16 Weeks-Avocado- First Belly Pic

Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.




Here I am at 16 weeks!

Wow, already 16 weeks...how exciting! Well a bump is definitely visible as if I woke up one morning and it had grown. I bought some Motherhood, Oh Baby shirts and I've been wearing those with my regular pants and bellaband. I had an appointment on Monday, but unfortunately did not get to see bean. I did however hear my little one's heartbeat at 153 bpm. My OB measured and weight me and said that everything looks great. I've gained 2 lbs thus far. I'm counting down until we can find out the sex of the baby but really enjoying my pregnancy every day!

I told my students the news and they were oh so excited. They had some funny things to say as most 5 year-olds do all the time. They asked if I gotten a baby in my belly over Spring Break. Someone else told me that you have to have a big belly when you have a baby in there. And of course lots of suggestions on baby names. Oh and the girls think it will be a girl, we'll see.

I'm really having vacation withdrawals because by this time we usually would have our summer beach vacation planned. We really wanted to do a "babymoon" but by the time the school year ends I'll already be in the third trimester and my doctor does not recommend it. So, I'm going to have to settle on going to Austin for a few days and maybe going to a spa. I dream of laying out on a white sandy beach with an umbrella cocktail and good book listening to the ocean...a girl can only dream! We are however already thinking about our summer trip for next year with little. Maybe the Bahamas or Dominican Republic, ahhh..take me there now!!

Great Monday!

It's been such a great day despite the fact that it is Monday and it's our first day back after a week long vacation. I received awesome news from two very special friends of mine. One announced this morning that she is pregnant! That makes me so incredibly happy because I always wanted to share my pregnancy with a friend. Not to mention, our kids will grow up together-it's going to be awesome!!

Then about 5 minutes ago my other friend sent me an email telling me she got engaged this weekend with a long time friend of mine. This day couldn't be going any better. I wish them all the happiness in the world, yippee!!

I'll be going to my doctor's appointment this afternoon, hopefully I can get a little peek of my precious baby-that would just be marvelous~

15 Weeks- Orange

Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now out measure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

This week has been pretty low-key since I'm on Spring Break. I've gotten a lot of my Spring cleaning done that I do every year like my drawers and closets. I still need to wash all the windows but I'll wait for Nunie to help me do that. I was held back yesterday and ended up on the couch with a horrible migraine. I've also been hanging out with Mom and Grandma doing a little shopping here and there. We're doing yard work at Mom's today so hopefully I can get a little color. Tomorrow we're going to spend the day at the Woodlands=more shopping.
I have my next appointment on Monday so I'm looking forward to seeing my beautiful little babe in there. We got our new computer and printer/scanner installed so I will try to scan some of the babe's ultrasound pics on here soon:)I'm outta here for now because it's such a beautiful day outside:)

14 Weeks- Lemon

Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth.

So baby bean is not so much of a bean these days and it's definitely showing in my clothes. I think I'm still really bloated because I wake up just fine and then after lunch feel rather big. This in between stage is a little annoying because you don't actually have a real baby bump yet, but you do look a little on the chubby side.

This weekend I started cleaning the spare bedroom to start clearing it out for the nursery and plan to continue to do so during my week off on Spring Break. Mom, Karina, and I are going to have a garage sale to try to get rid of some of the stuff that is taking up so much room. Grandma is coming in town for Spring Break so I'm very excited to spend time with her.

We've been talking baby names for both boy and girl. We're set on the boy's name but still fiddling around the idea for a girl's name. Gus swears it's going to be a boy and Farid says it's a girl. Either way we'll take whatever we're blessed with!

13 Weeks- Peach

Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)

My babe is a peach this week, yummy! I'm telling you days and weeks are flying by! Not too much to update other than my maternity pants purchase that I already wrote about. I'm also very upset about the way things ended on the Bachelor...like really really upset.I'm not one to watch much television. I'm not into American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, or any other reality tv show that most people go crazy over. This season it just so happened that I've been spending a lot of time lounging around dealing with my morning sickness. I'd heard great things about Jason since he was the unfortunate dumpee on last season's show so I decided since I had the time I'd watch. I feel so betrayed because I also fell for this jerk and it turns out that he is nothing like the show portrayed him to be. Poor Mel, but I really think that she is much better off without this immature, selfish, and pathetic looser Jason.
On a sweeter note, my craving this past week was limone, kiwi, and mango gelato-hmm my fave! We went to the mall and got some but they were out of the mango. I'm determined to go back this weekend and make my attempt again. I bought a small cup and a pint to take home and eat during the week. This stuff is so good. Other than that just counting the days until Spring Break. As of now we have 1 week and two days left not counting today. Hopefully the weather will be nice enough to take the boat out and soak up the sun. This girl really needs a little color on her legs.

My First Pair of Maternity Pants

I broke down this weekend and bought some maternity pants. I was trying to hold out because I'm not even big at this point and did not want them to be a waste when I can't wear them in a few weeks. I still fit into all my regular work pants and trousers but my muffin top from my jeans was just killing me! Of course jeans always fit tighter anyway and I wasn't liking the bella-band I bought too much. I actually found some cute jeans that don't have that horrible "mom" look. These are more like dressy dark denim in straight leg which look super cute with flats. I was afraid I wasn't ready for maternity pants but the size 2 fit just right and I have plenty of room to grow into them. I also love that they don't have the band for the stomach-I'm definitely not ready for that yet! These have elastic in the back that you can move into a bigger size to fit more comfortably. I'm hopeful that I can fit into these jeans throughout my pregnancy. Oh and my mom was so proud of my pregnant jeans, haha...I wore them when we went over for lunch on Sunday:)

12 Weeks-Plum

As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of baby's systems are fully formed.

Aww...I love my plum! Time seems to be flying now. At first it was going by so slow but these days I'm starting another week before I know it. I can't believe my 1st trimester is almost over. Different books say different things, so for now I'm going with the end of 13 weeks will conclude my 1st trimester-two more weeks to go, yay! My newest craving has been chili-cheese fries and a strawberry limeade slush from Sonic. I try not to have it unless I really can't resist which has only been twice. Can't really have my diet consist of all junk- I know. My body is taking somewhat of a different shape but of course no bump yet, just bloat. As those who know me know I'm very blessed in the boobage department, but my I really didn't think they could get any bigger-well they have! Oh and not to mention my nips are strangers to me. Talk about change! For any woman who has been pregnant before, you know how unattractive these suckers get. Good thing my baby won't have a problem missing these bad boys-yikes!!

Karen's Third Deployment

My sister Karen was recalled to the Marine Corps after being out for a year. She got sent back to Iraq last week and I finally heard from her yesturday. It makes me so sad that she will not be here to experience my pregnancy with me. She will also miss out on the baby shower, but the good thing is that she is set to return mid September-God willing. That would be awesome because it's just in time for her to meet her newborn niece/nephew. She usually gets a couple of weeks of leave after a deployment so it will work out well. I'm glad I've created this blog, so she can continue to be updated on baby bean.
I ask that you keep her in your prayers so that she has a safe deployment and return home. I love you so much Sis.

11 Weeks- Lime

Your fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through. But, fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future.

Doctor's Appointment/ First Baby Gifts

So we went to the doctor yesterday and we did get to see bean! I've known many of my friends that do not get as many ultrasounds and I feel very fortunate that I've had three so far. It always makes me feel better to see bean. It's amazing how baby bean has grown. Just a few weeks ago all you could see was a little blob. This time it has taken a form of an actual baby with the shape of a head and limbs. He/she was moving all over the place and was moving its little arms and legs like crazy-truly amazing! The doctor said that he was growing just like he/she should be with a strong heart rate pf 162bpm. I still haven't gain any weight and I'm actually 2lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight, but my doctor is not concerned at all. This seems to be very normal in the 1st tri with all the morning sickness and loss of appetite craze. I'm sure the pounds will soon start to pile up as baby gets bigger. God willing we will find out the sex of the baby at 19 weeks so that will be right around Easter-how exciting.

My sister-in-law Corinne surprised us with the first baby gifts on Sunday when we saw her at Alex's birthday party. She got us the most adorable onesies and a book. The onesies are adorable and tiny. They're unisex so baby bean will definitely be using them. I will post some pics of them soon-thanks so much Corinne:)




When I came home early to go to the doctor's appointment Nunie had this on top of the coffee table- a card and a wood baby plaque for the baby's room.


This is what the card said....
"Looks like God is still in the miracle business....Congratulations on your sweet little baby-to-be
Nunie wrote:
"Babe, bean
Bean is our little miracle baby and the cool thing is that we did it together. It shows us that we are a team and I need you, just as much as you need me. I love you and I love you even more for carrying our little bean.
Hubby,
Eusebio"

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy."
Psalm 126:3

10 Weeks- Prune

With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will too.)

This past week was pretty uneventful. I felt pretty good other than Friday. We went out to eat with my in-laws and I've finally realized that the babe does not like Mexican food. This has been twice that I've gotten sick after eating it, and it's not fun having a date with my white porcelein toilet on a Friday night! So Tuesday is my doctor's appointment. Not sure if I'm getting an ultrasound or we're just meeting. I'm really crossing my fingers to be able to see bean:)

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day festivities started on Friday at school. This has always been one of my favorite holidays and have very fond memories when I was in grade school. I loved exchanging cards with my classmates and having parties in the classroom. Being a teacher brings so many of those memories back and I enjoy it very much! My kids brought me tons of gifts as they do every year; chocolates, stuffed animals, flowers, cards, chocolate shaped roses, and candy. This is honestly the field to be in if you are single on Valentine's Day- your students will more than make up for it! They got to decorate their Valentine bags to put their cards in and once they finished they exchanged cards. They had a blast! I made them strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and conversation hearts on top.
The staff had the annual "Death by Chocolate" gathering. Everyone basically brings a chocolate desert and share with everyone. We had chocolate donuts, brownies, cakes, cookies, cupcakes, fudge-basically anything chocolate! My co-workers made sure to keep the pregnant woman well fed:) For lunch they hosted lunch for everyone with Good Attendance, yay I was on the list:)

On Saturday morning I went to breakfast at IHOP with Mom and Karina. I had french toast with strawberries and whipped cream on top-yum! We wanted to walk off our food so we hit up babys'r'us. This was the first time I've ever gone with the attempt to "start" looking for potential baby gear-they have tons of stuff. I ordered the Baby Bargains book to begin doing my research on baby gear.

Nunie and I had agreed not to exchange gifts. With the baby coming, I rather put everything into our baby fund than to buy frivolous Tiffany jewelry which I didn't have a problem with before. This is another fact that Motherhood changes your way of thinking little by little. We joined our friends Jose and Melissa Ricky and April and had dinner at PF Chang's.

9 Weeks- Green Olive

Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby!

Wow how my bean has grown in a couple of weeks! This past week I felt much better and had a little more energy. I actually managed to cook twice. That hasn't happened since I found out I was pregnant. Nunie has been a champ though, helping around the house, cooking, and grocery shopping. I can't wait until I get all my energy back and I can start going back to the gym. I've been able to eat more but still not as much. My first real craving I guess you an say is pineapple, I can eat that stuff all day. I haven't gained any weight, but my body is sure rounding up a bit. We go back to the doctor next Tuesday for our 10 week appointment and I can't wait. Oh and I also took out my navel ring....ahh after 11 years by belly looks a little awkward to me, but I figured it would look a lot more tacky with it on. Let Motherhood begin!

8 Weeks-Rasberry

Your baby is growing like mad, putting on about a millimeter every day and continuing to straighten out in the trunk. Though you can't feel it yet, baby is moving those little arms, legs and (now only slightly) webbed fingers and toes like crazy.

Week 7 was not fun. I had a complete loss of appetite and could not keep anything down. Towards the end of the week I started feeling a little better, but still do not have my normal appetite back. All that sounded good was pizza, so I ate pizza for 3 days in a row. However, I could only manage to eat a slice per meal; very unusual to my 3-4 slices that I can easily eat any day! I got Nunie "The Expecting Father" book for his birthday and now realized what a mistake I did! He has picked up a part-time job as the "Pregnant Woman Police" so you can only imagine!

Our Family is Growing by........

Two feet!

Dear friends and family,
As some of you know (most do not) this has been our little secret for a while now and wanted to share with you that we are expecting our first baby in September. Nunie and I are very excited with this new chapter in our lives and we are embracing it every day! I am 8 weeks pregnant; as you read the posts below you can fill in about more details. I will try to capture every detail in this journey and write about it so I can be reminded of all the beautiful and not so beautiful moments in my pregnancy. You are more than welcome to come here from time to time and be updated about baby bean, as we like to call him/her! We ask that you keep us in your prayers so that we have a strong and healthy pregnancy and baby! For now I have to run to the bathroom for the gazillion time today......ahhh!

Love,
K

7 Weeks-Blueberry

Baby's brain both hemispheres is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys(baby's third!)is now in place.

I've been feeling pretty good, other than not being able to eat like I normally would. I have to eat small portions or else I start getting really nauseated. Funny thing is that I feel great in the mornings, it's the evening that this usually kicks in. So far week 5 has been the worse, when I was feeling really dizzy in the evenings, but that has thankfully subsided.

On another note, we went out to dinner with our families to celebrate Nunie's 28th birthday and we had decided to make our "big" announcement about baby bean that night. Nunie was really nervous but excited to share the news. Once everyone arrived and were situated he got their attention and he announced that I was 7 weeks pregnant! The look on everyone's face was priceles, and I wish I would've caught it on tape. Needless to say, baby bean took my poor hubby's glory for the night since the rest of the conversation was all baby:)

6 Weeks-Sweet Pea

The little bean is the size of a sweet pea today at 6 weeks.Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and chin. Those little hands and feet-still webbed like paddles- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate.

We've Got a Heartbeat!

We had our first appointment today at 5w4d and got to see our little bean. The Dr. performed a vaginal ultrasound (which by the way was no picnic) to time everything and he put us at 6 weeks, so we'll see...just a couple days off from what I originally had. Anyways our little bean is so tiny, we first saw the heart flickering and then we got to hear it at 108bpm! Nunie says s/he is definitely going to be a runner:) It was the most beautiful music to my ears and it just made everything so much more real. Nunie and I were ecstatic! We go back in two weeks to mark the progress, God willing my little bean is growing strong every day. To feed s/he well we went to Luby's for dinner-yum, since it's next door to the hospital. I had me fried fish, mac and cheese, tators, roll and sweet tea-yeah not so healthy but I treated myself. Oh and it was no luanne platter either!

Happy New Year!

My 2008 End of the Year Review

Started off the year pretty good Nunie turned 27 in January and we went to dinner with family and friends to Benihana's. It was a little hectic since he decided to invite everyone he knew, haha. But overall very yummy.

Continued striving towards the end of my first year teaching and was definitely getting more attached to the kids. Pablo, Kayla, and Richard will hold a special place in my heart, but really that whole group will because they were my first class.

In April Jose and Melissa got married and had a beautiful and fun wedding. That same month I was awarded Rookie Teacher of the Year. Nunie and I went to an award ceremony at Brady's Landing with the other Teachers of the Year from each school and the administrators. We bought our boat in April and became our closest companion all summer long. We had a blast boating, tubing, and swimming just about every weekend this summer.


For Easter my parents and us went to my aunt's lake house on Lake Conroe and took both of our boats out-came back to the lake house grilled burgers and did an Easter Egg hunt for the kids-although we intruded, ha.

Before I knew it, end of the year tests, parties, and kindergarten graduation were filing up the schedule. My kids looked so adorable in their caps and gowns. I was excited to have a whole summer off oh and our trip to Maui was coming up, but very sad to see the end of the year approaching.

June was here and the day after the last day of school we flew out to Maui. My favorite vacation spot yet. It was an amazing vacation as we got to enjoy the scenery of the mountains, our helicopter ride, the beautiful beaches, volcanoes-although not active, the sunset and sunrises, the luaus, and not to mention the romanticism felt around the entire city.





The rest of the summer was pretty laid back taking the boat out to either Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston, Lake Houston, or the river with friends or Uncle Mike and Aunt Mary-fun!

School started up again sooner than I thought and had a whole new group to have to mold and teach-very exciting though to meet new faces. We spent Labor Day on Lake Livingston with Jose, Meli, Jill, and Toto-such a fun day.

We weren't in school very long and hurricane season was booming with a hurricane warning just about every week. We lucked out from a few, but Ike was definitely coming our way. Although not our part of Baytown, the warning called for old Baytown to evacuate which made us panic a little. I helped Nunie board up the house, taking our most precious belongings-I just took my wedding pics, loaded up in the 4runner with Logan and Dora and headed to Kingwood with our friends Jose and Melissa. We didn't go to neither of our parents house because between Highlands and North Shore we might as well have stayed home. We wanted to go North. It was definitely a full house with about 12 people and 5 dogs. We were very fortunate that our house had no damage whatsoever, only left without power for about a week.

October came and we went to Los Cucos for my birthday with family and friends. We headed to Sam's Boat in the Woodlands, and spent the night at my aunt's lake house in Conroe. We went shopping at the Woodlands the next day. We also had a "Fall Pumpkin Carving Party" at our house for our nieces and nephews. I made homemade chili, frito pies, and stuffed baked potatoes.It turned out really good!







I started planning our fall getaway and as soon as they told us we weren't going to have to make up the days for the hurricane during Thanksgiving break I booked our flights. We headed to San Fran the Saturday before Thanksgiving and were there for 5 days-very fun vacation. We realized that this may be the last vacation for a while unless we take a babymoon because we wanted to start trying to have a baby soon. We spent a fun Thanksgiving at my MIL's and my parents and sisters joined us. So glad Karen came home. We hit up the stores on Black Friday-first and last time ever.


December quickly arrived and I soon put up our Christmas decor. I love this time of year and love seeing my house in the spirit of Christmas. Nunie had his company party at the Doubletree and we had a lot of fun especially with an open bar! We hosted Christmas Eve at our house with my parents, my aunt and her family, and us. Very fun thinking it may be the last Christmas spent just the two of us. We spent Christmas day at MIL's house. I hung out with some teachers during the break and had lunch and margaritas one day. The rest of December was spent with my aunt and cousins.






And then a very special thing happened on December 30th, I took a pregnancy test and got my BFP-what a great way to end and start the year. I couldn't feel more blessed. I am excited about the adventures in 2009 with a new baby!

We're having a Baby!

I woke up this morning as Nunie was leaving to work and decided to test since my period was overdue and I had been feeling a little weird. So I tested and went off to the living room, mind you it's 5:30 in the morning. Three minutes later I went back to the bathroom and there it was, TWO lines starring back at me.....and I didn't know what to do! I could not believe it, I started dancing around with Logan telling him "we're having a baby" he just tilted his head as dogs do when they seem confused. He was probably wondering why the heck I was so excited!

I didn't want to tell Nunie over the phone, so I decide to wait until he came home from work to tell him the great news (by the way it was hardest thing I've ever had to do)! In the meantime, I went to Target to buy a digital to confirm it with the actual word "PREGNANT", a bib that says "I love daddy", and a onesie to tell my mom. I wrapped up the bib along with a Marine Corps Baby onesie that I've had in the closet and included the digital test.

It was so hard not to call anybody to tell them the news. I got ready and headed to my mom's. She was still in bed when I arrived. I went upstairs and jumped on the bed with her and gave her the bag. She had no clue. As she opened it and saw the digital test she started screaming then crying then laughing-it was awesome. I've honestly never in my life seen my mom this overjoyed:) She's been wanting to be a grandma, but I had selfishly put it off. While we're in the middle of crying and hugging each other, Nunie calls and says he's heading home from work early-crap he's ruining the plan. I told him to come over my mom's for breakfast...little did he know he was getting a bun in the oven.

As soon as he showed up I opened the door, and just showed him the digital pregnancy test. I didn't have my original surprise so just handed over what I had. He looked at it and said you're pregnant???, he had a look of disbelief and excitement and a huge smile he could not wipe off his face. We decided to take our boat out to celebrate and enjoy some quiet time on the lake. It's still so surreal to us, but yet we are so excited. We're not telling the rest of the family until his b-day Jan. 25th. That should definitely be fun!
Our first doctor's appointment is on Jan. 14th. Until then I will keep updating the blog~
Thanks for reading......