really like all my shoes....well most of them.

Looking Forward To: My work shower today and my 1st Anniversary this Saturday! Joe and I are going to a little restaurant in Capitola. I'm hoping to do some pumpkin carving during the day before he head over to the beach. After dinner, we'll watch out wedding video and eat cupcakes from the bakery that made our wedding cupcakes. Low key for sure, but I'm very excited.

Thankful for: The fact that I'm still feeling pretty ok. I was worried that I'd be miserable at work for the last few weeks. Everyone told me to take off at least 2 or more weeks before the due date, but i just couldn't. I'm so glad I can still get through the day just fine. Hopefully it continues through next week.

Reading: I'm not really reading anything at this point. I have 2 books in my "cart" at amazon. The Nursing Mothers Companion and What to Expect The First Year. Anything else I need to have for his arrival in terms or reading materials?

Favorite clothes right now: Nothing new, really. I do love that I'm able to wear layers and not sweat to death. I ordered a few things from Old Navy last week that I'm hoping will be a little pick me up in the fashion dept for the last few weeks.

Current Project: I made a mobile and a pillow for Brody's room this weekend. Oh the wonders of felt. I should have take a picture of them to post, but I forgot. Maybe I'll update later. Anyway, I just need to hang the mobile and the room will be all set. :)

Stretch marks: still none! Is it possible that they'll stay away? That would be amazing....

No preggo picture, but here's a little wedding picture, in honor of my anniversary. At this time last year, I was in wedding heaven, surrounded by everyone that I love. It was the best day of my life. :)

36 Weeks

Here's my week 36 update


Brody is almost 6 lbs and 18.5 inches. He's about as big as a crenshaw melon....whatever that is. Oh, here's a picture:

Milestone: Well, Brody is officially measuring one week ahead. My doctor said he will definitely not be a  6 lb baby, considering that she believes he's at least that now. I'm not surprised...but hopefully it means he wants to arrive early! You know, so I don't have to deliver a 9 pounder! :) 3.5 weeks until his due date!

Last week, I was screened for Group B Strep and I found out yesterday that I am a carrier. Apparently it's a bacteria/infection that you can pass on to the baby during birth. You can read more about it through the link, but basically my doctor made it seem like it's not a big deal and the baby will be fine as long as I receive antibiotics when I go into labor.

Feeling: Ups and downs, but basically I'm still feeling really good. Some times I fee like I can skip around like a 4 year old and then other times, I feel like I'm falling apart. Please say this is normal. I'm still getting up about every 2 hours in the middle of the night to pee, but I'm a champ at going back to sleep. Oh- this is random.... my gag reflexes are ridiculous. I gag like crazy every time I brush my teeth. I cant help it. Is that also normal?

Movement: He's head down, so I feel lots of kicks at the top of my belly along with some punches along my left side. They feel a lot different than they did a month or so ago. They don't really hurt, but there is definitely more force behind them, compared to before. Every once in a while, he gets a good jab in there that throws me off for a minute. He's had more hiccups lately. They're so cool. :)

Wishing for: The weather gods have answered my wishes! It's been in the lowish 70's the last few days, with some cooler temps to come! But don't worry, I still have the mini fan on in my office.
My only wish for now is that Brody doesn't arrive before next Wednesday. It's my shower at work and I'm excited to hang out with everyone. :) He can arrive after that, though I still have a number of work commitments up until November 5th.

Looking Forward To: This weekend!- Joe has Saturday off and I'm hoping to purchase some pumpkins and do some carving. Then on Sunday, LB is coming over for some chili, a pedicure and just some good old fashion hangin'.

Thankful for: The cooler weather of course! I'm also really lucky to have great coworkers who are super supportive about the fact that I'm leaving them for three months. Everyone has been really flexible and accommodating.

Reading: It's not really reading- I've been obsessed with my new ipod touch. The games, the apps...it's all so fantastic. I cant wait to try out all the mommy/baby apps.

Favorite clothes right now: I've got the three pairs of maternity pants on rotation like it's my job. I'm also throwing in my leggings whenever I can. I love leggings. I need more dresses/tunics to wear with them. Super comf!

Current Project: I don't actually have any! Isn't that awesome? Joe still needs to pack his bag and we need to hang the quilt in the nursery, but that's really all. I have so much crossed off my list already. Feels gooooood.

Current Food Cravings: Cheese is still my bff, as is meat. Nothing new there.

Stretch marks: still none!

35 week photo: I wanted to take a picture of me in my phillies shirt the other night. I was so eager to find it, and completely excited to post a preggo picture of me wearing it. However, it does NOT fit. I got it on and Joe and I started laughing so hard, we couldn't stop. I even made him try it on (it's a boy's-like a child's large) and I'm not sure who looked more ridiculous in it. FAIL to that. Instead, you can look at the nursery photos, k?

Week 35 Update

Here's my week 35 update


Brody is 18 inches long and 5 1/4 pounds. He's about as big/heavy as a honeydew melon. He should adding more weight in the coming weeks, but his length will stay around 18 inches.

Milestone: I'm officially going to the doctor every week now. I had the GBS screening done at the appointment and I also got my flu shot. It was ssomething I was avoiding, but decided to do anyway. I got a sweet snoopy band-aid though, so it was totally worth it. And aalthough I'd like the little guy to stay inside me and cook for a little while longer, he'd be healthy if he were to arrive now.
Feeling: Really good, actually. It's hot again. Damn this Indian Summer. So, other than sweating more that the normal person and constantly wanting the AC on, I'm doing pretty good. Energy level is still the same, though I was on a super mission this weekend when we were working on the nursery.

Movement: He had the hiccups twice this weekend. One of the times was while we were in our baby class, so Joe got to feel them for the first time. It's a cool thing. The other thing I've been feeling- and I'll put it in this section because, technically it's his movements fault- is a shooting pain in my nether regions. The doctor said it's the baby moving in a way that hits a nerve, much like hitting your funny bone. When he moves and hits the nerve, I get this shooting pain. It's not awful, just catches me off guard- literally like hitting your funny bone....though I'm not feeling it in my elbow. :)

Wishing for: You know what I'm going to say....cooler weather. Still waiting for Fall...

Looking Forward To: My Anniversary, Halloween and maternity leave! It's all so close!

Thankful for: I'm still feeling very blessed that I've had a relatively easy pregnancy. I'm so lucky to have mom friends to turn to for questions and support. I love hearing other people's experiences. So many of my mom friends have been more than generous with letting us borrow their baby items, saving us tons of money. It's so great knowing what items worked and didn't work for them. I'm also very excited for friends who are just beginning the pregnancy journey. I can't wait to share my experiences with them and have our babies grow up together. :) I feel very lucky to have a husband who gets just as excited as I do about little tiny baby clothes and setting up the nursery. It's been really fun preparing for Brody, so I know it's going to be even more fun when he gets here.

Reading: Still reading Tori Spelling's book...Yeah, I'm slow.

Favorite clothes right now: Are you kidding me? None. I'm STILL wearing summer dresses....the same ones I've been wearing since May. I'd welcome snow at this point.

Current Project: I need to pack my hospital bag (is it too early?), put the car seat base in Joe's car and gather a few more items off of our "to get" list before Brody gets here. I also need to go to Pottery Barn to purchase the crib quilt and maybe get a side table for next to the crib.

Current Food Cravings: Still loving cheese and meat. Sometimes I like meat and cheese together. Ohhhh, a cheese steak would be amazing right now. Hmmm, I'll have to plan that for later.
Stretch marks: no "stretchies" yet. That's what Joe calls them. He also calls leggings stretchies. He's so cute.

35 week photo: I had every intention on taking a picture this weekend, and didn't. How about some more maternity photos? Hopefully I'll be posting nursery pics soon, so that will make up for (yet again) not having a weekly update picture.

Week 34- Wait, where did 33 go?

So, I failed at posting an update last week. I was off work on Monday and then swamped during the week, so it just never happened. Sorry. Rather than go back and do week 33, I'm just going to do a combo this week, mentioning thing from week 33 and 34.

Here's my week 34 update


Brody is almost 18 inches long and 4 3/4 pounds. He's about as big/heavy as a cantaloupe.

Milestone: I cant believe we've hit the point where I can say that I only have 6 weeks left. Well, that's if this little guy decides to show up on time!

Feeling: Good but tired. I'm pretty worn out in the evenings, with random bursts of energy. I've been sneaking in little catnaps at work during my lunch break. They actually help a lot. Otherwise, I'm usually pretty wiped when I get home from work. Other than being tired, I'm starting to feel more and more braxton hicks contractions. I didn't know what they were until recently. I though it was just him pushing out against me, but apparently it's the uterus contracting. It doesn't hurt, but it is a bit uncomfortable.

Movement: He's still moving a good bit, but I can definitely tell that it's getting tight in there for him. His movements aren't as "jabby" (is that a word?) as they used to be, but more like I can feel him slowly sliding from one position into another.

Wishing for: An October baby. Is that wrong to say? I would love a little Halloween baby. :)

Looking Forward To: This weekend, when we finally get to put the nursery together! Yay! Joe is painting the room on Friday and then we'll start assembling everything... the crib, bookshelf, etc. We're also going to pick up the dresser on Saturday. I am so excited to finally decorate his room! I will definitely post pictures when it's finally complete!

Thankful for: (this is a new one I just added this week!) I am so thankful for lots of things with this pregnancy, such as no stretchmarks, no heartburn and the impending fall weather, but more than anything I am so grateful for my wonderful friends and family. My mother in law hosted a shower for me a few weeks ago and it was amazing. It was held at Joe's country club, per his request. My sister in law Meghan made the most delicious and cutest cupcakes with fondant sailboats. Leslie jumped right in and helped with all of the details of the shower, down to personalized thank you notes that matched the theme. It was more than I ever could have wished for. So many of the ladies that are so important to me attended and were more than generous with their gifts for Brody. He is one lucky boy and I am one lucky mama. Thank you to everyone!

Reading: Tori Spelling's Uncharted TerriTORI. I know, it's not baby related, but I love love love her books. Leslie got me a copy and it's even signed by Tori, herself! Leslie's good friend from Vegas is Tori's personal assistant, so when they were in town for a book signing, Leslie got one for me. Isn't she awesome? I'm only a few chapters in, but it's pretty good, so far.

Favorite clothes right now: Still rocking the same old stuff. It's been a little cooler, so I'm not sweating as much when I wear my fall clothes. Bonus. I haven't gotten anything new recently, but I'm kind of itching for a few new things to put in the rotation.

Current Project: Nursery and shopping for those last minute items. We got some gift cards at the shower, so off we went to purchase some of the items we'll need after his arrival. I'm crossing off my to do items left and right and it feels wonderful!

Current Food Cravings: Cheese. I love cheese. I have been enjoying string cheese pretty regularly and even melting kraft singles on everything that I can find. Mmmm, cheese.

Stretch marks: Still none

34 week photo: I don't have pics that are specific to week 34...but here are two from my little photo shoot with Cari. More to come...