Thursday, February 17, 2011

19 Weeks and our "Big" Ultrasound

The time has FINALLY come for our big 2nd trimester ultrasound. During this scan the technician checks the baby's anatomy, heartbeat, location, basically just making sure that everything is developing properly according to our due date.  All the measurements are right on track, bloodwork is normal and the baby is developing perfectly, we are truly blessed. At this time we COULD have also found out if the baby is a boy or girl.. but we thought it would be a lot more exciting to keep that a mystery until his or her birthday! Although both George and I (and 99% of friends and family) are already convinced it's a girl!

Here are some pictures from the 'photo shoot'.

Baby's profile

Baby's face

Little feet

My Sweet Valentine

Because Valentines Day fell on a Monday this year we were unable to get a sitter and have a real "romantic" or ADULT night out so we celebrated at home with Dominic! We made our "Romantic Dinner for Two" which included steak and lobster tails compliments of Giant Eagle! Dinner was delicious and there was no better way to spend the day.. although we will be going out for our 'no kid' dinner this Saturday when Grandma comes to visit!






Enjoying a T-bone in typical man style


Card for George. I couldn't help myself.. it was PERFECT.



Fits perfectly : )


Also perfect were the gifts that I received from George which included; red roses, Sarris chocolate covered pretzels and a gift certificate for four one hour prenatal massages at my favorite 'mama to be' boutique, Mama & Me, LLC. I met Diane, the owner of Mama $ Me, when I was pregnant with Nico. She introduced me to the wonderful world of pregnancy massages and I HIGHLY recommend them to anyone expecting. Diane goes above and beyond to make you feel completely and utterly pampered. If you live in the Youngstown area please check out her website here! She also does truly STUNNING newborn and maternity photography. I could not be more excited to see her again this time around

Steeler Nation!

As you may notice this post is way over due but I'm a busy pregnant mom chasing a toddler all day so you take what you can get!

So the Steelers were on their way to their 8th Superbowl and the Papuga's headed to the Burgh' to celebrate. We felt like we had to do our part and represent Steeler Nation in Youngstown (mostly to annoy our Brown's fan neighbors!) by putting out our big Steeler banner, flag, blankets and bows. Whatever I had black and gold I tried to get in view of passer-bys!


Even though Pittsburgh is just about an hour and a half from where we live we very much miss the pizza shops that we grew up eating at. So naturally our first stop HAD to be at one of our FAVORITE pizzerias in Pittsburgh.. BETO'S!! They were busy filling orders for superbowl parties and it seemed like we waited forever but it was all worth it in the end!

Next stop, my sister Keri's house.. that was completely decked out in Steelers decor from the kitchen to the bathroom!! We enjoyed a night visiting with family and cheering on the black and gold and although it was a disappointing loss to the Packers we still have to hand it to the boys for a great season! Here are a few photos of the night.. including Dominic and his "mini" terrible towel.




Dominic pretty much stuffed his face full of snacks all night :)








Thursday, January 27, 2011

16 Weeks!


Well, we've made it to 16 weeks! I have felt pretty good for the most part. Not a ton of morning sickness like I had with Dominic, yet there is still some lingering nausea every once in a while. I've mostly just been tired. Being pregnant and chasing a toddler around is exhausting!

This pregnancy has been moving along oddly fast and slow at the same time. We're officially in the 2nd trimester but not yet halfway! We'll be having our 2nd ultrasound coming up in 2 weeks. If we chose to, we would be able to find out the baby's sex at this appointment. However, both George and I decided that being surprised was so much fun the first time around that we've decided to not find out with this baby either! Sorry for the suspense! Keep the guesses coming!

Here's a little more about what's going on "in there" this week.





How your baby's growing:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Practicing for the 8th Grade Dance

I had the iPod on the other day while we were getting ready to go out and Dominic was loving the loud music and showing off his dance moves. When this slow jam came on I couldn't help but grab the camera. Look out ladies.. he'll have all the right moves for the first middle school dance!! For those of you that know my mom.. you'll understand just how funny this is as she LOVES Anne Murray (singing the song playing).

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Snowblowing!

Living a few miles south of the snow belt has its "perks".. if you're a kid! We get a decent amount of snow during the winter although this year so far has been pretty mild. With his new boots and winter hat in place, Dominic loves helping daddy snowblow the driveway any chance he gets!








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Welcome :)

Welcome to our blog page. As you'll soon see I'm not much of the "blogger" type but I wanted to have a free and easily accessible page to share photos with our families that we don't get to see as often as we like as well as share our experiences raising not only Dominic but our 2nd addition to the family due this summer :)

Although I probably should have started this when we moved up here, I guess better late than never! So enjoy! :)