Sunday, August 30, 2009

Emmy Night!

Yesterday, my mom and I attended the 61st Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards. These awards give Emmys to the local news stations. My company, FS West and Prime Ticket, was nominated for several awards. Since I was in charge of all the submissions this year, the Emmy director was nice enough to give me and a guest free tickets to the awards show. They are usually $125! So my mom and I got to dress up and support my company at the awards. I am proud to say that several of my coworkers got Emmys! I was so glad I could be there to show my support. Afterwards, there was a dinner with all sorts of yummy food. There was also a large assortment of mini desserts, which of course, Alexis and I took advantage! The best part of the night was seeing my mom have such a great time. She went around to all of her favorite news anchors and took pictures with them. It was hilarious. Enjoy the pics!

*Mom and I (and Alexis) in front of the giant Emmy statue*
*My mom and our sports reporter Patrick O'Neal*
*Mom and NBC anchor Chuck Henry*
*Mom and ABC anchor Marc Brown*

Friday, August 28, 2009

My Birthday and 35 Week Update

Last Thursday, August 27th, was my 24th birthday. My last birthday before mommyhood. Daniel and I had a great dinner at BJ's restaurant. They have this awesome promotion going on called Party for Two. http://www.bjsbrewhouse.com/partyfortwo/ We called ahead and only had to wait 5 minutes. The food was delicious!!! We got a triple chocolate ghiradelli pizookie! Heavenly! Poor Alexis probably got a sugar rush! I highly recommend going to BJ's to take advantage of this promotion. It's a freakin steal because the pizza alone is $20! Anyways, enough BJ's advertising. Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes!

*Daniel and I at BJ's. Yummy Pizookie!*
Alexis turned 35 weeks on my birthday. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. I still feel great. I just feel a little heavier, get hot flashes, and have to go to the bathroom more often. Alexis likes to be right on my bladder. Even with that, I have no complaints. I still love being pregnant. Baby likes to move a lot and it's so funny to see my stomach roll and move. Our bradley instructor offered for us to come anytime for refresher classes, so we plan to take advantage of that. The remainder of the pregnancy will be spent organizing and getting everything ready for Alexis. Daniel is working very hard and I am excited to show all of you pictures of his work very soon.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Baby Shower!!!

On Saturday, August 22nd, my mom and best friend Anita hosted a co-ed baby shower for me and Daniel. We had a blast and were amazed at the love and generosity of our friends and family. It meant a lot to us that so many people came (over 80 people!!!) My mom worked so hard and did such a great job getting everything ready. The food was absolutely delicious. BIG thanks to my parents for hosting! They also bought us the stroller and carseat! THANKS MOM AND DAD! I also want to thank Anita for thinking of all the games. They were so fun and everyone enjoyed them! Her mom and Alexis's future babysitter, Julie, also helped a lot and worked on the favors with our family friend and Alexis's future pediatrician, Vicki Haro. They turned out beautifully and I am so grateful for their help. THANKS to everyone who attended and helped with the shower. Thank you all for the gifts! I can't wait to use everything when Alexis comes. We're in the home stretch!!! Here are some pictures of the shower, but we weren't able to take a lot because we were too busy mingling with everyone. If you have pictures from the shower, please email them to me at abcusc@gmail.com

*Alexis is spoiled already*
*Who's belly is bigger? Me and my silly coworker Mike, with a balloon under his shirt*
*Boys chugging punch from baby bottles*
*More homemade crocheted goodies from my mom*
*Me and the 4 Grandmothers*
*I love my mommy*
*Me and the Grandfathers*

Friday, August 7, 2009

Our 4th Anniversary, 32 Week Update, and a special gift for Alexis!

This past week, Daniel and I celebrated 4 years of marriage (August 5, 2005). I can't believe how fast time has gone by. I love Daniel more and more each year and this past year has been the best, thanks to Miss Alexis! After celebrating our anniversary, we are looking forward to spending our 5th year of marriage as a family of three. I am married to an amazing man, and I am very lucky to have him. I feel so blessed that God has provided me with such a wonderful family. I can't wait to see our new addition!

My mom stopped by the day before our anniversary and brought us some flowers and a gift. She also showed us a very special gift for Alexis! She had planned on waiting until the baby shower, but decided she couldn't wait another minute. My mom picked up crocheting during my pregnancy and she started off with a blanket (made big enough for the whole family, instead of a newborn, hahaha) and a baby hat (that's big enough for Shaq's head, not joking). Her special gift to Alexis was a crocheted dress, hat, and booties. And to my amazement, they were perfect!!! Just the right size! They were absolutely beautiful and I am so proud of my mom for her hard work. She had some help from one of our very talented relatives (who taught her how to crochet). Alexis will look adorable in this outfit! Thanks Mommy! I love you!

*Sooooooo cute!*
I am now 32 weeks and Alexis is growing bigger and bigger. Everything looked fine at my last doctor's appointment and the doctor said that he believes Alexis is already head down. Hopefully she stays head down. She is moving a lot and I am still loving every moment of my pregnancy. Even the pressure on my bladder and baby elbows in my side. I am also having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions (non-painful practice contractions). It's crazy how hard my stomach can get. Here is a pic of my belly. Hopefully I wont be ginormous by the time I deliver. Enjoy!!!

*32 Weeks and growing*

Sunday, July 26, 2009

4D Ultrasound

Yesterday, we went back to Before the Stork in Anaheim to get a 4D ultrasound. We were so excited and had been looking forward to our visit for a long time. This time, there weren't quite as many people that came with us. We were joined by my parents, Anita, Carrie, and Patrick. It was so nice that they were there with us. It was an amazing experience to see our healthy, beautiful baby girl. She kept opening and closing her eyes and mouth, putting her hand in front of her face, and many other funny things. We also got to see her kick me while she was kicking me. Best of all, she has chubby cheeks and hair, just like me when I was a baby. Enjoy this sneak peek...if she's this adorable now, imagine how cute she'll be when she comes out! :) Click on the link below to see all of the pictures:

*Getting Ready to Start*
*Checking her heartbeat*
*Awwww...look at those cheeks!*
*Her eye is open...she has big eyes!*
*She's so cute!*
*She's gotten so big since her last ultrasound*
*My mom, me, and Daniel*
*Proud Parents of Alexis*

Friday, July 24, 2009

New Bathroom & 30 Week Update

NEW BATHROOM
Since May, Daniel has been remodeling our master bathroom. Daniel wanted to surprise me, so I did not see the bathroom during the whole remodeling process. It is finally finished and I was AMAZED when I saw it. Dan the Man did an AWESOME job!!! It's absolutely beautiful and I am so proud of his hard work and good taste. Enjoy the pictures below.

*The very beginning- He gutted the whole wall and re-did the plumbing*
*Setting up the framework for the new wall*
*Starting the tiling- Daniel has never tiled anything before*
*Looking good...*
*Isn't it beautiful?*
*Daniel made these frames himself using the hardwood floorboards*
*There is an outlet inside the cabinet*
*Yup, that's a TV inside the right mirror, he used one-way mirrors for this*
*Isn't that cool?!?!?!*
*The new toilet, floor, baseboards, etc.*

30 WEEK UPDATE
I am now 30 weeks and still feeling great. However, last Saturday, Alexis gave me a major scare and didnt move for around 18 hours. Everything I did to get her to kick was unsuccessful. I was crying and scared that something was wrong with her. I almost went to the emergency room, but then she started to finally move. Even though every movement was very faint. I monitored her movements the rest of the day and they got stronger and stronger. I felt much better. Monday I went and did my 3 hour gestational diabetes test. It was miserable and they drew blood from the same vein on the same arm all 4 times. I felt very brave, especially since I used to cry every time I got a blood test. I'm a big girl now. I still got a sticker at the end of it though. :) Anita came with me again and it was so nice to have that support! The best news of all is that I PASSED!!! I don't have gestational diabetes! What a relief. The next day I had my doctor's appointment. There I presented our birth plan to my doctor, which he approved. Another big relief. They also put me on a monitor to make sure Alexis was ok. They monitored her heartbeat for about 20 minutes. Her heartbeat is fine...biggest relief of all. She even kicked the monitor on my belly several times. My next appointment is in 2 weeks. I will have appointments every two weeks until I am 36 weeks. After that I go in every week.

OUR GUESTS
Also, our good friends Carrie and Patrick are visiting us this week from South Carolina. I am so happy they are here. Since I had the lab test and dr appt on monday and tuesday, I just used 2 sick days and was able to sightsee with Carrie and Patrick for two days. We went to the Kodak Theater and saw all of the Hollywood tourist attractions around there. Then we went driving and looking at stars homes. We would follow some of the tour shuttles that went through the neighborhoods. It was funny. We also went to the Getty Museum and 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. We had a good time. Today, we are going to get a 4D ultrasound. We'll get to see what Alexis looks like! Sort of. :) I am so happy Carrie and Patrick will get to be a part of it.

*Patrick, Daniel, and Carrie at the Getty*
*Patrick, Me, and Carrie*
*The beautiful view from the Getty*
*Patrick enjoying the view*
*Silly Patrick*
*Me and my girl!*

END OF BRADLEY CLASSES
Lastly, we had our last Bradley class on Wednesday. I am very sad they are over. We really enjoyed them. Our instructor, Pauline, said we can come back for refresher courses in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. We learned a lot through the class and feel much better prepared for the birth of our child. Sorry for the super long blog!!!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Washington DC Trip & 28 Week Update

From July 2nd-July 7th, we visited Daniel's sister Lindsey, her husband Paul, and our new nephew Payson. They live in Virginia, just outside Washington D.C., where Paul works. We had a great time relaxing and visiting with them. Payson is adorable and I am so grateful we got a chance to spend some time with him. Living on separate coasts will be hard and we'll miss a lot of milestones. On this trip, we were there for Payson's first metro ride and first visit to downtown D.C. We had lunch with Paul at the Ronald Reagan building, saw the White House and Washington Monument. We also visited two Smithsonian museums, the Natural History and the American History museum. Paul was able to leave work early and come with us to the museums. We had a great time. Payson was such a good boy the whole trip. I also learned a lot from Lindsey's experience as a new first-time mom. It's been great having her as a resource. Alexis moved a lot during the trip and was very interactive. She moved for her Aunt Lindsey and mostly for her daddy. Daniel sang to my belly and she would kick. He would tap my belly and she kicked back. It is a real joy being pregnant and I am loving every single minute of it. She's so much fun already. Daniel and I bought some outfits for her and Lindsey bought her clothes as well. Alexis will look sooooooo cute in all of them.

Here's my 28 week update. I am in my third trimester, which means I will now start going to the doctors office every 2 weeks instead of 4. I did not pass my first gestational diabetes test, which really upset me. Anyone who knows me well knows that I HATE needles. I LOATHE, ABHOR, DETEST them. The gestational diabetes test involves two things I hate, needles and not eating. I had to fast from the night before, go early in the morning, get a blood test, then drink 50g of pure glucose, wait an hour, and then take another blood test. The whole experience was miserable. Thank goodness my best friend Anita was nice enough to come with me. Unfortunately, the lab results came back too high. That means I have to fast and take the second gestational diabetes test. This one lasts for 3-4 HOURS!!!! I am dreading this test. They say most women fail the first test and pass the second. I need all your prayers for this test. I think God is trying to get me to overcome my fear of needles. At my next doctor's appointment, Daniel and I will present our birth plan to our doctor. The birth plan is a document that expresses our wishes for the labor and delivery. It states certain things like that I do not want drugs offered to me during birth, that I would like to avoid an IV and constant monitoring as long as the baby and I are doing fine, that I do not want the baby separated from me at any point during my hospital stay, etc. Hopefully, my doctor will approve our birth plan or we'll be searching for a new doctor. Pray that he'll be ok with all of our wishes. Enjoy the pictures below of my belly and of our trip. Let me know what you think.

*My Belly at 28 Weeks*
*All of us in front of the Ronald Reagan Building where Paul works*
*In Front of the White House*
*The White House*
*Payson in the outfit we bought him*
*Payson sleeping and sticking out his middle finger*
*Payson laying on me*
*Aren't we cute?*
*Washington Monument*
*Lindsey's artistic photography*