Baby Update: Week 18

Yesterday we hit the 18-week mark in the pregnancy. While most strangers (at least men) haven't a clue still, it's clear that I am showing more and more as the weeks progress. The next photo will be posted at our 20 week mark (just after we find out the gender... eeek!).


How far along?: 18w1d
How big is Baby?: I read this morning that Baby W is about 5 1/2 inches long and around the size of a large bell pepper. I also read that baby is as long as a sweet potato.
Maternity clothes?: Yes. I can squeeze in to those pre-pregnancy clothes (most of them), but why? Actually, though, tonight I am wearing all pre-preg clothes that fit perfectly fine for a Yelp event we're going to at Meson Sabika (this awesome Spanish tapas restaurant we first visited with our friend Derrick & Liz).
Sleep?: It's been quite fine the past few days... but last weekend was brutal.
Best moment of the week?: Having a nice dinner at a new Indian restaurant with Ray. xo
Movements?: No. I thought I felt something last week... but this week, nothing. According to all those baby websites, I should be feeling something soon because the baby is moving all about and starting to "fill in" the space. Eek. That just means the belly is going to enlarge.
Food cravings?: No. How about everything in the fridge?
Aversions?: None
What I miss?: Weather between 65-75 degrees. Haha.
What I'm looking forward to?: The crib arriving!
Anything else?: Baby is yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, swallowing (its own pee... yuck). I guess we all did at some point, right?
This week in history: Steinbrenner (NY Yankees) passed away, oil is still leaking in the Gulf, Haiti is still in need of help 6 months later.

What's going on this week (with us)?: My family was up in NorCal yesterday and Monday for my grandpa's viewing and burial. I wasn't there with them, but was thinking of them often. We had fun bowling with our small group and extended 20's/30's group from Trinity on Monday and have been trying to be more active. I'm still jogging a few miles at a time (though that's pretty standard for me pre-pregnancy, too) but I can feel a difference in my knees and hips. I may have to stop eventually, but until that time, I'm trying to keep it up. Friday night was the usual sports lineup-- Ray played Ultimate Frisbee with friends and I went for a jog before meeting them at the park. We managed to get about 20 mosquito bites collectively and then headed to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Lisle. Saturday was a lot of fun-- we went to Ikea for a walk around to check out baby nursery accessories/furniture options and bought a couple things (that moose rack and the shelve unit-- see below). We had a nice dinner on Saturday night at a new-to-us restaurant, Shikara. On Sunday, we went for a long walk around our neighborhood (about 2.5 hours!) and went over to our friends Alli & Tommy's house for a little poolside BBQ to celebrate Tommy's birthday and new job. Our friends Derrick and Liz were also there along with some new people we hadn't met before.

Here's a gift for Baby W from Aunt Samantha!

While it's empty and the walls behind it are not yet painted, the bookcase/storage unit is complete!

I scored this rocking chair for $20 on Craigslist!!! What a deal and it's in such great condition (aside from my terrible photo).

We're hoping to have the crib and dresser by this weekend... though that's a big wish. I am assuming we'll receive the crib in about a week and purchase the dresser after that (we're contemplating a smaller dresser because of the size of the space. More to come on that later).

Baby Update: Week 17

At week 17, we're starting to think about nursery options. I've been trying to buy a rocking chair on Craigslist (I want an old one... not the newer glider versions), but the sellers are obviously not super eager since they haven't returned my emails in a prompt manner. Maybe that means I should hold out for one that is a darker shade to match the furniture we're planning for.

Here's the pregnancy update for the week:

How far along?: 17w3d
How big is Baby?: Just about 5 inches long (think length of palm) and the size of an onion?! Though, I have never seen an onion with a diameter of 5 inches. Anyhow...
Maternity clothes?: No. I have a pair of pants I mentioned last week, though I don't wear them too often since it's really hot here in the Midwest! I still fit into all of my clothes, just not totally comfortably. Some friends have allowed me to borrow some maternity clothes and I'm grateful for that... but no shorts in the mix = not wearing them anytime soon.
Sleep?: Yeah, I do that... just not as well as I used to. Ha!
Best moment of the week?: Seeing family and friends in California and ordering some baby furniture
Movements?: I think I felt 3 small nudges last night. I think.
Food cravings?: Not really. I just want food and quite often.
Aversions?: No
What I miss?: To be specific, the summer ales. Sam Adams Summer Ale comes to mind right now. Oh, and sleeping through the night without having to take bathroom breaks.
What I'm looking forward to?: Baby furniture arriving and our next ultrasound
Anything else?: Baby W's skeleton is hardening this week, fat is growing around the bones, and Baby W has unique fingerprints on his/her tiny fingers and toes.
This week in history: Russian/American spies are being swapped to their respective countries, LeBron James chose the Miami Heat, America celebrates Independence Day on July 4th

What's going on this week (with us)?: We just returned from California (see previous post) and Ray has a shortened work week. I've been researching furniture like crazy and getting ideas for the nursery. It's all very overwhelming since there's simply so much to choose from! On a sad note, my grandpa passed away on Tuesday. :(

Speaking of baby furniture... here is the crib we chose (it's a convertible crib, but does not have drop sides). We don't care for convertible cribs, but they generally have the best styles and are more readily available than those that don't convert into full beds:

Here's the dresser we're considering (but haven't yet purchased). It will double as a changing table and we love the style and color.

We're also interested in this storage unit to match the other furniture. I am envisioning a place to store books, various toys, etc. I think it would be a nice addition.

We love wildlife... as most of you know. This is a piece we plan to purchase for the baby's room. It's a Moose hook. The antlers bend forward and the 3 spaces between the legs also bend forward for hanging purposes. We love it! It only comes in red, but that's nothing a little spray paint won't be able to take care of.

Deliberations are on for paint colors... though it will be something neutral, regardless of the gender. We'd rather have neutral walls that we can decorate than walls we'll have to paint again and again... that color will be released closer to the gender reveal-- mainly because we're still on the fence about our decision!

I'm Going Going, Back Back, to Cali Cali

You're welcome for the Biggie-Smalls reference. 

We went back to California after leaving 11 months ago! It's been a long time and in some ways, it was weird. In others, nothing has changed. What I can say is that I have never felt so good than to have the feeling of that sea mist and marine layer on my skin. At times, I was even cold! Well, that's probably not saying much since it's been in the 60's-70's in California and the 80's-100's in the rest of the country, plus ridiculous humidity.

Our main reason for heading west was to see our good friend Jen marry Travis. We were so happy to witness a wonderful day. If you know Jen, you know she's all about the details. She's a master planner and planning her own wedding was just another fantastic event-- but this time with a much greater meaning. The wedding itself was held outdoors in Santa Clarita at Grace Baptist Church in their amphitheater. We were so nervous that it would be 100+ degrees (as usual) in Santa Clarita, but it wasn't! It was only in the 80's! The wedding site was gorgeous with pine trees surrounding the area. It looked rustic and natural.

The reception was held at a Clubhouse just a couple miles down the road and was also beautifully done. The clubhouse itself was a perfect venue and we could just see all of Jen's little touches in everything. There was a picture booth complete with costumes (where we put them in a book as their guestbook) and the DJ was the best we'd even seen at a wedding. He danced to the majority of the songs, too! For about 5-6 songs, he would come in front of the crowd and randomly make up dance moves that we stood behind and "copied" just like a dancing game of Simon Says. It was a ton of fun. There was a hamburger bar of pulled pork, chicken, or hamburger patties with your choice of toppings to choose from. And finally, there was a cupcake tier in lieu of a wedding cake. There were 4 types of cupcakes to choose from (peanut butter chocolate, mint chocolate chip, lemon raspberry, or red velvet) and they were super fancy. We were also served ice cream cones to go with our cake.

The end of the reception commenced with about 75 people (left) holding sparklers as Jen and Travis rode away on their bikes (completely decorated with flowers).What a fun couple they are... we're so happy to have been there! Now, they're in Costa Rica enjoying their honeymoon. Though I have no photos from the reception, here are a few from the wedding ceremony:

Look how happy Jen is!

They are so fun. They took a panoramic photograph of the entire audience of guests in the middle of their ceremony on his iPhone! That should make for a fun photo.

On to other news... we were also able to spend some great time with my family while we visited. My mom picked us up from the airport on Friday, July 2nd, and we did some California runs... ate at Rubio's and bought ice cream at Thrifty (Sadly, chocolate malted crunch was all out! I had to settle for mint n' chip). We hung out at my parent's house that night, had dinner there, and were up early the next morning for some visiting with friends. With limited time, we wanted to pack in a few meals with good friends since we never see them!

First stop, the Yellow Vase in the Redondo Riviera. It's a cute bakery/cafe that also has delicious breakfasts. We met Alison, Nic, Gabrielle, and baby Scotty. He is so so so cute. I have never seen such a mild-mannered baby as he is. It was really nice seeing them before they headed off for a weekend of fun in Palm Springs.

Next stop, driving by our old stomping grounds. Yeah... this is what our old beach bungalow now looks like! Can we say, hillbilly? For a comparison shot from an earlier blog post (last year when we lived there), click here. Needless to say, it looked a lot better then. Not that it was amazing, but at least it didn't scream foreclosure.

After driving by the old bungalow, we headed to see more wonderful friends... Nik, Solange, and Caitlin. Caitlin was about 7 months old the last time we saw her, so she's obviously grown a ton! We hung out, talked a bunch, and picked up another favorite for lunch, Rascal's! We haven't had Rascal's in nearly a year and it's been way too long.

After leaving Nik & Solange's house, we headed to El Segundo to meet our friends Krista & Dave, and Rich and Beth. We were all carpooling to Santa Clarita for the wedding (above). It was great fun catching up with all of them during the car ride and throughout the wedding. We saw so many people that we hadn't seen in such a long time all in the same room that night. Some we could go another year (or more) without seeing. Haha.

On Sunday, we hung out with my parents and relaxed for the majority of the day. Sometimes it's just so nice not having any plans... especially since the day before was reunion overload! We had a late lunch at Island's (Oh, how we miss that restaurant!) and headed to the airport for our 6:30 flight. We walked in to a virtually empty airport. Okay, so it's July 4th and airports aren't particularly busy just hours before firework shows begin-- but it was eerily empty. We go to a kiosk to check in and it says we're too late to check in for our flight. Huh? We arrived 2.5 hours early! It turns out that our flight was changed (back in MAY!) to be 2 hours earlier than previously scheduled. We were not contacted about the flight change. The next flight out that day was a red-eye. No thanks. We asked to be put up in a hotel and leave on a morning flight on July 5th. We stayed at the Westin, took the hotel shuttle, and checked into our room. We took a trolley from our hotel to downtown Manhattan Beach to walk around and eat at Wahoo's for dinner. It was a really nice, relaxing time for us to spend together.

For those of you who know us, we met and were engaged in Manhattan Beach. Ray lived in Manhattan Beach at 3 different places along the beach before we married in July of 2008. It was sort of a mini-honeymoon for us and quite relaxing. Our flight change ended up being a wonderful experience. Although Manhattan Beach does not have fireworks (they do at Christmas and they're amazing!), we were able to see the Redondo Beach fireworks (where on July 4, 2006, we made it official!). That was also very special. Back to the Westin, sleep... then off to our scheduled flight the next morning! Here are a few beach photos:

Oh, the disappointment I have that they turned a classy Manhattan Beach into a Venice Beach with those hideously painted lifeguard stands. Ick.

It was a wonderful trip back to our old stomping grounds. We had great visits with my family, our friends, and we were able to see Jen and Travis say their vows. Now, back in Chicagoland and embracing the humidity and cicadas.

Baby Update: Week 16

For some reason I feel like week 16 is a monumental moment or something. There's no reason for feeling that way... but anyway...

Here's the update on the week with Baby W...

How far along?: 16w2d (though everyone has their own opinion about timing!)
How big is Baby?: My favorite interpretation was from a website that said Baby W is now the size of a small rodent. Love the correlation. Haha. In fruits, Baby W is the size of an avocado-- about 4.5 inches long.
Maternity clothes?: Some wonderful new friends sent me home with a box (and have more to share) of maternity clothes. I did, however, purchase a pair of maternity pants online and got them in the mail on Tuesday. They're wonderful. I don't really need them yet, but since they feel like I'm not even wearing jeans, I'm all over them! As far as shirts are concerned, I'm showing through them a bit.
Sleep?: Going well. The biggest concern is sleeping on my left side because of my surgery. If I roll on my left, the ointment gets on my pillow. I've always been a side sleeper, but lately I've been more interested in my back, strangely. My doctor even told me that at this point, I'm still small enough to sleep on my belly... though that sounds rather uncomfortable.
Best moment of the week?: Hearing the heartbeat again. This time, 156.
Movements?: Not yet... though all the websites say that movements start between weeks 16-22!
Food cravings?: Not really
Aversions?: Not really
What I miss?: Working... though that's not really related to pregnancy
What I'm looking forward to?: Going to California this weekend to see family, friends, and our friend Jen get married! As for Baby W, we are excited for our next ultrasound on July 26!
Anything else?: Baby W has eyelashes, eyebrows, and taste buds forming. Baby can hear sounds and hold its head erect and the fingernails are fully grown. The legs are now longer than the arms.
This week in history: Larry King says he is stepping down from his show on CNN, Oil cleanup continues in the Gulf after the BP spill.

What's going on this week (with us)?: We're getting excited to board a plane for California tomorrow. Life has been pretty quiet at our house this week otherwise. Ribfest is going on in Naperville starting today, but we're going to wait until next year for all the action since we're leaving really early tomorrow morning.

At 16 weeks

Family Visit & Changes on the Home Front

First, I must mention how incredible the weather has been here in the suburbs for the last few days. It's been breezy and between the 60's-70's! It's sure nice since most days are over 80 and close to 90 degrees, with humidity. It has felt exactly like what I'm used to in Southern California.

Moving along... we were so happy to have Ray's parents and grandparents visit last weekend. Ray's parents are now on summer vacation (though my MIL still has work but is lucky enough to choose which days!) and more available to come out and visit. They brought along Gramie and Papa for the visit to explore Chicago (though they've all been before) and see our home. When they arrived on Friday, I had lunch waiting for everyone. We had the champagne glasses cued up with white grape juice and sat down to eat. At this point, no one had any idea we were about to break some serious baby news! They were just assuming we were being sweet and toasting their visit.

Ray gives the toast and says something along these lines... "We're so happy to have you all our here to visit and that Gramie and Papa were able to come ... and that Brandy is pregnant!"

Oh, the faces. Between the tears and dropped jaws, I think we thoroughly surprised everyone.

Quick backtrack... when we told my parents via Skype just 2 days prior, we had similar reactions. I had been cleverly scheming how I would creatively tell them, so we sent my dad a package for Father's Day, full of goodies. At the bottom was a wrapped present for the both of them. My dad was so confident that he knew what it was until it was opened-- Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul with a post-it that announced they are soon to be grandparents! Inside the book were photos from our first ultrasound appointment. My mom asked me THREE times if I was pregnant. Three times!

Needless to say, we shocked everyone.

On Friday afternoon, I chatted with the ladies while Ray took Papa and his dad to his work to give them a tour. When they came back, we had dinner and hung out. They were all so tired from their early rise, the 1-hour time difference, and the flight. It was an early night.

Saturday was the downtown visit. Kay, my MIL, had booked tickets for us all to go on an Architectural tour through the waterways in Chicago. We drove down there quite early and I'm sure glad we did! The traffic wasn't forgiving and the Puerto Rican parade that was going on had the streets blocked. It was difficult navigating with two cars, but we managed to get there in time for lunch before our cruise! It was a 2-hour cruise around the waterways and we listened to a recent University of Chicago graduate of architecture discuss all things related to the building structures, their architects, etc. It was nice to be out on the water on such a nice and sunny day. Ray and I even walked down to Navy Pier to grab some amazing Garrett's Popcorn to share with the group. They also had muffins, cookies, and beverages for us on the boat cruise. Here's a photo I took on the cruise...

We finished the evening off with a nice dinner at a popular restaurant, Rosebud, in Naperville. Gramie and Papa treated us to dinner this night and the food was great! We had so many leftovers because they serve such huge portions.

On Sunday, we made our way to church in the morning and to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. It was awesome! We had no idea that this place near the 88 freeway would be so nice. We walked through some of the park and were able to drive through the rest. There are hiking and biking trails as well as a fantastic children's area. We'll definitely become members and go more frequently when we have kids of walking age. During our drive through the park at the end, we felt as though we weren't even in the same state! It really felt like we were driving through a mini version of a national park. I highly recommend checking this place out some time... especially if you have kids or like hiking in this flat state. That evening we headed to a Father's Day dinner at the House of Emperor Chinese restaurant. My FIL, Steve, loves Chinese and we're also big fans. This place came highly recommended and we really enjoyed it.

Before they left... Gramie and Papa also had a special surprise for us. Because Ray has an Air Force military background, Gramie and Papa wanted to honor him by giving us a family heirloom that means a great deal to Gramie and Papa as well as Gramie's late mom, Big Ceil. As you can see below, there is a large photo of a man-- General A.W. Vanaman, Gramie's uncle. This (vase) was a gift given from their many military travels and is now a family treasure. This is a Cloisonné vase. Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork and often involves intensive skill and precision. Each coil is a tiny piece of wire inset and decorated on another metalwork. It really is striking. We're honored to have it.

We had a wonderful visit with Kay, Steve, Gramie, and Papa! We're so happy they came and we were able to celebrate so many great things with them. We'll see them again in August when we drive to Pennsylvania for the annual family reunion at Seven Springs.

On another note, the house work has been non-stop. Actually, that's not true. This week, it hasn't really been a big priority and as a result, we've had a wonderful time being a carefree (almost) married couple. On Friday evening, I went for a run and Ray played ultimate frisbee with a bunch of our friends... I joined later and was able to socialize with some of the girls we know from our small group. We went out to dinner that night (though the food at Pete & Johnny's was terrible) with all the friends who played frisbee. We spent this past Saturday at a pool party for a friend, Jessie, dinner with our friends Sandy & Chuck (tried a new-to-us deep dish place, Lou Malnati's), and went to see Date Night at the movies with our friends Derrick and Liz! Sunday was equally fun because we went to church, relaxed, and had a game night with our friends Jim & Kristi.

But, since there is some housework that has been done recently, I'll update y'all. This is actually pre-repair, but I have no photos from what it looks like now because I don't have a desire to sweep the deck for a photo! Ray scrubbed, by hand, the entire deck, replaced all of the rotten boards (which required him renting a truck from Menards himself, strapping the wood in, and returning the truck), and stained it with a paintbrush BY HAND! I helped a bit with the railings and it took a lot of time and effort. But hopefully the deck will last us a few more years! The dangerous boards are all gone and new ones have taken their place. Try to envision a more cherry wood color and that's what it looks like now!

Also, I don't believe I ever posted a photo of our finished dining room. The chairs are here and being used. We love the decisions we made on both the table and chairs. We're so happy we bought the chairs at Carson Pirie Scott for $85 each rather than at Crate & Barrel for $200 each!

The basement basically went from a finished (and gorgeous) basement to an unfinished basement with no carpet and lots of missing drywall in a matter of a week's time. We found water damage and all kinds of other things that just frustrate me to talk about, so I'll just leave it at that. Luckily, the rest of our house functions just fine despite the unfinished basement. It's nice to have enough space that we don't really need it. Though, eventually we will re-do the basement and get it all fixed and usable. That time is not right now.

Finally, here's a new addition to the front of our house... the flag! Just in time for the 4th of July, Kay, Steve, Gramie, and Papa left this behind for us as a gift. I think it looks perfect!

Okay, what a post... I'll probably post again tomorrow about the baby, but until then, I think this is enough reading material! :)