Photo Shoot Gallery

For those who are interested, we just got all the pictures back from our recent maternity photo shoot.  They turned out really nice, it's going to be tough to choose!  They're available for the next 10 days and the password is baby.  Here's the link, enjoy!  http://www.freshlifephotography.com/photocart

Making mommy feel pretty

Since both Jason and I celebrated our first mother's day and father's day during this pregnancy, we decided to treat ourselves to a maternity photo shoot. This will ultimately be followed up by a newborn photo shoot of baby Pistachio. Jason did the research and found a local photographer, Laurie from Fresh Life Photography, who specializes in maternity and newborn portraits. After a bit more research, we decided to go for it. So today, we headed to Wickham Park in Manchester for our photo shoot. The planning of the session took a bit as we were originally scheduled for the shoot at 7pm, but thanks to the ever changing Connecticut weather, had the shoot moved up to 6pm then 4:30pm, and then ultimately 5:30pm. Thankfully, the rain stayed away and sun came out to shine. I was a bit nervous going into this as our last professional photo shoot was on our wedding 6 years ago. Laurie made both of us feel so comfortable. She chatted with us the whole time as we posed for approximately 250 shots. We moved around several park gardens and landscapes. She took our suggestions with ease and incorporated our personalities into the shots. We had a few Harry Potter pictures taken as Jason has been reading the whole series to me during this pregnancy. We will be able to see all of our pictures in 10 days, but for now, Laurie posted four of the pics as a sneak peek. We're really pleased with what we've seen thus far and can't wait to see the rest!!

Hartford Hospital Maternity Tour

So at 33 weeks, Jason and I got a chance to tour the maternity floor at Hartford Hospital where we're going to be giving birth to baby Pistachio in just 7 short weeks. Seven weeks still does not seem long enough, but I guess it's not up to me...ha. The nurse who led the tour was very pleasant and answered all of our questions. Part of me felt comforted by touring the floor. This way we'll know where to park and where to go, where our little one will be staying, and where we'll be for our two day hospital stay. The other part of me is getting nervous. The hospital tour made this whole experience seem real to me. Not that the months of baby kicking, hiccups (which we can now feel and see), and belly growing haven't made the pregnancy seem real, but I guess I'm now starting to realize that this pregnancy is coming to an end and ultimately we'll have a little baby in our arms to take care of. Being fairly healthy myself, I have only been to a hospital on several occasions, one being when I fractured my arm in a horse-back riding accident and the other being when I spent my grad school internship at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (although I was never a patient there). I've never had any kind of major surgery, stitches, or hospital stays....so this whole idea of labor and delivery is starting to get me a bit anxious. Jason says that millions of women give birth every day, which means that I'll be just fine, but there's just something about birthing a baby that makes me a tad bit anxious. I'm sure this is probably all first-time mom jitters and it's not like I can back out now...Pistachio's coming one way or another, so on to the deep breathing, relaxation, and praising God for pain medication we go!! Only 7 weeks left!

Some Assembly Required...

So with the baby shower past us, the time has now come to start assembling all the things that we got as gifts.  As you've read earlier, we finished putting together all the big pieces of baby furniture, but some assembly is still required for just about everything else out there that deals with babies.  For the most part everything was pretty straight forward with 2 notable exceptions:  the bouncer and the pack and play.  Now, one would think that putting together something as small as a bouncer would be pretty easy, but this actually took me 3 times as long as it took to put together the crib!! Turns out that when you push the pieces all the way together the holes don't line up, so you have to pull them ever so slightly apart.  The fit was extremely tight, so it basically wouldn't budge unless you really pulled on it at which time it would come completely apart.  I went back and forth like this for about an hour until it finally worked.  With the pack and play, I was able to assemble everything with no problem.  Everything fit fine, the little mobile worked and it came together quite nicely.  But then came the time to get it back in the bag, that's where the problems started.  Turns out disassembling is not quite as easy as assembling the thing.  I assumed that everything would come apart and fit back nicely in the bag it comes in, well apparently everything doesn't come back apart as I found out with the mobile.  There was no way I could fit the thing in there as it was, it was a huge L-shape that was way bigger than the bag.  So, being an engineer, I figured I could figure it out by yanking and pulling on it, which then proceeded to break the mobile.  And to make matters worse, I wasn't even able to get it apart! So I had to order a replacement mobile and I was finally able to yank the old one off, so needless to say, the next time that mobile is assembled it's staying that way!  I think this must be the final test for being a parent, if you can deal with the frustration of assembling all the baby stuff then you might stand a chance at being able to handle a kid!

 P.S. Peanut has decided to test every single piece of baby furniture on his own from the stroller to the high chair to the baby bouncer....hummmm he may be a bit upset when he realizes that Pistachio will get priority over him.

Week 30....Only 10 weeks to go!

Jason, Pistachio, and I just had our 30 week doctor checkup. According to our doctor, Pistachio received another clean bill of health! My measurements are looking good, weight is "perfect" according to the doctor, and the baby's heartbeat remains strong at 140 beats per minute. We're now on an every two week doctor appointment schedule until week 36 when we'll go weekly for our doctor's appointments. Our next ultrasound is scheduled for week 35. I'm so excited to see our next ultrasound to see how Pistachio has grown and changed. I'm curious to know if he/she has changed positions as earlier Pistachio was facing butt down or breech. It certainly feels as if Pistachio has been doing a lot of moving and shaking lately. Pistachio's kicks have turned into full blown punches. No longer are the days when Pistachio's kicks felt like light little flutters. Now it feels as if I've swallowed a massage ball that is rolling around inside of me. We can't quite see little feet or hands pushing out, but we can certainly feel when Pistachio is stretching, pushing, or kicking. It's crazy to believe that in 9 short weeks (I'm writing this at week 31) that our little Pistachio will be a little baby who will be cradled in our arms! I'm curious to meet our little one, to see if she's a she or he's a he, to figure out Pistachio's little personality, to see who Pistachio will look like, and to see when lil' Pistachio will enter our lives! So much to wonder. Let the countdown begin....9 weeks and counting! :)

Pistachio's Baby Shower

On Sunday, May 29, 2011 we were thrown a wonderful baby shower by Pistachio's "auntie" (my best friend) Kirsten, my mom (Pistachio's Gigi), and Jason's mom (Pistachio's Grandmom). We took some time off of work and drove down to Maryland for the party. Kirsten's parents hosted the party at their home. The weather cooperated and allowed us to have the party outside. Granted, it was a bit hot and humid, but beautiful nonetheless. I have to thank all the friends and family members who showed up and/or supported us at the shower. We truly are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives..thank you! Along with lunch and cake, we opened countless presents for lil' Pistachio. I must say lil' Pistachio may only weigh approximately 3 pounds right now (at 30 weeks) but for such a little guy/girl, Pistachio definitely requires a lot of stuff! We required the support and car space of two of our aunts and uncles in order to hull everything up to Connecticut. During the baby shower, we played several baby games and learned that I am currently 34 1/8' round thanks to Pistachio, that Pistachio's Grandpop (Jason's dad) did the best guessing my size, that Jason and I were both potty trained by 2 years of age, that Jason had a favorite toy named Mr. PeaPot, and that I played with a dead field mouse as a young toddler. Nice!! We also have the results of our baby boy poll. According to the votes at the baby shower, Chase comes in at number one with 14 votes, Silas at number two with 7 votes, Keegan number three with 6 votes, and Kai number four with 3 votes. Although, we're pretty sure the votes were rigged since my side of the family is pushing that we name the baby anything but Silas and Jason's side of the family is pushing for the name Silas! Ha! We had a great time and really want to send a huge shout-out and thank you to everyone who supported and loved us!! We couldn't do this without you!