'Tis the Season...

For holiday parties, baking, indulging in all those baked goodies, shopping, and most importantly, spending time with family and friends.  The past three weeks have been very busy with lots of get togethers, starting with the annual INTECH Holiday Party - my sister was my date this year since hubby had to work.  As always, it was a terrific time with my fabulous co-workers and their significant others....too bad it was on a Thursday night instead of a weekend, but we made the best of it and still had a blast!  I stayed up way past my bedtime for a school night and was struggling the next day ~ it was one of the very few times I have actually drank caffeine during this pregnancy!

 The INTECH ladies and April :)

The next event was the Ribley's Tacky Sweater Party ~ trying to find a tacky sweater in general was not an easy task, coupled with the fact that I am 7 months pregnant!  So I resorted to looking for a cute holiday t-shirt, especially since it has been unseasonably warm for December!  Add in cute elf socks and voila ~ you have a party outfit!! 

All the girls decked out in their holiday attire!

With the other mommy-to-be, Vanessa, who is also having a little girl! :)

Finally, the 2nd Annual Cookie/Ornament Exchange was held last week at our house.  This is a tradition that was started by the mom of one of my best friends from home.  Last year's party was a huge success and this year was no different ~ 10 more ladies (27 total!) joined in the fun and everyone stepped up their game in the baking department!  From fabulous Oreo truffles to chocolate cannoli cookies, the army of Gingerbread men to several batches of red velvet shortbread cookies (dipped in white chocolate!), and the always awesome sugar cookies to anything made with peanut butter!!

Two of the tables covered in delicious cookies of all shapes and sizes!

All the ladies after the ornament exchange!

The five preggos - in order by due date (and coincidentally in height!). 

The upside of being preggo during this time of year is you can eat a few extra cookies and not feel bad about it.  The downside is all that walking through the mall causes really sore feet and legs :( 

Hope you are all enjoying this magical time of year as much as we are! :)

Turkey Time in the Keys...

It was wonderful to enjoy the long holiday weekend with the hubby and great friends!  We spent Thanksgiving with friends from Cleveland who have always opened their home to us since we usually don't go to OH for the holiday....I was sad to not spend the day with my sister who went over to the west coast of FL to visit with our aunt and grandparents, but since we were leaving for the Keys on Sat, I figured that would be too much driving for this preggo!  She did stop by later for some dessert (my awesome pumpkin cake with maple cream cheese frosting - I was pretty proud of it if you couldn't tell - thanks Melissa!) and some Christmas decorating! 

We spent Black Friday at Best Buy, the mall, and Home Depot!  I'm not usually one to go out shopping with all the crazies, but we were looking for a front loader washer/dryer and there were some amazing deals to be had!  Thankfully that is checked off the to-list, along with a video camera for when the new bundle arrives!  That night friends of ours from Cleveland flew in and bright and early the next day we headed to Key West for our last get-away before the baby arrives!  The trip was very relaxing and we stayed at the cutest B&B...plus it was fun to see the island all decorated for Christmas!  Here are some pics from our adventure:

The Azul Key West B&B...

First night out...at the smallest bar in Key West (where I drank water!)

Being tourists and taking a picture at the Southernmost Point of the US!

We biked the entire island, which was so much fun!  The weather was absolutely perfect and the water was gorgeous.  I only had slight issues with the bike in the beginning - I wasn't used to the big handle bars and I think my added weight didn't help my balance either!

On a sunset catamaran cruise with Gary & Danielle!

A beautiful sunset with my wonderful husband!

25 weeks!!  Baby's first trip to the Keys was a success!

We stopped at an awesome little tiki restaurant on the way out of the Keys called Morada Bay on Islamorada.  The view was amazing and the food was so fresh and fantastic!  All we need is a Corona (non-alcoholic for me please!) to make this a perfect Christmas card photo!

Thanks to Gary & Danielle for making the trip down to visit and for such a great time!

6 month mark!!

I am up way too early for a Sunday morning, but the pups insisted that it was time for a walk and since hubby is at work, I had no choice!  So what else can I do before really starting my day - blog, of course!

The time is flying by that is for sure and there is so much that needs to be done still!  I know it will get done with time to spare, but I am in full blown nesting mode and with the holidays here, I know that time will go by even faster with all the shopping, baking, parties, visitors, etc.

First on my to-do list is deciding on bedding / decor for the nursery....I have been very indecisive and changed my mind quite a few times.  I ordered a few more fabric swatches and hope that one of these two will be the "ONE!"  Isn't it funny how as new moms we stress about these things when our baby won't even notice how her room is decorated?  I know it is part of the fun of preparing for baby's arrival, but as long as she is loved and taken care of, the color of the room doesn't matter much!  We did get a majority of the baby registry done last weekend, so at least my time of researching strollers, car seats, swings, and every other thing that I have no idea what it is used for at this point paid off!

Besides baby stuff, our weekends have been filled with spending time with friends, seeing some movies - NEW MOON finally (I think I might be a Team Jacob fan now after seeing those rock hard abs!) - and having family visit.  Mama and Papa, Aunt Janice and Jim made the trek over from the west coast of FL yesterday for a visit, which was wonderful!  I love seeing and spending time with family, especially during this time of year - it makes me wish we lived closer to everyone, but I feel blessed to have so many special people in my life.

With Mama and Papa - excited for the arrival of their first great-grand baby! :)

Steve and the short people!

Two of my favorite women - Mama and Aunt Janice!

 

Hard to believe next week is Thanksgiving (already!!??), but I am excited to enjoy a wonderful dinner with great friends, put up Christmas decorations, and then head to the Keys for a relaxing weekend with friends from OH!  It will be nice to get away for a few days and see the Keys in a whole new light - sober! :)

Trick-or-Treat....I'm 21 Weeks!

I know I am behind on my belly shots....I had intentions of taking pics of weeks 19 and 20 during our trip to OH, but unfortunately that didn't happen.  So now I am past the half-way mark - WAHOO! - and on the downhill slide towards meeting our little girl!!  At this point, I am consistently showing and I think it is time to buy some maternity pants for work (was trying to prolong that as long as possible).  Luckily I have some great friends who have either given me or lent me some clothes until I make it to the mall myself.  I am still feeling great and and this little girl is definitely making herself known in my belly!  She is definitely a kicker and might be a future soccer star at this rate.  At first I didn't realize it was the baby moving (about 1 1/2 weeks ago it felt more like muscle twitches), but now they are a lot stronger and more frequent throughout the day....it is so amazing to me! 

Our Halloween weekend was spent baby furniture shopping down in Ft Lauderdale....and then West Palm Beach....before heading back to Ft Lauderdale the next day to purchase one of the very first bedroom sets we laid eyes on and fell in love with!  Let's just say that I like the furniture our little girl will be growing up with better than our bedroom furniture!  We went with an antique white / distressed look that is perfect for a little girl....and in case all future children are boys, this is my only chance to buy this furniture!  In addition, we looked at some gliders and bedding, but I think the furniture was enough for one weekend considering my head was spinning with manufacturers, safety ratings, types of wood, conversion kits, etc.  I am just happy to have the major purchase of furniture checked off the "to-do" list for baby!

Here I am at 21 weeks....definitely with "bump!"  She is the size of a banana this week (too bad hubby ate them all!)

Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable Halloween - the beginning of all the fall/winter holidays, my favorite time of year!  Next year we'll have a little pumpkin to take trick-or-treating!

O-HI-O!

Our trip up north was fantastic - it was great to spend quality time with family and friends and not feel rushed when visiting, which is usually not the case when we are in town.  We spent the first part of the trip with the hubby's fam and some very chilly temps (uh, I wanted to experience fall weather, not WINTER!), but it was nice to cozy up by the fire at his brother's house with the kiddos.  Instead of making a trip to the apple farm with the kids on Friday, we spent the day at Chuck E. Cheese - oh, to be a kid again!  I still act like a kid I suppose - not wanting to share my tokens and trying to get as many tickets as I could playing Skee Ball! 

Us with the munchkins after eating some lunch!

After our morning of fun, we headed home to take a nap (including me!) and then had a dance party to Hannah Montana (who is also known as Miley Cyrus I think?) and played countless board games (very impressed with my niece who tied me in Memory!), hide and seek, etc.  I love being around these two sweethearts ~ who are growing up way too fast!  They both love their Uncle and it was so cute to see him with them....which makes me realize even more how wonderful of a father he will be!

 

The whole clan together by the fireplace :)

After our visit with the fam, we headed to T-burg to visit with some of our best friends, Susie and Al, and their sweet little boy, Sam.  After spending all morning playing with Sam, the second I handed him to Uncle Roz, he literally passed out!  Again, more practice for Dad! :)

One of our final stops in the Cleve was to see our friends Candie & Bryan and meet their new addition, Jake.  He was such a good little guy and slept the whole time we were there visiting (the length of the entire crappy Browns game, if you can call it a game!). 

Hubby left early Monday morning and I then headed to part #2 of my trip - good ol' Poland!  Suz came in to spend a majority of the week at her parents', as well as another amazing friend of mine from high school, Janelle, was in with her two kiddos.  I was able to spend a week surrounded by loved ones, perfect fall weather (yes, it did cooperate eventually), and food from all of my favorite hometown restaurants!  Being around all these babies made me even more excited than I already am (if that is possible!) to meet our little girl, who already has an entire clan ready to meet her!  Speaking of the babe, Janelle introduced me to outlet shopping for kids....between gifts and my purchases (which took up half my suitcase on the way back and required me to leave some of my own clothes behind!), this little girl already has an entire wardrobe!  Thank you to everyone for all the thoughtful gifts....I know she will love them as much as I do! 

As happy as I am to be back home with the hubby and my pups, I miss everyone up north.  I am grateful for the time I did get to spend with my loved ones and look forward to our next visit in January, which will be here before I know it!

IT'S A.....

Well I managed to make it through the appointment without peeing on the exam table (barely though!) and finally had to ask if I could get up and go to the bathroom even though the technician wasn't done with the measurements yet.  Luckily the little one decided to flip over (good job baby!) and so she let me up for a few minutes.....then I felt much more comfortable the rest of the time :)  Happy mommy, happy baby! :)

After what felt like eons of her pushing on my stomach and trying to get all the information she needed on the baby, she finally asked if we wanted to know the sex - YES!  Please tell us already!!! 

Baby Roz is made of sugar and spice and all things nice....it's a GIRL!! 

We couldn't be more excited to have a little daughter in our life to love and cherish!  Now of course Dad is already concerned about what sports she will play and how she won't be dressed in minature versions of a firefighter uniform, but I know how excited he is....and the moment this little girl enters the world, he will be wrapped around her tiny finger.  I vividly remember my childhood and the wonderful relationship I had with my Dad....that bond has grown and blossomed over the years and we are so close even though many miles separate us (hopefully not for much longer - hint, hint Dad!).  He has been a mentor, friend, confidant, and has always been my #1 fan, whether I was last place in the swim meet or first place in the 4x200 relay.  I know hubby will be the same way....and he has two men to learn from, his father and older brother. 

So now that the boy trend has been broken....bring on the pink dresses, frilly bathing suits (I know, no bikinis dear!), and bows in the hair! 

Here's to floating away....

Geez, who the heck asks a pregnant lady to drink four 8 oz glasses of water an HOUR before an appointment and then tells them they can't go to the bathroom!?  This is some serious work people - whoever said being pregnant was easy?  I know it will all be worth it when we are (hopefully) able to get a good shot of little Roz today and determine if it's a boy or girl!  Till then, I'm counting down the minutes until I can go to the bathroom!

Oh, here is a photo from last night too - 18 weeks (sweet potatoe) - I, however, did not have time to stop at the store to buy the vegetable of the week nor do I like sweet potatoes, so nothing to hold :(

Update to follow after the appointment....thanks for all your sweet e-mails, text messages, phone calls, etc.!!

Anxious....

for TWO reasons:

1.)  Our appointment on Tuesday...it is all I have been thinking about for the past week (if not longer)!  I was fine with waiting to find out the sex till the day baby Roz arrived, but since Steve said he wanted to find out and I said OK, it has been on my mind constantly.  Not that it will make a difference either way because this little boy or girl will be loved, cuddled, cherished and spoiled regardless of the sex, but it brings a whole new dimension to preparing for the arrival of that little bundle!!  I know Dad Z is bummed we decided to find out and he said he doesn't want to know, so Dad, if you're reading this, you can no longer look at the blog until after the baby arrives....you will be the only one in the dark until March 2010!  Hope we can all keep it a secret from you!  Ha ha!!

2.)  To head back to OH-IO for 11 days!!  That is 11 days away from work, the heat and humidity (it is unseasonably warm right now), and day to day responsibilites....and 11 days of time spent with family and friends that I never get to spend enough time with because of the miles between us.  I know the time will fly by in a blur as it always does, but I am just glad that there are no holidays or major events that we are flying up for, which means I get to do what I want, when I want with whomever I want!  The highlights are getting to see my favorite niece and nephew, meeting some new additions (two Jakes!), and making umpteen trips to every apple orchard/pumpkin patch in Northeast OH with the above mentioned kiddos!  If you can't tell, I'm a little excited about the FALL weather and hope to bring some of it back with me!  Hubster can actually make the trip too now that he is done with school....yeah!! :) 

In keeping with the holiday spirit, here are the pups ready for Halloween! (Excuse the state of the dog bed, Tripp thinks it's more fun to chew on that than his toys apparently.)

Aren't we just the cutest bumble bee and ladybug you've ever seen?

I know it may seem like torture to dress your pets up, but these two go absolutely crazy when I pull their costumes out of the closet...and they were surprisingly good for the "photo shoot!"

Orangacado....

So I'm a little behind on my belly pics and skipped right over week 15 (orange) - where did that week go?! -but managed to get a picture in week 16 (avacado)!  Baby Roz is doing great and is still trying to make up his/her mind about whether or not to make a permanent appearance right now!  My work pants are starting to feel a little more snug, but I have managed to get away with not wearing anything from the maternity department at this point, although I'm not sure how much longer that will last!  I just feel like I'm in that in-between stage right now - not comfortable in my normal clothes, but not big enough to wear anything "maternity" because everything is too big and baggy.  Just waiting for that day when I open my closet and end up on the floor crying because nothing fits!! :(

We had our monthly visit last Thursday and everything is right on track, the baby's heart beat is very strong and loud (Steve said it reminds him of Tripp's after he does race track laps around the house - lovely how our baby is being compared to the dog!), and we discussed the dreaded topic of the flu season and the H1N1 vaccine that is now out in some states.  To get the shot or not to get the shot is the question?  It really freaks me out when there is so little research or testing done and they highly recommend that pregnant women be the first to get the vaccine.  I think if anything, I will wait a couple weeks to see how those that do get it are affected....but will get my regular flu shot tomorrow morning (the first time in many, many years!).  I figure it is probably a good idea since I will be flying next week...better safe than sorry!


Besides celebrating our anniversary last month, we also celebrated hubby's 33rd birthday!  I managed to pull off a surprise get-together at our fave tiki bar without him finding out.  It was great to celebrate with so many friends and enjoy a night out listening to our friends' band, catching up, and of course throwing back a few drinks (or water in my case!). 

Happy birthday to the dad-to-be!! We love you :)

3 years of wedded bliss!!

Today, hubby and I celebrate our third wedding anniversary....crazy to think that at this time on September 23, 2006, I was getting ready to walk down the aisle after my 8 beautiful bridesmaids and 3 flower girls, to meet the man of my dreams at the altar. 

I still remember how I felt when the doors opened, the pride on my father's face and his joyous tears, and the long walk down the cathedral aisle with my heart pounding in my ears as I tried not to let the flood gates open....but mostly, I hold an image of the huge smile and love in the eyes of my soon-to-be husband!  I cherish that day and every day that has followed because what is more wonderful in life than marrying your best friend, spending each day by his side, supporting each other through hard decisions, and celebrating the accomplishments, milestones, and just your love for each other? 

This is the last anniversary we will celebrate together as a couple - next year we will have a little person with us as we make dinner together, enjoy a glass of wine (which I am missing dearly right now!), listen to the songs that make up our relationship, and dance in the kitchen....and I don't know a man who will be better at being a father than the man who has been the most amazing husband!!  Happy Anniversary babe - here's to many, many more!! 

When you're growing a LEMON...

So I'm not really sure how you go from a peach to a lemon, but that's what thebump.com says, so I'll go with it.  This week Baby Roz is definitely making him/herself known as shown by the slightly larger bump!!  In the morning and evening, my stomach feels larger than it does during the day - it just comes and goes, which is very bizarre to me.  At this point, I just want to be showing so it's clear to people that I'm not just skipping the gym and eating extra Oreos (even though I am)!

It's funny because a guy at work today asked me if I woke up this morning and decided to dress like I was going to the prom.  Although I never would have worn this dress to the prom, it was funny and I went on to explain to him that I'm more comfortable wearing dresses right now as opposed to pants.  He gave me a funny look and I realized that he was one of the very few people in our office that the news hadn't traveled to (things don't stay a secret very long around there!), so when I told him, he got beat red - I felt bad, but it was kind of funny.  Men, sometimes they just need to keep their mouths shut! :) 

Sister (aka April) moved out this week, and although it will be weird to not have her upstairs any longer, we are excited to start coming up with ideas for the nursery! She is missed by these two little furballs (and me too!)

And finally, while I am taking weekly belly shots, we are going to keep track of Steve's growing biceps - you definitely don't want to mess with this dad-to-be!!

13 weeks....and such a PEACH!

This is my first belly picture....not sure if I am actually "showing" here or my belly is protruding due to the fact that I just ate steak, shrimp, and a baked potatoe at Outback not long before this photo shoot!  Oh, and I must also give props to my girlfriend Janelle who I stole the "fruit" of the week idea from....hope you don't mind!

I have finally turned the corner and am in the 2nd trimester!  Thankfully my 1st trimester wasn't too bad and all I really experienced was sheer exhaustion every evening after work.  Besides that, quite a few foods just didn't sound appealing (i.e. chicken), while plenty of others did (i.e. Oreos, Rold Gold pretzel rods, Sweet & Sour Twizzlers, etc.).  I have all of a sudden gotten my energy back for the most part and am feeling great....finally worked out for the first time in almost 2 months too!  Next time I'll have to take it a little easier since I was pretty sore for a majority of the weekend after slightly over-doing it....for a pregnant lady anyway!

Our next standard monthly visit is on October 1st and then the big appointment - the anatomy ultrasound -takes place on October 15th!  Stay tuned to find out if we can start referring to lil Roz as he or she! :) 

P.S.  I am curios as to whether I am carrying this child in my belly or my butt - both are feeling larger than normal to me!