Tomorrow is 20 weeks... and your "Gender Reveal" Party!

Well, little one, we got to see you again!  We had your "anatomy ultrasound" on Halloween a few days ago, when you were 19 weeks & 2 days.  We were told you're now measuring 6 days ahead.  If you reach 10 days ahead, they will move up my due date!  Additionally, you are weighing about 1 pound!  Wow!  So why have I gained about 15? ;)

The ultrasound technician was sadly having a bad day.  He was kind of grumpy and didn't like that you were so active (or that it was a Monday).  It's not your fault!  You are happy & healthy!  They told Mom to drink 32 ounces of juice, so that's what they get.  Dad and I got to watch you move around on the screen, but not as much this time.  The tech kept going down to your nether regions, and we didn't want to see anything down there that would ruin the party's surprise!  The technician called you a nickname that may have hinted at your gender.  We were bummed that he lacked good manners, but it isn't stopping us from having your party.  We still do not know for sure!  The show must go on!!

Dad & I ordered the food for the party on Monday.  We had a fun time planning the finances for the month and setting aside money for a trip to go visit New Mexico for Thanksgiving!!  Your Dad is so excited - and so am I - to introduce you (while you're in my belly) to your Grandpa Greg, Nana Patsy, Missy and your Uncle Sam.  And the rest of the NM family!  On Wednesday I ordered your "reveal cake".  I designed it along with Dad's help... it really is cute!  That night, Grandma Evie came over to our house and helped me cut out about 100 or more hearts for your party garlands.  Last night, Dad and I spent our date night shopping for last-minute party necessities.  We got drinks in all the colors of your party - red, orange, blue and pink.  Yesterday we posted the news about you on Facebook.  It was so wonderful, and long overdue.  I think I will take a screenshot of all the comments and post it here for keeps. :)

You're not very active today.  Maybe it's the rainy weather - the first rainy day of the season!  I hope you love rain like me.  Can't wait to finally know if you're my son or daughter tomorrow...

Along with your ultrasound, we were delighted to get some new pictures!

My tiny profile

My hands together, possibly trying to sleep?  This is how Mommy sleeps.

My nose and mouth from above :)

Waving "hello"!

A side-view of my arm

Week 18 nearly complete

Here we are at 19 weeks tomorrow, and I'm weighing in at 11 & 1/2 pounds gained. Right on track since my 2nd trimester with about 1 pound a week. :) Wow, at this rate I have 20 more pounds to pack on!

Last night we enjoyed some salmon and corn for dinner. I washed it down with some juice, but had my eye on the green chile & cheese tamale before the salmon even finished cooking. Sure enough, I finished the delicious tamale off and it was time for dessert! 1 slice of peach pie (which Greg went out a got for me at 10pm one night this week) washed down with a tall glass of milk. This is getting to be pretty standard for me. Dinner, snack, dessert! Actually, it goes more like this: juice on the way to work, breakfast, snack, snack, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack, dessert. :) And I love a glass of milk before I go to bed with my prenatal vitamins.

So far today I've had some cranberry apple cider on the way in to work, blueberry oatmeal, a strawberry cereal bar, 1 string cheese, a carne asada taco, 1 pack of Trader Joe's (DELICIOUS!) fruit snacks and now I'm eating cinnamon apple sauce.  Next up: a banana.

Here's a pic I just took at work:

Please note, I cannot button these pants that used to be baggy on me.  Thus, a belt, at it's very last rung, hides the fact that the tops of my pants are not buttoned. ;) I wish I had measured myself at first so I knew how many inches I'm growing around!

17 weeks, 5 days

I don't feel like I have too much news to post, but I'm trying to keep consistent. :) Latest baby news... Greg & I sent out our "Gender Reveal" Party evite invitations last night. I am so proud of myself for not waiting until last-minute like I always do (which usually results in no party at all). I am glad we got it on the calendar and people have already RSVP'd - this means I have to follow through and actually plan it now! So... What is a Gender Party, you ask? It's a party where you invite your closest family and friends to find out the gender of your unborn baby right along with you! Usually it is done cutting a cake to reveal pink or blue inside. You ask your ultrasound tech to write the gender on a piece of paper, and then you can take that paper to a friend or bakery to make you the cake, so the secret is only known to them until the cake cutting! Some people have also done a "ballon release" either in a back yard or out of a box. It sounds funny, but if you watch some of them on YouTube they can be real tear-jerking moments.

I have some cool ideas I have scraped up with the help of Pinterest. Want to see some of my "bookmarks" on Pinterest for gender party ideas? Check them out!

We think we are going to have the color theme be pink & orange, our favorite colors & our wedding colors too. Here are some cool photo montages you can click on to see whole party spreads and to get an idea of what they are all about!

In other news, we bought a humidifier since it's been recommended to help with the stuffy/dry nose I kept waking up with. So far it has worked pretty well, so if you or someone you know is pregnant, I'd recommend it. It was a 2-for-1 deal because it seems to have eased Greg's snoring too! Woohoo! Only downside is that I came home to my cool kitchen clock lying on the floor. The 3M tape hook I have up there almost fell off completely, but it was just hanging there downwards... I'm wondering if it got too humid inside! Anyways, I thought it had a pretty cool modern design, and it came in all sorts of colors! We got orange. ;)

Facebook's still in the dark...! We wanted to tell one last friend before posting the video. Easy right? Well, that one friend happens to be our friend who was in Yemen but who just arrived in Ethiopia. We sent this video awaiting his amazement. This is someone who has asked us about children every single time we see him. To my dismay, he replied that his internet connection is too slow out there, but that he'd watch it as soon as he was able. Finally I decided to cut down the 9-minute video to 1 minute and see it that will work! Now just to locate a free night to do that... *cross* your fingers for tomorrow. Tonight's Date Night. :D

Obligatory Belly Pics

Disclaimer: The belly in this photo may appear smaller than it actually is!

Seriously though, my stomach looks smaller here because I am straining to get my arm far enough away from my body to get the belly in the frame so my muscles (yes they are still there somewhere!) are squeezing it down a bit. Greg and I have been taking weekly pics of me in front of a drab door, smiling and trying to look pregnant almost every week. I thought it was time I took one all by myself of just the baby belly. :)

Here's me, 17 weeks along:

PS - I was so stoked that I could still squeeze into my hot pink pants this morning! I've been getting so tired of the same old pants that actually fit, and discovered these are low enough to fit under the ol' belly... for now.

"Quickening"

Whew!  I closed my eyes and 2 weeks flew by.  I totally forgot to write on my blog, nevertheless the baby continues to GROW! :)

Since my last post, I have felt quickening!  What's that, you ask?  Well I didn't know either, until it was already happening.  Quickening is the first movements that a mother will feel in her belly.  I felt my baby's first movements around the 5th and 6th of this month.  I was in denial until the weekend, when he or she started kicking me like crazy (a.k.a. I may have downed a caffeinated beverage...).  I have been feeling him or her at least once a day, but that first weekend it was really often. You know what's funny?  The baby's movements coincided with some very moody days I had.  There was a block of 4 days or so where I was crying over everything.  I was being a big baby, so maybe I was passing that on to our little one.

On top of that update, we had another appointment!  Last Wednesday we got to hear Baby Romero's heartbeat for the very FIRST time!  To be honest, though, hearing is not seeing... and we've been spoiled by the 3 ultrasounds at the previous visits.  You know what else we?  I have officially gained 9 pounds since getting pregnant!

Today I ordered something I have been wanting for a couple years now -- a new camera lens!  I read a positive review in Popular Photography last night, and was elated to see that my ideal lens was within reach.  I was expecting to have to pay $400-$500 for a new wide angle, and I had no idea what to get.  It's been the #1 thing on my Baby Shopping List, and I'm glad it seemed to have found me just in time all by itself. :) This lens has exactly what I've been dying for, all in one package: sharp detail, shallow depth of field, beautiful bokeh, low light capabilities... and raving reviews about its portraits (newborns included!) and travel photos.  I am so excited, you don't even know.  Good thing Greg bought me an external hard drive for my birthday!  Check it out, if you're interested and a geek like me. :)

Welcome! A new blessing & adventure awaits...

Welcome to our first real post!  Today I am 15 weeks and 2 days.  I have known I was pregnant for 77 days (since July 18th).  No, I didn't do the math, one of my pregnancy "tickers" told me all that!

It has been a long journey.  (The 1st trimester seemed to go by a little slower, if you know what I mean.)  I have survived the wait for the 1st appointment, the morning sickness (gag) and now finally... telling all the family!  Greg & I are so happy to have everyone now in-the-know.  We created a "reveal video" that was masked as our "4th Anniversary Yosemite Trip 2011" video.  At the end, we showed some bonus pictures of our life together to throw them off a little and ease them into the surprise/shock/punch-in-the-gut of a picture of a positive pregnancy test.  Here's the video, in case you haven't seen it.

Yosemite Trip Video = Surprise Reveal Video! 

The most exciting part of making this video?  We videotaped each time we showed the video to our parents, siblings & close friends... and now we'll be putting together a compilation video of all our loved ones' reactions! :-D

I used to be a fairly decent blogger back in college.  I wasn't great, but I was regular.  I don't know what happened, but I've tried to start up multiple ones since, and all have dwindled out -- and fast.  I'd like to at some point have a family blog -- and this may well turn into just that -- but for now, it will document this fun & unique time in our life.  The 9 months of the creation of a new life.  I am going to do my very best to stay diligent at making entries in here, no matter how trivial they may seem to me at the moment.  Greg, the baby and I thank you for joining us!  Please feel free to leave comments/questions/thoughts and be a part of this special time in our lives.

The following posts are back-dated to give you a sense of a timeline.  I wish I had started this blog earlier to document our 1st baby journey, but I'm just thankful I am getting it going now!  More than 1/2 of the pregnancy to still document. :)

First pictures that look like a BABY!

Alien jokes aside, what an attractive cranium I have! What could that be on the left?

A blurry shot of my profile. Am I a boy or a girl??

Look at my little hand! It's above my belly. Mom & Dad think I have a cute profile. If you look closely, you can see a bit of my legs/feet too. They are pressed up against the side of my home because I am jumping off the walls in here. My parents got to watch me jump the entire 30 minutes of the nuchal translucency scan. I was trying to show them that I am happy and healthy in here!