Happy 2010! Let the Nesting Begin

Happy 2010 ya'll! Boy there is a lot to catch up on! First, I hope everyone had a great Holiday Season! We have had a busy 2 weeks and just got back from bringing in 2010 with great friends in the North GA mountains for our 3rd annual NYE trip! As always, we had a fabulous time and feel refreshed and ready to start the new year!

Enjoying SMORES in the fire pit out back of the cabin. YUMMY :-)

Our "Cozy Cabin" that we rented

Bill taking in the view!
Self Portrait and the view from the cabin

Me at 30 weeks! 10 to Go! Could I get any bigger?

My 30 week appointment was Wednesday before we left for the mountains. All is well. I am still measuring a little big as the doctor says but no reason for any worries. My weight gain was significant this week so I am going to be very cautious of my eating habits from here on out. I am still within normal limits but I did jump quite a bit these past two weeks. YIKES! I feel huge and look it too :-) I keep telling myself that it is all worth it in the end.

Could not resist this ad! I saw this at the doctors office the other day :-)

Before I ramble on, I just have to say once again how thankful I am for 2009 and all that has happened and I am so excited for 2010 and all that it has to bring. In just 9 1/2 weeks we will be welcoming our little boy into this world and I could not be more happy! As Bill and I prepare for the most challenging experience of our lives, we are keeping our New Years Resolution short and sweet....to be good parents! Well, there is loosing that baby weight too :-) We can save that for another post! I wish all of you a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

We started 2010 off with our follow up 3D ultrasound. Baby Gordon is still breech but he did show his little face a bit more.

I like to think it started off slowly the last few weeks of December, but my nesting is in full effect now and my head is spinning with all I need to get done! Less then 70 days people! I cannot wait to meet this little boy!

So, YAY! Lots to share on this entry. Not so exciting to you but very exciting for me, we cleaned out our garage with the help of Dad and Max on Christmas. It still had many boxes in it from our move which made it near impossible to have any functionality. Now, we can actually park both SUV's in the garage! Imagine that ;-) I am loving it especially now that the weather has gotten very cold.

We also organized our storage space in the basement and hung some pictures around the house. Although, we have so much more decorating to do, I consider it a start. Besides, I have somewhat redirected my focus from home decorating to nursery decorating :-) Go figure!

Which, brings me to our most exciting home news yet! We painted the baby's room! Okay, so I have to admit, at first I hated the color (the color that I agreed upon btw) but it has grown on me in the last week. And on Tuesday, we had our baby furniture delivered! I have to be completely honest, after all my initial complaints about the color, I have to say I love it with the furniture in the room! It's looks really good and I could not be any happier! Below are some before and after shots of the room.

Now it's is decorating time! Mom is working feverishly on our window valance that will match our bedding and our bedding that we had made should be ready in just 2-3 weeks..... I think! In the meantime, nest away!

I have washed baby blankets for the hospital, and tomorrow I am going to wash Baby Gordon's "coming home from the hospital outfit" that Baba got him. I finally got my PJ's for the hospital and started to pack my bag for the big day! It's crazy how fast it is coming. Our travel system (car seat and stroller) that Bill's Aunt and Uncle's got us is on the way and then all we have to do is get it installed.

January is jammed packed. We have two more open houses with pediatricians, our birthing and breastfeeding classes, my Atlanta baby shower, wedding celebrations and how could I forget our trip to DISNEY!

We leave on Thursday for our trip to Orlando with Corey and Dave and Rich and Jill!!! This trip has been in the works for over a year now...pre pregnancy and though I am super sad I cannot run the half marathon with everyone, I am glad to be able to take this one last trip with Bill and cheer on him and my friends. I would be lying if I said, I was not nervous to travel after what happened after last trip but the doctor seems confident if I drink gallons of water and take it slow, everything will be okay.

Life is full speed ahead. I am loving the excitement of it all but am hoping for a little relaxation before the big day. I am looking into getting a pregnancy massage package and possibly enrolling in a prenatal water aerobics class thanks to a friends recommendation. I am not sure if I will fit it all in but I hope too :-)

3D Ultrasound...Take 1

We are excited to share a few pics from our 3D ultrasound that we had done today! The key word is few :-) We have tons of feet and hands but not so much of that little face that we are waiting to see! Baby Gordon is still breech with his head facing in so, he was not so cooperative. We even left and got some lunch and came back to see if we could get him to move but no luck. The ultrasound studio said we could come back after New Years to try and snap some more of his face. We were barely able to get profiles because of his position. Hopefully he will flip in the next 10 days or so :-) We did see our little boy has some chipmunk cheeks. I cannot wait to see him in person! I thought I would share a few pics for now. We will be sure to share more when we get them after the new year!

Baby's First Service Project

So Shari and I and Baby G. (by default) spent some time this evening feeding the Homeless at the Zaban Shelter off Peachtree in Midtown Atlanta. It was a group community service project for our Chavurah and was quite rewarding. I am excited about the fact that he got to participate because it is my hope to instill in him the notion of giving back. Philanthropy is something that you can never do enough of and I am glad that he (and Shari and I)m were able to participate in this very worthwhile endeavor.

Thanks to HOPE

And to all the others who "showered" me and Baby Gordon this past weekend! I know it's been a week since our trip but what a week it has been! First things first, what a great trip! It went way too fast but so worth it. It always feels good to go home no matter how short the visit! I will say the traveling wore me out! Not to mention every 10 minutes, I had to use the restroom :-) Bill was a trooper though and we just took our time. We even upgraded to business class for comfy seats. Oh, and if one more person asks me if I am having a Christmas baby...ugh! No people, I still have 12 weeks to go!!! I had nurses and doctors on both of flights inform me that it was okay if I had the baby because they would take care of me. I politely just said thanks but I have 3 more months to go!!!

The shower was so nice. It was at my sisters home in Reisterstown. From the food to the games, everything was perfect. My sister-in-law Caren had such clever ideas for games and got everyone involved. One of the games involved testing baby food and trying to guess what flavor it was! Of course all the labels were peeled off so no one could cheat! GROSS! I did not partake! But others sure did. And, I must say, it was more than amusing to watch them :-) Everyone made handmade onsies too! I will post a few below! I know Baby Gordon will love each and everyone of them and be sure to spit up on each of them the same :-)

We received so many wonderful gifts. Bill and I loved them all and sat in the baby's room when we got home going through everything again. Another ah-ha moment in our lives. Bill looked at me and said, "Oh my God, your having a baby. We are having a baby. Not another furry dog baby but a real human baby!" I just sat in silence and and nodded my head. Then I said, "yep, we are and he will be here in 12 weeks or less!" CRAZY!!!

We have been getting Mia ready for the baby too since she has been the "baby" in the family for the past 6 years. I am hoping she adjusts to her "little brother" well but I for some reason know it will not be easy. We have trained her to go to "the baby's room" and every time we spend time in there, she comes! I think she is beginning to know things are going to change but I have tried to give her as much attention as possible these days!

As great as the weekend was and as smooth as the week started we still had some baby drama as I like to call it. Very scary moment in time for us but I am happy to report baby and I are doing much better. The short version is that I had to go to labor and delivery on Tuesday night to be monitored for severe abdominal pain and cramping. The doctor wanted to make sure I was not having contractions based on the symptoms I was describing and to our surprise, I was having contractions! They gave me a shot to stop the contractions and then just monitored throughout the night. In the morning, we had another ultrasound done to check on the little one and he was doing great and no signs of labor either so I was released to go home.

We did find out that our little guy is growing fast. He was 2lb 12 ounces so just a hair bigger then the norm. I think they say at 28 weeks the norm is about 2 1/2 lbs. We also found out he is measuring 3 days ahead of schedule now!

I had to reschedule my glucose test because of my visit to labor and delivery the night before! But, I had it yesterday and I passed! I also got clearance from the doctor to travel the first week of January. Bill and I have had a trip planned with my closest friends back home. Rich and Jill and Corey and Dave. We are running the Disney Half Marathon! Well, I am not running anymore that is. We planned the trip well before I was pregnant but I am determined to go to cheer everyone on. Although the doctor said walking the parks is not the smartest, he said if I take it easy, I should be okay.

In the midst of this crazy week, we attended our first open house for a pediatrician. We really liked this practice but will keep an open mind through the end of this process. We are going to interview three practices and I am hoping by end of January we have picked our doctor.

Tomorrow is what I am waiting for! It Could not be a better end to a crazy week! Our 3D ultrasound is scheduled for Saturday morning! We will be 28 weeks and 2 days and have been told it's an excellent time to see the baby! I hope he is not shy and cooperates! I cannot wait to see his little face! Worse case, the ultrasound studio says if we can't get great pics on this visit, that I can come back the following week to try again. Saturday cannot come soon enough. I of course will post pics once we have them!!!

What can I say, we welcomed the third trimester in with a bang. No more false alarms Baby Gordon :-) We want a restful remaining 12 weeks (or less, yikes)!

2 More sleeps!

2 more sleeps and we will be in Maryland! I am so excited! Unfortunately, I cannot believe how much we have to get to do before we leave. Along with the shower, we are celebrating Hanukkah with my family while we are there. So, we are making sure we get all of our gifts sent out today so we do not have to carry them on the plane. It is crunch time :-)


I swear it feels like just yesterday I was having bridal showers and now, my first baby shower! It's crazy. I don't think I can say it enough but I am just so excited to see all my family and friends back home and our family from NY that is also coming in for our shower. Many I have not seen in over a year and certainly not since I have been pregnant. Everyone has told me they are anxiously awaiting seeing my pregnant self. Now, if I could only feel more attractive these days :-) I think my biggest hang up these days is my swollen ankles. I can't even wear a cute dress for my shower because of how big they are. I did find a nice pair of dress pants and a silky dress shirt though. Now, I just need to find shoes to fit these sausages before I leave.

Luckily our hospital that we are delivering at has a fantastic women's boutique. I will be visiting them today to get measured for compression stockings. Sounds attractive right ? Well I have finally succumbed to the idea of getting the hose to help with my leg and ankle swelling. Not just for the appearance factor but for pain and mobility. Sometimes, after a long day, I can barely walk at all because of the swelling. Yes, I am venting :-) I am hoping I get to go home with the stockings today so that I can use them while on my trip because I know being in the airplane will do no good for my swelling.



I am 27 weeks tomorrow, getting closer to that third trimester everyday which is unbelievable. I was not scheduled to see the doctor again until next week for my glucose testing but I did have an unexpected appointment this week. Sometimes I think I am just a big worry wart but this time for good reason. I had not felt any movement from the baby in probably 48 plus hours so I called my doctor just to be sure that was okay and they told me to come in to be checked. Of course, what did I do, panic more! With some of the other symptoms I was having, the doctor wanted to make sure I had not gone into pre-term labor. They did an ultrasound right away and saw a strong heartbeat and a baby doing backflips! Thank God! I was so relieved. They also saw no signs of early labor and explained the symptoms I was having just happen from time with no rhyme or reason. They reassured me that I did the right thing by coming in and to just monitor things for any other unusual patterns. I was emotionally drained after that visit. I could not imagine something being wrong with our baby. I am glad to put that experience behind me and looking forward to the great weekend we have planned. No more worrying!

Here is a pic of Bill and I closing out 26 weeks!

Looking ahead......once we get home, it's full speed ahead as usual. We will be painting the nursery and having our baby furniture delivered! Yes, the furniture is here! It came in last week but we have requested the store hold it until we are ready for delivery. So, no time like now to get that room painted :-) I cannot wait to see the room come together.

So much more to report but time to rest and get starting on packing for the weekend. Have a great weekend!

100 Days to Go!

Okay so this post was started a few days ago but I am finally getting around to finishing this entry! Crazy week :-) We are at 97 days now! OMG

Wow! Our baby counter says it all today-- 100 days to go!!! We are getting more excited everyday to meet our little guy! My favorite thing these days are feeling the baby kick! For so long, I did not feel him moving but now, we have a kicker :-) YAY! It is just an amazing feeling. I have to admit, I like to give a little push back on my stomach just to feel him give a kick back at me :-)

So, as promised, Thanksgiving updates are here!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for this year words cannot describe it! I think about all the challenges we were up against last year this time and I feel so lucky to be where I am today! It was great to host Thanksgiving.....not only for the first time at our new house but our first time ever as a married couple! There were eight of us including Bill and I to celebrate and give thanks. Dad, Cheryl, Max, Annie, Hubbell, and Gary! Sadly, I think we had a enough food for 20!!! But, the food was delicious!!!! So, that just meant yummy leftovers for all!

Bill did a great job on the turkey. Take a look!

And the apple cake that mom and I made for dessert was a hit! Bill and I still have one piece left for dessert tonight!

We used our China for the first time and to our surprise, our dinning room table came in two days before the holiday so we go to use it too! We don't have the other pieces yet but we were still thrilled to use the table! It's the small things I tell ya :-)

Take a look...I think it looks better in person :-)

This week is jammed packed leading up to a very busy weekend. Isn't that what the holiday season is all about! We have our second baby class Saturday morning. It's called baby essentials...it helps you learn and feel more comfortable with the "basics" of taking care of your baby from what I am told. Bathing, changing diapers, nail clipping, etc.....

Saturday night I am helping host a couples shower for my co-worker and friend Sarah and her fiance Eric! They are having a destination wedding in Jamaica in January so we are giving them a Caribbean celebration. I am so excited to celebrate with them but to also see all my co-workers from the my old clinic. Even though it has only been two weeks since I have changed clinics, it feels like forever!

On Sunday, we are having our Chavurah group over for our annual Hanukkah celebration. A week early for Hanukkah but who says we can't start early :-)

So, lots going on these days! I almost wish I could slow things down a bit because time is just flying by and I have lots more to do :-)

Just a few more days and we will be heading to Maryland to see our families for a baby shower that my sister is hosting for us there!! We are so excited. We have not been home to MD in over a year and even though we will have a short visit it is totally worth it!!!!

Hope everyone is having a great start to the holiday season!

BABA comes to the ATL

My Mom, Baba, as my niece and nephew so affectionately call her (and what Baby Gordon will probably call her too) has left to go back to Maryland. It went so fast, but we had a great, long awaited visit with her. And, the best part is, Bill and I get to head back to MD in December for my first baby shower so we will get to see her and the rest of my family again then!

So, first on the agenda as mentioned, was my 24 week appointment. As my doctor always says, all is "fantastic." Even though I no longer have defined feet or ankles (Bill refers to them as sausages), my doctor feels my swelling is still considered "normal" for pregnancy and does not see reason for concern. Of course I am relived but man, not so attractive I tell ya :-)

Next up is my 28 week appointment and the ever dreaded glucose test for gestational diabetes! They have already given me my little bottle of orange (and I am sure, not so tasty) fluid to bring with me to the 28 week appointment. Fun times :-) My weight gain seems to be under control and on target but I feel HUGE! Mom even said she thinks my tummy grew from the time she got here to the time she left!

Here is me and baby boy Gordon at 24 weeks! Don't be too scared :-) :

Besides just enjoying having mom around, we made some decisions while she was in town! We picked the bedding for our baby boy's nursery! We are super relived and so glad we FINALLY made this decision. We did not end up buying a set on-line or in stores, rather we designed it ourselves! Yes, we went the custom route for an affordable price and picked all our own fabrics! We just could not find anything we really loved so we thought this was the best decision.

I must give a special thanks to our friends Mike and Laura for suggesting the perfect little baby boutique for us! Precious Cargo! What a fantastic store! From their selection to customer service, we were so pleased and will frequent them often I am sure! To our surprise, we ran into a few snags while choosing our bedding though......we learned that our crib will be problematic in terms of using a bumper unless we extend the bumper ties to a longer then traditional length. No fear, Precious Cargo is going to do this for us once the bedding has arrived.

The bedding will take about 8 weeks to come in but by then we will have the nursery painted and the furniture waiting. This a a picture of some of the fabrics we chose:

We bought some extra fabric as well so Mom could make the window valances and pillows to match the set! I cannot wait to see it all come together. In the meantime, we will be deciding on our chair rail and paint colors. I will post pictures of our progress as we go.

Before Mom left, we made her famous apple cake! Mom has been making this for as long as I can remember but since I am first getting to know my way around the kitchen, I had never tried to make it until now. I was so glad we did! We are saving this cake for Thanksgiving so I can't share how good it came out yet but, will be sure to report with taster reviews! It sure looked pretty though! Take a look:

Now with Mom back in Maryland, Bill and I are gearing up to host our very FIRST Thanksgiving dinner in our NEW HOME! We are so excited! I only wish all our family could be here together.

We have much to be thankful for this year and it will be a great celebration I am sure of it!

My nesting is in full effect and I am constantly making honey-do lists for Bill to ensure we get everything done around the house before March! We also need to start interviewing pediatricians. Seems crazy but, it's that time. We have several great recommendations and our hoping we find the one that is perfect for our needs.

It has been a whirlwind week 24 and week 25 will be no different. We are one week closer to meeting our baby boy, whatever is name will be :)

Closing a Chapter

Today is my last day at Resurgens working for DJO! I know I might have confused many by my facebook posts but I am still working!!! For those of you that do not know, my company has lost their contract with Resurgens Orthopedics and therefore, I will be moving on to another clinic 2 days a week and I will also have some other responsibilities the rest of the week so that I can stay employed, which we all know is very important these days :-) I am very sad to be leaving my co-workers here who have become my friends but this change may also open up the door to many new opportunities for me.



What's even scarier is that because of all the stress with work the past month or so, I am shocked at how fast the weeks have been flying by. I am 24 weeks tomorrow! Crazy! 6 months! I have my next doctors appointment on Friday so I am hoping for all good measurements and a strong heartbeat as usual :-) I will of course give a report!



I will have a special visitor with me at my appointment! My MOM! I have not seen her in over a year and she is visiting us for a few days and she is more then excited to come along, as am I to bring her! Not so sure what else we will get into these next few days! I really want to finalize the crib bedding and pick paint colors for the nursery! Wish me luck :-) Hopefully I can post some pics soon of what we choose!



So needless to say, I am looking forward to a few days off from work and visiting with mom and I know baby Gordon is too! My feet are swollen, my back is hurting and I just need a break :-) Bring on my mini vacation!!!

Back to School??

Well, not really but baby classes here we come! We have our first tonight! Not so much a class tonight but a tour! We have our tour of the women's center and labor and delivery at our hospital. Exciting! I am sure being at the hospital will make everything more "real". Especially since we are not visiting anyone else that has just had a baby, we are going for ourselves!!

In just a few weeks we have our baby essentials class and then finally, an all day birthing class! I think I am first starting to have the OMG moment that is telling me yes, we ARE having a baby :-)

I have been told that some classes are more helpful then others but in reality they will just put you more at ease with the entire experience. That is exactly what I am hoping for.

Baby 101 here we come. Wish us luck :-)

90210 Rock and Roll Baby

OK, so I had to go on a work trip to Beverly Hills. I know, I know, poor me. I really did work most of the time I was there but I did get some time to wander through the Beverly Center. It was real close, like across the street from my hotel (I stayed at the Sofitel). I wanted to bring something unique back and I found it. It is a totally Rock N Roll onesie from a line of clothing called Kingsley. Gwen Stefani the lead singer of No Doubt and a pop star in her own right created the line because she wanted her kids to have rocker clothes. While you can get some of their stuff here in GA I was assured by the sales girl that this one could only be purchased in Beverly Hills. My boy is going to be a little rock star.... check it out:

Okay so I still need to get better with updates :-)

It's been two weeks already? I cannot believe how fast the time has flown. I can only imagine how fast the next few months will go with the holidays. Before we know it, it will be MARCH!!!

22 weeks and 1 day today! Feeling good! I can almost say I feel some movement from our little guy. It is far and few but, I swear I think I am starting to feel him tap around in there! Pretty exciting but, I am still not really sure. My doctor told me that because I have a anterior placenta, it may be much later when I really feel those kicks. I wish I had belly pics to share but I cannot get them off the camera quite yet thanks to my pregnancy brain....I forgot to put the memory card back in the camera to take pics and now I cannot find the cord to pull them directly from the camera to the computer! Woops :-) I hope to share them sometime soon.


Bill and I had have a jammed packed two weeks and we are ready for some R&R. We want to start planning a weekend getaway trip that we can take before the baby arrives! Let's hope we fit it in :-)

I think we can both agree Halloween for us this year was a bust :-( I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this holiday but this year, major let down. The weekend started out great!

We carved pumpkins at home and finished all of our decorating outside. We were so excited to have our first Halloween in the new house. Take a look:










We even dressed Mia up in her custom but she did not like that so much. I swear we only left it on long enough to snap the pic :-) :





The next morning we were up and at 'em in line at the crack of dawn for the sought after H1N1 vaccine! This was a much debated subject in our home but when we got the call that the docs office had the vaccine, we decided it was the right thing to do. So off we went. We got there 1 1/2 hours early and were 12th in line. Word has it, by the time we left there were 400 women in line! Glad we got there early :-) I feel good that I got it regardless of the unknowns. Working in healthcare and being pregnant puts me in 2 of the highest risk groups for contracting it. I still feel it was the right decision.

With the cold rainy day progressing, we did not expect too may trick or treaters but, we were hopeful. Our community was having a tailgate/hayride party at our clubhouse and since we were so new, we thought we would check it out in the hopes of meeting our new neighbors. Well, lets just say, that did not go as expected. It was short lived and we were home within 30 minutes. Partially because of the weather but, also the company. We'll have to keep trying :-)

We did still had one last hope! The cute kiddies in the adorable customs screaming, "trick or treat" knocking at our door! Well, we got 6 maybe. And, that's if you count the two older "kids" that came to the door. Bill swears one had a mustache (and no, it was not makeup:-) )

Sunday shaped up to be a great day with friends many to which we have not seen in forever! We had a brunch with friends in the morning, and ended with delicious dinner that night.


Monday came a little too soon for my liking and we found ourselves back at the doctors office......Baby Gordon is just fine though, no worries. We just had a little scare and being the worry warts that we are, we took no chances. Our baby's heartbeat was nice and strong and our first time parent worries became smiles once the doctor told us all was well.

Bill left for Beverly Hills the next day! Lucky Man! It was all business but, I am still pretty jealous. Mia and I held down the fort at home and caught up on some much needed sleep. I think Mia got more sleep then I did.


Boy, we have lots to do.....we have to decide on bedding, pick our nursery colors, and oh yes, decide on a name! I think the name game will be continuing for some time :-) We also have much to do around the house. We are hoping to get through the garage full of you know what this weekend and start selling some things on eBay! More money for the baby fund :-)


Tonight, we are winding down from a very productive weekend. Looking forward to a fast work week. Check back soon :-) 22 weeks and 3 days!