18 Weeks!

As of today, I am 18 weeks along! According to my "What to Expect" book, I've just entered the 5th month and by the end of this month I should be feeling the baby move... I can't wait for that! The baby is about 5 inches in length and approximately 5 ounces in weight this week. The cutest part is that the baby is yawning and hiccuping this week! I'm still feeling great and am definately getting bigger!

The Baby Bump is Growing!

I am now 17 weeks and 2 days along and still feeling great. I feel like in the last week or two I've finally started to look more pregnant and not so fat anymore. And on my flight back from CA on Sunday, the flight attendant said "looks like you are having a baby!"... the first time that someone has acknowledged I look pregnant! It was very exciting.

For those of you who haven't seen me yet, or haven't seen me in awhile, this is a picture I took this morning showing how "Baby B" is growing!!!

The Big 6-0!

Last week I went to CA to visit family and friends, but also to celebrate my Dad's 60th Birthday! I can't believe he's 60 now... you would never know it from all he does! I hope I look that good at 60!

It was so great to see family, especially since this was the first time being home since becoming pregnant. And I'm starting to show so I think it was fun for the family to see the baby bump too!

Mom and I put together posters of pictures of Dad throughout his life. It was fun going through the photo albums to pick out pictures that represented him and all he's done. My favorite was of him at about 18 years old posing with a flexed arm to show off those muscles!!! It was actually one I had never seen before... hysterical!

Mom ordered Dad's favorite pasta from Maggiano's, and make some marinaded chicken, salad and garlic bread. Bethany made cupcakes and put them in the shape of "6-0"... they looked great when we put candles on each one! We enjoyed sitting outside, talking, eating great food and even making fun of Dad some...

Grandpa had the greatest "gifts" of the night... a selection of items that he'll need now that he's entered the "older" part of his life... Reading glassses, Milk of Magnesia, denture cleanser etc. It was hysterical!!!

It was a great party of family and great friends!!!

Matt's New "Baby"

Matt and I have been talking about getting him a new car for a little while now. But after driving his car last winter and having it slide all over the place, I told him I would not allow a baby to be put in that car during the winter! So we got my car paid off early, so we would only have one car payment, and decided to get him a car before this winter. His dream car has always been a Land Rover and even though I knew that is what he would end up with, we decided to look at a few other cars and pretend we gave them a chance!

We were able to find a certified pre-owned LR3 in white just as he wanted at the dealership near our house. We test drove it and Matt was in love. While I was in CA last week, I called Matt and he says, "Guess what? I bought a car!" I was fairly shocked that it happened that quickly but he was able to coordinate everything fast. I was just bummed I couldn't be with him to pick it up! He is just thrilled to have it and it's great for him to realize a dream he's had for so long... he's just thrilled that he can finally afford something like this instead of just dream about it!

Fat... and not with a "PH"!

So I'm in this awful "in-between" stage of this pregnancy, where I can tell my stomach is getting bigger, but I don't yet look pregnant. Instead I just look fat!!! I don't have people asking me if I'm pregnant becaue they aren't yet sure... and you know you never ask a woman if she's pregnant unless you are sure!!! I've started to wear a couple of maternity items I bought because I'm not fitting into regular clothes that aren't lose fitting dresses. I know that this is just a phase, but I'm already ready for it to be over with!!!

Hot Rod Ho-Down

Matt and I have become friends recently with a couple that are big into Rockabilly... Trinnie and Herb. Each year they put on the Hot Rod Ho-Down at Southside Johnny's downtown with a hot rod show and rockabilly music bands all day. It all began when they wanted to put together an event where they could choose the bands they wanted to see. Now it's also their way of giving back to the community. They raise money for a charity of their choosing each year. So Matt and I decided to check it out.

Actually on Friday night we went to Trinnie and Herb's house for a BBQ. The most hysterical part is that Matt saw their son, 3 year-old Vinny, as an allergy patient earlier in the week. Not only was he a great patient being so good during all the skin testing, but calls Matt "Dr. Blowfish"... I think one of Trinnie's friend's told him that was his name so he really thinks it is! When we showed up at their house for the bbq, Vinny came up and said "Hi, Dr. Blowfish!" I was laughing so hard... it was the cutest thing EVER!!!

So back to Saturday... we headed over to Southside Johnny's early in the afternoon to see the car show. It was so much more impressive than I anticipated. There were about 80 cars there from unfinished "beaters" to cars that were works of art.

One of My Favorites

This won Best in Show

Our Favorite

After the car show we headed inside Southside Johnny's, a restaurant/bar, grabbed some lunch and listened to the opening act... they were actually really great. After meeting a few more of Trinnie and Herb's friends, we decided to head out and run some errands and come back later.

We arrived back later that evening where we caught the tail end of a group (I don't remember the name) that was really great. Trinnie was so excited and said they were so great that it took her back to "they day". Afterwards they had a Burlesque Show and Pin Up Girl contest that was a lot of fun. Matt and I headed out, but we had such a great time. Not only was it great to hear some fun music, see some amazing cars, but also to meet some new people. We are looking forward to making this an annual tradition!

Claritin... My New Best Friend!

Thankfully I have not had any morning sickness during the pregnancy so far. Both Mom and Bethany had pretty easy pregnancies so I was hoping the same for me... and so far, so good! The only thing I've noticed the last several weeks is that my nose has been running like crazy, and I've been sneezing about 25 times (no exaggeration!) a day... and I've suddenly started sneezing in pairs almost every time which I've never done before! So strange the things pregnancy do to a body (and I'm sure this is just the beginning!)

Finally I had enough and asked Matt what I can take (so handy having a doctor in the family!). After checking his iPhone medical app he suggested Claritin. Although he doesn't necessarily think I've developed any allergies (although that's not uncommon during pregnancy apparently), he thought the Claritin could help with my symptoms... and of course, the doctor is right!!! I can finally get through my day without going through a box of Kleenex! We are hitting up Costco to get it in bulk so I've covered the rest of the pregnancy!

And Baby Makes Three!!!

For those of you that don't know already, Matt and I are thrilled to annouce that we are pregnant!!! I am 14 weeks along and have been feeling great so far. The due date is February 1st. And we are NOT (I repeat NOT Bethany!!!) going to find out the sex of the baby. I figure that it's my "reward" for labor and it gives Matt his "15 Seconds of Fame" when he goes out to tell the family the sex and the name chosen. We are just thrilled.

We can't wait for the changes in store for us up ahead. Both of us have wanted children for a long time... even before we met each other! So now that it's a reality, it's so amazing. Next week we've got our monthly appointment with my doctor.

Above is a picture from our 12 week ultrasound. I love how you can see the baby's leg kicked up and it looks like he/she is just kicking back and relaxing! Keep up to date with the pregnancy with this blog!