Bumpdate: 20 Weeks

           I am 20 weeks and 2 days today!! I took pictures but my camera is downstairs (yes I’m that lazy!) but I promise to add them tomorrow! It has been a VERY exciting week as you will read in “best moment of the week and milestones” by far the best was feeling Baby Girl So kick!! Father’s day was today and I definitely let Ralph relish in his day (even though Sophia is not here yet) he is such an unbelievable man; it blows my mind at times. I know he is going to be an incredible dad! I started the morning off with vanilla pancakes, sausage, OJ for me & Starbucks coffee for him. It was a Beautiful day in the neighborhood (yes I just sang that as I wrote it, in my Mr. Rogers voice.) Ralph did some daddy duties and finished up a few things in Sophia’s room and mowed the lawn. I made him one of his favorite dishes, which is a pulled chicken in the crock-pot and we stopped at my parents’ house for a while. 

You have to try "Pulled BBQ Chicken" by far the easiest thing I cook! A friend gave me this recipe........................................................................

Ingredients:

6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 (12 ounce) bottle barbeque sauce

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbecue sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken.
Cover, and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

         I have been feeling really good, actually AMAZING throughout this whole pregnancy. **Someone knock on wood, because it doesn’t feel like it should be this easy! I did develop a “pregnancy symptom” or so my book says. Diagnosis {Heartburn} I think it was from a batch of stuffed shells I made using a new recipe for a homemade sauce. I have never had heartburn before so I had no clue what it was…Dr.Ralph diagnosed me and then I read in one of my many baby books that this is common in the second and even third trimester. With that said, Ralph aka DaddyRal/Superstar was out the door to get me tums. Did I mention that I’m obsessively in LOVE with this man!?! After I popped two  really SIX I felt much better, although it seems to come and go throughout the day.

       I can’t believe how fast the time is flying by…She will be here before we know it, and right before the HOLIDAYS! I can’t even take that this coming November will be her first Thanksgiving…what’s even more crazy is if she is born a day early it will be her first Halloween! And yes I will buy her a costume just in case.

How big is baby? The size of a Banana

How far along: 20 weeks and 2 days (The weekend was crazy so I didn’t get a chance to post on Friday)

Feeling: Fabulous

Maternity Clothes:  I’m sure I could but haven’t yet, I’m mostly in Sundresses. The Joys of being pregnant during the Summer…Super Easy to Dress!  

Sleep: My sleep is back on track, I do sleep longer than normal. I guess we are getting on a “Kid” schedule because Ralph and I are both in bed by 8!  

Best moment of the week? I had lots of Best Moments this week, we had the carpets installed upstairs, “Vanilla Bean” which is the prettiest color. The Nursery is painted “Refreshing Pool.” Little Sophia’s Nursery is really coming together, my lovie built her crib and we also had her furniture delivered. {{Did I mention this ALL happened on Saturday!}}

Movement: YES!!! I posted on Friday last week and had still felt nothing then Saturday morning she kicked for the FIRST time, twice! I was overjoyed, so many emotions running through me…I eagerly awaited the entire day for more movement and nothing happened. In fact she didn’t move again until Sunday night…I was on the phone with my mom and I felt her kick…I rushed my mom off the phone and said Ralph quick, he instantly knew what I meant and placed his warm hand on my belly, we waited less than a minute and she kicked again, and two more times after that. It was so Magical and seeing the look on Ralph's face as he felt his baby girl for the first time was priceless, I can’t even put into words. In awe that we will soon have our own daughter, a family. 

 Food cravings: French Toast Sticks…I don’t know if I would call it a “craving” but I have been loving them lately and had them three times this week!  

Food aversions: Not much right now...

Belly button in or out? In! 

What I miss: Raw Brownie batter…I baked Ralph some Brownie’s tonight for “Father’s” Day and I was bummed I could lick the spoon!

What I'm looking forward to: Putting the finishing touches on Baby Girls Room
 
Milestones: Getting a bunch of stuff done off my “checklist” of things to do before the Baby arrives!

I also Joined Top Baby Blogs!! It’s only been about a week and I’m almost in the top 50 which blows my mind!! THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HAVE VOTED!!! You can vote everyday so if you're feeling Super Awesome you can VOTE by clicking the button below and clicking the first Owl. I swear it’s that easy and takes 2 seconds. I would so appreciate it :) 

Bumpdate: 19 Weeks

Bump Date: 19 Weeks 

 I am 19 weeks Today!! Its hard to believe Ralph's Birthday May 30th I was just one day shy of 18 weeks...eagerly waiting to see if we were having a boy or girl. Now here we are...It has been a busy week…We have finally decided on a {sorta} theme for Baby Girl Sophia’s Room. We had carpet people here for estimates and decided to re-carpet the whole upstairs.  We don’t wear sneakers upstairs but we also never had them replaced when we moved in. The thought of our Precious baby girl crawling on “Unknown” is just so not gonna happen. So my mission this weekend is to paint the Nursery! Carpets are being installed Thursday and Ralph is building her Crib that night. I can’t believe next week I will be 20 weeks, HALF WAY THERE!

How big is baby? A little Mango

How far along: 19 WEEKS

Feeling: Great!

Maternity Clothes: Not yet! I’ve started to scope out a few cute Boutiques for maternity clothes for when those days come!

Sleep: I’m always tired, that may be my ONLY symptom, thankfully.

Best moment of the week? Having another Ultra Sound! Sophia was asleep when we first went and guess what SHE WAS ALSEEP THIS TIME TOO! We have established that…she is NOT a morning person. **Fingers Crossed** ;) but they were able to get all the pictures they needed! And they said everything looks GREAT!

Movement: Not yet...waiting.  

Food cravings: Nothing yet, but Ralph made some Killer French Toast last night…he has been pretty AWESOME.

Food aversions: Not much right now...

Belly button in or out? In! 

What I miss: Egg's over easy...Oh how I want to dip my toast in egg yoke when we 

go out to Breakfast.

What I'm looking forward to: Sophia’s Nursery coming together in the next few weeks!!

Milestones: I REGISTERED! My mom did jump the gun and bought the first item…Sophia’s Crib and Mattress!! 

I also Joined Top Baby Blogs!! Its only been a couple of days and I'm already in the top 100, this still Shocks Me!!! THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HAVE VOTED!!! You can vote everyday so if you're feeling Super Awesome you can VOTE by clicking the button below and clicking the first Owl. I swear its that easy and takes 2 seconds. I would so appreciate it :)

The Art of Making Baby

 

Ralph’s Big Birthday…Every year I seem to out do the year before…You all witnessed my Balloon Display of Love topped with the Candy Birthday Greeting Announcing Red Sox Tickets. His Birthday seemed to last all week as the surprises continued. This Year I had a better Idea. 

His Gift:  an ULTRASOUND! 

 Yes- That’s Right an Ultrasound… Ralph and I are Expecting OUR FIRST BABY, a GIRL!! !! This has been by far the hardest secret I have had to keep. We found out late in the Game (Sorry to my male Blog Followers, it’s about to get Girlie!!) We found out at 12/13 WEEKS! I had a very lite period the two months prior which I assumed was because I was completely stressed, finishing up my teaching degree and I had a change in my diet. Following the two off, the next month was nonexistent -----Insert OMG we might be having a baby here------ I take a home pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE!! Ralph and I are elated. I make my first Doctors appointment thinking I would hear that I was 4-5 weeks pregnant and almost hit the floor when the woman said 12-13 weeks!!! Being so close to the time we would find out the gender we decided to wait to tell our Family and Friends (WAITING WAS HARD!!!) We both wanted to shout it from the Roof Tops! We had a very small “inner circle” we were able to give the word too, so we both wouldn’t explode…and we waited some more. Until 17 weeks 5 days, I convinced the Doctors office to Book MAY 30 (Ralph’s Birthday) for the Ultrasound. They were hesitant at first as they do it after the 18^th week, I was pretty convincing and the appointment was booked. I told Ralph he needed to take his Birthday off from work and he did, I wanted to keep the ultrasound part a surprise too but I quickly said, “Can you guess what your present is??” 

I was sure the day I found out I was pregnant that I was having a Little Baby Girl, my SOPHIA….Ralph on the other hand wouldn’t make a peep, not even an inkling to whether he thought it was a boy or girl. He just kept saying he hoped for a healthy baby, as did I. The days were long as we waited almost 4 ½ weeks for the BIG DAY. I was up at 4:30 in the morning…I watched Ralph sleep, I pondered our future, I cried as I knew all of our dreams were coming true. Ralph woke and we got ready, my mom was at my house at 7:50 and we were out the door at 7:52. The appointment was at 9 a.m. in Natick, (I did a ton of research to find what I felt was the best care out there, I think we found the perfect doctor.) 

  I drank a ton of water on the way, and we were off…Ralph took the scenic route as the traffic was horrific on the highway, which I actually think was a better idea because it calmed my nerves going along those twisting turning back roads. When we arrived everyone was SO friendly, I must have had that FIRST TIME MOM panic/excitement on my face. We all sat and I had Cards for Ralph’s Birthday that I had him open. We were called in and we began…After about 40 minutes and one very sleepy baby, we came to the conclusion with the ultrasound technician that we weren’t going to get the shot we needed to see if it was a boy or girl. When she said she is one “Stubborn” baby I laughed so hard that things started to move…She said keep doing that and when I looked at Ralph and he was laughing because he knew I was laughing about my belly “Jiggling” I COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING!!! Well it worked, the baby woke up, stretched and we found out we were HAVING A LITTLE BABY GIRL!!!!! The tears were ever present and we could not believe that we finally knew….I think another 4 week wait would have surely been torture and I would have definitely spilled the beans! 

We called everyone to tell them and broke the news to extended friends and family via Facebook, which really was the fastest way we knew how, it had been the longest day and my phone died three times, I don’t think the phone left my hand until 9:20 at night when I passed out from exhaustion in our bed! What a whirlwind of a day, what a magical day, what a day we will NEVER forget. I don’t think any Birthday will top the Birthday Ralph found out he was having a beautiful healthy Baby GIRL! He told me later that day that on Tuesday when he was taking a shower this feeling came over him that he was going to be the daddy of a baby girl (I got the chills) but still just had hoped for a healthy baby, but who knew that we would both be right! 

I had spent that time “waiting” planning a Gender Reveal party thinking it would be fun for our family and friends to come over when we did the big reveal…it’s one of those things, as much as I planned and scoured Pinterest I COULDN’T WAIT! Although I had found some pretty fun ideas…

So what now?! Well I have some big plans in place; Little Sophia has some CRAZY wardrobe that needs to be tended to…Most of you know it is my ULTIMATE dream to be a Mommy, so much so that I started buying Baby clothes at 18! It all started when I went to a baby shower and walked into the gap to get a gift, I saw the cutest cardigan and skirt that I knew I had to have…The obsession started. I have about 20 Rubbermaid bins labeled in my basement “Sophia” and “Carmine” Sophia has a FULL wardrobe from newborn to five years old! It’s crazy how much money we will save not having to buy clothes…I mean I just pulled a pair of Ralph Lauren jeans out of her 0-12 month old bin that I had purchased for $42 dollars, I have no idea how much money over the past ten years I have invested in my “Unborn” children’s clothes but I have to say now what a huge relief that She has EVERYTHING!!!! My friends would all joke about it and we would always laugh at how “CRAZY” it was and believe me…even I knew it was NUTS! But now as I sit on my living room floor cutting the tags off the most beautiful wardrobe, I couldn’t be happier!! She is going to be one styling little girl!! My mom always use to say if you can actually meet a guy that isn’t scared away when he sees your wedding bins and baby bins you have a KEEPER! Well he was never intimidated or scared, he knew my “crazy” over planning side and was honestly totally fine with it! 

Now on to the nitty gritty, I have 3 classes until I GRADUATE with my teaching degree…Of course I am going to do it, I am signed up and ready to go…It’s Crunch time! This year will certainly be one for the books, I will be having a baby, graduating college, marrying the man of my dreams and starting a whole new adventure!! Every single Life Goal I had will be fulfilled this coming year and I am ecstatic!! It’s really crazy how things work out…Two days before we found out that we were having a baby I was in tears, like crying all day long for two days straight, I (we) had three venue’s picked out where we wanted to get married, they were ALL booked including 3 others that I stumbled upon as I searched, I wrote about this in a previous post. Long story short I wasn’t going to settle and we made the decision to wait, we wanted that DREAM WEDDING and we had decided on our first choice and will be married October 4^th 2014. It’s so unbelievable that in this crazy twist of fate I wouldn’t have even been able to fit into my 2 amazing wedding dresses and would have been 9 months pregnant. I believe in fate and everything happening for a reason….We will now have the most magical wedding and our baby girl will be pulled down the aisle in a little wagon!  ---more tears--- I tell you the tears of joy have not stopped! 

                 Thank you all for the Love and Support…I will be sure to update with play by plays! And those blog followers that guessed it you were sooooo RIGHT!

Side Note:

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