Showers and More Showers!

The last two weekends have been consumed by baby showers! I could get use to all the attention I am getting with this baby belly and especially considering I'm a thing of the past once Harper is actually born. He will be in the lime light as he should be, because he's going to be such a beautiful little boy.

My mother had a shower for me on May 15th for all my friends in the Pasadena and Los Angeles area. It was so lovely and she really out did herself with everything. The menu was amazing, the decorations were elegant and cute, and all my friends and old neighbors who came topped it off for a wonderful Saturday! My mom had been working so hard on her beautiful backyard to make sure it was ready for the shower and the weather couldn't of been any better for it. The garden was beautiful with lots of flowers, not to mention the blue hydrangea's that were on each of the tables. It was just so lovely! Thank you mom for making it so special. Oh and your homemade apple cupcakes, were a complete hit. Can we say incredible??? I just want to thank all my friends and old neighbors who came to celebrate with me for making it such a special gathering and for all the wonderful gifts you got Harper. I can't wait to show him all of great things he has had waiting for him!

My mother in law, Susie, and her good friend Patty threw me my second shower on May 22nd, this past Saturday. It too was amazing and couldn't of gone any better. It was primarily Susie's friends, but I did invite a few of my OC friends and although not all of them could make it, it was great to be able to spend time with Stephanie and Irina who did make it. Thank you ladies for coming and being part of the celebration! We had belini's (mine were made with apple cider) and the most amazing lunch that Patty prepared for all of us (tea sandwiches included, which if anyone knows me well enough, totally makes for a happy girl). We had lunch outside under the pavilion and later moved inside for the opening of gifts. Harper got so many great things and I can't believe how generous everyone was. I honestly feel so loved, however it may be Susie that is so loved, but since I'm now family the love trickles down in this instance, HAHA!! Susie made an incredible flannel blanket for the baby with surfboards and woodies on it, too cute!! Thank you everyone for making my baby shower so special, it was a lot of fun and I'm glad I got to spend time with everyone of you!

I still have one more baby shower to go with the family on June 5th and I honestly can't imagine what I am going to do with all of the baby items we have gotten and are still to receive! I had no idea babies came with so much stuff! His closet is already packed full of diapers and clothes. His drawers are even stuffed with onesies, shorts, board shorts, little cute shoes (two pairs of high tops which may be the thing that make his mama melt the most), and even blankets! I have no idea where all his things are going to go in the kitchen, nothing has a home yet in there. We have bottles all over the counter top right now. Organizing that still needs to be done.....I'll get to it eventually. I managed to get the swing and the bouncer put together for him today and tonight I'm packing my hospital bag. The hospital bag is just in case he decides to come early, although I'm hoping he hangs on till July 4th. Either way, he's going to be my All American boy with a due date of July 4th!

So tomorrow is Mother's Day and I'm not sure if it counts as my first Mother's Day or if it doesn't count at all since Harper hasn't been born yet. I do feel like a mother already, protective and a little nervous of what my little boy will encounter once he is born. I feel this need to protect him already, it's incredible, it's that mother's instinct that so many have told me about.

Everyday I feel like my heart is just bursting with more and more love for this little guy growing inside of me. I love all the kicks, turns, and little punches I get from him. I feel reassured with every movement that he is healthy and growing. At first I had I thought he was going to be this huge baby, but now I'm starting to wonder if he's going to be of average size, since I'm not as big as I thought I was going to be. Of course, I still have 8 more weeks to go. I guess that's still enough time to pack on the pounds if I'm not careful!

I think about Harper all day long and what he's going to look like, how his personality will develop, and what his likes and dislikes may be as he gets older. This little guy consumes my thoughts and it makes my heart so happy that Dan and I created something so beautiful together. I love my little family more everyday and can't wait until I get to welcome our little one into this crazy wonderful world. It makes me all teary eyed, happy tears though. I feel so blessed in my life to have such a great husband who loves me so much and two incredibly wonderful families (his and mine) that love us and support us like they do. We may not have all the material things we'd like or the money to buy it all, which is sometimes a concern, but when I look at the big picture I'd rather have all this love in my life. My heart is so happy and I feel so blessed. And yes, I realize I'm so mushy, but I can't help myself right now.

I got a little off track, so back to Mother's Day, I want to thank my Mom for always being there for me and being the best mom one could ask for. She is the constant in my life and is always there for me no matter what. I look back now and realize she has supported me through everything, even all the dumb decisions I have made that she didn't agree with (and there were quite a few). Now that I'm going to be a mother and have this need to protect, I understand how making some of these choices in my life were probably hard and hurtful for her to watch, because she knew I would get hurt, but she also understood I had to experience it to understand it on my own. I love you mom for letting me grow up and experience life and become the person I am today and loving me the whole way through it. You are my mother, but my best friend too. You have stood by me through everything and will even be there when I welcome my own child/your first grandchild into this world. You are so beautiful mom and I love you so much!

In the last year I have also been blessed with a Mother In Law, who I think is pretty wonderful. So I'm lucky enough to have two mom's now. I am starting to wonder where my luck is going to run out?? Dan's mother has been incredible and has always made me feel comfortable and welcome in their family. She is always so thoughtful and doing such great things for Dan and I. Whether it is be sending us home with food, planning our wedding (I can't thank her enough for this one as it became way too stressful), birthday celebrations, and having us for dinner or taking us out to dinner. She is really an amazing woman and I also hope some of her "tough mom" attitude rubs off on me since I'm having a little boy who is bound to get himself into trouble when he gets a little older (especially with Dan as his daddy-I've started to hear the stories from all his friends). Susie, I love you and consider myself lucky to have you in my life.

Happy Mother's Day!

Winner, Winner, Winner!!

My husband, Dan, drag races a 62' Chevy Nova that is called Mighty Mouse. This past weekend he was in Bakersfield for Dragfest racing. He called earlier today to tell me he lost his first race, but was still competing in one more class. He said, " I'm going to win baby." Well this afternoon he called to say, "I'm a winner, winner, winner!" I was so excited to hear this news and just thrilled he was coming home with a 4' ft trophy and a cash prize. Of course the first thing I asked myself was, "Where is this trophy going to go?" HAHA!! I figured he'd put it in the babies room with his other trophy, his baby boy, Harper.

Before he left this weekend, he told me he was going to win it. He was focused and he really meant it. I am so proud of you babe, you did it! Remember though, you are always a winner in my book!!

Vroom-Vroom!!

http://www.dragfest.com/main.php

Just a Little Tadpole

I am new to this and not sure how this will visually look, so I'm doing a little test run so I can play with the settings on my page.

So I found out I was pregnant a few days before Thanksgiving of 2009. I remember it was a Thursday and I told my husband, Dan, that I thought I was pregnant,because I had been feeling so sick for a few days. We had discussed pregnancy before and had agreed if I was we would be totally ready for it. We both felt we were at an age when it was either going to happen or not, so we were prepared to embrace it (don't let this fool you, we weren't prepared for a lot of other stuff soon to follow). Well he went to bed that Thursday night and although I told him I was going to take the test in the morning, I couldn't wait.....I had to know!! I figured I had two tests, as I bought a two pack, so I could do one that night and one the following morning. As soon as I pee'd on that little stick I got a plus sign and was in total shock. For some reason, I was convinced it wasn't going to be easy for me to get pregnant. Boy was I ever wrong, a month off the pills and BAM!

I didn't know whether to be happy or to cry, because my life was about to totally change. I picked up the phone and called the constant in my life, my mother. By the time she picked up I was crying and not sure exactly what to say. So I just blurted it out, "I'm Pregnant and you're going to be a Grandma." I wasn't sure what kind of response I was going to get. She was thrilled, which is a good thing, because it helped stop the tears. I cried because I wasn't sure Dan and I were financially ready and I wasn't sure and sometimes still question, whether we'll be good parents. I tried to remind myself of what my grandmother always said, "If you wait until you can afford children, you are never going to have them."

So here we are 8 months into this pregnancy now. The first trimester was a complete nightmare for me. I was sick all the time and so tired. I came down with the stomach flu and a week later got strep throat. I was convinced I was a walking magnet for germs at this point and was using hand sanitizer like I owned stock in it. The only good thing that came out of the first trimester is that my boobs were getting HUGE! Of course, I was also getting the gut to go with the boobs (to hold up the boobs). Go figure!!

The second trimester seems like it was a breeze and it wasn't until the first week in the second trimester that I got my first ultrasound since week 6 and got to see the baby. I cried during this ultra sound and felt so relieved to hear the heartbeat for the first time. I had been so sick early on, was worried it was going to hurt the baby, but as the nurses told me, "Babies are more resilient than you would think." It was also during the second trimester that we found out we are having a BOY! My husband was so relieved to find out we were having a boy and said, "Oh God I am so relieved, I don't know what I would of done with a girl."

I am now in the third trimester and obviously SO pregnant. I've gained something like 20 pounds so far and my belly is definitely protruding. I've long said good-bye to all my normal non-pregnancy clothes and hello to all the pants with elastic bands that hug your belly. I'll admit those pants with elastic bands are pretty darn comfortable. I wonder why overweight women don't take to wearing them? They just don't know what they are missing!

I had my first pregnancy scare this past week, April 29th. I have been keeping a fetal kick count of the baby and he's been quite the mover and shaker the past three weeks. It wasn't until late this past week that he started slowing down quite a bit. I wasn't even feeling 10 kicks in 2 hours and the doctor had told me that might be reason to be alarmed. Well I was!! I woke up on Thursday morning and felt him kick and then nothing for 3 hours. I called the Advice Hotline for pregnant women through my insurance company and they thought I ought to come in to be monitored. I went in and was admitted to labor and delivery and was given a room and hooked up to all these strange monitors. The minute I heard the little guys heart beat I started to cry. I was again relieved. They monitored his heart and movements for the next 3 hours and our baby was just fine. The type of movements he was making were changing, so we believe it may have just been that I didn't know what to be feeling for. I was lucky enough to get another ultra sound and I saw the baby. He's so big now and you can't even see him all in one screen shot. I saw his heart pumping and the little valves in it, his hands, his rib cage, and eyes. He even grabbed his foot for me with his hand. He is the most beautiful creature I've ever seen.

The bottom line is I'm a new soon to be mother who is paranoid because this is all entirely new to me. I have not done this before. I have been told that it's better to be a little over cautious than not at all. I just hope this some indicator that I'll be a good mother to my son Harper.