We L♥VE the Weekend!

Bad place to hang my purse

*Note to Self*

Place purse higher than child's arm reach.

Trying on Daddy's shoes
Those are some big shoes to fill
I'm sure you'll make us both proud
(P.S. You already do)
:)

A visit to GG & Pa's House

Great Grandpa's Pride & Joy
"Little Buddy" getting ready for lunch with Pa.
Moments like these take me back to my own childhood
And they warm my heart.

Visiting Daddy at work

Bootsy tickling Ish.
He loves it.
Bootsy is pregnant.
What a copy-cat.
I hope one of the kittens is all orange.
She has been seen canoodling with an all Orange Boy cat.
I will beg to keep an all orange kitty.
Updates to follow!

Speaking of Pregnancy...Our Ultrasound is in 3 days!! Nothing is going to stop me from going to this appointment!

Silly Face :)

I'm NOT Fat, I'm Pregnant!!

22 Week Baby Belly
Please know that during my entire pregnancy with Ish, I hid my belly. There was NEVER a true "bump" picture taken of me. I've matured a lot since then....I'm no longer afraid of my showing my bump because it is truly a miraculous experience that I am so honored to share with all of you...

It took me a while to convince myself to love my growing belly. This is me at 22 weeks. Sometimes its hard for me to believe that I am pregnant. But everyday I grow, I know my baby is growing too. That makes me proud of everything I do in order to protect my unborn child.











I still have a long way to go... I cant imagine how much bigger I'll be by 39 weeks. Could it be twins?? Next week we will officially know. Ultrasound in 9 days :)

Very happy :)

January 2009...
Pregant with Baby #1...


Two years later...
Pregnant with Baby #2...

Oh, how time flies.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub...Ishy in the Tub!!

There's an innocence in those eyes.
Ducky chillin' in the soap holder..

Playing with toys in the tub is soo much fun!!

I think he looks like Daddy in this picture...

Wedding Confusion

I have been browsing online looking for wedding "stuff". Favors/reception centerpieces & misc/ceremony decor...I want to start buying this stuff but I have this HUGE fear that once I buy items that I'm going to see something "better" or "cuter". Or I'll change my mind about that idea. Its becoming quite frustrating but I know that at some point I WILL have to buy stuff. The fact that I don't have a FULL VISION of the wedding is part of my problem. I just know that I want to have a GOOD TIME but I don't want to break the bank. Besides all of that, I don't want my wedding to look 'tacky'. I don't want to over do it with "stuff". I am happy to announce that we have officially set the ceremony in the Woodville Park (behind our house) with one of our good family friends to officiate the ceremony. We are finally getting somewhere with all this wedding planning. I have a few other things that I pretty much got figured out, just need to do some confirmations. I guess I should just go with my own instincts with all the planning and pray that everything works out in the end. Of course, it will work out because I am marrying my best friend and at the end of the day...thats all that matters! :)

Baby Bump?!

I wish I had that adorable "baby bump" that many mothers-to-be post photos of...but since I don't you will just have to be satisfied with photos of this cute little guy...

$15/hr...no less! He is a hardworker (look at how clean that floor is!!)

On a good day he will take a payment of Milk & Goldfish crackers...and of course an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

I apologize for the quality of these photos, my cell phone camera doesn't react well to a moving target, I honestly try my best!

Ish has been fighting some sort of illness the last couple of days. Yesterday was the first time I've seen him really active so I am hoping that he will be feeling 100% better tonight. He is our perfect little boy. He LOVES to yell "MOM", I dont know why...he doesn't yell at "Daddy" like that. He must think I am deaf. Either way its very cute. I am teaching him the song "Row, Row, Row your boat" and he loves it. He even makes the a sound that sounds like he is saying "row". I think we are hitting the phase where he will be imitating everything we say...NOW we really have to start watching what we are saying.

*****************************

We are into our 22nd week of pregnancy now. I am having ocassional minor back pain that feels like a popping in my lower back. I dont know exactly how to describe it really. Just like in our first pregnancy we are calling my belly "Baby Zofia" even though we DO NOT know the gender of our unborn baby. Baby Z is a mover and kicker, much more than Ish ever was this early. I enjoy the feeling of movements inside. In two short weeks we will be going to the doctor to have our Stage 2 Ultrasound. Be on the look out for those photos. I, of course, will post them as soon as I find the time.

Peace&Love,
Jess

Half Way There

We are officially into our 20th week of pregnancy. I had my check up on Wednesday with Dr. Harrison and he says everything is exactly on track. They did a fetal heartbeat and the rate was 152 (which is considered high) last time it was 144 I believe. This baby is pretty active, I've already felt little kicks that feel like flutters, sometimes even a bit harsher, but believe me I know its not gas. In two more weeks we go back to the doctors for our Stage 2 Ultrasound!!! Yay for more baby pictures. I really look forward to these appointments the most and I cannot wait to show Ish his little brother or sister on the monitor. Obviously he'll have no clue what it is he's looking at but maybe it will be a little understanding to all the comments I make about there being a baby inside my 'belly'. I wish I had time to include pictures (of Ish) for this blog so that you can see how much he's grown over the last couple of months...maybe I will have time this weekend to update again.
I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.
I'll be enjoying whats left of this beautiful weather...

Peace&Love,
Jess

In-N-Out Burger, Please!!!

What happens with you're pregnant and get a craving for a food you can only obtain 2,000 miles away?? Ugh, here I am stuck looking at the online photos wishing I was in Vegas...with my Double-Double, French Fries and we cannot forget the Strawberry Shake :)

Happy Birthday Lover!!

37 years young and every single day I fall more and more in love with you. Our expanding family & growing love is what makes our world go 'round. I wouldn't want to share this joy with anyone else. You are my best friend, my soulmate, and you have my heart for the rest of both of our lives. I hope that you have enjoyed your birthday festivities and continue to enjoy every year of celebration.

17 Weeks

In a few short weeks I will be able to say that we are half way through this pregnancy. By no means do I want to rush bringing this child into the world but honestly I am the most impatient person when it comes to long term things. From my first pregnancy I know that the second & early third trimester seem to feel like they drag on and on, so this time around I am trying not to focus so much on the fact that I am pregnant. Sometimes I even have to remind myself that I am pregnant because its just something that we dont talk about too often. Thats not to say we aren't very very excited about this pregnancy, we are just being more discrete about things. I've known that we are pregnant for a little over two months now and I have been really good about not blabbing it on Facebook. I can speak freely on here obviously because I only have one follower (my dear friend, KStina) But otherwise the only people who are aware are close family & friends. I haven't quite figured out if/when I'll spread the good word all over Facebook, maybe I'll wait until the day before delivery just as a shock factor for all the Facebook Stalkers out there. Who knows, maybe everyone already knows but really just doesn't care :/ I would like to think that isn't true. Wish me luck through the next 23 weeks, the most difficult days are yet to come!

Hunger

I should not stay up past 11pm, for no reason at all my stomach always starts growling if I stay up to0 late. There is no reason I should be hungry, I had a decent size dinner, two chicken tacos & steamed califlower plus an Large Orange for my dessert ;) And that was only 4 hours ago! My hungry fetus is telling me to eat more I suppose. Maybe IHOP will make him/her feel better in the morning. Mmmm, ALL YOU CAN EAT PANCAKES!!! Goodnight ;)

This is me

I have to begin by saying that I am so proud of the place that I grew up. Its kept me grounded and humble. I dont take things for granted. I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the people that raised me (and I sure am proud of those people too) but I just feel like if I had grown up in a big city in another state I wouldn't appreciate the little things in life. I enjoy the fact that my life doesn't have to be fast paced if I dont want it to be. Its calm, quiet, and really peaceful. One day I pray that I'll be able to move into a nice country home surrrounded by fields of corn or wheat...and I am glad that my children will get to experience the same upbringing that I had as a child. I'm not saying that my life was perfect but all the happy memories I have of my childhood are being outside in the fresh crisp air of the country life.

So speaking of children, I have exciting news pertaining to the future of my little family. We have a beautiful baby growing inside my body and we are very overjoyed that we are expanding our family. Ish will have a little sibling to play and grow with. I am staying optimistic that he will be a wonderful, caring, loving big brother! I'm sure it will not be an easy transition but he has been such a wonderful child so far and I expect that to continue no matter how many times we bring another child into our home. I am in my 14th week of pregnancy and in a couple weeks we have another appointment to go see the doctor. I am hoping that its an ultrasound appt but I highly doubt it will be. Everything seems to be going smoothly, I have not had any morning sickness other than feeling slightly nauseated during the early weeks. I am taking good care of myself, exercising 5 times a week and doing my best to eat healthy foods. I want to make sure that I give my growing baby the best nutrients while also monitoring my weight gain. I really can't imagine gaining another 50 pounds for this pregnancy like I did with my first. Our due date is July 7, 2011 but because of the C-section my doctor says I will be able to schedule the birth for at least a week before that. So if everything goes well we will have a June baby in our house. My first concern is that he/she be a healthy-mentally & physically- newborn, but deep down I am hoping for a girl. I think Steve and I have also confirmed that (God-willing) this will NOT be our last child. We have completely fallen in love with watching Ish grow up and we want to experience that joy a least a couple more times. My doctor says that realistically its not medically smart to have more than 4 children born via C-section so we have to take that into account. I say as long as we feel like my body is healthy enough, we will continue to bear children.

Merry Christmas To All!!!

This week has been one of those 'up and down' kind of weeks. The week started out good, Monday was my mother's birthday and we celebrated and frosted Christmas cookies at my Gram's house. Tuesday I went shopping at Sam's Club and finished up any last, last minute Christmas shopping, Wednesday was a terrible day, nothing that was supposed to go right did, but then today I woke up with a whole new attitude towards life and now I am feeling great again. We celebrated Christmas (with my family) early this year so that we were able to make the LONG trip to NYC to visit with Steve's family for the holidays. During our family gathering tonight Ish received TONS of fun toys to play with and also some really cute outfits to wear this winter. I really enjoy spending time with my family, we may not be the most exciting people but I just feel so safe and comfortable around them :) After we got home from Gram's house, we had Ish open his Christmas gifts but he seemed very little interested in the items we had gotten him, after all it was WAY past his bedtime and he just needed to get some sleep. I am sure he'll be more interested in his stuff in the morning. Steve and I exchanged Christmas gifts and I got a really sweet Christmas card and an awesome digital Kodak camera. I was testing out the camera and the picture quality is amazing compared to my old camera. Two thumbs up!! Of course my gifts to Steve weren't as glamorous but he seems happy with the 14 decks of playing cards, the Under Armour Underwear, and the PhotoBook I made on Shutterfly.com that was ALL about Ishy. Photos of Christmas with all the families will be uploaded in a few days...once we return from our trip. Everyone enjoy your holidays, eat lots of yummy foods, and remind those that love and care about you that you love them too!!

*Life may not always be easy, but no one ever said it would be....*

Peace&Love,
Jess

'Tis the Season

Usually I am not so happy during the winter, cold months but I know I have so much to be thankful for and I am trying to keep a smile on my face everyday! I wanted to share a photo with you all of my little man, its been awhile since I've update with a picture of him and I thought what a better picture than his Christmas photo with Santa. This was on his first trip to see Santa, and Ish has went to visit Santa two times since this picture.

Santa is going to spoil him this year. He's been such a great boy and I know hes on the 'Good List' for sure!

On a seperate note, Stina and I went to David's Bridal on Saturday and although I had convinced myself that I would NOT buy a wedding dress, I walked out of the place with a beautiful (clearance) dress. Only one downside, its like 1/2 a size too small. I've been walking on my treadmill trying my damnest to keep my body in shape and hopefully lose the very few inches needed to fit in the dress before the end of my 8 month wait til my wedding! And if all else fails, I think I will have the dress altered to make it a corset back. Theres still lots of time to get that all figured out. Steve and I have been discussing our honeymoon and I am definitely excited to go back to Florida, I've been there so many times in the last 3 years, I feel like its my second home, well third home actually because NYC is my second home♥ I am so blessed.

I volunteered my home for this year's Christmas Eve Family Gathering and even though I hosted Easter this year, I am nervous because Christmas is such a bigger deal. I am lucky to have my mom help me during the day (I have to work that day) and once I get home from work, I'll be busy running around cooking, cleaning, and prepping for the rest of the night. I just pray its a smooth, stress-free evening and that everyone has a great time. I hope to upload some pictures of Ish later and I'll definitely have LOTS of Christmas photos to post after the holiday.
Merry Christmas to all. Hope all your wishes come true♥

Peace&Love,
Jess