Week 22/23 of the Journey...

First of all, I had a fabulous birthday (on the 31st) thanks to all the phone calls, cards and online wishes! I woke up and Jay had "decorated" the dining room.
Exhibit A:

It was a cute surprise! We then went to Granddad and Franca's for my birthday lunch and requested chocolate cake! YUM!

Then, we thought it was a great idea to go to the Atlanta Zoo! It was so hot and I was so miserable after about an hour of walking around in flip flops! Probably won't be doing anything like that until after the baby! :-) Here are a few photos from that adventure.






The meerkats and the otters were just TOO cute!!
In other good news, I had my appointment with the Perinatologist on Tuesday to follow up on the choroid plexus cysts and the "possible" two vessel cord. I happy to report that there are THREE healthy vessels in his cord (which is how many there are supposed to be, two arteries and one vein) and the cysts look to be disappearing completely! He has no other issues, and he is growing wonderfully! They asked me if my family was tall, because his legs and arms are long for his age, which indicates that he will be tall. He weighs approximately 1lb 3oz at this point, and his kicks, jabs and ninja moves are getting a lot more serious! We can SEE them on the outside. I will try to video that soon. Here is our newest photo of our little boy:

Must be my child with a forehead that big! :-)
And here is my latest self "portrait"...

That's all for now! xoxo

Working on the Nursery!

Today I worked on some of my nursery projects. Here are some photos from what I got done! I painted the wooden letters and attached the ribbon to them. The shelving unit was wood, but Jay painted it black and I bought baskets as "drawers".

22 weeks

I just got home from my OB appointment. I hadn't mentioned it to many people yet, in case it was a fluke, but they thought at my last appointment that they only saw a two vessel umbilical cord. That is something that could cause G not to grow properly, or indicate a more serious problem. They wanted to check it again today. Guess what? They saw a third vessel! That problem is checked off my worry list! He still has the choroid plexus cysts, so I am going to a specialist on Tuesday to have a more detailed ultrasound exam. 9 times out of 10, it will be nothing that affects him in any way. He is currently in a breech position, which explains the stomps on my bladder and was grabbing his umbilical cord and playing with it. Here are a few profile pictures:

Babies and Birthdays and Blogs, Oh my!

Hello Fans! Right now, I am getting beat up from the inside, while my ribs feel like they are starting to separate from the rest of my body...Ouch! The joys of having this little guy inside of me! Oh well, in 3 1/2 months or so, I will certainly miss him being in there. I have everything for the crib but the mattress. Here it is:

You get the idea. Franca made the curtains, and she is bringing them over tomorrow! They are black and white gingham. So cute. As for as my fat self, here is the most recent picture. I think the pattern on the dress definitely adds a few pounds. Some days I swear I don't look that big!

Ignore the wet hair and "airbrushed out" braces!
Last week was Jay's birthday! We celebrated with Granddad and Franca on the Sunday before, where Jay got his favorite dessert, sorbet.

Then on Monday, his actual birthday, I bought and decorated a cake for him.



Needless to say, he had a great birthday! We sort of continued the celebration with our families when we went to Jesup for Memorial Day Weekend. We skipped Brunswick, because I was really sick with a cold. But, I did go over to my best friend Kendyl's house to visit with her and my two precious "nieces"! That is where I got the ONLY picture of the weekend. (I know I MUST have been sick!) So here is my little hippy Reese...

I love her to pieces! Anyway, the rest of the weekend we shared with our families, eating meals, visiting and even going to the movies. It was nice to be home despite being sick and the weather being awful. While I was home, I got my grandmother's recipe for her famous blueberry cake and tonight, I MADE IT!!! My FIRST layer cake! I am so excited, so HERE IT IS GRANDMA!

I will be eating it tomorrow night. Can't wait. Other than all that, we are doing fine. I have a doctor's appointment on Friday and another with a specialist next Tuesday! That means more ultrasound video/pictures soon. In other good news, I found out that I am finally getting these awful braces off in August!!
Have a good week, and I will end with a great quote:

"Fear less, hope more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less, say more;
Hate less, love more;
And all good things are yours."
-Swedish Proverb

Kidney Stones

So, I'm in the kitchen last night about to make dinner, and I have this sudden blinding pain in my right flank, as if I got hit with a baseball bat. I started sweating and fell on to the couch. Through shallow breaths I told Jay I needed to go to the Emergency Room. To the E.R. we went! They did blood work, urine testing, put my on an IV and did a Renal Ultrasound. They determined that I did in fact have kidney stone(s). Nothing they can do for it, I just have to wait it out. They gave me a prescription for pain medicine should I have another "attack".
They checked on Grayson while we were there and he is fine! He was partying in my tummy while I was dying from the flank pain. :-)
He has a pretty regular sleep/wake schedule. He is awake right now and punching around in there. Plans this weekend are: movie night tomorrow and Jay's birthday lunch at GDad and Franca's on Sunday. Here are some photos from the last week.
The diaper bag on my wish list! Vera Bradley, Bali Blue, Baby Bag

Franca in the Survivors Lap in Relay for Life


Cutest little Ralph Lauren bodysuit ever!

Me at 19 weeks

This week went by fast!

I hope everyone is having a great week. Tomorrow is Friday, so I am feeling pretty great! To begin the week (on Sunday)we went to TN to see Madraye and Halle. It was a good trip as always. It rained, but we still had a good time. I didn't take any pictures this time! I forgot all about it, which everyone was probably thankful for! Jay and I just worked all week other than that. Tomorrow I will be doing Relay for Life with The Breast Center, so I am looking forward to that a lot. Relay is such a great cause, and so much of their proceeds actually go to cancer research. My Grandma Franca is going too for the first time as a survivor, so I look forward to publicly supporting her and her fight against cancer. Saturday we are getting a Costco membership. (I know, party on- right?) And Sunday, just church and Mothers Day of course! It is my first Mothers Day regardless of what the haters say! I am fostering my child inside my body, so Happy Mother's Day to me! :-) Plus, as my oldest step-daughter pointed out last night, I am a step-mom so I can celebrate Mothers Day for that alone! Happy Mothers Day to all of you too.

In conclusion, here are some quotes that I love this week:

Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. ~Benjamin Franklin

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it. ~Mark Twain

That the birds of worry and care fly over you head, this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent. ~Chinese Proverb

How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened. ~Thomas Jefferson

Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway. ~Mary C. Crowley

some pictures

Here are a few photos I took last night. Some of the angles are so funny, because he was lumped up on one side.