Yup! There's DEFINITELY a baby in there!! :)

It’s pretty amazing the incredible GROWTH that takes place on a daily basis when you’re pregnant.  In the elevator mirror each morning, I take a long glance at my belly knowing full well that by the time I head home each day, our sweet baby girl will have kicked her way to claiming a few more inches of belly room.  Just a few short weeks ago, her presence in my life felt like mere flicks, followed by gentle taps then stronger and stronger jabs…which has now led to ALL of the above PLUS the slow undulation of my belly as she gradually moves from one side to the other.  I’ve joked that it feels like she’s rearranging furniture in her little belly apartment.. while other times, she’s MOST definitely practicing her soccer moves for the 2032 Olympics. ;)    

30 week belly - 8 more weeks til induction!!

I count myself extremely blessed for having a fairly "easy" pregnancy so far.  Other than feeling LIKE THE SIDE OF A BARN!!..... gaining weight mostly and pretty exclusively in my hips, butt and thighs (UGHHH!!!), I haven't had any issues at all.  With my diabetes in check and pretty well controlled, I'm still considered "High Risk" and have to see my regular OB every two weeks now.. (at 32 weeks I will start once a week visits).  I also have to see a "special" sonographer just as often to make sure the baby is growing as she should be.. (which so far, has been perfectly!) Last check up at nearly 30 weeks measured our little bear at a whopping 3lbs 9oz.  ;) 

With toes officially gone, it's beginning to get a bit tougher to do the simple things I was used to doing just a week or two ago.. namely, rolling over in bed without grunting, bending down to paint my toes (which are in desperate need of some attention), leaning over the table to eat (just hand me a bib cause the only comfortable way I feel like I can sit at the table is leaning WAAAAAAAYYY back in my chair)... and just plain BREATHING..which is starting to make our stairs a challenge...not to mention the elliptical I've still been doing..  :/  Slowly but ever so surely I'm reaching that point that most pregnant women get to at end of their pregnancy.. "GET THIS GIRL OUT!!"... (but not before she's ready of course.. ;) 

Happy Birthday Mama Maldonado :) We LOVE you!

As I prepare to take this journey called Motherhood in just about 8 weeks from now… (EEEEEkkkkkkk!!!), I can’t help but think how my own sweet Ma ;) has shaped me into the person I am today. From strict disciplinarian to incredible softie that would walk to the ends of the earth for us kids.. she’s been my constant. Always there to listen, always willing to impart her wisdom and knowledge… she’s been the epitome of strength when times have been tough (even when I know she’s felt like crumbling) and I can only hope, as I prepare to raise my own little one, that I’ll be half the mother she has been to me. You're amazing in every way Mom, thank you for being AWESOME!!

Happy 21st Birthday Mom ;)!!

This time, last year, celebrating her special day, at Choctaw Casino :) 

And my dad, not knowing how to smile.. hehehehe..

Weekend Projects for Little Miss Kelley :)

As you can probably imagine..as we cross over the 28 week mark...my ever-growing belly has been at the top of my priority list as summer quickly passes and I realize just how much still has to be done around the house.  Even though we've tackled QUITE a lot in the weeks since my parent's last visit up here.. there are still a few little annoying things left to take care of before I can finally proclaim the nursery ready for Little Miss Kelley. 

My burgeoning belly ;)

She likes to hang out on my right side for some reason.. :)

Overly motivated and surprisingly energized, I got down to business this past weekend on do-it-yourself wall art and of course... HAIR accessories!  Who knew I'd turn into such a GIRL...now that I was about to have a little GIRL!!  ;)  It's funny how in just a few minutes of walking into Hobby Lobby on Saturday, my mind began to reel with all the PINK possibilities and overly frilly, girly things I could do to the nursery.  All the things that I had once scoffed at.. Pink tiaras and feather boas, glitter and rhinestones.. all of a sudden were potential room decor?!?! What the heck?!?!  Hahaha.. Not finding my inner "girly girl" until I was ummm.. about TWENTY THREE!!... the thought of all this pink was making me laugh.  I quickly came back to reality and focused on what I had originally gone there for.  Hair Bow/Band accessories!  That was about as frilly as I would allow myself to get right at that moment... Until next time.. ;)

Just a little tease of the wall art that will go up behind her crib. 

Shades of teal and dark pink are the colors we are going for in her room..

Lets see how it all comes together!

Time consuming but surprisingly relaxing.. :)

After I ran out of paint (I had only bought one small tube because I didn't know what color would work best), I turned my attention to hair accessories.  It was mostly an experiment to see how easy hair bands would be to make...which actually turned out GREAT! 

Who knows if she'll actually let me put these on her.. BUT... they're CUTE!

Super easy to make.. I just used ribbon with elastic ends and I made them in larger sizes as well so she could grow into them.  :)

Pretty successful I must say.. for just an experiment!  :)

25wk 3day Sonogram with Grandma and Grandpa Maldonado :)

To our Little Baby Bear…

When it came time to plan your grandparents next visit up to Dallas…(to bring up ALL the wonderful clothes your older cousin Addison had used when she was a baby and saved for you ;).. I knew that it would be a perfect opportunity to get them up during our next sonogram visit.  I wish you could’ve heard the excitement in your Grandma Maldonado’s voice when I told her the plan.  Your Grandpa and Grandma were BOTH MORE than a little giddy at the thought of seeing you moving around in your mama's belly. Apparently sonograms weren’t common place when your Grandma was having me, way back in the day, so they were thrilled to see new technology in action!

It took a few weeks of preparation (on their part) to gather all the bins of Addie’s old clothes (size newborn to 3T!!), baby blankets, burp cloths, sweet little baby shoes, bouncers… you name it, they were bringing it!! Finally, after gathering, packing and carefully repacking again… the day had come to stuff Grandpa’s truck to capacity and make the NINE hour trek to see all of us. You can’t imagine ALL the stuff they had for you! There were at least EIGHT, HUGE plastic bins full of stuff… it was absolutely incredible, and I couldn't WAIT to start unpacking it all!  :)

The next morning after their arrival, on Friday, June 29th, it was finally time to pack us all into that little sonogram room.  The room was busting at the seams with all the nervous energy and you could feel the anticipation in the air.  After what seemed like an hour of waiting for the sonographer to come in to meet with us.. she walked in, dimmed the lights, got my belly full of gel goop and we were off! 

Almost immediately, there were Ooooohhhhhh's and Awwwww's from all of us as you showed us that, since our last visit, you had learned to YAWN!!

And I kept putting 27 weeks on these videos (cause that's what I am right at this moment but.. I was really 25weeks 3days in these videos)

My growing belly.. with YOU in it, at nearly 27 weeks.  :)

Only PART of your portion of the linen closet.  :)

New England Adventures - Last (Half) Day in Boston

Before we decided to call our trip to New England a success, there was still ONE more thing we had to cross off our list...... The SWAN BOATS :)  But first.. one final walk around town..

Through Boston Common... and the Lorax poppies ;) 

Make Way for Ducklings :) a children's picture book written and illustrated by Robert McCloskey. First published in 1941, the book tells the story of a pair of mallard ducks who decide to raise their family on an island in the lagoon in Boston Public Garden, a park in the center of Boston, Massachusetts.

Our Chariot Awaits

What a perfect way to end the perfect trip in New England.  :) 

Our babymoon is complete.  Now... time to focus on our little one!!

New England Adventures - Day 6 in Boston

Day 6 of our trip... and our last official FULL day in Boston. By this point in our sight-seeing tour of Boston, we had been averaging about 7-8 miles of walking a day....EVEN when we slept in and started later in the morning!  Needless to say, I didn't feel the SLIGHTEST bit guilty for any of the fabulous foods that we ate.. (Giacomo's TWICE, Mike's Pastry... TWICE and J.P. Licks ice cream.. yup, that's right, you guessed it.. TWICE :) 

On this morning, we started out on the Freedom Trail again.. this time at Paul Revere's house. 

Paul Revere's house, a wooden structure, dating back to 1680, is downtown Boston’s oldest building still in existence. Paul Revere purchased it in 1770 when he was 35 years old. He paid 53 pounds, 6 shillings, and 8 pence with a mortgage of 160 pounds. Revere was living at this house the night he set forth on April 18, 1775 to make his momentous ride to Lexington that would be immortalized by Longfellow’s famous poem Paul Revere’s Ride.

The Ebenezer Hancock House is located along the Freedom Trail, just past Faneuil Hall. The building is the only dwelling still standing in Boston that can be associated with John Hancock.

Paul Revere Statue near the Old North Church

Old North Church (officially, Christ Church in the City of Boston), at 193 Salem Street, in the North End of Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent. This phrase is related to Paul Revere's midnight ride, of April 18, 1775, which preceded the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution.

Taken from The Old North Church's website: "The pews are called box pews. Now, we let visitors sit wherever they would like, but at the time of the Revolution, members of the congregation would have had to purchase their pews if they wanted to worship here. Different pews had different prices, the most expensive being the most desirable. Those on the center aisle would have cost significantly more than those on the sides or in the galleries on the second level.

Families, as long as they kept up their pew rents, had exclusive use their pew and would decorate them to their own tastes with fine fabrics and furniture, similar to the Bay Pew. These decorations and where families sat were indications of a family's social status. Many accounts exist in which a family, who arrived late to this country, would purchase a back pew, but would reserve a front pew when one opened up, and thus, in many ways moved up in society. Which is why, for example, General Thomas Gage, Commander of the British Forces, had to sit in the far back pew. "

When the Charlestown Navy Yard closed in 1974 after nearly 175 years of serving the fleet, 30 acres became part of Boston National Historical Park. The National Park Service now maintains an important part of the ship yard, and as part of the Park Service's interpretive program, USS Constitution, in connection with the United States Navy, and USS Cassin Young are preserved as representatives of the kinds of vessels built in this yard. Together they represent a 200-year-old tradition of building fine ships for the Navy.

Bunker Hill Monument

View from the top of the Monument (Chad did this trek up the monument solo...this preggo was NOT in any condition to hike up that 221', I-don't-know-how-many-steps, granite monument.)  Great job love :) 

New England Adventures - Day 5 in Boston

Our second official day in Boston began where we had left off the day before...on the Freedom Trail.  Seeing the red brick trail during our casual stroll around the city on Saturday, we started Sunday on a mission.  To tackle at least a good part of this 2.5-mile, brick-lined route that leads you to 16 historically significant sites throughout Boston.

To learn more about the Freedom Trail and get a map of its historic sites... Go HERE

The State House, built in 1798, is located across from the Boston Common on the top of Beacon Hill. The land was once owned by Massachusetts first elected governor, John Hancock.

Founded in 1660, the Granary is the third oldest burying ground in Boston proper. In 1737, when grain was stored where the present Park Street Church stands, the burying ground was renamed the Granary. Along with Massachussetts Governors, Clergymen, and Mayors, three signers of the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Robert Treat Paine, are buried here.

Approximately 5000 people are buried at Granary even though there are only 2300 headstones. Since funerals were expensive, there would be one headstone per family. Each grave contains at least 20 bodies.

And although not TECHNICALLY on the Freedom Trail, one thing that Chad and I wanted to do before our trip was over was to ride one of Boston's Duck Tours :) It did, after all, take us by some historically significant places.  :)  Quack, Quack! 

Our captain, Paul Reverse :)

Taking the tour to the Charles River :)

The Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge

Site of the Boston Massacre - March 5, 1770

The Old State House was the center of all political life and debate in colonial Boston. On July 18, 1776, citizens gathered in the street to hear the Declaration of Independence read from the building's balcony, the first public reading in Massachusetts. The Royal Governor presided here until the new State House was built on Beacon Hill in 1798.