12 weeks & it's now a Lime!

Yesterday, I thankfully made to the 12week mark...I don't care to count how many weeks that leaves me to go! However, I'm feeling good & as usual I received my babycenter.com weekly email update on what the baby's growth & development look like this week. Each week they equate the size of your growing baby to something familiar....this week Baby Lopez is the size of a large lime - hooray!

12 weeks & Baby Lopez is the size of a Lime!

Some important things with Baby L's development this week is that he/she will be able to open & close their hands, wiggle their fingers, toes will curl, eye muscles will clench & their mouth will even begin to make sucking movements! Every week is so fun to read about - it's always such a miracle to think what is going on inside my body - this week they say that if I prod my abdomen area, the baby will like respond with their newfound reflexes...although I'm most unlikely to feel anything. With that said, I have felt a few flutters that I'm convinced are the baby (& not gas), and since it's my second baby, it's not out of the realm of possibility. Hooray! Here's what Baby L looks like inside mommy this week:

12 weeks - What Mommy & Baby L look like

If only I could have ultrasounds done each week to see what Baby L looks like development-wise, it'd be so much fun. However, I'll have to settle for gazing at our last u/s photos from my 10wk appt (which I need to get scanned & uploaded here). I'm so anxious for the day when we find out the baby's sex - right now it's all so 'generic'...and sometimes hard to 'bond' with the baby. Knowing if it's a girl or boy & then being able to call it by name will make a huge difference. Don't get me wrong, it's all very special right now, but I don't find it endearing to call my child an 'it'. Sigh. Thank goodness for modern science!!

My appetite is quickly growing -but am trying to keep that beast under control. I did splurge the other day at the grocery store & bought a bag of Granny Smith apples. I think in the past 48hrs I've devoured at least 8. Oops. Just can't get enough of them! They make great snacks, & they are some 'effort' to eat, so I feel satisfied post-snack. I also was dying for a big fat turkey sandwich like I had had at Subway last week. I'm talking I made that sucker on 12-grain bread dressed with mayo, fresh romaine lettuce, roma tomato slices, banana peppers, pickles & of course, turkey. It was so ridiculously good yesterday at lunch, it was all I could think about the remainder of the day!

8th Wonder of the World - my turkey sandwich!

Last night we ate at Lopez's house and had Patricia's delicious home-made meatloaf (SO not the typical gag-reflex meatloaf that has given this tasty dish a bad rap...hers is EXCELLENT!), eggplant with tomatoes, squash or zucchini (can't remember), cauliflower with oil/vinegar and I added a salad to mine. I was craving the ginger dressing that is served at the Japanese steakhouses & Lopez's found a yummy bottled version at Publix in the refrigerated salad section - hello divinity!!

Makoto Ginger Dressing at Publix = YUM!

I'm thinking we will be investing in some like...now!

BIG is such a little word!

Thought I'd share some cute photos of Sophia & what it's been like becoming a big-sister-in-training lately! This past week, we've graduated to a toddler bed:

Sophia's Big-Girl Bedroom!

Becoming a big girl also means looking so grown up when we go to school (when it was a tad chillier):

Ready for school!

Being a big girl also means trying new things at mealtime...and discovering that you LOVE it! For example, her experience with Daddy's famously delicious hamburgers - she built her own burger complete with condiments & cheese...and then ate the ENTIRE thing!!

Bon Appetit Y'all!

Being a big-sister-in-training also means getting fun things in the mail from Mommy & Daddy's friends - thanks to Heather & Gregg Ryan for sending this sweet Dr. Suess book, duck feet slippers for Sophia & duckie socks for the new baby. The card read that Sophia will learn how to have duck feet just like the books says, so that she can teach her baby brother or sister when they arrive too!

Thanks Heather & Gregg!

Being a big sister in training sure is going to be fun in the next few months!

Caffeine, Please!

Good Morning - or I'm hoping it will be. Pregnancy insomnia has kicked in these days & misery usually ensues. This morning I was up at 3:30am & couldn't fall back asleep until 6:30. Ugh. Thankfully, iPhone came to the rescue & I read up on the gossip news via omg.com, Fox News, Facebook & Twitter. I woke up to Rod & Sophia back our bed (as Rod spent the night on Sophia's floor to keep her company)...TV on, and Sophia playing with my hair. I really could've used my own personal Starbucks barista whipping up a fabulous peppermint mocha in my kitchen, but had to settle for my own handiwork instead. Really wanted my usual reduced fat turkey bacon-swiss-egg white breakfast sandwich too, but laziness won out & I ate Frosted Flakes. Nice, I know.

We've had a pretty fun weekend so far...Friday evening Sophia was treated to dinner at Chappy's with Mommy & Daddy (usually it's Papa & Nana), followed by playing at the park & a trip to DQ's drive-thru. Yum. Saturday morning brought at visit from our neighbor, Lee. Lee & Daddy went together to tackle some pressure-washing at Lopez's house & were gone all day (but earned some great moolah!). Mommy & Sophia made a shopping date with Nana to get out of the house - we ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A, followed by a trip to Motherhood Maternity & Old Navy. Found some cute cropped pants, shorts & shirt at Motherhood, but I'm not quite ready for the rest of it - I love being petite, but sometimes it can work against you! We then mosied over to the zoo, oh um, excuse me...I mean Old Navy. I found some GREAT buys over there! Some cute, cute, CUTE tanks (longer in the body to cover my baby bump), but still fit me perfectly elsewhere...only for $12.50 each! Cute embellishments on the collar/neckline area - love 'em! It was now late in the afternoon & all 3 of us were fading...so Nana dropped us off at home for naps - whew, we needed those!

Old Navy embellished tanks - $12.50 ea!

Once Daddy got home, we all went to the Eastdale mall to eat in the food court & ride the carousel - if I didn't have a child, you'd NEVER catch me in that mall - it's so trashy! My anxiety levels go sky high as soon as I walk in - the people in there completely creep me out....is it just me?? I simply couldn't get out of there fast enough! We then headed back to Motherhood, with pre-pregnancy jeans in hand...I wanted to try the tummy sleeve to see if it'd be worth the $17 investment. Hello 8th wonder of the world!! Why didn't I invent that thing!? Pure genius. I've got a big enough bump to be out of my pre-pregnancy clothes, but still too small to be in maternity gear. This tummy sleeve is meant to wear over your jeans around the button area to prolong the life of wearing your pre-preggie clothes....hooray! Can't wait to try it out this week at work with some of my pants!! Mommy 1, fatty maternity clothes 0!!

Tummy Sleeve (no this isn't me!)


Thankfully, I'm still sticking to my daily workout regimen of spinning approx 30mins & doing weights...I feel SO much better afterwords. It completely beats my fatigue & gives me a jumpstart to make it thru the long afternoons. Although I do fall victim to cravings, at least I'm willing to put in the sweat to burn it off.

Sophia's latest is that her crib was finally transformed into a toddler bed! The front crib rail was removed & the toddler rail was put up - she LOVES this new 'big girl' bed. Luckily, the past few nights she has stayed in it all night. She loves waking up in the a.m. & opening up our bedroom door to say 'good morning'! I'm relishing every minute of it - it's a slight feeling of freedom....that is until we start all over again with the baby in October! Sophia's growing like a weed & is just so darn smart these days - being witty in her own way, saying big words like 'telescope' & more. I'm floored by something every single day.

I suppose I should upload a few cute photos of the Easter Egg hunt last Saturday at Wynlakes too... Sophia was joined by her bff, Ava for the fun afternoon. The girls pulled in major loot.

Sophia prepped & ready!

Sophia & Ava race to the eggs!

Ava! Get THIS one!

Contemplating the finer things in life...

Conquering the inflatable obstacle course

Well, I should wrap this up & get to the grocery store...and I'm totally NOT showering before I go -it's a strictly ballcap & sweats sort of trip. Hooray!

Easter 2010 - Sugar Overload!

Sophia's 4th Easter has now come & gone...hard to believe her first one was spent sleeping in a little baby carrier...she was only 10days old!

Easter 2007

We continued tradition this year of attending 8am Mass with my family - but got lucky, as Lopez's attended the same Mass...our clan took up an entire row. That's just how we roll. After Mass, our little family of 3.5 headed to Nana & Papa's house to start "round 1" of eating. My mom always puts such fun touches on holidays...this year was a 3 tiered tray filled with pink Easter grass & LOTS of candy. As usual, my brother & I scrapped it out over the Cadbury's. Just so you know: Jim is a mature 32, & I am nearly 28. Some things just never change. We didn't really 'scrap it out' - however we did deliver some cutting glances towards each other as to say "don't EVEN think about getting that last Cadbury egg"!! Brunch #1 was totally delish & we all overate (as usual). Sophia happily hunted for eggs & gushed over all the goodies the Easter Bunny brought for her - despite the fact she's absolutely terrified of it!!

Easter 2008 - The terror begins!

Easter 2010 - Our Family of 3.5!

Sophia discovers candy treasures!

Just about to root thru her basket!

Last year, we tried to see if she'd sit for the bunny again - forget it. Meltdown city! This year, she completely flipped out at the Wynlakes Easter Egg hunt the day before Easter - we knew we had NO chance on Easter morning. Oh well. During brunch #2 at Wynlakes with Rod's family, she kept begging to go see the Easter bunny - she only wanted to view that bunny from INSIDE & through the GLASS DOOR!! She's her own woman for sure. We didn't push her to sit on his lap - as he is pretty freaky. Again, we all overate at brunch #2, but had great company doing it. Sophia happily bossed her poor Aunt Gabby around into getting her cupcakes, cookies & the like. I love my SIL as she's such a great sport & it affords Rod & I a bit of a break to eat meals in peace. Well, semi-peace. Eh, we'll take it! After brunch #2, we mosied on outside to the gorgeous courtyard of Wynlakes to snap some photos of Sophia - she somewhat complied. Cute enough for me!

Easter 2010 - Wynlakes

Zzzz - The End

En route home - delirium hits!

Sophia has had enough!

Our precious baby girl!

We had LOTS of fun this Easter & can't believe that it's our last one as a family of 3! Next year our lives will have forever changed with the addition of Baby Lopez's arrival...Easter 2011, Baby Lopez will already be nearly 5mos old! Yikes....

Wee! I'm THREE!

We're all in a little bit of shock that Sophia has now turned 3! All day Sunday, Rod & I reminisced on our life 3yrs ago that fateful day...

• getting up to go to Jackson Hospital at the crack of dawn
• watching Saved By the Bell in the waiting room before getting officially checked in
• mommy weighing in at her heftiest ever: 144!
• getting all hooked up to IV's, etc to start the induction
• feeling nervous & scared!
• realizing there weren't enough magazines to keep me occupied during that long day
• getting mad at Rod for wanting to keep watching the Food Network - when I clearly was NOT allowed to eat!!
• Rod pacing like a lion in the room - and driving me thoroughly CRAZY
• Begging his dad to dig into his "Doc stash" to give Rod some meds to shut him up & put him to sleep - thus giving me a break! (which Rafa kindly removed Rod from the room to take him to lunch & drug him!)
• Having the Dr. tell us that it was 6pm & nothing was happening & we could either "go home & try again next week" or "break the bag & get things moving". We opted for the latter!
• Finally getting the epidural & getting about an hour rest before I was ready to push!
• Watching The Tonight Show while pushing (no kidding!) & joking with Dr. Duggar during commercials!
• Hearing Sophia cry for the first time at 11:10 March 28th, 2007!
• Eating a 100 calorie pack of oreo crisps from my moms purse in my hospital bed - it was the first food I saw & I was starving!
• Holding Sophia for the first time

There were many other "firsts" to follow in the coming days, weeks, months & years - and it truly only gets better each day! Sophia is such a tremendous joy in our lives & we simply cannot imagine life without her - she is our first giggle of the day, often our first tantrum, but always our last kiss goodnight. She's growing up so fast & we're doing everything we can to hold onto the simple sweetness of toddlerhood right now - cherishing all the small things as we go.

We had a fun celebration in honor of the birthday girl - we invited her little friends & their parents, along with our family to help her blow out the 3 big candles this year! We all had a wonderful time as the girls played house, colored, shopped & became hopped up on sugar...we were ALL pooped by the days end!

March Madness...

No, not the basketball kind - but more of the family kind! It's been a busy month for our family - work, home & Sophia's 3rd birthday (yesterday, March 28th) proved to nearly wipe us out. One other little tidbit we experienced this months was that Rod & I found out we're expanding our little family of three to FOUR this past month! We're SO excited & Sophia is really liking the idea of being a big sister too. She of course got to sport the 'I'm the BIG Sister' t-shirt to spill the beans to our family...she thought that was fun, well, in addition to the 'big sister' bracelet that Daddy bought for her too. The first positive test came on Thurs. Feb. 17th, followed by 4 more (just to be sure I was reading those two lines right!) & was then confirmed by our Doc on Tues. March 2nd! We opted to tell just the grandparents before it was confirmed by the Dr., because we were just too darn excited! We then got the baby's first u/s (ultrasound)photos on March 2nd - putting me at 6w1d (6 weeks 1 day)! We were so thrilled! We'd been planning this second baby since last Fall & were so delighted when God finally blessed us with another one! So, I'm officially due Oct. 25th & am exactly 10wks today. I went for another appt this morning just to confirm the baby's growth & due date & Baby Lopez was right on track - we even got to see Baby L waving his/her arms & legs & bouncing around. Since Baby L is only the size of a kumquat right now, I can't feel any movement (although I'm much more in tune with a 2nd pregnancy, I think I may have felt a very slight movement last night in bed!).

At this point, Baby L can bend his/her arms & legs....and tiny fingernails are starting to form. A growing baby is nothing short of a miracle & the process never ceases to amaze me. In another 10wks, we'll return for our 20wk u/s visit & we'll find out if we need to invest in pink or blue! Of course we'll have a few more regular visits in between, but those 10wks will fly by!

I've been feeling pretty good so far - with some bouts of nausea, that has really been about the worst. Nausea kept me from having much of an appetite, especially around dinnertime. I did find that getting back to my daily gym routine & goldfish crackers seemed to do the trick! By that alone, I'm thinking that this baby may just be a boy - I never felt nauseous like that with Sophia! The gym (thankfully I love to go!) has also helped me in beating mid-day fatigue & keeping my raging preggie hormones in check - which Rod gladly appreciates! Only now am I really feeling better as I near the 2nd trimester - although I'm a bit more fatigued these days. Since it's the 2nd time around, I'm beginning to show a little - but despise this 'in-between' phase! Meaning I feel terribly bloated & uncomfortable in some regular clothes - but I'm not yet ready for the full-blown maternity gear. Sigh. Good news is, I've got my good girlfriend Monica (Ava's mommy) who is also expecting & due about 6wks ahead of me - so we can be fluffy together this summer. Hooray!

We'll keep you posted on our Babywatch 2010....only 30 weeks to go! I'll also do my best to upload photos of Sophia's 3rd birthday party asap too - it was a great little party & she is SUPER proud to be THREE!!

Oh, Good Grief!

Now that I'm officially feeling guilty for just now posting about Christmas & everything since...it's safe to say I'm a professional procrastinator. Oh well. Better late than never, right?
This past year just tickled us with Sophia pushing 3 at Christmastime. She totally 'got' the whole Santa thing. We used this opportunity as a good ol' behavior catapult too - meaning she better snap to, otherwise Santa may just skip her house & drop off all her toys to our next door neighbors house! For the most part, & with our elf Charlie's help, Sophia maintained good behavior throughout the season...so much so, that she really racked up when Christmas morning arrived! Christmas Day was packed with opening gifts/breakfast at our house, followed by brunch at the Schultz's, followed by dinner at the Lopez's. We were sure we didn't want to eat until mid January after that. Check out how much fun we all had:

My mom (Nana) & I started a new tradition about decorating Christmas cookies at her house with 'just us girls'! We had a BLAST decorating together & Sophia did a great job - she stuck with it much longer than we both expected!

More blogging later - it's now going on 12noon & mama MUST shower!