Week 22: Family Wedding and PopPop's 90th Birthday Party

Prom pose with my handsome hubby!

Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad!  They were married 33 years ago today!

Brother and Sister....all dressed up!

I love my family!  What a fun weekend spent with cousins and aunties!

They look so good together.  :-)

Happy 90th Birthday to PopPop! (Boomps, Boompa, Henny, etc.)

Can't celebrate a birthday without a good hat!

Siblings together with their Dad on his 90th birthday! 

Birthday Smile!

Family Picture by the pool! 

As you can see, I didn't have time for a chalkboard picture this week, because we were so busy!  We had lots of family in town to help us celebrate my cousin Katie Fatton's wedding and PopPop's 90th Birthday.  Congratulations to Katie and Rich Schumacher.  Katie was a beautiful bride, and we had so much fun helping you celebrate.  It was definitely a weekend filled with lots of laughs, good food, and great memories made with family.  Even though we're spread out around the country, it is always so much fun when we're all together.  I can't wait for the next family event...whose wedding is next?!

Week 21

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Week 21:  May 16-22

Pregnancy Survey

How far along? 21 weeks

Total weight gain: +6 pounds
Maternity clothes? Yes--Since the weather has been warmer, I've been wearing lots of stretchy dresses.  I need to get some more capri's or shorts for the summer, but for now the dresses are the most comfortable!
Stretch marks? none yet!  I've been diligently applying my Burt's Bees Belly Butter--Thanks to Sara!  A friend also gave me Bio-Oil, which I'll give a try.  My mom didn't have any stretch marks, so hopefully this is not genetic!
Sleep:  Unfortunately, something that is genetic is the middle-of-the-night, wake-up-screaming charly horses I've been getting in my calves.  I've tried all of the tricks you've offered up on Facebook (drinking more water, upping my potassium with bananas, drinking more/less milk....I even tried the bar of soap at the end of the bed trick).  They don't work.  I'm hoping when I stop working in June and I'm not standing a lot during the day, this will help. 
Best moment this week:  Feeling some stronger kicks!  They started during week 20, but were more like little flutters in my tummy.  I couldn't feel them from the outside.  Now, they're stronger and more regular.  Little Man is up and moving around especially during these times:  5:30 am (when I wake up, 10:00 am (when I'm eating snack at school), 3:30 pm, and 9:30 pm (bedtime).  JB has even been able to feel him from the outside of my tummy.  I've also noticed, that my stomach changes shape when he's wiggling around--so weird!  I haven't seen any feet sticking out yet!
Miss Anything?  Sushi and lunchmeat (and no I am not microwaving it--that is so gross!)

Movement: Yes!  :-)
Food cravings:  Lots of fresh fruit--strawberries are so good right now!

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Luckily not right now!  I still have no desire to drink coffee--which is weird.  If you know me, you know that I usually have a DD iced coffee everyday once the weather gets warmer.  I guess it's for the best, since we know how hyper JB was as a kid.  I'll keep the caffeine to a minimum!

Gender:  It's a BOY!

Labor Signs: No....thank goodness!
Symptoms: I only get nauseous when I'm hungry.  So, I pretty much always have a snack nearby.  I'm starting to get a bit of the nesting bug!  We're clearing out the nursery room and starting on our registry in the next couple of weeks.
Belly Button in or out? in, but it's definitely disappearing!
Wedding rings on or off? on--My fingers aren't swollen, but my feet sure have been every night.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :-)
Looking forward to: 6 days off of school for Memorial Day weekend!  Can't wait to have a "Family Fun" weekend celebrating Katie's wedding and PopPop's 90th birthday with lots of family we don't get to see often!

Week 20--Gender Reveal Party

I know I am a little behind on my posting!  As I said earlier, Joe and I went to the doctor on May 4th for our Anatomy Scan.  This was a comprehensive ultrasound where the ultrasound technician checked every body part of baby from head to toe.  Everything looks fantastic, and Baby D. is growing right on track.  We chose not to find out the sex of the baby at our doctor's visit.  Instead, we had the technician write it down and seal it in an envelope.  (two envelopes actually--we wanted a backup!)  Then, we dropped it off at Randazzo's Bakery in Somerville.  The baker then created a cake which would be either pink or blue on the inside depending on the information in the envelope. The cake turned out super cute! 

On May 12th, we hosted a Gender Reveal Party at our house. Thank you to all of our family and friends who traveled near and far to be a part of this.  We even had several people on Skype!   Everyone was asked to either wear pink or blue to cast their vote.  They also signed the famous chalkboard too.  After a few hours of enjoying yummy food and time with our family/friends, we cut into the cake!  Here are just a few of my favorite pictures that document our party.  I wish we had taken a pink vs. blue picture and an "expecting mommies" picture.  My BFF Ang is due on July 5th, and Stacey is due four days earlier.  Kelly is due on September 22, and I am due four days later.  So funny how that worked out!  It was such a fun and special way to find out who we will welcome into the world in September.  Enjoy!

On Skype with our sweet friends, Ryan and Melissa, and our god-daughters Elli and Livi!  

It's BLUE!

Molly is on Skype with Andrea so she is a part of it!  LuLu (my mom) is checking the Emergency Envelope to make sure we have a match.  It also says MALE!  Grandma (Linda, Joe's mom)  made the trip all the way from Boston, and she's so excited!  Notice all of the people wearing blue.  Oma cheated--she had blue and pink on!

Yay!  Now, we can start planning the wedding between Baby Girl Edel and Baby Boy Dustin.

Friends since 4th Grade--Love you Am!

Oma is SO excited to meet her great-grandson!

We had a beautiful day!  Erma, PopPop, and Bob are enjoying the sunshine.

At the beginning of the party, we hung up PINK and BLUE balloons.  Then, we cut off the pink ones so everyone could see that IT'S a BOY!

18 Weeks...BOY or GIRL?!

Let me just preface this picture by saying that I know my roots are AWFUL!  I have a hair appointment scheduled for May 19th (finally)...And yes--my doctor said it is completely safe for the baby to have highlights.  Phew!

Now that you've seen the belly pictures, leave a comment below to cast your vote.  Who will HE or SHE be??  We have our Anatomy Scan this Thursday.  However, we're having the ultrasound technician seal the secret news in an envelope Then, we're delivering the envelope to a local bakery where the baker will bake a cake with either PINK or BLUE icing on the inside.  We're having a small Gender Reveal party with nearby family and friends so that we can all find out together--so exciting!  Now, if we can just not peek for a week and a half.  Maybe we should just leave the envelope with the baker so we're not tempted!  

OK--So, there are lots of wive's tales about how to tell whether you're having a boy or a girl.  Here are my answers to these. 

The Chinese Gender Calendar uses dates of conception and age:  says GIRL

Carrying Low:  says BOY

Heartbeat higher than 140:  says GIRL (It has been 160+ every time)

Craving Sweets:  says GIRL (I may be eating more ice cream and fruit than ever before.)

Craving pickles:  says BOY (I may have freaked out a little when JB finished off the jar of pickles!)

LOTS of sickness during first trimester:  says GIRL

I honestly have NO idea...and really no preference!  We're just praying for a healthy baby and looking forward to finding out the exciting news.  Now...let's just hope that Baby Dustin cooperates!

Don't forget to leave a comment below so I know you were here!  :-)