April Showers

Yesterday afternoon was our first baby shower, held at Riggio's Restaurant and hosted by both grammas to be. Much thanks to both of you for your months of planning and hard work! Everything was really terrific ... it was a day of chickies, owls, presents, and wonderful people galore! Chickie feels very lucky to already be surrounded by so many fun and supportive friends and family members ;) To everyone who was unable to join us, know that your presence was missed and we can't wait to see you soon! In the meantime, I'll be busy writing tons and tons of fan mail ... oops, I mean thank you cards :) Everyone was way too generous. Really.

We appreciate your kindness. Much thanks to all!

Here are a just few shots from the big day. Enjoy!

Rounding Third ...

Compared to what's typically portrayed in movies, tv shows, novels, and other informational/inspirational sources, I'd easily agree that I've had a pretty smooth pregnancy so far. On August 23rd, Chris and I decided maybe this would be as good a year as any to start a family. On September 23rd, we found out we were going to have a cute little chicken in the spring of 2012. Then, before we knew it, the first trimester flew by without any signs of morning sickness. The second trimester came and went in the blink of an eye. In fact, many people weren't even 100% sure if I was expecting. Many wondering whispers whipped past my back in search of the truth. Even at the very beginning of the third trimester, when I was well acquainted with a certain sense of luxury that comes with slipping on a pair of elastic waist pants, people would comment on how "tiny" my bump appeared. The small(ish) size of my bump actually had me a little worried. Little did I know that I had nothing - I repeat, NOTHING - to fear. Now, 34 weeks in and there is NO QUESTION about whether or not I am pregnant, and NO QUESTION as to whether or not being pregnant is hard. Forget about the ease with which I rounded first and second; I've learned that anyone looking to cross home really has to dig deep when they see their third base coach waving them in. My lower back aches so badly at times that I find myself limping down the hallways at work, I feel - so full - whenever I drink a cup of water, and practically every time I stand up, I have to go to the bathroom.

Other than that, I am so happy to have made it to 34 weeks, and hope these next six weeks fly by just like the first twenty-something!

Grateful (Part 13 of Many)

This post is long, lllooonnnggg, LLLOOONNNGGG overdue. It's definitely more than about time that we thank Matt and Tara Endara for the generous package they sent a few weeks ago. Matt is one of Chris' best friends. He and his wife Tara moved out to D.C. a few years ago to further their medical careers, so who better to give Chickie his/her first healthcare kit than two certified pros. Knowing Chris as they do, this superman bib couldn't have been more perfect. Tummy time, here we come! Chickie is all set to practice over the next few months!

Thanks guys! We hope you can come visit this summer.

Happy Birthday Auntie Amy!

Our Sweet Honeydew

33 weeks down, 7ish to go, and our sweet little Chicken Fry is not so little anymore, measuring in at roughly the size of a honeydew melon. Chickie has really started to "pop" since Easter. In fact, just yesterday someone politely informed me that I looked like I was ready to go any day now, while another person asked if I was having twins. Both comments definitely warranted at least two exclamation marks each. To set the record straight, Chickie's due date is still June 8th, and no, twins are not in our future forecast. As Chickie continues to grow, I have noticed that it is getting much harder for me to get from place to place. Walking up the stairs leaves me short of breath, and my left hip/lower back has been pretty sore since Monday. Other than that I feel pretty good and look forward to limping along 'til June :)

 

Chickie Jolie-Pitt (AKA Chickie "Big Lips")

Check out the full set of lips on Chickie. Wonder where those came from ...

Today was our 32 week ultrasound appointment - our last glimpse of Chickie before he/she finally hatches in about 8 weeks from now.

Plenty of good things to report:

- Chickie's estimated weight at this time is 5 pounds 2 ounces
- Chickie's current size puts him/her in the 68th percentile
  (probably the best percentile there is)
- Fluids look great
- All 4 heart chambers look great
- Chickie is no longer breech!
- And finally .... Chickie has a big head
  (probably gets that from Uncle Kevin ;) )

Other than that, Chickie slept through most of our appointment, so there wasn't too much activity to capture. His/her heart rate was also down on account of that: 130 bpm (the first time it has ever been below 140).

Sprouting Squash

Today. Day One. Month Eight. :)

While I've always been a fan of Fridays, they have become especially exciting to me now that each one marks a major milestone in Chickie's development. I love the feeling of getting through another week, problem free. Whenever someone asks me how far along I am, it's been a major relief to answer, "Oh, I'm 28 weeks," or "Oh, I'm 30 weeks. Only 10 to go," or now, "I'm 32 weeks ... baby is getting nice and big!" I definitely don't want Chickie to hatch before June 8th. Not only would I be worried about Chickie's health, but knowing me I'd probably also freak out about how that would affect my maternity leave plans for the fall ;)

I know I have no control over it, but keep on cookin' Chickie!

Chickie's Nursery (Part 11)

I was doing SO WELL staying away from etsy, one of my fav craft sites, but this afternoon I couldn't resist the urge to take a little peak ;) What I found was this new vendor who sells really cute neutral nursery prints with woodland animals, so of course I spent 3 + hours searching through every single print - multiple times - and ultimately settled on the following three to spruce up one of the walls in Chickie's nursery.

Take a little peak yourself!

Grateful (Part 12 of Many)

My good friend Stacy, who has lived out in Virgina for the past 5 or so years, can't make it Chickie's shower (wish you could! you'll be missed), but we are so thankful for the incredibly cute mobile that arrived at our doorstep yesterday afternoon - our second surprise delivery ... I sure am lovin' this service! Since Chris has put together all of the furniture so far, I decided to take a crack at fashioning the mobile together, and after the better part of an hour, I'm pleased to say that that decision did indeed become a reality :)

Thanks, Stace! Hope to see you soon.

Grateful (Part 11 of Many)

Chris and I moved to Morton Grove in February, and we were ecstatic to receive our very first package last week. At our old condo we could never receive packages; the mailman didn't have access to our building other than the lobby, and he would never leave a package in the lobby due to the possibility of theft. As a result, I have been shipping any and all orders I've made over the past year and a half to either my parents' house or to Chris' parents' house.

So we'd like to say a big THANK YOU to our good friends Sylvia and Jim for a) introducing us to the joy of front door delivery service, and b) sending us a wonderful Chicco carrier and Disney Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales books ... your thoughtfulness is SO appreciated ... really, really thank you!

On a side note, Sylvia and Jim are expecting their first baby in August, and we couldn't be more excited for Chickie and Baby M to become buddy-buddy in the near future ... Congrats guys!

Chickie Crafts

Last week, Chris' Mom weaved together a little psalm wreath for Chickie, made from the psalms she collected on Psalm Sunday. We decided to hang the wreath around the nursery doorknob for extra luck. Chris' mom also decorated a cute little Easter egg inspired by "a little bit of Chicken Fry ..."

Thank you!

 

Happy Easter!

Chickie has been pretty excited this beautiful Easter morning because he/she got two new books from Gramma and Grandpa Peterson ... thank you! The farm animal one is waterproof and will be perfect for our first family vacation to Hilton Head this August. The Winnie the Pooh Easter one comes with fun sound effects for each character. What could be better than that?! Chickie also wants to thank Gramma Alp for the cute chickies. One lights up and the other dances in the sunlight ... perfect for a day like today. Busia also got Chickie a dancing chickie, so now they can have fun in the sun together. Thank you BOO!

We wish everyone a very Happy, and Blessed Easter!

Cooking Countdown!

2 months!

Pineapple Pregnancy Brain

Week 31 HAS RISEN, along with the Easter Bunny, Jesus, and my ever blossoming pregnancy brain :) I tutor before work on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:30 - 8:00am. It's pretty much always a constant battle to get there on time - given that those also happen to be the mornings that for whatever reason I decide I absolutely must wash and blow dry my hair - so let's just say I'm lucky if I pull the gears into park by 7:25ish, leaving me just enough time to make a mad dash upstairs to my classroom, drop off my other gear, and head back downstairs to meet my student in the office. Although dashing during your third trimester isn't exactly a walk in the park, this past Wednesday morning I grabbed my gear, rushed upstairs, and just as I was about to throw my lunch bag into the fridge - BAM! That OMG feeling immediately sunk in as it dawned on me that I must have forgotten my lunch all the way downstairs, down the block in the car. Now on any given day this would have caused major frustration in my life anyway, but on a pregnant day this was pretty much the end of the world ;) Well, I was out of breath and out of time so I had no other choice but to let it go, forget about it, and hurry down to meet my student (who incidentally happened to be running 10 minutes late ... oh how I wish I could predict which mornings that was going to happen!).

By the time 6th period rolled around I had regained my breath and was actually feeling pretty excited about having a nice little stroll to my car to pick up my lunch. I grabbed my coat, waved hello/goodbye to some of my co-workers, and headed out the door. On the way down, I thought about how I probably should have brought my purse just in case I really had left my lunch at home (as opposed to in the car) and needed to drive to pick up something in town. What that thought should have led me to realize was this: if I didn't have my purse, not only did I not have my wallet, but I also didn't have my car keys, and not only was I not driving to town, I wasn't getting into my car PERIOD. So naturally by the time I actually reached my car and attempted to reach into my nonexistent purse to grab my not there keys, that OMG, end of the world feeling of major frustration returned, and as I stared through the backseat window, sure enough, there was my lunch bag staring back at me, laughing in my face! Running low of sugar, I meandered back to the door (which happens to be located on the top of a good-sized hill), back up the stairs, and back down the hall to my classroom, grabbed my purse, checked to make sure my car keys were actually in it, and drifted through the motions once again. At the end of this journey, I was left with about 10 minutes to eat as much as I could before heading back downstairs, back outside for lunch duty.

In contrast to my pregnancy brain, Chickie's brain is actually going through some major development milestones this week. I'm sure glad one of us can think! Also, all of Chickie's 5 senses are in working order, and he/she is weighing in somewhere between 2 and 4 pounds. We might be able to determine an exact weight when we go for our 32 week ultrasound on April 17th.

We HEART Chickie! (Part 2)

Chickie was a perfect little angel at the doctor today:

• Healthy (fast) heartbeat: 152 bpm (check)
• Healthy Weight Gain (check)
• Healthy Bump Size (check)

We were in and out in 15 minutes ... record timing. Our next appointment is set for Tuesday, April 17th. Chris finally gets to come to this one, our 32 week ultrasound. We haven't had an ultrasound since our 20 week appointment back in January, so it will definitely be exciting to see what Chickie looks like now!

Chickie's Nursery (Part 10)

After three short hours, and plus or minus three minor back aches, Chris has officially checked off Chickie's dresser as another one of his weekend masterpieces! This nursery is really starting to come together ;)

Back to School (Part 2)

Chris and I attended our early Sunday morning breastfeeding class at the hospital today. It was a nice surprise to see that friends of ours - Kelly and Eric - had signed up, as well. Chris was also glad to see that he was NOT the only guy there. In fact, only one woman showed up without her husband, and she ended up texting him to come within the first 10 minutes of class. The poor guy arrived - red faced any everything - soon after. The class lasted about 3 and a half hours, and included a PowerPoint presentation, movie, pumping demo, and of course, many trips to the bathroom for me ;) We learned lots of valuable information about positioning, latching, weening - and, perhaps most importantly - about the fact that the number one cause for future Chickie tears will most definitely be because his/her parents probably won't remember any of the valuable information about positioning, latching, weening, etc. Good thing mom is a thorough note taker!

All and all, I'm really glad we actually made the effort to set our alarms on a Sunday morning. We always knew we'd be clueless about breastfeeding, but now we at least know all sorts of fancy terms and facts about the things we are clueless about ... it's a really good feeling, and I highly recommend this class to all expecting parents.

Our Cute Fake Baby for the Day ;)

Chickie's Nursery (Part 9)

The owl ceiling fan chains and hedgehog woodland light switch cover I purchased from etsy.com finally arrived! All critters were super cooperative upon installation, yet super unphotogenic when it came to their post-installation photo op. It was really challenging to pull off a good shot of the owls, what with the overhead lights blaring down on them and all. Despite the poor quality photos, the way the birds dangle and flutter around, mirroring a mobile of their own, really is very cute. Chickie is going to be in one enchanted trance for sure. It's all part of our master plan to promote the wonder that is nap time :)